Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles: at Santa Fe 2012 and on record (Alain Vanzo's...
This summer's Santa Fe Opera performance was the first time I've really listened to Bizet's first opera, Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers). It was a good performance, and perhaps I'll review...
View ArticleGerald Finley sings Donne set by Adams
My attention was drawn to Canadian-born baritone Gerald Finley by hearing (on CBC radio while visiting Kitchener-Waterloo for the Quantum Landscape conference at PI) his rendition of the aria "Batter...
View ArticleReadings: Titta Ruffo, "My Parabola" / Video "Credo in un Dio crudel"
I recently read the autobiography of Titta Ruffo, an operatic baritone who was one of the greatest singers of all time. Fascinating reading, very evocative of the atmosphere of Italy in the late 19th...
View ArticleThe Marriage of Figaro, Santa Fe 2013
The 2013 opera season at Santa Fe ended last night (well, two nights ago as this is posted) with a performance of Offenbach's comic operetta The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein. I went to all five operas,...
View ArticleLa Donna del Lago, Santa Fe Opera 2013
This year's Santa Fe Opera production of Rossini's La Donna del Lago (based on Sir Walter Scott's 1810 novel The Lady of the Lake) was a treat. Musically, quite a nice piece. I don't feel like giving...
View ArticleMaria Stuarda, with Joyce DiDonato and Carmen Gianattasio at the Royal Opera,...
July 18th: my first time at Covent Garden, for the Royal Opera production (joint with Barcelona, the Theâtre des Champs-Elysées, and the Polish National Opera) of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda. The...
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