Tag Archives: Bellini
Dreary Norma at the Met
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th March 2023Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece has returned to the Met with Sonya Yoncheva in the title role. American tenor Michael Spyres sang the Roman proconsul Pollione. Adalgisa was performed by Ekaterina Gubanova. The entire cast is below. The show was broadcast last night on the SiriusXm network, so this is just a recount of the singing…
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Norma in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th October 2017David McVicar’s new production of Bellini’s masterpiece opened the Met’s current season last month. It was telecast last Saturday, Oct 7. I was in one of American Airline’s iron maidens for most of that day and part of the next and missed the live show. So I took in the rebroadcast today. McVicar’s staging is…
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I Puritani at the Met/ Nicolai Gedda Dies
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th February 2017Last night the Met presented its first performance of its revival of Bellini’s I Puritani. This show was much anticipated mainly because of Javier Camarena’s first appearance in New York as Arturo, one of opera’s most challenging roles. I listened to the Sirius broadcast of the opera and thus can only comment on the music…
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Casta Diva
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th June 2016‘Casta Diva’ from the first act of Bellini’s Norma is one of the most beautiful and taxing of the great bel canto arias. Its long line requires sublime control on the part of its interpreter as well as a rich and beautiful sound. Below are 12 interpretations by sopranos known for the role and some…
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Michael Spyres Sings Bellini’s A tanto duol From Bianca e Fernando
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd March 2016Michael Spyres is probably the best tenor now active never to have sung at the Met. This aria is in dog whistle country. In case the video disappears a link to it is below. A tanto duol Spyres
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La Sonnambula Returns to the Met
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th March 2014When I was studying music at Williams College my professor Robert Barrow, the chairman of the department and a figure of magisterial austerity, said that whenever he went to the Met to hear Wagner he always demanded a seat behind a post. I can’t remember if the old Met really had a seat behind a…
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Bellini at the SFO – Photos by Robert Cahen
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th October 2012Here are some photographs of the current production of Bellini’s I Capuleti E I Montecchi at the San Francisco Opera. They were kindly provided by the distinguished opera photographer Robert Cahen.
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Bellini in San Francisco
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 4th October 2012On Wednesday evening, Oct 3, the San Francisco Opera presented Bellini’s infrequently performed I Capuleti ed i Montecchi (misspelled in the program – they left out the d – though I have often seen this spelling used). This is the second time the opera has been mounted by the company – it has yet to reach the…
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Recording of the Week: La Sonnambula
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st January 2010Sports is as much of a meritocracy as can be found. Opera, alas, does not come near to sports in using skill and ability as the determinant of success. If opera were anything close to a meritocracy Raúl Giménez would have sung more than just 11 performances at the Met – Almaviva in Rossini’s Barber…
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La Sonnambula in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st March 2009Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Bellini’s gentle masterpiece which was booed after its first performance at the Met was sent all over the world today. And it wasn’t the worst thing since Jacopo Peri. It wasn’t even in the same league of awfulness as Calixto Bieito or Robert Wilson. It was just ordinary silliness. Part…
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