November 17, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on November 17, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Ah, the Bohemian life, hanging out in a garret overlooking the skyline of Paris; starved for food but rich in love…Bet you're thinking Puccini’s La Boheme but no -- today's opera broadcast on SAATO is another late 19th century portrait of the artists’ life – Louise – by Gustave Charpentier.
Host Bill Richardson (along with Opera Quiz Master Stuart Hamilton) introduces a production of Charpentier's four-act hit, presented by the Opéra National de Paris.
Now here's the backstory. Louise calls The City of Light her home, and we will not resent her for that. Tensions arise between Louise's responsibility to her traditional working class parents, and her opportunity to break free with the bohemian artist, Julien.
And here are the cast details: Lading French soprano Mireille Delunsch in the title-role, American tenor Paul Groves as her lover, Julien Jane Henschel as Maman and the great Belgian bass-baritone Jose van Dam as Louise's father. The conductor is Sylvain Cambreling.
November 09, 2007
Posted by Li Robbins on November 9, 2007 at 12:00 AM
This week on Saturday Afernoon At The Opera, the opera that put Dmitri Shostakovich's life and career in peril!
Katerina Ismailova tells the story of a lonely woman in 19th century Russia who falls in love with one of her husband's workers and is driven to murder. Love has a way of doing that. In opera and on Coronation Street, anyway.
But I digress. First produced in 1934, the opera had a very successul run under the title Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District. ("District" was not in the title when I saw the COC's performance last year, guess that was dropped at some point.) Anyway, when Joseph Stalin attended a performance in 1936, he walked out of the production half way through, and the opera was publicly condemned -- banned in the Soviet Union for almost thirty years. Ten years after Stalin's death, Shostakovich mounted a revised version, under the title Katerina Ismailova.
Through the courtesy of the European Broadcasting Union, today's production comes to us from the Theatre du Chatelet, in Paris.
The Cast includes:
Soprano Solveig Kringelborn, as Katerina Ismailova.
Tenor Alexander Akimov, as Zinovy, Katerina's husband.
Baritone Alexei Tanovitsky, as Boris, her domineering father in law.
Tenor Vladimir Grishko, as her lover, Sergei.
Soprano Larissa Dudinova, as Aksin'ya, a servant.
And the Conductor is Tugan Sokhiev.
November 03, 2007
Posted by on November 3, 2007 at 12:00 AM
The Girl Of The Golden West didn't become a smash hit, as it were, in the way another David Belasco work-turned-Puccini opera did (Madama Butterfly), but is still very well known and influential. (In fact some think that Andrew Lloyd Webber was very influenced by it in Phantom Of The Opera, for example, but that's a story for another day.)
This Saturday on SAATO, from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Edo de Waart leads a performance of Giacomo Puccini's La Fanciulla del West (which premiered in 1910 in a production at New York's Metropolitan Opera, directed by Arturo Toscanini and starring Enrico Caruso as the bandit in disguise, Dick Johnson).
So here's the story, and it's a good one. Set in the days of the California gold rush, Sheriff Jack Rance is in hot pursuit of the bandit Ramerrez - as is the saloon keeper Minnie who has fallen for Dick Johnson. Will Dick's love of gold outweigh his own love for the poker-playing Minnie? Only Puccini knows, (knew). and those of you who've heard the opera many times.
The cast for this production includes:
Eva-Maria Westbroek, soprano..... Minnie, the saloon keeper; Stephen Kechulius, baritone......Sheriff Jack Rance; High Smith, tenor.....Dick Johnson / Ramerrez; Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Netherlands Radio Choir
And a SAATO Bonus! Part two of the show (beginning at 5:00 PM, 6:00 AT 6:30 NT) is a broadcast of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's farewell tour performance from the Chan Centre at UBC,for the Vancouver Recital Society.
(Note: The Kiri Te concert was scheduled for the last couple of weeks on Sunday Afternoon In Concert, but due to matters I know of not, it had to be postponed until this slot on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Apologies for that, but do enjoy!)
