The Passion of Opera

Pictured just above is the promotional graphic for the Royal Opera House's production of Les vêpres siciliennes . It's an odd graphic that tries to get to the production's vision. That vision was a failure. Despite that, the performance I witnessed was phenomenal because of the performers. It was my first chance to see Verdi's rare opera and it was a wonderful one. I definitely want to listen to more recordings and, if possible, see more performances, including the Italian variant, which is more often performed. As a tenor, it was especially exciting, for the first time, to see a tenor in a truly central role who I might describe as, "on." Synopsis and general information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_vêpres_siciliennes Les vêpres siciliennes | Giuseppe Verdi Credits: Director | Stefan Herheim Dramaturg | Alexander Meier-Dörzenbach Set Designer | Philipp Fürhofer Costume Designer | Gesine Voellm Lighting Designer | Anders Poll Choreography | ...

Just wanted to throw out there quickly that I've been a bit slow in getting through the mass of blogging I have to do between this and  To Float on a Wayward Wind  while also trying to do stuff and travel while in London in addition to classes and work. It's a bit crazy. Still, I have been to Strauss' Elektra at the Royal Opera House and to English National Opera's production of Beethoven's Fidelio . Both had their highs and lows and reviews will be coming out shortly. I may shortly be at ENO's Madama Butterfly  and would love to see ROH's Les vêpres siciliennes , though scheduling this has been difficult. Meanwhile, The Passion of Opera has broken 30,000 lifetime views and keeps going strong. Thank you for your support and I'll have new reviews up shortly!!

Below is copy of a paper written for a Winter Term 2013 class at Lawrence University taught by Professor Jason Brozek called War and Popular Culture . I chose to fuse my interests in politics and music and focus on Verdi's Aïda  as a piece of culture representing war. Note that the photos included are not necessarily from the production I actually used for my reviews, nor are they necessarily connected to the section in which they appear. Rather, they are merely for flavor. TORN APART: HOW CONFLICTS PRESENTED BY GIUSEPPE VERDI’S AÏDA DEMONSTRATE OPERA’S CONTINUED RELEVANCE AS A COMMENTARY ON WAR & CULTURE     In a 21 st century world in which war and conflict remain pervasive and multivariate genres of music, music video, photography, and film serve as commentary, the relevance of classic mediums such as print, artwork, and classical music is difficult to discern. Opera, perhaps the most complicated form of classical music, onc...