opera – Page 2 – Gemma D. Alexander

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cultural appropriation, Madame Butterfly, opera, stereotypes

Seattle Opera Confronts the Ugly Side of Madame Butterfly

Seattle Opera Panelists
“Asian Leaders Respond to Madame Butterfly”

I was excited to hear that Seattle Opera was performing Madame Butterfly because I love Puccini’s music and Butterfly is one of the most famous operas ever written. I didn’t know the opera was controversial for its racist depiction of the Japanese – especially its promulgation of the stereotype that Japanese women are suicidal, subservient sex puppets – until I heard about Seattle Opera’s free community panel discussion “Asian Arts Leaders Respond to Madame Butterfly,” moderated by Frank Abe, co-founder of Seattle’s Asian American Journalists Association. Read More

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Andreas Bauer, Nabucco, opera, Rafaella Angeletti, Seattle Opera, Verdi

Nabucco at Seattle Opera

Struck down by an angry god.
© Philip Newton

“Zeus isn’t real,” my daughter confided one day when she was four.

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Yesterday I told a lie on purpose and swore by Zeus.” Swearing by Zeus was fashionable among her older sister’s Percy Jackson-obsessed friends. “And I didn’t get hit by lightning. Zeus isn’t real,” she concluded.

Fortunately, in a story that sounds apocryphal, Giuseppe Verdi’s lightning test led to a different conclusion regarding divine power. Read More

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Ariadne auf Naxos, Kate Lindsey, opera, Seattle Opera

Ariadne auf Nauxos at Seattle Opera

The young emo Composer (Kate Lindsey). Alan Alabastro photo courtesy of Seattle Opera.

Long story short: A rich man has commissioned a tragic opera, “Ariadne auf Naxos,” to be performed at his party. He has also hired a commedia dell’arte troupe. At the last minute, he decides the program is too long and the two performances must be merged. Hijinks ensue. Read More

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Ariadne auf Naxos, lecture, opera, Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Library

Prepping for Ariadne auf Naxos

Ariadne auf Naxos explores high/low art. The Prima Donna (Marcy Stonikas) with Zerbinetta (Rachele Gilmore). Elise Bakketun photo courtesy Seattle Opera

As I took my seat at the Seattle Public Library’s preview of Ariadne auf Naxos, I was reminded that in the opera world, 40 is young. Or maybe I’m just the only opera fan under 60 who is free to attend a lecture at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday. Of course the library hosts opera preview lectures at a number of different times and locations, which is fortunate because the lectures are very good. Read More

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lecture, opera, opera education, Seattle Opera, Tosca

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

Tag Archive opera

Seattle Opera Confronts the Ugly Side of Madame Butterfly