Take your opera out for a hike!
Presented in partnership with the Cincinnati Parks Foundation
Our friends at the Cincinnati Parks Foundation are in the midst of their Winter Hiking Challenge, a 6-week walking challenge that seeks to inspire people to embrace nature and improve their overall health during the colder and more challenging months. It draws inspiration from the Norwegian saying: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.”
On Saturday, January 4, the Foundation, in conjunction with Cincy Hikes, hosts a hike in French Park in Amberley Village. French Park holds a special place in the heart of Cincinnati Opera’s Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director Evans Mirageas, who resides nearby. Enjoy this nature-inspired playlist curated by Evans while you enjoy one of French Park’s many stunning trails!
From Evans:
Dear listener,
Nature courses throughout opera. Perhaps one of the most ardent and prolific depictions of the natural world comes from the pen of Richard Wagner. His massive Ring cycle takes place mostly in the out of doors, long ago and far away. Each of the four operas of the tetralogy has music singing about or conjuring nature. Likewise, his opera Tannhäuser has an apostrophe to the Evening Star. Dvořàk sings to the moon and Schubert in his songs walks along rivers, streams, and lakes. And Handel’s most beloved opera aria is an ode to the Plane Tree!
Enjoy!
Evans
SELECTIONS:
Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold
“Entrance of the gods into Valhalla”
Richard Wagner: Die Walküre
“Winterstürme” (Winter storms give way)
Richard Wagner: Siegfried
“Waldweben” (Forest Murmurs)
Richard Wagner: Götterdämerung
“Siegfried’s Rhine Journey”
Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser
“O Du, Mein Holder Abendstern” (Song to the Evening Star)
Antonín Dvořàk: Rusalka
“Song to the Moon”
Hector Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust
“Invocation à la Nature” (Invocation to Nature)
Franz Schubert:
“Die Forelle” (The Trout)
Franz Schubert:
“Der Lindenbaum” (The Linden Tree)
George Frideric Handel: Serse
“Ombra mai fu” (Never was a shade - Ode to the Plane Tree)