This week, the Teatro alla Scala is set to world premiere “Anna A.,” a new work by Silvia Colasanti. The work is conceived primarily for a young audience and tells the story of the poet Anna Akhmatova in 20th-century Russia. Narrated through a language that blends music and spoken word, the opera delivers a universal message about the conflict between {…}
For the past few months, you may have noticed the series, ‘The Person Behind The Opera.’ In May, we began the series by looking at the person, Malcolm Little (or Malcolm X), the focus of Anthony Davis’ 1985 opera, ‘X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.’ The next month, we looked at Harvey Milk, the San Francisco gay rights {…}
(Credit: Emily Shur) When the Metropolitan Opera announced that Emmy Award–winning actress Sandra Oh would make her debut this season as the Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizetti’s “La Fille du Régiment,” my first thought was: finally. Finally, the Met has made a casting decision that is not just exciting but relevant. The Duchess of Krakenthorp is a speaking role, traditionally {…}
Much ink has been spilled, in varying shades of nostalgia, on the unravelling of the contracts, institutions, and principles that have fostered peace and prosperity since the end of the Second World War. Undoubtedly, much of this concern is justified: in Europe, national borders are once again flexible around the whims of the powerful; Multilateral Organisations have demonstrated their hollowness {…}
(Credit: Magali Dougados) On Sept. 5 and 6, Operfest Lisboa will present the national premiere of the chamber opera “Julie” by Philippe de Boesmans. The opera is based on the August Strindberg play “Miss Julie” and is celebrating its 20th anniversary. This week Lisboa will present it featuring a cast of rising stars including Julia Deit-Ferrand, a rising star in {…}
(Credit: Zakiyah Caldwell Burroughs) September 8 would have been a day of infamy for tenor Lawrence Brownlee. The American tenor, who in addition to his immense talents as a singer, has also been a bright light as an activist for promoting Black composers, inclusivity, and his work with civic groups around the opera world, was primed to make one of {…}
It is rather easy to find operas dealing with religious persecution, ideological conflict, and personal struggles. From well beloved 20th century examples like Messiaen’s “Saint François d’Assise” (1975-79), Britten’s “The Prodigal Son” (1968), and, my personal favorite, Poulenc’s “Dialogues des carmélites” (1956), to revolutionary works like Strauss’ “Salome” (1905), Hindemith’s “Sancta Susanna” (1921), and Schoenberg’s “Moses und Aron” (1932), the {…}
What happens when creatives move in different directions than their main artistic medium? For many, moving between the mediums is a natural process, a way to materialize one’s creative impulses through various means. Auguste Rodin, the celebrated naturalist sculptor of the late 19th-20th century, was a fine painter as his numerous works show, although is best known for works like {…}
In the body of opera-oriented films, from contemporary works like ‘The Moon and the Stars‘ (2007), and ‘Florence Foster Jenkins‘ (2016), to earlier icons like ‘Fire at the Opera‘ (1930) and ‘Champagne Waltz‘ (1939), the ways opera and operatic life is conveyed on screen is highly diverse. However, go far enough backwards and one will find a way of conveying the operatic body {…}