October 27, 2007
Posted by on October 27, 2007 at 12:00 AM
The story: A quest involving the Holy Grail, the knights who protect it and draw their power from it, a battle of good vs. evil, dark vs. light, passion vs. abstinence, (you know, the easy stuff in life) as the knight Parsifal attempt to outwit the evil magician Klingsor.
Wagner's final opera, Parsifal, conducted by Adam Fischer at the 2007 Bayreuth Festival (cast: Jukka Rasilainen, Amfortas; Artur Korn, Titurel; Robert Holl, Gurnemanz; Alfons Eberz, Parsifal; Karsten Mewes, Klingsor; Evelyn Herlitzius, Kundry) is broadcast this week on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera.
And though given the the quest, the good vs. evil etc., you might not feel the need for more, there is! In the form of the opera quiz with Stuart Hamilton and a report on the Rubies - the 2007 Opera Canada Awards.
October 20, 2007
Posted by on October 20, 2007 at 07:56 AM
Newsflash! Walther wins the day with his amazing prize song. Eva elated - Beckmesser dejected.
Yes, that's Wagner's four-and-a-half hour comic opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in a nutshell, a teeny weeny nutshell.
The production this week on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera is from this year's Bayreuth Festival, and the details are as follows:
Conductor: Sebastian Weigle
Cast: Franz Hawlata, Hans Sachs; Klaus Florian Vogt, Walther von Stolzing; Artur Korn, Pogner; Amanda Mace, Eva; Carola Gruber, Magdalene; Michael Volle, Beckmesser
This was also the highly controversial debut of young Katharina Wagner (the great-grandaughter of that Wagner) as stage director at the festival. According to many reports, including this one from the BBC there were at least as many jeers as cheers -- much of the former hinging more on her staging than the singing -- since her interpretation of the work included, among other things, (gasp), nudity.
October 13, 2007
Posted by on October 13, 2007 at 12:45 PM
In case you missed this post much earlier in the day...here is the scoop on today's opera, Benvenuto Cellini.
The failure of this opera, way back in 1838 in Paris, must have been disheartening to Berlioz -- I don't believe it was ever produced in there again. Why did it fail? Too radical for opera fans of the day. Accounts say he was "hissed off the stage." Hissed! How crushing.
And at a later, London performance one critic said "it was not only that the music vexed and bewildered the audience, was found to be obscure and uncouth beyond measure....but that the subject proved to be hopelessly undramatic..." That's as may be, but funnily enough the opera is still performed, lo these centuries later.
Today's production of the opera is from the Salzburg Festival, Valery Gergiev conducting a cast that includes Neil Shicoff, Vesselina Kasarova, Mikhail Petrenko and Laurent Naouri.
And you can hear it on Satuday, logically enough on SATO. The SATO team is also happy to provide a PDF file of the programme of this production of Benvenuto Cellini with photos, articles, biographies etc.
Posted by on October 13, 2007 at 12:00 AM
The failure of Benvenuto Cellini in Paris, way back in 1838, must have been disheartening to Berlioz -- I don't believe it was ever produced in Paris again. Why did it fail? Too radical for opera fans of the day. Accounts say he was "hissed off the stage." Hissed, how crushing.
And at a later, London performance one critic said "it was not only that the music vexed and bewildered the audience, was found to be obscure and uncouth beyond measure....but that the subject proved to be hopelessly undramatic..." That's as may be, but funnily enough the opera is still performed, lo these centuries later.
Today's production of the opera is from the Salzburg Festival, Valery Gergiev conducting a cast that includes Neil Shicoff, Vesselina Kasarova, Mikhail Petrenko and Laurent Naouri.
And you can hear it on Satuday, logically enough on SATO. The SATO team is also happy to provide a PDF file of the programme of this production of Benvenuto Cellini with photos, articles, biographies etc.
October 06, 2007
Posted by on October 6, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Saturday Afternoon At The Opera, hosted by Bill Richardson, is responding to listener requests for the publication of librettos (when possible!!). For instance, this Saturday's opera, Weber's Der Freischutz, does have a libretto available on the R2 website. You will find it at the SATO website and by clicking on the schedule for October.
(For your convenience here is a direct link: Freischutz libretto.)
