OPERAPROJECT5
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"It's not the answer that enlightens, but the question."

- Eugene Ionesco
"A bird does not sing because it has an answer - it sings because it has a song."

- Chinese proverb
 

 

In these pages you’ll find the story behind the Opera Project and how opera, photography, art & artists are inextricably tied together . . .

. . . and here are links to productions of operas by way of photographs, the story of each opera, rehearsal background, singers, composers . . . and ideas for further explorations of your own.

 

ARTIST'S STATEMENT5     "The Opera Project" - Wrap Up
 
"The discipline of the writer is to learn to be still and listen to what his subject has to tell him."

- Rachel Carson

 

The Art of Making Opera - cover

 

"Only those that risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

- T.S. Eliot

 

 By just getting in there and doing the work, by listening to my mentors, by making mistakes, by finding solutions, I learned - learned far more than I realized I didn't know. Learned a lot about publishing, of course. I taught myself to use a Mac, taught myself Quark, learned a whole bunch about printing, photography, communicating and seeing. Discovered that I thrill in using words and interviews to do the same thing my cameras do – strip the surface away and reveal the heart and soul of my subjects.

I learned an awful lot about myself, too, as I stretched further than I thought I could in order to complete this book - and then had to stretch some more. I have seldom been so physically drained, never so mentally exhausted, this emotionally challenged - and alive. I swear I will never be stupid enough to do another book ever, ever again… and I already know I can’t wait to get to the next one, whatever it might be.

This experience has changed me – I am a different person, transformed by my explorations, discoveries, the cast of characters I met along the way. As with any complex endeavor, there are dark clouds to go with the silver linings – the frustrations, dead ends, failures, people who don’t share the vision - it’s all part of the balance...

… and it will be fascinating to see where the next part of the journey takes each of us.

 
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THE OPERA PROJECT
GETTING GOING
THE PRACTICAL VISION
FINAL COUNTDOWN
WRAP UP
PROJECT NAVIGATION		   PREVIOUS | FIRST
 

 
"There are those who mock the artificiality of opera. It's easy to do, and there is no rational defence. If you find the whole thing risible, laugh away - and stay away. Opera lovers know, indeed, that the formal constraints of opera, its supposedly absurd conventions, can heighten rather than diminish its impact.

"Of course people don't sing their opinions or conversations 'in real life.' That is the whole point of opera. It articulates in glorious music what we 'in real life' can only stutter in semi-articulate prose. A declaration of love, beneath a visiting moon or even on a theatrical stage, is confined by the limited number of words at the disposal of those making it. But the operatic love scene has no such constraints: it confers immortality on an everyday occurrence."

- Stephen Brook
EXPLORE FUR

THER
EXPLORE MORE

 

Take a look at the opera book pages for a look at the tangible result of this project. Visit the individual operas to get a sense of the performance and to learn more, from operatic classics to brand-new works. Drop in on a rehearsal. And preview the current project, a unique look at the glory of the tenor voice.

 

"This is the ideal book for everyone who loves opera."

The Art of Making Opera - cover

"... a distinguished book with heart."

The Art of Making Opera

Your invitation backstage to learn how opera - and art - is made.
The Art of Making Opera garnered international praise and won awards. Get a glimpse of what's inside.

Or get your own copy - click on the book cover at left for a special offer on orders placed through this website. 

The OperaWest critic says:

"Hart's observations about what goes on backstage, frontstage and all around the theatre are - I can only say - truly revelatory. This is one of the best books I've ever read on the creation of opera."

 
OperaBasics - An Introduction
The Art of Making Opera - Inside the Book

Explore More: Top 10 Ways to Fall in Love With Opera

Principal Singers & Singing
Invitation to the Rehearsal Hall

WORDS & MUSIC SHOP
recommended recordings by tenors and Artist Profiles of many favorites

INDIVIDUAL OPERAS IN PHOTOGRAPHS... AND MORE
 
CONNECTING
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ML HART HOME

ML Hart's current project is "The Tenor Book" . . .

World-class tenors featured in photographs and in-depth interviews. Additional comments from dozens of conductors, directors, sopranos, baritones, teachers, writers, and yes... more tenors, all of them trying to explain just what the mystique is about.

Visit the work-in-progress pages -- photographs and excerpts from the interviews reveal the most thrilling sound on stage.

PASSION & GLORY AT THE OPERA - The Tenor Book
 

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original content © copyright 1998 ML Hart and images/graphics © copyright 1996 - 2002 ML Hart except where noted
excerpts from book reviews can be found in context here

no part of this page, site, or any components may be borrowed, downloaded, acquired, or otherwise used by any person(s) without the express written consent of ML Hart

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