Opera Cheat Sheet | Houston Public Media: Recent Episodes
St.John Flynn
In this weekly web feature, St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly provide a quick, fun overview of the opera to be heard Saturday afternoon on HPM Classical and houstonpublicmedia.org.
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra introduce you to Franz Lehár’s operetta The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) which premiered in Vienna in 1905.Redolent of another famous Viennese operetta, Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow is a story of balls, flirtations, crude diplomacy and a fan.Tune in Saturday at noon to Houston Public Media Classical for Lyric Opera of Chicago’s broadcast... Read More
In this week's OCS, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn introduces excerpts from an interview with former Houston Symphony Music Director Hans Graf and Shepherd School of Music composition professor Anthony Brandt about the Houston Symphony's 2012 semi-staged production of Alban Berg's Wozzeck.Murder, madness, infidelity, suicide...this opera has it all!Tune in Saturday at noon to Houston Public Media's 88.7 HD2 to hear Lyric Opera of Chicago's broadcast of this 20th-century masterpiece.
In this week's OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Gioachino Rossini’s 1817 comic masterpiece La Cenerentola.Based on the Charles Perrault fairy tale of Cinderella, it’s the story of the kind-hearted young girl, abused by her step-sisters, who meets, falls in love with, and marries the handsome prince. Yes, Cinders does go to the ball!Tune in to Classical 91.7 and HPM Classical Saturday at noon to... Read More
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of ROCO look at the seemingly recent phenomenon of turning great books into operas (think Moby Dick, Little Women, Thérèse Raquin, and Cold Sassy Tree to name just a few). As they point out, while many of the most successful late 20th- and early 21st-century operas may derive from well-known books, this is by no means something new. In fact, it would be difficult... Read More
In this OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give a brief introduction to one of Mozart’s greatest creations.Subtitled The Mad Day, The Marriage of Figaro shows the craziness that ensues when the “right of the lord” is not the opposite of the “left of the lord”!Le Nozze di Figaro, to give it its Italian title, was the first of the three great collaborations between Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Based on... Read More
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Richard Strauss’s telling of the story of the children of King Agamemnon who are hell bent on seeking revenge on their mother, Klytemnestra, for her cold-blooded killing of their father. Based on the Sophocles play of the same name, Elektra is a powerful drama in which so many of the characters seem always on the verge of madness.... Read More
In this OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s penultimate opera, Otello, the second of his three Shakespeare adaptations.Otello, great soldier and statesman, manipulated by the evil Iago, is whipped into a jealous rage believing his beloved wife, Desdemona, to be unfaithful. The consequences are supremely tragic.Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7 Saturday, April 23rd at noon to hear the Metropolitan Opera... Read More
Gaetano Donizetti seems to have had a thing for English Tudor history! He wrote no less than four operas about historical figures from the time of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.The climactic opera of the “Tudor Queen” trilogy, Roberto Devereux which debuted in Naples in 1837, tells the story of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, an influential member of the court of Elizabeth I (and her supposed lover!), and how her feelings for him impacted her... Read More
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra provide their own inimitable introduction to Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 drama based on the play “Madame Butterfly” by David Belasco.Set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the early years of the twentieth century, it’s the story of the young, innocent Japanese geisha, Cio-Cio-San, and her fateful love for the “faithless” American naval lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton.Tune in to Houston Public Media’s... Read More
In this all-new OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give a brief introduction to one of Mozart’s greatest creations.Subtitled The Mad Day, The Marriage of Figaro shows the craziness that ensues when the “right of the lord” is not the opposite of the “left of the lord”!Le Nozze di Figaro, to give it its Italian title, was the first of the three great collaborations between Mozart and... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media Arts & Culture Director St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Gaetano Donizetti’s 1832 comic opera L’Elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love), the story of Adina and Nemorino and the love they come to share thanks to a bottle of cheap wine!Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon to hear the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of L’Elisir d’Amore with... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of ROCO discuss Gaetano Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, the comic tale of a rich old fool determined to take a pretty young wife and his friends’ plot to thwart him.Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7 Saturday, March 12th, at noon for the Metropolitan Opera’s broadcast of Don Pasquale featuring baritone Ambrogio Maestri in the title role.
In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Massenet’s…oops, wrong one!…Giacomo Puccini’s take on the Abbé Prévost’s 18th-century novel of the same name.Manon Lescaut is the story of a young girl torn between love and the finer things in life. Which does she choose? You’ll have to listen to find out!And a good way to distinguish the two Manon (Lescaut)... Read More
Written in the early 1930s, Lulu, Alban Berg’s second opera (after Wozzeck) is the story of an amoral young woman with a knack for dominating, both sexually and emotionally, a range of willing victims, male and female, who fall under her spell. And yet she too is one of society’s victims who dies a brutal death. Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7 Saturday, February 27th, at noon for the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media Arts & Culture Director St.John Flynn talks with superstar American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato who sang the title role in Houston Grand Opera’s 2012 production of Gaetano Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda. Based on Friedrich Schiller’s 1800 play Maria Stuart, it’s the story of the rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin Elizabeth I of England. Who said blood is thicker than water? Tune in to Houston... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give their usual open and honest overview of one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most tuneful works. Il Trovatore is a story of nobles, gypsies and singing soldiers, and reminds us of the terrible consequences of seething revenge! Tune in Saturday, February 13th at noon to hear the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Il Trovatore, featuring Angela Meade... Read More
In this OCS twofer, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give quick intros to Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, late 19th-century one-act operas, often paired on the same program as Cav & Pag, that define the verismo movement.In Cavalleria Rusticana, a young man learns what happens to a guy who sleeps with another man’s wife when his girlfriend is pregnant! Pagliacci is the story... Read More
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Giacomo Puccini’s final opera, Turandot, the story of an ancient Chinese princess unwilling to fall in love…until she’s kissed for the first time!You can listen to the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Turandot, featuring Nina Stemme in the title role, Saturday, January 30th, at noon on Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7.
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give their laugh-filled take on Richard Wagner’s tale of a man torn between sacred and profane love.Set in 13th-century Germany, Tannhäuser teaches us that, if you’re going to sleep around, you probably shouldn’t admit it to your friends in front of your girlfriend!Tune in to Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Saturday, January 23, at noon for the Metropolitan... Read More
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Georges Bizet’s 1863 opera Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers). Set in ancient Ceylon, it’s a story of love, friendship and a beautiful pearl necklace.Tune in Saturday, January 16th, at noon for the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of The Pearl Fishers on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7.
