Monthly Archives: April 2008
Daughter of the Regiment in HD – April 26, 2008
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th April 2008I know I said I’d used up my life’s allotment of performances of Donizetti’s Bonbon, but Dessay and Florez at the Met were too tempting to pass up. Laurent Pelly’s production moves the opera’s time to that of World War I. But when you set this opera is irrelevant. It succeeds or fails with its…
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Mental Health Problems After War Service
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th April 2008Nearly 20% of Veterans who served in Iraq are said to have to have post traumatic stress or major depression according to a study by the Rand Corporation. Everyone seems to be racing ahead of everyone else to embrace these findings lest they be thought negligent or insensitive. A word of caution, though the full…
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Hypertension in the Very Old
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 17th April 2008Virtually all physicians treat their hypertensive patients who are 80 years old or more. The evidence for the effectiveness of this treatment in very old patients has up till now been lacking. The New England Journal of Medicine has published a paper, Treatment of Hypertension in Patients 80 Years of Age or Older, that shows…
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La Boheme in HD – April 5, 2008
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th April 2008How many times can one watch La Boheme without being bored? Apparently it is impossible to be bored by any halfway competent performance of Puccini’s masterpiece. Saturday’s HD performance of Zeffirelli’s venerable staging from the Met was better than the minimum level necessary to ward off ennui. It’s been performed so many times at the…
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Why Giuseppe Di Stefano Was Unique
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd April 2008Giuseppe Di Stefano (1921-2008) occupies a special place on the list of the greatest tenors of the last century. I will try to show why with a few examples of his singing recorded when he was at his best. You will often hear singers and critics admit to admiring the “young” Di Stefano. When you do…
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