Opera Cheat Sheet | Houston Public Media

The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas by Nathaniel Dance-Holland. Public domain. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss what is perhaps the earliest English opera, Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Based on the events in Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid, Purcell’s only true opera tells the story of the ill-fated love that develops between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a Trojan prince charged... Read More

The arrival of the entertainers in La traviata, Act II, Scene II. Creative Commons license 3.0. In this OCS, the “opera guys,” Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, discuss Giuseppe Verdi’s magnificent La Traviata, the story of the ill-fated love between the dying courtesan Violetta and the young and besotted Alfredo and what can happen when your dad thinks your girlfriend’s “unsuitable”! Tune in to Houston Public Media... Read More

Patricia Racette as the title character in the Met’s 2012 production of "Tosca." Photo by Ken Howard. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give, in their own inimitable way, a quick intro to Puccini’s beloved Tosca, a story of love, politics, religion and sharp silverware! Set in Rome against a backdrop of national and political turmoil,... Read More

Porgy and Bess by the New York Harlem Theatre. GNU Free Documentation License. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss George Gershwin’s 1935 masterpiece, considered by many to be the Great American Opera. Based on DuBose Heyward’s novel Porgy, Gershwin’s opera tells the story of the residents of Charleston, South Carolina’s Catfish Row, a tenement inhabited by poor black families, and the love story... Read More

The set of Weinberg's 'The Passenger' features Auschwitz on the lower level and a passenger ship headed to Brazil in the late 1950s on top. Photo by Robert Kusel. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Mieczysâaw Weinberg’s 1968 opera The Passenger. Set on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic in the late 1950s and also in the Auschwitz concentration camp... Read More

Tannhäuser by Ferdinand von Piloty (1828-1895). Public domain. In this week’s OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give their laugh-filled take on Richard Wagner’s tale of a man torn between sacred and profane love. Set in 13th-century Germany, Tannhäuser teaches us that, if you’re going to sleep around, you probably shouldn’t admit it to your friends in front of your girlfriend!  Tune in to Houston Public... Read More

Shankly Gates at Anfield, Liverpool F.C.'s stadium, U.K.. Photo by Andy Nugent. Creative Commons. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Richard Rodgers’ and Oscar Hammerstein’s second musical collaboration.   Set in Maine in the second half of the 19th century, Carousel tells the story of the complex relationship between carousel barker Billy Bigelow and millworker Julie Jordan. It’s the... Read More

Portrait of Henry VIII by Hans Holbein the Younger; Anne Boleyn by unknown artist. Public domain. In this OCS Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss the first opera in Donizetti’s “Tudor trilogy.”  Based on the tragic story of Henry VIII’s second wife, it’s a story about the dangers of marrying a serial monogamist! Tune in to hear Lyric Opera of Chicago’s broadcast of Anna Bolena featuring... Read More

Il Trovatore, Salzburg Festival 2014 with Riccardo Zanellato (Ferrando), Plácido Domingo (Conte di Luna) and the Chorus of Vienna State Opera. Photo by Christian Michelides. Creative Commons. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give their usual open and honest overview of one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most tuneful works. Il Trovatore is a story of nobles, gypsies and singing soldiers, and reminds us of... Read More

Liceu - Interior. Photo by Josep Renalias. Creative Commons license. In this OCS, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Richard Strauss’ Capriccio, his final opera. Set in 1775 in a chateau outside Paris, Capriccio is an opera about opera. Tune in to Houston Public Media Classical 91.7 Saturday at noon to hear Lyric Opera of Chicago’s broadcast of Capriccio featuring a cast that... Read More

Don Giovanni (Commendatore) Greek National Opera 2004. Photo credit: Stefanos. Courtesy of the website of Vassilis Kostopoulos. In this OCS, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn, and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Mozart’s famed Don Giovanni, the story of the downfall of the notoriously unrepentant womanizer, a work composer Charles Gounod described as “that unequalled and immortal masterpiece, that apogée of the lyrical drama.” It’s a cautionary tale about how many notches... Read More

(l – r) Anna Prohaska as Oscar, Dalibor Jenis as Renato, Oliver Zwarg as Samuel and Andreas Bauer as Tom in the Berlin Staatsoper production of Un ballo in maschera. Photo by Ruth Walz © 2008. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra talk about and give an overview of Giuseppe Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, the story of the demise of the Swedish... Read More

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, December 2014, Svetlana Sozdateleva as Katerina L'vovna Izmailova, Director Dmitry Bertman, Helikon Opera Moscow. Photo: Lorenzo Gaudenzi. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra provide a quick intro to the work that led to the denunciation of Dmitri Shostakovich’s music by the Communist authorities and which was banned in the Soviet... Read More

Giancarlo Monsalve, Rafał Siwek, in Verdi's Don Carlo. Photo by Manuel Larrondo. In this Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn talks to American tenor Brandon Jovanovich, who made his role debut as Don Carlo in Houston Grand Opera’s 2012 production of the opera. Often referred to as the “grandest of the grand operas,” Don Carlo is basedon the Schiller play Don Carlos, Infante of Spain.  Set against the backdrop of  the Hapsburg-Valois War... Read More

Shrine of Charlemagne at Aachen. Creative Commons. In this Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give a quick, light-hearted overview of Verdi’s Ernani, one of his early masterpieces. A story of love and supreme honor, Ernani revolves around three men all in love with the same woman. As you might imagine, drama ensues! Tune in Saturday at noon for the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of... Read More

In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (ROCO) give their humorous and light-hearted overview of the opera many consider Gaetano Donizetti’s greatest drama and one of the masterpieces of the bel canto repertoire. Albina Shagimuratova as Lucia di Lammermoor. Photo © Pavel Vaan / Leonid Semenyuk. Based on Sir Walter Scott's historical novel, The Bride of Lammermoor, Lucia di Lammermoor, might be described... Read More

Dancer Marie Lindqvist from the 2010 production of Manon at the Royal Swedish Opera. Carl Thorborg / Kungliga Operan. Creative Commons. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra give an overview of Jules Massenet’s most popular opera, Manon. Based on the 18th-century novel by Abbé Prévost, it’s the story of a young girl torn between love and the finer things in life.... Read More

Gioachino Rossini (painter unknown). Public domain. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Rossini’s 1819 bel canto masterpiece La Donna del Lago.  Based on Sir Walter Scott’s narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, and set in the early 16th century, the opera is a tale of love, loyalty and lochs in the Scottish Highlands. You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's... Read More

Carmen poster by David Lund, Seattle Opera, 1982. Creative Commons. In this week’s Opera Cheat Sheet, Houston Public Media’s St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Georges Bizet’s tour de force, Carmen, the story of the naïve and unstable young soldier, Don José, who is seduced but then discarded by the wild gypsy girl Carmen.You can hear the Metropolitan Opera's production of Carmen, featuring Latvian mezzo-soprano El€Çna Garan€a in the... Read More

The Singer Francisco D'Andrade as Don Giovanni in Mozart's Opera (The Red d'Andrade) by Max Slevogt, 1912 Credit: Public domain   This week, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn, and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra discuss Mozart’s famed Don Giovanni, the story of the downfall of the notoriously unrepentant womanizer, a work composer Charles Gounod described as “that unequalled and immortal masterpiece, that apogée of the lyrical drama.”  It’s a cautionary tale about... Read More