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Choose from one of the two options:
1) WRITE A REVIEW: The arts are all about developing an opinion. Having had the opportunity to see Tancredi at Opera Philadelphia, tell us what you thought. We will accept all reviews, positive or negative. We simply ask that you thoroughly defend your opinion. In your response consider commenting on the story, the sets, the characters, the music, and more.
2) CHOOSE YOUR ENDING: You may have learned that Tancredi has two different endings. In Rossini's original ending, the hero Tancredi survives the battle with Solamir and lives happily ever after with his beloved Amenaide. In the other ending (the ending you saw at Opera Philadelphia) Tancredi returns to Amenaide injured from war and dies in her arms. If it were up to you, which ending would you choose? Why would you want to see that ending? If you don't like either ending, make up an ending that you would prefer to see. Make sure to defend this ending. Why do you think audiences would like to see the ending you created?
With both options we ask that you include your:
NAME:
SCHOOL:
GRADE:
Good luck! You never know, if your blog entry is defended enough, we may just have to put it on Opera Philadelphia's official blog page. We look forward reading your entry! Happy writing.
Steven Humes
Opera Philadelphia
Education Manager
Comments
My experience at the opera was very nice.I saw the the final dress rehearsal of Tancredi,and it was quite good. Since it was a dress rehearsal,the lighting was a little off at some points but it didn't change the quality of the performance.I thoroughly enjoyed the music,singing,and set.I also had the chance to get a backstage tour after the production,and I got to see how the lighting and set worked.A lot of kids might think that opera is boring, and that's even how I was feeling when I saw The Elixer of Love last year.But after I experienced it, I found out that opera isn't just a bunch of people belting out tunes,but it actually contains a lot of comedy, action and music.I would recommend opera to kids and encourage them to go and see one.
The Waldorf School of Philadelphia
6th Grade
Thank you Sound of Learning for paying for me to go to the Tancredi opera.
The Academy of Music building was beautiful. I liked the chandelier, the velvet seats, the golden carvings, and the curtain.
My favorite part of the opera was the beginning because it was easy to understand. The rest of the opera was difficult to understand because it was in Italian, but I appreciated the screen that translated the opera for me.
Charter Tech High School For the Performing Arts
Grade 10
Tancredi is one of the greatest Opera written by Rossini in 1813. This Opera tells the story of a soldier name tancredi, his family and two more noble families; lead by Argirio and Arbazzano, who have been in war for many years. Argirio and his family, wife and daughter were staying as guests in the Bayzantine Court. The Moorish general, Solamir have been hoping for Agirio daughter, Amenaide hand in marriage. Having Amenaide hand in marriage would create in alliance. On the other hand sadly Amenaide does not returned these feelings, for she is in love with Tancredi. This story is told very dramatically and having had the opportunity to see Tancredi at Opera Philadelphia, I founded myself very engage in the plot. This Opera was astonishing and was perform very beautifully.
The orchestra music in the Opera carried the characters and action forward. The orchestra playing was remarkable and made the play that much better. The Orchestra playing set the mood and the tone for the play. It helped you identified what the characters were feeling that much better. Especially when Amenaide sung her aria about how distress she was about being told she had to marry someone she did not share the same feeling with. A particular character voices that I enjoyed was Tancredi. Tancredi who was played by Stephanie Blythe had a very bold remark about her. Tancredi had a very powerful voice that I believe blew everyone away. Another part of the play I loved was Ameniade and Tancredi duet with each other in scene two when they having an argument. Amenaide played by Brenda Rae, a soprano sung very high into the heavens. I can only dream to sing like like her.
The staging was on point. The sets and how they had the doors/windows moving during the whole story was done smoothly. It was pretty wonderful how the showed daytime and nighttime using the settings of the windows. The acting of the characters were at the top with their singing. The costume of the characters were marvelous. They looked flawless on every character. A shout out for Pepa Ojanguren for the costume design and Daniel Biano for the set design. They both did a great job. The costume really went with the setting. The story takes place in the year 1005, in the kingdom of Sicily of the City of Syracuse. I thought they did a great job in making it the same setting the composer imagined and even if the Opera change a thing or two, the change added to the power of the piece. Trancredi at Opera Philadelphia was a truly phenomenal Opera to see and would recommend it to all of my family and friends to see it. The show was really breath-taking and I hope people who have also seen it liked it as much as I did.
