Morð at the Eistnaflug festival in Iceland in 2014.
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Can You Handel Seattle Opera’s Semele?
Brenda Rae (Semele) and the Seattle Opera Chorus in Handel’s masterpiece Semele.
© Avi Loud
Typical. I studied hard for the accessible Tosca. But I walked into Seattle Opera’s production of Semele cold. And I really could have used a little preparation; a Twitter hashtage for the production was #CanYouHandelIt. Knowing these five things ahead of time would have helped me Handel it better. Read More
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Tosca Talk
How much should an audience member prepare for a performance? Some of my best memories come from the shows I stumbled into blindly only to be completely blown away. But most of the time, concerts are more fun when you already know the music. It’s no fun to see a David Mamet play without some idea of what you are in for. {2018 Update: It’s no fun to see a David Mamet play.}
Anyone who attends The Marriage of Figaro, as I once did, without knowing the song made famous by Bugs Bunny is actually in The Barber of Seville will be sorely disappointed. In theory, I like to be prepared, but I don’t always find the time for research ahead of time. Read More
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A History of My Life in 10 Songs
I have been reading Greil Marcus. I haven’t read A History of Rock ‘n’ Roll in 10 Songs yet, but the title intrigues me. One night I couldn’t sleep, and the result is the following chronological history of my life in ten songs. With only a couple exceptions, it would be more appropriate to list albums, but if singles are good enough for Marcus…
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Tosca Weekend
When I go to the opera, I always feel like the Grandson at the end of The Princess Bride.
Grandpa, maybe you could come over and read it again to me tomorrow?
The action in Tosca takes place over about 18 hours. For the same amount of time, my life was completely focused on the opera last weekend when one of my dreams came true and I got to watch the Sunday matinee of Tosca after attending opening night on Saturday.
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