Turandot: A Night at the Opera with Christopher Browner ’12
Turandot: A Night at the Opera with Christopher Browner ’12

Taft’s popular “A Night at the Opera” program returns to campus April 12 with Christopher Browner ’12, senior editor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Taft’s popular “A Night at the Opera” program returns to campus this week with Christopher Browner ’12, senior editor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Browner will take the audience on a journey through Giacamo Puccini's final opera, Turandot; he will be joined by performers from the Met’s young artist program. The event takes place in Taft’s Choral Room on the main campus Friday, April 12 at 7 pm. The program is free and open to the public; tickets are not required.

Turandot is a three-act opera set in China. It tells the story of Prince Calaf, who falls in love with Princess Turandot. To win her hand, suitors must solve three riddles; execution awaits those who answer who do not answer correctly. Despite passing the test, the princess refuses to marry Calaf. As the tale unfolds, Calaf presents the princess with a challenge of her own.

Turandot remained unfinished at the time of Puccini’s death in 1924. The music was completed posthumously by Franco Alfano, allowing for a 1926 debut. Browner’s talk at Taft, along with pieces from the show performed by young Met artists, will serve as an insightful and enthusiastic introduction to Turndot, on stage at The Met through June 7. The show features Franco Zeffirelli’s “dazzling vision of mythic China with soprano Elena Pankratova making her Met debut as the legendary—and lethal—title princess, opposite tenor SeokJong Baek as the valiant prince who puts his life on the line to win her love.”

A lifelong opera fan, Browner still remembers the first show he saw at The Met as a child; he also remembers the seat he sat in.

“As the orchestra was tuning and the chandeliers were rising up to the ceiling, I grabbed my dad’s hand—my heart was beating out of my chest because I was so excited.”

As a Taft student, Christopher went to The Met a dozen or so times each year—even more as a student and opera critic for his campus newspaper at Columbia University. Browner was a music major, and directed operas with student groups. He apprenticed with the Santa Fe Opera, studied Italian, and visited the great opera houses across Europe. His work as a senior editor at The Met is the culmination of a lifetime spent pursuing his passion—one he is thrilled to share each year with audiences at Taft.

Performance photo and show notes courtesy metopera.org

Taft Remembers Clayton
Taft Remembers Clayton

A memorial service will be held on December 17 in Litchfield

It is with profound sadness that we pass along the news that Clayton "Chip" Spencer '56 passed away on December 9, 2016, after a long battle with cancer. Chip was involved with Taft for every decade up to his retirement in 1997 and changed and bettered Taft profoundly. His roles at Taft included director of development, director of planned giving, history teacher, coach, and dorm parent.

Headmaster Willy MacMullen '78 said, "It is hard—no, it's impossible—to capture what Chip was to Taft in his years of service here. His love for the school was profound, his service inspiring, and his loyalty unwavering. As director of development and director of planned giving, Chip was instrumental in two capital campaigns. He traveled thousands of miles and spoke to hundreds of alumni, all in service of Taft. So much of Taft's strength and growth is linked to this remarkable man, who devoted much of his life to Taft. He was a great colleague, a wonderful friend, and an inspiring leader—and, there was no one more fun to work with. There are hundreds of alumni, from Florida to California, and throughout the years, who supported the school because of the efforts of this great man."

"Chip Spencer was a Taftie through and through," said Former Headmaster Lance Odden. "A friend to all, his boundless enthusiasm for his school inspired remarkable generosity. Beloved by his colleagues in the Development Office and throughout the alumni body, Chip had a profound impact on those who knew him and on Taft."

He leaves his wife, Susan, and children Oliver '85, Jonathan '88, Jane '03, and Jennie.

"He loved and cherished his work at Taft having developed long and lasting friendships with the faculty, staff, and countless numbers of donors and contributors," his family said. "He never considered fundraising to be a job as much as a call to service for the school he loved, attended, and his children attended."

A memorial service will be held on December 17 at 11 a.m. at St Michael's Parish in Litchfield (25 South Street, Litchfield, CT 06759). A separate gravesite service will be held in the spring in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Read his entire obituary online.