Spotlight on Opera Shines on "Carmen" at Ethical Society on Monday, April 30

Carlos Izcaray

A discussion of Carmen will kickoff Spotlight on Opera, Saint Louis Opera Theatre’s popular series, exploring the ideas behind the music of Carmen on Monday, April 30, at 7:30 p.m., at the Ethical Society in Clayton.

Individual tickets are available for $10; a subscription to the four Monday evening peresentions is $30.

Carmen is the greatest hit of French opera, but it pulses with Spanish rhythms. How does that flamenco sound inspire such passion? Why does Bizet’s music hold such power over us, after 140 years? Deborah Baldini, Teaching Professor of Spanish at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, and John Kasica, principal percussionist for the St. Louis Symphony, are joined by Carmen’s conductor Carlos Izcaray and director Stephen Barlow.

Offered on four Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. from April 30 through May 21 a, Spotlight on Opera brings together Opera Theatre artists, community leaders, and scholars for unique perspectives and unforgettable insights into the operas in the 2012 Festival Season. The operas to be discussed are Carmen, Sweeney Todd, Cosi fan tutte, and Alice in Wonderland.

Guest panelists this season include a Tony Award-winning singer and actress, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, a leading clinical psychiatrist, an enterprising small business owner, St. Louis’s top percussionist, and an award-winning Spanish professor. These panelists join the conductor and director of each opera, as well as singers from Opera Theatre’s Gerdine Young Artist apprentice program, who perform musical highlights from each opera. The programs are moderated by Opera Theatre General Director Timothy O’Leary.

Deborah Voigt Stars as Brünnhilde in Wagner's "Die Walküre" on Met Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Photos by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera

St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 10:00 a.m. Note 2 hour earlier than usual starting time. Approximate running time 5 hours, 10 minutes, with intermissions at approximately 11:05 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

The Met says:

The Met has assembled a stellar cast for this second installment of Robert Lepage’s new production of the Ring cycle, conducted by James Levine: Bryn Terfel is Wotan, lord of the Gods, in his first performances of the role with the company. Deborah Voigt adds the part of Brünnhilde to her extensive Wagnerian repertoire at the Met. Jonas Kaufmann and Eva-Maria Westbroek star as the Wälsungen twins, Siegmund and Sieglinde, and Stephanie Blythe is Fricka.

“The Ring is not just a story or a series of operas, it’s a cosmos,” says Lepage, who brings cutting-edge technology and his own visionary imagination to the world’s greatest theatrical journey. Levine, who has conducted every complete cycle of Wagner’s masterpiece at the Met since 1989, says, “The Ring is one of those works of art that you think you know, but every time you return to it, you find all kinds of brilliant moments that hadn’t struck you with the same force before.”

Union Avenue Opera's "Acis and Galatea" Opens Friday Night

Shepherd meets Nymph...both are smitten. 

They fall madly in love despite Fate's decree: no joy shall last. 

Thus enters a jealous Monster... who also loves the Nymph. 

Will the Shepherd and Nymph's love prevail against all odds? This question and more will be answered in Union Avenue Opera's season opening production of George Frederic Handel's Acis and Galatea, a mythical tale of love, loss and immortality. Audiences will be captivated by the verdant scenery and the ravishingly beautiful, lush score. Acis and Galatea marks Union Avenue Opera's first-ever Handel opera and a return to the company's roots in producing Baroque operas such as Blow's Venus and Adonis and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

Artists in the title roles make their Union Avenue Opera debut. Tenor Marc Schapman sings the role of the shepherd Acis with Soprano Juliet Petrus as the sea nymph Galatea. Returning after his delightful turn as Sergeant Sulpice in La fille du Régiment during the 2010 season, Baritone David Dillard sings the role of the monster Polypheme. A quartet of nymphs and shepherds rounds out the cast and shares the arias of the character Damon: Sopranos Elizabeth Schleicher and Elise LaBarge, Tenor Philip Touchette and Baritone Nathan Ruggles.

UAO Artistic Director and Conductor Scott Schoonover conducts a chamber orchestra in the pit. Stage Director Allyson Ditchey directs her first summer production for Union Avenue Opera, having directed a revival of Amahl and the Night Visitors this past December. Steven Hitsman serves as Stage Manager. Teresa Doggett serves as Costume Designer.

