Oct13

OC Stories—Mike Griebl Scenic Supervisor

By: Angelica DiIorio Neither snow nor rain nor heat has kept Scenic Supervisor Mike Griebl from ensuring the sets of Rigoletto are ready for opening night. In a career spanning more than twenty years, Mr. Griebl has supervised the...

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Oct11

Rigoletto Was a Banned Book

By: Angelica DiIorio and Bethany Wood Art and literature can be very provocative. The arts can challenge people to look at the world around them in new ways and ask questions. While this very trait is what makes art...

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Oct6

Rigoletto 101—Musical Style

By: Betsy Schwarm Many performing arts fans are familiar with the tales of Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885). From Les Miserables to The Hunchback of Notre Dame to Le roi s’amuse (The King’s Diversions), the stories are well-known. If...

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Oct4

Opera Stories: Revenge Gone Wrong

By: Jennifer Colgan People often say, “revenge is sweet.” There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the bad guy get his just desserts. Opera is full of satisfying revenge stories, from Elektra’s bloody retribution against her father’s murderers to...

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Sep29

Top Ten Italian Words in Rigoletto

By: Angelica DiIorio Rigoletto is one of composer Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpieces. He was Italian, if you couldn’t tell by the name. Rigoletto is performed in Italian and set in Mantua, Italy—a city between Milan and Venice. While Italian is...

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Sep27

Meet the Librettist: Francesco Maria Piave

By: Bethany Wood The modern American librettist Mark Campbell likens the role of an opera librettist to an architect. A librettist uses words to create the foundation and structure upon which the composer creates a masterpiece. Campbell says, “A...

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Sep22

Meet the Composer: Giuseppe Verdi

By: Bethany Wood “I adored and I adore this art; and when I am alone and am wrestling with my notes, then my heart pounds, tears stream from my eyes, and the emotions and pleasures are beyond description.” —...

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Sep20

Rigoletto 101 – Characters and Plot

By: Suzanne Whitney & Bethany Wood The 2022-23 Season marks four decades of songs and stories at Opera Colorado. We are kicking off our 40th Anniversary Season with an Italian classic! Rigoletto is one of the archetypal operas for a...

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Sep5

Q & A with Mezzo-Soprano Kira Dills-DeSurra

By: Jennifer Colgan Opera Colorado’s 40th Anniversary Season kicks off with a spectacular semi-staged production of Cavalleria rusticana.  If you are a longtime Opera Colorado attendee, you will recognize several faces on stage, including mezzo-soprano Kira Dills-DeSurra as Lola....

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