PBS Great Performances

[plasticene]

Anyone who's interested, check your local listings to see if your PBS station is showing LA Opera's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (pronounced MAH-ha-GO-nee) in the next week or two on Great Performances. You'll be able to see my OperaSinger, although you won't hear his voice individually.

The music is by Kurt Weill, the libretto by Bertolt Brecht, sung in English translation. It's a really bleak story with a stylized, minimalist staging by Broadway director John Doyle, (he did the bizarre Sweeney Todd revival a couple of years ago), so it's not exactly holiday fare. By a long shot. The stars are from the musical theater rather than opera: Audra McDonald (her singing, acting, and physique are all incredible!) and Patti LuPone. I didn't know any of the songs in the show, but apparently "Moon of Alabama" was famously covered by The Doors.

Here is the trailer for the DVD of the show, which is coming out soon: http://www.laopera.com/media/video/mahagonny.dvd.htm

LA Opera also recently released a DVD of their latest production of La Traviata with Renee Fleming and Rolando Villazon. (You can see OperaSinger in that one, too.)

Tips for OperaSinger-spotting: there are two very tall men in the chorus--he's the one with the white hair.

[AnnieCamaro]

Mr. Plasticene, I'm so excited! I saw it last week!

My mom said if I want to be better at writing operas that I should watch more opera productions on television, and not just listen to the Mr. Mozart opera songs they play on the cable digital music channel. So, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny came on Sunday night. I knew it was done by the Los Angeles Opera, and I wondered if Mr. Operasinger might be in there somewhere, but I didn't know who to look for. I will watch again and cheer for him when he comes on.

I liked it. I was confused at first, because it was staged so differently from the other operas I've seen on tv, but mom said it was more "stylized" and "modern." Since I'm a modern girl with style, that's okay with me, and I liked Mr. Kurt Weill's music a lot.

I'm working on an opera called "Guinefort." (My brother Rusty will play the title role. He's the tall blonde dude in my avatar photo.) I hope someday you and Mr. Operasinger will watch that, or maybe even be in it, because there are roles for two-footers, too.

/:P\

[mellytu74]

Ooooh!

I want to see that.

We always try to see Audra McDonald whenever she's in Philly and I have thoroughly enjoyed the two times I've seen Patti Lupone in concert here -- once solo and once with Mandy Patankin.

One of the good things about this market, however, is that we have access to three PBS stations -- Philadelphia, New Jersey and Allentown.

So I will look for it.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

I saw OperaSinger perform. He was the best singer in his row!

[TheCalvinator24]

I saw a bit of this sometime in the past 7 days. I had no idea what it was. It held my attention for about 10 minutes. I kept thinking, "this looks like a musical, but sounds more like an opera."

[fantine33]

Anyone who's interested, check your local listings to see if your PBS station is showing LA Opera's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (pronounced MAH-ha-GO-nee) in the next week or two on Great Performances. You'll be able to see my OperaSinger, although you won't hear his voice individually.

The music is by Kurt Weill, the libretto by Bertolt Brecht, sung in English translation. It's a really bleak story with a stylized, minimalist staging by Broadway director John Doyle, (he did the bizarre Sweeney Todd revival a couple of years ago), so it's not exactly holiday fare. By a long shot. The stars are from the musical theater rather than opera: Audra McDonald (her singing, acting, and physique are all incredible!) and Patti LuPone. I didn't know any of the songs in the show, but apparently "Moon of Alabama" was famously covered by The Doors.

Here is the trailer for the DVD of the show, which is coming out soon: http://www.laopera.com/media/video/mahagonny.dvd.htm

LA Opera also recently released a DVD of their latest production of La Traviata with Renee Fleming and Rolando Villazon. (You can see OperaSinger in that one, too.)

Tips for OperaSinger-spotting: there are two very tall men in the chorus--he's the one with the white hair.

Is Richard Bernstein still associated with the LA Opera?

[hermillion]

I've met OperaSinger, and he is a charming gentleman. I'm so sorry I didn't see this notice until after Mahoganny aired in Tulsa, as I would definitely have kept an eye peeled for him.

Please pass along to OS how impressed my kids were by his dinosaur vocal connection!

I'll watch for reruns of the opera.

[plasticene]

Is Richard Bernstein still associated with the LA Opera?

He's apparently been away for a few years. I didn't know who that was until I looked him up online, but I have seen him, as Escamillo in Carmen.

[ulysses5019]

This reminded me of one of my favorite short films:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lP_ateyXy9w

[etaoin22]

I watched most of the last act, by chance, channel surfing last week. It was terrific. It seemed that the entire chorus wore oversize suit costumes, so picking the tallest would be picking someone, well, big-big.

And there was I guess a brief reprise of that old "Whiskey Bar" song, aka "Alabama Song", which I knew was Weill/Brecht but I didint know was from this opera. Always good to hear. (hic).