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Opera

Cast members perform during a rehearsal of the opera "Monkey: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable" at the Emerson Paramount Center in Boston, Sept. 20, 2023.

A modern take on an ancient Chinese folk tale

Arts, Culture & Media

The new opera, “Monkey: A Kung Fu Puppet Parable,” had its world premiere in Boston over the weekend. The story is based on an ancient Chinese folk tale and uses modern and diverse cultural elements to create a unique rendition of the popular fable.

Eno Breathe class on Zoom

How opera techniques are helping people with long COVID breathe easier

COVID-19
Iggy Berlin (far left) as one of the Verona townspeople (with fellow supernumeraries) in “Romeo and Juliet.”

Unsung Heroes: Supernumerary

Unsung Heroes

Elementary Opera

Arts, Culture & Media

Elementary Opera

Arts, Culture & Media

Now Playing: Elvis Costello

Arts, Culture & Media

Musical chameleon Elvis Costello continues to defy classification on his new album, For the Stars, a highly unusual collaboration with mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie Von Otter.

Ornamenting Handel’s Messiah

Arts, Culture & Media

In Handel’s day written music offered singers and players of instruments a great deal of freedom to ornament the melodic line as they wished. We asked the soprano Julianne Baird about adding her own notes to a masterpiece.

Renee Fleming & Me

Arts, Culture & Media

Hair colorist Michael Stinchcomb attended the opera 32 times last season. He idolizes this world class soprano Renee Fleming — but he wasn’t always an opera lover. (Originally aired: August 4, 2001)

Der Schneeman

Arts, Culture & Media

Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote this opera when he was just 13. It’s performed here by the BBC philharmonic, conducted by Matthias Bamert.

Now Playing: La Bohème

Arts, Culture & Media

This week film director Baz Luhrmann’s version of La Bohme opened on Broadway and, much like his movie Moulin Rouge, the result is a rich, sexy, galvanizing blend of comedy, tragedy and theatrical pizzazz. The opera poses no heavy lifting for an American audience — even though it’s completely in Italian.

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