How strange it feels to repeatedly read an interpretation of an aria, yet always disagree with it! I’ve read three different books now that discuss Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, and in particular the famous aria “Che faró senza Euridice?” that Orpheus sings after losing Read the rest of this entry »

“Why did Liu kill herself?” “Why is the crowd happy that Calaf gets to marry Turandot in the end? – He was ready to let them be killed!” “All those men who fell in love with Turandot needed to learn more about ladies – looks aren’t everything!” Read the rest of this entry »

My memory of the first time I ever saw a live opera is vague in terms of details, but as an experience I remember it very well. It was in 1998, I had just turned eleven, the company was the Los Angeles Opera, and the performance was The Magic Flute. I had first become familiar with Flute several years earlier, through an abridged English version Read the rest of this entry »

This is my first post that isn’t a review. In addition to discussing recordings, I like to write down my various thoughts about opera in general, as well as the books and articles I read on the subject.

Recently I reread Peter Fox Smith’s excellent book “A Passion For Opera.” With its detailed chapters discussing both libretti and music of every standard repertoire opera, as well as Smith’s experiences with each opera both as a music lover and as a professor, that book is a good source of information and understanding for any newcomer to opera. But one aspect of it baffles me slightly. In the chapter on Madama Butterfly the main emotion Read the rest of this entry »