Sounds of Learning

Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. I hope you all enjoyed Orphée et Eurydice last week. Remember to post your reviews online and let us know what you thought of the opera! We're going to finish up with Orphée et Eurydice this week, taking a last look at the composer and the ballet section of the opera. You Tube Clip of the Week We'll see a performance of the famous Dance of the Blessed Spirits which opens the second act of the opera. In this brief ballet, the spirits dance serenely in the Elysian Fields in the Underworld. This clip is from a production of Orpheus and Eurydice at the Palais Garnier in Paris in 2008. How is the choreography different or the same from the choreography you saw in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's production? Website of the week Lets look at the man behind the music; Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck (1714-1787). He was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gl...

Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice Tuesday, June 15, 2010 Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts 7:00 p.m. Students in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's Sounds of Learning program saw the final dress rehearsal of Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice on Tuesday, June15, 2010 at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Orphée et Eurydice is the profound story of loss and love that has inspired thousands of works of art since the time of the ancient Greeks. Now that you've studied the opera and seen it, what were your impressions? Tell us what you think and post your reviews here! Did you like the opera and why? Which was your favorite character and why? Did you like the costumes and sets? Who had the best and most impressive singing voice? Your review should be at least 50 words or more. Please include your first name, home school or organization name and grade in your post. JOIN OUR OPERA EMAIL LIST! Email education@operaphila.org and we...

Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will look at Elizabeth Reiter who sings the role of Amour in this opera. You Tube Clip of the Week Amour's arias sung by Patricia Petibon - "Si les doux accord de ta lyre ... Soumis au silence" from Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice. Elizabeth Reiter makes her Opera Company of Philadelphia debut as Amour in Orphée at Eurydice . Next season she sings the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen with Curtis Opera Theatre and Aphrodite in Hans Werner Henze's Phaedra at OCP. to find out more about it young up and coming singer visit her website . Opera on the Air On Saturday, June 19 at 1pm WRTI Radio will broadcast the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d'amore conducted by Bruno Campanella and starring Nicole Cabell as Adina, Giuseppe Filianoti as Nemorino and Alessandro Corbelli as Dulcamara. Don't forget to invite your friends to sign up to receive these ale...

Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will look at Maureen McKay who plays the role of Eurydice. You Tube Clip of the Week Eurydice aria with chorus "Cet asile aimable et tranquille" from Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice In this haven So pleasant and tranquil We live contented, It is the smiling abode of joy. Nothing here troubles the soul. A sweet rapture affords To all the senses a calm pleasure. All sombre sadness is banished In this safe place. Maureen McKay will be seen as Eurydice in this opera. She made her debut with the opera company two seasons ago as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel . To find out more about this soprano visit her website . Opera on the Air Why not check out something new and listen to King FM online . This is a listener-supported Seattle based classical radio station. Just flow the link above, click on "listen online" at the top of the web page and there is a drop down menu to the Opera...

Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will begin to look at the singers behind the roles in Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice ; starting with mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose who will play the role of Orphée. You Tube Clip of the Week The famous lamentation aria of Orpheus from Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice ,"J'ai perdu mon Eurydice" performed by the marvellous Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Vesselina Kasarova. Just after being reunited with Eurydice, Orpheus is not allowed to look at her. If he does, she will be whisked away back to the nether world. Frustrated by Eurydice's fears that he will not look at her, he impulsively turns around and sees his wife as she is sent back to Hades. Orpheus has lost her forever. He pours out his heart in this lament. It's unique in that it's scored in musical key of C major which is usually thought of as a "happy" key signature. Do you think the aria is moving and sad? Do you think it sounds too happy? L...

Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will continue to look at the Opera Company of Philadelphia's new production of Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice paying most attention to the "Trouser Role"!! Web Site of the Week In our opera, the role of the tragic Orpheus is sung by a mezzo-soprano. The composer originally intended the role sung by a castrato. This version of the score was revised by French composer Hector Berlioz for mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot . Still, the use of the female voice for the male role reflects an occasionally used operatic convention known as the "trouser" role. For those of you who have downloaded the study guide you can read more about the trousers role on page 27. To find out more about it visit this website . YouTube Clip of the Week The Trouser role We will be looking at Orphée's arias in the coming week so I have three other examples of the famous trouser roles that are performed today. The role of Cherubin...

Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. Beginning May 7th the Opera Company of Philadelphia presents their new production of Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice . Over the next few weeks we will look at the story behind Orphée et Eurydice , the cast, Gluck and the music. YouTube Clip of the Week The Overture and the chorus's opening piece Ah! dans ce bois tranquille et sombre (A quiet, secluded grove) sets the mood of the beginning of the opera where Orphée is morning the death of his beloved wife. In this version we have tenor, Richard Croft, playing the role of Orphée instead of a mezzo - soprano. Web Site of the Week Why not find out more about Orpheus and his back ground? Follow the link below to start you off on your discovery. The Legend of Orpheus Opera on the Air Charles Gounod's Faust "Wealth! Power! Youth! Love! Faust wants it all--and Mephistopheles lets him have it in return for his immortal soul. When you deal with the devil, everyone loses--as Faust soon...