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NEWS ABOUT: opera

'Grateful' Symphony Debuts

Baltimore to unveil work based on various Dead classics

(Newser) - The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will debut this week an opera derived from the music of the Grateful Dead, on what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 66th birthday. Titled Dead Symphony No. 6, each movement goes truckin' on a different Dead song. The Grateful Dead is “long overdue to... More »

'The Fly' Morphs Into Opera

Cronenberg classic debuts in Paris

(Newser) - David Cronenberg’s horror classic The Fly has metamorphosed into something new: an opera. This new, unholy horror-opera hybrid was unleashed on Paris last night, garnering at least somewhat enthusiastic applause, Bloomberg reports. Intact were all the things that made the movie memorable: its tragic love plot, hideous monster and,... More »

No-Longer-Fat Lady Sings Part She Was Denied

Slimmed-down Voigt mocks 'little black dress' incident online

(Newser) - In 2004 Deborah Voigt, one of the world's most gifted sopranos, was dismissed from a London production of Ariadne auf Naxos for being too fat to fit in the little black dress that the director insisted was integral to the production. On Monday Voigt, who has gone from a size... More »

Global Warming, the Opera

La Scala plans operatic version of Al Gore's climate change documentary

(Newser) - It started out as a slide show, became an Oscar-winning documentary and best-selling book, and now Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth is about to become a full-length opera, reports the AP. Milan's La Scala opera house has commissioned Italian composer  Giorgio Battistelli to set Gore's stark warning on global warming... More »

Vivaldi Opera Revived 278 Years Later

Czech musician tracks down long-lost work in Germany

(Newser) - A long-lost opera by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi has resurfaced nearly 280 years after its Prague premiere, BBC reports. Argippo, a tale of love and deception set in an Indian maharaja’s court, was first performed in 1730 but vanished soon after, leaving only a libretto. But that was enough... More »

Bravo! Met's First Encore in 14 Years Wins Huge Ovation

Tenor nails 18 high Cs in new production

(Newser) - Audiences at New York's Metropolitan Opera Monday night were treated to something they hadn't heard in 14 years: an encore. In the Met's new production of Donizetti's La fille du régiment, tenor Juan Diego Flórez nailed the nine high C's of the difficult aria "Ah! Mes Amis"... More »

Verdi, Naked and Anti-American

Austrian Marxist uses opera to slam US capitalism

(Newser) - A German staging of Verdi’s “A Masked Ball” leaves Uncle Sam wearing little but a mask, Der Spiegel reports. In a rebuke of US capitalism, the production parades naked retirees on a set of the World Trade Center's ruins, and offers a female singer with a Hitler mustache... More »

Pavarotti Lipsynched Last Performance

Late tenor too sick to sing live at Turin Olympics opening ceremony

(Newser) - Lipsynching isn't just for neophytes like Nikki Hilton—none other than tenor Luciano Pavarotti faked his way through his final public performance at the opening of the Turin Winter Olympics, the Guardian reports. In a new book, Pavarotti's conductor and pianist claims that he recorded the cancer-stricken tenor and the... More »

Famed Tenor di Stefano Dead

Brilliant but erratic tenor succumbed to injuries from 2004 attack

(Newser) - Giuseppe di Stefano, the tenor whose short but brilliant career made him an operatic legend, died yesterday at his home near Milan. He was 86. His widow told reporters his death resulted from head injuries dating to 2004, when robbers in Kenya left him temporarily comatose. Di Stefano's superb voice... More »

Margaret Truman Daniel Dead

First Daughter went on to act, sing and write

(Newser) - Margaret Truman Daniel died today at 83 after breaking the mold of First Daughter and embarking on careers in singing, acting, and writing, the Los Angeles Times reports. The go-getter braved opera critics as a singer in the 1940s and '50s before acting alongside Jimmy Stewart on radio and television.... More »

Springer Opera Dodges Blasphemy Bullet

Christian group can't sue BBC director: court

(Newser) - A British court has ruled that the BBC can't be prosecuted for blasphemy for airing Jerry Springer—The Opera, which features scenes set in Hell with Jesus and Satan. The High Court ruled that not only is the opera not blasphemous—because it satirizes a TV show rather than attacking... More »

Christian Sues Springer Musical for Blasphemy

Pole-dancing Eve doesn't wash with critic

(Newser) - A Christian activist in Britain is battling in court to sue the men behind hit musical "Jerry Springer—The Opera" for blasphemy. The play, which depicts Eve as a pole dancer and Jesus as a diaper-wearing deviant, is a "spiteful, willful denigration of Christian belief," his attorney... More »

Chinese Opera House Opens

(Newser) - Armed ballerinas and a song by former Chinese president Jiang Zemin today celebrate the opening of Beijing's controversial National Grand Theater, a $360 million modern arts complex built in the shadow of the Forbidden City. The Red Detachment of Women, however, is a traditional touch—it's one of eight plays... More »

High C is a Drink Best Served Bold

Pavarotti had blend of talent, self-confidence to hit hard note

(Newser) - Pavarotti’s obits called him “King of the High C’s,” a nickname he earned for hitting a note that many tenors have to fake in falsetto. “It’s the absolute summit of technique,” says a coach. “More than anywhere else in your voice, you... More »

Thousands Mourn Pavarotti

(Newser) - Modena's main piazza was filled with throngs of Luciano Pavarotti fans today as invited mourners gathered at the cathedral for the tenor's funeral. The service, which was shown on huge screens in the piazza and broadcast live, was attended by an ecclectic group of dignitaries and artists with whom the... More »

Thousands Pay Respects to Pavarotti

Bono, Kofi Annan plan to attend tenor's funeral tomorrow

(Newser) - Thousands lined up today to pay respects to opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti at the cathedral in his hometown of Modena, Italy. Though the tenor's family wants a private funeral tomorrow, an international array of celebrities and fans–among them Bono, Andrea Bocelli, and Kofi Annan–are planning to attend, Reuters... More »

Opera World Mourns 'King of the High Cs'

Pavarotti's legacy: That unforgettable, unmistakable sound

(Newser) - Placido Domingo is the better musician, but no other voice could match the late Luciano Pavarotti's, Anthony Tommasini writes in today's Times. The music critic looks at a career dotted with highs as lofty as the high Cs Pavarotti "tossed off" with "ease, pinging tone and utter glee"... More »

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti Dies

Succumbs to cancer surrounded by family in hometown Italian villa

(Newser) - Opera star Luciano Pavarotti, one of the greatest tenors of the last century, died early this morning of pancreatic cancer, surrounded by his wife, sister and four daughters, in his hometown villa in Modena, Italy. He was 71. "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle," said his manager.... More »

Pavarotti Extends Stay in Hospital

'Tranquil' tenor to remain a few more days

(Newser) - Tenor Luciano Pavarotti has decided to extend his stay in the hospital a few more days, his wife said, saying the star feels “more tranquil” there and denying rumors that he had pneumonia. The opera luminary, who had surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2006, was hospitalized last week when... More »

Tenor Jerry Hadley Dies at 55

Jerry Hadley, 55, was known for his bright voice and brash energy

(Newser) - Lyric tenor Jerry Hadley, 55, died yesterday, eight days after shooting himself in the head in his home near Poughkeepsie, NY. Hadley, who suffered from depression, was known for his bright, warm voice, brash energy on stage and adventurous choice of repertory, the New York Times reports. More »

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