Gioachino Rossini October 14, 18, 20, and 22, 2006 Pamira Elizabeth Futral Neocle Vivica Genaux Maometto David Cushing Cleomene Bruce Ford Ismene Angela Horn Jero Brendan Cooke Adrasto Patrick Toomey Omar Kelley Anderson Conductor Steven White Director Elizabeth BachmanWow. This was a good performance on a beautiful stage. I do think I'm starting to lose my patience with people who say "No, don't marry the man you love and save your city; die with all of us instead!" And also with the people who say, "Yes! What a splendid idea!" and do. Other than that minor problem though, this was great. Splendid singing. After the third act aria by Neocle (sung here as a trousers role as Calbo in the original version of the opera was, rather than by a tenor) the man beside me asked his wife (during the applause) "who is that?" It's Vivica Genaux, and she's freakin' brilliant. So too are Elizabeth Futral as Pamira and Bruce Ford as Cleomene, which means their first act trio is absolutely stunning, every one of them well up to the coloratura demands of Rossini's gorgeous, gorgeous music.
In 1815 Teatro San Carlo in Naples hired 23 year old Gioachino Rossini to direct the theater and compose a new opera for every season. The most notable of his creations for Teatro San Carlo was Maometto II , set against the historic war between the Venetians and Turks that ended in a Turkish victory in 1470. In response to contemporary sentiment supporting the Greek struggle for independence from Turkey, Rossini reworked Maometto II in 1826 . He changed the setting to Corinth and made the heroes Greeks rather than Venetians. The Siege of Corinth (originally sung in French as Le Sičge de Corinthe ) premiered in Paris and was a tremendous success. The opera was performed frequently, in various versions and languages for about a decade, then disappeared from the repertoire. It was seldom staged during the 20th century with the notable exceptions of a 1969 La Scala production and a 1975 Metropolitan Opera production in which Beverly Sills made her auspicious Met debut.
Giuseppe Verdi -- Nabucco
November 11, 15, 17, 19, 2006 Sung in Italian with English surtitles Abigaille Adrienne Dugger Nabucco Mark Rucker Zaccaria Luiz-Ottavio Faria Ismaele Carlo Scibelli Fenena Malgorzata Walewska Abdallo Marcus McConico Gran Sacerdote Brendan Cooke Anna Vikki Jones Conductor Christian Badea Director Roberto Oswald
Biblical characters provide ample fodder for opera plots but only a few have made their way onto the operatic stage: Samson et Dalila , Salome and Verdi's spectacular Nabucco . The opera is set during the Babylonian captivity of the Hebrews, beginning with King Nebuchadnezzar's (Nabucco) destruction of Jerusalem and abduction of the Hebrew nation into servitude in Babylon . In reality, the opera was a thinly disguised protest against the Austrian domination of Northern Italy during the 1800s. The famous chorus “Va pensiero” became a rallying cry for freedom, not just for the Hebrew slaves in the opera. but for the Italians who suffered under Austria and eventually for all who have endured oppression.
Order tickets for "Nabucco" here
Bed?ich Smetana -- The Bartered Bride (Prodaná Nev?sta)
Sung in Czech with English surtitles March 24, 28, 30, April 1, 2007 Jeník Valentin Prolat Kecal Gregory Frank Ma?enka Dana Burešová Conductor Oliver von Dohnányi
Italy 's defeat of Austria (around 1860) opened the door for Czechoslovakia to begin exerting its own independence. And this spirit of nationalism soon found its way into Czech music and arts inspiring Smetana to write this tale of a clever young girl who asserts her independence to free herself from her family's control.
A joyful Bohemian village is the backdrop for the story of Ma?enka, whose parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy, but dim-witted Vašek. But, of course, Ma?enka is hopelessly in love with the penniless stranger Jeník. Eventually Jeník agrees to barter away his right to marry Ma?enka, she agrees to marry his brother and then the traveling circus comes to town.
The overture is one of the most popular pieces in the concert repertoire and the opera is a delightful mélange of Czech folk melodies and dance rhythms. The musicality, plot and romantic intrigues make The Bartered Bride the most enduring of Smetana's compositions and one of the most entertaining works in the light opera repertoire.
Order tickets for "The Bartered Bride" here
Giacomo Puccini -- Tosca
May 5, 9, 11, 13, 2007 Floria Tosca Georgina Lukács Mario Cavaradossi Antonello Palombi Baron Scarpia James Morris Angelotti Kelly Anderson Spoletta Dean Anthony Sciarrone Edward Albert Conductor Andrea Licata Director Bernard Uzan
The opera takes palace during a 24 hour period in Rome in 1800 as at the city awaits the outcome of the battle between Napoleon's army and the Austrians at Marengo. Puccini was fanatically accurate about the historic timeline, places and characters that he employed to serve as the backdrop for this fierce battle of wills. The sadistic Baron Scarpia's obsession with the singer Floria Tosca and her lover's protection of an escaped political prisoner collide in a spectacular psychological drama.
I can't wait to hear James Morris sing Scarpia again. He was brilliant last time he was here.
Order tickets for "Tosca" here
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