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss the first opera in Donizetti’s “Tudor trilogy.” Based on the tragic story of Henry VIII’s second wife, it’s a tale about the dangers of marrying a serial monogamist!Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7, Saturday, January 9th, at noon, for the Metropolitan Opera’s broadcast of Anna Bolena featuring Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role and HGO... Read More
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Johann Strauss Jr.’s Viennese romp Die Fledermaus, a paean to champagne and the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment set in 19th-century Vienna. What happens when Gabriel von Eisenstein goes off to Prince Orlofsky's ball rather than to jail?[The musical excerpts in this OCS are taken from the EMI recording featuring Willi Boskovsky conducting the... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, introduce Rossini’s musical version of the story of the wily barber and his efforts to secure the lovely Rosina’s hand in marriage for the besotted, and disguised, Count Almaviva.Subtitled "The Futile Precaution," Rossini’s great opera buffa consistently ranks among the top 10 operas performed worldwide.[The excerpts heard in this OCS are from the CBS Masterworks recording featuring Riccardo... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Rossini’s 1819 masterpiece La Donna del Lago. Based on Sir Walter Scott’s narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, and set in the early 16th century, the opera is a tale of love, loyalty and lochs in the Scottish Highlands.You can hear the Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Donna del Lago, featuring superstar soprano Joyce DiDonato in the title role, Saturday, December 19th, at noon... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media Arts & Culture Director, St.John Flynn, and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s searing 1851 tragedy Rigoletto, the story of Gilda, the beautiful young girl sacrificed on the altar of her father’s malevolence.[The musical excerpts heard in this OCS are taken from the RCA Victor Opera Series recording featuring Georg Solti conducting the RCA Italiano Opera Orchestra & Chorus; Robert Merrill:... Read More
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give a quick and humor-filled overview of Bernstein’s 1956 opera Candide, famous for its Overture and songs such as “Glitter and be Gay” and “Make Our Garden Grow.” Based on Voltaire’s 1758 novel of the same name, Candide tells the story of the young man who learns the truth about existence through a bizarre sequence of fantastic events... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra provide a quick overview of Antonio Vivaldi’s dramatization of the final defeat of the Roman Republican army, commanded by Cato, by Julius Caesar and the forces of the emerging Roman Empire in North Africa.Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7 Saturday, November 14th, at noon to hear Glimmerglass Opera’s broadcast of Cato in Utica featuring... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth.First staged in Florence in 1847, Macbeth was Verdi’s tenth opera and his first stab at adapting Shakespeare for the musical theatre stage.A tragedy set in medieval Scotland, Macbeth is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a marriage when three witches dangle the carrot of absolute power in front of you!Tune... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra talk about Hector Berlioz ’s grand opera masterpiece Les Troyens, the story of the Fall of ancient Troy and the Trojans flight from their homeland across the Mediterranean to Carthage as they follow their heroic leader Aeneas whose mission to found Italy is almost derailed by his love for Queen Dido.Tune in to Houston Public Media Classical... Read More
Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give a quick overview of Giacomo Puccini’s powerful and tragic love story set in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the first half of the nineteenth century.Few people realize that there are actually two operas, written at the same time and both based on the book Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger, titled La bohème. Puccini’s version debuted in Turin... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Based on the Perrault fairy tale of Cinderella, it’s the story of the kind-hearted young girl, abused by her step-sisters, who meets, falls in love with, and marries the handsome prince. Yes, Cinders does go to the ball!Tune in to Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Saturday, October 10th at noon to... Read More
In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Handel’s 1730 comic opera Partenope. Set in Ancient Naples, Partenope is the story of the Neapolitan queen who is loved by three princes and one princess (!). Who will win the queen’s hand in marriage? Tune in to Houston Public Media’s Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon for San Francisco Opera’s broadcast of Partenope featuring Danielle de Niese... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra talk about Giuseppe Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, the story of the demise of Riccardo, Earl of Warwick and governor of Boston who falls in love with his best friend’s wife and pays a heavy price. Tune in to Classical 91.7 Saturday, September 26th at noon for San Francisco Opera’s broadcast of Un Ballo in Maschera featuring... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, his first major operatic success. Set in Tennessee, and adapted from the story of Susannah and the Elders in the Apocrypha, Susannah is the story of an innocent young woman corrupted and marginalized by the God-fearing, church-going folks of her town and their new preacher. Tune in to hear San Francisco Opera’s... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture Director St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Vincenzo Bellini’s 1831 “lyric tragedy” Norma. Set in Gaul in the first century B.C., Norma tells a story of love, religion, fidelity and concealment as the Druids strive to fight off the invading Romans.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture Director St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Giacomo Puccini’s 1904 drama Madama Butterfly, based on the play “Madame Butterfly” by David Belasco. Set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the early years of the twentieth century, it’s the story of the young, innocent Japanese geisha, Cio-Cio-San, and her fateful love for the “faithless” American naval lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton.... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media Arts & Culture Director, St.John Flynn, and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s searing 1851 tragedy Rigoletto, the story of Gilda, the beautiful young girl sacrificed on the altar of her father’s malevolence. Tune in for San Francisco Opera’s broadcast of Rigoletto, featuring Željko Lučić in the title role and Aleksandra Kurzak as Gilda. [The musical excerpts heard in this OCS are taken... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra provide a quick, light-hearted intro to Jules Massenet’s Thaïs, a tale full of religious eroticism! Set in the 4th century A.D. in North Africa, Thaïs tells the story of the monk Athanaël who attempts to convert to Christianity the Alexandrian courtesan Thaïs only to discover that he is in love with her. As she renounces her... Read More
Stage of the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles. Image from WikiMedia Commons by user GNUToo. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of American composer John Corigliano’s only opera (to date), The Ghosts of Versailles, which he describes as a “grand opera buffa.” Writing in The New York Times on the occasion of the opera’s world première at the Met... Read More
Aidan Davis and Kate Scally as Figaro and Susanna in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro". Photo by Penn State. Creative Commons. In this OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn talks to bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi, who sang the title role, and conductor James Gaffigan, from the Houston Grand Opera 2011 production of The Marriage of Figaro. Subtitled The Mad Day, the opera shows the craziness that ensues when the “right of the lord” is not the... Read More
The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas by Nathaniel Dance-Holland. Public domain. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss what is perhaps the earliest English opera, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Based on the events in Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid, Purcell’s only true opera tells the story of the ill-fated love that develops between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a Trojan prince charged... Read More
