Tag Archives: Mozart
Finale 27 – The Marriage of Figaro Act 2
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th January 2021The famous finale to Mozart’s comic opera begins when the door to the closet in a room Count Almaviva’s estate is opened. Both the Count and Countess think Cherubino, the Count’s page, is in the closet. The Count is about to break down the door and then decides to use his sword on the page…
› Read the full entry
Glenn Gould and Mozart
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st October 2020Glenn Gould was one of the greatest performers of JS Bach’s keyboard works since the advent of recordings. The Canadian pianist was also a gifted pedagogue and world class eccentric. He invented nutty alter egos, one of whom appears in the video at the end of this article. Among Gould’s quirks was hypochondriasis. Shortly after…
› Read the full entry
Mozart and Schubert at the MIM
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th May 2019The Phoenix Symphony Orchestra presented the third of three concerts devoted to Mozart and Schubert last night. The venue was the Theater of the Musical Instrument Museum. Its a sleek and comfortable auditorium ideal for smaller scale compositions. The program began with the Overture to La Clemenza di Tito, Mozart’s penultimate opera. The scaled down…
› Read the full entry
Così Fan Tutte in HD 2018
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 31st March 2018When I heard that the Met was going to do a new production of Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte set in Coney Island during the 1950s I was relieved that they were not going to place the last of the Da Ponte operas in a Turkish brothel. Then I wondered why the Met needed a new production…
› Read the full entry
Mad Max Meets Mozart – 2004
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd February 2018This is a review that I wrote in 2004. It’s been buried deep within this site. I decided to copy it to a more visible spot. Things can always get worse. Consider Don Giovanni at the English National Opera. I was at the October 4th performance. Calixto Bieito was the director. He is from Barcelona….
› Read the full entry
Don Giovanni’s Timeline
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 13th October 2017The time setting of the two acts of Mozart’s Don Giovanni has always puzzled me. Everyone, including I suppose Mozart and Da Ponte, seems to think that the action in Act 2 starts immediately after that of the first act. In other words, the action from start to finish is continuous and depicts the last…
› Read the full entry
Finale 11 – Don Giovanni Act 1
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th February 2017Don Giovanni is one of opera’s greatest works, but it’s on the long side. So when the finale to act 1 finally arrives it’s always welcome, especially as it’s so good. Giovanni is supposedly a great seducer, but he fails at every amatory attempt, resorting to attempted rape at the conclusion of act 1. His…
› Read the full entry
Il Mio Tesoro
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 20th January 2017Don Ottavio,the tenor in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, is opera’s biggest nebish. After being alone in a bedroom with Giovanni, a life with Ottavio seem worse to Donna Anna than 100 flights on American Eagle. I think after more than two centuries Ottavio’s still waiting for her to agree to marry him. But he has two…
› Read the full entry
Don Giovanni in HD 2016
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd October 2016This telecast could serve as the imprimatur of what’s wrong with opera in the 21st century. This is said not to criticize the Mozart/Da Ponte masterpiece which, of course is one of opera’s greatest works. Rather, it’s a swipe at the management of today’s opera houses in general and the Met’s in particular. These telecasts…
› Read the full entry
Le Nozze di Figaro in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 18th October 2014Mozart and Da Ponte’s opera Le Nozze di Figaro was telecast in HD today. The opera is utterly unlike any that proceeded it. Its depth of characterization, complexity of ensemble writing, and dramatic propulsion moved opera to a new and higher level of artistic expression. Figaro’s dearth of recitatives allowing one number to flow into…
› Read the full entry
