Metropolitan Opera

Arrigo Boito once told Giuseppe Verdi that “an opera is not a play” and that “eight bars are enough to restore a sentiment to life; a rhythm can re-establish a character; music is the most omnipotent of all arts.” It can be argued that Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello may be a greater work of art than Shakespeare’s play Othello. Otello is so much more than just a translation from Shakespeare’s play. Verdi took Shakespeare’s 3,500 line play and turned it into a masterpiece of operatic literature with…

Volpone is an English comedy written by Ben Johnson in the early seventeenth century. The story takes place in Venice, Italy and revolves around the farcical story of con artists Volpone and his assistant, Mosca. Volpone is a piece with neoclassical elements structured in five acts and takes place all in one day. In 1606, it was performed by the King’s Men in Roman comic form with English stock characters. Volpone would have been performed on a public playhouse with simple staging. The play…

Can’t Help Falling in Love The cover of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Pentatonix is full of rich harmonies and the words and melody of the song are incredible. Elvis Presley sang the original pop ballad. Elvis wrote the song for his grandmother’s birthday and he gave her a music box that played this song when it was opened. In his grandmother’s honor, as the song played in the music box Elvis serenaded her. The song was released to the public on October 1, 1961 and was on the soundtrack to…

The first movement of Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses After Ovid for solo oboe tells the story of Pan and the metamorphosis of the object of his affections, Syrinx. It is a character piece which Britten beautifully (opinion) portrays its imagery through the music on the page. Pan was the god of the wild and hunting. He is often shown in imagery as a half human, half goat hybrid, known as a satyr. This particular myth tells the story of Pan and his adoration of Syrinx, a very beautiful…

Carmen is a fictional character and the heroine of Bizet’s opera, who represents a lot of labels including seductive, sex addicted and obsessed with death as well as liberal (Frisch 172). The story represents a battle of the sexes. Carmen’s music is exotic and sexy, intensifying the Gamelan themes of sexual and…

Dann Coakwell, and soprano, Teri Johnson. Temple College’s voice instructor, Teri Johnson, soprano, performs all over the south and east. “Ms. Johnson is a versatile lyric coloratura soprano achieving critical acclaim from publications such as Opera News, the Washington Post, and the Tulsa World for her ‘powerful stage presence’ and ‘gorgeous voice’ in roles.” (program, pg.9.) “Dann Coakwell, tenor, has been praised as a ‘clear-voiced and eloquent . . . vivid storyteller’, with a ‘gorgeous…

Macbeth, a phenomenal play written by William Shakespeare heavily involves around the supernatural as well as the witches. With the presence of these indispensable factors, mystery is added to the play making it an absolute captivating read. The witches play an important role in the play Macbeth. They told equivocations in the means of creating destruction to mankind. As well as blinding the foolish eyes of those who are massively devoured by greed and ambition. Throughout the play, the witches’…

Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush” is famous for being written on New Year’s Eve, which marked the turn of the century. The very work darkling is an old word which has been used since the 15th century, while the Thrush is a type of songbird which is known for its beautiful voice. The title as a whole could be literally interpreted as a songbird whose song which is slowly fading over time but will not be forgotten. A deeper interpretation could be the fact that Hardy is perhaps looking back on…

Power is a force that should not be reckoned with and if it is used for evil instead of good, chaos will be unleashed. Shakespeare's play Macbeth, focuses on a tragic hero who desires to become the King of Scotland, and this overwhelming need for power ultimately consumes him. In Macbeth, the characters with power take actions that lead to corruption for themselves and for those around them. The witches in the play are powerful due to their ability to prophesize Macbeth's future and this is…

The Romantic Movement lasted from the second half of the eighteenth century to the first half of the nineteenth century. The Romantic Era has a great effect on people in all aspects, such as art, literature, and music. Romanticism began in Germany and France, and after that it spread through Europe, and finally America. However, romanticism is not about love and romance; it is about all the emotions and feelings a person feels throughout his or her whole life. People used it as a way of escapism…