A world premiere of a new opera holds the promise of an exciting new addition to the fairly calcified collection of masterpieces that comprise the standard repertory.
During a recent concert at the Grant Park Music Festival, held on this
occasion in the adjacent Harris Theater, members of the Ryan Opera Center of
Lyric Opera of Chicago presented ensembles from four operas, two each by Mozart
and by Rossini.
Like her impressive recording of Lieder by Dvořák (Harmonia Mundi CD 901824), Bernarda Fink’s recording of a selection of Lieder by Brahms not only offers a fine representation of the music, but also demonstrate the singer’s command of this repertoire.
As the prelude plays, we see circles of fluorescent light moving slowly in uncertain black space. Are we seeing flights of flying saucers, as in Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
This high-concept Salome takes place in Nazi Germany.The set has two levels: on top, Herod revels with the banqueters; below, we see a dingy basement, full of kitchen workers, relaxed soldiers, and the prostitutes who help them relax.
When it debuted at the Met in 1991 John Corigliano’ overwrought and somewhat all-too comic Ghosts of Versailles was praised largely as a vehicle for the long-celebrated artistry of Teresa Stratas and Marilyn Horne.
Robert Schumann’s only opera Genoveva (1850) is best known as a failure in its time and has since fallen into the list of succès d’estime, but with this new release, based on a production intended for television, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt champions the work in his second recording of the score.
Sibelius’s 1892 symphonic poem for soloists, chorus, and orchestra is in the tradition of the cantata-like symphonies of the nineteenth century, as found in Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang or Mahler’s Second Symphony.
As promised, here's some of the men's fashion from La Bohème. During the 30's almost all the men would be wearing hats, so here are some of the assorted styles the men of the chorus will be wearing:
Here is the hat of Colline, the philosopher:
And here is the hat of ...
How beautiful is this?
This is hands down my favorite of the La Bohème chorus dresses. If I owned this, I would probably wear it every week.
Are you curious to see what the men in La Bohème are wearing? So am I! We'll have pictures for you next week!
I have a small fascination with the different ways composers have died. With all the discussion and speculation about what caused Mozart to die, I wanted to share the accidental death of another opera composer, Jean-Baptiste de Lully.
Lully's death in March of 1687 was due to disease, but not one ...
Happy late birthday to Claude Debussy, who was born on August 22, 1862.
Debussy was a hugely talented pianist and composer, who attended the Paris Conservatoire, and the Académie des Beaux-Arts. He was quite adventurous and experimental, even as a student, and his use of dissonances and strange intervals was not ...
Voting is officially open for the “Made in the USA” opera series! From now through October 17th, you can vote for your favorite of the following four operas: The Ballad of Baby Doe, Douglas Moore Dead Man Walking, Jake Heggie Susannah, Carlisle Floyd The Tender Land, Aaron Copland Opera Idaho will produce the opera that [...]
Our 2010/11 Volunteer Kick-Off Luncheon took place Thursday, August 26th at the Opera Idaho Studio. With our newly expanded season, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities on the horizon! Volunteer Coordinator, Leslie Garrett, presented attendees with the various “teams” they could be a part of throughout the season – everything from ushering at our mainstage [...]
Mona Seghatoleslami2010 08 25falseCenterfalseThe year’s first Christmas album arrived today. falseCenterfalseThe Cherry Tree by Anonymous 4 Four months before Christmas Do the craft stores even have their holiday stuff out yet? I wish I could resent it more, but the
Amidst the nebulous financial situation plaguing many US orchestras, BBC’s Matt Wells visited the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood to consult both players and administration alike.
The BSO’s managing director, Mark Volpe, indicated that although the orchestra is doing comparatively well, they are still subject to the fiscal erosion straining orchestras nationwide.
“We had to cut $4 [...]
Mona Seghatoleslami2010 08 20falseCenterfalse"Who's Minding the Score" is a weekly webcomic about a dysfunctional orchestra. It's funny, and as is often the case with good satire, a bit painful at the same time. falseCenterfalseAfter you've caught up with the archive
Happy Birthday to one of the great villians of classical music - Antonio Salieri. Salieri was born on August 18, 1750, but instead celebrated the day of his baptism (August 19) as his birthday. So acknowledge him today or tomorrow; either works!
Salieri was a Venetian composer, but he moved to ...
It's time for another dose of beautiful 30's fashion from the costume shop! Here's Ken (our Cutter/Draper) putting the costume on the mannequin...
This is a dress that one of the chorus ladies will be wearing.
Check out the beautiful coat, too!
Hello everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve blogged but I’m determined to give this blog more of my attention this year. It is the start of a new season at Palm Beach Opera. That means a flurry of activity that has really been going on since last season ended. One of the most frequently [...]
Finding some music trivia to celebrate Friday the 13th is harder than you'd expect! But I did find this awesome tidbit:
You might be familiar with George Crumb's Black Angels for electric string quartet. No? Well, here's a quick sample of the first movement played by the always amazing Kronos Quartet:
Black ...
Yesterday was the birthday of Russian composer, Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936). Glazunov was a popular composer in his early life, who went on to become the director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory for almost 25 years. He had a great influence on some of the early Soviet composers, including Dmitri Shostakovich.
Glazunov ...
The hats from La Bohème are amazing, but this one has to take the cake! It's Musetta's hat, and Carmen Killam, our milliner, has created these beautiful leaves with beadwork and embroidery. Fantastic!
I'm a big fan of classical music trivia, but sometimes it is very difficult to tell if a fact is true, or just hearsay. I'm always happy to find music trivia that is actually true, so here's one of my favorites:
Do you know the first musical work performed in space? ...