Tag Archives: Parma
Tutto Verdi: Luisa Miller
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th January 2014First performed in Naples in 1849, Luisa Miller marks Verdi’s transition from unpolished genius to mature master. This transition is fully realized in the opera’s third and final act. Here Verdi’s powers of dramatic intensity and expression are as moving and fully developed as anything he subsequently wrote. Salvatore Cammarano based his libretto for this…
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Tutto Verdi: Macbeth
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st July 2013The Teatro Regio di Parma recorded Macbeth as part of its series of all of Verdi’s operas in October (rather than the June given below) of 2006. The video was taken from six different performances which makes one wonder if there was a lot of singing that was off on any given night. Macbeth is…
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Tutto Verdi: Giovanna D’Arco
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th June 2013Giovanna D’Arco is one of Verdi’s least performed operas. Verdi didn’t even bother to attend it’s premiere at La Scala on February 15, 1845 as he was unhappy with both the production and La Scala’s management. The reason for its neglect is simple. It has the weakest score of any of opera he had written…
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Tutto Verdi: Ernani
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th April 2013Verdi’s fifth opera was his first opera to be premiered away from La Scala, the first to be premiered in Venice, and the composer’s first international success. The opera is, in many ways, a dress rehearsal for Il Trovatore which is resembles in setting, tone, melodic fecundity, and ferocious intensity. It also marks the emergence…
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Tutto Verdi: I Lombardi
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 16th April 2013Verdi’s fourth opera like its predecessors was premiered at Milan’s La Scala – February 1, 1843. It was a big hit, but gradually faded away such that by the end of the century it had all but disappeared. More recently it has reappeared, most recently in New York City last week where it was successfully received in…
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Tutto Verdi: Nabucco
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th April 2013Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, was not merely a success, it was an explosion. Its combination of almost ferocious vitality and lyrical beauty was not only entirely new to opera, but was also the herald of the rest of Verdi’s career. Verdi’s mastery of drama, melody, and psychological penetration is what sets him above every other…
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Tutto Verdi: Un Giorno Di Regno
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th April 2013Verdi’s second opera was premiered, as was his first, at Milan’s La Scala. Unlike Oberto, Un Giorno Di Regno was a complete failure. Its first performance on September 5, 1840 was its last. Verdi was devastated to the point where he considered abandoning his career as an opera composer. In a later reminiscence he attributed…
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Tutto Verdi
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th March 2013This is 200th anniversary year of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth. To mark the occasion Parma’s Teatro Regio has released a 30 DVD set which presents videos of the master’s 26 (none of the reworked operas is included) operas and his requiem mass. The pdf file below gives the particular’s of this mammoth collection. Almost all the operas…
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