Tag Archives: Mozart
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…
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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…
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Così Fan Tutte in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th April 2014Mozart’s discourse on infidelity in the guise of an opera was presented as the penultimate broadcast of this season’s HD telecasts from the Met. Much was made by Renée Fleming in her introduction and interviews about how to regard this opera about the inconstancy of women in the 21st century. It seems to me that in today’s…
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The Queen of the Night’s Aria
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th April 2013Now for something completely different. Here is a portion of the Queen of the Night’s aria sung by the late Menino. She (?he) does it better than some sopranos I’ve heard. Here’s Diana Damrau singing the aria.
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La Clemenza di Tito in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd December 2012Yesterday’s telecast of Mozart’s opera epitomizes the dilemma facing the Metropolitan Opera and other major opera companies – how to offer the public something new that it will accept. Because no opera has entered the standard repertory in more than half a century and because writing great operas that command a large audience seems a lost art The Met and…
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Mozart, Verdi, and Heart Transplantation
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th March 2012This observation appeared just five days ago. It sounds like it belongs in the Journal of Irreproducible Results rather than the Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Nevertheless, here is the paper’s abstract : Auditory stimulation of opera music induced prolongation of murine cardiac allograft survival and maintained generation of regulatory CD4+CD25+ cells Masateru Uchiyama, Xiangyuan Jin, Qi Zhang, Toshihito…
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Don Giovanni in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th October 2011Mozart’s iconic masterpiece received a completely satisfying performance this afternoon. Every part of it was A level or above. The new production of the opera was staged by British theater director Micheal Grandage. The sets and costumes were by Paule Constable. What was most remarkable about the production was that it was traditional. The action was set…
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Mad Men Meet Mozart
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th January 2010The award winning TV series Mad Men had escaped my notice until a few days ago. Hearing a lot of good things about it I decided to watch a few episodes. After viewing the first three I’m mystified what the fuss is about. Set in 1960 it depicts the lives of a number of people…
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Don Giovanni Returns to Santa Fe
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th July 2009Last performed by the Santa Fe Opera in 2004, Director Chas Rader-Shieber production of Don Giovanni returned to the company’s stage last night (July 18, 2009). Designer David Zinn clothed even the trees in red and hot pink. His movable sets adjusted the changing scenes with great dramatic effect. The opera’s famous penultimate scene was…
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