Monthly Archives: May 2009

Recording of the Week – La Traviata

This is the first post of a series “Recording of the Week”. Be aware that my “week” has between one and 365 days. Also the year that the week it belongs to is any since 1930. Now that we have the details out of the way, let’s start with Verdi’s La Traviata. Pierre Monteux conducted…


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Birgit Nilsson Recital (From Doing Nothing)

The following account of a recital by Birgit Nilsson appears in my novel Doing Nothing. Though I heard La Nilsson many times this report is entirely fictional. NK …he (Richard Grollman the novel’s protagonist) had a ticket to hear Birgit Nilsson sing that evening at (Chicago’s) Orchestra Hall. The Swedish soprano had made quite a…


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The Recordings of Enrico Caruso 1919 – 1920 The End

This is the eighth and final installment of my cursory tour through the recorded legacy of Enrico Caruso. The last two years of Caruso’s recording life contained relatively few operatic numbers. As mentioned, there wasn’t much left for him to put to disc. In February of 1919 he got together with Giuseppe De Luca and…


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Update on David Morgan

Young tenor David Morgan, now 18 years old and about to graduate from high school, won the vocal competition at The Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Student Scholarship Competition in his home state of Minnesota. Below is an interview made after his win. It includes him singing “Dies Bildnis ist bezaurbernd schön” from The Magic…


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New Voices

A new tenor who is beginning to make an impact is the young Mexican Arturo Chacón-Cruz. What is there about Mexico and tenors? They seem to be popping up south of the border like viruses. Last night Chacón-Cruz appeared as Pinkerton in Florida Grand Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly. My source there says his voice…


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