This Moment in Opera

 

Was part of Don Giovanni autobiographical? Who else may have added to the libretto? How do you approach a piece that's been considered a masterpiece for over two centuries? Conductor Gary Wedow joins us to answer these questions and many more as he discusses our upcoming production of Don Giovanni.

 

How do you turn a short story from the Bible into an operatic masterpiece?  Few people know better than Charles Kondek, librettist of Hugo Weisgall's final opera, Esther.  In this second in a series on Esther, Dramaturg Cori Ellison sits down with Charles Kondek to learn how he brought Esther to life.

 

What is it about bad boys that we all find so appealing?  Director Christopher Alden and Dramaturg Cori Ellison explore this question and many more in our first in a series of podcasts discussing our brand new production of Don Giovanni, coming to New York City Opera this November.

 

For more information on Don Giovanni and to buy tickets, click here.

 

Samson and Delilah and Salomé are just two examples of how bible stories can be brought to life with all the drama of grand opera.  Hugo Weisgall continued that tradition when Esther premiered here at New York City Opera in 1993.  Based on the Bible tale of a brave young girl who becomes queen and ultimately rescues her people from near-destruction, Esther is packed with the personal and political drama that makes for a thrilling night at the opera.

 

In our first in a series of episodes about Esther, Dramaturg Cori Ellison sits down with Rabbi Jill Hammer to discuss the origins of the story of Esther and its relevance to modern audiences.

    

 

 

New York City Opera is busy preparing for the 2009-2010 season.  In this episode, Dramaturg Cori Ellison speaks with  new General Manager and Artistic Director George Steel and Music Director George Manahan about the upcoming season, which includes Mozart's Don Giovanni, Esther by Hugo Weisgall, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, L'Étoile by Chabrier, and Handel's Partenope. 

On May 1st and 2nd New York City Opera celebrates the 10th Anniversary of VOX, a free two-day festival of new American opera, with ten bold new works from both established and emerging American composers.
 
In this episode you will hear from some of the creative forces behind VOX 2009: 
 

        

 

 

Act I (2:25): Renowned musical theater composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippen) discusses his first foray into writing opera.
 
Act II (13:50): Gordon Beeferman and Charlotte Jackson, the creators of The Rat Land, which was presented at VOX 2007 return with a new scene from the opera. 
 
Act III (24:15): Project Director Yuval Sharon and City Opera Dramaturg Cori Ellison discuss what happens behind-the-scenes at VOX

 

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?  Practice!

 

That's exactly what we are doing at New York City Opera in anticipation of our Carnegie Hall debut this January 15th and 16th, with the City Opera premiere of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, in concert. 

 

In this podcast, soprano Lauren Flanigan speaks with City Opera Dramaturg Cori Ellison about preparing to sing the role of Cleopatra, the challenges of playing historical characters, and the surprising affinities between Cleopatra and such modern "heroines" as Martha Stewart and Madeleine Albright.

 

Dramaturg Cori Ellison speaks with George Manahan, City Opera's Music Director about "Looking Forward".  Maestro Manahan will conduct and offer commentary on the music and the pioneering 20th-century geniuses who created it, including Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, and Olivier Messiaen.
 
City Opera will perform "Looking Forward" in each of the city's five boroughs, beginning with a performance at Staten Island's St. George Theatre on October 4th, and culminating in a concert at Manhattan's newly-renovated Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on April 11th, 2009.  Listen to this podcast for a generous sampling of the "Looking Foward" music and an insider's peek at the ideas behind this concert. 

 

For more details on "Looking Forward" click HERE

 

 

City Opera's Erik Gensler speaks with two staff operaphiles about the 2008 Spring Season which includes: Purcell's King Arthur, Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Tosca, Verdi's Falstaff, and Bernstein's Candide.  Dramaturg Cori Ellison and Associate Director of Donor Communication, Mark Moorman provide a behind-the-scenes look at each of these operas - the singers, the artistic teams, and history behind each of these productions.  Cori and Mark also reveal their favorite moments from each of these works.

