Opera: Fresh Loaf, Creative Loafing Atlanta

Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent" becomes a world premiere opera

Andrew Alexander — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:32:00 -0400

Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel "The Secret Agent" has just about everything you'd ever want to put in an opera: intrigue, romance, violence, suspicion, guilt, murder, suicide. The list goes on, but let's just say it has all the bases covered.…

The Met to broadcast "Maria Stuarda" to movie theaters on Saturday

Andrew Alexander — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:17:00 -0500

The New York Times got it partially right. "2 Queens, 3 Lovers and One Death Warrant," read the headline for the rave review of the Met's new production of Maria Stuarda, which premiered New Year's Eve and will be broadcast live to local movie theaters this Saturday.…

The Met stirs up a "Tempest" for live broadcast

Andrew Alexander — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 10:40:50 -0500

The Metropolitan Opera will broadcast contemporary composer Thomas Adès opera based on Shakespeare's The Tempest to local movie theaters this Saturday, November 10, beginning at 12:55 p.m.

The work had its world premiere at London's Royal Opera House in 2004 and its Met premiere this season. Interestingly, the show is being staged by Cirque du Soleil Artistic Director Robert Lepage.…

Atlanta Opera rolls out signature cocktails for "Carmen" premiere

Andrew Alexander — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:10:00 -0500

Now that we've accomplished the task of picking a president, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and move on to another pressing question ... Champagne Cocktail or Dirty Martini?…

Celebrate National Opera Week with "Otello" broadcast, scavenger hunt

Andrew Alexander — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:14:07 -0400

National Opera Week begins today, Friday, October 26, and runs through Sunday, November 4. That's more than a week, but, hey, opera has always been about excess.…

What the Olympics sounded like, circa 1733

Andrew Alexander — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 11:25:00 -0400

The modern world's fascination with the ancient Olympic Games is as old as, well, the modern world.

Although the first attempts to fully emulate the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece didn't occur until the dawn of the 19th century, Europe already had Olympic fever way back in the early 1700s, along with a mania for all things Greek, and this popularity extended to opera, where Ancient Greece and the Olympic Games became fashionable subjects for the stage.…

Keep cool with sweet Metropolitan Opera summer show

Andrew Alexander — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:51:00 -0400

The Metropolitan Opera has been re-broadcasting popular performances from its Live in HD series to local movie theaters throughout the summer. There have been a lot of great shows on the schedule, but we're most intrigued by the last one which plays this Wednesday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m.: Der Rosenkavalier, originally broadcast in January 2010.…

Romney? Obama? Think Woodard for President

Andrew Alexander — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 08:54:00 -0400

The presidential race is just starting to gear up and already we're kind of sick of it. Those who argue that we need a third party in this country are probably onto something.…

Atlanta Opera announces 2012-2013 season

Andrew Alexander — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:05:00 -0400

There were no betting tables set up outside the Atlanta Opera headquarters in advance of their 2012-2013 season announcement event last evening, but if there had been, Creative Loafing would have won big.

We would have placed lots of money on the chance that a production of Carmen features prominently in the new season.…

Veruca Salt sings out in opera version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"

Andrew Alexander — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:57:00 -0500

Gluttonous Augustus Gloop. Gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde.…

24-Hour Opera Project showcases "instant operas"

Andrew Alexander — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:32:00 -0500

How long do you think it would take you to write an opera? A year?…

Atlanta Opera's "Lucia di Lammermoor" pulls out all the stops for one more weekend

Andrew Alexander — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:05:39 -0500

The Atlanta Opera is entering its final weekend of performances of Lucia di Lammermoor, and if you've ever wondered, “Hey, what's the big fuss about all this opera stuff anyway?!” Lucia is the show that will clue you in. Here's what the fuss is about: Gorgeous voices, awesome sets, amazing music, and outrageous drama.…

The Atlanta Opera brings on opera's bloodiest bride

Andrew Alexander — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:13:00 -0400

A haunted castle. A bitter feud.…

Atlanta Opera commissions children's opera based on the tales of Br'er Rabbit

Andrew Alexander — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:22:40 -0400

The Atlanta Opera has commissioned its first opera, a one-hour work for children that will tour Atlanta schools starting this fall. Rabbit Tales is based on the Joel Chandler Harris collections of the stories of Br'er Rabbit and will have its world premiere with a free performance at Harris' historic home, the Wren's Nest in West Atlanta, on the afternoon of Saturday, October 29.…

New Atlanta resident Jennifer Holloway plays Dorabella in AO's production of Mozart's Così Fan Tutte

Andrew Alexander — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:17:20 -0400

Zipping around the globe to play roles on the various stages of the world is just part of the job for most opera singers. But Jennifer Holloway—whose work normally takes her to Paris, New York, LA, Madrid, Italy, often for months at a time—will have the unusual luxury of not having to travel far at all for her next part.…

After blazing through the City of Light, The Atlanta Opera brings "Porgy" back home

Andrew Alexander — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:38:29 -0500

Over the next two weekends, the Atlanta Opera will stage Porgy and Bess at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center. It's a special production for many reasons, but perhaps most of all because members of the Atlanta Opera chorus are reviving the crucial role they played in a production of Porgy at Paris' renowned Opéra Comique in 2008.…

Atlanta Opera receives $9 million gift

Andrew Alexander — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:50:34 -0500

The Atlanta Opera has announced that it will be the recipient of a $9 million bequest from longtime board member Barbara D. Stewart. The gift is the largest in the Atlanta Opera's history, and among the largest single donations ever made to a North American opera company.…

Atlanta Opera to bring on Willy Wonka next season

Andrew Alexander — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 04:22:00 -0500

The Atlanta Opera held a press conference yesterday to announce its 2011-2012 season (2010-2011, we hardly knew ya?). It all looks fantastic, but we're especially intrigued by plans for a production of The Golden Ticket, an opera version of Roald Dahl's children's book Charlie and The Chocolate Factory.…

Art news and notes: The Georgia Museum of Art's fancy new digs and more

Debbie Michaud — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 15:55:34 -0500

Some art news from around town:

The Art Papers Art Auction, the contemporary art magazine's annual fundraising and hobnobbing event, takes place Fri., Feb. 4 (collectors preview party) and Sat., Feb. 5 (auction). You don't have to wait until the 5th to start bidding, though.…