Thinking with Opera 01: Performing Violence

“In cinema you are a spectator; in opera you are present. I’m fascinated by the notion that we witness in opera: we have to endure.”

Ranging from Ancient Greece to The Godfather, and focusing on the operas of Puccini and Verdi, the renowned art historian Professor Griselda Pollock discusses how violence is represented in painting, sculpture, film and literature, how it is performed in opera, and its implications.

The first podcast in a series exploring the world of opera and its component parts, produced as part of the DARE partnership between Opera North and the University of Leeds.

Excerpts from Opera North’s 2018 production of Madama Butterfly featuring Anne Sophie Duprels as Cio-Cio-San, Ann Taylor as Suzuki, Merūnas Vitulskis as Pinkerton and the Orchestra of Opera North conducted by Martin Pickard.

Excerpt from Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo performed by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Rahbari, Naxos Records.