Monthly Archives: October 2018
La Fanciulla Del West in HD 2018 – Great
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th October 2018Wagner ‘s goal was to write opera that consisted of endless melody. I don’t think he reached that goal, but Puccini did in La Fanciulla Del West. Saturday’s performance, the last of seven of this season’s run at the Met, was a spectacular success. Puccini’s luminous score received a dazzling reading by the Met’s orchestra,…
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Addiction and Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th October 2018Drug addiction has received extraordinary attention over recent years to the point where politicians have become interested in the problem. This is a sure sign that a real problem will be the subject of a lot of muddle headed thinking. For the past three decades or so addiction has been held to be a disease….
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Samson et Dalila in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th October 2018The Met’s second HD telecast of this season was a repeat of the opera that opened the company’s current season, Saint-Saens’ biblical bodice ripper Samson et Dalila. The cast was the same as on opening night. Before getting to today’s performance, a few general thoughts about these broadcasts. Whoever narrates these presentations always remarks that there’s…
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Montserrat Caballé 1933-2018
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th October 2018The great Catalan soprano died Oct 6. She came to international fame when she substituted for Marilyn Horne in a performance of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at Carnegie Hall. Though her voice was basically lyric in character, she was able by virtue of a secure vocal technique to sing bel canto roles, the big Verdi parts,…
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In Questa Reggia
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th October 2018I recently posted an article about Puccini’s final opera, Turandot, that had nothing to say about its title character. The work achieved the renown it currently enjoys (#17 on operabase’s list of most frequently performed operas) largely due to the work of Birgit Nilsson. Before Nilsson first performed the role at the Met in 1961…
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Aida in HD 2018
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th October 2018Aida was performed today by the Met for the 1166th time. This broadcast was HD telecast number three for Verdi’s Egyptian extravaganza. The hook for this run of the perennial was Anna Netrebko in the title role. There’s nothing new anyone can say about this opera so let’s get right to the show. Netrebko is…
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