Sounds of Learning

Students in the Opera Company of Philadelphia's Sounds of Learning program saw Puccini's La bohème at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on September 26, 2012. Participating students are encouraged to post their reviews here on the blog. All reviews will be accepted, just make sure to include your first name, grade, and the school you attend. Tell us what you liked about the story, the sets, your favorite character, or your favorite. scene. Don't forget to support your opinion in 50 words or more! Thanks!

RANDOM ACTS OF CULTURE HIT THE STREETS You may be familiar with the Opera Company of Philadelphia 's Random Acts of Culture - sometimes popularly known as "flash mobs". The Opera Company has been busy over the past few weeks performing several Random Acts in locations across the city and putting smiles on faces! These performances are part of 1,000 Random Acts of Culture taking place nationally during a three-year period funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Knight Foundation's Random Acts of Culture bring artists out of the concert hall and into the streets and our everyday lives.  We've done random acts in Reading Terminal Market ,  Macy's locations throughout Philadelphia, the Please Touch Museum , Independence National Historical Park , the Free Library of Philadelphia , and many more. Over the past month, we hit two of Philadelphia's most visited locations: Geno's Steaks and IKEA.   A true destination lo...

Manon Lescaut - What Did You Think? Greetings students and teachers. Thank you all again for your great behavior and enthusiastic response to Manon Lescaut yesterday. Thanks, too, to those of you who instinctively tweeted about the opera! We're thrilled that you did so! If you want to remember what the curtain call was like, we filmed it and put it on YouTube . Now's your chance to tell us what you thought about the opera. Write your reviews here! How were the sets and costumes? Did the singers convince you in their parts? What was your favorite part? Was the story believable and why? Don't forget to support your opinions! Please include your first name, school, and your grade in order for your review to be accepted. Just click on the comments link below and post your review. You can select the "anonymous" profile identity to post the review. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here!

Controlled by Fate: Manon Lescaut’s Story Theme The world of literature and storytelling is often narrowed down to a list of about 12 basic themes , of which the “Controlled by Fate” is on all those lists. Greek tragedies fit into this category. The story theme: There is a force guiding our lives over which we have no control; our lives are pre-determined and unalterable. Stories, like Manon Lescaut , tell how people go to great lengths to alter the outcome—even changing course, trying to back track to undo the mistakes they’ve made. But nothing can be done to alter her tragic destiny. She does everything in her power to block the future disaster. But it’s to no avail. And the opera outcomes are heart wrenching to watch: Tosca throws herself off the castle wall. Butterfly ends her life with a dagger. The Carmelite nuns go to the guillotine. Lucia goes mad, murders her bridegroom, and dies. Aida is entombed with her lover, Radames. Manon enters the opera as a beautiful young woman,...

A “Bad Boy”: Anyone want to marry him?” Giacomo Puccini always seemed to be in trouble! He worried his mother nearly to death. It took him 5 years to complete the usual 4-year elementary school studies. One of his music teachers wrote that he was “…a scamp, lazy, disrespectful, and untalented.” At age 14 he earned money by playing the piano in taverns and the organ at church on Sundays. Once when he needed money, he stole some of the organ pipes and sold them—and then played around the missing pipes, so that no one would know what he did. At age 27 he fell in love with Elvira, a married woman. It was a stormy relationship. He was far from a model ‘husband’ or provider. Elvira went on hunger strikes and often physically attacked him. Over the years he had countless affairs. They had to move frequently because he always fell behind in paying the rent. In 1903 he had two serious auto accidents from driving too fast. After Elvira’s legal husband died, she insisted Puccini marry her. About...

Stop the Presses! Emerging Artist Steps into Lead Role Michelle Johnson , a 4th year resident artist at Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts , will sing the title role of the Opera Company of Philadelphia ’s production of Manon Lescaut replacing the previously announced soprano, who is indisposed.Link This is one of those rare opportunities that students dream about: to step into the spotlight and sing the lead at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music . Plan to attend and experience the excitement as she makes her first entrance on stage! Michelle was born in Pearland, Texas (a suburb of Houston). Her biography is full of honors. Last year she was the Grand Prize Winner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She also won First Place at the Marian Anderson Historical Scholars’ Competition—right here in Philadelphia. In years to come, remember the name Michelle Johnson. Some day, you’ll be able to say, “I was at the Academy of Music in April 2012 and I remember when she had...

She dies in his arms—while singing, of course! Talk about drama and anguish! The student Des Grieux sees a beautiful young country maiden (Manon) on her way to a convent against her will (sent there by her father). In the matter of minutes Des Grieux and Manon see one another, sing, and fall deeply in love. Deeply! Before they can do anything about it, an old man also sees her stunning beauty—and plans to abduct her. The student tricks the old man and the young lovers run off to Paris before the abduction can occur. Manon likes Paris and soon finds that her young boyfriend can’t give her all the clothes and jewels she wants, so she leaves him for the old man and his money. Then she tires of him and returns to the young dude, only to be tricked by the old man and tossed in prison. Her punishment: banished to Louisiana (in the USA). The lover joins her on the boat and in Louisiana they take a wrong turn and cross a desert. The boyfriend goes to look for water. Manon’s body is wasted fr...

