Opera – Page 4 – UCSD-TV Blog

Fresh Year, Fresh Content – January 2013 Highlights

FOUNDERS’ DAY DELIVERED

To celebrate UC San Diego’s 52nd year, the campus invited six dynamic faculty members to share their inspirations for research and education with the audience at the Founders’ Symposium, part of the Founders’ Day celebration held in November.

If you couldn’t get to campus for the festive occasion, don’t worry because UCSD-TV is presenting the talks on TV and online this month.

Watch UC San Diego Founders’ Symposium.

SAN DIEGO OPERA SEASON PREMIERE!

UCSD-TV is thrilled to bring you another season of programming from San Diego Opera, which kicks off its 2013 season in January with Donizetti’s sparkling comedy “Daughter of the Regiment,” updated to the WWII era.

Get the history of the work from San Diego Opera’s Nick Reveles on “OperaTalk!,” go inside the performers’ creative process with “Stars in the Salon,” and venture behind the curtains with “Opera Spotlight” before the debut performance on January 26.

You can also catch up with previous San Diego Opera seasons at our opera website!

COASTAL COLLISION GOES OUT WITH A BANG

We finish off “The Atlantic Meets the Pacific” series this month with even more fascinating conversations with cutting-edge thinkers and researchers. Topics range from the future of wireless medicine to learning to play the guitar later in life. Watch them all — and videos from the 2011 event — at “The Atlantic Meets the Pacific” series page.

Also new in January:

Health & Medicine

Aging and Driving: A Complex Combination

Infant Care — Health Matters

Science

Ocean Acidification: Can Corals Cope?

Public Affairs

Rachel Carson’s Legacy: Finding the Wisdom and Insight for Global Environmental Citizenship

Humanities

The Evolution of Religion, Society & Consciousness with Ursula Kin — Burke Lecture

Arts & Music

Gabriel Kahane: Come On All You Ghosts — La Jolla Music Society SummerFest 2012

Let’s Talk Murder in the Cathedral

The 1170 murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II shook Christian Europe to its foundation, and set off reverberations still felt today. The nefarious deed also inspired two 20th Century works of art, the verse play by T.S. Eliot and Ildebrando Pizzetti’s opera, “Murder in the Cathedral.”

San Diego Opera is staging its production of Pizzetti’s work this Spring, so UCSD-TV and San Diego Opera’s Nick Reveles want to make sure you know what it’s all about. In this edition of “San Diego OperaTalk,” Reveles offers a guided tour of “Murder in the Cathedral,” including its basis in Eliot’s play, the development of musical themes, and Pizzetti’s melding of words and music for maximum dramatic effect.

Watch “San Diego OperaTalk!: Murder in the Cathedral” tonight (12/6) at 10pm on UCSD-TV, or online now. And make sure to tune in to UCSD-TV in January when we’re back with new episodes of “Opera Spotlight” and “Stars in the Salon,” which take you behind the scenes of San Diego Opera‘s 2013 season!

Daughter of the Regiment Gets the OperaTalk! Treatment

Though war doesn’t immediately come to mind as fertile ground for levity, there have been many stage and film comedies with a military setting: Mr. Roberts, Operation Petticoat, Dr. Strangelove, MASH, and Stripes, to name but a few. This is definitely not the case in opera, where war is usually presented as a grim backdrop to drama and hilarity does not ensue.

Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment) is that rare and lively exception to this rule, a musical soufflé about a rambunctious tomboy who is adopted by a group of soldiers. Set in the waning days of World War II in San Diego Opera’s production, it has everything you want in a comic opera – farcical plot, star-crossed young lovers, larger-than-life characters, scheming relatives, rousing numbers for the chorus, a plethora of vocal gymnastics (including the famous nine high Cs for the tenor) and, of course, a happy if improbable ending.

In this new edition of San Diego OperaTalk!, premiering tonight (Oct. 23) at 8pm (and online now), Nick Reveles explains it all to you in his inimitable style, including the opera’s origins and the historic role of women in the military. Who knew war could be so much fun?

Watch Daughter of the Regiment – San Diego OperaTalk! with Nick Reveles tonight at 8pm or online now.

Heads will roll.

Later this month, San Diego Opera will kick off its 2012 season with Richard Strauss’ masterpiece “Salome” and heads will roll. UCSD-TV will be there for all the action with two programs that take you behind the scenes of the production, capturing rehearsals and conversations with the talent on stage and off.

First up is “San Diego Opera Stars in the Salon,” premiering January 23 at 7pm, followed by “San Diego Opera Spotlight” on January 27 at 9pm, the night before the first performance. By the time the curtains rise on January 28, you’ll be ready for the adventure and artistry that awaits you.

For now, feast your eyes on this trailer put together by our producer, John Menier.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV-_ftCvc34&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Jake Heggie Talks Moby-Dick with Ian Campbell

Last week, a sold-out crowd gathered at La Jolla’s Neurosciences Institute for an engaging conversation about inspiration, creation and modern opera between San Diego Opera’s Ian Campbell and Jake Heggie, composer of the acclaimed 2010 opera “Moby-Dick,” which opens at San Diego’s Civic Theater onFebruary 18. Before a delighted audience, Heggie shared what went into the composition of this stunning theatrical showpiece, including his artistic process, unique musical language, experiences with collaborators involved in the project, and the state of contemporary opera and new music in America.

If you weren’t able to get a seat for this special event, don’t despair. UCSD-TV’s cameras were there. We’re airing the special all month and have also made it available for viewing online at your leisure. Everything you need to know is at the link. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.