Is it possible to upstage Jonas Kaufmann? Kaufmann was brilliant in this Verdi Don Carlo at the Royal Opera House, London, but the rest of the cast was so good that he was but first among equals. Don Carlo is a vehicle for stars, but this time the stars were everyone on stage and in the pit. Even the solo arias, glorious as they are, grow organically out of perfect ensemble. This was a performance that brought out the true beauty of Verdi’s music.
Tag: Verdi
Pl·cido Domingo sings Nabucco – Royal Opera House
Pl·cido Domingo’s London debut as Nabucco at the Royal Opera House was received with rapture. Domingo’s position in opera is immense. His very presence comes over so well that any performance feels like a historic event. He is a marvel. If Domingo was singing Pl·cido Domingo rather than Nabucco, it hardly mattered. He delivered the big areas well, and was particularly impressive in the typically Verdian dialogues between father and daughter. Domingo isn’t a singer who needs Personenregie. He is simply himself and that’s enough.
Nabucco, Royal Opera House, London
“Gli arredi festivi gi˘ cadano infranti, Il popol di Giuda di lutto s’ammanti!”. Verdi’s Nabucco at the Royal Opera House respected the spirit of the opera.
Simon Boccanegra at Lyric Opera, Chicago
In its current production of Simon Boccanegra Lyric Opera of Chicago draws on vocal strengths as well as musical and stage direction that do honor to Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece of political and emotional intrigue in fourteenth-century Genoa.
Rigoletto, Royal Opera House
How would a period instrument specialist like John Eliot Gardiner approach Rigoletto, Verdi’s sordid tale? This was his first Rigoletto (though not his first Verdi); but he created it with great insight.
La forza del destino by Chelsea Opera Group
For sixty years, the Chelsea Opera Group has adorned London opera life. It doesn’t do mass market, but focuses on unusual and obscure repertoire. This audience comes for the music!
Royal Opera House 2012-13 season
“Opera is an emotional fitness centre”, says Kasper Holten, new Director of Opera, announcing the Royal Opera House 2012-13 season which mixes daring with prudence.
La Traviata: The 454th Performance at the Royal Opera House
This performance of La Traviata was the 454th at the Royal Opera House, and the first performance in the 3rd revival this season of Richard Eyre’s production.
International HD Broadcast of Rigoletto by Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House started doing opera and ballet broadcasts before many other houses, and is now expanding its schedule. On April 17th, Verdi’s Rigoletto is being streamed live in over 600 cinemas in 21 countries.