The arrival of the entertainers in La traviata, Act II, Scene II. Creative Commons license 3.0. In this OCS, the “opera guys,” Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent La Traviata, the story of the ill-fated love between the dying courtesan Violetta and the young and besotted Alfredo and what can happen when your dad thinks your girlfriend’s “unsuitable”! Tune in to Houston Public Media... Read More
Patricia Racette as the title character in the Met’s 2012 production of "Tosca." Photo by Ken Howard. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give, in their own inimitable way, a quick intro to Puccini’s beloved Tosca, a story of love, politics, religion and sharp silverware! Set in Rome against a backdrop of national and political turmoil,... Read More
Porgy and Bess by the New York Harlem Theatre. GNU Free Documentation License. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss George Gershwin’s 1935 masterpiece, considered by many to be the Great American Opera. Based on DuBose Heyward’s novel Porgy, Gershwin’s opera tells the story of the residents of Charleston, South Carolina’s Catfish Row, a tenement inhabited by poor black families, and the love story... Read More
The set of Weinberg's 'The Passenger' features Auschwitz on the lower level and a passenger ship headed to Brazil in the late 1950s on top. Photo by Robert Kusel. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Mieczysâaw Weinberg’s 1968 opera The Passenger. Set on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic in the late 1950s and also in the Auschwitz concentration camp... Read More
Tannhäuser by Ferdinand von Piloty (1828-1895). Public domain. In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give their laugh-filled take on Richard Wagner’s tale of a man torn between sacred and profane love. Set in 13th-century Germany, Tannhäuser teaches us that, if you’re going to sleep around, you probably shouldn’t admit it to your friends in front of your girlfriend! Tune in to Houston Public... Read More
Shankly Gates at Anfield, Liverpool F.C.'s stadium, U.K.. Photo by Andy Nugent. Creative Commons. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein’s second musical collaboration. Set in Maine in the second half of the 19th century, Carousel tells the story of the complex relationship between carousel barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan. It’s the... Read More
Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger; Anne Boleyn by unknown artist. Public domain. In this OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss the first opera in Donizetti’s “Tudor trilogy.” Based on the tragic story of Henry VIII’s second wife, it’s a story about the dangers of marrying a serial monogamist! Tune in to hear Lyric Opera of Chicago’s broadcast of Anna Bolena featuring... Read More
Il Trovatore, Salzburg Festival 2014 with Riccardo Zanellato (Ferrando), Plácido Domingo (Conte di Luna) and the Chorus of Vienna State Opera. Photo by Christian Michelides. Creative Commons. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give their usual open and honest overview of one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most tuneful works. Il Trovatore is a story of nobles, gypsies and singing soldiers, and reminds us of... Read More
Liceu - Interior. Photo by Josep Renalias. Creative Commons license. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Richard Strauss’ Capriccio, his final opera. Set in 1775 in a chateau outside Paris, Capriccio is an opera about opera. Tune in to Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon to hear Lyric Opera of Chicago’s broadcast of Capriccio featuring a cast that... Read More
Don Giovanni (Commendatore) Greek National Opera 2004. Photo credit: Stefanos. Courtesy of the website of Vassilis Kostopoulos. In this OCS, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn, and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Mozart’s famed Don Giovanni, the story of the downfall of the notoriously unrepentant womanizer, a work composer Charles Gounod described as “that unequalled and immortal masterpiece, that apogée of the lyrical drama.” It’s a cautionary tale about how many notches... Read More
(l – r) Anna Prohaska as Oscar, Dalibor Jenis as Renato, Oliver Zwarg as Samuel and Andreas Bauer as Tom in the Berlin Staatsoper production of Un ballo in maschera. Photo by Ruth Walz © 2008. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra talk about and give an overview of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, the story of the demise of the Swedish... Read More
Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, December 2014, Svetlana Sozdateleva as Katerina L'vovna Izmailova, Director Dmitry Bertman, Helikon Opera Moscow. Photo: Lorenzo Gaudenzi. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra provide a quick intro to the work that led to the denunciation of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music by the Communist authorities and which was banned in the Soviet... Read More
Giancarlo Monsalve, Rafał Siwek, in Verdi's Don Carlo. Photo by Manuel Larrondo. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn talks to American tenor Brandon Jovanovich, who made his role debut as Don Carlo in Houston Grand Opera’s 2012 production of the opera. Often referred to as the “grandest of the grand operas,” Don Carlo is basedon the Schiller play Don Carlos, Infante of Spain. Set against the backdrop of the Hapsburg-Valois War... Read More
Shrine of Charlemagne at Aachen. Creative Commons. In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give a quick, light-hearted overview of Verdi’s Ernani, one of his early masterpieces. A story of love and supreme honor, Ernani revolves around three men all in love with the same woman. As you might imagine, drama ensues! Tune in Saturday at noon for the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) give their humorous and light-hearted overview of the opera many consider Gaetano Donizetti’s greatest drama and one of the masterpieces of the bel canto repertoire. Albina Shagimuratova as Lucia di Lammermoor. Photo © Pavel Vaan / Leonid Semenyuk. Based on Sir Walter Scott's historical novel, The Bride of Lammermoor, Lucia di Lammermoor, might be described... Read More
Dancer Marie Lindqvist from the 2010 production of Manon at the Royal Swedish Opera. Carl Thorborg / Kungliga Operan. Creative Commons. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Jules Massenet’s most popular opera, Manon. Based on the 18th-century novel by Abbé Prévost, it’s the story of a young girl torn between love and the finer things in life.... Read More
Gioachino Rossini (painter unknown). Public domain. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Rossini’s 1819 bel canto masterpiece La Donna del Lago. Based on Sir Walter Scott’s narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, and set in the early 16th century, the opera is a tale of love, loyalty and lochs in the Scottish Highlands. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's... Read More
Carmen poster by David Lund, Seattle Opera, 1982. Creative Commons. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Georges Bizet’s tour de force, Carmen, the story of the naïve and unstable young soldier, Don José, who is seduced but then discarded by the wild gypsy girl Carmen.You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Carmen, featuring Latvian mezzo-soprano El€Çna Garan€a in the... Read More
The Singer Francisco D'Andrade as Don Giovanni in Mozart's Opera (The Red d'Andrade) by Max Slevogt, 1912 Credit: Public domain This week, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn, and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Mozart’s famed Don Giovanni, the story of the downfall of the notoriously unrepentant womanizer, a work composer Charles Gounod described as “that unequalled and immortal masterpiece, that apogée of the lyrical drama.” It’s a cautionary tale about... Read More
Bluebeard and Judith in an illustration by Gustave Doré for an 1862 edition of Perrault's Tales. Public domain. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, executive director of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, provide a quick overview of Béla Bartók’s 1918 one-act opera Bluebeard’s Castle. Based on a Charles Perrault fairy tale, Bluebeard’s Castle is a cautionary tale about what can happen when a new wife wants to know all about... Read More
