Tag Archives: Tamara Ryan

Jun 30

Revamped *Cough* Vampire Comedy for Modernity: DER VAMPYR

Posted on by

Photo © OperaHub

Presented by OperaHub
1828 music by Heinrich Marschner
1828 German libretto by Wilhelm August Wohlbrück
1828 libretto based on the play Der Vampir oder die Totenbraut by Heinrich Ludwig Ritter
2014 arrangement by Moshe Shulman
2014 libretto by John J King
Music direction by Lina Marcel Gonzalez
Stage direction by Christie Lee Gibson

June 19 – 28, 2014
Boston Center for the Arts
Plaza Theatre
Boston, MA

Review by Kitty Drexel

Trigger warnings: Light smut, Feminism

(Boston) Der Vampyr is a decadently feminist adaptation of Marschner’s original. This new arrangement presented by OperaHub tackles the difficult truths of male entitlement, victim blaming and rape culture that all women face on a daily basis. If you, the reader, do not believe in gender equality, this opera is not for you. If you believe that rape culture is not a pervasive truth all women face, then this opera is not for you. It would be best if you pulled your fedora over your eyes and stopped reading this review now. Continue reading →

Dec 06

Harvard Early Music Society Presents “Dido and Aeneas”

Posted on by

Inline image 1

Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas
Stage directed by Giselle Ty
Music directed by Jessica Rucinski
December 5, 6, 7 • 8pm
10 Garden Street
Harvard University
Dido and Aeneas on Facebook
For tickets, visit boxoffice.harvard.edu
$12 regular admission • $8 students
Experience the legendary tale of doomed love through the concentrated emotion of Purcell’s music. Based on Book IV of Vergil’s (also, Virgil) Roman epic, The Aeneid, this tragic opera traces the charged romance between Dido, the Queen of Carthage and Aeneas, the Trojan prince destined to become the founder of Rome.
The marriage of one of the most iconic texts in classical literature and some of the most enduring and cherished moments in the history of western classical music beautifully capture the lovers’ yearning to find an immortal love and all of the obstacles that they must fight against in order to hold on to it. In a world where duty, fate, grief, and supernatural forces disrupt and challenge the power of love, love cannot conquer all.
The Harvard Early Music Society is collaborating with a cast and creative team consisting of professionals and undergraduates to stage Henry Purcell’s 1688 masterwork in one of Harvard’s most intimate theatrical spaces.