Tag Archives: Bellini

Capulets and Montagues Review – Shakespeare It Ain’t

Posted on October 10, 2012 by philip

I had seen Shakespeare’s play; I had seen Gonoud’s opera a couple of times; I had seen many, many performances of Prokofiev’s ballet.  But at the San Francisco Opera on October 3, 2012, I saw I Capuleti e i Montecchi, an 1830 opera by Vincenzo Bellini, for the first time.  And from the first few notes of the overture, I knew I was about to see a story different from the one told by S, G, and P.  Continue reading »

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Norma, Pocket Opera Review – Pocket Production of a Melodious Eternal Triangle

Posted on June 30, 2012 by philip

The synopsis in the program starts by bringing us up to date: Norma, a much revered, awe-inspiring spiritual and political leader  Continue reading »

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Norma – Hanky-Panky in Ancient Gaul

Posted on August 25, 2010 by philip

Vincenzo Bellini is generally considered to be the master of Bel Canto , and Norma , written in 1831, is generally considered to be his masterpiece.

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La Sonnambula

Posted on March 21, 2009 by philip

One of the many great things about the Met HD performances is that of the 10 operas that I have seen or will see this season, 6 of them I have seen for the first time.  For the first five, I knew or read something about them ahead of time, but I purposely did not do this for La Sonnambula.  When the curtain went up for Act I yesterday, all I knew was from the trailer shown at previous Met HDs: it was by Bellini, it starred Natalie Dessay, and she walked in her sleep.  I didn’t even know if the ending would be tragic or happy. Continue reading »

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Norma

Posted on January 25, 2009 by philip

Teatro Comunale, Bologna
January 25 2009

Exciting news (news to me, that is; you may already know about it). The Met is not the only outfit creating and recording HD performances and showing them in selected theatres. It is also being done from Europe. And Sunday I capped off my opera binge by seeing Bellini’s Norma performance from Teatro Comunale, Continue reading »

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