July 20, 1988

An Italian Opera in Spanish Harlem

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz talks to Fresh Air's Terry Gross about an updated version of Mozart's Figaro. The opera, directed by Peter Sellars, is set in New York City -- but is still sung in Italian.

06:38

Queue

Contributor

Lloyd Schwartz

Other segments from the episode on July 20, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 20, 1988: Interview with Susan Mulcahy; Interview with Lloyd Schwartz; Interview with Michael Tolkin; Review James Crouse and Dale Trusheim's book "The Case Against…

Queue

July 20, 1988

27:25

Gossip Columnist and Editor Susan Mulcahy

Mulcahy wrote for the New York Post's Page Six, and now works for New York Newsday. While the column she now helms features salacious stories, she considers certain topics off-limits, like AIDS and the outing of gay and lesbian public figures. Mulcahy's new memoir is called My Lips Are Sealed.

Interview

Susan Mulcahy

Queue

July 20, 1988

09:44

A Screenwriter Goes Behind the Scenes

Writer Michael Tolkin's novel The Player is based on his experiences as a screenwriter interacting with film executives in Hollywood.

Interview

Michael Tolkin

Queue

July 20, 1988

05:59

The Case Against More than Just the SATs

Guest commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews a new book critical of the college entrance exam, administered by the company ETS. ETS also developed the subject-specific Advanced Placement tests, which Corrigan graded for three years.

Review

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

Classical Music Critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the final three performances of the PepsiCo Summerfare Arts Festival at Purchase, New York. For ten years, the Pepsi-Cola company has underwritten an annual international arts festival that will best be remembered for its ambitious presentations of operas by Mozart and Handel that were directed by Peter Sellars. In this segment, Lloyd reviews performances of Mozart's three great Italian operas, "The Marriage of Figaro," "Don Giovanni" and "Cosi fan tutte."

Review

Queue

May 12, 2022

43:10

Anthony Roth Costanzo nearly lost his voice to cancer. Now he's back as 'Akhnaten'

A decade ago, Costanzo had surgery that threatened to destroy his singing voice. Now he stars as a gender-fluid Egyptian pharaoh in the Met Opera's production. Originally broadcast Oct. 7, 2019.

Interview

Anthony Roth Costanzo

Queue

October 7, 2019

52:30

After Nearly Losing His Voice To Cancer, Anthony Roth Costanzo Takes On 'Akhnaten'

Counter tenor Anthony Ross Costanzo sings in what's considered a woman's range - in the range of the castrati, men who maintained their high voices by being castrated before puberty. He's about to star in the Philip Glass opera 'Akhenaten.'

Interview

Anthony Roth Costanzo

Search the Fresh Air Archive

An Italian Opera in Spanish Harlem

Contributor

Related Topics

Other segments from the episode on July 20, 1988

Gossip Columnist and Editor Susan Mulcahy

A Screenwriter Goes Behind the Scenes

The Case Against More than Just the SATs

Transcript

You May Also like

PepsiCo's Final Season Offers Innovative Productions of Mozart Operas.

Anthony Roth Costanzo nearly lost his voice to cancer. Now he's back as 'Akhnaten'

After Nearly Losing His Voice To Cancer, Anthony Roth Costanzo Takes On 'Akhnaten'

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.