Monthly Archives: August 2017
How Go Completely Crazy in 25 Easy Steps
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th August 2017The first thing to accept is that you don’t have to do anything crazy to go completely crazy – a series of rational small steps will get you there. A to B seems at least OK. The same with B to C, all the way to Z. Twenty five rational, or semi-rational, steps and you’re…
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La damnation de Faust at the Proms
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd August 2017On August 8, this year John Eliot Gardiner directed the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique in a performance of Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust for the BBC Proms. The soloists were Ann Hallenberg, Michael Spyres, and bass Laurent Naouri. The great choral part was sung by The Monteverdi Choir and the National Youth Choir of Scotland. Berlioz…
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Alida Ferrarini
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th August 2017Alida Ferrarini (1946-2013) was a soprano who specialized in the lighter roles of the operatic repertory. Gilda, Adina, and Michaela were perfect fits for her voice. She also sang baroque and 18th century roles. She sang in San Francisco, but otherwise limited her performances to Europe. She may be best known for her singing of…
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Bernardo De Muro
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th August 2017Last month’s Opera News contains a review of Rome’s new production of Giordano’s Andrea Chenier. Here’s its first sentence: “In the first half of the twentieth century, Andrea Chenier was one of the most frequently staged works at Rome Opera, with tenors of the caliber of De Muro, Gigli, Lauri-Volpi, and Pertile alternating in the…
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Si Pel Ciel – Otello Act 2
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th August 2017Verdi’s penultimate opera is a masterpiece of dramatic cohesion and inspiration. Set to one of opera’s greatest librettos, it reflects all that its composer had learned from a life spent in the the theater. The duet, ‘Si pel ciel’, that ends the second act is as rousing as anything Verdi had written 40 years earlier,…
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