Search results for ""author leonard"

There's a reason ÊLa Boh¬meÊ has been staged at the Met more often than any other opera: Puccini's enticing music perfectly conveys the enchantment of new young love and the anguish that comes with loss and death. ÊLa Boh¬meÊ the passionate and timeless story of love among impoverished young artists in Paris can stake its claim as the world's most popular opera. It has a marvelous ability to make a powerful first impression (even on those new to opera) and to reveal unexpected treasures after dozens of hearings. At first glance ÊLa Boh¬meÊ is the definitive depiction of the joys and sorrows of love and loss; on closer inspection it reveals the deep emotional significance hidden in the trivial things (a bonnet an old overcoat a chance meeting with a neighbor) that make up our everyday lives. This touching story of tenderness and tragedy never fails to move audiences and melt hearts.ÞThis gorgeous souvenir libretto includes extensive background notes and photos from productions through the years.

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A riveting story of fatal attraction between a beguiling strong-willed gypsy and a na¯ve but passionate soldier who falls under her spell Georges Bizet's ÊCarmenÊ pulses with seduction obsession and deadly betrayal. It was reviled at its Paris premiere where its realism and perceived amorality proved shocking but it became one of the most popular and highly regarded operas of all time. Arguably the greatest musical product of France's enduring fascination with Spain Carmen features many numbers that are now almost universally familiar including the seductive Habanera and the boastful but infectious Toreador Song.ÞDon Jos© is an idealistic young corporal in 1820s Seville when he encounters the gypsy Carmen who is irresistible to all men ä seemingly except Jos© who loves the innocent country girl Mica«la. But soon enough Carmen works her wiles on him to escape imprisonment and a later twist of ever-looming fate forces him to completely abandon the world he knows and follow Carmen into a life of crime. When the bullfighter Escamillo wins Carmen's affections Don Jos©'s explosive jealousy clashes with Carmen's resolve to remain true to herself leading to one of opera's fiercest confrontations and most unforgettable conclusions.

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