Latest news with #Pagliacci
Scotsman
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Great Wave: Scottish Opera's Hokusai-inspired production to 'straddle fact and fantasy'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The headline news for Scottish Opera earlier this month, while revealing its upcoming 2025-26 programme, is that the new season also marks music director Stuart Stratford's tenth year in the company's artistic hot seat. Given how critical the past decade has been for Scottish Opera - marking its reinvention following a funding crisis that seriously threatened its credibility and very existence - Stratford's success in the role is equally a measure of that comeback. General director Alex Reedijk doesn't hold back his own admiration. 'Stuart has brought so much to the company, exactly what we needed when the going was tough: great musical values, but most of all a style of leadership that makes everyone feel involved, whether artists on stage or specialists behind the scenes. He's created a really strong sense of ensemble within the company.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish Opera general director, Alex Reedijk (left) with music director Stuart Stratford. | Kirsty Anderson As for Stratford's own highlights of the last few years, these chime with recent, recognisable successes. Main stage productions such as Puccini's Il Trittico (Sir David McVicar's production won Outstanding Achievement in Opera at the 2023 Critics' Circle Awards) rank highly on his list. Then again, so do the far-reaching partnership projects and inclusive community initiatives that are now equal drivers in defining Scottish Opera's artistic programming. 'Collaborative productions like [Osvaldo Golijov's] Ainadamar have been a huge success,' he says, 'leading to popular stagings in North America - Detroit, Houston and the Met, before going on to Los Angeles next year. We're very proud it was 'made in Scotland''. 'I'm also very passionate about the community style operas we've done - the circus tent Pagliacci in Paisley, Bernstein's Candide and, at last year's Edinburgh Festival, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. These are ongoing and now one of the flagship things we do.' Add to that Stratford's championing of rare operatic repertoire, much of it presented in concert format with the Scottish Opera Orchestra centre stage, other productions - such as Richard Strauss' Daphne - facilitated by the company's recent partnership with East Lothian's Lammermuir Festival. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Which is exactly where the 2025-26 Season kicks off: a comedic double bill in Haddington (4 September) of Ravel's L'heure espagnole and Walton's Chekhovian one-acter The Bear, later transferring to Glasgow and Edinburgh. 'These will work well together, with a common theme of infidelity,' Stratford explains. The Ravel also recognises the 150th anniversary of the composers birth. The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai But the biggest news of the new season is the world premiere in February of a major new opera, The Great Wave, by British-based Japanese composer Dai Fujikura and Scots librettist Harry Ross. The title refers to the iconic woodblock print by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, whose story, and that of his daughter, are freely imagined. 'The subject is an actual historical figure, but the storyline straddles fact and fantasy,' says Stratford. 'Then there's the elusive charm of Fujikara's music, a mix of avant garde with distinctive Japanese simplicity and instrumental colourings.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Great Wave marks yet another major international collaboration by Scottish Opera, this time with Japanese promoters KAJIMOTO, who will oversee future stagings in Japan. If the remainder of the main scale season amounts to a couple of revivals - the exuberant Barbe & Doucet production of Puccini's La bohème (October/November) and Sir Thomas Allen's sprightly Marriage of Figaro - these are nonetheless rich pickings from the Scottish Opera back catalogue. 'Doing Figaro in English this time will lend Sir Tom's production a fresh curiosity,' promises Reedijk. Lest serious opera fans feel short changed, there's a hint of bigger things to come in concert performances in Glasgow and Edinburgh (March) of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde featuring Annemarie Kramer as Isolde in her Scottish Opera debut. 'It's our first Wagner since 2013 and my first Tristan,' says Stratford, with a wink to the future. 'I think we're ready again to tackle these iconic Wagner works.' 'Look out for some future Verdi too,' Reedijk pitches in. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile the groundwork for future community productions continues with the formation of a new children's chorus under the direction of Scottish Opera Chorus director Susannah Wapshott, and a new community chorus in Edinburgh arising from the success of last year's Oedipus Rex project. 'We're in a very stable position here,' insists Stratford. 'Getting to do such exciting projects is what keeps me here. I'm very optimistic about what we're doing. And about the next ten years.'
