Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson share background and behind-the-scenes information about the upcoming Utah Opera production of Sondeim’s Sweeney Todd.
In short, Sweeney Todd is a vengeance story in the vein of so many of the tragedies Utah Opera has staged in recent years. Although there is a high body count in this production, it’s about more than just murder. The complex stories and motives of both the principal and chorus characters are intricately weaved together with musical motifs that add depth to their respective roles in a way that only Sondheim could achieve.
The original production featured an industrial set and staging with turntable and trap doors. Early reviews claimed the combination of music and theater “magic” of the now beloved work was almost too much for its own good. 
Utah Opera’s production is cast with opera singers that are able to vocally straddle the fine divide between opera and music theater. 

For tickets to Utah Opera's October 2024 production of Sweeney Todd visit: utahopera.org/sweeney

Episode 9.2 - Sondheim's Sweeney Todd Prelude

This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we discuss more movies we've caught up with in the last week, including MY OLD ASS, GHOSTLIGHT and MUSIC BY JOHN WILLIAMS! We also talk some fascinating box office narratives and INTERSTELLAR's 10th anniversary.

- Opening Banter (0:34)
- Box Office (8:12)
- Interstellar Anniversary (44:40)
- Teri Garr (59:41)
- 2024 Catch-Up (1:06:41)

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@InSessionFilm | @RealJDDuran | @BrendanJCassidy

InSession Film Podcast

Episode 609: My Old Ass, Ghostlight & Even More Catch-Up

Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson share background information about the upcoming Utah Symphony performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. 

For tickets to Utah Symphony's November 2024 performance of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, visit: https://utahsymphony.org/event/id/33379

Ghost Light Episode 9.4 - Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

For over 50 years, John Williams has delighted millions of listeners with his epic film music. Compositionally sophisticated and melodically inventive, his more than one hundred cinematic scores are masterpieces of virtuosic story-telling. In one of their patented Deep Dives™️, film score devotees Jeff and Carol talk about John Williams' life and amazing body of work, while sharing their personal experiences of Williams' music, both as listeners and performers. 

For tickets to Utah Symphony's January 2025 performance of the Film Music of John Williams, visit: https://utahsymphony.org/event/id/33383/

Ghost Light Episode 9.6 - The Music of John Williams

Though there is a children’s chorus, a children’s ballet, and adults playing children, "Hansel and Gretel" is much more than a children’s opera. In preparation for Utah Opera’s presentation of this beloved fairytale, Jeff and Carol talk about the opera’s backstory and why it’s one of the more underrated and sophisticated scores of the late nineteenth century.

Ghost Light Episode 9.7 - Humperdinck's "Hansel & Gretel" Prelude

From riots to radicalism to Disney and dinosaurs, Igor Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring" blasted on the classical music scene in May of 1913 and has been captivating audiences ever since. In one of their Deep Dives, Jeff and Carol talk about the man behind the music, the stories around the premiere, and the music that still sounds modern more than a century later (even though it isn't).

Episode 9.8 - The Rite of Spring Deep Dive

This week Jeff and Carol sit down with Utah Symphony's Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer to talk about his upcoming Mahler mini-festival. Thierry also catches us up on his life since leaving Salt Lake City (hint: busy and fulfilling), his passion projects, and his new role of grandfather! 

Episode 9.9 - Catch Up with Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer

You've heard the aria and you've seen the iconic sad commedia clown face. Now join Jeff and Carol as they look beyond the greasepaint into the bleeding heart of Ruggero Leoncavallo's visceral opera. 

Episode 9.10 - Leoncavallo's Pagliacci Prelude

Jeff and Carol invite musicologist Catherine Mayes to help unpack the thorny topic of exoticism and colonialism in Western Music. This is part one of a three-episode introduction to Utah Opera's upcoming production of Puccini's Madame Butterfly.

Episode 9.11 - Madame Butterfly Prelude Part One

Ghost Light is a moody indie rock track about chasing something lost.

Available now on Spotify, Apple Music, and more.

Follow @mattyknightband on IG & TikTok
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0Pu2wixFu8jJa0DDrLO3Iw?si=UT2O3OLeTGuOmqBZApg11A&nd=1

Ghost Light

From its dramatic opening that gave its composer “no peace,” to its sparkling finale, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor has been delighting listeners for almost two centuries. To open the USUO Ghost Light Podcast’s tenth season, Jeff and Carol uncover the artistic partnership behind this landmark (and revolutionary) work and consider why it remains a cornerstone of the concerto repertoire.

Episode 10.1 - Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto

Matty Knight writes songs about pain and longing, scars and stitches, and the search for the light. Performing under the name Matty Knight Band, his music blends indie rock with touches of folk. Now based in Nashville, Knight’s sound has evolved from stripped-down acoustic storytelling into something moodier and more electric.

The stage is dark, but the conversation is just beginning. Welcome to Utah Symphony | Utah Opera's Ghost Light podcast, a behind the curtain look into the world of classical music and opera and the artists who make it. Hosted by Jeff Counts and Carol Anderson. Produced and edited by Robert Bedont.

The best movie reviews, news, and podcast out there! Two guys that know movies and love talking about them!

New tracks tagged #ghostlight