We all know about “Boris Godunov.” Mussorgsky’s opera is one of the towering achievements of the operatic art form, even if there are continued concerns over which performance practice to adhere to. But Mussorgsky’s operatic output did not start and end with “Boris Godunov.” Nor was that the only one of his operas to face massive treatment in other hands. {…}
Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior was the quintessential Wagner tenor while Beniamino Gigli was one of the most beloved Italian tenors that history has ever seen. Both were born on the same day – March 20, 1890. While they both made their professional debuts one year apart, the Dane’s came in 1913 while the Italian’s a year late in 1914, they {…}
Violin fantasies based on major operas was a major trend back in the 1800s with such virtuoso violinists like Sarasate, Paganini, Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski looking for vehicles that could showcase their skills. Of these fantasies, Sarasate’s adaptation of “Carmen” is perhaps the best-known of the lot with a 20th-century version by Franz Waxman following suit. But no opera has been {…}
In commemoration of Rimsky-Korsakov’s birthday on March 18, 1844, OperaWire has the great fortune of collaborating with famed conductor Gerard Schwarz to share a special memory about his very first operatic encounter with the composer. It is very interesting to think of the wonderful composers who are known primarily for a single work: Pachelbel – Cannon; Dukas – “The Sorcerer’s {…}
When considered in the context of his entire oeuvre, Verdi’s “Attila” is far from a masterpiece. When propped up against his best work, this early work simply doesn’t hold up. In fact, prominent Verdi scholars, such as Julian Budden, have criticized the opera and called it “the heaviest and noisiest of the Risorgimento operas, blunt in style, daubed in thick garish {…}
Massenet’s “Thaïs” is a beautiful feat of musical drama. The opera, which premiered on March 16, 1894, is rich in its character development and Massenet’s own development as a dramatist. While the work is filled with glorious musical writing, there is no doubt that the single most iconic moment of the work is the dramatic midpoint – Thaïs’ meditation. Played {…}
On the surface, Christa Ludwig and Teresa Berganza have nothing in common, aside from the fact that they were born on the same day, March 16, and were two of the greatest mezzo-sopranos in history. But their repertoire was wildly different. Ludwig was best known for her native German repertoire while the Spaniard, Berganza, was famous for her work in {…}
Antonietta Stella is one of the great Italian sopranos of all time. Known for her potent and elegant vocal artistry, she was a heralded interpreter of the dramatic repertoire. During a time when such greats as Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi were dominating the opera world, Stella held her own, making several high-profile recordings that remain among favorites, especially in {…}
On March 14, 1847, Giuseppe Verdi premiered his version of “Macbeth” to roaring disapproval. It would take another two decades to premiere an updated version of an opera he deemed among his finest accomplishments. While the changes are nowhere near as wild as those for “Don Carlo,” “Simon Boccanegra” or even “La Forza del Destino,” there are a few major {…}
Filming “Carmen” with Francesco Rosi and Plácido Domingo was a major moment in the career of Julia Migenes, potentially career defining. The American mezzo, born on March 13, 1949, had already put together a solid career prior to the 1984 film, starring in a film version of “Eine Nacht in Venedig” and the original Broadway production of “Fiddler on the {…}
“Simon Boccanegra” was one of Verdi’s most sublime operas and a prized creation for the composer. After suffering a brutal premiere back on March 12, 1857, the work was essentially left for dead, likely to never get a chance to firmly establish its place alongside many of Verdi’s other masterworks. But on March 24, 1881, the composer premiered another version {…}