LEFTERIS PITARAKIS / AP
Tony Appleton, a town crier, announces the birth of the royal baby, outside St. Mary's Hospital exclusive Lindo Wing in London, Monday. (Scroll down for San Francisco Opera's welcome to Prince George Alexander Louis .)
* All links below are live
This week on Rhode Island Public television,
WSBE: (Comcast 294, Cox 808, Full Channel 109,
and Verizon 478)
Saturday, July 27 -- 8:00pm; Sunday, July 28 -- 3:00am; Monday, July 29-- 12:00am
The Enchanted Island
"The Enchanted Island," a Jeremy Sams pasticcio about the war between Prospero and Sycorax from "The Tempest" being interrupted by the four lovers from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," whose honeymoon cruise has shipwrecked on the island.
DURATION: 210 MIN
DETAILS: [CC] [STEREO]
GENRE: PARENTS PICKS
OPERA ON WGBH TV
THIS WEEK!
Parsifal
Great Performances at the Met
|
WGBH 2 ~ Friday, July 26-- 1:00am;
WGBH 44 ~ Sunday, July 28 -- 1:00am
WGBH 44 ~ Sunday, July 28 -- 1:00am
Richard Wagner's
Parsifal
Parsifal
Jonas Kaufmann stars as Richard Wagner's "pure fool" or innocent who is in pursuit of the Holy Spear that pierced Jesus's side in order to bring it to cure a wounded knight.
DURATION: 210 MIN
DETAILS: [CC] [STEREO]
GENRE: PARENTS PICKS
♫♫♫♫♫♫
OPERA ON THE INTERNET
WITH
DAVE D' AGUANNO
With this year's series of performances from the Bayreuth Festival getting under way, Swedish Radio is broadcasting the premiere performance of "Die Walkure" on this Saturday afternoon (July 27). All the operas from the festival will eventually find their way on various stations' broadcast schedules, as they do every summer.
Another German opera -- this one from early in the 20th century (1915) -- comes to us in the form of Franz Schreker's "Die Gezeichneten" ("The Stigmatized") in a performance from the Los Angeles Opera, starring tenor Robert Brubaker who was recently seen in the role of Malatestino in the HD-transmission from the Met of Zandonai's "Francesca da Rimini." With Schreker's slightly later opera "Schatzgraber" being broadcast earlier this month, could we possibly be in the midst of a huge Schreker revival? (I kind of doubt it, to be honest.)
Well, one opera that most of us are (overly?) familiar with appears on French Radio this Saturday, as Mozart's "Don Giovanni" receives a broadcast, the performance itself having taken place a week ago Monday (July 15) as part of this summer's opera festival in Aix-en-Provence.
The Bad Wildbad opera festival every summer usually features operas by Rossini, but occasionally a work (somewhat similar in style) by a different composer gets performed as well. So, this time around, Adolphe Adam's comic opera from 1834 -- "Le Chalet" -- receives a broadcast on German Radio, having been performed on July 11 of this year. (And yes, Adolphe Adam is the same composer who gave us "O Holy Night" as well as the ballet "Giselle.")
Enjoy!
DAVE
12 Operatic Lessons for the new Royal Baby
With the arrival of the newest member of the British royal family, we here at San Francisco Opera decided to take a look at the members of nobility seen throughout opera to see what kind of lessons they could impart to the world's newest prince. Compiled here are a selection of lessons from twelve of our favorite operas that we think will serve the future king well.1) JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE EVERY WOMAN IN THE COMMONWEALTH DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD.
The Duke of Mantua woos Countess Ceprano in our 2012 production of Rigoletto.
Photo by Cory Weaver.
2) IF YOU MEET A PRINCESS WHO MAKES YOU SOLVE THREE RIDDLES IN ORDER TO WIN HER HAND (AND KEEP YOUR HEAD),
SHE'S PROBABLY PRETTY HIGH MAINTENANCE.
Princess Turandot stares imperiously at Prince Calaf in our 2011 production ofTurandot. Photo by Cory Weaver.
SHE'S PROBABLY PRETTY HIGH MAINTENANCE.
Princess Turandot stares imperiously at Prince Calaf in our 2011 production ofTurandot. Photo by Cory Weaver.
3) DON'T MAKE PROMISES TO SLIGHTLY DERANGED MEMBERS OF YOUR FAMILY. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'LL HAVE TO GIVE THEM.
King Herod regrets his decision to give Salome anything she wants in our 2009 production of Salome. Photo by Cory Weaver.
4) IF YOU MEET A BEAUTIFUL, MYSTERIOUS VEILED WOMAN AT A BALL, DON'T LET HER SLIP AWAY.
Angelina, (Cenerentola, or Cinderella) veiled in disguise, meets Prince Ramiro in the 2008 Merola production of La Cenerentola. Photo by Kristen Loken.
5) ON SECOND THOUGHT, VEILED WOMEN CAN BE TROUBLE. AND FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, WATCH YOUR BACK AT A MASQUERADE.
