Sounds of Learning

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online! Many of you attended the final dress rehearsal of Tea: A Mirror of Soul on Wednesday, February 17th. We hope you all enjoyed the experience! YouTube Clip of the Week Now that you've seen the opera, lets look Tan Dun in rehearsal with the Opera Company orchestra and chorus. Imagine the opportunity to be able to work directly with the opera's composer - an unusual luxury in an art form in which the composer has been dead for a century or more! Tan Dun has a unique, almost spiritual presence. He's able to show orchestra and chorus members exactly what he wants and how to get there. Tan Dun Rehearses with the Opera Company of Philadelphia Orchestra Tan Dun Rehearses TEA with the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus Get to Know Composer Tan Dun Web Site of the Week If you're new to opera or if you've been to other Opera Company of Philadelphia performances, check out the Opera Company of Philadelp...

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online! This is the last week for us to look at Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul . Many of you will be attending the final dress rehearsal of the opera on Wednesday, February 17th at 2 PM. We hope you enjoy the experience! YouTube Clip of the Week Opera Company of Philadelphia’s YouTube Channel – Tea: A Mirror of Soul preview Before attending the opera, why not check out our podcast on Tea: A Mirror of Soul on the Opera Company’s website. Web Site of the Week As some of you may already know Sunday the 14th is Chinese New Year. Philadelphia kicks off its 2010 Chinese New Year celebration with a New Years Eve Lion Dance parade and fireworks on Saturday evening, February 13, 2010 at 11:00 p.m. at the China Gate. Call the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation at 215-772-0739 for more information. To find out more about Chinese New Year take a look at Philadelphia’s China Town website ! Opera on the Air On Saturday F...

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week on our voyage through the Opera Company of Philadelphia ’s production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul we will look at the two remaining cast members of the opera; Kirk Eichelberger and Nancy Maultsby. We will also look at some more compositions by composer Tan Dun - YouTube symphony and portions of the soundtrack from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. YouTube Clip of the Week Symphony No. 1 "Eroica" - for YouTube, conducted by Tan Dun. Tan Dun, Yo Yo Ma - "Farewell" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Web Site of the Week Bass-baritone Kirk Eichelberger sings the role of the Emperor in Tea: A Mirror of Soul . Mr. Eichelberger is no stranger to the Opera Company of Philadelphia; you may recognize him from this season’s production of Madama Butterfly in which he sang the role of uncle Bonze. He has also performed in our recent productions of Rigoletto and Fidelio . Mezzo- soprano Nancy Maults...

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week on our voyage through the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul, we will look at tea sage Lu Yu and some of the tea traditions that inspired this opera. YouTube Clip of the Week The tea ceremony is an important aspect of Japanese and Chinese culture. It is a consistent element in the opera Tea: A Mirror of Soul and therefore I thought I would share the experience with you… Japanese tea Ceremony Web Site of the Week Lu Yu (733-804) is sometimes known as the Patron Saint of Tea or the Sage of Tea and is the founding father of tea art. He is worshipped by many for his monumental book Cha Jing (The Classics of Tea a.k.a. The Book of Tea) the first complete work on cultivating, making and drinking tea. This historical figure is also an important, unseen character in Tea: A Mirror of Soul. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Yu The Japanese House or Shofuso , sits in a beautiful...

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will continue our voyage through the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul . We will continue to look at the world acclaimed cast and a scene from the opera written by Tan Dun . YouTube Clip of the Week I thought that today we should take another glimpse at the music in the opera Tea: A Mirror of Soul . We will look at the scene of Lan’s death from the world première at Suntory Hall, Japan. Tan Dun: Tea: A Mirror of Soul, Death of Lan Web Site of the Week Soprano Kelly Kaduce plays the role of Princess Lan in Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul ; the same role she sang in the opera’s U.S. premiere at Santa Fe Opera in 2007. Kaduce made her OCP debut as Caroline Gaines for the East Coast premiere of Richard Danielpou and Toni Morrison’s Margaret Garner . To find out more about Ms.Kaduce, visit her web site where you will find information about her life, recent recordings, and...

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will continue on our voyage through the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul . We will begin to look at the world acclaimed cast and the imaginative and creative music of Tan Dun . YouTube Clip of the Week Tea composer Tan Dun is known for his use of unusual instruments. Mr. Tan likes to use “organic” or natural instruments and has written full orchestral pieces that celebrate percussion instruments that use water, paper and more. Below, are links to Tan Dun’s Water and Paper Concerti , both of which are truly fascinating compositions. Tan Dun: Paper Concerto Tan Dun: Water Concerto Web Site of the Week Baritone Haijing Fu created the role of Seikyo at the 2002 world premiere of Tea: A Mirror of Soul and is returning to Philadelphia to repeat this role. Tenor Roger Honeywell sings the role of the Prince. Mr. Honeywell is no stranger to the Opera Company of Philadel...

Welcome to Opera-Online! Welcome students and teachers to Opera Online. This week we will begin our voyage through the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Tea: A Mirror of Soul . An east cost premiere by Tan Dun! YouTube Clip of the Week To get you familiar with the composers’ unique musical style we will look at the opening Prelude of the opera Tea: A Mirror of Soul . One of the highlights of the opera is the composer’s use of “organic” or natural instruments. He uses water, paper, and stone as an important part of the music. In this scene, watch as three onstage percussionists use water as an instrument! Tan Dun: Tea (Tokyo 2002) prelude Web Site of the Week You may be surprised to recognize some of Tan Dun compositions from soundtracks to films such as Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . To find out more about this renowned composer, visit his web site where you will find information on his life and music to date. Opera on the Air On January 9th at 1pm WRTI radio...