Post by deanna on Nov 12, 2014 8:33:53 GMT -7
THE BEAR ESSENTIALS OF OPERA PRESENT:
A PRE-CONCERT LECTURE
Dr. Kristin Ditlow, UNM’s new Faculty Vocal Coach, will present a 30-minute pre-performance lecture before each performance. The lecture will begin at 6:30 PM on November 14 and 15, and 1:00 PM on November 16th.
The works presented consist of two scenes: one from “The Bear” by Sir William Walton, and an excerpt from Henry Mollicone’s “Starbird.” Two complete chamber pieces round out the first half: “A Hand of Bridge” by Samuel Barber and “Elisha and the Bears” by Dr. Stephen Block.
The second half will “bear” resemblance to an opera technique used by composers since the baroque period. For the first three hundred years of opera history, librettists and composers were expected to put a twist on a familiar story or myth. It was these unexpected turns of libretto, phrase, or plot that would have had audiences flocking to opera houses for premieres of everything from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice to Thomas’s Hamlet. Therefore, the second half of the UNM production will be Joseph Robinette’s “The Trial of Goldilocks.” Audiences, especially families, will enjoy seeing and hearing a familiar story with a new spin.