Acis and Galatea runs this weekend only: April 27, 28, 29(m). Friday and Saturday performances begin at 8pm; Sunday matinee at 3pm. Opera will be performed at Union Avenue Christian Church located at 733 N. Union Blvd in St. Louis (map). Production sung in English with projected English supertitles. Tickets range $30-52. For Ticket Purchases or any other questions, call 314.361.2881 or visit http://www.unionavenueopera.org/

Hunter and Voigt Star In Wagner' "Siegfried" on the Met Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Jay Hunter Morris and Deborah Voigt
St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Richard Wagner’s Siegfried on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 10:00 a.m. Note 2 hour earlier than usual starting time. Approximate running time 5 hours, 30 minutes, with intermission at approximately 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The Met says:

In part three of the Ring, Wagner’s cosmic vision focuses on his hero’s early conquests, while Robert Lepage’s revolutionary stage machine transforms itself from bewitched forest to mountaintop love nest. Jay Hunter Morris sings the title role and Deborah Voigt’s Brünnhilde is his prize. Bryn Terfel is the Wanderer. Fabio Luisi conducts

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Natalie Dessay Stars in Verdi's "La Traviata" in Saturday's Met Matinee Broadcast and HD Transmission

St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Verdi’s La Traviata on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 12 noon. Approximate running time 2 hours, 35 minutes, with intermission at approximately 12:30 p.m.

The Met says:

Natalie Dessay will put on the red dress in Willy Decker’s stunning production, in her first Violetta at the Met. Matthew Polenzani sings Alfredo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky is Germont, and Principal Guest Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

In his April 11, 2012, review in the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini said:

It is pointless to separate singing and acting in a Dessay performance. Every vocal phrase is impelled by the emotion and dramatic intention of the moment. After Alfredo’s courtship Violetta, who is cynical about love, ponders whether it might just be possible to take his ardor seriously.

She brought ethereal sound and a searching character to the soft phrases of “Ah, fors’è lui.” Then, smashing a glass of Champagne against the wall and kicking off her heels, she slapped sense into herself and delivered a defiant “Sempre libera,” declaring that she will never be fettered to anyone, at least romantically.

Her coloratura runs were sometimes inelegant, and her impetuous way with phrases must have been a challenge for Mr. Luisi, who nevertheless managed. Still, here was a woman swept up in her own reckless determination.

The High Definition transmission of La Traviata will be presented at AMC Esquire 7, 6706 Clayton Road; St. Louis Mills 18; 5555 Saint Louis Mills Boulevard; AMC Chesterfield 14, 3000 Chesterfield Mall; O'Fallon 14, 900 Caledonia Drive; and The Hett, McKendree College, 701 College Road, Lebanon, IL. Click here to buy tickets.

Union Avenue Opera: 18th Season Overview

Union Avenue Opera’s 18th Festival Season begins this month. It’s a summer of shepherds, nymphs, love triangles, sorcery, betrayals, mermaids, monsters, gods…and a magical, all-powerful ring!

THE REPERTOIRE

Opening this month, Acis and Galatea is George Frederic Handel’s mythical tale of love, loss, and immortality. Witness the tragic love of Galatea, a beautiful sea nymph, and the young shepherd Acis. Jealous monster Polyphemus is also in love with Galatea, and in a rage he takes Acis’s life; a grief-striken Galatea immortalizes her beloved as an everlasting fountain. Audiences will be captivated by the verdant scenery and by the ravishingly beautiful and lush score played by an onstage orchestra. Presented in English with projected English supertitles.

Don’t miss the mystery and intrigue of Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent Un ballo in maschera. Riccardo and Amelia share a forbidden love, but the beguiling Amelia is married to Riccardo’s closest friend and confidante Renato. Amelia enlists the aid of sorceress Ulrica in an effort to extinguish her illicit love for Riccardo, but discovers her secret is already out. The culmination takes place at a lavish masked ball as this love triangle turns deadly. Presented in Italian with projected English supertitles.

Concluding the 2012 Festival Season is the start of a four-year odyssey for Union Avenue Opera: Das Rheingold, the first of Richard Wagner’s epic Ring Cycle. Condensed and reduced by English composer Jonathan Dove, this adaptation retains the essence of Wagner while making it accessible to UAO’s intimate setting. A saga of epic proportion replete with giants, gods, goddesses and a dragon, Das Rheingold opens in the waters of the river Rhine, where three Rhine-maidens guard the river’s magical gold. Enraged by their scorn, conniving dwarf Alberich steals enough of this precious metal to forge a ring that gives its bearer unimaginable power. Meanwhile Wotan and Loge, two powerful gods, conspire to steal the gold as ransom for the goddess Freia who has been kidnapped by two giants. The ensuing struggle for possession of the ring drives this dramatic opera. Presented in German with projected English supertitles.

