Category Archives: History

METROPOLITAN OPERA OFFERS EXQUISITE ROMEO ET JULIETTE

Charles Gounod (1818 –1893) was interested in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet completed by Paul Jules Barbier (8 March 1825 – 16 January 1901) and Michel Carré (20 October 1821– 27 June 1872). The atmosphere of Provence where he began to compose fed his inspiration as he worked quickly and surely. He seemed […]

March 24, 2024 – 8:58 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Theater | Comments Off on METROPOLITAN OPERA OFFERS EXQUISITE ROMEO ET JULIETTE

Michelle Bradley is Lyric Opera’s AIDA, Chicago’s Favorite Opera

Not long after Aida premiered in Cairo on Christmas Eve of 1871, Verdi’s opera was playing in Chicago, first in April 0f 1885 and then in December 0f 1886. The first Chicago Grand Opera Festival under the sponsorship of the Chicago Opera Festival Organization, J.H. Mapleson manager, was billed as “Music for the People! The […]

March 14, 2024 – 9:47 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Dance, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Quotations, radio, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Michelle Bradley is Lyric Opera’s AIDA, Chicago’s Favorite Opera

VERDI’S THE FORCE OF DESTINY AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA

The Force of Destiny was a Verdi opera unknown to me. I began my usual pre-performance routine. I read about Verdi’s life as he began writing the Force of Destiny . I read the play upon which the libretto is based. I then read the libretto and listened to a few audio recordings. I would […]

March 11, 2024 – 9:40 am | By Jake P | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, from Paul, Guest Opinion, History, Magazines, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on VERDI’S THE FORCE OF DESTINY AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY: A HYMN TO THE HUMAN SOUL

Conor McPherson, the world’s greatest English-language playwright asked Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan  if he would be interested in using his songs in a theater piece. The result is the magnificent folk-opera Girl from the North Country, which we saw in October 0f 2018 at New York’s Public Theatre. Since then, director McPherson has been […]

February 14, 2024 – 1:30 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, from Paul, History, Music, Poetry, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater | Comments Off on GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY: A HYMN TO THE HUMAN SOUL

LYRIC OPERA’S CINDERELLA: A RED-BLOODED BEL CANTO VALENTINE

Gioachino Rossini (1792-18868) was but 24 years old when he wrote his world-famous opera The Barber of Seville. The following year he wrote Cinderella (Cenerentola), which was more popular than his Barber for many years. After composing forty operas, he retired at age 46, never to write another opera. The Cinderella (Cerenterola) (1817) by Rossini […]

February 2, 2024 – 1:27 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater | Comments Off on LYRIC OPERA’S CINDERELLA: A RED-BLOODED BEL CANTO VALENTINE