Opera’s least healthy relationships
It’s nearly Valentine’s Day! That means it’s time to either drown in romance, or make fun of it. Opera offers plenty of opportunities for both. Just be careful not to pattern your relationships after opera characters’. The lovers in (tragic) opera often end up dead. And while …
Opera is boring (and that’s good)
I recently got an email from a passionate opera fan asking for my thoughts on tedious passages in opera. She shared John Crace’s article for The Guardian, “Why There is Nothing Wrong with Being Bored by Opera,” which opens with the following: There’s no hiding it. I …
Rare opera spotlight: Die Gezeichneten
Franz Schreker may be getting a long-overdue revival. Both Der ferne Klang and Die Gezeichneten have seen a promising wave of performances in recent years after decades of neglect. Alex Ross glibly writes that Schreker is “better on his best days than most great composers are on their off days,” …
Rare opera spotlight: Mirandolina
Mirandolina was Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů’s sixth opera, written in 1953-4 and premiered in 1959. Based on Carlo Goldoni’s play La locandiera, it tells the story of the beautiful mistress of an inn, who is courted by three men: the rich Conte d’Albafloria, the aristocratic Marchese di Forlimpopoli, and …
Should we keep performing the same old operas so often?
It’s season announcement time here in the United States, with most of the major opera companies announcing their 2017–18 offerings at some point in January. As is often the case, the titles of many of the operas on the lists look awfully familiar. Seattle Opera …
Blog
ov
