Based on an ancient Chinese tale, Turandot is an epic masterpiece of revenge, power and love. The vengeful princess Turandot has decreed that she will marry only a royal suitor who can answer her three riddles and those that fail will lose their heads — and many have. The tartar prince Calaf, filled with the [...]
French composer, Jacques Offenbach, noted more for his sparkling operettas, based The Tales of Hoffman on three fantastical stories (“tales”) by German Romantic poet E.T.A. Hoffmann, author of “The Nutcracker”. Offenbach’s music, both intensely witty and intensely dramatic, is the perfect vehicle to present the Romantic, richly imaginative world of the storyteller E.T.A. Hoffmann, combining [...]
In 17th century Spain, Don Giovanni is a legendary hero, Don Juan. He seduces and abandons women without remorse. He has instructed his servant, Leporello, to stand guard while he attempts to creep into the bedroom of Donna Anna, but she screams. Her father, the Commendatore comes to her aid but Don Giovanni stabs him [...]
The famous German Norma of the 1890s, Lotti Lehmann, said Norma is more difficult to sing than all three Bruinhildes put together. It requires immense range, technical virtuosity and enough stamina to appear in almost every scene. The soprano who takes it on must be able to produce floating pianissimos, sudden dramatic swells, a fusillade [...]
Hansel and Gretel is based on the classic tale by the Brother’s Grimm and has too often been treated as a “children’s opera.” The music is anything but. Engelbert Humperdinck was a student of Richard Wagner and although Hansel and Gretel contains many recognizable tunes, chief among them “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,” [...]
La Cenerentola (Cinderella) was Gioacchino Rossini’s nineteenth opera and, although supposedly composed in only 24 days, it is full of wit, charm and brilliance. There are dozens of variations of the Cinderella story going back to the seventh century BC Rhodopis. The best known are the French Cendrillon, by Charles Perralt written in 1697 (which introduced [...]
Aida is one of the most beloved operas of all time; the “A” in that ABC list recommended for newcomers to opera, the others being La Bohème and Carmen. The twenty-fourth opera by the giant of nineteenth century opera, Giuseppe Verdi, it demonstrates his mastery of musical and theatrical drama. Although often treated as a [...]
