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.

Finally! It’s taken me a long time to finish this review – it took me about three full listens to “get into it.” I think the problem was that I’d read the negative review of this recording in the book Opera on Record too recently and it unfairly colored my first impression. One of these days I’ll have to write a piece about that book and others like it!

Carmen

1964, EMI

(Maria Callas, Nicolai Gedda, Robert Massard, Andrea Guiot; Choeurs René Duclos; Orchestre de Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Paris, cond. Georges Prêtre)

If this recording featured any Carmen other than La Divina, Maria Callas, I would consider it just a good, solid performance, less than remarkable but effective all the same, and refreshingly French for an Read the rest of this entry »

A few days ago, much to my surprise, joy and pride, I received this Blogger Award from Raisa Massuda, whose reviews and musings on her blog, Mandolin Vision, I’ve always enjoyed.

I now have to share seven facts that you may not have known about me! Here they are: Read the rest of this entry »

In honor of World Autism Awareness Day, I’ve decided to write about what opera has meant to me in light of my Asperger’s Syndrome.

When I fell in love with opera at age fourteen, I was a textbook Aspie. I had no friends my own age and no desire for any. I was being homeschooled, because actual school had become unbearable for me. When I had gone to middle school in the preceding years, I was always Read the rest of this entry »