Opera-Online! Week 5

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Welcome to Opera-Online!

Just a few days left until the Sounds of Learning presentation of Puccini's Turandot. The cast has some incredibly important rehearsals over the next few days including the Sitzprobe (pronounced ZITS-probe), when the singers finally get to sing all the way through the score with the orchestra, and two orchestra dress rehearsals where the entire opera will be run from start to finish as if it were a performance.

Youtube Clip of the Week

We have two clips this week. First we'll feature a performance of
Liù's final moments onstage. We'll see a performance of her back-to-back arias "Tanto amore segreto" and "Tu che di gel cei cinta" which can be found on page 29 and 30 of the student workbook. This is the last scene in the opera that Puccini completed before his untimely death from throat cancer. This performance is from Vienna and features Italian soprano Katia Ricciarelli as Liù with Eva Marton as Turandot and José Carreras as Calaf.

Our next clip features up and coming baritone Eric Greene. Eric is from Baltimore and sings the important role of Ping in this production. Eric has also participated in Opera Company productions of Margaret Garner and Porgy and Bess. Here he is singing the National Anthem for at a commemorative ceremony in Baltimore. Watch for him onstage during Turandot on Wednesday!

Web Site of the Week

Turandot is set in China. This week we have two websites that feature information on China.

We have a little bit of China right here in Philadelphia! A visit to the Chinatown area of the city, right near the Gallery at Market East shopping center and the Convention Center, can be a fascinating look into Chinese culture. You may be going to Chinatown before Turandot, or you may want to visit the area with your family. Click here to find out more about this unique area of Philadelphia.

While many of us will never get the chance to visit the Forbidden City in Peiking, there's a phenomenal website that allows us to visit the palace through a virtual tour! The Forbidden City was the seat of Chinese politics and the home of Emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasties for over 500 years. Find out more and get your virtual tour at Beyond Space and Time, a website created by IBM and the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.

Don't forget to invite your friends to sign up to receive these alerts by emailing their name, school, and age to us at outreach@operaphila.org.

Until next week...

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