I’ve always been fascinated with Greek mythology, and Richard Wagner felt the same way. Taking his cue from the ancient Greeks, Wagner wanted to transform the theater in Germany into what it had been in Classical Greece: a powerful, influential institution that was a part of people’s everyday lives. It Read more…
Opera Sense recommended recordings of The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro): Here are five facts to know about The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), one of the greatest operas ever written. 230 years after its premiere, we are still talking about it, performing it, and relishing Read more…
For me, opera begins with Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) – the first of three Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Lorenzo Da Ponte collaborations (the other two were Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte). Of course there were many operatic masterpieces before this 1786 work, even a couple by Mozart himself (Idomeneo and Die Entführung aus dem Serail, for instance), but there’s something special about Le Nozze, a work that has never been out of the standard repertory. Premiering three years before the French Revolution, Le Nozze is a product of the Enlightenment, a time when reason ruled and liberty, fraternity, and equality were ideals worth fighting for.
Opera Sense recommended recordings of Le Nozze di Figaro:
Maestro Michael Christie has been Music Director of the Minnesota Opera since the 2012 / 2013 season, and since that time he has helped shape the Minnesota Opera into the powerhouse it has become.
Maestro Michael Christie conducting
For the first time in its history, Minnesota Opera is putting on one of the four works from Richard Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung, or the Ring Cycle). Minnesota Opera patrons will have the privilege to hear Maestro Michael Christie conduct Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), the prologue in the four-opera Cycle (the other three operas in the Cycle include Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung), early next month.
Here is a link to the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s podcast on Wagner’s Das Rheingold. The talk is given by Peter Allen, and it is fantastic. This is a great way to begin learning about the Ring for opera novices, but opera buffs are likely to learn a thing or two Read more…
One of the things I’ve always found fascinating about opera is the fact that it can be so many different things to different people; for one person, an opera may simply be an opportunity to listen to some gorgeous music. For someone else, the story itself may be the most intriguing element. Yet others may find enjoyment only upon researching and “doing their homework” on the work, digging into the opera’s musical and dramatic themes. I personally derive the greatest pleasure from an opera when I know the work well, and we at Opera Sense are committed to helping people learn as much as they can about this life-changing genre. To that end, here are a few free online resources you can use to get to know our Opera of the Month – Das Rheingold – better…
Since we’re looking at a Wagner opera – Das Rheingold – this month as our Opera of the Month, we need to discuss leitmotivs. By the end of this post, you should have a solid understanding of what a leitmotiv is, who used them, and why they’re useful. Opera Sense Read more…
I first met Laura Wilde during our sophomore year at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. At St. Olaf, it soon became obvious to everyone who listened to her that she was going to make something of herself in the notoriously competitive world of opera. Unsurprisingly, she’s done just that! Playing Freia in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s latest production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Wilde was gracious enough to answer a few questions about herself and the production for Opera Sense.
The libretto to Das Rheingold was the last one Richard Wagner wrote for Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), but it was the first opera of the cycle that he composed music for. This opera serves as the prologue in his epic Ring tetralogy, with the next three operas being Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. Rheingold premiered in Munich in 1869, but it was not until 1876 that it was performed as part of the first complete cycle at the legendary Bayreuth Festspielhaus theater (a theater designed by Wagner and built specifically for the Ring) in Bayreuth, Germany. The annual Bayreuth festival continues to this day.
