extremes...

a little voyage into what a lot of people may refer to as extremes in opera -

the first video is "Lascia Ch'io Pianga" an aria from handel's opera "rinaldo". it was first perfromed on 24 february 1711. It is noteworthy for being the first opera that handel composed for his extended stay in london. it was extremely popular at the time and was made even more notable as it starred two of the world's greatest castrati. yes, that is the italian for castrated. it was still pretty well unacceptable for women to perform on the stage or in operas. the castrati filled the bill. they were young boys, often bought from their parents for their beautiful soprano voices, castrated and then trained to sing the operas of the day.

This barbarism is no longer legal anywhere in the world as far as i know. this video features philippe jaroussky, a french countertenor. countertenors are the equivalent of the castrati of yesterday. the voice is very pleasant but does unnerve many people. i have had the great pleasure of hearing both david daniels and bejun mehta, the two leading countertenors perfroming today. it is a very haunting sound and extremely beautiful. you should recognize the aria once you hear it. it is probably one of the most memorable of handel's work.



now, to the extreme.

philip glass is considered one of the most famous and prolific postmodern composers of the 20th century. many people have heard his work and are not aware of it. he has done the scores for a number of recent movies. the hours is probably the most famous of them.

his work is quite different to many people. it is minimalist to say the least and most do not find it lyrical. his most famous work is probably the metamorphosis series - all piano works originally.

i remember a production of "satyagraha" that lyric opera of chicago did where you could see the conductor counting for the orchestra rather than conducting as we generally consider it.

the piece below is from glass' opera "einstein on the beach." it is not an actual opera performance but, rather, a performance piece and video by a german. after listening to the handel, it is really very different but, if you listen closely, you realize that it is very lyrical.



though i love all opera, i have a special affinity towards 20th century opera. the standard repertoire of verdi, puccini, donizetti, et al has its significant place, but it is important to me for people to move forward and expand just as the repertoire must. it has always amazed me that the limited number of musical notes that exist provide infinite combinations of sound...