Italian Opera Composer Gaetano Donizetti is usually identified – along with Rossini and Bellini – as one of the principal exponents of the bel canto school of the early 19th century, which, in the legends about the history of opera that gained currency in the late 19th and 20th centuries, was in decline by the [...]
Entries from September 2011
“Lucrezia Borgia” – The Dramatic Foundations of Donizetti’s Opera
September 27th, 2011
Tags: 2005-2012: William's Commentaries
A Second Look: Luisotti Improvises in “Turandot” Game Delay, then Hits a Grand Slam – San Francisco Opera, September 25, 2011
September 26th, 2011
Already this year, I have posted two previous reviews of performances of the esteemed David Hockney production of Puccini’s “Turandot”. The production incorporates the Hockney’s set designs with the wondrous costumes designed by his one-time collaborator, Ian Falconer. The production provided the opening night festivities for the opening nights of both the San Diego Opera’s [...]
Tags: 2005-2012: William's Reviews
Arthur Bloomfield’s Blazing Batons: Visiting the Great Berlin Maestro Leo Blech (1871-1958)
September 25th, 2011
A proper headline for this essay, and a banner one too, should proclaim: LEO BLECH GREAT VERDI CONDUCTOR. One rather expects a German with excellent Berlin credentials — and a crisp little name, by the way, that means ”tin,” but Blech had no tin ear — to be the genius he was with Wagner. But the grace, drama [...]