Monthly Archives: April 2024
Gunshots
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th April 2024Guns and show business are found together almost as frequently as politicians and TV cameras. Opera is no exception Below are eight operas, well the last one is a trespasser, in which guns are part of the action. In some they are pivotal. My only requirement for inclusion in this article is that gunshots must…
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La Rondine in HD – 2024
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th April 2024Today’s HD telecast of Puccini’s afternoon off – La Rondine – was a repeat of the production of 2009 but with a different cast. The composer’s attempt to write an Italian opera vaguely in the style of a Viennese operetta contains a lot of beautiful music in the service of a work that’s not close…
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LSO Performs Mahler’s Symphony #2
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th April 2024Mahler’s Second Symphony, The Resurrection Symphony, is one of the great works of Western Art. Titanic in its scale and overwhelming in its inspiration the demands it makes on a symphony orchestra are beyond formidable. Its stature is unsurpassed in the orchestral literature. Last night the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra performed the work in the First…
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Aprile Millo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th April 2024Aprille Millo (b 1958) is an American soprano who became famous in her twenties. She appeared 161 times at the Met between 1984 and 2007. She was at her vocal peak between 1986 and 1996. Thereafter her appearances at the Met decreased until until she stopped singing with the company before she was 50. She…
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Golden Days – Mario Lanza
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th April 2024The title above is that of a new CD containing 23 selections sung by the late tenor. Why another Lanza disc when so many are already available? These have been remastered and converted to Digitally Extracted Stereo (DES). When listened to on a good audio system the effect is magical. Lanza’s voice is even more…
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Screening for Colon Cancer in Older Adults
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th April 2024Screening for disease is not as straightforward as it may seem on cursory examination. Sometimes it does not influence the course of the screened for disease and other times it may cause more harm than good as early intervention may result in more morbidity than if the disease had been undiagnosed. Then there is the…
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Carlo Bergonzi
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd April 2024Carlo Bergonzi (1924-2014) enjoyed a long career as a leading tenor with all of the world’s major opera companies. He was born in Polesine Parmense near Parma. During World War II he was an active anti-Nazi and in 1943 was imprisoned by the Germans. After being released by the Russians he walked over 100 km…
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