At TheaterJones, The Dallas Opera’s General Director and CEO Keith Cerny explores the idea that the operatic art form is addicted to the tragic.
As I have noted before in earlier installments of "Off the Cuff," opera is often defined by its stereotypes, even though these stereotypes often fail to stand up, under scrutiny. One of the prevailing notions about opera is that it involves heroines who invariably die in tragic circumstances—whether from disease, murder or suicide—and usually taking a very long time to do it. The popular term "ABC opera" (Aida, Bohème, Carmen), subtly reinforces this perception, since all three operas involve heroines who die tragically.
Welcome to balmy Minneapolis/Saint Paul where the high today was –1° and the low tonight will be 18 degrees below zero!
Why did I fly up here? To attend a performance of a new opera of course!
Tonight was the third performance in the run of the world premiere of Doubt, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play and Academy Award-nominated film by John Patrick Shanley, with libretto by the author and music by Douglas Cuomo.
The reviews that I have read have been quite good, and now I know why.
