Ep. 118 A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten

Ep. 118 A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” Shakespeare’s iconic "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" gives us some of the Bard’s most memorable (and ridiculous) characters and situations. Benjamin Britten, together with his partner Peter Pears, so appreciated the merits of Shakespeare’s play that they faithfully adapted the script into a libretto for Britten’s 1960 opera of the same name.

The good-natured story shifts among fairy and human characters and their antics on a midsummer night. Observing the chaos, Puck, puckish henchman to the fairy king, exclaims, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” True enough, but there’s plenty of entertaining foolishness here from mortals and fairies alike. And, after all, doesn’t love make fools of us all?

Hosted by Pat and Kathleen

For more cultural and arts commentary by Kathleen Van De Wille, visit Constructive Criticism on Substack.

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Ep. 145 Parsifal by Wagner

Ep. 145 Parsifal by Wagner

Richard Wagner refused to call Parsifal an opera, but instead considered it a rite of “consecration.” For many years, its performance was restricted to the small German town of Bayreuth: the destinati...

31 Aug 2h 11min

Ep. 144 Wagner's Lohengrin

Ep. 144 Wagner's Lohengrin

Lohengrin is THE quintessential “knight in shining armor” coming to the rescue of a damsel in distress.  Swanning in on his mysterious boat, he is a literal answer to her prayers.  But though he may b...

15 Juli 2h 4min

Ep, 143 The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth

Ep, 143 The Wreckers by Ethel Smyth

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8 Juni 1h 58min

Ep. 142 Alcina by Handel

Ep. 142 Alcina by Handel

A seemingly all-powerful sorceress rules over her own island domain.  She enchants not only nature, but also men, who are helpless to resist her charms.  And when she does tire of those besotted men, ...

10 Maj 1h 58min

Ep. 141 Attila by Verdi

Ep. 141 Attila by Verdi

Known to history as “The Scourge of God,” Attila was a rampaging conqueror who famously turned aside from the city of Rome after a meeting with the Pope.  In this version, Attila is also opposed by a ...

12 Apr 1h 59min

Ep. 140 Moby Dick by Jake Heggie

Ep. 140 Moby Dick by Jake Heggie

All hands on deck! This episode of Opera for Everyone dives headlong into a leviathan of 21st-century opera: Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick (2010). Adapted from Melville’s classic American novel, this seafar...

9 Mars 1h 58min

Ep. 139 Le Prophète by Meyerbeer

Ep. 139 Le Prophète by Meyerbeer

When an entrenched oligarchy and a cynical revolution go to war with one another, what happens to all the people in the middle?  Some may be victimized, others silenced, and yet others swept up in the...

10 Feb 1h 58min

Ep. 138 Rienzi, The Last of the Tribunes, by Wagner

Ep. 138 Rienzi, The Last of the Tribunes, by Wagner

Richard Wagner’s first truly successful opera, set in medieval Rome, sees a young nobleman in love with a young plebeian woman.  While this might sound like it’s going to be an operatic love story, it...

12 Jan 2h 4min

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