Welcome to Season 03 Episode 16 - the "May Day" edition - of Notes from the Aisle Seat, the podcast featuring news and information about the arts in northern Chautauqua County NY, sponsored by the 1891 Fredonia Opera House. Your host is Tom Loughlin, SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and Chair Emeritus of Theatre and Dance at SUNY Fredonia.

Guests on this episode include: Mr. Ray Bonilla on John Singer Sargent; Dr. Robert Strauss on Live at the Met's Madama Butterfly; Sparky and Rhonda Rucker.

Notes from the Aisle Seat is available from most of your favorite podcast sites, including Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, and Amazon Prime Music, as well as on the Opera House YouTube Channel. If you enjoy this podcast, please spread the word through your social media feeds, give us a link on your website, and consider becoming a follower by clicking the "Follow" button in the upper right-hand corner of our home page.

If you have an arts event you'd like to publicize, hit us up at operahouse@fredopera.org and let us know what you have! Please give us at least one month's notice to facilitate timely scheduling. Thanks for listening!

Time Stamps

• Ray Bonilla/John Singer Sargent  01:43
• Dr. Robert Strauss/Madama Butterfly  19:30
• Arts Calendar 36:10
• Sparky and Rhonda Rucker 40:34

Media

• "Faery Song", written and performed by Lisa Thiel, from the album Invocation of the Graces, 2010
• "Un bel di", from the opera Madama Butterfly; music by Giacomo Puccini, libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa; performed by Asmik Grigorian, soprano, from the May 2024 Metropolitan Opera production, Xian Zhang, conductor
• La finta giardiniera, K. 196: Ouverture. Allegro molto; W.A.Mozart, composer, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Giuseppe Lanzetta, conductor
• "Stranger Blues", from the album Treasures and Tears, performed by Sparky and Rhonda Rucker, Rounder Records 1990
• "Beltane", from the album The Claws of Dawn, performed by An Danzza, 2018

Artist Links

• Mr. Ray Bonilla
• Dr. Robert Strauss
• Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

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