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Jacob Sacher: the 10 funniest things I have ever seen (on the internet)
When I was a kid the internet was a place you travelled to through the phone lines. As long as no one else in my family was talking to gran, or checking Microsoft Encarta on the computer, I was free to browse juggling forums to my heart's content. Now the internet is everywhere. It's with us at work, on the toilet, and on the toilet at work; it's even in the goddamn fridge. But most significantly, the internet has found its way permanently into my brain. My internal monologue may have an Australian accent, but it has long since succumbed to the language of the web. As it says on the tin, this is a list of the 10 funniest things I've seen on the internet. But more specifically, they're 10 internet artefacts that travel with me wherever I go, either as additions to my personal lexicon – or as intrusive thoughts. I promised I wouldn't get too political with this article, but I CAN NOT hold my tongue about the way that successive governments have failed us with their prioritisation of highways and parking over an airport train. Cult Melbourne poster @verynormalman says it best. It should be noted here that my girlfriend, who I love very much, refuses to take the so-called Skybus and opts instead to take the 901 bus from the airport to Broadmeadows station, then a train to Flinders instead. That, my friends, is what a real hater looks like. If your city's airport doesn't have a rail link you don't have a city, you have a toilet You can have another of his political transport tweets as a treat. Australia is one of the only countries in the world with mandatory bike helmet laws because the powers that be know if we were ever to ride down a big hill with the wind in our hair we'd get a taste for things above our station, it'd be the beginning of the end Who is the greatest Rubik's cuber of all time? It's a contentious question, but on the shortlist is certainly Melbourne's Feliks Zemdegs, who broke the world record over 20 times in his career. In 2016, Feliks broke the world record yet again with a solve of 4.73 seconds. It was a joyous event for all involved … except for one unlucky videographer. I think his SD card ran out. Something I love about internet humour is its recursive nature. A meme will be posted, and others will iterate upon it to create new memes. The best memes are entirely nonsensical out of context, but are joyous for those with the meme literacy to understand them. A popular format is a riff on a joke made famous by the 2009 film (and earlier graphical novel) Watchmen, but found in print as early as 1820: A man goes to the doctor. Says he's depressed. The doctor says 'the treatment is simple: the great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight, go watch him.' The man bursts into tears. 'But doctor, I am Pagliacci.' According to this great article by Amelia Tait, the meme rose to prominence after the death of Robin Williams when people shared the joke in response to his passing. Here are my two favourite variants. doctor: treatment is simple. go see orville, very funny clownpagliacci: what about pagliacci?doctor: pagliacci? man i could not name a more suckass clownpagliacci:doctor: just downright dogshit of a clown MAN: I'm depressedDOCTOR: ok we can try lexaproMAN: hmm I was hoping more for like a clown recommendation? Seventy-six percent of American Jews say that remembering the Holocaust is essential to being Jewish. Thirty-four percent say the same about having a good sense of humour. Things get interesting when we combine the two to create comedy about the Holocaust. Rachel Bloom's Remember That We Suffered, is a masterclass in the form as she highlights the Jewish tradition of celebrating the joys of life, while contemporaneously remembering our past. I am required under threat of litigation to note here that my wonderful sister introduced me to this video, with a heartfelt interstate phone call demanding that I watch the show from where it came, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. This monologue by Paul Foot is unequivocally the routine that got me into comedy. As a highschooler I committed it to memory and would recite it to my peers at every opportunity in which cake was present. I was – and I can not stress this enough – somewhat popular. If you're interested in a fact check, have a look at the comments for a much younger me, confirming the above. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Nathan Fielder is the greatest comedic mind of our generation. If aliens came to Earth and we had to make them laugh, I doubt we'd send him – but boy, would he make a great TV show about the experience. It can be hard describing his shtick, so I'll let the video do the talking. All you need to know is that in this show, Nathan For You, he tries to help failing businesses use creative marketing strategies to succeed. From The Archives: This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won't I could have filled this entire article with Onion articles. They've been churning out the satire hits since 1988. A few faves include 'Drugs Win Drug War', and 'Box With Cooking Instructions Immediately Retrieved From Trash'. The best Onion articles are timeless – like this one, which was written in 2003 but remains as painfully relevant as ever. I asked the produce guy if I could try a grape and he said he wouldn't care if I lit the store on fire with him in it When I was working to save enough money to go to clown school in France (ultimately Covid-19 had other plans for me), I had a job answering the phones for some of Australia's favourite companies. In those roles, I learned that no matter how much a customer hates an organisation, the service worker listening to their gripe hates it more. Much has been written about the exact day Adam Sandler's career died. For me it was the release day for Jack and Jill, arguably the worst film of all time. At the Golden Raspberry awards for the worst films of the year, it made history by taking the top spot for every single category. And yet, in the heat of the dumpster fire that was Jack and Jill, a comedy movement was forged – one that had such an impact on me, I even named my dog after it. The movie features a fake ad for Dunkin Donuts featuring Al Pacino who's changed his name from Al to Dunk, to create Dunkaccino. And if you're thinking wait, wouldn't his name then be Dunk Pacino? So are the rest of us. This clip has been mocked, parodied and recreated so many times it's developed its own niche community on the internet. Here's some of my faves. This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. Lisa Franklin's My Two Lesbian Ants is a sweet foray into the world of lesbian dating – a world I admittedly don't know too much about. But gaining perspective on worlds other than your own is what ART is all about, is it not hmmm? Jacob Sacher's show Promising Young Mensch is on at the Melbourne international comedy festival until 6 April. He's also presenting his family show for ages four to 400, Winni Wizard and The Ditzy Dizzard, 5-17 April.
CBS News
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Lyric Opera's 2025-2026 season includes "Madama Butterfly," Smashing Pumpkins tribute
The Lyric Opera of Chicago unveiled the lineup for its 2025-2026 season Tuesday, featuring a blend of tradition and modern musical concerts. The new season includes both "Madama Butterfly" and a tribute to the album that featured the song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." Fall 2025 The season begins with Luigi Cherubini's "Medea," Oct. 11 to Oct. 26. The millennia-old tragedy tells the story of the sorceress Medea, who has been spurned by her lover and abandoned in a foreign land, and who kills her own children in a twisted act of revenge. The Lyric Opera says director David McVicar brings the story to "life — and gruesome death." Lyric Opera Music Director Enrique Mazzola serves as conductor, while soprano Sondra Radvanovsky appears as Medea and tenor Matthew Polenzani as Glasone. From Nov. 1 through Nov. 25, the Lyric will stage Pietro Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana" and Ruggero Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci." In line with the theme of "Medea," these one-act operas explore the stories of spurned lovers and the lengths they'll go to avenge betrayal. In "Pagliacci," the spurned husband at the center of the plot, Canio, is the lead clown in a comedy troupe. Mazzola conducts again, while Russell Thomas plays Canio in "Pagliacci" and Gabriella Reyes plays his wife, Nedda. In "Cavalleria rusticana," SeokJong Baek plays villager Turiddu, while Yulia Matochkina plays his lover Santuzza. For three performances on Nov. 14, 16, and 18, Mazzola leads the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana." The 1936 opus is based on a collection of medieval poetry. Its opening movement "O Fortuna," is best known, but operagoers on those November dates will get to hear the whole thing. From Nov. 21 through Nov. 30, something completely different is in store — involving not spurned sorceresses or jilted clowns, but Junebug skippin' like a stone back during the Carter administration, and the world being a vampire sent to drain. For "A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness," Billy Corgan has composed a new commission of Smashing Pumpkins' classic double album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," which came out in the fall of 1995. "You'll hear Billy Corgan and special guest artists along with the epic sound of the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a completely new sonic and visual experience," the Lyric Opera wrote. "Whether you love the Pumpkins and are excited to hear their music in a sumptuous new dimension, or you simply crave the opportunity to hear a new work inspired by the unexpected, this promises to be one of the can't-miss cultural collaborations of the season." Winter 2026 A new-to-Chicago production of Richard Strauss' "Salome" takes the stage from Jan. 25 to Feb. 14, 2026. "Salome" is based on a one-act play by Oscar Wilde, which is itself an adaptation of the Biblical story of John the Baptist's martyrdom. This latest rendition of "Salone" is set in 1940s fascist Italy, and is described by the performance arts organization as a "gory thrill ride" that "drips with decadence." Tomáš Netopil conducts and McVicar directs, while Elena Stikhina plays Salome, Brandon Jovanovich plays King Herod, and Nicholas Brownlee plays Jochanaan. Meanwhile, Mozart's "Così fan tutte" comes just in time for Valentine's Day, from Feb. 1 to Feb. 15, 2026. In the opera, two soldiers named Ferrando and Guglielmo hatch a plan to switch places and try to court each other's fiancées — but the women know exactly what's happening from the get-go. This new-to-Chicago production takes the action to a 1930s-era seaside country club. Mazolla conducts, Anthony León plays Ferrando, and Ian Rucker Guglielmo. Cecilia Molinari plays Ferrando's fiancée, Dorabella, and Jacquelyn Stucker plays Guglielmo's fiancée, Fiordiligi. For one night only, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, the revered Renée Fleming returns to the Lyric Opera with a program based on her 2023 Grammy Award-winning Best Classic Vocal Solo Album, "Voice of Nature: The Anthropocene." She with pianist Ian Bartman to a video curated by the National Geographic Society. Spring 2026 As winter turns to spring, Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly' comes to the Lyric Opera stage from March 14 to April 12, 2026. Cio-Cio-San, or Madama Butterfly, is a geisha in love with Navy Lt. B.F. Pinkerton — whom everyone else knows will break her heart and destroy her life. Domingo Hindoyan conducts, Karah Son plays Cio-Cio-San, and Evan LeRoy Johnson plays Pinkerton. Concurrently, from March 21 through April 4, 2026, a much newer opera about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her husband, artist Diego Rivera. "El último sueño de Frida y Diego" is set on Day of the Dead, and involves Kahlo crossing back from the underworld to spent 24 hours with the still-alive and grieving Rivera. The opera had its world premiere in 2022. Roberto Kalb conducts, and Daniela Mack plays Frida — except on April 1, 2026, when Stephanie Sanchez takes over the role. Alfredo Daza plays Diego. For two nights only on April 17 and 18, 2026, the Lyric will present a world premiere of a musical work by Chicago's first ever poet laureate, avery d. young. "safronia" is an Afro-surrealist story told from the perspective of the Booker family, who return from the Northern U.S. to their hometown in the South after five years of banishment to bury their family patriarch. Opera in the Neighborhoods also returns for school and public performances in 2025-2026 with "Katie: The Strongest of the Strong," which tells the true story of circus strongwoman Katie Sandwina. She was known as the strongest woman in the world, but was also a wife and mother who helped lead the women's suffrage movement of the early 20th century. The production features an all-female cast.
Chicago Tribune
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Lyric Opera's 2025-26 season includes ‘Madama Butterfly' and Billy Corgan revisiting ‘Mellon Collie'
The Lyric Opera of Chicago laid out its 2026-26 season at a presentation at the Civic Opera House on Tuesday, the first season to be announced under the direction of John Mangum, Lyric's newly installed general director, president and CEO. Many of the projects first were put in motion by Mangum's predecessor, Anthony Freud. The increased pace of performances reflects what Mangum called a continuation of Lyric's recovery from the pandemic. The fall slate of the leading Midwestern opera company opens with the Lyric premiere of a new co-production with the Metropolitan Opera of New York, Greek National Opera and Canadian Opera Company of Luigi Cherubini's 'Medea' (Oct 11-26). It will star Sondra Radvanovsky, who was born in Berwyn and rose to a reputation as one of the opera world's leading sopranos. Also coming this fall, a double bill of two one-act operas, Pietro Mascagni's 'Cavalleria rusticana' and Ruggero Leoncavallo's 'Pagliacci' (Nov. 1-23). Director Elijah Moshinsky's production will be staged by revival director Peter McClintock and feature a cast that includes Russell Thomas, Quinn Kelsey, and Gabriella Reyes. Enrique Mazzola conducts. November will see three performances of Carl Orff's cantata 'Carmina Burana' (Nov. 14-18) and the world premiere of a new 'alt rock opera' penned by Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins fame, titled 'A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness' (Nov. 21-30). Corgan was in the house Tuesday. His new opera is based on the Smashing Pumpkins conceptual double album of roughly the same title, the band's third studio album. Recorded in Chicago and released in 1995 with 28 tracks, 'Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness' represents the emotional and philosophical ambitions of 1990s alternative rock at its most expansive. 'Billy could have celebrated the 30th anniversary of this album anywhere,' Mangum said. 'He wanted to do it at the Lyric.' Corgan said that he was a longtime Lyric audience member and wanted to pay tribute to the operatic world. 'This is to celebrate the compositional aspect of the work,' Corgan said. 'We're not trying to do opera-goes-rock.' Corgan also said he will 'get a sing a few songs' but also wanted to 'get out of the way' of the orchestrations and the operatic singers involved in the project. 'My dream here is for us to create a beautiful immersive environment,' Corgan said. He hopes the project 'will be able to travel beyond Chicago.' How much actual staging will take place remains to be seen, given that this is a world premiere planned for seven performances, mostly on consecutive nights. But the songs have been reorchestrated and reordered and there will be costumes and other design elements. Its presence on the mainstage season (requiring an add-on ticket for subscribers) is a departure from custom for the Lyric, although one likely to prove popular with Smashing Pumpkins fans. In January, Lyric will stage Richard Strauss' 'Salome' (Jan. 25 to Feb. 14, 2026), the 1905 opera based on the Oscar Wilde play, as staged by David McVicar and starring Elena Stikhina in the title role in her Lyric debut. 'Salome,' among other attributes, is famous for its Dance of the Seven Veils. McVicar's production originated at the Royal Opera House in London in 2008. A San Francisco Opera production of Mozart's 'Così fan tutte' (Feb. 1-15) follows, directed by Michael Cavanagh and set in a seaside resort in the 1930s — featuring Ana María Martínez and Rod Gilfry in leading roles. At Lyric, Mazzola will conduct. On Tuesday, Mangum said that the opening production of Lyric's 2026-27 season will be 'Don Giovanni,' completing the trilogy of the Mozart/Lorenzo Da Ponte operas at Lyric. Next, Lyric will stage Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly' (March 14 to April 12, 2026), directed by Matthew Ozawa, with Karah Son making her Lyric debut in the title role. That piece will be paired with 'El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego)' (March 21 to April 4, 2026) by composer Gabriela Lena Frank and librettist (and famed playwright) Nilo Cruz. Sung in Spanish and embracing of Mexican folk music traditions, the piece will star Daniela Mack and Alfredo Daza. Finally, the season concludes with the world premiere of 'safronia' (April 17-18, 2026), an Afro-surrealist opera both penned by and starring Chicago Poet Laureate avery r. young. This new piece follows a family who took part in the Great Migration but has returned home to reckon with the past. Timothy Douglas directs an opera that will include gospel, blues, funk and soul. Young said Tuesday that the story is based on that of his grandparents. Additional special events aside from the opening night gala (on Oct.10) include Renée Fleming, who has ended her association with Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, in concert in Chicago on Feb. 5, 2026, and an expanded version of 'Movie Nights at Lyric' (Disney's 'Coco' on Oct. 16-18 and 'Mary Poppins' on April 10-11, 2026) where the Lyric's orchestra provides a live accompaniment to one of two classic Hollywood movies.
Telegraph
23-02-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Comedy might be good for the soul, but it's no substitute for real medicine
A plan to put stand-up comedy shows on the NHS has been welcomed by Stroud MP and GP, Dr Simon Opher, who recently warned in Parliament about the 'pandemic of over-prescription' and outlined how 'making people laugh can avoid the need for medication'. The company that pitched this flamboyant foray into complementary medicine is Craic Comedy, headed up by Louisa Jackson, who has the facts and data at her elegantly manicured finger tips. Comedy-on-prescription, she says, is not just a bit of harmless fun – it could help reduce the costs linked to mental health issues in the country. 'Comedy is a cortisol decreaser, dopamine producer, and a potent releaser of serotonin, endorphins and good neuropeptides.' And no addiction, no adaptation, no shame. Sounds great. I should charge more. My first thought flew to the joke familiar to all stand-ups, and which I first heard, or read, in The Watchmen. 'Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone… Doctor says, 'Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up.' Man bursts into tears. Says, 'But doctor...I am Pagliacci.' But even putting that opportunity for dramatic irony aside, I suspect I am not the only stand-up to be feeling somewhat ambivalent about being recruited into a wellness drive. Of course, one likes to think one's rants and musings cheer everyone up on the night, which can even have a knock-on effect on their mood the following day and ripple out to those they live and work with. We have long been proud to be reminded that laughter is the best medicine, which is why it was so jarring to discover during the Covid lockdowns that it was also quite a significant disease vector. But still, stand-up comedy is entertainment, not therapy, and one that is licensed to go dark, if not actually kill. There is nothing that smothers a really good, wicked belly laugh faster than the earnest smile of the comedy facilitator, beaming with the saintly intent of a Thought for the Day. 'Life is mostly froth and bubble, Two things stand like stone. Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own.' A short verse by Adam Lindsay Gordon, with a glycaemic index that could fell an ox, and was apparently Princess Diana's favourite. But I always preferred Kingsley Amis's parody: 'Life is mainly grief and labour, Two things see you through: Chortling when it hits your neighbour Whingeing when it's you.' And that version, frankly, is much more in tune with the very best, the soul of stand-up comedy. At the moment of conception, Schopenhauer lamented, the Devil's laughter is heard. But if you can't be around for that, the conception of a really vicious punchline is a good second. Of course, I do believe that a really hearty cackle is chicken soup for the soul. It's just that it ideally has to have a little mischief in it really. And that comedy evenings planned as mental health treatment might lack a certain bite, might be a bit too much like getting your haircut by the council, or your lunch delivered by a charity. But who knows? I might be wrong. And after all, a gig's a gig. You know where to find me…
