Eric Goes to the Opera

Many of you know that I am a big opera fan and that Turandot is one of my favorites. A quick count shows I own eleven different Turandots on CD, a couple on LP, and several videos. Turandot was also my thesis project at Yale when I got my MFA. I am also working in the make-up department on San Diego Opera's current production of Turandot, which opens tomorrow night. In any case, you can see, I'm rather a Turandot fan.

So I find it very neat (if slightly weird) to write a blog post about my partner Eric Shanower's Turandot sketches! Here's what happened: San Diego Opera's outreach department reached out to the local comic book artist community. Eric and other comics creators were invited to the first dress-rehearsal of Turandot and asked to sketch, make art, be inspired by what they saw and heard.

The result is posted on Aria Serious? which is San Diego Opera's blog. There are a lot of cool sketches and a short interview with Eric, too. Go check it out!

I don't know how many tickets are still available - Turandot is a popular opera - but if you're in San Diego (or the vicinity), I'd suggest checking it out. It's an ideal opera for beginners, too: good story, lovely tonal music, lots to look at, a hit aria you'll recognize, and much more. Click here to go to San Diego Opera's main website.