Butter sculpture of "The Dreaming Iolanthe", depicting the blind Yolande, as portrayed in Henrik Hertz's play King René's Daughter, by Caroline Shawk Brooks, 1876. Public domain. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, Executive Director of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, give a quick overview of Tchaikovsky’s last opera. Written in 1892, and with a libretto by the composer’s brother Modest, Iolanta is a one-act work about a blind princess who... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth. First staged in Florence in 1847, Macbeth was Verdi’s tenth opera and his first stab at adapting Shakespeare for the musical theatre stage. A tragedy set in medieval Scotland, Macbeth is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a marriage when three witches dangle the carrot of absolute power in front of you! [The opera excerpts heard... Read More
Jacques Offenbach. Photo by Felix Nadar. Wikimedia Commons. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly provide an overview to Jacques Offenbach’s 1881 opera. Based on three short stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann, Offenbach’s last work (unfinished at the time of his death) tells the story of a poet, Hoffmann, who recounts the tales of the three women he loved and lost only to find his true love was much closer to home.... Read More
La Bohème from the Metropolitan Opera April 2014. Photo by Bengt Nyman/Wikimedia Commons. Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly give a quick overview of this powerful and tragic love story set in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the early nineteenth century. Tune in to Classical 91.7 for the Met’s La Boheme, Saturday, January 24th at noon. [The musical excerpts in this OCS are taken from the 2008 Deutsche Grammophon release of La... Read More
Opera News Editor-in-Chief, F. Paul Driscoll. Photo courtesy of Opera News. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly talk with F. Paul Driscoll, Editor-in-Chief of Opera News, the classical music magazine with the largest circulation in the U.S. They discuss how opera as an art form is faring in America and Europe; some of the up-and-coming opera singers to watch out for; and which contemporary operas might still be around in 50... Read More
Aida at the Verona Arena. Wikimedia Commons. Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly give a light-hearted overview of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Aida featuring HGO Studio alum Tamara Wilson in the title role, Saturday at noon on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7.
Hansel and Gretel by Arthur Rackham, 1909. Public domain. In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s “opera guys,” St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, give a quick, light-hearted overview of Engelbert Humperdinck’s lush, magical opera. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name, Hansel and Gretel tells the story of the poor brother and sister, lost in a forest, who are lured into a wicked witch’s gingerbread house and prepped for the... Read More
Catherine Malfitano in the rôle of Violetta, Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg, March 1980. ©Claude Truong-Ngoc / Wikimedia Commons. This week, Houston Public Media’s “opera guys,” St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, discuss Giuseppe Verdi's magnificent La Traviata, the story of the ill-fated love between the dying courtesan Violetta and the young and besotted Alfredo. Tune in to Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon for the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of La Traviata featuring Marina... Read More
In this week’s OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn talks to bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi, who sang the role of Figaro, and conductor James Gaffigan, from the Houston Grand Opera 2011 production of The Marriage of Figaro. Le Nozze di Figaro, to give it its original Italian title, was the first of the three great collaborations between Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Based on the French play by Beaumarchais, it tells the story of the... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss one of the most massive operas ever written, Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The ancient guild of Mastersingers in Nuremburg, Germany, is searching for the greatest singer in the world, and hosts a singing contest to find him. Besides earning this honor, the winner gets to marry Eva, the beautiful daughter of the contest’s sponsor. [The excerpts heard in... Read More
Scene from DuPage Opera Theatre production of The Barber of Seville. Public domain. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, introduce Rossini’s musical version of the story of the wily barber and his efforts to secure the lovely Rosina’s hand in marriage for the besotted, and disguised, Count Almaviva. Subtitled "The Futile Precaution," Rossini’s great opera buffa consistently ranks among the top 10 operas performed worldwide. The 2014-15... Read More
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo - Rinaldo ed il mago di Ascalona - Art Institute of Chicago. Public domain. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly give their humorous overview of Rossini’s 1817 opera, Armida. One of the many operas inspired by the tale of Armida and Rinaldo told in Torquato Tasso’s 16th-century Italian epic, La Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered), it’s a story of love, duty and sorcery. Rinaldo, a... Read More
Théodore Chassériau (1891-56), Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches on the heath, Musée d’Orsay. Public domain. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s Macbeth. First staged in Florence in 1847, it was Verdi’s tenth opera and his first stab at adapting Shakespeare for the musical theatre stage. A tragedy set in medieval Scotland, Macbeth is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a marriage when... Read More
Portrait of Lucrezia Borgia by Bartolomeo Veneziano (c. 1510). Public domain. Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture Director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Gaetano Donizetti’s opera Lucrezia Borgia, about the femme fatale, renowned for her ruthless pursuit of power, whose vulnerability is unveiled when she comes face to face with her long-lost son. You can hear the 2014 Caramoor Festival production of Lucrezia Borgia, starring Angela Meade in the title role, Saturday... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Show Boat, the 1927 musical by Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (book and lyrics). Based on Edna Ferber’s 1926 best-selling novel of the same name, Show Boat tells the story, over a forty-year time span, of the performers and crew of the Cotton Blossom, a Mississippi River show boat. Set between 1887 and 1927, and dealing with the... Read More
Eduard Grützner’s Falstaff (Wikimedia Commons) In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly present a light-hearted overview of Verdi’s last opera. Only the second comedy Verdi ever wrote, Falstaff is based on the larger than life character from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and Henry IV who tries to seduce two women (who know each other!) at the same time. You can listen to San Francisco Opera’s performance of... Read More
Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. Photo by Niall Kennedy (Creative Commons license). This Saturday’s San Francisco Opera broadcast, Saturday at noon, is the world première performance of Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne, featuring Patricia Racette in the title role, and conducted by George Manahan, recorded Fall 2013 in War Memorial Opera House. As neither of our opera experts, St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, have seen this new opera, they feel they cannot make it the... Read More
Houston Public Media’s arts & culture director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Giuseppe Verdi's magnificent La Traviata, the story of the ill-fated love between the dying courtesan Violetta and the young and besotted Alfredo. [The musical excerpts used in this OCS are from the Deutsche Grammophon recording of La Traviata featuring James Levine conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus; Cheryl Studer, Violetta; Luciano Pavarotti, Alfredo; Juan Pons, Germont (DG435 797-2)] You... Read More
A quick, lighthearted overview of Richard Strauss’ celebration of the beauty of humanity Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow). In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s arts & culture director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Strauss’ Die Frau Ohne Schatten, a magical story of a half-mortal Empress who must find a shadow to avoid having to leave her husband and her life on earth to return to the... Read More
