Author Archives: Neil Kurtzman
O Tu Palermo
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd October 2025Of all Verdi’s mature works (ie, post Rigoletto), his The Sicilian Vespers in either its French or Italian versions is the least performed. This neglect is hard to explain as the opera is a splendid work exhibiting all the characteristics that make its composer the master of the lyric theater. The bass aria ‘O tu…
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La Sonnambula in HD 2025
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th October 2025Today’s telecast of Bellini’s soprano showcase revealed the numerous problems that have been afflicting the Met during the tenure of its general manager, Peter Gelb. Not that there was a problem with the show – which was fine, it’s issues surrounding the production that reflect the company’s difficulties. First is the need for a new…
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Chagas Disease
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th October 2025Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis) is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, transmitted primarily by triatomine insects (commonly called “kissing bugs”). It is endemic in Latin America, but cases are increasingly seen in non-endemic regions (such as the U.S. and Europe) due to migration and blood transfusion transmission. Because of…
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Neil Shicoff
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th October 2025Neil Shicoff (b 1949) is an American tenor who has attained great success both in America and Europe. A native of Brooklyn, he is the son of the cantor Sidney Shicoff. The younger Shicoff trained as a cantor as well as studying singing at Juilliard. He made his operatic debut in the title role in…
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La Sonnambula at the Met – Very Brief Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th October 2025‘The Met’s new production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula was broadcast over the company’s Sirius channel last night. It featured Nadine Sierra in the title role. Spanish tenor Xabier Anduaga was Elvino. Sierra has all the vocal bells and whistles necessary to realize Belini’s sleepwalking canary. She is the reason for this production. Anduaga, on the…
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Program Notes: Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th October 2025The program notes for the upcoming Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninoff Concert (Nov 6, 2025) are below. Tickets can be purchased here. Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) wrote seven symphonies – the six numbered ones plus the Manfred Symphony. The first of these was written in 1866 when he was 26 years old. Its gestation was…
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Aldo Protti
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th September 2025Aldo Protti (1920–1995) was a fine Italian baritone active in the middle of the last century. His prime coincided with that of a host of other outstanding Italian and American baritones. That is the reason he is not as well remembered as he deserves. But at his best he was a consummate artist who fully…
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Acetaminophen During Pregnancy
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd September 2025Confusion now hath made his masterpiece Politics and medicine make for a bad amalgam under the best of circumstances. The Trump administration’s warning that acetaminophen (best known as Tylenol, but widely available under other marques) might cause autism has created a mess – there’s no other word for the situation. There are so many things…
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Adventures in AI
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th September 2025I’ve been test driving a couple of AIs over the past few weeks. They’re quite proficient at assembling facts, dates, lists, and other information that would take a human a considerable amount of time to compile. But when it comes to opinions and judgments, it lacks proficiency and wisdom. The latter is tough to encode….
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When Getting It Right Doesn’t Matter
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th September 2025I recently read a review of a movie that involved historical events. The review was generally favorable; its only criticism was that the history was not accurate. I didn’t think about this for very long. I watched the movie and enjoyed it. I quickly forgot the film (and its name) as well as its supposed…
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