And a few more details about today's broadcast of Der Freischutz...it's a production from this year’s Salzburg Festival, and Markus Stenz conducts a cast that includes Petra Maria Schnitzer, Aleksandra Kurzak, Peter Seiffet and John Relyea.
And finally, although Bill has been guest hosting the show for a while -- now it's official. So happy official first day, Bill!
September 29, 2007
Posted by on September 29, 2007 at 01:05 PM
Bill Richardson presents another production from the Salzburg Festival this week on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera. Peter Mattei sings the title role in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and the cast also includes Anna Samuil and Joseph Kaiser -- Daniel Barenboim conducting.
btw, if you are a opera fan, but haven't explored the world of opera blogs, I wanted to point you to Opera Chic, much up-to-date coverage of opera doings in New York and Europe, delivered in a (sometimes quite irreverent) very entertaining style. Think of it as "cheeky chic."
September 21, 2007
Posted by on September 21, 2007 at 11:58 PM
Canada’s Michael Schade co-stars with Annette Dasch in Haydn’s Armida this week, as Saturday Afternoon At The Opera comes to you from the Salzburg Festival. (The cast also includes Patricia Petibon, Vito Priante, Richard Croft, and Ivor Bolton conducts.)
And in case you want the skinny on Armida, here's the lowdown on its origins, from Opera Quarterly:
"Haydn's Armida (1784), the last of his stage works written for Prince Esterházy's household, was a success. Performed a total of fifty-four times at the Eszterháza Court Theater between 1784 and 1788, it was also heard during the composer's lifetime in Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, and Turin. Then, after a long period of neglect, the opera received its first modern performances in 1968 (at first in concert form, in Cologne; then staged, in Berne)."
Also, in case you haven't heard, SATO grows by half an hour starting October 6th, starting at 13:00, as we say in radio land. (1pm to you civilians.) So it will be a glorious five hours long. Whoo hoo!
September 15, 2007
Posted by on September 15, 2007 at 01:25 PM
Just a quick reminder that Italian bass-baritone Ferruccio Furlanetto sings the title role in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov from the Vienna State Opera this week on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera.
Daniel Gatti conducts a cast that also includes Robert Hall, Clifton Forbis, Olga Borodina and Falk Struckmann. Enjoy!
September 14, 2007
Posted by on September 14, 2007 at 11:55 PM
No weekend is truly complete without a little opera. Or a lot of opera. You have this option on Saturday afternoon, as Ferruccio Furlanetto sings the title role in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov from the Vienna State Opera on SATO.
Daniel Gatti conducts a cast that also includes Robert Hall, Clifton Forbis, Olga Borodina and Falk Struckmann.
Hard to believe, but in the late 1860s (Mussorgsky wrote Boris Godunov in 1868/9) the opera was rejected by the Maryinsky Opera, so he set about revising it. Among other things he added a "love interest."
Funny how some things never change.
September 08, 2007
Posted by on September 8, 2007 at 01:00 PM
Saturday Afternoon At The Opera presents Fabio Luisi conducting, from the Vienna State Opera. It’s Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers, or Les Vêpres Siciliennes, as they like to say in Paris (where, in fact, it was composed). This production stars Leo Nucci, Francisco Casanova, Robert Scandiuzzi and Sondra Radvanovsky.
September 01, 2007
Posted by on September 1, 2007 at 01:00 PM
Are you sitting down? OK, take a deep breath, don't panic. Here's the news: There isn’t actually an opera this week on Saturday Afternoon At The Opera.
But the good news is you’ll hear arias from many different operas, sung by ten outstanding singers, assembled for the Luna Opera Gala at Toronto’s Luminato Festival. The vocalists are Peter Barrett, Marianne Fiset, Russell Braun, Robert Gleadow, Joni Henson, Joseph Kaiser, Richard Margison, Robert Pomakov, Adrianne Pieczonka, and Sondra Radvanovsky, with Giordano Bellincampi conducting the orchestra. Not too shabby, eh?
August 25, 2007
Posted by on August 25, 2007 at 01:00 PM
The Canadian Opera Company presents Gounod’s Faust this week on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. David Pomeroy sings the title role, in a cast that includes Egils Silins, Brett Polegato, Lauren Segal and Ana Ibarra. Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts.