Amelia, wife of Anckarstrom, wears a veil to meet her secret love, Gustavo, King of Sweden. Misunderstandings ensue and lead to Gustavo's end in our 2006 production of Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball). Photo by Terrence McCarthy.
6) IF YOU MEET SOMEONE IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE WHO CALLS HERSELF THE "QUEEN OF THE NIGHT," SHE'S PROBABLY NOT WHO YOU THINK SHE IS.
The Queen of the Night makes quite an entrance in our 2012 production of The Magic Flute. Photo by Cory Weaver.
7) DON'T PURSUE THE LOVE OF YOUR BROTHER'S LIFE. NOT ONLY DOES IT MAKE YOU LOOK BAD, BUT YOU MIGHT END UP MARRIED TO THE PERSON
YOU NO LONGER WANT.
YOU NO LONGER WANT.
King Xerxes attempts to woo Romilda, the love of his brother Arsamenes, in our
2011 production of Xerxes. Photo by Cory Weaver.
8) EGYPTIAN PRINCESSES CAN GET VERY JEALOUS. LIKE I'M-GOING-TO-BURY-YOU-ALIVE-WITH-YOUR-GIRLFRIEND-IF-YOU-DON'T-LOVE-ME JEALOUS.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
Princess Amneris is none too pleased that Radames doesn't share her affections in our 2010 production of Aida. Photo by Cory Weaver.
9) LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO PUT A FAMILY MEMBER INTO AN ENCHANTED SLEEP IN A RING OF FIRE.
Wotan, King of the Gods, puts daughter Brunnhilde in an enchanted slumber because she disobeys him in our 2011 production of Die Walkure. And you thought no ice cream for a week was punishment. Photo by Cory Weaver.
10) IF SOMEONE SAYS THEY ARE RUSSIAN NOBILITY FROM THE TIME OF TROUBLES, RUN. SERIOUSLY. IT USUALLY ENDS BADLY.
Prince Shuisky plots away in our 2008 production of Boris Godunov. Photo by Terrence McCarthy.
11) WITCHES BE CRAZY.
DON'T LISTEN TO THEIR ADVICE.
DON'T LISTEN TO THEIR ADVICE.
The witches toil and trouble in our 2008 production of Macbeth.
Photo by Terrence McCarthy.
12) IF YOU FIND YOURSELF SURROUNDED BY A 'VICTORIOUS HORDE,' THE MONARCHY HAS GONE IN A VERY DIFFERENT DIRECTION.
CONSIDER MOVING.
CONSIDER MOVING.
Attila the Hun reflects on his pillaging ways in our 2012 production of Attila.
Photo by Cory Weaver.
Posted: 7/23/2013 3:47:26 PM by San Francisco Opera
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
Licia Albanese:
An Opera Diva Hits 100
It's not every day a great opera diva makes it to the century mark. So let's take a moment to cheer for Licia Albanese, the beloved Metropolitan Opera star, who celebrates her 100th today and who most likely would not care to be called a "diva."
"Only God makes a diva," she told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2004. "No, just call me a plain singer with lots of expression."
Albanese began expressing herself on stage in her native Italy in 1934 when she took over for an indisposed Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Lirico in Milan. She would turn that Puccini heroine into a signature role with reportedly more than 300 performances, including 72 at the Met. Albanese sang more than 400 times for the company, holding the record for the most La traviatas (87). She sang Desdemona in Verdi's Otello when the opera was the first to be televised from the Met in 1948.
In operatic jargon, Albanese's voice was often labeled lyrico-spinto — meaning a lyric voice that can be pushed toward more dramatic music. She excelled in many Italian roles, especially Puccini, but also sang Mozart and French opera.
The late opera writer John Steane felt that recordings probably did not do Albanese's voice justice. But in his book The Grand Tradition, he makes note of her 1946 recording of La Bohème led by Arturo Toscanini, saying, "By Act 3 we are hearing a performance by Albanese as strong in emotion as it is delicate in the voice, the tenderness and fragility of the character having their place in a resolutely unsentimental reading of the score."
And it looks as if the famous prima donna will also take an unsentimental approach to her 100th birthday. Stephen De Maio, a friend of Albanese's and a director of the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, which supports young opera singers, says it will be a very quiet birthday this year. She will be celebrating "with dinner engagements all week long, together with her son and daughter-in-law, as well as friends," De Maio says.
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
Just released by Decca MP3s!
Just released by Decca MP3s!
♫♫♫♫♫♫
Summer production of
"Elixir of Love"
Thursday, August 1, 5:30pm
@Blithewold Mansion and Gardens, Bristol, RI
$30 General admission and $25 for Blithewold Members
♫♫♫
Thursday, August 8, 7:30pm
Saturday, August 10, 7:30pm
@ Ocean State Theater,1245 Jefferson Blvd., Warwick, RI 02886
$35 and $60
For additional information on our exciting opera season,
to purchase tickets, or to contribute to the Annual Appeal, contact:
Opera Providence
585 Elmgrove Avenue
Providence RI 02906
401-331-6060
*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.
The Met radio broadcast season is
over for now...
check this space the first week
of December.
♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫♫
No comments:
Post a Comment