Although the 17th Century French author Charles Perrault did not coin the phrase “fairy tale”—that honor goes to Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d’Aulno—he certainly gets credit for creating the genre. Late in life, Perrault turned his attention to…
Review: UT Opera Theatre — Menotti’s ‘The Medium’ & Puccini’s ‘Suor Angelica’
BY ALAN SHERROD Matching singers to roles in a university opera program is certainly no small feat. A part of the natural attrition of a university program is a constantly changing educational dynamic. The number of student arrivals doesn’t…
This Week: UT Opera Theatre Offers ‘The Medium’ and ‘Suor Angelica’ at the Bijou
BY ALAN SHERROD In my November, 2011 Metro Pulse spotlight of the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre’s production of two short operas, Gian-Carlo Menotti’s The Medium and Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica, I went out on a bit of a…
Review: UT Opera Theatre’s ‘Hänsel und Gretel’
BY ALAN SHERROD It felt like it had been forever since the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre had trod the boards at the Bijou Theatre—but the company was back last weekend with a production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und…
Review: UT Opera Theatre’s ‘Die Fledermaus’ Turns Adversity To Its Advantage
BY ALAN SHERROD Although the old saying—“…the show must go on…”— has lost a bit of its imperative bite as a result of the pandemic shutdown, it was certainly the driving force behind the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre’s…
UT Opera Theatre Update: Weather Forces ‘Die Fledermaus’ Inside This Weekend
If—as they say—”necessity is the mother of invention”, the term could have been created for UT Opera Theatre. First, a scheduling conflict preventing them from performing in their usual venue, the Bijou Theatre downtown, had them planning instead on the…
Review: The Magic Returns – UT Opera Theatre Delights With Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’
BY ALAN SHERROD Imagine being a young singer with operatic ambitions, ready to make the most of an undergraduate or graduate opera program to provide a springboard into the professional world, when rather suddenly … everything comes to a…
Review: Marble City Opera’s ‘Lily’ – Audrey Babcock Is Spellbinding in One-Woman Show
BY ALAN SHERROD There are those illusive gems of music and theatre—performances and performers— that seem to exist only for audiences who know how to recognize their importance and artistic value when fate brings them together. In many ways,…
Review: UT Opera Theatre Sparkles With ‘The Elixir of Love’
By Alan Sherrod Throughout its 187 year history, Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto comedy The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore) has remained high on the list of most-performed operas worldwide. This popularity comes at a price, though, as opera companies…
This Weekend: UT Opera Theatre – Donizetti’s ‘The Elixir of Love’
Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love University of Tennessee Opera Theatre Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street • Friday, November 8, 8:00 PM • Saturday, November 9, 2:30 AND 8:00 PM • Sunday, November 10, 2:30 PM Directed by James…