by jon bosworth jaxvillain@yahoo.com
On February 24th the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra will present Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. According to my mother, who once sang with Pavarotti and performed in operas at the Met in New York City, Fabio does an excellent job when he conducts the symphony for the annual opera, and The Barber of Seville is the quintessential operatic piece, so the performance is sure to introduce newcomers to opera in a spectacular fashion. But JSO isn’t presenting the only opera in town these days.
Sharing the halls of the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, but in the Moran Theatre, are the traveling performances brought to town by the FCCJ Artist Series. The Bulgarian State Opera will be presenting Puccini’s final work from 1926, Turandot on January 12th. This epic work is generally regarded as the pinnacle of Italian opera and features an intense score. As with The Barber of Seville, the presentation is performed in the original Italian, but English subtitles are displayed so that English-speaking audiences can understand the storyline.
FCCJ is also bringing to the Moran Theatre Rigoletto as performed by Teatro Lirico D’Europa on January 30th. Composed in 1851, Rigoletto is an intriguing study of the contrasts between good and evil. Careless flirtations by the womanizing Duke of Mantua and the actions of his vengeful court jester play out against a backdrop of seduction, betrayal curses and vendettas, ending in the tragic death of Rigoletto’s innocent daughter Gilda at the hands of a paid assassin.
If live opera just doesn’t seem like your bag, perhaps you would be more comfortable following the dramatic storylines and timeless melodies on the big screen. Tinseltown, yes the megaplex on Southside Boulevard where you are accustomed to seeing blockbuster Jerry Bruckheimer films, presents simulcasts of the Metropolitan Opera performances in New York on one of their big screens, and Jacksonville has been eating it up.
On January 13th you can catch The First Emperor. This presentation marks the world-premiere broadcast of Chinese composer, Tan Dun’s, epic opera. Featuring the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo as Emperor Qin, who built the Great Wall and gave China its name, this monumental production is staged by revered Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers), with costumes by Oscar-winning designer Emi Wada (Kurosawa’s Ran).
On February 24th you can take your date to Eugene Onegin to see the beloved American soprano Renée Fleming join Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for this broadcast of Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous and lyrical composition. The sweeping dramatic arc of this opera—youthful longing, rejection, regret, a desperate plea that comes too late—is perfectly mirrored in Tchaikovsky’s achingly beautiful music and in the stunning lighting of this strikingly minimal production.
Finally, if you missed it on stage in Jacoby Hall at the Times-Union Center, you can catch The Barber of Seville on the big screen on March 24th. Check with Tinseltown for showtimes the week of the event to learn precisely when the opera will be presented and enjoy these classics for a fraction of the cost of traveling to New York and trying to score tickets to these sold-out performances. If you have always wondered what all the hubbub has been about for the last 200 years of opera, now is your chance to check it out for yourself in whichever fashion you are most comfortable with.
|
