Reviews, appreciation and analysis of all things opera
Note from William: Over the past several months, I have posted occasional interviews with opera singers and other artists, whose careers are obviously in their ascendancy, reflecting worldwide interest in securing their talents for future opera seasons. The current interview is with Raymond Aceto, the basso cantante graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Company’s Lindemann Young … Read more
The Dallas Opera presented Mozart’s “Cosi fan Tutte” as their second offering (after Verdi’s “Otello” last fall) in their new Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House. They assembled an excellent cast in the beautiful production conceived by John Cox and his collaborating set and costume designer Robert Perdziola. The production, owned by the San Francisco Opera, … Read more
There is a tendency to think of the operas written by Verdi as a genre that differs from those of the early 19th century Italian operas of the “bel canto era“. During that period, according to opera lore, the singing was florid, pretty, but dramatically vapid. In the opera goers’ understanding of the history of … Read more
The Dallas Opera mounted Donizetti’s comedy “Don Pasquale” in the venerable Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production, originally created for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. The performance provided a vehicle for the American debut of Slovakian soprano Adriana Kucerova and the Dallas debut of Italian Conductor Stefano Ranzani. Written for four world-class voices, the Dallas Opera chose … Read more
I suspect that most opera goers spend rather little time thinking about the contributions that librettists make to the world of opera. Most will know that Wagner wrote all the words to his operas. Probably, most opera aficionados will associate the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte with Mozart, and Arrigo Boito with Verdi, and Hugo von … Read more