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Wednesday, October 29, 2014
REVIEW: 'Capriccio' by Lyric Opera of Chicago
Here's the review.
Renee Fleming has taken her time bringing one of her most celebrated operatic roles, Countess Madeleine in Richard Strauss' "Capriccio," to the company for which she serves as creative consultant.
But the wait has been worth it.
Strauss' 15th and final opera returned to the Lyric Opera repertory after a 20-year absence Monday night at the Civic Opera House, with Fleming, who had not appeared in a fully staged production at Lyric since 2008, heading a superb ensemble, well, superbly.
Friday, October 24, 2014
ISGAP Fellow Phyllis Chesler on The Hijacking of History by Opera: The Death of Klinghoffer
More on the controversy about the opera surrounding the events which led to the death of Leon Klinghofer.
I love opera. I was once a regular contributor to NPR's "At the Opera," and that privilege lasted for almost three years. I attend the Metropolitan opera as often as I can—I also attend the Chelsea Opera, the NY City Opera (when it existed), and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in Cooperstown almost every summer.
The Metropolitan Opera's General Manager, Peter Gelb, has a constitutional as well as an artistic right to produce whatever he wants. However, his choice of The Death of Klinghofferis an abdication of moral responsibility, political sensitivity, and gravitas. Gelb's showcasing of this opera is equivalent to a college president's decision to allow ISIS, Hamas, al-Qaeda, or the Taliban to speak on campus because "all sides must be heard and understood" because "all points of view are equally valid."
Blood libels against Israel and the Jews, mythic pseudo-histories—genocidal narratives—have permeated the Western campuses. These dangerous falsehoods claim the privilege of free speech and academic freedom and they have been welcomed by the intelligentsia. Now, these same ideas are making their debut amidst the trappings of high culture.
I love opera. I was once a regular contributor to NPR's "At the Opera," and that privilege lasted for almost three years. I attend the Metropolitan opera as often as I can—I also attend the Chelsea Opera, the NY City Opera (when it existed), and the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in Cooperstown almost every summer.
The Metropolitan Opera's General Manager, Peter Gelb, has a constitutional as well as an artistic right to produce whatever he wants. However, his choice of The Death of Klinghofferis an abdication of moral responsibility, political sensitivity, and gravitas. Gelb's showcasing of this opera is equivalent to a college president's decision to allow ISIS, Hamas, al-Qaeda, or the Taliban to speak on campus because "all sides must be heard and understood" because "all points of view are equally valid."
Blood libels against Israel and the Jews, mythic pseudo-histories—genocidal narratives—have permeated the Western campuses. These dangerous falsehoods claim the privilege of free speech and academic freedom and they have been welcomed by the intelligentsia. Now, these same ideas are making their debut amidst the trappings of high culture.
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