Tag Archives: European HD

Il Trittico Review – Three Operas for the Price of One

Posted on February 11, 2012 by philip

On Sunday, February 5, 2012, and again on Tuesday I saw my second complete Il Trittico and I was reinforced in two of my opinions.  One, that Puccini’s three one-acts are even better taken as a whole, and two, that an ROH production with Conductor Antonio Pappano and Stage Director Richard Jones will be first rate. Continue reading »

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Rigoletto in Mantua – A movie shot live in the Duke’s hometown

Posted on May 18, 2011 by philip

Rigoletto is not like any other character in all of opera. Continue reading »

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La Traviata – Classic Opera at its Best

Posted on March 14, 2011 by philip

I suppose in theory that I could eventually get tired of seeing and hearing Verdi’s La Traviata – but it would take more than the seven performances I have seen of four different productions of it during the past year. Continue reading »

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Carmen from Barcelona – No Harmony

Posted on January 15, 2011 by philip

Sunday, January 9, 2011. I settle comfortably in my seat in the Camera 7 Cinema in Campbell. The lights go down, the picture comes on, and I am transported to the Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, an old-fashioned newly restored theater. Continue reading »

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Cosé¬ Fan Tutte from London – Mozart Reduced to Essentials

Posted on December 10, 2010 by philip

Many many years ago my father took me to a performance of Cosé¬ Fan Tutte.  The only thing I remember about that experience is that during the intermission I told my father how disgusting I found the behavior of Guglielmo and Ferrando.  They expect their sweethearts to be pure and true and faithful to them, while they are perfectly free to test them in this sneaky underhanded way.  Dad explained to me that one shouldn’t take operatic characters too seriously; just enjoy the music and the comic situations they get themselves into.  Good advice then, and very apt for the production from the Royal Opera House which I attended December 4, 2010. Continue reading »

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Wagner’s Ring (Valencia) – Exciting Technology

Posted on September 6, 2010 by philip

If all goes well for me during the coming 2010-11 operatic season, it will be the Year of the Ring. The 12-production Met HD season will be book-ended by new productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walké¼re, the first two operas in the cycle (the last two should follow next year). In November and January the European HD network will present a new production of the same two operas from La Scala. In June, the San Francisco Opera will present the complete cycle produced by their Artistic Adviser Francesca Zambello. And the season began in August 2010 with the European HD showing of final opera in the fantastical production by Carlus Padrissa and La Fura dels Baus which I have just seen. 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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Cosa Fan Tutte & Don Giovanni Review – Mozart takes a hit

Posted on July 14, 2010 by philip

Going to an Emerging Pictures’ European HD performance is frequently an adventure. Some of the European theaters and directors can do strange things to an opera. Continue reading »

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Simon Boccanegra Review – Pla¡cido Domingo as the Doge of Genoa

Posted on June 22, 2010 by philip

Dear Fellow Opera Lovers:
Before you do anything else – before you even finish reading this review – go to the website of your nearest theatre which shows European HD operas  Continue reading »

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Cosé¬ Fan Tutte

Posted on November 18, 2009 by philip

Cosé¬ Fan Tutte
Mozart
Performed at the Salzburg Festival, Austria
Conducted by Adam Fischer
Directed by Claus Guth
Starring Miah Persson and Isabel Leonard
HD at Camera 7 Pruneyard, Campbell, CA
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