Tag Archives: I vespri siciliani
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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Finale 32 – I Vespri Siciliani Act 3
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th February 2022Verdi’s The Sicilian Vespers was written to a French text by Eugene Scribe – Les vêpres siciliennes. It first appeared at the Paris Opera in 1855. Its French iteration was unsuccessful and it disappeared from France, and most of the rest of the operatic world, until fairly recently. In its Italian form is was more…
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Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani- Quando al Mio
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th September 2018“Here is the great tenor-baritone duet (Quando al mio) from Act 3 [of I Vespri Siciliani]. Verdi never wrote a better duet. In this piece, Monforte [baritone] reveals to Arrigo [tenor] that he is his son. Arrigo is torn three ways. First, he fears he will lose Elena [his fiance] because he promised her he…
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Tutto Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th August 2015I Vespri Siciliani is the least performed of Verdi’s mature works. It was written for the Paris Opéra to a French text by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier (Les vêpres siciliennes). While the opera is occasionally performed in its original French version, it is typically presented in its Italian translation. Verdi just sounds better in…
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