It's impossible to mention the COC right now without thinking about the late Richard Bradshaw, who passed away last week. Many people paid their final respects at the Saint James Cathedral in Toronto on Tuesday, and if you were not able to yourself, you may wish to read this account of the day.
August 18, 2007
Posted by on August 18, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Saturday Afternoon At The Opera will broadcast a special live tribute to Richard Bradshaw in the last hour of the programme today.
And I'd also like to point out Robert Everett-Green's tribute to Mr. Bradshaw, in today's Globe and Mail.
The opera itself comes to you from Vienna this week, with the Vienna State Opera's production of Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment. Natalie Dessay and Montserrat Caballé head the cast, which also includes Juan Diego Flórez and Carlos Alvarez, and Yves Abel conducts.
August 17, 2007
Posted by on August 17, 2007 at 11:12 AM
I've just learned that Saturday Afternoon At The Opera will be doing a live tribute to Richard Bradshaw tomorrow, in the final hour of the programme. I don't have any details yet, but I will post any more information as it becomes available.
August 11, 2007
Posted by on August 11, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Aida, La Scala, kind of says it all, don't you think? Today SATO broadcasts Verdi's classic Aida, performed at what is arguably the world's best-known opera house, La Scala in Milan, under the direction of Riccardo Chailly.
And in case you're thinking, Aida, sure, I've heard it, isn't that the one about troubles in love, no wait a minute, aren't they ALL about troubles in love here's Aida, the ten second version:
It all begins in Memphis. No, not that Memphis. Think, Egypt, a long time ago.
Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and made a slave in the other Memphis. A military commander, Radames, struggles between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. (Isn't it always the way?) Somewhat problematically, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, but he's just not that into her, as they might say today.
File Under: No one ever said life would be simple.
August 04, 2007
Posted by on August 4, 2007 at 01:15 PM
Les Troyens is considered by many to be Berlioz’s largest and most ambitious work, something of a summation of his entire artistic career.
Today on SATO, as we affectionately call the show in acronym land, The Paris National Opera presents Les Troyens, with Sylvain Cambreling conducting a cast including Deborah Polaski, Gaële Le Roi, Anne Salvan, Jon Villars, Franck Ferrari and Nicolas Testé.
July 28, 2007
Posted by on July 28, 2007 at 12:00 PM
There are few things one can say that sound as delightful as Cosi Fan Tutte, don't you think? Just trips off the tongue in such a way that one feels it is possible to speak Italian, even if one does not. (Now I'm imagining people all across the country, topping up their Saturday coffees and murmuring Cosi Fan Tutte to their loved ones. Although best be careful who you whisper it to, given the usual English translation of the phrase is: "Women are like that.")
In a segue that will startle no one still reading, yes, today Saturday Afternoon At The Opera presents a production of (drum roll) Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, from the Chicago Lyric Opera, starring Erin Wall, Eric Cutler, Lauren McNeese, Nathan Gunn, Nuccia Focile and Sir Thomas Allen, with Sir Andrew Davis at the podium.
July 18, 2007
Posted by on July 18, 2007 at 07:47 AM
Just heard one of the Radio 2 promos saying that Isabel Bayrakdarian will be hosting Saturday Afternoon At The Opera this weekend. Very cool.
And of course our own Bill Richardson will become the regular host in the autumn. (As well as hosting the new Sunday show...in case you missed this news when it broke, here's the cbc.ca piece about Bill's busy weekends come autumn.)
June 30, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on June 30, 2007 at 11:33 AM
Martin Frobisher was certainly an adventurer - a privateer who eventually ingratiated himself to the Queen by sharing the spoils of his piracy. He wasn't a very nice person either - clearly driven by the promise of riches to be found through a Northwest Passage to Asia, he did a fair bit of plundering and kidnapping on the way (Inuit and Inuk people he captured to display in England died of disease soon after arrival in not-so-jolly-Old).
Nevertheless, his tale is bound up with the history of Canada and it is immortalized in John Estacio's opera "Frobisher". On today's edition of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with guest host Bill Richardson, you'll hear the Calgary Opera performance of the work starring Laura Whalen, John Fanning, Kimberley Barber, Elizabeth Turnbull, Marc Hervieux and David Bedard. Jean-Marie Zeitouni conducts.
