Tag Archives: Richard Tucker
Cav & Pag – Corelli and Tucker Alternate Roles
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd February 2023Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci have been paired more often than Southwest Airlines has had recent on time flights. The two leading Italian style tenors at the Metropolitan Opera who sang the leading roles in these operas during the 1960s were Franco Corelli and Richard Tucker. Both had virile spinto tenors that…
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More on Mario Lanza
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 26th August 2022Mario Lanza has been dead for more than 60 years, yet with the passage of each one he seems to get even better. This is an excuse to post a few more of his recordings. What’s clear is both the beauty of his voice and its ability to resonate and move the listener. ‘O Tu…
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Richard Tucker Foundation Removes Late Tenor’s Son From Its Board
Written by James Drake | 9th August 2020The Richard Tucker Music Foundation, the largest of its kind in the U.S. and the venue for young American singers to compete for the funding and publicity to pursue an operatic career, has come under media scrutiny for a lack of diversity among the winners of its top award. As an apparent first response to…
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The Hard Bargain – Book Review
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 28th August 2018Richard Tucker (1913-75) was the greatest operatic tenor America has so far produced. He had three sons. David (b 1941) was the second child and the only one who aspired to take up his father’s profession. He ended up in medicine as an ophthalmologist. The Hard Bargain is his account of how he went from…
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Recording of the Week: Richard Tucker – America’s Best Tenor
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 27th October 2016Amazon is currently selling this 10 CD set for $16.98. Many of the selections are from Met broadcasts. The rest were made in the studio. There is some duplication with the multi-CD sets release three years ago in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Tucker’s birth. The 1st Act duet from Lucia Di Lammermoor is…
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Yonghoon Lee in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Met
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 22nd January 2016Last night Yonghoon Lee sang his first performance as Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana at the Met. The Korean has been increasingly impressive since his debut at the New York house is 2010. Before the performance an assistant manager made an announcement that Lee was suffering from a cold, but would sing nevertheless. It’s a…
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Andrea Chenier Act 2 Duet
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th January 2012Here for no other reason than it’s beautiful is the second act duet from Giordano’s most performed opera. It’s not as well known as the duet for the the same characters that concludes the opera, though it contains almost the same material. It’s taken from the Dec 28, 1957 performance of Chenier at the Met….
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Or Son Sei Mesi
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 19th September 2010Puccini’s cowboy opera, La Fanciulla del West, is returning to the Met this season after an absence of 17 years. 2010 is the 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere at the Met. Emmy Destinn and Enrico Caruso sang the leads under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. Puccini supervised the production which was directed by…
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E Lucevan le Stelle
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd July 2010Everybody know this tune and every tenor sings it. Below is the Italian text followed by an English translation. Just in case anyone is new to opera, the aria occurs near the beginning of the third act of Puccini’s Tosca. E lucevan le stelle, ed olezzava la terra stridea l’uscio dell’orto ed un passo sfiorava…
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La vita è inferno all’infelice…O tu che seno agli angeli
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 8th May 2010Verdi’s apotheosis to misery and self pity is one of opera’s greatest arias. The recitative which starts the scena is better than most composers’ best arias. The aria itself is sublime. It requires an extraordinary tenor to bring it off. For no reason other than I like it so much here are three performances of…
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