Blogger Night at the Opera: Carmen

When you enter the Overture Hall lobby for opening night of Carmen this Friday, check out the flamenco dancers…and the bloggers.

Madison Opera’s first ever Blogger Night at the Opera will see five local writers armed with lap-tops reporting live from the Overture Center. Participating bloggers have been invited to set-up in the lobby and share their thoughts and observations on the entire opera experience, starting before the show and continuing during the two intermissions of Carmen. For some, Carmen might be old-hat, and for others, it will be their first experience with live opera, so things are sure to get interesting!

Here’s the list of participating blogs:

  • Dane101.com: The collaborative blog for Madison, WI (Blogger: Maddie Greene)

The aims of Blogger Night are pretty simple. We want to reach new audiences by bringing fresh voices into the conversation about opera. On the flip side, we want to bring new media outlets to the attention of our audience (hence the blogger station in the lobby). It should be a fun experience for everyone involved!

And of course, just because your name is not on the list above doesn’t mean you can’t blog about Carmen. If Twitter is your thing, join the conversation on opening night under #MadOpera.

Opera Up Close review & Carmen in the news

Yesterday was our first Opera Up Close of the year. A great crowd came out to MMoCA to hear General Director Allan Naplan talk about the music and history of Carmen. One of my favorite segments was a comparison of “Habanera” interpretations by the great African-American singers Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, and Denyce Graves. The range of tempi in particular was striking.

Katharine Goeldner, Adam Diegel,Candace Evans, and John DeMain (see photo above) were also on hand for a lively discussion about interpreting this ever-popular and ever-present work. The presentation ended with a hilarious look at the music of Carmen in American popular culture. We even un-earthed John Corigliano’s “Electric Rock Opera” version of the Bizet, called The Naked Carmen. Needless to say there’s a reason you may not have heard of it.

Yesterday was also a great day for Madison Opera in the news: