Summary: In this program, host Natalie Choquette explains that Tosca is one of the few operas about an opera singer. It’s also one of the most violent, erotic, melodramatic works in the operatic repertoire (which no doubt explains its popularity!), and today this timeless masterpiece is even more convincing than many a reality TV show. No opera needs a diva in the title role more than Tosca, and many...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: “Welcome to Opera Easy,” says host Natalie Choquette. “If I were to ask you to name an opera set in Japan based on a play by an American playwright and with music composed by an Italian…would you recognize Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly? I hope so because Madama Butterfly is today’s Opera Easy featured work!”
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: If I were to ask you what is the most romantic story in history, what would your answer be?” asks program host Natalie Choquette. “Would it be Dante’s Paolo and Francesca, antiquity’s Anthony and Cleopatra, or Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston? Probably not. No, I bet that your spontaneous answer would be that history’s most famous pair of lovers are Romeo and Juliette. And wouldn’t you know it,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program, host Natalie Choquette introduces viewers to L’Elisir d’Amore, a charming and romantic comic opera by Donizetti that is set in an Alpine village. The poor, innocent Nemorino is in love with the intelligent and beautiful Adina. He is convinced that only a love potion will allow him to win her. He pays the quack Doctor Dulcamara for the potion with the money he receives for...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: “How does a medieval court jester wind up involuntarily having his daughter assassinated? Stay with us for an intriguing and passion-filled tale of vengeance, love, and betrayal,” says program host Natalie Choquette. “Sound like The Young and the Restless? No, it’s Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic masterpiece, Rigoletto!”
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
View online at AVOD
Summary: “At the turn the 20th century, the most popular French opera was not Carmen but an opera whose principal character was the Devil. This 1859 opera was based on one of the most celebrated works of German literature and did nothing less than revolutionize French opera. Welcome to Opera Easy’s featured work: Charles Gounod’s opera Faust,” says host Natalie Choquette.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: “Tragedy makes for great opera. Opera is full of stories of unrequited love such as Romeo and Juliet, of jealousy and murder such as Otello, and of ultimate happiness ruined by premature death such as in La Traviata. But of all the tragic tales that inspired composers, one of the most effective and lasting is one inspired by Greek mythology - no, not Oliver Stone’s tragic film adaptation of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program, host Natalie Choquette introduces viewers to Die Entführung aus dem Serail. This Mozart rescue opera is set in Pasha Selim’s palace in 18th-century Turkey where Constanze, her maid Blondchen, and the servant Pedrillo are held prisoner. Before Constanze’s beloved, Belmonte, can set them free, he has to deal with the Pasha’s servant, the eunuch Osmin. A series of comic and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: “Who is the most macho character in all of legend and literature? Could it be Casanova? Or James Bond? Well, my vote would go to Don Juan or, if you prefer, Don Giovanni. Unscrupulous, immoral, and scandalous, his amorous exploits were brought to the operatic stage by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, who was a figure of scandal in his own right. Welcome to Opera...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: Today Opera Easy zeroes in on one of the most fascinating and intriguing operas in all of operatic history,” says host Natalie Choquette. “The composer of today’s featured work was born in Germany in 1819 but became a naturalized Frenchman. He was called the King of the Operetta, having written over 90 popular and hilarious operettas for the Parisian stage during the Second Republic. Yet...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: In a span of under two years, Giuseppe Verdi produced his three most popular operas. “The Holy Trinity,” as they are still known today, began with Rigoletto and ended with La Traviata. The piggy in the middle,” says host Natalie Choquette, “is Opera Easy’s featured work today. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Verdi’s 1853 melodramatic masterpiece about love and vengeance: Welcome to Il Trovatore!”
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: “Today we feature not one but two operas. But don’t worry, both these operas are in one act and barely last an hour each. Since they were composed, just before the beginning of the 20th century, they’ve almost always been performed together. In fact, they’ve become so inseparable that they are often referred to as “the terrible twins” - terrible because both tales tell of jealousy and betrayal...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This program examines the first waves of settlement in the Appalachian mountains, beginning with the region's earliest inhabitants-the Cherokee people and other Native American tribes. Illustrating how these indigenous populations were eventually overwhelmed by the arrival of Europeans, the video focuses on the influx of Scots-Irish immigrants, their crucial role in the American Revolution, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: The story of jazz begins in New Orleans, 19th-century America's most cosmopolitan city. Here, in the 1890s, African-American artists created a new music out of ragtime syncopations, Caribbean rhythms, marching band instrumentation, and the soulful feeling of the blues. This program introduces the pioneers of this revolutionary art form: half-mad cornet player Buddy Bolden, pianist Jelly Roll...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2000
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Summary: Congregational music during worship owes its origin to Martin Luther, who used it to proclaim his bedrock message of the Protestant Reformation: God's grace as the sole ingredient for salvation. This elegant program explains how Luther changed the mode of public worship by integrating music into the divine service so that all Christians-not just the clergy-could express and celebrate their...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Carla Campbell's business, Instant Melodies-Britain's first pay-as-you-go music/multimedia studio-is doing well enough for her to relocate and expand. With loans secured, new space rented, and equipment purchased, the 27-year-old is ready for her grand opening. This program follows Carla as sizzle quickly turns to fizzle. When business proves alarmingly slow, she makes a bold decision to speed...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: As the 1930s drew to a close, swing-mania was still going strong, but some fans were saying success had made the music too predictable. Their ears were tuned to a new sound, suffused with the blues-the Kansas City sound of Count Basie's band, which ignited new musical adventures. By 1938, Basie and his men were helping Benny Goodman bring jazz to Carnegie Hall. Soon Basie's lead saxophonist,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: “Opera is usually full of drama, tragedy, and death. In fact the writer George Bernard Shaw once said that he knew when it was the end of an opera because no one was left alive on stage. But there are also many comic operas, operas that are full of comic characters and situations. According to the great composer Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest comic opera ever written is the subject of today’s...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
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Summary: “What is the most romantic story in history: Romeo and Juliet, or Mayerling, or perhaps La Dame aux Camélias? Well for many, Alexandre Dumas’ story La Dame aux Camélias is by far the most moving and tragic love story ever told,” says host Natalie Choquette in this program. “The composer Giuseppe Verdi thought so too; his operatic adaptation of the book is perhaps the most popular opera in the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
View online at AVOD
Summary: The world of opera has spawned true works of comic genius. There’s Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and Mozart’s rather serious comedy of manners Nozze di Figaro. But today’s featured work can be rightfully hailed as a true comic masterpiece. No, I don’t mean the operatic treatment of Corner Gas; I mean Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte or, to give it an equivalent English...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: The celebrated Grimm Brothers fairy tale is the inspiration for Engelbert Humperdinck’s most famous opera - and this segment of Opera Easy. With music of incredible charm and fantasy, the opera tells the story of two children who become lost in the forest and are captured by an evil witch. Thanks to the ingenuity and trickery of the children and the help of fairies and forest spirits, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: To comprehend the holy and inspire the believer, the world's religions have always incorporated music as a form of prayer. This award-winning documentary takes an ecumenical look at a diverse selection of these traditions as performed at the Festival of World Sacred Music held in Fez, Morocco. Along with commentary from festival director Dr. Faouzi Skali and music anthropologist David Lynch,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program examines the 20th-century history of Appalachia through the prisms of economic hardship, spiritual perseverance, and the region's rich musical heritage. Showcasing the power of the traditional string band, the video chronicles the rise of modern country music by way of the radio and phonograph. It also highlights the resonance of long-standing church traditions and documents the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In Andalusia and all around the world, the sensual rhythms of flamenco ignite the blood with joy and sorrow. This program helps make accessible the mysterious, intimate, plaintive form of music known as flamenco, promoting a deeper appreciation of Spanish culture. Background information on Moorish Spain and a chronology of Gypsy history provide the context for generous footage of a juerga-an...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005