Charter Tech High School For the Performing Arts
Grade 10
Tancredi is one of the greatest Opera written by Rossini in 1813. This Opera tells the story of a soldier name tancredi, his family and two more noble families; lead by Argirio and Arbazzano, who have been in war for many years. Argirio and his family, wife and daughter were staying as guests in the Bayzantine Court. The Moorish general, Solamir have been hoping for Agirio daughter, Amenaide hand in marriage. Having Amenaide hand in marriage would create in alliance. On the other hand sadly Amenaide does not returned these feelings, for she is in love with Tancredi. This story is told very dramatically and having had the opportunity to see Tancredi at Opera Philadelphia, I founded myself very engage in the plot. This Opera was astonishing and was perform very beautifully.
The orchestra music in the Opera carried the characters and action forward. The orchestra playing was remarkable and made the play that much better. The Orchestra playing set the mood and the tone for the play. It helped you identified what the characters were feeling that much better. Especially when Amenaide sung her aria about how distress she was about being told she had to marry someone she did not share the same feeling with. A particular character voices that I enjoyed was Tancredi. Tancredi who was played by Stephanie Blythe had a very bold remark about her. Tancredi had a very powerful voice that I believe blew everyone away. Another part of the play I loved was Ameniade and Tancredi duet with each other in scene two when they having an argument. Amenaide played by Brenda Rae, a soprano sung very high into the heavens. I can only dream to sing like like her.
The staging was on point. The sets and how they had the doors/windows moving during the whole story was done smoothly. It was pretty wonderful how the showed daytime and nighttime using the settings of the windows. The acting of the characters were at the top with their singing. The costume of the characters were marvelous. They looked flawless on every character. A shout out for Pepa Ojanguren for the costume design and Daniel Biano for the set design. They both did a great job. The costume really went with the setting. The story takes place in the year 1005, in the kingdom of Sicily of the City of Syracuse. I thought they did a great job in making it the same setting the composer imagined and even if the Opera change a thing or two, the change added to the power of the piece. Trancredi at Opera Philadelphia was a truly phenomenal Opera to see and would recommend it to all of my family and friends to see it. The show was really breath-taking and I hope people who have also seen it liked it as much as I did.
Charter Tech High School For the Performing Arts
Grade 10
Tancredi is one of the greatest Opera written by Rossini in 1813. This Opera tells the story of a soldier name tancredi, his family and two more noble families; lead by Argirio and Arbazzano, who have been in war for many years. Argirio and his family, wife and daughter were staying as guests in the Bayzantine Court. The Moorish general, Solamir have been hoping for Agirio daughter, Amenaide hand in marriage. Having Amenaide hand in marriage would create in alliance. On the other hand sadly Amenaide does not returned these feelings, for she is in love with Tancredi. This story is told very dramatically and having had the opportunity to see Tancredi at Opera Philadelphia, I founded myself very engage in the plot. This Opera was astonishing and was perform very beautifully.
The orchestra music in the Opera carried the characters and action forward. The orchestra playing was remarkable and made the play that much better. The Orchestra playing set the mood and the tone for the play. It helped you identified what the characters were feeling that much better. Especially when Amenaide sung her aria about how distress she was about being told she had to marry someone she did not share the same feeling with. A particular character voices that I enjoyed was Tancredi. Tancredi who was played by Stephanie Blythe had a very bold remark about her. Tancredi had a very powerful voice that I believe blew everyone away. Another part of the play I loved was Ameniade and Tancredi duet with each other in scene two when they having an argument. Amenaide played by Brenda Rae, a soprano sung very high into the heavens. I can only dream to sing like like her.
The staging was on point. The sets and how they had the doors/windows moving during the whole story was done smoothly. It was pretty wonderful how the showed daytime and nighttime using the settings of the windows. The acting of the characters were at the top with their singing. The costume of the characters were marvelous. They looked flawless on every character. A shout out for Pepa Ojanguren for the costume design and Daniel Biano for the set design. They both did a great job. The costume really went with the setting. The story takes place in the year 1005, in the kingdom of Sicily of the City of Syracuse. I thought they did a great job in making it the same setting the composer imagined and even if the Opera change a thing or two, the change added to the power of the piece. Trancredi at Opera Philadelphia was a truly phenomenal Opera to see and would recommend it to all of my family and friends to see it. The show was really breath-taking and I hope people who have also seen it liked it as much as I did.
