In the Wings

Boston Lyric Opera has a long history of creativity in building new spaces for opera. Perhaps our most unique example is our upcoming production of Trouble in Tahiti and Arias & Barcarolles, running May 11-20 at DCR Steriti Ice Rink.

From the Korean War to 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,' John Conklin explores events that occurred in 1952, the same year that Trouble in Tahiti premiered.

The range of musical styles that Leonard Bernstein worked in is extraordinarily wide—but the range of subjects he engaged with is comparatively narrow, and all of the subjects came out of his own life: love, family, and all the various ties that bind.

Leonard Bernstein's multifaceted musical career, combined with his outspoken involvement in politics and general embrace of public life, made him into a person who seemed inseparable from the broader context in which he lived and worked.

Get to know two Leonard Bernstein masterpieces, TROUBLE IN TAHITI and ARIAS & BARCAROLLES in 5 minutes or less before BLO's new production in May 2018.

The Threepenny Opera had its first performance in Berlin on the 31st of August 1928—let’s explore what else occurred that year.

We have looked at and listened to some relatively straightforward renditions of the insidiously persuasive strains of “Mackie Messer,” or “Mack the Knife.” Here are some others--from the bizarre to the campy!

Although a last-minute addition to the original production in 1928, “Die Moritat von Mackie Messer” has gone on to become its biggest hit.

Shortly before The Threepenny Opera was to open, Harald Paulsen, playing Mack the Knife, demanded an entrance song that would announce his character. Brecht decided to compose one that would counteract the dandy image, and so penned Die Moritat von Mackie Messer--The Ballad of Mack the Knife.

Brecht hated opera—a bit simplistic and overstated, granted, but perhaps not entirely inappropriate for dealing with the highly opinionated beliefs of this protean playwright, poet, composer, director, actor, and theoretician. But upon further examination, the situation becomes more ambiguous.