Category Archives: Verdi
Finale 12 & 12A: Aida Acts 2 & 4
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th February 2017This article will cover two finales, those to the second and fourth acts of Verdi’s Aida. Verdi’s Egyptian opera dates to the time when Benjamin Britten said Verdi had discovered the secret of perfection. The finale to the second scene of act 2, the triumphal scene, is a god-like demonstration of how to handle large forces. A…
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Nabucco in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th January 2017In a geriatric special, the Met televised its 2001 production of Verdi’s Nabucco featuring septuagenarians Placido Domingo and James Levine. The former in the title role and the latter behind the baton. This pairing of ancients would suggest that everyone should be eligible for a senior ticket. But everyone in my theater was already eligible….
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Finale 10 – Falstaff (Tutto nel mondo è burla)
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th November 2016This one is a triple finale. It’s the end of the 3rd act, the end of the opera, and the end of Verdi’s career as a composer of operas. Verdi had written only one comedy prior to Falstaff – Un Giorno di Regno in 1840. Thus 53 years separated it from Falstaff. Verdi’s final opera…
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Tutto Verdi: La Forza del Destino
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th November 2016Parma’s production of Verdi’s epic opera is one of the weakest in its march through all the master’s operas. Forza is often criticized as the weakest of Verdi’s latter masterpieces because of its episodic nature, its length (when given uncut), and because of its “dry” patches. In my opinion, none of these criticisms apply when…
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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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Tutto Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th June 2016Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera received a splendid run in October 2011 at Parma’s Teatro Regio. This DVD was taken from the performances listed below. I can’t help wondering why it took six shows to put the recording together, but the result is fine. Much of the credit for the success of this production belongs…
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Un Ballo in Maschera in Munich
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th March 2016The Bavarian State Opera is streaming its new production of Verdi’s Un Ballo in Mashera from its website until March 27. By European standards this is a pretty tame staging. The time was moved to around 1930. The place was neither colonial Massachusetts nor Sweden, but some indeterminate place in Operaland. In general, the staging looked…
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Eri Tu
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd February 2016No composer gave the baritone so many great gifts as did Giuseppe Verdi. Renato, the baritone, has an aria in Act 3 of Un Ballo in Maschera that is a masterpiece of conflicted feelings, pain, betrayal, and revenge. Renato’s wife, Amelia, is in love with his best friend Riccardo the governor of colonial Massachusetts or…
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Tutto Verdi: Simon Boccanegra
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th January 2016Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra in its revised 1881 version was staged by Parma’s Teatro Reggio in March of 2010. Verdi’s gloomy masterpieces is a specialized taste, the Met did not get to it until 1932 and has only done it 139 times. It’s libretto is awkwardly constructed and sometimes almost impossible to follow. For example, why…
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Verdi Chords
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th December 2015One of the most distinctive characteristics of Giuseppe Verdi’s operas is his use of chords to resolve or punctuate the moments of greatest emotional and dramatic tension as his story reaches a crisis point. This simple device would seem within the grasp of almost any composer, but Verdi’s use of it is unique. Below are five…
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