history & science

Cincinnati Opera presents Famous Violettas

Cincinnati Opera and the Cincinnati Opera Guild presented "Famous Violettas" an Opera Rap with music historian Hilary Poriss on Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at the Taft Museum of Art. The role of Violetta has been performed by opera's greatest sopranos. Music historian Hilary Poriss explores divas who are famous and infamous for portraying the fallen woman from Verdi's La Traviata.

Hilary Poriss, professor of music at Northeastern University, teaches survey classes in music history, courses on opera history, film music, and a variety of other topics. Her primary research interests are in the areas of Italian opera, performance practice, diva culture, and the aesthetics of 19th-century music and culture. She is currently writing a book titled Arias, Authorship, and the Prima Donna, which explores the practice of aria substitution in performance of bel canto opera by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and their contemporaries.

"Famous Violettas" is part of a series of lectures featuring guest speakers leading conversations on topics related to Cincinnati Opera's 2008 Summer Festival.

Video provided by Cincinnati Opera. Videographer was Luke Brockmeier.

Recorded 3/4/2008 at Taft Museum of Art
Length: 43 minutes