June 23, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on June 23, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Today on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with guest host Bill Richardson, Opera de Montreal presents "Lakme" by Delibes, starring Aline Kutan in the title role, with Frédéric Antoun and James Westman. Jean-François Rivest conducts.
I see that music from "Lakme" is in a new commercial (can't remember what for). It seems to get used in something new just about every 6 months. My favourite use remains Patricia Rozema's "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing".
June 16, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on June 16, 2007 at 12:38 PM
Well, maybe not quite but elements of that story are part of Richard Strauss's opera "Daphne", completed in 1938. What Daphne really loves is nature and - after jilting a rather important suitor - she gets to spend a lot of time in it by the end of the opera.
The Pacific Opera version stars Sookyung Park, Kurt Lehmann, Anthony Pulgram, Brian McIntosh and Rebecca Hass and Timothy Vernon conducts on this week's edition of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with guest host Bill Richardson.
June 09, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on June 9, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Today on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with guest-host Bill Richardson, the Canadian Opera Company presents a production of Gounod’s "Faust", starring David Pomeroy, Egils Silins, Brett Polegato, Lauren Segal and Ana Ibarra. Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts.
I believe this is the very first opera I ever bought on vinyl (except for maybe some Rossini Overtures) and I still have a soft spot for it. Hope you will too.
June 02, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on June 2, 2007 at 11:17 AM
It's Saturday afternoon and I'm doing laundry.
But speaking of damned spots, today on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, guest host Bill Richardson presents the Vancouver Opera production of Verdi’s "Macbeth", starring Greer Grimsley, Jane Eaglen, Burail Bilgili and John Bellemer. Jonathan Darlington conducts.
That's it for this post. A tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
May 26, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on May 26, 2007 at 11:21 AM
At age 5, my parents found me walking out of our motel room in Elliot Lake toward the highway. That's the only time I know of that I've ever sleepwalked. Any good stories out there? Hit the COMMENT link below.
Today on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with host Peter Phoi, it's the Vienna State Opera with Bellini's 6th opera, "La Sonnambula", starring Michele Pertusi, Anna Netrebko and Antonio Siragusa. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts.
"La Sonnambula" debuted March 6th, 1831 at the Teatro Carcano in Milan at a time when somnambulism was all the rage - not about doing it, I mean, but there were books and plays and other operas about it. If only Freud were around at the time he'd have had a field day.
May 19, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on May 19, 2007 at 11:27 AM
More from the Vienna State Opera this week on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera - a production of Massenet's version of "Manon", starring Anna Netrebko, Roberto Alagna, Ain Anger and Adrian Eröd. Bertrand de Billy conducts.
Peter Phoi is this week's special Guest Host.
May 12, 2007
Posted by on May 12, 2007 at 12:22 PM
Time to play...Spot The Amazing Coincidence!
The hints:
"Adrianne Pieczonka embodies Arabella in flesh and blood with her tireless vocal shimmer and perfect technique." (Opernglas, January 2007)
"Even a broken foot sustained a few days before the premiere couldn't hold Michael Schade's unyielding enthusiasm at bay, and the Canadian–German tenor poured his heart out as Matteo." (Opera News, March 2007)
Now YOU Spot The Amazing Coincidence!
a. Pieczonka also had a leg injury once...and yet still she sang!
b. Both are brilliant Canadian opera singers who sang in a production of Strauss' Arabella with the Vienna State Opera!
c. You can hear them performing Arabella today on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera!
d. All of the above!
Answer (would be written upside down if we had the technology): You guessed it, the answer is d!
Think that's more than enough silliness for one Saturday...hope you enjoy the broadcast.
May 05, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on May 5, 2007 at 11:21 AM
The Metropolitan Opera broadcast season wraps up this week on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with Howard Dyck, featuring a production of Gluck's classic Orfeo ed Euridice, starring Lisa Milne, Heidi Grant Murphy and David Daniels. James Levine conducts.
April 28, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on April 28, 2007 at 11:28 AM
Join Howard Dyck as he brings you the Metropolitan Opera .