A fun intro to Rossini’s comic masterpiece, this Saturday’s noon opera broadcast. This week’s San Francisco Opera broadcast, Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7, is The Barber of Seville featuring American baritone Lucas Meachem as Figaro and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as Rosina. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s arts & culture director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, introduce Rossini’s musical version of the story of the wily barber’s efforts to secure... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Benjamin Britten’s epic tragedy Peter Grimes. Inspired by the story in George Crabbe’s The Borough, acollection of poems about life in a village on the east coast of England at the start of the 19th century, Britten’s opera tells of the demise of the outcast fisherman Peter Grimes, and the townsfolk who threaten him. Tune in for San Francisco Opera’s... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s early music drama Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). Based on an old nautical legend, the opera tells the story of the ghostly Dutch sea captain and his ship, condemned by the Devil to sail the oceans forever unless he can find a woman who will redeem him through her love. Tune in for San Francisco Opera’s performance of... Read More
Performance of Tosca by Puccini in Sferisterio of Macerata, Italy (2008). Photo by Andrea Balducci In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly provide a quick intro to Puccini’s beloved Tosca. Set in Rome against a backdrop of national and political turmoil, this masterpiece tells the story of the beautiful singer Floria Tosca and her desperate attempts to save her revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, from the deadly hands of Baron... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly provide a quick, laugh-filled intro to Jules Massenet’s Thaïs, a tale full of religious eroticism! Set in the 4th century A.D. in North Africa, Thaïs tells the story of the monk Athanaël who attempts to convert to Christianity the Alexandrian courtesan Thaïs only to discover that he is in love with her. As she renounces her life of worldly pleasure and... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly give their humorous and light-hearted overview of what is considered Gaetano Donizetti’s greatest drama. Based on Sir Walter Scott's historical novel, The Bride of Lammermoor, Lucia di Lammermoor, might be described as a Scottish Romeo and Juliet. Lucia, from the Ashton family, is in love with Edgardo from the rival Ravenswood family. When her brother intervenes to force Lucia to marry another,... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly give an overview of Britten’s Billy Budd, which debuted at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1951 as part of the "Festival of Britain" celebrations. Based on Herman Melville’s posthumous novella, Billy Budd, Foretopman, and set on the British Navy ship HMS Indomitable in 1797, Britten’s opera is a psychological study of good and evil as Captain Vere and Master-At-Arms... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly take a light-hearted look at Mozart's beloved "Singspiel," Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), an allegory of the education of humankind progressing from chaos to rational enlightenment to make "the Earth a heavenly kingdom, and mortals like the gods." You can hear LA Opera’s production of The Magic Flute, starring Lawrence Brownlee as Tamino, Saturday, July 26th, at noon on Houston Public... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Bizet’s tour de force, Carmen, the story of the naïve and unstable young soldier Don José who is seduced but then discarded by the wild gypsy girl Carmen. You can hear LA Opera's production of Carmen Saturday at noon on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 or online at houstonpublicmedia.org. [The opera excerpts in this OCS are taken from the London/Decca... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly present a light-hearted overview of Verdi’s last opera. Only the second comedy Verdi ever wrote, Falstaff is based on the character from Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. You can hear LA Opera’s production of Falstaff, Saturday at noon on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7.
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly give a light-hearted overview of Mozart’s penultimate opera. Written in a few short weeks in 1791, not long before Mozart died, La Clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus) is a throw-back to the opera seria the composer wrote earlier in his career, works such as Mitridate and Idomeneo. La Clemenza di Tito tells the story of the Roman Emperor Titus and... Read More
Listen to our quick, lighthearted overview of Rusalka, Antonín DvoÅ™ák’s achingly beautiful paean to human love. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly, discuss DvoÅ™ák’s 1901 fairy tale drama. The beautiful water nymph Rusalka falls in love with a prince and is prepared to give up her life in order to gain a human soul and feel the emotion of love. You can listen to the Lyric Opera of... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s arts & culture director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, introduce Rossini’s musical version of the story of the wily barber’s efforts to secure the lovely Rosina’s hand in marriage for the besotted, and disguised, Count Almaviva. Listen to our quick, laughter-inducing overview of this week's Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcast of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Saturday at noon. [The excerpts heard in this... Read More
On this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s arts & culture director St.John Flynn and resident opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Johann Strauss Jr.’s Viennese romp Die Fledermaus, a paean to champagne and the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment set in 19th-century Vienna. What happens when Gabriel von Eisenstein goes off to Prince Orlofsky's ball rather than to jail? Die Fledermaus is this week’s Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcast airing Saturday at noon on... Read More
Listen to our quick overview of Richard Wagner's final masterpiece, Parsifal, which is this week’s Metropolitan Opera broadcast airing on our station Saturday at 11AM. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s final opera. Set against the backdrop of the Grail Legend, Parsifal, which premiered in 1882, tells the story of the naïve and innocent youth on a quest for wisdom, compassion and reconciliation. You can... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Puccini’s 1904 drama Madama Butterfly, based on the play “Madame Butterfly” by David Belasco. Set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the early years of the twentieth century, it’s the story of the young, innocent Japanese geisha, Cio-Cio-San, and her fateful love for the “faithless” American naval lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton. Tune in to hear Lyric... Read More
Here’s our quick, light-hearted overview of Gioacchino Rossini’s 1817 comic masterpiece La Cenerentola (Cinderella) which is this week’s Met Opera performance airing on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s arts & culture director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Based on the Perrault fairy tale of Cinderella, it’s the story of the kind-hearted young girl, abused by her step-sisters,... Read More
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Vincenzo Bellini’s bel canto standard, I Puritani. Based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel Old Mortality, I Puritani is a story of love and madness set against the backdrop of the English Civil War. Listen to the Met Opera broadcast of I Puritani, Saturday at noon on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7.
Based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel Old Mortality, Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani is a story of love and madness set against the backdrop of the English Civil War. It’s this Saturday's noon Met Opera broadcast. Look for the complete Opera Cheat Sheet Friday on houstonpublicmedia.org, and on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Houston Public Media Arts & Culture director, St.John Flynn, with help from a couple of opera directors, discusses Mozart's 1790 opera about "fiancée-swapping," Così fan tutte. Subtitled The School for Lovers, Così was No. 2 on OPERA America’s list of the Most Produced Operas of 2011-12. Tune in for the Metropolitan Opera’s broadcast of Così fan tutte Saturday at noon on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7.