IN THE PIT AND BEHIND THE SCENES

UAO Artistic Director and Conductor Scott Schoonover is set to conduct all three productions this season. Stage Director Allyson Ditchey, who last staged UAO’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, returns to stage Acis and Galatea. Returning after yet another critically-acclaimed Turandot last season, Mark James Meier stages Un ballo in maschera. Stage Director Karen Coe Miller, a member of the music faculty at Oklahoma City University, makes her UAO debut with Das Rheingold.

BEFORE THE FOOTLIGHTS

Union Avenue Opera welcomes back artists from past seasons:

Acis and Galatea: David Dillard (Polyphemus), Elizabeth Schleicher, Elise LaBarge, Philip Touchette and Nathan Ruggles.

Un ballo in maschera: Denise Knowlton (Ulrica), Jon Garrett (Chief Magistrate), Thomas W. Sitzler (Silvano), Anthony Heinemann (Servant), Todd von Felker (Samuel), and David Dillard (Tom)

Das Rheingold: Kevin Misslich (Wotan), Elise Quagliata (Fricka), Jordan Shanahan (Alberich), Cecelia Stearman (Erda), Todd von Felker (Fasolt), Joy Boland (Freia), and Clark Sturdevant (Froh)

Several artists make their UAO debut:

• Soprano Juliet Petrus (Galatea, Acis and Galatea)
• Tenor Marc Schapman (Acis, Acis and Galatea)
• Tenor Emanuel-Cristian Caraman (Riccardo, Ballo)
• Baritone Andrew Cummings (Renato, Ballo)
• Soprano Rachael Holzhausen (Oscar, Ballo)
• Soprano Courtney Mills (Amelia, Ballo)
• Soprano Elizabeth Beers Kataria (Woglinde, Rheingold)
• Bass-Baritone John Maynard Burton (Donner, Rheingold)
• Tenor Kevin Hanek (Loge, Rheingold)
• Soprano Megan Hart (Wellgunde, Rheingold)
• Mezzo-Soprano Katja Heuzeroth (Flosshilde, Rheingold)
• Bass Nikolas Wenzel (Fafner, Rheingold)

TICKETS & INFORMATION

Acis and Galatea runs April 27, 28, 29 (m). Un ballo in maschera runs June 29, 30, July 6, 7. Das Rheingold runs August 17, 18, 24, 25. All performances begin 8pm, except for a matinee, marked (m), at 3pm. Tickets may be purchased by calling 314.361.2881 or visiting http://www.unionavenuopera.org/

Anna Netrebko Stars in the Met's Saturday Matinee Broadcast and HD Transmission of Massenet's "Manon"

Photo by Mary Altaffer/Associated Press
St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Massenet’s Manon on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 11 a.m. Note one hour earlier than usual start time. Approximate running time 3 hours, 40 minutes, with intermissions at approximately 12:10 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

The Met says:

Anna Netrebko’s dazzling portrayal of the tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly’s new production travels to the Met from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with the Met’s Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium.

In a March 27, 2012, review in the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini writes:

Massenet’s Manon clings to a place in the standard repertory, though just barely. It is a popular but problematic work. The title role of an alluring French girl from a small town with a fatal attraction to riches and pleasures has long been an irresistible vehicle for a star soprano.

The great and glamorous Anna Netrebko makes Manon her own in the inconsistently effective new production that opened at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday night, directed by Laurent Pelly and conducted by Fabio Luisi. Ms. Netrebko, who opened the Met’s season starring in a new production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, may not have the light lyric coloratura voice of some classic Manons, and her singing was not flawless. But with her rich, gleaming sound and vocal charisma, she was a Manon of rare intensity and emotional depth.

The High Definition transmission of Manon will be presented at AMC Esquire 7, 6706 Clayton Road; St. Louis Mills 18; 5555 Saint Louis Mills Boulevard; AMC Chesterfield 14, 3000 Chesterfield Mall; O'Fallon 14, 900 Caledonia Drive; and The Hett, McKendree College, 701 College Road, Lebanon, IL. Click here to buy tickets.