James Levine conducts a new production of "Il Trittico" - three one-act operas by Puccini. "Il Tabarro" stars Maria Guleghina, Salvatore Licitra and Juan Pons. "Suor Angelica" stars Barbara Frittoli in the title role, with Heidi Grant Murphy and Stephanie Blythe. And "Gianni Schicchi" stars Alessandro Corbelli in the title role, with Olga Mykytenko and Massimo Giordano.
April 21, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on April 21, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Alexandria - 48 BC. Julius Caesar arrives in Egypt and encounters the ambitious Cleopatra and her brother, the Pharaoh Ptolemy (and I thought he was a Greek mathematician!). This is the subject of Handel's 1724 opera, "Julius Caesar in Egypt", which was an immediate success when it was first performed in London.
It remains his most popular opera and it gets a revival at the Met in New York. You'll hear Harry Bicket conducting a cast that includes Ruth Ann Swenson, Alice Coote, Patricia Bardon, David Daniels and Lawrence Zazzo on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with Howard Dyck.
April 14, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on April 14, 2007 at 12:50 PM
The Metropolitan Opera presents Puccini's "Turandot" this week on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. The production stars Andrea Gruber in the title role, with Hei-Kyung Hong, Canada's Richard Margison and Oren Gradus. Richard Armstrong conducts.
This reminds me of a great film by Alan Miller that is available on DVD. "The Turandot Project" is a documentary about the staging of 9 performances of "Turandot" in the Forbidden City in Beijing with Zubin Mehta conducting and filmmaker Zhang Zimou directing the production. Fascinating.
April 07, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on April 7, 2007 at 11:23 AM
Here's what's coming up to take you through from lunch until dinner time on Sound Advice with Rick Phillips, Saturday Afternoon at the Opera with Howard Dyck and Tonic with Tim Tamashiro...
Continue reading "Noon 'til Dusk" »
March 31, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on March 31, 2007 at 12:30 PM
It was the last vestige of advertising on CBC Radio but I clearly remember being at home or in the car or on the weekends when I was a little kid and my parents would have CBC Radio on, featuring "Texaco Star Theatre's Saturday at the Met" from New York.
The Texaco station near our house was the grungiest looking of the neighbourhood gas stations and I could never reconcile the virtuosic vocals of the opera with the greasy rags and wiper fluid of the gas bar. It was if the smell of gasoline somehow permeated the speakers.
Oil company and automotive sponsorships still drive a lot of opera production in North America (and elsewhere) but somehow the olfactory part of the equation has been cleaned up - at least in my mind.
No doubt, Howard Dyck has been an important part of that process. His commentary always seems to evoke such a wide range of synaesthetic experiences - none of them petroleum-based. Having said that, there is something "fishy" about this week's edition of Saturday Afternoon at the Opera.
It's the network premiere of a new production of the "Egyptian Helen" by Richard Strauss from the Metropolitan Opera. The characters include a talking seashell called The Omniscient Mussel. The cast includes Deborah Voigt, Diana Damrau, Jill Grove, Torsten Kerl, Garrett Sorenson and Wolfgang Brendel. Fabio Luisi conducts.
March 24, 2007
Posted by Jowi Taylor on March 24, 2007 at 11:35 AM
You know how people are on a plane when the movie comes on: half the people don't look up, the other half watch with the half-smiles of zombies. The choice of movies is usually designed to encourage this kind of somnambulism (though on my flight to Calgary, I did get to watch "Casino Royale" with the "perfectly sculpted ass" quote that made it into all the commercials excised).
But once on a long flight, after the feature, they played Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd's rendition of "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini. Every man, woman and child on that plane was riveted to the screen and laughing out loud. I've never seen anything like it before or since (though a commuter flight rubber-chicken safety demo did get a laugh on a short hop from Toronto to Ottawa).
Today on Saturday Afternoon at the Opera, Howard Dyck features a new production of "The Barber of Seville" from the Metropolitan Opera. Maurizio Benini conducts a cast that includes Joyce DiDonato. Juan Diego Flórez, Peter Mattei, John Del Carlo and Canada's John Relyea.
CBC
does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of
external sites - links will open in a new window.
