It was intermission at the premiere of Phelim McDermott’s new Metropolitan Opera production of Mozart and Da Ponte’s “Così Fan Tutte” and someone made this statement to me. “It’s fun and everything, but why set it on Coney Island?” It’s a great point, but one could extrapolate that entire statement to the opera itself – “It’s got great music and {…}
The Met Opera’s upcoming “Così fan tutte” is set to make a major splash in coming weeks. The new production set on Coney Island, which is set to feature more than a number of major tricks, will undeniably play a major role in its popularity. But any opera will live and die with its singing actors, and the cast that {…}
Purchase College Opera is taking a step into the #MeToo movement with an inspired production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” For four days, the university will showcase its students in a production by Jacque Trussel that will focus on how the eponymous character’s actions affect the women around him. “The subject matter of the opera, womanizing, subjugation, brutality, and general disrespect seemed {…}
The basic premise of “Così fan tutte” is that the women are the butt of the joke as they are fooled by wily old Don Alfonso and the maid Despina into falling for men from distant Albania while believing that their lovers are away having gone to war. Despite that plot point, it is fair to say “advantage women” for {…}
Renée Fleming, born on Valentine’s Day, is widely known in pop culture. Perhaps more than any other singer in the world, her voice has become a signature of the mainstream when people refer to opera. One might point to her iconic Super Bowl appearance a few years back when she became the first opera singer to sing at the widely {…}
Purists fear not. Rest easy, ye who learned with alarm that writer/director Wajdi Mouawad has taken extreme liberties with the libretto of Mozart’s early masterpiece, “The Abduction from the Seraglio,” not just tinkering with dialogue but inserting whole new scenes to both accentuate European racism and sexism and soften Ottoman despotism: not a note of Mozart’s divine magic has been {…}
Born on Jan. 27, 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would go on to become one of the greatest geniuses in all of history. His music is iconic and his operas are easily among the best in the entire canon, transforming the art form. Arguably one of the most fascinating aspects of all of Mozart’s operas is his characters. Simply put, his {…}
“Così fan tutte” is the third opera in the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy, following “Le Nozze di Figaro” and “Don Giovanni.” The opera had its premiere on Jan. 26, 1790, at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The work’s title is often translated into English as “Woman are like that,” undeniably a reference to the opera’s central theme that questions women’s fidelity. {…}
Juan Diego Flórez is one of the greatest tenors in the world. Of that there can be no doubt. Born on Jan. 13, the tenor has gone on to establish himself at every major opera house in the world in an ever-evolving repertoire that ranges from Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini all the way to the great French composers such as {…}
It was close to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. Heldentenor Clay Hilley had already conquered the rage of the ocean, immersed himself in the diary of one who vanished, become one with the earth. He had even forged Siegfried’s legendary sword Nothung. And yet his most challenging role of the evening was right in front him. After some {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment will showcase Ingmar Bergman’s {…}