The Waldorf School of Philadelphia
Grade 6
I really liked the singing. It was the first time I ever saw an opera, and I was surprised in a good way by the different voices and how they filled the theater. The singer who played Amenaide was especially good. I learned that what she was doing with her voice is called coloratura.
Charter Tech High School
9th Grade
The plot of the opera, "Tancredi" was very intriguing. The story line follows a love story between two forbidden lovers, Tancredi and Amenaide. Tancredi is a brave man who would risk his life for the love of his life while Amenaide is a sensitive women who would do anything to have true love. The two are very in love but Amenaide's father and Orbanzzano forbid the two from being together. They go as to imprison Amenaide and almost sentence her to death for sending Tancredi a love letter. As you can see, the performance was very dramatic and heart wrenching.
The music was very interesting and excellent. The performers projected their voices in a manner that was so incredible that you could hear the emotion in their voices. The arias sung by Tancredi and Amenaide made the opera even more wonderful. You could see how the performers really took their characters into their heart and performed as if they were the characters. The musical portion of the opera was absolutely outstanding.
The setting and staging really pulled the whole thing together. Although there was times when the props were a bit slow on time, they were really pleasing. The costumes really showed the time period the opera was based in. The setting was wonderful because it showed how people and buildings were during that era. The little and big details pulled the show together.
I would recommend my friends and family to see Tancredi. It was an admirable opera and anyone could enjoy it. The performers did an admirable job and families of all kinds should come to admire their hard work. You can really see the hard work during the whole show and it was a top notch opera. It was an excellent show and I would definitely see it again.
Thank you for the opportunity to see Tancredi. The set was really cool. Some of the scenes were long which became boring but other than that it was a good opera.
First of all, I would like to thank Sounds of Learning. The opera was great and I enjoyed it very much. The singing was absolutely amazing. I thought it was cool how some of them could hit such high notes. The characters were also very interesting. It was very fun and I hope I can do it again sometime.
Arcadia University
Sophomore
This was the first opera I have ever seen. So in anticipation, I had read the story and listened to the overture. I also even looked up appropriate opera etiquette and dress. I was a little more than excited. Tancredi did not disappoint me whatsoever. It was actually even more magnificent than expected. At my university, I am a cellist in our string ensemble so I pay very close attention to the orchestra. The orchestra was fantastic and inspiring. The singing was also spectacular. I am amazed by how someone can hold notes that long.The story itself was performed well and I felt the emotion intensified in the theater compared to reading the story. The costumes were elegant and the props transitioned the scenes very well. I really enjoyed my opera experience and I hope to see more with Opera Philadelphia.
Charter Tech High School
Grade 12
Tancredi wasn't too different from any other opera that I have seen before; but it was still a good show to watch. The characters in the show were done very well as well as the performers who portrayed said characters. I'd say the character that I liked the most would be the father. He had a position that anyone can relate with. Choosing between his job or his family. In this case he had to choose between executing his daughter or keeping her alive. He ends up signing the paper for her death but still wants his daughter to live and curses himself for doing so. In the end, she is saved by Tancredi, but the father never had any bad will or ill intentions. He just had to follow through with his job. I can't really say anything else as far as the elements of it, which pertains to any other opera I've seen, other than that the show was a great one and hope the performers did amazing on their opening night.
Charter Tech High School
Grade 12
Tancredi wasn't too different from any other opera that I have seen before; but it was still a good show to watch. The characters in the show were done very well as well as the performers who portrayed said characters. I'd say the character that I liked the most would be the father. He had a position that anyone can relate with. Choosing between his job or his family. In this case he had to choose between executing his daughter or keeping her alive. He ends up signing the paper for her death but still wants his daughter to live and curses himself for doing so. In the end, she is saved by Tancredi, but the father never had any bad will or ill intentions. He just had to follow through with his job. I can't really say anything else as far as the elements of it, which pertains to any other opera I've seen, other than that the show was a great one.
Chartertech
Grade:12th
The opera was amazing. I love the vocals and staging. The lead soprano
"Amenaide" was amzing as well. I love how she transitioned her voice between the high whistle like notes to lower ones. All of the cast acting while singing was great.
