Opera For Everyone

Was it only a dream? Baroque composer Henry Purcell was on his way to establishing a national operatic tradition based on the dramatic and musical traditions of the English, when, alas, his life was cut short after just 36 years.  Join us as we explore Purcell’s musically and emotionally rich “The Fairy Queen,” a delightful twist on the Bard’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Shakespeare was content to end his tale with ambiguity, and so must we content ourselves with what Purcell has given us, and not indulge in the fantasy of what might have been had he enjoyed additional years composing. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Where passion joins with music and poetry we find opera. In this sweet spot, we also find What We Need Is Here, the most recent project by accomplished musician and singer, Lisa Reagan. Lisa joins us to talk about creating an album of songs for classic poems that have been meaningful to her life. Lisa Reagan spent twenty years singing with the Washington National Opera and her first performance there was in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, an opera of epic scope and dramatic extremes. Join Pat, Kathleen and Lisa for a close look at this powerful opera and the varieties of human experience it explores. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen, with special guest Lisa Reagan For more on Lisa Reagan and her album What We Need Is Here, visit lisareagan.com For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

Two things never go out of fashion: opera and mystery.  In this episode, mystery writer and former opera violinist Erica Miner talks with us about her opera mystery series and Lulu, Berg’s high-body-count melodrama.  Lulu, which features prominently in Erica’s new novel, centers on a beautiful young woman whose admirers descend into obsession.  Join us for a fascinating discussion of the nuts and bolts of opera, how it has informed Erica’s writings, and a close look at Berg’s masterpiece. Erica Miner is the author of Prelude to Murder, the second book in the Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series.  For more on Erica, visit ericaminer.com

In Amahl and the Night Visitors, a young boy and his mother unexpectedly play host to the Magi on their way to meet the infant Jesus.  Originally written for television, this opera uniquely bridges the ancient and modern in a heartfelt exploration of the meaning of hospitality. In the second half of this episode, we are joined by Grant to talk about the role of Epiphany in the Christmas story, and enjoy some of the more beloved songs associated with the timeless story of the Magi. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen. For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

By turns funny, serious, and seriously funny, L’Italiana in Algeri is a fascinating assembly of romantic tropes: a spurned wife, a shipwrecked lover, a pirate king, and a daring escape.  At the same time, it deals with serious themes of agency, power, and silence.  Set in a world that is both alien and familiar, this opera has something to say to all of us. Guest co-host Emily Cohen, executive director of Opera For Everyone’s home station KHOL, joins us for an opera in which she once performed!

“The face that launched a thousand ships.” Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world, has a problem.  Her husband plans to kill her, but she just wants him to fall in love with her again.  She may just need a miracle to pull it off, but if anyone can do it, she can.  Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal aimed for a light and comic operetta with Die Ägyptische Helena, but delivered a profound and dramatic work of art about the road to repairing broken relationships. Hosted by Pat, Kathleen, and Grant For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of the top ten most-performed operas in the world, Puccini’s Tosca is considered by some the greatest of operas.  A painter provides refuge for an escaped political prisoner, which begins a chain of events that starts with petty jealousy and ends in a death leap.  Things spiral further and further out of control in this epic confrontation of tyranny and passion, set in the tempestuous era of the Napoleonic Wars.  Join Pat and Greg for an in-depth discussion of the story and the power of this masterpiece.

Richard Wagner’s style is one of the most distinctive and recognizable in all of opera.  But Wagner wasn’t always the Wagner we’ve come to know. The earliest of Wagner’s operas to be performed in his lifetime was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure,  Das Liebesverbot, where he is still developing his craft and working on his relationship to German opera.  The result is an opera which does not shy away from Italian styles. It even makes the villain of the piece the one German character among a multitude of Italians bumping up against the moral codes of their city, Palermo, Sicily!  Discover this infrequently performed opera with us, learning about how Wagner became Wagner… and experiencing a lively story of the conflict between personal morality and the enforcement of communal rules.  Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

At once a sweeping story about humanity and a deeply personal look at a married couple with unfulfilled aspirations, Die Frau Ohne Schatten is often considered the magnum opus of the famed partnership between composer Richard Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal.  Moving between lofty, other-worldly, and gritty settings, this opera simultaneously puzzles and inspires audiences.  Being human, this opera tells us, is a messy business, but ultimately, the greatest pursuit and prize in all creation. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of history’s most infamous women, Lucrezia Borgia has inspired artists, dramatists, and TV show writers for centuries.  Donizetti’s opera follows the play by Victor Hugo, telling of Lucrezia’s effort to find the kind of love that might change her life.  However, it isn’t easy being a powerful woman in Renaissance Italy.  Gaetano Donizetti, a prolific composer in the Bel Canto style, gives us an opera with a fascinating story, and, of course, “beautiful singing.” Hosted by Pat, Kathleen, and Grant For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

