opera

Moms In Opera: Women On The Edge

Tom Huizenga — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:58:36 +0000

We love mothers for all the Hallmark reasons: for their compassion and patience, not to mention giving birth. But some moms aren't exactly greeting card friendly — and none less so than those who live in the opera house.

This is opera, after all, so we expect the outrageous. But operatic moms seem to be disproportionately portrayed as murderers, harpies or generally women on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Your Normas, Medeas, Butterflies, Queens of the Night and Clytemnestras.

But dads are found in all kinds of touching musical moments.

What Do You Get Valery Gergiev For His 60th Birthday?

Anastasia Tsioulcas — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:16:54 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Ut9pckESw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjR_A5KwDl8

Madame Mao's Hollywood Fantasies

Anastasia Tsioulcas — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 05:04:39 +0000

During the chaos and oppression of China's Cultural Revolution, one curious new theatrical genre was born — and it was the child of the Communist Party. Jiang Qing (a.ka.

Tell Us: Are Ballet And Opera Elitist?

Tom Huizenga — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:44:00 +0000

It's a question virtually as old as the art forms themselves: Are ballet and opera elitist?

The topic was tackled in a live debate hosted Monday by one of the temples of opera, London's Covent Garden, and streamed live on web site of the British newspaper The Telegraph.

Richard Wagner’s Apotheosis, 'Parsifal'

Ron Moore — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:17:13 +0000

Richard Wagner’s "Parsifal," his final opera, was created in parallel with his greatest creations including "The Ring" and "Tristan." It took him just over 30 years and several revisions before it was finally presented in 1882.

It is viewed as his most refined and elaborate work and it at times leaves people feeling that it is too profound to even applaud. In a comic twist, this bothered the composer; when Wagner would applaud a certain scene he would be hushed by members of the audience.

Opera Singer Who Faced Discrimination at UT-Austin in 1957 Profiled in Documentary, "When I Rise"

Nathan Cone — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:06:28 +0000

In 1957, Barbara Smith Conrad was studying music at the University of Texas in Austin. She was cast as Dido in a student production of Henry Purcell’s opera "Dido and Aeneas."