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The Florentine sculptor and silversmith Benvenuto Cellini rapidly attained a degree of renown that went beyond the confines of Italy. Invariably embroiled in conspiracies, intrigues and quarrels, Cellini is commissioned by the Pope to cast a large sculpture of Perseus. He is loved by Teresa, but she is promised to Fieramosca, an academic artist who has not been favoured with a papal commission. Terry Gilliam’s exuberant production draws the protagonists into a delirious and joyful yet claustrophobic and megalomaniac world: a flaring up of contagious madness.
This new disc from the Zurich Opera presents just about as thoughtful and coherent account of Rossini's Otello as one could hope for. This isn't the first time the company has made something of a splash with the bel canto repertory. Some will remember their CD release, a few years back, of Bellini's Norma, also featuring Bartoli. That set got very mixed reviews, and those who hated that will probably hate this too, no doubt before they even watch it. But for those not initiated in the trench warfare that music loving often attracts, this disc will be most welcome. The world class cast, led by Cecilia Bartoli and tenor John Osborn, are (mostly) young, committed and talented. They deliver, here, an intense performance that makes a very strong case for this neglected opera.
I Puritani by Bellini was staged by Francisco Negrín at Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam in 2009, with Mariola Cantarero, John Osborn and the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest, conducted by Giuliano Carella.
Glorious comedy and impeccable coloratura combine in Donzetti’s La fille du régiment, incarnated by Marie, the feisty tomboy raised by a regiment of French soldiers. What can stand in the path of true love for Tonio is the young Swiss villager who conquers her heart - and nails a few high Cs on the way? Director Luis Ernesto Doñas sets the action in central America, turning the revolutionary French fighting against conservative Tyrol into the struggle for Cuban liberation. Cuba as a place where two worlds confront and clash, a colourful one projected into the future and the other in black and white locked in nostalgic feelings about the past.
Fromental Halévy’s five-act grand opera La Juive (‘The Jewess’) is one of the most popular operas of the 19th century, captivating audiences ever since its debut at the Opéra de Paris in 1835. Set in the 15th century and full of pageantry, the subject is the forbidden love between a Christian man and a Jewish woman, and the tragedy that ensues. Oper Frankfurt’s contemporary staging won great acclaim, with Ambur Braid being lauded for her ‘luminous soprano’ as the heroine Rachel, and ‘vocal phenomenon’ John Osborn heralded in the role of her father Éléazar as ‘immensely moving’.
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After completing military service, Walter Gulick takes a job as a sparring partner at a gym, the owner of which sees potential in Walter as a professional fighter—and takes him under his wing.
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Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.