I’m glad today’s CD is the last of the two-part opera La clemenza di Tito, K621, written by Mozart when he was 35 – just a few short months before his untimely demise. Today’s CD, 11 of 11, finishes the box of Mozart’s Late Italian Operas. Tomorrow starts a brand-new box of CDs: German Operas, […]
Entries Tagged as 'Box 15: Late Italian Operas'
Of Endings and Endings (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 23rd, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Frederica von Stade, K621, K621 (Part II), La clemenza di Tito, La clemenza di Tito (Part II), Lucia Popp, Stuart Burrows
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Of Anticipated Saturdays and Underappreciated Operas (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Annio, Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Charles Taylor, Frederica von Stade, Frederick Lowe, Ian Herbert, Janet Baker, John Constable, K621, K621 (Part I), La clemenza di Tito, Lucia Popp, Mozart at 35, Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Prague (September 4 1791), Publio, Robert Lloyd, Robin Stapleton, Servilia, Sesto, Sir Colin Davis, Stuart Burrows, Tito Vespaisano, Vitellia, Yvonne Minton
Today’s opera is La clemenza di Tio, K621, written by Mozart when he was 35, just a couple of months before his death. The Overture is compelling. It sets the stage nicely. But what follows doesn’t match the standard set in the Overture. This is a typical opera. Nothing fancy. Nothing different from nearly every […]
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Of Fridays and Finales (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Cosi fan tutte, Cosi fan tutte (Part III), K588, K588 (Part III), Mozart at 33, Mozart at 34, Nicolai Gedda, Vienna (January 1790)
I can’t add anything to what I wrote in previous installments. Well, other than this: After hearing him and watching the YouTube clip, I immediately jumped on the Amazon site and bought two collections of Nicolai Gedda’s music. He may be my all-time favorite tenor. And if take away nothing else from listening to Mozart’s […]
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Of Nicolai Gedda. Period. (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Cosi fan tutte, Cosi fan tutte (Part II), K588, K588 (Part II), Love Duet, Montserrat Caballe, Mozart at 33, Mozart at 34, Nicolai Gedda, Pilar Lorengar, Vienna (January 1790)
I could write a bunch of self-serving, fancy-schmancy words to kick off today’s blog. But all I need to write are two: Nicolai. Gedda. Remember those old Maxell ads with the guy sitting in the arm chair, being blown away listening to his stereo, which presumably is playing Maxell recordings? That’s the way I feel […]
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Of Salacious Books and Stuart Burrows (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 18th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Cherie Currie, Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Part III), K527, K527 (Part III), Mozart at 31, Neon Angel, Prague (October 28 1787), Stuart Burrows, The Runaways
I’ve been reading Cherie Currie’s autobiography Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. It’s the brutally honest account of her life with the all-girls 1970s band the Runaways. I’ve always liked the Runaways. And I think Cherie Currie is wonderful. Her book, though, is sometimes painful to read. It’s salacious in a Lolita sort of […]
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Of Mondays Busy and Mozarts Boring (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 17th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Part II), K527, K527 (Part II), Mozart at 31, Prague (October 28 1787)
I can’t believe I titled this blog “boring Mozarts.” I waited for a lightning bolt to strike me from the heavens as I typed it. I’m sorry. But not everything Mozart composed appeals to me. Operas bore me because I can’t see what’s going on, and don’t know the language. So all I can go […]
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Of Ronnies Dio and Dons Giovanni (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Black Sabbath, Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Charles Taylor, Contadina, Don Giovanni, Don Ottavio, Donna Anna, Donnna Elvira, Douglas Robinson, Heaven and Hell, Hugo d'Alton, IL Commendator, Ingvar Wixell, John Constable, K527, K527 (Act I), Kiri Te Kanawa, Leporello, Luigi Roni, Martina Arroyo, Masetto, Mirelli Freni, Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Richard van Allan, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Ronnie James Dio (RIP), Sir Colin Davis, Stuart Burrows, Wladimiro Ganzarolli, Zerlina
One of my all-time favorite metal singers died today. Ronnie James Dio, vocalist for Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Black Sabbath, his own solo career, and the Sabbath-without-Ozzy band Heaven and Hell, lost his battle with stomach cancer. Condolences can be left on Dio’s official Facebook page. Dio had one of the most powerful voices in metal, […]
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Of Angels One and Figaros Three (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 15th, 2010 · No Comments · Angel, Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, David Boreanaz, Figaro, K492 (Part III), Le nozze di Figaro, Maynard Solomon, Mozart at 30, Mozart: A Life, Vienna (April 29 1786)
David Boreanaz is lousy in Bones. But he was perfect in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I wonder why. Is it the writing? The direction? Or did he start believing his press and think he was a better actor than he is? I guess it doesn’t matter. This week, we started watching the Angel […]
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Of Days Gorgeous and Figaros Two (Box 15, Late Italian Operas)
May 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Box 15: Late Italian Operas, Figaro, K492 (Part II), Le nozze di Figaro (Part II), Mozart at 30, The Marriage of Figaro, Vienna (April 29 1786)
What a delightful day here in West Michigan! Sunny skies. Nice breeze. Temperatures in the low 60s. Gorgeous. There’s not much more I can add to what I wrote yesterday regarding The Marriage of Figaro. Well, except for this: I can’t seem to sustain interest in an opera beyond the first Act. I absolutely love […]
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You can call me Amadeus. But don't expect me to answer to that.