Category Archives: Opera

ON STAGE FAVORITES: 2010-2020

The fast-fading decade offered many memorable stage experiences. Here are my favorites: NEW PLAYS: GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY – The New York Public Theater KING CHARLES III – Chicago Shakespeare BURNING BLUEBEARD – The Rufffians ASSASSINATION THEATER –  Museum of Broadcast Communication GRAND CONCOURSE – Steppenwolf Theatre THE HUMANS – The American TheaterCompany SMOKEFALL […]

December 31, 2019 – 10:41 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Current Events, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Theater | Comments Off on ON STAGE FAVORITES: 2010-2020

THE MET’S AKHNATEN: A HYMN TO THE TRUE LIGHT

When Philip Glass’ Akhnaten first appeared in 1984, the New York Daily News was moved to label Mr. Glass “the Ronald Reagan of composers. This time around,  no one is thinking of Ronald Reagan after experiencing the Glass/Kamensek/McDermott/Pollard/Pay  production at the Metropolitan Opera. Instead, the words ”breathtaking”, “hypnotic”, “gorgeous”, “luscious”, “overwhelming”, and “beautiful,” are most […]

November 24, 2019 – 6:00 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, Books, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Poetry, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments Off on THE MET’S AKHNATEN: A HYMN TO THE TRUE LIGHT

LYRIC OPERA CHICAGO : THE OLD BARBER HAS STILL GOT IT

The history of what is popularly called Italian opera began in the United States with a performance of Rossini’s lyrical comedy “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, The Barber of Seville. The place was the Park Theatre, then situated in Chambers Street, east of Broadway, and the date November 29, 1825.[i] It was Manuel Garcia’s troupe that […]

October 28, 2019 – 1:45 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Dance, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on LYRIC OPERA CHICAGO : THE OLD BARBER HAS STILL GOT IT

THE MET’S MANON: THE “ETERNAL WOMAN” RETURNS

Jules Massenet (1842-1912) premiered  his new opera,  Manon,  on 19 January 1884 at Paris’ Opera Comique, the home to the city’s middle-class audience, an audience accustomed to the spoken dialogue featured in Massenet’s work. It was a hit. “Those who do not object on principle to being entertained in the opera house, rather than hectored, […]

October 28, 2019 – 11:20 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, Books, Dance, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on THE MET’S MANON: THE “ETERNAL WOMAN” RETURNS

THE METS TURANDOT: THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE

The first time Turandot played at the Metropolitan Opera was on November 16, 1926.  J.W. Henderson of the New York Sun observed that “this is an opera in which the eye and the ear must be equally absorbed.” The great Viennese architect and designer Joseph Urban had provided the scenery. He was a pioneer of […]

October 12, 2019 – 7:35 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, from Paul, History, Music, Opera | Comments Off on THE METS TURANDOT: THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE