Happy Birthday Opera!

Opera celebrated its 400th birthday this past weekend. Few art forms can track their birth to an exact date and production – but on February 24, 1607, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo was performed in the medieval Italian city of Mantua, in the Palace of Duke Vincenzo I Gonzaga. Later Gonzaga would be the namesake of an excellent university with an even more impressive basketball team who will no doubt win the WCC title tonight against the University of San Diego.

I digress.

Knowing where you come from is integral to knowing where you are going. For perspective on the foundation of opera and ideas about keeping opera relevant in the 21 Century, read the NYT article.

Interestingly, one idea to keep opera “relevant” is to produce new operas. So, not to be left off the bandwagon, Placido Domingo will be directing the LA Opera’s production of The Fly. Yes, The Fly, as in “Heeeeeeeeelp Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”

You still don’t believe me do you? When have I ever lied to you?

- Kari G.