Category Archives: Opera
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd July 2021The title refers to aria, duet, trio, quartet, quintet, and sextet. I’ve picked examples of each that I feel should be at the top of any short list for the best yet composed. Readers can make their own list. D’amor sull’ali rosee from Act 4 of Verdi’s Il Trovatore is the last bel canto soprano…
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Giuseppe Di Stefano – 100 Years
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th July 2021The third great tenor born in 1921 (July 24) was Giuseppe Di Stefano (1921-2008). Of all the tenors I heard in performance, Di Stefano had the most beautiful voice. He was also able to convey the emotional content of the music he sang with intensity and insight unmatched by any other tenor of his era….
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Liszt and Opera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th July 2021Franz Liszt (1811-86) was best known as a composer, virtuoso pianist, teacher, and essayist. Among his works for solo piano are dozens of ‘transcriptions’, ‘paraphrases’, ‘fantasies’, or ‘reminiscences’ based on popular operas. These pieces are characterized by both their beauty and thematic insight. The only other composer who could match, or even surpass Liszt, at…
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Checkpoint Charlie and the Santa Fe Opera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th June 2021In the early 80s I was a visiting professor the the Freie Universität Berlin. I wanted to visit the Pergamon Museum. As it was in East Berlin I had to go through Checkpoint Charlie. It was an interesting experience. The East German guards took my passport and made me change American money for East German…
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Donald Smith – The Great Australian Tenor
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd May 2021Donald Smith (1920-98) was the finest tenor Australia has yet to produce. Born in Queensland he served 7 months in a juvenile detention center for driving a car (not his) with some friends; he was 12 at the time. He worked as a sugar cane cutter for several years. In 1941 he enlisted in the…
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Finale 29 – La Traviata Act 2
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th May 2021La Traviata is an opera full of highlights. Much of its music its familiar to listeners who are not opera enthusiasts. But popular as it is, the finale to the second act is rarely heard apart from a complete performance. Nevertheless, this ensemble is one of Verdi’s grandest achievements. The world’s most popular opera, Traviata…
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Rosanna Carteri
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd May 2021Rosanna Carteri (1930-2020) was an Italian soprano who achieved great renown at a very young age. Born in Verona, she was raised in Padua. She began vocal studies before she was a teenager. By 14 she was learning complete roles under the tutelage of Ferruccio Cusinati who was the chorus master of the Verona Arena…
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Franco Corelli – 100 Years
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th April 2021Franco Corelli was born in April of 1921 in Ancona on the Adriatic coast. He decided to pursue an musical career later than most singers. After two unsuccessful encounters with voice teachers he resolved to train himself by intense study of the recordings of the great Italian tenors who had preceded him. After winning the…
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Finale 28 – Das Rheingold
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th April 2021Wagner wrote the librettos for the four Ring operas in reverse order. The music, however, was composed in the correct sequence. Das Rheingold lays the foundation for the long slog ahead. As it’s all in one act, allowing no chance for a bathroom break, it lasts only 2 hours and 20 minutes, give or take…
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Henri Legay
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th March 2021Henri Legay (1920-92) was a French tenor whose career was mostly based in Paris. For a while he supported himself singing while accompanying himself with a guitar at Parisian cabarets. He composed some of the songs he sang. He also played for Edith Piaf and Ives Montand. in 1947 he received a first prize from…
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