Category Archives: Opera
The Castrati and Women’s Athletics
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th August 2023The castrati of the title refers to male singers who had been castrated as boys – typically between 8 to 10 years of age. This was done in 17th and 18th century Italy in an effort produce singers of extraordinary abilities. That the practice was illegal in addition to being a moral outrage did not…
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Liebestod
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st August 2023Wagner’s writing for soprano in his iconic Tristan und Isolde is probably both the most demanding and representative of his entire oeuvre. For the part’s full realization a singer of extraordinary power, art, and flexibility is required. The same requirements are needed for the the tenor who sings Tristan, but he’s for another day. In…
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Mothers in Opera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th July 2023I have no explanation, but fathers figure in opera far more frequently than do mothers. Here are some excerpts or even the entire opera that have mothers in a prominent role. To be included in this group the child must be alive at some point in the opera. If he/she is dead before the action…
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Rossini After Opera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th July 2023Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868) was only 37 years old after the premiere of William Tell in 1829. He was the leading operatic composer in the world. Yet for reason still unresolved, he never wrote another opera during the four decades of life which remained to him. He was not mute during this period away from the…
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Mercadante – Il Proscritto
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 1st July 2023Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870) wrote almost 60 operas in addition to being the Director of the Naples Conservatory. His opera Il Proscritto (The Proscribed) is set to a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano. It was premiered in Naples in 1842 and quickly disappeared. Conductor Carlo Rizzi discovered the score in the Naples Conservatory Archives and arranged a…
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Fritz Wunderlich
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th June 2023I’ve written a little about the great German tenor before but have not devoted a full post to him. Wunderlich was born in1930 and died in 1966 following a fall down a stone staircase which fractured his skull. He was just shy of his both his 36th birthday and his debut at the Metropolitan Opera….
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Last Words
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th June 2023Daphne/Jerry: But you don’t understand, Osgood! [Whips off his wig, exasperated, and changes to a manly voice] Uhhh, I’m a man!Osgood: [Looks at him then turns back, unperturbed] Well, nobody’s perfect! Of course, Some Like it Hot is a movie, but its famous last words serve as a preface for some of opera’s last lines. Below are a…
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The Magic Flute in HD – 2023
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd June 2023Mozart’s enduringly popular musical comedy was televised this afternoon in its latest Met incarnation directed by Simon McBurney. The bright comedy is swathed in darkness (lighting not tone) in his staging which employs more theatrical gimmicks than found in the trunks of 10 touring magicians. The orchestral pit is raised almost to stage level. A…
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Don Giovanni in HD – 2023
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th May 2023Ivo van Hove’s Jack the Ripper with music by Mozart and sets by Jan Versweyveld masquerading as Le Corbusier was telecast this afternoon from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House. The screen and the program said the opera was Don Giovanni, but Mozart’s dramma giocoso had all the giocoso removed by director Hove. The…
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On the Knocking at the Gate
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th May 2023“On The Knocking at the Gate” (1823) is the title of a celebrated essay (it’s below) by Thomas De Quincy (1785-1859) about an event that happens in Act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth. The Macbeths have just murdered King Duncan. Macbeth is horrified by what he has done, his wife less so. Lady Macbeth takes…
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