During the first decade and a half or so of the 20th century, a handful of singers whose careers had begun in the 1860s, 1870s, and 1880s stood in front of primitive recording devices and preserved a style of vocal performance practice that was, with the advent of verismo opera, gradually passing into extinction. One [...]
Entries from February 2009
February 21, 2009
Checking in
I apologize for the big gap between posts. Nothing more than real world responsibilities and unreliable technology.
I’m in Seattle this weekend to visit friends and catch the opening night of Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung at Seattle Opera. My review will be up early in the week.
February 12, 2009
The Met’s 2009-10 season
The Metropolitan Opera announced its 2009-10 season on Tuesday. I can’t get too excited about Aida, Zauberflöte, or La Bohème, but I like that they’re doing From the House of the Dead, Attila, The Nose, Armida, and Lulu. Are there any on this list that interest you?
September 21, 2009- May 13, 2010: Tosca
September 22- December [...]
February 11, 2009
Reading list
I usually have several books going at once. Here’s what’s currently at the top of my reading list. (I’ll have more to say about a couple of these titles in later posts.)
Charles Rosen, Arnold Schoenberg (University of Chicago Press)
Kenneth Hamilton, After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance (Oxford)
Rodney Bolt, The Librettist of Venice: [...]
February 7, 2009
And we’re back
Wow. I knew I was going to be busy this past week and that I might not be able to post as much as I’d like, but I had no idea I’d be away for six whole days. You should have seen the dust and cobwebs when I logged on this morning.
Portland Opera’s production of [...]
February 1, 2009
Cesira Ferrani
On February 1, 1893, Giacomo Puccini’s third opera, Manon Lescaut, premiered at the Teatro Regio, Turin. Three years later to the day, his next stage work, La bohème, had its illustrious premiere at the same theater. In addition to the date and location, there was one other common thread linking those two productions: Cesira Ferrani, [...]
