Author Archives: Neil Kurtzman
Program Notes for Falla, Márquez, and Lalo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th December 2025The program notes I wrote for the upcoming Lubbock Symphony Orchestra concert (January 24, 2026) are below. Tickets can be purchased here. The Three-Cornered Hat Serge Diaghilev (1872–1929) was a Russian art critic, patron, and impresario who founded the Ballets Russes company in 1909. Over the next 20 years he commissioned some of the leading composers of his…
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The Disappearing Verdi Operas at the Met
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd December 2025This season the Met staged only one Verdi opera, La Traviata. Next season it appears there will only be two: A new production of Macbeth, which will open the season, and a revival of Aida. My subject is why the Met is steering away from the work of opera’s greatest and most performed composer. I…
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President Trump’s MRI
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd December 2025A White House memorandum from President Trump’s physician, Captain Sean P. Barbabella, stated that the MRI scan of the president’s heart and abdomen was “perfectly normal”. The memo, released in December 2025, explained that the advanced imaging was a preventative measure standard for a man of Trump’s age to assess his cardiovascular and abdominal health. The…
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There’s Little I in AI
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th November 2025I previously touched this subject several times; the last piece was a couple of years ago, but its ever-increasing shadow made me think an encore might be appropriate. Everybody is talking or writing about AI, though the level of comprehension about the subject seems inversely proportional to its ubiquity. You certainly won’t get any deep…
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Arabella in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd November 2025Librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal finished the last of the six librettos he wrote for Richard Strauss in 1929 – the year of his death. The resultant opera, Arabella, did not appear until 1933. There are several reasons for this delay, but the biggest is likely the absence of Hofmannsthal to revise the libretto, as it…
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Oral Hygiene and General Health
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 17th November 2025Most physicians are content to note the condition of their patients’ oral hygiene and then leave its management to the dentist. But poor oral hygiene is a state of chronic inflammation with all the attendant ill effects that follow in its wake. It’s a very accurate forecast of serious health problems in the near future….
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La Bohème in HD 2025
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th November 2025Two important announcements immediately followed today’s telecast of Puccini’s glorification of the quotidian. The first was that this show surpassed Graham’s number in frequency of performance. The second, and equally significant, is that from next season forward every show at the Met will be a staging of La Bohème – Puccini’s, not Leoncavallo’s. Casts may…
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Is the Met Opera Dead?
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th November 2025Is it a zombie? Animate but lifeless? It’s probably too soon to tell, but it’s well on its way to the six-foot trench. Is the terminal event linked to the Met alone or to the art form in general? A caveat, I’m not as good at predicting the future as was Yogi Berra, so you…
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Invano Alvaro
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st November 2025‘Invano Alvaro’ is the last of three tenor-bartitone duets that grace Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino. All three are excellent, but the final one is likely the best such duet ever written by the composer. It’s in the same class as ‘Quando al mio sen per te parlava’ from Act 3 of I Vespri Siciliani…
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Medical Reporting in the Lay Press
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th October 2025Relying on the lay press for medical advice can often lead to incorrect conclusions or misguided directions. The article linked below is a good example of how well-meaning but improperly thought out reporting can lead to conclusions not based on solid experimental design or reasoning. Drinking More Than 1 Can of Any Soda Daily Linked…
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