What opera contains a terrific overture, a wedding sextet, two murderous magical potions, a mad scene for coloratura soprano, a magnificent a cappella aria for contralto, dozens of glorious melodies and lots of nifty choral writing?
Blond Leading the Blond: Scandinavia Times Three
I was just itching to experience the new Oslo Opera House ever since I saw the pictures of its grand opening (ahead of schedule, thank-you-very-much) last April.
PUCCINI: La Bohème — Vienna 1988
La Bohème, opera in four acts.
Music composed by Giacomo Puccini. Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi lllica, based
on episodes from Henri Murger’s Scènes de la vie de Bohème.
Lucia di Lammermoor at the MET
Mary Zimmerman’s unmusical production of Lucia certainly improves if you give it a cast of singers who know what Donizetti is about.
Don Giovanni at the MET
The fascination of Don Giovanni lies not only in the bejeweled score but in the interplay of its eight intriguing characters, each based on an ancient type, yet each somehow cut loose from the formula da Ponte molded so well.
Portraits of Domingo and Pavarotti
While the tributes and retrospectives continue to appear for the late Luciano Pavarotti, his sometime-colleague (if not rival) Pl·cido Domingo maintains a top-rank career, even including a contract with Deutsche Grammophon for new studio work.
STRAUSS: Die Liebe der Danae
Gala may be a budget label, but more opera sets of vintage live performances deserve a booklet essay as concise yet comprehensive, critically honest and yet fair, as Andrew Palmer’s for this set, which preserves a 1980 performance of Richard Strauss and Joseph Grigor’s Die Liebe der Danae.
Opera by Martin Halpern at Music School Playhouse
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=31&id=24103
Composer John Adams’ biography is as lively as his music
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2008327521_br02adams.html