Metropolitan Opera History

The piece from my final recital programme that I chose to evaluate in this essay is ‘Verdi Prati’ from Handel’s opera Alcina. Alcina was inspired by a story from an epic poem called “Orlando Furioso”, however, Handel's libretto is a very free adaption. This particular aria is of great importance in the opera as we see the character Ruggerio predicting what is to come for Alcina and her magical island.

One of the main magic’s of the theatre is for the audience to go into it unaware of what they will see, and exit with a whole new view in mind. This is still possible in jukebox musicals even if the audience member is familiar with some of the songs. Songs, text, and all literature can be interpreted in different ways based on the individual. Theatre is meant for all different people to enjoy. Some may like going to a show featuring songs that their favorite artists wrote or that speak to a memorable time of their life. It becomes a discussion about how the audience can relate to the characters.

Located in the historic Theatre District, it was first known as the Metropolitan Theatre, then the Music Hall, before becoming the Wang Theatre in the early 1980s.

2. The Phantom of the Opera: This musical takes place in the Paris Opera house, were a shadowy existence named Phantom hides because he is ashamed of his physical features, but a woman falls in love with him. The average price of a ticket is $63.32 but can range anywhere you to $92.52.

Upon arriving at the Adams Center the popularity of Mama Mia was obvious by the heavy traffic, packed parking lots and long lines to enter the Events Center. Though the long line was inconvenient it moved quickly and the atmosphere of excitement made for an enjoyable wait. The masses upon entering the stadium quickly found their seats, and anxiously awaited the start of the show at eight o’clock. The seating was stadium seating, not true to opera houses, lacking plush chairs and balconies. Instead the seats were made of a hard plastic and there were no balconies. The temperature was quite warm, making much of the audience a bit uncomfortable. The stage was

A Brief History of the Paris Opera Ballet It is during the 16th century that the French started ascertaining themselves using the art of ballet. The early ballet dancing was mainly done by dignified dancers who used to entertain the royalty in the main hall where other spectators would watch through the sides of the galleries. The ballet dancing was majorly designed for the entertainment of the aristocracy and the high and rich people in Paris. In the year 1661 Louis XIV founded the Academie Royale de Danse which is presently known as the Paris Opera Ballet (Fisher, 2003, p. 146). In the early times of ballet dancing all the dancers were men, and women roles were played by men wearing masks.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s contributions to musical theatres were amazing. Perhaps his greatest contribution to the theatre was his world wide popular opera ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ which has been played over a record of 10,400 times on Broadway, making it the most performed show in history. In the production of of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ in 1971, popular music was presented to the people in the classic form of opera, more operas then start to include popular music in operas and musical which was a great leap and development towards musical operas. Andrew Lloyd Webber broke several records, one of them was ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ which was first produced in London in 1986 which gained 16 million USD ticket sales which also brought more people’s attention to opera and musicals. ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ also broke the record to be the longest playing show in the Broadway Music Hall. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s contribution to music theatres was acknowledged. In 1992, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and was also honored with a peerage. He was also established as one of the greatest legends in musical

Jean Pierre and François were constant companions and business partners throughout their lives. They spent a great deal of time in New Orleans on business and while there, they attended The French Opera on the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse whenever possible. The French Opera House, designed by James Gallier Jr. opened in 1859 and closed briefly during the Civil War. The Vigueries may have been in the audience for the American premieres of Carmen and Aida. Family members recalled that the brothers had beautiful singing voices and would bring home librettos from the operas and sing the whole scores.

Before showing the elements of the play, a critical understanding of what makes an epic theatre just that is needed. Firstly, the events of the play should be spaced out over lengthy periods of time and using all different kinds of settings. This is easily observable in An Octoroon where Jacobs-Jenkins takes the audience from an empty theater with just he and Boucicault, to the outside of Terrebonne in Act 1, to the wharf in Act 2, then the interior of the Peyton home in Act 3, back to empty theater with BJJ and Boucicault in Act 4, then lastly outside the slaves quarters on Terrebonne however, it is night time and very dimly light almost like a new setting entirely. In M. Butterfly however there are almost too many places to count from Gallimard’s cell, to the German Ambassador’s house, to the opera house where Song is, to Song’s apartment, all the way to the French Embassy and other different places around Beijing. Not only does providing all these settings historicize the plays showing them as a historical event rather than as a mere play in which

During the second half of the 17th century opera spread throughout Italy and other European countries. Venice, Italy was the center of opera, but as other countries imported the Italian operas, each country’s own unique styles were mixed with the Italian opera. This happened quickly in Germany, while France resisted and ending up creating their own idiom - one that was heavily based on the dance aspect of the performance. The Italian opera, still the most popular of the relatively new art form, continued to develop. Specifically for the singers, the aria developed into the vehicle they would use to attract to public into the opera house. By the end of the 17th century the most common form was the de capo aria which allowed for both repetition

Opera is just as popular as it was years ago. In the past groups of individuals used to meet up in opera houses to watch the host perform a play or a musical. As of now most opera is played through music cd's and DVD's, which is far less cheaper than purchasing a ticket to see a live show. Opera today still takes place on stage and in theaters. The high cost of production can sometimes make it not possible to have a live show which is very common in today's time. Majority of the opera songs that are played today come from jazz, folk , and rock musicals.

When students study to sing Italian bel canto opera, it’s better to use the work which performed by people who is original singer to imitate and practice. However, there are still a series of problems will happen for non-Italian students when they are study singing the opera, for example Semiramide. Bel raggio lusinghier. Even according to the video soundtrack to imitate, the overall effect artistic and performances is not satisfactory. The problems are pronunciation hesitation, slurred speech, unknown the meaning of the text. All of these problems will reduce the bel canto opera artistry.

The first objective is to gain generous contributions. The amount per donator, ration between new donators and new contacts (collection rate) and the total amount of the donators and contributions are ways to measure how this aspect is doing. Incentives for the staff should also be incorporated into these objectives, especially ones that steer the process towards multi-year support programs.

Donald Grout defines opera in his text, A Short History of Opera, as “a drama in music: a dramatic action, exhibited on stage with scenery by actors in costume, the words conveyed entirely or for the most part by singing, and the whole sustained and amplified by orchestral music” (4). A literal translation of the word opera is simply work, and although the term opera was not coined until 1634, one of the first known operas was performed in 1597 (Grout 1). Grout explains that there are two types of opera. The first type is when the main emphasis is on the music (Grout 6). Examples of this type of opera can be seen in the works of Lully and Wagner (Grout 7). The second type of opera is characterized by the music and other factors being of

I think it is good that there are so many types of theater. Every kind of theater can tell the same story in a different way. As I mentioned before, I was very curious what effect was causing me to see the story of the Werther in the opera version. I thought that music and singing could be a good way to show this great love.