Sounds of Learning

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! Opera gets a dose of reality this week as we look at popular shows around the world that feature opera! Video Clips of the Week! Our first clip is from the United Kingdom hit tv show Popstar to Operastar . Like Dancing with the Stars, the show takes pop singers at the top of their career and trains them to sing opera. In this clip, former member of the Pussycat Dolls and solo artist, Melody Thornton sings the seductive " Habanera" from Carmen . See if you agree with the judges on her performance! Our second clip comes from the show America's Got Talent . Talent shows like America's Got Talent bring in aspiring stars from all walks of life. This audition features store clerk, John singing " Largo al factotum " from the opera The Barber of Seville . In 2002 the English National Opera Company searched the English countryside to find the next great opera singer. Their goal was to find a non-professional singer w...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! This week's webisode features opera in the movies! Opera has been used for years in the movie, as part of soundtracks and even as part of the plot! This week we'll take a look at some of the most famous opera "cameos" in the movies! Video Clips of the Week! The first video clip comes from the newest Jame Bond film, Quantum of Solace . In the movie Bond sneaks in to a modern production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca in order to spy on the villian's meeting. Ironically, the opera scene playing during the meeting is "Te Deum", in which the villain in Tosca , Scarpia, reveals his evil scheme. Quantum of Solace: Tosca, Te Deum Here is a clip of the whole "Te Deum" from the opera. Scarpia is played by bariton Sherrill Milnes . Often times movies will use opera songs as back ground soundtracks to the story. This next clip uses the famous " Flower Duet " from the Léo Delibes opera Lakmé . The ...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online!! Students in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's Sounds of Learning program saw the final dress rehearsal of Bizet's Carmen on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 at the Academy of Music. This week we are focusing on operas similar to Carmen. If you liked Carmen check out these opera! Video Clips of the Week! If you loved the music of Carmen ... Check out Georges Bizet's other big opera hit, The Pearl Fishers . The opera tells the story of a treacherous love triangle between two fishermen and a beautiful priestess. The first clip is a duet from the beginning of the opera. Two the two fishermen, best friends Zurga and Nadir recall when they both fell in love with the same woman and pledge to never let a woman come between them. This clip comes from the Opera Company of Philadelphia production of The Pearl Fishers in 2004 and features baritone Nathan Gunn and tenor William Braden. If you were inspired by Carmen's independence.....

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online!! Students in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's Sounds of Learning program saw the final dress rehearsal of Bizet's Carmen on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 at the Academy of Music. Video Clips of the Week! We have a very exciting treat this week! Our video clips of the week come from personal interviews with the Director, Conductor and Cast of Carmen! Our first two videos are interviewswith Rinat Shaham and David Pomeroy, the mezzo-soprano who played Carmen and the tenor who played Don Jose. How do the opera stars picture their own characters? Is it similar to your own perception of Carmen and Don Jose? Interview with Rinat Shaham Interview with David Pomeroy Ever wonder what the stars of Carmen love about Philadelphia or what music do they have on their ipod? Our last two clips interview with Music Director Corrado Rovaris, Ailyn Perez (Micaela), Jonathan Beyer (Escamillo), Rinat Shaham (Carmen), Director David Gately, and D...