Five Things About Cincinnati Opera

Composer Greg Spears

I had a chance to experience new and gorgeous music last month in Cincinnati with two productions of Cincinnati Opera.

1. The soloists, orchestra, and sets of Die Fledermaus were stunning. Kudos to original tempos and phrasing from conductor David Abell. My only reservation was the weak translation to English - I would have preferred the original German.
2. Greg Spears' Fellow Travelers received an excellent world premiere from the company. It should have a long life, and certainly captures drama, passion, and quality.
3. Most striking was the set for Fellow Travelers, minimal (like the music) but highly original - it was moved and manipulated by the singers! Bravo to Stage Director Kevin Newbury and Scenic Designer Victoria (Vita) Tzykun.

Aronoff Center for the Arts • Jarson-Kaplan Theater

4. Aaron Blake and Joseph Lattanzi were delightful leads, very believable, likable, and musical! Big props to the versatile Vernon Hartman playing numerous roles and quick costume changes.
5. Fellow Travelers is a love story at its core. There is betrayal, paranoia, and discrimination. The opera stays loyal to the book, and certainly adds dimensions to the story and history.

More productions this summer include Puccini's Tosca. Don't miss any chance to see these incredible musicians.


More on new opera and Greg Spears will appear on What's New from WBAA Classical.

One for the ages

Heggie and Clare

I heard Great Scott Sunday afternoon at Dallas Opera. Throughout the opera, I kept thinking, this is an aria that I'm going to hear in recital, that singers are going to take up (much like one hears Nessun Dorma or O Mio Babbino Caro from Turnadot or Gianni Schicchi) - but it wasn't just one tune, it was almost all of them! That's not a big surprise from a composer like Jake Heggie.
Great Scott is personal, and affable. The comedy has drama, and flair. Not only does this come from the original libretto by Terrance McNally, but from the music, and the stellar cast. It is also funny and witty. Stereotypes abound throughout the two acts, from the two male leads as bari-hunk and narcissistic tenor, to an overeager, young understudy who "would kill" to make it. There's also love: a star and her mentor, a conductor and stage manager, an old flame and the one that got away, as well as the heartstring pulling demonstration for the love of music/opera.
Joyce DiDonato goes beyond the role of Arden Scott. She is Great Scott. Here's a star that returned to her home town Symphony garnering national attention, and then a few years later sang at Game Seven of the World Series with her hometown team...and the singing? The role requires the juxtaposition of modern and Bel Canto opera singing - just two of her signature traits - seamlessly throughout the opera.
I mentioned Puccini as examples earlier, but the only real comparison I can make of Great Scott is with Richard Strauss. The opera within an opera, Rosa Dolorosa, Figlia di Pompeia isn't the first fictional work complete with a Composer role, that would be Ariadne auf Naxos. Here though, Heggie and McNally make use of a rehearsal, and then a performance of Rosa in the second act, to great use in both the story line and for DiDonato's impeccable singing. A final quartet also mirrors (in the best sense) the famous Trio in Der Rosenkavalier.
There is so much to love about Great Scott, and this performance was outstanding. It could be called a "perfect storm" of talent and accomplishment of the part of all. Go see it in Dallas now, or put it on your calendar for May in San Diego!
Hear an interview with John and Jake here: http://www.kmfa.org/pages/807-texas-grand-opera-composer-jake-heggie

Branagh Brings Magic To Mozart Opera

Out June 11th on DVD

Not since Amadeus has anything so wonderful hit the silver screen for classical music as The Magic Flute. Kenneth Branagh brings this masterpiece to World War I in such a fashion that you are immediately drawn into the story. It simply has everything, from Mozart's brilliant score to stunning costumes, effects, and singing.
The Peter Moores Foundation has a long history of opera in English, and with Stephen Fry's beautiful translation this production is smart, witty, and touching. Sung by a delightful cast, with the musical direction of James Conlon and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, this is truly opera for all - as Mozart intended (technically a Singspiel for all)!

A scene from The Magic Flute

Nods to Harry Potter (pictures come to life), Fred Astaire (gorgeous choreography in black and white), and the Muppets (a rooster who joins in the Pa, Pa, Pa aria) join in the film, which loses the Freemasonry and racist parts of the original. It is sexy, passionate, and glorious (just like the opera).
It's about time this 2006 movie comes to United States theaters, followed by dvd release (and soon on blu-ray)! I believe it should do well at the Academy Awards.
Enjoy this The Magic Flute.


John Clare is a broadcaster, violinist, and new music enthusiast who works at Texas Public Radio, plays in the Mozart Festival Texas, and is a media advisor to NewMusicUSA.

Political commission!

I'd love to see a canidate have a new opera that is broadcast by the Met and concerts with an orchestra, stop paying for bad ads on tv and really do something for the economy and the arts.  Stop talking and put your money where it can be seen and heard by all, in a profound way.
Not in for a commission? How about having Nixon in China produced? A concert with Sousa and real American composers produced.
Come on Tea Party, Democrats and Republicans - do the right thing!

I wonder

What sort of minimalist version could happen since this announcement with "It's a small world after all"?

Hmmm. And this cartoon appeared this morning too! Coincidence?

Opera news

One of the nation's best-known opera singers is seriously ill with cancer: Beverly Sills is at a New York City hospital, with her daughter at her side.
In an e-mail this week to members of its board, the Metropolitan Opera said Sills is ''gravely ill.''
Sills was chairwoman of the Met until she resigned two years ago, citing health and family reasons. Her sparkling voice and her charming personality won over fans worldwide, and she became a powerhouse in the New York arts world.

My operatic life

Well, my "mute operatic life" would be more accurate, although my stage directions and "lines" are many in the second intermezzo. (I'm having fun with this gangster aspect! mumble mumble)

Join me at Gretna Music tomorrow night in Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona. It's gonna be fun.

Read about it here and here. The original posting about my role was here.

[pictured is Karin the pianist from last night's rehearsal]