ARIA SERIOUS?

Ildebrando Pizzetti is not a composer known to most U.S. operagoers, but his opera Murder in the Cathedral which premiered at La Scala in 1958, made quite a splash when it first appeared. Based on the historical assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 and more specifically the T.S. Eliot verse-play about this event, the opera turned out to be a tour de force for bass, along the lines of Boris Godunov and King Philip. Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education and Outreach, explores this unusual and exciting entry in our 2013 season.

One of the most delightful comedies to come out of the bel canto period, Donizetti’s T he Daughter of the Regiment charms us at every turn. It was one of a number of operas the composer had in production during the 1840 Paris opera season, a feat about which Berlioz declared: “One speaks no more of the operatic stages of Paris: one must speak of the operatic stages of Donizetti!” Join Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education and Outreach for San Diego Opera for a brief discussion of this wonderful opera.