Chartertech
Grade:12
Norayma
Chartertech
Grade:12th
The opera was amazing. I love the vocals and staging. The lead soprano "Amenaide" was amazing as well. I love how she transitioned her voice between the high whistle like notes to lower ones. All of the cast acting while singing was great. The storyline was great.
I would say Act II was very interesting and suspenseful. I thought they were going to end up killing Amenaide but they didn’t which was a twist to the story for me. It was sad towards the end. I didn’t expect for Argirio to kill himself over the love of his life, Amenaide.
Overall it was interesting to watch. The musicians did an amazing job as well with playing the music. The scenery was pretty cool too. I like how the setting made sense with the story. I love the dresses the ladies wore, they were elegant.
Aries Carangi
Waldorf School of Philadelphia
Grade 6
Aries Carangi
Waldorf School of Philadelphia
Grade 6
Aries Carangi
Waldorf School of Philadelphia
Grade 6
Aries Carangi
Waldorf School of Philadelphia
Grade 6
Listening to the combination of the orchestra's music and the vocals of the opera singers, the first thing I noticed was an excellent application of dynamics. The orchestra shifted flawlessly between forte, piano, and all levels in between. The opera vocalists did just as well if not better, and shocked the audience with their intermittent vocal flares. Together, the music in its entirety invoked a tremendous amount of emotion in the audience. The only minuscule critique I can make regarding the music is that a few notes sung by the women vocalists were out of tune. Given that I have perfect pitch as witnessed by many, I recognized a few spots that could use minor improvement. Among the most noticable of these was when Amenaide and Isuara sang a descending riff together in Act II. Although a few imperfect notes are passable in opera as a genre, I feel that a few of them were a little outside of reasonable bounds. On the contrary, Tancredi demonstrated an amazing range, and knocked the highest of notes out of the park!
When it came to the set, I thought that the artists and designers did an incredible job. I especially appreciated the mechanics of the shifting doors and panels in the back. The colors chosen for each scene were very realistic, and the lighting reflected this perfectly. I would have liked to see a couple lighting colors added to the chosen palette in Act I, as the pale blues and golds became slightly repetitious. However, I deeply appreciated the authentic scenery, and how the characters fit right into it. I thought that the costumes for the characters were very appropriate and represented them well. As a whole, I thought that the performance was spectacular, full of dynamics, and overall, done with excellence by everyone involved.
Charter Tech
9th grade
For my first opera I enjoyed it so much.So many things in the opera was so amazing .The singing,The outfits,The acting.The details on the costumes were very nice ,the dress that Amenaide was gorgeous with all the jewelry.Just overall the show was great.
The high notes on very character was amazing.I like every characters even the ones in the beginning sitting around the table. Amenaide father high notes and low notes made me in shocked because I haven't seen someone change their voice so quickly effortlessly in opera .I like how it wasn't just on one character the whole time.It always had different people in the scenes constantly.
Tancredi was my first opera trip and I enjoyed it so much.All the actors in the opera took me in shocked.It was incredible show I was amazed the whole time. I would would recommend anyone to see other opera show.
Waldorf school of Philadelphia
Grade 6
Thank you so much Sound of Learning for this amazing opportunity! This was not my first opera experience, but I enjoyed the opportunity very much! I had never heard the music of Tancredi, and when I first heard what the opera was going to be, my first thought was "Tancredi? Never heard of it? Why can't we see The Marriage of Figaro?" but when we got to the theater and the show started, I was pleasantly surprised and I was thoroughly engaged in the show the whole time. The costumes were amazing and the singing was gorgeous.
Waldorf School of Philadelphia
8th grade
I enjoyed seeing Tancredi very much. All of the elements of the opera were incredible; the sets, the costumes, the story, the acting, and most of all the music and the singing. All of the actors' voices were beautiful, especially the Tancredi's. Thank you so much Sound of Learning! I enjoy seeing amazing opera's with my school and love that you are giving students the opportunity!
Thank you for the amazing opportunity to see Tancredi. I enjoyed the opera and loved the costumes and scenery. I was impressed b y the range of the singers and their stamina. The opera got boring at parts because it was too long. But otherwise I had a great time.