Back again with another opera, but remember, this one you already know. We talked about it a little last week – this is the opera that Rent is based on. This means that the story is the same, well, basically the same. Rent was updated to modern day, but the essence of the story is…
If you’re like me and came of age in the late 90’s, Rent was everywhere for a while. Our high school choir even sang Seasons of Love in our concert one year. While I love Rent, I also have mixed feelings about it. It’s very much a product of the time period in which it…
Let me get one thing out of the way immediately: I do not acknowledge that the Les Mis movie exists. The singing was…something. (Some better than others, but that’s another story.) So instead, let’s talk about the 25th anniversary staged concert version. The singers in this were overall amazing. I mean, how could they not…
This musical is one of the reasons I wanted to touch on actual operas. Now that we have a good idea about what an opera is, we (hopefully) can see that this is not an opera. That’s right, Phantom of the Opera is not an opera. It’s a musical. About an opera house and opera…
Yep, we’re doing another opera today! This is also an opera that you most likely know at least some of the music from. It’s used a lot in popular culture, so I’d be surprised if it wasn’t at least a little familiar to you. Carmen is probably my other most recommended first opera for that…
Ok so this isn’t a musical, but I’m keeping the same title format even if I talk about an opera. You’ll just have to accept that! Let’s start with why I chose this opera to be first. I don’t know if anyone goes and watches the shows that I talk about based on my writings….
Previously on Saturdays, I’ve been doing personal reviews and opinions about various musical theater shows. But I’ve got a secret…I really like opera too! Hear me out. Musical theater comes from opera. Opera is a vocal and instrumental artform, first debuted in the 1600’s. It has endured since then, and gone through evolutions of its…
Cats is a weird musical. The whole premise is just odd. It’s a bunch of cats, gathering together to chose which one gets to go to kitty heaven, and they each sing a song about why they are awesome. And there is a bunch of dancing. I do like the music, it’s super catchy and…
I like Sondheim, I really do. I do not like this Sondheim. The story is mostly fine. In fact, I think the premise of the story is pretty interesting. I like the idea of intertwining the various fairy tales into one larger, moderately cohesive story. However. I also think the story should end after Act…
I’m going to come out and say it: Pippin is a weird story. We’re going to gaslight this guy into thinking he’s the chosen one and then attempt to get him to set himself on fire? Yeah, that’s super weird. We can delve into the subtext and talk about how peer pressure is a thing…
