Posts tagged as Opera
Anne Sofie Von Otter And The Queer Diva Worship Of The Mezzo
For about a month now I have been corresponding with a new friend in the Netherlands. There are sixty messages in the folder I named after her—the number will grow before I finish this article—and she probably has at least as many from me. In spite of all the lively conversation, I know little about her. I'm certain of her gender, and I trust that she gave me her real name, but that is about as full of a biographical sketch as I can give you. The rest is covered by impenetrable cyber mist. We don’t talk about each other. Since we discovered we share a diva assoluta, there is nothing else more pressing to talk about than the mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter. Never underestimate the bond that two strangers can establish when they discover that in the world of competing paganisms they worship the same divinity. READ MORE
Boob and Penis Drawings, Doll Houses, Bright Fire and the "Unspeakable Home"
Mary HK Choi: Hi Seth! How are you feeling today? READ MORE
John Adams Talks 'Nixon in China'
Awl pal Seth Colter Walls chats with composer John Adams on the eve of Nixon in China's Metropolitan Opera premiere. There is video! (Of the production, not of Seth chatting with John Adams.)
World's First Klingon Opera Is Opera In Klingon
Oh, why not, it's Friday. Anyone know how to say "diva" in Klingon? Actually, don't tell me, I don't care. Enjoy.
New York City's Only Comprehensive Opera Calendar
As we are preparing for the Great Fall Culture Return in New York City, did you know there is a comprehensive calendar for opera in New York? Now you do, for all your post-Labor Day needs.
Showed Up: Matt Marks' "Post-Christian Nihilist Pop Opera" at St. Mark's Church
How much time will you give an unfamiliar work of art? When I was six or seven, I complained straight away about the slow narrative trot of The Silence, prompting my father to retort: "It's Bergman. You give a master at least 15 minutes before you start fidgeting." But obviously we don't give young bucks (who aren't in the canon) quite the same attention-span leash. And then what if you're giving some new art "a try" on the internet? My sense is "15 seconds" may be the stick-it-out-or-fidget Rubicon. Which is to say, if you only give the above music video from a new "post-Christian nihilist pop opera" 15 seconds of your time, you might think it "meh." Give it three and a half minutes, though, and I suspect there's a much better chance you'll be wowed. For me, the coolest turn begins at the 2:18 mark, and climaxes with the chord that hits at 2:35. READ MORE
Renee Fleming's "Dark Hope": June Cleaver Does Muse
Soprano Renee Fleming, "one of the most beloved and celebrated musical ambassadors of our time," according to her website, has just released Dark Hope, a collection of pop covers of songs by groups such as Arcade Fire, Death Cab for Cutie and Leonard Cohen. How is it? Seth Colter Walls and Zachary Woolfe discuss the album and the artist, who it might appeal to and what it means for opera. READ MORE
'Lulu' at The Met: A Young Woman's First Opera
A young woman's first time is special. It should be with an opera that cares, that wants to understand—well, no, really her first time should be with a sensually profligate, super-modern piece of crazy. And so, Mary HK Choi attended composer Alban Berg's 1937 opera, "Lulu" at the Met on Saturday. In it, she witnessed the tale of a woman whose unparalleled ability to manipulate members of the so-called "stronger" sex leads, ultimately, to a grim finale, with lots of lurid 12-tone music throughout. READ MORE
'Tosca' Cop Hooker Romp Climax Voided!
The Met's Tosca tweaks: the reviews are in! "Police chief Scarpia's Act 2 hooker four-way stops short of oral action."
Leonard Slatkin Canned From Met Gig?
Yow! Leonard Slatkin, of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, has been, opera gossips hear, straight up fired from conducting "La Traviata" at the Met. But how were his reviews? "Several times I noted looks of fear in the vocalists' faces as they glanced over at Slatkin wailing away at a pace faster than necessary in several key moments." YIKES.