Celebrating the Leap Year! For today's Opera Online session we'll celebrate the birth of the great Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini , born on February 29, 1792, American soprano Reri Grist who was born on that day, and the debut of Meyerbeer's grand opera Les Huguenots on February 29, 1836. Gioachino Rossini, born in Italy 220 years ago (February 29, 1792), began his musical ca reer at age 6 playing the triangle in his father’s musical group. To earn money as a child, he began working in a blacksmith shop. However, because he had a beautiful voice, at age 10 he joined the adult church choir--and from that point his musical career began in earnest. He wrote 39 operas, the most famous of which is the comic opera The Barber of Seville , which he wrote in 12 days. The Rabbit of Seville cartoon as Bugs Bunny cuts Elmer Fudd’s hair to the opera’s music. Here's the popular American baritone Thomas Hampson singing Figaro's famous aria from The Barber of Seville, 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 Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio on Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at the Academy of Music. Now that you've spent time using the study guides, reading through the libretto, hearing the music in class and attending the final dress rehearsal, tell us what you thought about the opera! In at least 50 words, write your review! All reviews must include your first name, your school name, and your grade. Don't forget to tell us why you liked or didn't like the opera. Support your position! You can talk about the sets, costumes, the characters, and the movie clips used in the piece. Did you like that the stage jutted out over the orchestra pit? What was the funniest moment? Share your thoughts here and you can be a published blogger! Opera on the Air! On Saturday, February 18th at 1 PM radio station WRTI will br...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online!! Last week we looked at the opening scenes of the opera and were introduced to Spanish nobleman Belmonte and the Bassa Selim's servant Osmin. Video Clips of the Week This week we'll introduce our heroine, Konstanze and her opening aria, "Ach, ich liebte" ("Ah, I was in love"). You can find the text for this aria on page 19 of the student guide in the gray box, or use the "Inside the Music" passage in the teacher guide. Konstanze's music is decidedly different from Belmonte and Osmin's scene. It's significantly more serious, but in what other ways would you describe it? As you watch the video clips below, keep a list of adjectives describing your reaction to the performance or the emotions you see the singers portraying. How is each of the singers' different from one another? First we'll see a performance by Danish soprano Inga Nielsen in a performance from the Royal Opera Cove...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online!! What happens when you combine a Mozart, Turkey, a rescue mission, and German dialogue? You get Mozart's musical gem, The Abduction from the Seraglio. Welcome to week one of our online look at the opera. The opera has lots of topics to discuss: - How does Mozart set the scene? - How do men treat women? - How do women show their independence? - How do the themes in the opera relate to those of the Age of Enlightenment? Video Clips of the Week We'll look at two different interpretations of the first scene from the opera, which can be found on pages 16-18 in the Sounds of Learning guide. It's the opening aria of the Spanish nobleman Belmonte and the introduction of Bassa Selim's servant Osmin and the following duet between the two. Does Mozart catch Belmonte's nobility in his music? How? Based on the text of Osmin's aria, what are his opinions of women? How does the music express this? The first clip comes from a fi...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! To celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday we are dedicating this week's webisode to the feasts of opera! Video Clips of the Week! Our first video clip comes from the most famous dinner scene in all of opera, the Brindisi from Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata . The Brindisi, or drinking song, takes place at a lavish dinner party in early 18th century Paris. Tenor Placido Domingo plays Alfredo, who is in love with the hostess of the party and proposes a toast to love. Violetta ( Teresa Stratas ), the woman Alfredo is in love with, tries to thwart his advances by calling love folly. Our last clip comes from the Metropolitan Opera production of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel . After becoming hopelessly lost in the woods, hungry and tired Hansel and Gretel fall asleep. In this production, the children dream of a feast catered by fish and a dozen chefs. Opera on the Air! On Saturday, November 19th at 1 PM radio...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! Today marks the world premiere of Nico Muhly's opera Dark Sisters in New York City which will be coming to Philadelphia in June. To celebrate this exciting premiere, we take a look this week at the works of young American composer, Nico Muhly. Video Clips of the Week! Nico Muhly was born in Vermont, Muhly received his bachelor's degree in English from Columbia University and his masters degree in music composition from the Julliard School. Only 30 years old, Muhly has already composed over 50 pieces and has written music for everything, from electric violin to movie scores. The first video clip is an example of Muhly's modern music style, a percussive piano piece performed by Nico Muhly himself called "Skip Town". "Skip Town" performed by Nico Muhly Muhly has been especially praised for his choral works. Growing up as a boy chorister, Muhly fell in love with choral music. The next clip is a choral piece call...

Welcome Students and Teachers to Opera Online! From October 29th to November 6th people all over the country are celebrating National Opera Week. This week we take a look opera in your community! Video Clips of the Week! Our first video clip is from the National Opera Week last year. On October 30th, 650 people gathered at Macy's in downtown Philadelphia to perform Handel's " Hallelujah Chorus " in a Random Act of Culture . This huge surprise received national recognition and has had over 7 million hits on YouTube. Our next video clip is from a 2010 Random Act of Culture at Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. Singers from the OCP Chorus surprised hundreds of market shoppers in this stirring rendition of " Brindisi " from Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata . Our final surprise performance comes from this year. On April 2nd members of the Keystone State Boychoir surprised parents and children alike with the street children's chorus from Carmen at t...

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 ...