 

Candide is a prized jewel in the City Opera repertory but is it an opera or is it a musical?  Dramaturg Cori Ellison poses this question and many more to three key players in this spring's City Opera revival.  Plus they reveal their favorite moments from this work.

 

Act I (1:04) - City Opera baritone Kyle Pfortmiller, who reprises the role of Maximilian

 

Act II (10:28) - Daniel Reichard, who recently ended his three-year run as Bob Gaudio in Broadway's Jersey Boys to take the title role in Candide

 

Act III (17:36) - Legendary producer and director Harold Prince, who helms City Opera's signature Candide production

     

 

City Opera's acclaimed VOX series has given audiences the chance to preview the future of opera with free presentations of new American works. This year's exciting line-up of 10 works once again spans an incredible artistic and cultural diversity: from a hypnotic adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth to the jazz-infused story of a mixed race musician in the Big Band era; from the hard-edged feminist reinterpreation of the Troilus and Cressida story, sung in "funky middle English," to a lyrical re-telling of the poet Dylan Thomas's stormy relationship with his partner Caitlin.

 

VOX Project Director Yuval Sharon speaks with three of the composers in this year's VOX festival, performing May 10 & 11 at the Skirball Center at New York University.   Free tickets can be reserved at www.vox-nyco.com.

 

Act I (02:31) - David T. Little, the creator of the intense monodrama Soldier Songs, talks about the difference between political and "socially engaged" music-theater.

Act II (12:12) - Dramaturg Cori Ellison speaks with Justine F. Chen, returning to VOX with her Joan of Arc adaptation Jeanne.

 

Act III (18:44) - John King, a long-time collaborator with dance legend Merce Cunningham, discusses his chance-based experiment Dice Thrown.

  

 

Puccini's Tosca is a suspense thriller that takes place in urban Rome, while his Madama Butterfly is a tear-jerker that unfolds in idyllic turn-of-the century Nagasaki.  Yet these two popular Puccini classics have more in common than one would think.  Dramaturg Cori Ellison speaks with the director and lighting designer of New York City Opera's Tosca and Madama Butterfly productions.  Plus they reveal their favorite moments from these works. 

 

Act I (1:11) - Mark Lamos, Tony-nominated director of Broadway, regional theatre, and opera, who created City Opera's productions of Tosca and Madama Butterfly

 

Act II (21:39) - Robert Wierzel, acclaimed lighting designer for City Opera's Tosca and Madama Butterfly, as well as numerous opera and dance companies, Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theatres, and museum exhibits worldwide

 

 

The non-stop fun of Verdi's opera Falstaff was a major departure for the composer known for his heart-rending tragedies.  Adapted from The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare -- Verdi's hero -- this is an opera of fast-paced shenanigans and memorable music. 

 

In this podcast, dramaturg Cori Ellison speaks with George Manahan, City Opera's Music Director, about how the music drives the drama in Falstaff and Anne Cattaneo, dramaturg at Lincoln Center Theater, who dissects the Shakespearean roots of the opera.  Plus they reveal their favorite moments from this work. 

 

Act I (0:54) -  George Manahan, City Opera's Music Director and conductor of Falstaff

 

Act II (13:32) -  Anne Cattaneo, dramaturg at Lincoln Center Theater

 

The worlds of music, dance and fashion fuse in Mark Morris' witty reimagining of Purcell's King Arthur which seamlessly unites City Opera singers and the Mark Morris Dance Group.  Dramaturg Cori Ellison speaks with director and choreographer Mark Morris and assistant director Joe Bowie about the New York premiere production of this whimsical work.  Plus, they reveal their favorite moments from this bold production.

 

Act I (0:54) - Mark Morris, director and choreographer of King Arthur and founder and Artistic Director of the Mark Morris Dance Group

 

Act II (17:08) - Joe Bowie, dancer and assistant director in the Mark Morris Dance Group