Cast

Gaudenzio: Eugene Brancoveanu

Sofia: Kelly Britt

Bruschino Sr: Paul Thompson Read the rest of this entry »

Carmen

1970, RCA/Sony

(Anna Moffo, Franco Corelli, Piero Cappuccilli, Helen Donath; Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin; Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin, cond. Lorin Maazel)

This Carmen seems to be universally despised by critics, but personally, I think most reviews of it are too harsh. It’s a flawed recording, but hardly a total train wreck… I may be biased, though, because it was the first Carmen I ever heard. Yes, Lorin Maazel’s tempos are slightly erratic, sometimes switching in an Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes I have operatic thoughts that I want to share, but that are too short to make into full articles. Today I decided ‘Why not post them anyway?’ So here are three of my random observations.

This is a less formal piece than my reviews, so Read the rest of this entry »

Madama Butterfly

1983, Arena di Verona

(Raina Kabaivanksa, Nazzareno Antinori, Eleonora Jankovic, Lorenzo Saccomani, Mario Ferrara; Coro dell’Arena di Verona; Orchestra dell’Arena di Verona, cond. Maurizio Arena)

(dir. Giulio Chazalettes; video dir. Brian Large)

This Verona telecast has a special place in my heart, because it was my introduction to Madama Butterfly. That said, its weaknesses are all too obvious and I wouldn’t recommend it to any other neophytes. But still, it has merits. The naturalistic scenery is gorgeous, with its use of the arena’s sloping bleachers to simulate a green, flowery hill, as are Read the rest of this entry »

So many people love this Turandot… why has EMI neglected it all these years? The original LP packaging was sumptuous enough, but the CD release doesn’t have a proper booklet (Italian-only libretto, despite coming from a British record label!) and that’s all there has been – just one CD release. While all the other classic EMI recordings have been repeatedly trotted out (Barbirolli’s “Butterfly,” Giulini’s “Don Giovanni,” Maria Callas’s whole discography, etc), this one hasn’t. I don’t get it. Even though my personal favorite Turandot is Mehta’s, this is the one I always use in my Opera Quest presentations for elementary school classes, mainly just to give them a chance to hear it.

Turandot

1966, EMI

(Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Renata Scotto, Bonaldo Giaiotti; Coro del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, cond. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli)

Of the “big three” most widely acclaimed Turandot recordings (the other two being Leinsdorf’s and Mehta’s), this one gives the most emphasis to the score’s raw, visceral thrills. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli has been called a decent but not outstanding conductor, and Read the rest of this entry »

Il Barbiere di Siviglia

1993, EMI

(Thomas Hampson, Jerry Hadley, Suzanne Mentzer, Bruno Praticó, Samuel Ramey, Amelia Felle; Coro della Toscana; Orchestra della Toscana, cond. Gianluigi Gelmetti)

It surprises me that this first-rate Barbiere isn’t better known. Every member of the star-studded cast gives his or her all, both musically and dramatically, and conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti shapes the score with expertise from beginning to end. His interpretation may not quite Read the rest of this entry »

Following the lead of Opera Teen with his essay on Opera and Young Audiences, I’ve decided to post one of my own school essays that I’m especially proud of. This is my senior thesis:

“Our demigod” – Divinity and humanity in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice

When I chose this topic I had no idea whether it would be a success or not. Writing a senior thesis about characterization, of all things, seemed so trivial! But I wanted to do it and my professors were supportive. So I did it. I read, I thought, read some more, thought some more, and studied the scores of both operas as best I could with my halting grasp of music theory. And it was a success!

I hope my readers here like it just as much as the people did who read it at UCLA.