Shakespeare’s play is driven by the passion and obsession of the uncontrollable jealousy of King Leontes, who recklessly rejects his wife’s love and accuses her of an affair with his old friend. Acting like a man possessed, he orders his friend killed and his pregnant wife imprisoned.
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Three centuries before The Merchant of Venice was written, England became the first country in medieval Europe to expel its Jewish population. Comparing Shylock to the stock Jewish villain of the day, the episode looks at the efforts over the years, for better or worse, to treat him more as a victim – and rescue Shakespeare from any taint of anti-Semitism.
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Explore this exquisite comedy of comparison and contrast, as well as what the ultimate “ado” about “nothing” really means.
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Explore how Julius Caesar challenges us to think about who or what to trust and what values we want to live by.
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The lectrifying team of Vittorio Grigolo and Diana Damrau reunites for a new production by Bartlett Sher of Gounod’s opera, based on the Shakespeare play. Damrau makes her role debut as Juliette, Grigolo sings Romeo and Elliot Madore sings Mercutio. Gianandrea Noseda conducts.