Pop. Opera... Popera!?

-
Over the weekend word got out that pop singer Rufus Wainwright has decided to drop plans to compose an opera for the Met. This is sad news.

Now, truth be told, I've never listened to much Rufus, preferring his sister's musical output to his own, but the idea of pop music stars writing for the opera stage excites me.

First off, as someone who loves new music, it is always exciting when a new opera is being developed. I'm also interested in seeing how pop music sensibilities carry over into opera because I think many people forget that opera was indeed the popular music of its time.

I also think having pop musicians compose an opera (provided it is good) helps earn my favorite art form some much needed "street cred" with younger audiences.

When complete (the opera will premiere next year at the Manchester International Festival regardless of the Met), Rufus will join the ranks of other pop musicians who have composed operas including The Police's drummer Stewart Copeland (Holy Blood and Crescent Moon) and The Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephin Merrit (Orphan of Zhao, Peach Blossom Fan and My Life as a Fairy Tale).

Without the Met commissioning this opera it is unknown what plans, if any, there are to bring it to the States but let us hope the premiere is a success and interest grows for this one.
- Edward

PS. For those that read the above linked news article which I have relinked here, the last paragraph also mentions another opera moving towards workshop between composer Michael Torke and director Des McAnuff. I can't let this go without mentioning Des McAnuff made his operatic directing debut with us for Wozzeck in 2007. And man, what a show that was...




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Five Things About La boheme You Don't Need To Know But Will Be Glad You Did

-
Getting ready with Dr. Nic last week for a TV interview he came up with five tidbits about La boheme to be used on air. Live TV being what live TV is, not all of them made it onto the show, but I thought they were interesting enough to be recycled here on the blog. Besides, I'm busy hammering away at the 2011 press release so pressed for time today. 2011 press release you say? You betcha. But, faithful readers, here's a tidbit: a certain married couple returns to us next season in another opera by Gounod. Without further ado, five things about La boheme you'll be glad to know 1) Giacomo Puccini’s opera La boheme is one of the three most popular operas ever written but it wasn ’t always that way. It was not an immediate success. An opera by a rival Italian composer, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, on the same subject (and also named Le bohème ) premiered about a year after Puccini’s and was quite successful. It’s possible that, in fact, Puccini actually stole the idea ...
Read more

10 Interesting Facts About Faust

-
A few weeks ago Dr. Nic shared with us 10 interesting things about Der Rosenkavalier , born out of an agonizing ride in the elevator where we stopped on every floor from the subterranean parking garage to the 18 th floor. Luckily we didn't have to recreate that experience to get 10 interesting facts about Faust ... 1. There is a well-known Christmas carol hidden in Méphistophélès ’ first aria, “Le veau d’or”, often called the “Golden Calf aria”. 2. The best known tune from Faust, Valentin’s aria “ Avant de quitter”, was added in 1864, a couple of years after the premiere of the opera (1859) for performances in London. It was sung in English at those performances and the French version followed later. 3. Although the story of Faust is based on Goethe’s original verse play (1806), it only covers Part I of the poet’s version, avoiding the more philosophical depths of Part II. 4. The source of the story of Faust was an actual person, a Doctor Johann ...
Read more

Pop Star to Opera Star

-
Image
We here at Aria Serious are torn by the news that ITV in the UK is filming a new reality series called "Pop Star to Opera Star" where pop stars will tackle the operatic repertoire while being mentored by Katherine Jenkins and Rolando Villazon. While we here at Aria Serious love to see our favorite art form on prime time TV, we're also concerned that this lowers the artistic standard. In a Company that prides itself in attracting the best talent possible, do shows like this undermine our work or is it a much needed breath of fresh air? One thing the show has going for it - Meatloaf (the singer, not the leftovers in your fridge) will be a judge. You can read about it here .
Read more