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly discuss Arabella, the last of Strauss' six collaborations with librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Listen to the Met Opera broadcast of Arabella Saturday at noon on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7. Set in mid-19th-century Vienna, Arabella is the story of two sisters (or a sister and brother!) and how a fortuneteller's predictions play out for their impoverished family.
Arabella is the story of the loves of two sisters (one of whom is a boy!). It’s this Saturday's noon Met Opera broadcast. Look for the complete Opera Cheat Sheet Friday on houstonpublicmedia.org, and on SoundCloud and iTunes.
This weekend is a big one for Houston Grand Opera; the company is debuting its first ever Ring Cycle! Over the course of four seasons, beginning this year, HGO will present the four epic operas that make up Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), one work each year. Written over the course of twenty-six years, these operas are loosely based on characters from Norse and Germanic legend. The four works,... Read More
In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture Director, St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly give a quick overview of Umberto Giordano’s verismo masterpiece, Andrea Chénier. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it’s the story of the ill-fated love between the poet Chénier and Maddalena, daughter of an aristocratic family attacked by the revolutionaries. You can hear the Met Opera broadcast of Andrea Chénier Saturday at noon on Houston... Read More
Hear a preview for this week's Opera Cheat Sheet, a quick, fun intro to Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier which is this Saturday's noon Met Opera broadcast. Look for the complete OCS Friday on houstonpublicmedia.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Puccini’s greatest opera, La Bohème, the story of the tragic love between the young seamstress, Mimi, and the poet Rodolfo, set among the bohemian surroundings of the Latin Quarter in 19th-century Paris. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of La Bohème Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric discuss Vincenzo Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece, La Sonnambula. Set in a Swiss village in the early nineteenth century, it’s the story of Amina whose habit of sleepwalking has scared the villagers, who believe there’s a phantom haunting their hamlet, and risks destroying her relationship with her fiancé Elvino. The Metropolitan Opera’s production of La Sonnambula airs Saturday, March 29th, at noon on Houston Public... Read More
In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s Arts & Culture Director St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelley, discuss Massenet's Werther. Based on the revolutionary and iconic novel by Goethe, Werther tells the story of the sensitive poet Werther and the lovely Charlotte who meet and fall madly in love. But Werther's rapture soon dissolves into suicidal desolation when Charlotte follows the wishes of her dying mother and marries another man. The Metropolitan Opera’s new... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Borodin’s Prince Igor, a tale of love, war and national pride based on a medieval epic poem. Prince Igor and his son go off to fight the nomadic Polovtsi but are captured by the mighty Khan Konchak. You can hear the Met Opera performance of Prince Igor Saturday at noon here on Houston Public Media Classical 91.7, online... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss R. Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, a comedy that harkens back to Vienna during the reign of the Empress Maria Theresa, and to the comic operas of Mozart. The Marschallin laments that she must give up her young lover, Octavian, who has fallen in love with Sophie, a girl his own age, who is betrothed to the oafish buffoon... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, a magical story of a half-mortal Empress who must find a shadow to avoid having to leave her husband and her life on earth to return to the spirit world. You can hear the Met Opera performance of Die Frau ohne Schatten Saturday at noon here on Classical 91.7 and online at... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Dvo?ák’s 1901 fairy tale drama Rusalka. The beautiful water nymph Rusalka falls in love with a prince and is prepared to give up her life in order to gain a human soul and feel the emotion of love. You can hear the Met Opera performance of Rusalka Saturday at noon here on Classical 91.7 and online at... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Puccini’s 1904 drama Madama Butterfly. Based on the play “Madame Butterfly” by David Belasco, and set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the early years of the twentieth century, it’s the story of the young, trusting Japanese girl, Cio-Cio-San and her fateful love for the American naval lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton. You can hear the Met Opera performance of... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Donizetti’s 1832 popular (number 13 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide in the five seasons between 2008 and 2013!) comic opera L’Elisir d’Amore, the story of Adina and Nemorino and the love they come to share thanks to a bottle of cheap wine! You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of L’Elisir d’Amore Saturday... Read More
This week, Classical 91.7 program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Tchaikovsky’s great Eugene Onegin. Based on the Alexander Pushkin verse novel of the same name, it’s the story of a man brought down by his selfishness and arrogance. You can hear the Met Opera broadcast of Eugene Onegin Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org. Love our shows? Show us by donating a few bucks here: bit.ly/UQweya. Donations... Read More
This week Classical 91.7 Program Director St.John Flynn and resident opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Johann Strauss’ operetta Die Fledermaus, a paean to champagne and the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment in 19th-century Vienna. What happens when Gabriel von Eisenstein goes off to Prince Orlofsky's ball rather than to jail? Die Fledermaus is this week’s Metropolitan Opera broadcast, Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week Classical 91.7 Program Director St.John Flynn and resident opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Mozart's beloved The Magic Flute, a Singspiel, based on Enlightenment philosophy, that can be seen as an allegory on the benefits of “enlightened absolutism.” The dangerous Queen of the Night is pitted against Sarastro, the enlightened sovereign, who rules according to principles based on reason, wisdom, and nature, striving ultimately to make "the Earth a heavenly kingdom, and mortals like... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Puccini’s Tosca. Based on the play La Tosca by French playwright Victorien Sardou, this melodrama is set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples's control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's invasion of Italy, and it tells a story about the intersection of love, art and politics in the life of singer Floria Tosca. You... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Verdi’s searing 1851 tragedy Rigoletto, the story of Gilda, the beautiful young girl sacrificed on the altar of her father’s malevolence. You can hear the Met Opera production of Rigoletto Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Wagner’s achingly beautiful Tristan und Isolde, arguably opera’s greatest love story and, at around 4 hours, probably its longest! Thwarted love, love potions, duty, betrayal, apotheosis…it’s all here set to lush, profound music. You can hear Houston Grand Opera's production of Tristan und Isolde Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Mozart’s famed Don Giovanni, the story of the downfall of the notoriously unrepentant womanizer, a work composer Charles Gounod described as “that unequalled and immortal masterpiece, that apogée of the lyrical drama.” You can hear Houston Grand Opera's production of Don Giovanni Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week's Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7 program director, St.John Flynn, shares excerpts from an interview with soprano Laura Claycomb and counter-tenor David Daniels from the cast of Houston Grand Opera’s 2010 production of Handel’s opera, Xerxes, the story of the love quadrangle between Xerxes, King of Persia, his brother Arsamene, and Romilda and her sister Atalanta. You can hear Houston Grand Opera's production of Xerxes Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online... Read More
