Madison Opera’s casting high point promises to be the gifted Caroline Worra as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw...
–Opera News, “Hot Tickets”
Soprano Caroline Worra has been hailed as “a new soprano powerhouse” by The New Yorker. In Time Out New York, the composer Mark Adamo had this to say: “Caroline’s an immaculate musician and vocally complete, but that’s only where a singer starts. Her sound is utterly her own–rich, bright, crackling with intensity–and every time I hear her, she’s a bolder, more inventive actress.” From January 28-31, you can hear her sing the role of The Governess in Madison Opera’s production of The Turn of the Screw.
There’s a reason our casting of Ms. Worra as The Governess caught the attention of Opera News magazine: she is known for excelling in contemporary repertoire. I first heard her as a stunning Eurydice in Philip Glass’s Orphee at Glimmerglass Opera in 2007; with that same company, she earned a Grammy nomination for a recording of The Mines of Sulphur and high-praise for creating the title role in The Greater Good: The Passion of Boule de Suif. Earlier this season, she was Miss Rose in the world premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s new work, Seance on a Wet Afternoon.
But to focus only on her work in contemporary opera would ignore her huge range. She’s recently performed Marguerite in Faust with Opera Memphis, and this month, she is in Chicago at the Lyric Opera for Hanna in The Merry Widow. Perhaps these two videos of Caroline (Verdi’s Il Corsaro and Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress) capture it best.
Rehearsals for The Turn of the Screw start January 11th, and we can’t wait!
It’s that time again. Notebook ready? Study up on Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw with our guide to the best online resources available: Click/Read/Watch/Listen [pdf].
Explore the life of Benjamin Britten, from his early compositions to apotheosis as England’s great composer of the 20th century. Watch video of his BBC broadcasts with tenor Peter Pears or a cheesy and controversial 1982 film version of the opera (dubbed with fantastic vocal performances, I might add). Read the full text of Henry James’ original novella or a humourous abridged version of Myfanwy Piper’s libretto. There is much to discover and the links await, so go click, read, watch and listen.
Turn of the Screw painting by Christian Andrew Grooms.
Two funny pieces about breaking down opera stereotypes recently came to my attention. The people over at The Guy’s Manual, an online series sponsored by MSN and Grape Nuts cereal, have come up with a list called “Why Opera is a Manly Art.” In Vancouver, a writer inspired by Vancouver Opera gives us “10 (Bad) Reasons to Hate Opera.”
“Why Opera is a Manly Art” is great for its range and wackiness: they start with “Mozart lent his cool factor to the genre” and end with “it will deceive your woman into thinking you’re sensitive.” It’s all lighthearted with a grain of truth. I particularly enjoyed this opening from writer Marc Freeman:
Do you remember that scene in “The Untouchables” when a weeping Al Capone attends the opera “Pagiliacci” while his henchman whacks Sean Connery’s Jim Malone? No one called Capone a sissy then and no one will call you one now. After all, there’s more to being a music man than playing “Guitar Hero.” Here’s why you can let your manly manliness emerge at the opera house.
In “10 (Bad) Reasons to Hate the Opera”, David Tracey gives us the typical complaints from opera-haters and then shoots them down. For instance, the No. 3 bad reason is “It’s expensive.” Tracey writes that while some seats have to be expensive to cover the huge cost of putting on an opera, there are always cheap seats to be found. In Madison, that means $16 or $20, not bad considering an evening ticket at Sundance Cinemas can be $13. He also points out that for the unitiated looking to just hear what opera sounds like, you can tune into the free Met Opera radio broadcasts, which in our neck of the woods run on WPR 88.7, starting Dec. 12.
I also like bad reason No. 2, “It’s boring”:
If sex, murder, war, obsession, torture, love, politics and more murder don’t interest you… you might take a good look in the mirror. Maybe you’re the boring one?
Reason No. 7, “I don’t own a tux/gown,” has a Vancouver-centric response that easily translates to Madison:
This is Vancouver, where “elegant attire” means your fleece liner matches your raincoat.
Check them out, and let us know if you have anything to add to either list!
English composer, conductor, violist and pianist Benjamin Britten was born on November 22, 1913 in Lowestoft, Suffolk. We are a day late but his birthday is certainly worth a mention, as our new production of his 1954 opera The Turn of the Scew is fast approaching.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be exploring Britten’s life and works on this blog. He was a child prodigy who would go on to change the course of opera in the 20th century. Thankfully, there are rich resources available online–courtesy of the Britten-Pears Foundation, one of our underwriters for Turn–and I intend to take full advantage of them!
As National Opera Week continues, we’re posing a question to readers of The MadOpera Blog: what’s your favorite opera? The conversation has already started on Facebook and Twitter (thanks to The Atlanta Opera), and now you can let us know in the comments section here.
I’d have to say that my favorite is Verdi’s
Otello–so many breathtaking moments, which is what it’s all about in my book–but it could also easily be
L’Orfeo (Monteverdi),
Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart),
Parsifal (Wagner),
Salome (Strauss),
Nixon in China (John Adams), or
Orphee (Philip Glass).
It’s an impossible question, but your interest must be piqued now, so join the conversation in the spirit of Opera Week!
