It’s Bastille Day! I thought it appropriate to join in with the French as we are presenting our second consecutive French opera with Carmen in the fall (Gounod’s Faust just ran in May). If you were in Madison this past weekend, La Fete de Marquette
offered the perfect opportunity to celebrate. However if I were in Paris today I think I would “storm” (too easy) the Opera Bastille to catch the final performance of Anselm Kiefer and Jörg Widmann’s new opera, Am Anfang (“In the Beginning”).
Opera in the Park is fast approaching, so here’s a glimpse of the program. In addition to excerpts from our upcoming mainstage productions of Carmen (Seguidilla/Flower Song/Toreador Song) and The Flying Dutchman (Overture/Senta’s Ballad/Act III Chorus), the 2009 program will feature:
- Il Viaggio a Reims (Overture)
- Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Un voce poco fa)
- Don Giovanni (Champagne Aria/La ci darem la mano)
- Tosca (Recondita armonia)
- Aida (O patria mia)
- Don Carlos (Io morro)
- Cavalleria Rusticana (Inneggiamo)
- The Merry Widow (Vilja)
There will also be plenty of Broadway featured, with songs from Kiss Me, Kate, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Carousel.
It had to happen sometime, and perhaps it has happened before, but surely never in such spectacular style: American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato fractured her fibula during a performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House in London Saturday night, giving painful life to the phrase “break a leg.” Read all about it on her blog. You’ll notice the title of her latest post is “And the show went on” because Ms. DiDonato in fact continued to perform for three hours before going to the hospital! And the word today is that she will finish this run of Barbiere in London with leg in cast. Already a widely admired, international star noted for her passion and professionalism (and of course, uniquely beautiful voice), this act of artistic and physical courage will surely secure her spot in operatic history.
Readers of The MadOpera Blog may remember that DiDonato was in Madison last November to attend Madama Butterfly, conducted by her husband, Maestro Leonardo Vordoni. Her photographs of that production are on Flickr.
The 8th annual Opera in the Park is just 3 weeks away! This will be my first OITP experience, having only arrived in Madison last August, but I know Madison Opera fans have many fond memories of this magical summer night of music under the stars…and we’d love to here them! Post your favorite OITP memories in the comment section here on the blog, or post to our Facebook page.
Keeping with the theme of yesterday’s post, I thought I’d share two very recent writings on the role of the critic, coming from two of the best out there:
- Tim Page, “The Education of a Critic,” Opera News (July 2009).
- Anne Midgette, “Do Critics Matter?,” The Washington Post (The Classical Beat blog, July 1, 2009).
Puliter Prize-winner Tim Page is a professor of journalism at USC and the former chief classical music critic at The Washington Post; Anne Midgette is his successor in Washington. I’ll leave it at that. If I elaborate this will begin reading like a PR person’s fantasy.
offered the perfect opportunity to celebrate. However if I were in Paris today I think I would “storm” (too easy) the Opera Bastille to catch the final performance of Anselm Kiefer and Jörg Widmann’s new opera, Am Anfang (“In the Beginning”).
