Word: ethane
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...ETHAN EROME...
Edith Wharton's well known novella, Ethan Frome--a tale of love, forbidden passion and its tragic consequences--lends itself particularly well to a genre whose main intention is to represent and express human feelings on a grander scale. And that genre is none other than opera. Opera vows to unite music and poetry so as to engage the audience in feeling as much empathy, compassion and even terror as possible...
Opera, whose birth coincided with the advent of enlightened ideas in the late 17th and 18th centuries, is a relatively young genre. Opera is as "modern," as epic is "ancient." So it comes as no surprise that the decision to transform Ethan Frome from literary text into opera would be made by an innovating Harvard alumni. Written by Douglas Allanbrook '48, the libretto is also the work of fellow Harvard graduate (John Hunt '48) while the production itself is headed musically by Douglas Allenbrook's son, John Allanbrook...
...Poulis '02, in the lead role of Ethan, offers a star turn as the stodgy, emotionally numb farmer, trying to break free from his oppressive marriage to Zeena. Poulis' deep, rich voice, along with his uncanny portrayal of Ethan's isolation and frustration, is by far the best performance in the opera...
Emily Browder, a faculty member at the New School of Music in Cambridge, convincingly plays the charming Mattie Silver, Ethan's love. Her soprano voice conveys the lightness and beauty of her character, literally breathing fresh air into the opera. Emily perfectly captures the spirit of the naive Mattie who--all alone in the world and pursued by men--still managers to keep her innocence. The petite, red-haired Browder shines in the role, a natural foil to Anita Constanzo's embittered Zeena. Although at first Constanzo's performance seems too rough in her expression of anger, the audience soon...