Category Archives: Verdi
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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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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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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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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Selections From Un Ballo In Maschera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th September 2025Verdi’s A Masked Ball has been both popular and in the standard operatic repertory since its premiere in 1859. The opera is virtually perfect; its composer was at the peak of his formidable powers. It has everything: great arias for high soprano, dramatic soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and wonderful ensemble pieces. Though I’ve written about…
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Opera Massacres III – Verdi and Wagner
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th June 2025So many different outsiders have controlled Sicily that if an alien power were to conquer Earth, it would likely start on that island. Among the temporary rulers of the place are the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, the Muslims, the Normans, the Angevin French, the Bourbons, and now the…
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Rigoletto – Cortigiani
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th February 2025The title role of Verdi’s Rigoletto is the greatest role ever written for a baritone. That’s saying a lot, given that the composer wrote more great parts for the baritone than any other composer of opera. Of his 26 operas, five have the baritone’s name as their title. All the rest of the composer’s operas…
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Aida in HD – 2025
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th January 2025Aida returned to the Met’s stage for the 1199th time today. It was the 4th time Verdi’s masterpiece has been telecast in the company’s HD series. This appearance marked the first telecast of Michael Mayer’s new production that replaced Sonja Frisell’s extravaganza which had survived about 270 mountings at the New York opera palace and…
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The Met’s New Aida – Brief Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th January 2025Last night a performance of the Met’s new production of Aida was broadcast over the company’s Sirius channel. It’s always hazardous to make judgments based on a single listen, so I’ll make a fiew tentative comments. I’ll expand these after seeing the production on January 25th as part of this year’s HD series. The vocal…
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Insieme – Opera Duets
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th September 2024Jonas Kaufmann and Ludovic Tézier recorded nine tenor-baritone duets, released on a Sony Classics disc in June 2022. Insieme translates from Italian as together. The two singers are friends who have often performed together hence the title. The master of the tenor-baritone duet was Verdi. Accordingly, seven of the selections are by him. The CD starts with the…
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