Cast

Don Giovanni: Eugene Brancoveanu

Leporello: Dennis Rupp

Donna Anna: Kelly Britt

Donna Elvira: Youn Ryu Read the rest of this entry »

In honor of the 4^th of July, I’d like to discuss the most famous American character in opera, Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton from Madama Butterfly.

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Il Barbiere di Siviglia

1962, EMI

(Sesto Bruscantini, Luigi Alva, Victoria de los Angeles, Ian Wallace, Carlo Cava, Laura Sarti; Glyndebourne Chorus; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, cond. Vittorio Gui)

This classic recording is one of the first studio attempts to present an “authentic” Barbiere. Though it predates Alberto Zedda’s critical edition of the score and some of the orchestration is still slightly “off” (e.g. a harp instead of a guitar in “Ecco ridente”), it completely lacks the interpolations, transpositions, excess embellishments and Read the rest of this entry »

Cast

Thaïs: Nino Machaidze

Athanaël: Plácido Domingo

Nicias: Paul Groves Read the rest of this entry »

Hello! Just in case anyone was wondering, I’m still alive!

The reason I haven’t posted here in a while is that I’ve been sucked into the gloriously addictive world of Tumblr. And while I was there I found a new love – amateur literary analysis. I’ve explored various different Tumblr blogs managed by English majors and other literature-lovers, who write long essays defending their favorite fictional characters Read the rest of this entry »

Cast

Lucia: Albina Shagimuratova

Edgardo: Saimir Pirgu

Enrico: Stephen Powell Read the rest of this entry »

I just thought of a few more.

A feisty young woman falls in love with a man who’s secretly a criminal (but has a heart of gold and only turned to crime out of necessity) and he with her. Eventually she learns his secret and is furious. But they reconcile amid a confrontation with the male antagonist, who tries to kill the hero but fails, though he manages Read the rest of this entry »