Ildebrando Pizzetti is not a composer known to most U.S. operagoers, but his opera Murder in the Cathedral which premiered at La Scala in 1958, made quite a splash when it first appeared. Based on the historical assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 and more specifically the T.S. Eliot verse-play about this event, the opera turned out to be a tour de force for bass, along the lines of Boris Godunov and King Philip. Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education and Outreach, explores this unusual and exciting entry in our 2013 season.

Camille Saint-Saens took his time turning his idea for an opera on this biblical subject (originally conceived as an oratorio) into reality and had to have some encouragement from his friend Franz Liszt to bring it to the stage. Nicolas Reveles, Director of Education and Outreach, explains it all for you as we look forward to the return of this sumptuous, brilliant French opera.