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…
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…
Review: A Seductive and Luscious ‘Carmen’ From UT Opera Theatre
By Alan Sherrod Performances in this review— Saturday evening, April 12, and Sunday afternoon, April 13 Georges Bizet never knew of the worldwide success that his Carmen would eventually attain, dying a young man of 36 but three months…
Tuesday Arts Miscellany: A New Footprint for Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival Adds To A Busy Weekend
For the last 17 years, Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival International Street Fair has grown and evolved from an event aimed mostly at opera-goers, into a multi-genre, multi-stage festival of performances, artisans, and food that attracts a diverse cross-section of Knoxvillians.…
Review: UT Opera Theatre’s Colorful ‘The Secret Gardener’
By Alan Sherrod Performances reviewed: Friday evening, November 9; Sunday afternoon, November 11 When the opera La finta giardiniera (The Secret Gardener) premiered in Munich in 1775, its composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was still two weeks shy of his…
Review: UT Opera Theatre Makes Gender Equality a Compelling Subject in ‘Middlemarch in Spring’
It was probably just coincidence that the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre chose the 2015 chamber opera Middlemarch in Spring for its April opera production precisely at a time when the issues surrounding gender equality in society have finally come…