Monthly Archives: September 2014
Pagliacci – Il Prologo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th September 2014Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci is a vehicle for the tenor, yet every baritone wants to sing the relatively minor role of Tonio. The reason is simple – the prologue. It’s a sensational aria for a Verdi style baritone that ends in a high A-flat followed by a high G. It’s sung in front of the curtains with the…
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Tutto Verdi – Il Trovatore
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th September 2014Another Il Trovatore. This one from Parma’s Teatro Regio’s series of all the composer’s operas. It’s just chance that this post on the opera follows a previous one on the same work. I confess that I didn’t expect much from this performance as Verdi’s lyrical lunatics were portrayed by singers, excepting Marcelo Álvarez in the title role, who…
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Il Trovatore in Salzburg 2014
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th September 2014Last Month Verdi’s opera was staged at the Grosses Festspielhaus. The performance of August 15 was telecast. If you have a subscription to medici.tv you can watch it at your leisure. I just got around to viewing it. Alvis Hermanis’ production is another on the ever growing list of those that are best viewed from behind a…
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Opera and Politics Seminar
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th September 2014Co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at Texas Tech University and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Texas Tech University Dates: 10/6 & 10/13/2014 Day: Mondays, 5:30-7pm $30 for OLLIs Location: Garden & Arts Center at 44th St & University Ave Great art forms can speak profoundly to perennial issues of…
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Renée Fleming Opens Lubbock Symphony Orchestra’s 2014-15 Season
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th September 2014Renée Fleming opened the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra’s 2014-15 season before a capacity audience at the Civic Center Auditorium. Ms Fleming appeared in both halves of the concert. The program is below. Fleming who has obviously done this kind of show before had the crowd with her from the moment she first appeared. At this point…
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Salt and More Salt
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd September 2014The August 14, 2014 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine contains three papers on salt intake and health. The third of these is so layered with assumptions that I won’t discuss it. I have previously written about recommendations for optimum dietary intake of salt. In 2011 the American Society of Nephrology endorsed guidelines…
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