Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online.
As we are between seasons at the Opera Company of Philadelphia I thought I would spend the next few weeks taking about the different voice types beginning this week with Sopranos!
I will be adding on an additional aspect to the blog during this summer session titled “The Documentary” where we will be viewing a seven part BBC documentary What Makes a Great Tenor?
The great tenor Rolando Villazon takes us inside the world of the sexiest and most risky of all operatic voices. It's a journey which includes some of the great names of the past, such as Caruso and Lanza, and some of the brightest stars performing today, like Domingo, Alagna and Florez. We hear how they tackle their most famous roles and what the risks and rewards are!
The Documentary
What Makes a Great Tenore? - Part 1
Website of the week
There are five main Categories of Soprano - Coloratura, Soubrette, Lyric, Spinto and Dramatic sopranos. Find out more about The Soprano Voice.
Possessing a warm full lyric soprano voice, Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, is a New Zealand soprano who had a highly successful international opera career between 1968-2004. Although no longer singing in operas, Te Kanawa still performs in concert and recital, while giving masterclasses and supporting young opera singers to launch their careers.
Lyric sopranos are known for their buttery beautiful voices. Frequently they sing the romantic heroine, usually a younger woman, in operas by Mozart, R. Strauss, Massenet, Puccini, and some Verdi and Wagner, too. Classic lyric soprano roles include Mimì in La bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Violetta in La traviata, and more.
You Tube Clip of the Week
Kiri Te Kanawa sings The Last Rose of Summer
The Last Rose of Summer is a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore, who was a friend of Byron and Shelley. Moore wrote it in 1805 while at Jenkinstown Park in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Sir John Stevenson set the poem to its widely-known melody, and this was published in a collection of Moore's work called Irish Melodies (1807-34). Composer Friedrich von Flotow included this song in his German opera Martha in 1847. In the opera it was generally performed in German.
'Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead."
Opera on Air
On Saturday, July 10th at 1pm WRTI Radio will broadcast the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. The cast includes:
Figaro: Kyle Ketelsen
Susanna: Danielle de Niese
Countess: Anne Schwanewilms
Count: Mariusz Kwiecien
Cherubino: Joyce DiDonato (who trained at Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts)
Marcellina: Lauren Curnow (She's from Pennsylvania and is a graduate of The Curtis Insitute of Music. Lauren sang the role of Hansel in our production of Hansel and Gretel just a few years ago)
Bartolo: Andrea Silvestrelli
Curzio: David Portillo (David has been seen at OCP in our productions of Madama Butterfly, L'enfant et les sortilegs and Gianni Schicchi)
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Chorus Master: Donald Nally (the Opera Company's former Chorus Master)
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…
As we are between seasons at the Opera Company of Philadelphia I thought I would spend the next few weeks taking about the different voice types beginning this week with Sopranos!
I will be adding on an additional aspect to the blog during this summer session titled “The Documentary” where we will be viewing a seven part BBC documentary What Makes a Great Tenor?
The great tenor Rolando Villazon takes us inside the world of the sexiest and most risky of all operatic voices. It's a journey which includes some of the great names of the past, such as Caruso and Lanza, and some of the brightest stars performing today, like Domingo, Alagna and Florez. We hear how they tackle their most famous roles and what the risks and rewards are!
The Documentary
What Makes a Great Tenore? - Part 1
Website of the week
There are five main Categories of Soprano - Coloratura, Soubrette, Lyric, Spinto and Dramatic sopranos. Find out more about The Soprano Voice.
Possessing a warm full lyric soprano voice, Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, is a New Zealand soprano who had a highly successful international opera career between 1968-2004. Although no longer singing in operas, Te Kanawa still performs in concert and recital, while giving masterclasses and supporting young opera singers to launch their careers.
Lyric sopranos are known for their buttery beautiful voices. Frequently they sing the romantic heroine, usually a younger woman, in operas by Mozart, R. Strauss, Massenet, Puccini, and some Verdi and Wagner, too. Classic lyric soprano roles include Mimì in La bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Violetta in La traviata, and more.
You Tube Clip of the Week
Kiri Te Kanawa sings The Last Rose of Summer
The Last Rose of Summer is a poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore, who was a friend of Byron and Shelley. Moore wrote it in 1805 while at Jenkinstown Park in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Sir John Stevenson set the poem to its widely-known melody, and this was published in a collection of Moore's work called Irish Melodies (1807-34). Composer Friedrich von Flotow included this song in his German opera Martha in 1847. In the opera it was generally performed in German.
'Tis the last rose of summer
Left blooming alone;
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone;
No flower of her kindred,
No rosebud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
To give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go, sleep thou with them.
Thus kindly I scatter,
Thy leaves o'er the bed,
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead."
Opera on Air
On Saturday, July 10th at 1pm WRTI Radio will broadcast the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. The cast includes:
Figaro: Kyle Ketelsen
Susanna: Danielle de Niese
Countess: Anne Schwanewilms
Count: Mariusz Kwiecien
Cherubino: Joyce DiDonato (who trained at Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts)
Marcellina: Lauren Curnow (She's from Pennsylvania and is a graduate of The Curtis Insitute of Music. Lauren sang the role of Hansel in our production of Hansel and Gretel just a few years ago)
Bartolo: Andrea Silvestrelli
Curzio: David Portillo (David has been seen at OCP in our productions of Madama Butterfly, L'enfant et les sortilegs and Gianni Schicchi)
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Lyric Opera Orchestra & Chorus
Chorus Master: Donald Nally (the Opera Company's former Chorus Master)
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…
Comments
Christ Academy
6th Grade
I have been in this country for seven years, but I have not been in many places.
When I first came to Christ Academy, the best school ever, I knew they would take me to a lot of great places. One of these places was the opera company of Philadelphia to see an opera. I was so excited about this wonderful trip. I could not sleep the night before the performance. I even got up in the middle of the night thinking that it was morning. My imagination gave me a great idea of the opera and the theatre. I was not disappointed. My imagination was right. The place was huge and beautiful, especially the stage of the opera. The singing was also beautiful. One of the main characters, Mark, was in a wheel chair. This is was not part of the plan. He had an accident one week before the opera but he persevered. I really loved this opera and I cannot wait to see more.