While undated, this performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio is a solid performance of the opera that has all the earmarks of a radio broadcast.
Category: Reviews
MOZART: Idomeneo
After an apparently successful premiere in 1781, Mozart’s Idomeneo fell out of favor, not being revived in the composer’s lifetime and staying dormant in the 19th century and first half of the 20th.
The Grove Book of Operas (2nd ed.)
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (the ìNew Groveî) stands as the definitive encyclopedia on music in the English language.1
GIORDANO: Andrea ChÈnier
A socially conscious artist, caught in the violent gyrations of a country in revolution and war, awaits execution.
Handel Unwrapped by Scottish Opera: ìTamerlanoî at tea-time
On a cold, wet and dark Glasgow evening in November, some 500 brave souls received what was possibly their first taste of baroque opera.
BELLINI: I Capuleti e i Montecchi
It only takes a few moments for the overture to Vincenzo Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi to establish that this opera takes a very different approach to the classic story than does Shakespeare’s play.
PUCCINI: Manon Lescaut
This beautiful production premiËred in 1980 and was the first live-telecast from the Met internationally relayed.
MERCURIO: Many Voices
Conductor Steven Mercurio appears to have made a highly favorable impression on singers in his career so far (some of the following info comes from his website, http://stevenmercurio.com/).
PUCCINI: Edgar
Iím surprised that such an eminent musicologist as Julian Budden, in his interesting essay accompanying the recording, still lays the blame for the relative failure of Edgar at the librettistís feet.
ROSSINI: La Cenerentola
Putting the “grim” into a classic fairy tale (whether the Brothers Grimm’s or not), this Glyndebourne La Cenerentola from the 2005 festival season establishes a drab, dark mood in its first scenes.