I was thinking that June would be “Shakespeare Month” and that I’d watch a different Shakespeare-based opera each week. I now doubt that I’m going to do that (but I’ll probably watch Adès’ The Tempest rather soon). You know how someone once said that Shakespeare is nothing more than a bunch of famous quotes all [...]
Author Archives: Jay C. Batzner
My Year of Opera 22: He’s NOT The Messiah, He’s a Very Naughty Boy
THIS time, I knew I was going to get a comedy. A one-night only oratorio adapted from Life of Brian? I was quite excited to see it. I think Life of Brian is the best Python film and since I have heard rave things about Spamalot (but never seen/heard it myself), I was happy to [...]
My Year of Opera 22: He’s NOT the Messiah
THIS time, I knew I was going to get a comedy. A one-night only oratorio adapted from Life of Brian? I was quite excited to see it. I think Life of Brian is the best Python film and since I have heard rave things about Spamalot (but never seen/heard it myself), I was happy to [...]
My Year of Opera 21: Der Fliegende Hollander
Yes, I know that after the whole Rigoletto thing I swore I was going to watch a comedy. But then Wagner’s 200th birthday happened and I thought it best to honor the man. I decided against Meistersinger because, while it may be possible that Wagner has a sense of humor, I’m not quite ready to [...]
Should have said this yesterday…
With all the 100th anniversary of the Rite of Spring mentions going around, I want to share my favorite experience with the piece. In December 2009, the first winter we lived in Michigan, we took my then-4-year-old daughter Daria to see the Nutcracker in Midland (a merger between the Midland Symphony and the Grand Rapids [...]
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My Year of Opera 20: Rigoletto
COMING SOON! The Met HD broadcast is going to be on Great Performances tonight. I missed the broadcast in theaters this past February but I’m not missing this one. I’ll be live-tweeting from my couch tonight starting around 9 PM EDT. Join in if you’d like or just let me clog your Twitter feed for [...]
My Year of Opera 19: Elektra
Ugh. This one. Did not enjoy it. Learned a lot about my tastes from it, though! Some disclaimers: I’m not a fan of late-Romanticism. I appreciate it, I understand what people like about it, I know how the music “works,” etc. But it does nothing for me. I do not listen to it for pleasure. [...]
My Year of Opera 18: Giulio Cesare
Sadly this was not the recent MET Live broadcast. I had been planning on going to that all season but when it finally came time there were too many scheduling obstacles. Fortunately, I was able to watch what I believe was the same David McVicar production at Glyndebourne. This had Sarah Connolly* as Cesare, Danielle [...]
My Year of Opera: End of the First Trimester
Having watched 17 operas so far this year, I’ve compiled some stats. Post #18 is forthcoming… Composers Represented: Berlioz (Les Troyens) Sondheim (Company, Into the Woods) Donizetti (L’elisir d’Amore) Rossini (La Cenerentola) Berg (Wozzeck) Whedon (Dr. Horrible, Once More With Feeling) Britten (Peter Grimes, A Midsummer Night’s Eve) Zappa (200 Motels) Verdi (Falstaff) Sullivan (Pirates [...]
My Year of Opera 17: Powder Her Face
Like there are multiple DVDs of this piece? I was glad there was one! I heard the work when it first made waves back in the late 90s and really didn’t connect with it. And this opera doesn’t really work as a purely auditory experience; scored for 4 singers three of which sing multiple parts [...]