Music

OPERA houses across

Europe are working together to launch a new initiative to share their art with the public. An organization called "Opera Europa" is organizing nearly 100 operatic establishments to offer visitors a "behind-the-scenes" look between February 16 and 18, 2007. The February weekend will be packed with festivities, including guided tours, workshops, and open rehearsals. It will also coincide with the 400th anniversary of Claudio Monteverdi’s "L’Orfeo," considered to be the first opera. Chairman of Opera Europa, Bernard Foccroulle, discussed the efforts of the various opera houses, saying, "Never in four centuries of opera have we seen a dynamic that is comparable to today." In France, 26 operas will participate in the event. L’Opéra National de Paris (National Opera of Paris) is hosting a conference that will discuss both the past and future of opera in Europe. Peter Gelb, the General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, will be among the many contributors to the discussion. The Paris Opera has been working to open its doors to a broader audience with various programs. Such initiatives include a collaboration with La Comédie-Française that provides young people with opportunities to explore the two theatrical institutions. Natalie Dessay, a soprano from Lyon, France, expressed her enthusiasm for the mission of such public-outreach efforts, saying "I want to share something not only with an initiated public, and to say that the beauty is not reserved to an elite."