Word: operas
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When most Americans think of opera, they conjure up a stereotype drawn from the characterization of sitcoms and a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Elmer Fudd sings, “Kill the wabbit!” to the rune of Wagner. In this take on opera, large-breasted women dressed in Viking helmets sing for hours on end about being German, just like a good Romanticist should. The Early Music Society’s production of Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell presents an alternative vision: the opera is short, Baroque and in English. Moreover, stage director John Driscoll...
Dido and Aeneas tells the classic story of Dido, queen of Carthage, who loves and is loved by the hero Aeneas. Aeneas is bound for Italy to found Rome, but has stopped in Carthage and finds himself unable to leave Dido. However, an antagonistic sorceress (for reasons the opera never adequately explains), sends a spirit to urge Aeneas to hurry on his journey. Though at the last moment Aeneas decides to defy the gods and stay with Dido, she rejects him for having considered leaving her. She sends him away and prepares to die in despair...
While the sound produced occasionally verges on mushiness, it pushes the opera forward without overpowering the singing...
...Jenn gets animated. Her hands start waving, her voice raises an octave and expands in volume. Her opera singer attitude comes out as her chest starts to heave and she argues people into the ground with a rapier wit and undying rationality. Her work at 48 Hours and Salomon Smith Barney only hints at Jenn’s capacity for power. Once she puts on her Armani pants suit, Jenn is ready to hit the City and take over the town. Besides an obvious marriage to a rich and successful man, a big house in Greenwich and a bevy...
Growing up in Ridgewood, NJ, Kevin had many opportunities to watch theatrical events in nearby New York City. After seeing “Phantom of the Opera,” Kevin fell in love with theater and taught himself how to play piano so that he could play the score. He debuted as an actor in a seventh grade play and continued to perform through high school...