Tag Archives: Puccini

Two Weddings & a Funeral

Posted on March 16, 2013 by

2013 is not even one quarter gone yet already I’m sure we’ve seen the cleverest title to promote a pair of one-act operas (partly because they don’t exactly grow on trees).  Essential Opera’s  program is called Two Weddings and a Funeral. … Continue reading →

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10 Questions for Milton Granger

Posted on November 20, 2012 by

Milton Granger is composer/librettist/lyricist of six chamber operas, all of which have been produced multiple times throughout the U.S. by college opera workshops and regional companies.  Two (Uncharted Waters and Talk Opera) are first-place National Opera Association prizewinners. Granger’s musical play Bronze … Continue reading →

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Once is not enough

Posted on September 6, 2012 by

We know that technology is changing rapidly.  Can you imagine that human perception would somehow remain unchanged, or is it more likely that with all the new platforms, applications, and media, that our brains might work in new ways? Such … Continue reading →

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Contrasting Butterflies

Posted on August 29, 2012 by

Classrooms can be amazing places for discovery, especially for the teacher.  Sometimes we can’t anticipate what develops right in front of us. Not long ago I showed two contrasting DVD versions of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly to my opera class. Having … Continue reading →

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Two from Florence

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

The double bill of Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy with Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, currently being presented by the Canadian Opera Company, is a marriage made in heaven, a pair of complementary opposites who seem to belong together. They’re alike in some … Continue reading →

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A contrasting pair

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

The Canadian Opera Company will be offering a pair of one act operas in their spring season that have some things in common. Both works are set in Florence. Both works are based on literature Both have a character named … Continue reading →

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Tosca tonight

Posted on February 1, 2012 by

Puccini’s Tosca can take one of at least a few possible shapes: It can be a riveting thriller of a story, at times keeping you glued to the action It can be a virtuoso vehicle, an opportunity for any one … Continue reading →

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Operatic alchemy

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

The Canadian Opera Company announced its 2012-2013 season today, January 18th, a combination of works old and new.  I don’t pretend to understand how an opera company chooses their repertoire, although I think I understand some of the issues involved.  … Continue reading →

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What’s under the tree?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by

The recent High Definition Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha offered another look at one of the most popular operas of the past few decades.  I am posting this the night before the Canadian Opera Company announces their 2012-2013 … Continue reading →

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Boheme Against the Grain again

Posted on December 2, 2011 by

You can only be shocked that way once. When I attended the opening night of Against the Grain’s La bohème in June, it was thrilling to experience a modern adaptation of this well-worn opera in a downtown Toronto bar, in … Continue reading →

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