Tag Archives: Don Carlo
Auto-da-fé : Two
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st February 2024An Auto-da-fé (Act of faith) was a ritual act of penance carried out in Spain, Portugal, and Mexico during the 15th to the 19th centuries. Imposed on apostates and heretics by the Inquisition (a religious body) its punishments including being burned alive were executed by the state. Two operas have an Auto-da-fé as part of…
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The Grand Inquisitor
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th December 2018The scene in the king’s apartment of Verdi’s Don Carlo(s) is my choice for the greatest in all opera. [It is Act 4 scene 1 in the 5 act version.] Its moral grandeur, psychological insight, and musical characterization place it on an artistic level reached by only a handful of art’s supreme masters. The most interesting…
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Don Carlo – The King’s Apartment
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th February 2018I’m going to do a few posts devoted to great operatic scenes. The first is devoted to the that in the king’s apartment from Verdi’s Don Carlo. This is the first scene of Act 3 or 4 depending on which version of the opera is performed. Don Carlo, one of opera’s greatest masterpieces, exists in…
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O Don Fatale
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th November 2015A supremely gifted mezzo-soprano can make a career out of singing the the great Verdi mezzo roles – Azucena in Il Trovatore, Eboli in Don Carlo, and Amneris in Aida. Eboli presents a an especially challenging role for the singer who portrays the spurned princess – the second of these three great mezzo parts. Eboli has…
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Opera and Politics Seminar
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th September 2014Co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Western Civilization at Texas Tech University and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Texas Tech University Dates: 10/6 & 10/13/2014 Day: Mondays, 5:30-7pm $30 for OLLIs Location: Garden & Arts Center at 44th St & University Ave Great art forms can speak profoundly to perennial issues of…
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Don Carlo in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 12th December 2010Verdi’s flawed, but towering, masterpiece Don Carlo was presented in HD Saturday December 11. There is no definitive version of the opera. Verdi authorized so many different variations on his original that it’s up to each company to choose how they’ll mount the work. Five acts, four acts, French, Italian, a ballet, no ballet, a very long list…
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Who Can Sing Fanciulla?
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th December 2010After listening to the broadcast from the Met of Puccini’s La Fanciulla Del West last night, I asked myself who can sing the two principal roles in the opera? Certainly not the two who performed them yesterday. Deborah Voigt in the title role sounded like she was on leave from the old folks home, while…
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