While We Were Out

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- Sad news to start with. The Aria Serious crew came back from vacation this morning to learn that tenor Salvatore Licitra was seriously injured in an accident over the weekend. His condition is listed as "stable, but extremely grave." Licitra was forced to withdraw from our production of Carmen earlier this year due to a back injury. He's scheduled to sing with us as part of our 2013. All of us here at Aria Serious and San Diego Opera wish him a speedy recovery. And dear readers, if you ride scooters or motorcycles, please wear a helmet.

- Moby-Dick had its Australian premiere over the weekend and we have lots of tidbits to share about it:

First, a wonderful and lengthy interview with composer Jake Heggie about the opera, his process and some very candid personal stories.

Then, a nice interview with their (and our) Ahab, Jay Hunter Morris. It's true we originally told him we wanted him to sing the role of the whale.

And still, another preview article about Moby-Dick.

Finally, the first review of the Australian performances.

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