This week, Classical 91.7's St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly talk about Verdi’s masterpiece Il Trovatore, the story of the gypsy Azucena’s deep and abiding love for her son, and her quest for revenge on those who took her mother’s life, set against the backdrop of 15th-century Spain. Tune in to hear the Houston Grand Opera production of Il Trovatore, Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Rossini’s hilarious comedy L’Italiana in Algeri, the story of the wily Italian girl, Isabella, and her plan to outwit the buffoon Mustafà, Bey of Algiers. You can hear the Houston Grand Opera production of L’Italiana in Algeri Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Luisa Miller, a tale of social class, concealed identities, treachery and tragic love set in the Tyrolean Alps. You can hear the San Francisco Opera production of Luisa Miller Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week's Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7 Program Director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, take a quick and, as always, light-hearted look at how opera composers over the years and the centuries have used biblical texts and stories as the subject of their works. You might be surprised at what the OCS guys have to say! Tune in to Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon for the San Francisco Opera broadcast of the... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Lohengrin, a work that gives the first taste of the musical style Wagner was to perfect in his Ring Cycle. It’s the story of the mysterious Knight of the Swan who appears out of a dream to defend the honor of and then marry the innocent Elsa who, in turn, cannot resist asking the one question she... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly take a light-hearted look at Mozart's beloved "Singspiel," The Magic Flute, an allegory of the education of humankind progressing from chaos to rational enlightenment to make "the Earth a heavenly kingdom, and mortals like the gods." You can hear the San Francisco Opera production of The Magic Flute Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss some of the operas written by American composers since the 1950s that have made their way into the standard operatic repertoire. You can hear one such piece, Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick, performed by San Francisco Opera, Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7FM and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Bellini’s rarely-performed I Capuleti e i Montecchi, a non-Shakespearian treatment of the story of Romeo and Juliet and the devastating effect their families’ feud has on their young lives. You can hear the San Francisco Opera production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s Die Walküre, the second installment of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, in which the story begun in Das Rheingold now shifts from the gods to the human world as Siegmund and Sieglinde meet and fall in love. You can hear the San Francisco Opera production of Die Walküre Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Puccini’s Tosca. Based on the play La Tosca by French playwright Victorien Sardou, this melodramatic opera is set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples's control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's invasion of Italy, and it tells a story about the intersection of love, art and politics in the life of singer Floria Tosca. ... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella). Based on the Perrault fairy tale of Cinderella, it’s the story of the kind-hearted young girl, abused by her step-sisters, who meets, falls in love with, and marries the handsome prince. You can hear the LA Opera’s performance of La Cenerentola Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s early drama Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman). Based on an old nautical legend, it tells the story of the ghostly Dutch sea captain and his ship, condemned by the Devil to sail the oceans forever unless he can find a woman who will redeem him through her love. You can hear the LA Opera’s performance... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Puccini’s 1904 drama Madama Butterfly, based on the play “Madame Butterfly” by David Belasco. Set in Nagasaki, Japan, in the early years of the twentieth century, it’s the story of the young, trusting Japanese girl, Cio-Cio-San and her fateful love for the American naval lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton. You can hear the LA Opera’s performance of Madama... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Franz Schreker’s 1918 The Stigmatized (in German Die Gezeichneten), a work suppressed by the Nazis as "degenerate." Set in sixteenth-century Genoa, it’s the sad story of the hunchback Alviano Salvago who, having renounced the love of women, turns the island he owns into a haven of beauty only to see it defiled by the decadence of his fellow... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Verdi’s 1844 drama I Due Foscari, based on the play The Two Foscari by Lord Byron. Set in Venice in 1457, it’s the story of the decline and downfall of the long-serving Doge, Francesco Foscari, caught between his love for his family and the duties of the office he holds. You can hear the LA Opera’s performance... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss the very first collaboration between the great team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Set in 1906 in Oklahoma Territory, Oklahoma! is the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farm girl Laurey Williams as it plays out against the development of the American West. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Verdi’s searing 1851 tragedy Rigoletto, the story of Gilda, the beautiful young girl sacrificed on the altar of her father’s malevolence. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago production of Rigoletto Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss one of the most massive operas ever written, Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The ancient guild of Mastersingers in Nurenburg is searching for the greatest singer in the world, and hosts a singing contest to find that man. Besides earning this honor, the winner gets to marry Eva, the beautiful daughter of the contest’s sponsor. You... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss one of the most popular operas ever written, Puccini’s La Bohème, the story of the tragic love between Mimi and Rodolfo set among the bohemian surroundings of the Latin Quarter in 19th-century Paris. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of La Bohème Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, the comic tale of a rich old fool determined to take a pretty young wife. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcast of Don Pasquale Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelley, discuss Massenet's Werther, based on the novel by Goethe. When the sensitive poet Werther and the lovely Charlotte meet, they fall madly in love. But Werther's rapture soon dissolves into desolation when Charlotte follows the wishes of her dying mother and marries another man. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Werther Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online... Read More
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Verdi's classic Simon Boccanegra, a story of love, politics and betrayal set in 14th-century Genoa. You can hear The Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Simon Boccanegra Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, the last of the four operas that make up the monumental Ring Cycle. In this cataclysmic finale the world of the gods is destroyed to be replaced by one of love through the redemptive actions of Brünnhilde. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Götterdämmerung Saturday at 10:00am on Classical 91.7 and online at... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s Siegfried, the third of the four operas that make up the monumental Ring Cycle. Mime has raised Siegfried, son of Siegmund and Sieglinde, whose lack of fear enables him to defeat the giant Fafner, claim the Rheingold, and win the heart of Brünnhilde. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Siegfried Saturday at 10AM on... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s Die Walküre, the second installment of the Ring, in which the story begun in Das Rheingold now shifts from the gods to the human world as Siegmund and Sieglinde meet and fall in love. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Die Walküre Saturday at 10AM on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the first of the four operas that make up the monumental Ring Cycle. The theft of the Rhinegold and Alberich’s curse set off tragic events that will lead ultimately to the downfall of the gods. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Das Rheingold Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at... Read More
