On my mind are two famous composers: Gioachino Rossini and Bela Bartók. You would be hard-pressed to find two more different figures, truth be told. Both made their careers during artistically fruitful periods (Rossini, during the early 19th century; Bartók, across the turbulent stretch of … Read more
Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries You might think that performances of a work as popular as this would be easy to find. But I have my own criteria for what qualifies for this series, and it has taken a while to find something suitable. When … Read more
Paulus, Pilgrim’s Hymn The American composer Stephen Paulus (1949-2014) is perhaps best known for his choral works. We featured one such example, the exceptionally lovely chorus The Road Home in this series four years ago. The Pilgrim’s Hymn comes from Paulus’ one-act opera The Three … Read more
Bizet, The Flower Song (from Carmen) The music of Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875) has gained a popularity that few operas can match. People with little exposure to opera are likely to recognize the Toreador Song and the Habanera. There are many other great moments in … Read more
Mozart, Overture to Abduction from the Seraglio One day during my graduate studies, the orchestra conductor, Dr. George Lawner, handed me the task of creating a two-piano arrangement of this overture. He was directing a scaled down version of the opera Abduction from the Seraglio … Read more
If the title of this post sounds like a comment on the tragic tearing-apart of our nation, it isn’t, although you are free to draw connections as you wish. Instead, this essay concerns a single complaint: namely the fact that too many of today’s creative … Read more
Last Monday night, Professor Carol presented another edition of her notorious Opera Boot Camp. I say notorious because she has offered Opera Boot Camp for several years to a variety of audiences: school kids of various ages, opera administrators, and cruise ship passengers to name … Read more
Take the challenge! Find out what really goes on in this cutting-edge entertainment. Our lively introduction will give you the background and basic tools for entering the magical world of opera, from Mozart to Les Miz. We’ll sweep through opera’s 420-year history, look at the ingredients that make up every opera, and have fun. … Read more
Puccini, Nessun dorma A snazzy style of television “talent” contests gained popularity some years back. Either the audience or a panel of judges I didn’t know would vote thumbs up or down on a steady stream of musical acts trying to achieve instant stardom. I … Read more
Mozart, Papagena-Pagageno Emanuel Schikender, the librettist for Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”), performed the role of Papageno. This rather strange character with a bird cage on his back was drawn from the Hanswurst (or Hans Wurst) stock character in German comedy, described as … Read more