“Double, double toil and trouble.”  Composer Giuseppi Verdi enthusiastically declared that Shakespeare’s Macbeth “is one of the greatest creations of man!”  Harnessing this passionate admiration, he went on to craft the first of his three completed operas based on Shakespeare plays.  Verdi’s Macbeth is full of powerful choral pieces, arias from a royal couple lurching toward self-destruction, and Verdi’s own personal vision of a people yearning to free themselves from despotic oppression.  In the end, Macbeth concludes that life is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing,” but to Verdi, the tyrant’s downfall brings soaring triumph to a suffering people, and perhaps something closer to self-determination. Hosted by Pat & Kathleen Van De Wille  For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of the world’s most formidable generals and one of history’s most beguiling politicians are joined by two frustrated young men and an irresistible widow in Handel’s Baroque masterpiece, Giulio Cesare in Egitto.  Join Pat, Kathleen, and Grant for a journey through history, literature, and myth in exploring the influences and meaning of this enduring opera.   For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

One of the world’s most beloved operas, Mozart’s  Le Nozze di Figaro, is not only the focus of this episode, but also the inspiration for Elly Uncomposed: A Novel Opera, a magical realist novel by author and retired opera singer, Valerie Niemerg.  Like the opera Figaro, some truly serious and important topics are addressed in Elly Uncomposed, but with a charmingly comical touch. Join Valerie and Pat for a wide-ranging conversation about her delightful book, stories about her time in professional opera, and an exploration of Le Nozze di Figaro.

A people yearns for freedom.  The power of their prayers, set to Verdi’s incomparable music, have stirred audiences ever since the première of Nabucco in 1842.  The impact of this opera may relate to Verdi’s own struggle to overcome personal tragedies preceding the composition the music.  It also resonates with the passions of the Italian people of his day, and their desire to free themselves from foreign domination.  Drawing inspiration from scripture, Verdi and his librettist created an opera that tells a timeless story, and gave Italians one of their great anthems, Va pensiero. Hosted by Pat and Grant

Handel’s beloved Messiah, known for its thrilling Hallelujah Chorus, is a long-standing favorite during the Christmas season.  Neither an opera, nor Christmas music, this English-language oratorio was composed for the Easter Season and premièred in Dublin in 1842.  The magnificent text was crafted from the King James Bible by Handel’s friend, Charles Jennens.  Join Pat and Grant for their newly remastered conversation about this enduring Baroque masterpiece.  

Have you ever asked what might be going on backstage at an opera house?  Or wondered about what secrets hide behind those glittering stages?  Drawing on 21 years as a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera, Erica Miner guides her readers through a dramatized version of the opera world in her mystery novel, Aria for Murder, the first in the “Julia Kogan Opera Mystery” series. Join Pat for a conversation with Erica about her experiences in professional opera and the work of crafting them into thrilling works of fiction. Find Erica at: ericaminer.com

Glittering and gloriously tuneful, Die Fledermaus (“The Bat”) is the most enduring operetta of Vienna’s famous “Waltz King,” Johann Strauss II.  Its plot features revenge, infidelity, disguised identities, and a glamorous ball at its center, given by a wealthy host who requires his guests to keep the party lively.  Toasting “King Champagne,” the characters of this “spirited” operetta recognize the royalty of sparkling wine: the beverage that motivates, infuriates, and ultimately exonerates them.    Hosted by Pat and Rosie (www.rosiebrooks.com)  

Masks, both literal and figurative, abound in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, “A Masked Ball.”  Conspirators feign support of a leader they despise.  A noblewoman must veil both her face and her feelings from her husband.  The governor must put on a disguise to understand his subjects, and his beloved.  The governor’s chief councilor dons a mask to take murderous revenge on him for an imagined betrayal.  Even the setting itself, colonial Boston, is a thin disguise for the original setting, Sweden under Gustav III.   Hosted by Pat and guest co-host Michael Severance, long-serving bassoonist and contrabassoonist with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.

A beloved king becomes reviled by his family and his people as previously hidden dark deeds come to light.  A young woman loses her innocence and freedom through the machinations of the lord of the underworld.  The timeless ancient Greek stories of King Oedipus and Persephone captured the imagination of Igor Stravinsky, a composer unafraid to present drama in new and unexpected formats.  Join Opera for Everyone as we explore the characters, and the powerful music of these two short operas. Hosted by Pat and Kathleen Van De Wille

There is no secular story nearly so important to the Western tradition as the Odyssey, a timeless tale of heroism, achievement, and loss.  The subject matter of this epic poem has found its way into many works of art, and likely the earliest opera adaptation was Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, first performed in 1639 in the city of Venice.  Monteverdi’s opera tells one of the oldest remembered human stories through the new form of art of which he was one of the pioneers, the opera.  His reimaginings of Greek myth often fused Christian and pagan elements into a beautiful and complex melange, and this is no exception.  At once philosophical and lyrical, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria comes to us from a very different time from our own, but continues to thrill through its inventiveness and beauty. Hosted by Pat and Grant