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, shares excerpts from an interview with Russian soprano Albina Shagimuratova and American tenor Chad Shelton from Houston Grand Opera's 2012 production of Verdi's La Traviata, the story of the love between the dying courtesan Violetta and the young and besotted Alfredo. You can hear the Met Opera's production of La Traviata Saturday at 11:30AM on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week's Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7's program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Verdi's sprawling drama La Forza del Destino which chronicles a noble family destroyed by powers beyond their control. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of La Forza del Destino Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Zandonai’s magnificent drama Francesca da Rimini, the story of the doomed lovers Paolo and Francesca from Dante’s Inferno. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Francesca da Rimini Saturday at 11AM on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7 program director, St.John Flynn, shares excerpts from an interview with American tenor Brandon Jovanovich, who sang the title role in Houston Grand Opera’s 2012 production of Verdi’s Don Carlos, a tragic vision of the Spanish Inquisition that pits love, duty, and faith against one another. This is the story of the conflicts in the life of the heir to the Spanish throne after his betrothed is married instead to his father... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Wagner’s 1882 opera Parsifal, the story of the naïve and innocent youth on a quest for wisdom, compassion and reconciliation. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Parsifal Saturday at 11AM on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Bizet’s beloved Carmen, the story of the naïve young soldier Don Jose seduced by the wild gypsy girl Carmen. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Carmen Saturday at 11:30AM on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Verdi’s searing 1851 tragedy Rigoletto, the story of Gilda, the beautiful young girl sacrificed on the altar of her father’s malevolence. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Rigoletto Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Donizetti’s 1832 comic opera L’Elisir d’Amore, the story of Adina and Nemorino and the love they come to share thanks to a bottle of cheap wine! You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of L’Elisir d’Amore Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week's Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Rossini’s 1828 comic opera Le Comte Ory, the story of a dissolute young nobleman and his futile efforts to win the favors of the lady Adele while her brother is away fighting in the Crusades. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Le Comte Ory Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at... Read More
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7’s program director St.John Flynn and opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Puccini’s 1917 opera La Rondine, a romantic, bittersweet comedy about true love and false identities. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of La Rondine Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Classical 91.7 program director St.John Flynn shares excerpts from an interview with superstar American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato who sang the title role in Houston Grand Opera’s 2012 production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, the story of the rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots and her cousin Elizabeth I of England. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Maria Stuarda, again featuring Joyce DiDonato in the title role, Saturday at... Read More
This week, Classical 91.7's St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly talk about Verdi’s masterpiece Il Trovatore, the story of the gypsy Azucena’s deep and abiding love for her son, and her quest for revenge on those who took her mother’s life, in 15th-century Spain. Tune in to hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Il Trovatore, Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, shares excerpts from an interview with soprano Ana Maria Martinez and baritone Nathan Gunn from Houston Grand Opera’s 2011 production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, the story of the wily barber’s efforts to secure the lovely Rosina’s hand in marriage for the besotted, and disguised, Count Almaviva. Tune in to hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of The Barber of Seville, sung in English, Saturday at noon... Read More
Download and listen to our quick overview of this week's Houston Grand Opera broadcast of Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, Saturday at noon.
Download and listen to our quick overview of this week's Houston Grand Opera broadcast of Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, Saturday at noon.
Download and listen to our quick overview of this week's Houston Grand Opera broadcast of Beethoven's Fidelio, Saturday at noon.
Download and listen to our quick overview of this week's opera broadcast of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, Saturday at noon.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss John Adams’s 1987 opera, Nixon in China, inspired by the historic visit to the Communist country by President Richard Nixon in 1972. You can hear San Francisco Opera's production of Nixon in China Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Chris Theofanidis’s latest opera, Heart of a Soldier, based on the remarkable life of Rick Rescorla, a British-born adventurer who fought in Vietnam before settling in New York as head of security for a brokerage firm based in the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, he led 2,700 of his employees to safety when the WTC towers... Read More
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Bizet’s beloved Carmen, the story of the naïve young soldier Don Jose seduced by the wild gypsy girl Carmen. You can hear San Francisco Opera's production of Carmen Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Mozart’s famed Don Giovanni, the story of the downfall of the notoriously unrepentant womanizer. You can hear San Francisco Opera's production of Don Giovanni Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Puccini’s Turandot, the story of an ancient Chinese princess unwilling to fall in love. You can hear San Francisco Opera's production of Turandot Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7 program director St.John Flynn talks to Houston Grand Opera Artistic and Music Director, Patrick Summers about Puccini’s La Bohème, a story of love and loss among a group of bohemian friends in 19th-century Paris. You can hear L.A. Opera's production of La Bohème, conducted by Patrick Summers, Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7 program director St.John Flynn, and opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Benjamin Britten’s comic masterpiece Albert Herring, the tale of a young man’s awakening in an English village. You can hear L.A. Opera's production of Albert Herring Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Verdi's classic Simon Boccanegra, a story of love, politics and betrayal set in 14th-century Genoa. You can hear L.A. Opera's production of Simon Boccanegra Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
Eric Skelly, discuss Charles Gounod's romantic classic Roméo et Juliette, based on Shakespeare's famed play about the tragic "star-cross'd lovers." You can hear L.A. Opera's production of Roméo et Juliette Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, with help from a couple of opera directors, discusses Mozart's 1790 opera about "fiancée-swapping," Così fan tutte. You can hear the L.A. Opera's production of Così Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Tchaikovsky’s great Eugene Onegin, the story of a man brought down by his selfishness and arrogance. You can hear L.A. Opera's production of Eugene Onegin Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Giuseppe Verdi's grand opera Aida, a story of love and betrayal set in Ancient Egypt. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Aida Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn (and an absent Eric Skelly!), discuss Rinaldo, written in just a matter of weeks in 1711 by George Frideric Handel. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Rinaldo Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week, Classical 91.7's program director, St.John Flynn, and resident opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Show Boat, the 1927 musical with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Show Boat Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week Classical 91.7's Program Director, St.John Flynn, and resident opera expert, Eric Skelly, discuss Richard Strauss's opera within an opera, Ariadne auf Naxos. You can hear the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org.
This week Classical 91.7 Program Director St.John Flynn and resident opera expert Eric Skelly discuss Mozart's beloved The Magic Flute, which you can hear in a Lyric Opera of Chicago production Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org. > Subscribe to the Podcast
Classical 91.7 Program Director St.John Flynn, and resident opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, which you can hear in a Lyric Opera of Chicago production Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org. > Subscribe to the Podcast
This week Classical 91.7 Program Director St.John Flynn, and our resident opera expert Eric Skelly, discuss Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, which you can hear in a Lyric Opera of Chicago production Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7 and online at classical917.org. > Subscribe to the Podcast
Classical 91.7 Program Director and Front Row host, St.John Flynn, and our resident opera expert Eric Skelly, talk about the week’s opera and offer a basic guide for you to download and listen to whenever you like. This week they discuss Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann which can be heard in a Lyric Opera of Chicago production Saturday at noon on Classical 91.7. > Subscribe to the Podcast