Verdi – Neil Kurtzman

The prelude to the beginning of an opera or to one of its acts differs from an overture in several ways. A prelude is usually, though not always, shorter. It is not a compendium of the work’s hit tunes. It tends to be less formal and more atmospheric. It typically runs directly into the action...

I recently wrote that the title role in Verdi’s Otello was unique and so difficult to fully realize that it needed a tenor so gifted that the role might belong to a class of its own – The Otello Tenor. The role requires a tenor with the strength of an offensive tackle and the finesse...

In writing about Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem, I mentioned how that inevitable event (death) had occasioned so much beautiful music. Hence, facing the depth of winter, I decided to assemble some of the most profound examples of macabre music. Henry Purcell (1659-1695) remains Britain’s greatest composer. His Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary is...

‘Invano Alvaro’ is the last of three tenor-bartitone duets that grace Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino. All three are excellent, but the final one is likely the best such duet ever written by the composer. It’s in the same class as ‘Quando al mio sen per te parlava’ from Act 3 of I Vespri Siciliani...

Of all Verdi’s mature works (ie, post Rigoletto), his The Sicilian Vespers in either its French or Italian versions is the least performed. This neglect is hard to explain as the opera is a splendid work exhibiting all the characteristics that make its composer the master of the lyric theater. The bass aria ‘O tu...

I recently read a review of a movie that involved historical events. The review was generally favorable; its only criticism was that the history was not accurate. I didn’t think about this for very long. I watched the movie and enjoyed it. I quickly forgot the film (and its name) as well as its supposed...

Verdi’s A Masked Ball has been both popular and in the standard operatic repertory since its premiere in 1859. The opera is virtually perfect; its composer was at the peak of his formidable powers. It has everything: great arias for high soprano, dramatic soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and wonderful ensemble pieces. Though I’ve written about...

So many different outsiders have controlled Sicily that if an alien power were to conquer Earth, it would likely start on that island. Among the temporary rulers of the place are the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the Byzantines, the Muslims, the Normans, the Angevin French, the Bourbons, and now the...