Category Archives: Puccini
Finale 14 – Suor Angelica
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th March 2017Puccini’s three one act operas (Il Trittico) received their world premiere performances at the Met in 1918. When given together their order of performance is Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi. The middle opera has always been the least performed of the three. Puccini’s sister was a nun and he used a lot of…
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O Soave Fanciulla
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th February 2017Puccini’s La Boheme is popular beyond comment. It has been performed 1295 times by the Met since the company’s first performance of the opera on tour in Los Angeles in 1900. Incidentally, Los Angeles was also the site of the work’s American premiere three years earlier. Aida is far behind in the Met’s second spot….
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Vittoria! Vittoria!!
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd January 2017The tenor’s big moment in the second act of Puccini’s Tosca when is he gets to sing “Victory” twice. He’s just discovered that his favorite military dictator (Napoleon) has won the Battle of Marengo instead of the reverse which was the initial news of the affair to reach Rome. He’s been brought onstage after a torture…
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Recording of the Week – Birgit Nilsson 10 CD Set
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th September 2016Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005) was one of the vocal marvels of the 20th century. No recording, and she made many, can come close to the impact she made in performance. A voice of limitless power and reserve, she could be heard over the loudest orchestral din. Yet she could modulate her tone to whatever the score…
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La Fanciulla Del West in Santa Fe
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th July 2016Puccini never wrote anything like the first act of La Fanciulla Del West. Its melodic weave which moves from orchestra to voice and back again owes a lot to Debussy, though its author is clearly Puccini. To an audience familiar with his previous four operas, this type of operatic writing was off putting and confusing which…
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Madama Butterfly in HD 2016
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd April 2016Kristine Opolais triumphed in today’s telecast of Madama Butterfly from the stage of the Met. Her reading of the role is matched in my experience only by those of Antonietta Stella and Diana Soviero. This opera, more so than any other standard repertory work, depends on the soprano who plays the title role. When an…
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The Girl of the Golden West in Omaha
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th January 2016Next February 12 and 14 Opera Omaha will stage Puccini’s real spaghetti western The Girl of the Golden West – aka La Fanciulla del West. The cast is below. Asterisk indicates company debut. Lee Bisset, Minnie* Michael Mayes, Jack Rance* Matthew Treviño, Ashby Elise Quagliata, Wowkle Branch Fields, Jim Larkens / Billy Jack Rabbit* Joshua…
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Recording of the Week: Verismo – Diana Soviero
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th June 2015The best singing actress I ever saw was Diana Soviero (b 1946) and my list includes Maria Callas and Teresa Stratas. Born in Jersey City she received the second Richard Tucker Award in 1979. She had a distinguished career at the Met appearing 102 times with the company between 1980 and 1997. She also sang…
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Il Tabarro at the Met 1981
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st June 2014The video below presents the telecast of Puccini’s Il Tabarro. The performance by the Metropolitan Opera was on November 14, 1981. The cast is also below. The recording was apparently made from a home TV. The sound and picture quality are marginable, but just north of acceptable. I doubt the Met will have YouTube take…
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La Fanciulla Del West from the Met 1992
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 24th May 2014Defunct Met video Added June 15, 2014 – So this YouTube video is also gone. Instead, listen to this performance from 1954. It’s in the public domain and thus will be around for a while. It features Eleanor Steber (Minnie), Gian Giacomo Guefi (Jack Rance), Mario Del Monaco (Dick Johnson), and Dimitri Mitropoulos (conductor). It…
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