(Photo Credit: Sarah Peet) In 1753, a 47-year-old Philadelphia writer, editor, scientist and inventor was given a new title by his London overlords. The British Crown named Benjamin Franklin “Deputy Postmaster for the Colonies,” a position he’d sought, and financially lobbied toward, for a couple of years. The gig offered a way to spread publications and patronage. Multiple family members {…}
(Credit: Simon van Rompay) This week La Monnaie opened the world premiere of Iain Bell’s new opera “Medusa.” The work explores the human dimension of the Medusa myth, headlined by soprano Claudia Boyle, who showcases Medusa as reborn as a complex and deeply moving woman, alone amid the stone statues of those who, in their thirst for glory, tried to {…}
(Photo Credit: WDR/Teatro Real/Javier del Real) From the earliest days of opera to the cutting edge of today, work was and remains at the heart of opera plots no matter how inventive they are. One of the earliest operas, essentially the one which spearheaded the start of opera itself, Jacopo Peri’s ‘Dafne‘ (1598), features the theme of labour as Apollo’s {…}
Photo Credit: Valeriya Landar/Opera aperta The themes of environmentalism, conservation of natural resources, sustainability, and ecological welfare abound in contemporary discourse due to the increasingly unstable nature of Earth’s condition and humanity’s persistent inability to regulate the actions of the apathetic. Composers of every age, capacity, and style have come forward to voice their views on the matter. From the {…}
(Credit: © Michele Monasta) This week, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino will perform “The Death of Klinghoffer” for the first time in a high-profile production directed by Luca Guadagnino. The cast will feature many familiar faces, including Marina Comparato, who will return to Florence, continuing a long-standing artistic relationship with the Teatro del Maggio. For this production Comparato will perform the {…}
Photo Credit: Miklos Szabo/Lincoln Center (2011) Having composed the internationally celebrated work, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale‘ (1988), an opera which has gained a truly canonical spot in theatrical repertoire thanks to its global embrace, Danish composer Poul Ruders was and remains on the cutting-edge of opera today. With five operas to his name, among them ‘The Thirteenth Child‘ (2016) and ‘Kafka’s {…}
(Photo Credit: Octavio Alonso Maya Castro) Visiting the Palacio de Bellas Artes made me fall in love with opera again. The open plaza welcomed groups of young people walking, laughing, and congregating. The bronze-tiled dome gleamed like a radiant sunset, hugging the luminous marble archway. Stepping inside, the grand foyer projected an entirely different regal stature. Whereas the exterior of {…}
(Credit: West Bay Opera) This week, the Metropolitan Opera will conclude its run of “Madama Butterfly.” It’s been a noteworthy run with two acclaimed sopranos taking on the title role. But that’s not the end of the story. To close it all out, Toni Marie Palmertree will make her principal role debut at the Met as Cio-Cio San. The role {…}
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis On March 25th, Greece celebrates what is called the country’s day of independence, or the Celebration of the Greek Revolution of 1821. On this day, Greece successfully liberated itself from Ottoman occupation in the year of 1830 and by 1832, the borders of Greece were solidified. For the 2021 bicentennial of their liberation, the Greek {…}
