by admin | Mar 13, 2024
In this “Opera for Educators” seminar—offered by LA Opera Connects—I’ll be talking about the role of production in creating new meanings of older works such as La traviata, Verdi’s most enduringly popular opera. LA Opera is presenting the work... 
by admin | Mar 13, 2024
The Barrington Area Library invited me to speak about my book, Understanding the Women of Mozart’s Operas (Univ. of Calif. Press, 2007, 2021), a critical re-evaluating source materials as well as common reception assumptions about the female roles in the Da... 
by admin | Nov 4, 2023
My contribution to this Los Angeles Opera Connects seminar for K-12 educators and opera lovers will be an exploration of composer Gabriela Lena Frank and her relationship to Hispanic and Latin American culture, history, and language as well as her orchestral... 
by admin | Feb 13, 2023
The Los Angeles Opera presents Puccini’s immortal Tosca—a suspenseful political drama and love story centered on the fictional diva and force of nature, Floria Tosca. Dr. Brown-Montesano will delve into some of the essential influences on Puccini’s... 
by Kristi | Oct 4, 2022
Lucia is trapped in an impossible situation. Her abusive brother hates the man she loves. Worse, he’s forcing her to marry someone else in a last-ditch effort to shore up the family’s failing finances. Her only way out seems to be murder… Learn more...