by Gregory Moomjy As a die-hard classical music fan, the phrase “museum piece” drives me crazy. I hate the fact that the general public has this idea that classical music is simply a bunch of old pieces from hundreds of years ago that get dusted off again and again and again to be played exactly the…Continue reading Review: Simon Bore the Cross
Author: Peter Szep
Review: Lucia Di Lammermoor
By Gregory Moomjy Anyone who knows me, knows the story about how I was three years old when I was introduced to opera by a VHS tape of the magic flute as I was recovering from major back surgery. However, what I typically don’t tell them, is that after that fateful introduction my grandfather took…Continue reading Review: Lucia Di Lammermoor
Show 88: Quamino’s Map with Deborah Brevoort, Kimille Howard, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Cori Ellison
We are joined by several creators of Quamino’s Map, a fascinating new opera by composer Errollyn Wallen, having its world premiere at Chicago Opera Theater. Librettist and playwright Deborah Brevoort, conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, dramaturg Cori Ellison, and director Kimille Howard discuss the origins and creative process of this unique production, which focuses on the Black…Continue reading Show 88: Quamino’s Map with Deborah Brevoort, Kimille Howard, Jeri Lynne Johnson and Cori Ellison
REVIEW: Don Carlos
by Gregory Moomjy If Verdi had lived to see the American opera scene of the mid-to-late 20th century, he might be overjoyed to realize that the most frequently performed operas at the Metropolitan Opera could be listed as ABC: Aida, La Boheme, and Carmen. When he wrote Aida in 1871, he wanted a hit and all the economic prosperity that would…Continue reading REVIEW: Don Carlos
Podcast 87: Carla Lucero and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz
We welcome two creators of the upcoming LA Opera production of The Three Women of Jerusalem: Carla Lucero, composer/librettist, and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz, translator. Lucero is the first Latinx and female composer to be commissioned for the LA Opera’s Cathedral Operas. We discover how they translated the opera into Spanish while retaining the same…Continue reading Podcast 87: Carla Lucero and Dr. Rita E. Urquijo-Ruiz