The Fountain Theatre in association with L.A. Opera present
An in-person conversation with author, lecturer, and Metropolitan Opera commentator William Berger and internationally acclaimed opera star Morris Robinson, exploring political and gender issues not only in opera but in the systemic marginalization of the arts in our country. What modern issues are at stake in the works of Giuseppe Verdi? What can we do about racism in the works of Richard Wagner? Why does this matter today? Mr. Berger’s latest book of recent and new essays, Seeking the Sublime Cache, will be available for purchase and signing.
THE BOOK: Seeking the Sublime Cache
"Whip smart. Told with remarkable clarity and wit."
-- Holly Goldberg Sloan, New York Times Bestselling Author, Film Director / Producer
"Neophytes and connoisseurs alike will be swept up in his comprehensive, exuberant vision."
-- Alex Ross, Author and Music Critic, The New Yorker
Seeking the Sublime Cache is a collection of articles by William Berger, written for a wide variety of major institutions, opera companies, and universities over the last 12 years. Each chapter places opera squarely within the actual world, including interpersonal and global politics. The book is aimed equally at the opera-insider and the opera-outsider, with engaging ideas for both. There is additional new commentary that could not have been written in the original publications. The result is a compendium of new thoughts and insights about very old stories, uncompromising and sometimes provocative in addressing today's volatile world of ideas in conflict.
All books will be signed.
William Berger is an acclaimed author, lecturer, and popular radio commentator for the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He is heard on Met Opera Radio’s Sirius/XM broadcasts and the podcast series “In Focus” and is responsible for the Met’s Opera Quiz.
His books on opera include Wagner Without Fear, Verdi with a Vengeance, and Puccini Without Excuses, Speaking of Wagner: Talking to Audiences About the Ring Of The Nibelung. He is a frequent lecturer/speaker at a variety of venues, including The Embassy of Finland, The Italian Cultural Institute (NY), the Smithsonian Institute, The Wagner Society of America (New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Chicago, Dallas, and Boston), the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the opera companies of Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Baltimore, Austin, Los Angeles, and Washington DC. He was a frequent contributor to the NPR program At the Opera, and was the host of WNYC’s Overnight Music, including the weekly show “El Salón”, which focused on Hispanic issues in classical music. His articles have appeared in the publications of the opera companies of Los Angeles, Seattle, Washington DC, San Francisco, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and Barcelona’s Liceu.
Morris Robinson is considered one the most interesting and sought after basses performing today. He will be appearing in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Wagner’s Tannhäuser at LA Opera this season.
Mr. Robinson regularly appears at the Metropolitan Opera, where he is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Program. He debuted there in a production of Fidelio and has since appeared as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte (both in the original production and in the children’s English version), Ferrando in Il Trovatore, the King in Aida, and in roles in Nabucco, Tannhäuser, and the new productions of Les Troyens and Salome. He has also appeared at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Teatro alla Scala, Volksoper Wien, Opera Australia, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. His many roles include the title role in Porgy and Bess, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Ramfis in Aida, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, Timur in Turandot, the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and Fasolt in Das Rheingold.
A prolific concert singer, Mr. Robinson’s recently made his debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in performances of the Mahler Symphony No. 8 with its music director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyl. His many concert engagements have included appearances with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (where he was the 2015-2016 Artist in Residence), San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, L’Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Met Chamber Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, New England String Ensemble, and at the BBC Proms and the Ravinia, Mostly Mozart, Tanglewood, Cincinnati May, Verbier, and Aspen Music Festivals. He also appeared in Carnegie Hall as part of Jessye Norman’s HONOR! Festival. In recital he has been presented by Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the Savannah Music Festival, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Mr. Robinson’s solo album, Going Home, was released on the Decca label. He also appears as Joe in the DVD of the San Francisco Opera production of Show Boat, and in the DVDs of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Salome and the Aix-en-Provence Festival’s production of Mozart’s Zaide.