Throughout his career Verdi had to deal with the censors and their efforts to hinder his operas. Nowhere was this more prominent than in “Un Ballo in Maschera,” which premiered on Feb. 17, 1859. The work was originally entitled “Gustavo III,” but Verdi had to change the setting from Sweden to Boston and change the character of King Gustav III {…}
“Un Ballo in Maschera” is one of Verdi’s finest operas of his middle period. The libretto, while still rife with questionable melodramatic touches, features a compelling central character in the form of Riccardo / Gustavo. But more interestingly is the way that Verdi’s musical language has evolved throughout this particular work. “Ballo” is rife with glorious music that would easily {…}
Verdi’s seventh opera, “Giovanna d’Arco,” had its world premiere on Feb. 15, 1845, at La Scala in Milan. It was one of many operas that has attempted to tell the tale of the famed heroine, but like many others, it has yet to find a place in the standard repertoire. The opera has recently managed to get some more exposure {…}
Making its premiere at Teatro alla Scala on February 11, 1843, “I Lombardi” is adapted from an epic poem written by Tomasso Grossi about the First Crusade. It would become Giuseppe Verdi’s first grand opera when he revised it four years later for its debut in France with the Paris Opera company under the title of “Jerusalem.” Though the opera {…}
Opera is rife with sweeping love duets. Some are of passionate bliss while others of a more mature variety. As we celebrate Valentine’s Day, we turn to a handful of opera’s greatest declarations of love between two lovers from the classical repertoire. Continue to find out which of the selected love duets suits your romantic evening (and don’t worry, the {…}
It all ends with a joke. After decades of dominating the opera world as a foremost melodrammatist, Verdi’s final opera is the complete opposite, a comedy. “Falstaff,” which premiered on Feb. 9, 1893, was written by Arrigo Boito and is nothing like the other works Verdi had ever composed. He openly mocks his other works throughout. He tears down operatic {…}
At the end of the final act, Otello has just killed Desdemona and he stands at the front of the stage, facing the audience. From the back of the stage Desdemona reappears and approaches Otello. Standing beside him, she simulates the taking of a knife from its sheath, raises it and plunges it into her belly, and Otello, taking a {…}
Verdi’s “Otello” is one of the world’s greatest operas. For many, it is THE Italian opera. Premiering on Feb. 5, 1887, the penultimate opera in Verdi’s legacy is a work that is also the conjugation of all the styles that he had been playing with for decades. While many would look to “Falstaff” as a subversion of everything that had {…}
“Opera Meets Film” is a feature dedicated to exploring the way that opera has been employed in cinema. We will select a section or a film in its entirety, highlighting the impact that utilizing the operatic form or sections from an opera can alter our perception of a film that we are viewing. This week’s installment returns to Quentin Tarantino’s {…}
Three years ago when Sonya Yoncheva recorded her first album “Paris Mon Amour,” it was a triumph. It was an album filled with a variety of interesting repertoire and a voice with great color and flexibility. It captured a rising star that was on the path to stardom and gave an incredible vibrancy to each reading on the album. Fast {…}
In recent years, Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” has slowly but surely established a potent foothold in the Metropolitan Opera’s standard repertory. The main reason? David McVicar’s striking and still awe-inspiring interpretation of Verdi’s middle-period masterwork. A Master At Work The inspiration of Francisco de Goya and his tableaus is obvious from the opening curtain and onwards. At the core of it {…}
