In 1598, Jacopo Peri's lost Dafne premiered in Florence. it is widely considered to be the first opera, that genre of classical music in which a dramatic work is set to music. Over the last 400 years, it has evolved into numerous different art forms, from the ballad opera of the eighteenth century, to the ragtime music of the early 20th century, to the musical theatre of today.
The post The history of European opera appeared first on OUPblog.
How do opera and philosophy intersect? At first glance, this might seem like a strange question, for opera and philosophy are unlikely bedfellows. To speak of philosophy conjures up images of dry abstraction and bookish head-scratching, whereas to talk of opera is to call to mind cacophonous spectacles of colours and voices, of multitudinous audiences enthralled by impassioned song.
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ANNA NICOLE SMITH: the opera(?)
by Eleanor Tylbor
It was Andy Warhol who said in the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes. If that's the case then ex-Playboy centrefold,
Anna Nicole Smith, will have had her share of being a celebrity, and then some.
Her life will soon be the focus of an opera by the co-creator of the cult musical, "Jerry Spring: The Opera" if all goes as planned.
Composer Richard Thomas is writing the libretto for a contemporary piece, to be staged at the Royal Opera House no less, in 2010. He said the tragic life story of Ms Smith, a former stripper who died from an overdose of prescription drugs a year ago, was "a classic American tale about celebrity" which was "intrinsically operatic".
Perhaps he meant soap opera-ish.
The production, still in the early stages of development, is intended to be shown on the main stage at the Royal Opera House, accompanied by a 90-piece orchestra. Mr Thomas admitted that he was fascinated by stories which might seem "trashy".
He told The Independent newspaper: "It's an incredible story. It's very operatic and sad.
She was quite a smart lady with the tragic flaw that she could not seem to get through life without a vat of prescription painkillers."
However, his choice of subject, a woman labelled "the queen of trailer trash" by American tabloids, is unlikely to appeal to diehard fans of classical opera, some of whom have accused the Royal Opera House of dumbing down.
Read the backgrounder about the soon-to-be-(soap)opera here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/04/nsmith404.xmlPersonally, I wouldn't waste my money on this show and why anyone would want to do a show based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith is beyond stupid or inane.
Yawn... Pass... Not for nothing...
