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Operawarhorses.com is a website dedicated to an appreciation and analysis of the “Standard Repertory” of opera houses worldwide.

04/06/2024

FAVORITE 21ST CENTURY PERFORMANCES AND OPERA PRODUCTIONS: BARRIE KOSKY'S 2019 HOUSTON GRAND OPERA PRODUCTION OF HANDEL'S "SAUL"

On Sunday, June 2, I attended a San Francisco Opera performance of Mozart's "The Magic Flute", which I will be reviewing for www.operawarhorses.com . This will be my third season in which I reviewed a Kosky "Flute" production, having praised my first experience with Kosky's 'Silent Screen' concept in its 2013 and 2018 moumtings at the Los ANgeles Opera.

Being present in San Francisco for the the first weekend of "Pride Month", I thought it would be more in consonant with "Pride Month"to remimisce on Kosky's re-interpretation of Handel's "Saul" to give prominence to the love affair between the hero David and King Saul's son, Prince Jonathan. David and Jonathan are unquestionably the Bible's most sympathetic relationship of a love affair between two men.

I quote from my perfomance review of the HGO's presentation of Handel's oratorio (also dramatically effective as a staged opera), "Saul".

"

I quote from my

10/04/2024

NOTABLE OPERA PRODUCTIONS REVIEWED ON WWW.OPERAWARHORSES.COM : Good vs. Evil themes in "Billy Budd" productions (Part 2) Ken Cazan's 2019 Central City (Colorado) Opera production.

This post continues my thoughts on productions of Britten's "Billy Budd" I have reviewed for www.operawarhorses.com and the different underlying concepts of what the opera is about.

"The Central City Opera, located in a historic Colorado mining town whose elevation is 8,500 feet, performs in a 550 seat opera house.

"In the 21st century, the Central City Opera began a long-term relationship with the operas of Benjamin Britten, in 2001 presenting the North American premiere of “Gloriana”, with seven other Britten operas presented between 2002 and 2017.

"In 2019, the Central City Opera has mounted Britten’s" “Billy Budd”, utilizing the first orchestral reduction of the opera ever authorized by the Britten-Pears Foundation.

"California director Ken Cazan, a Britten specialist, envisions the opera as the aged Captain Vere’s haunted dream of good versus evil . . .

"Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins, whose Central City performances a decade prior had included Britten’s “Rape of Lucretia”, returned for his role debut as Billy Budd.

"Hopkins’ sturdy lyric baritone, handsome appearance and persuasive acting has made him an obvious candidate for the iconic role of Billy Budd . . . Tennessee bass-baritone Kevin Burdette was cast as the Sergeant-at-Arms John Claggart. The role is a complex one, with alternate ways to present him . . . In Cazan’s staging . . . Claggart is the metaphysical personification of Evil and Billy is the metaphysical personification of Good. The evil Claggart must avoid being seduced by Billy’s goodness. In a soliloquy over the sleeping Billy’s hammock, Claggart flagellates himself to resist Billy’s charms. Claggart, if he is to remain Evil, has no choice but to destroy Billy . . .

"Cazan’s focus on Good and Evil creates existential questions. Can Evil allow itself to be seduced by Good – can Claggart change his ways because he is attracted to Billy’s humanity – or his body? Can Goodness destroy Evil consciously? Does Goodness need a flaw like an uncontrollable stammer to become the agent that destroys his adversary, Evil, even if the result is that Goodness is destroyed as well?

"Once those existential questions are presented, so many lines of E. M. Forster’s and Eric Crozier’s libretto become extraordinarily absorbing. For example: 1) [Captain] Vere’s questions as to whether he should have defied the King’s Regulations and saved Billy, knowing that it was Billy who persuaded his horrified and likely mutinous shipmates to support their Captain and the death sentence, 2) Claggart’s soliloquy when he struggles with the necessity that he remain dark and Evil even as he becomes attracted to Billy as the personificaiton of Goodness."

For my complete performance review, see: https://operawarhorses.com/2019/07/23/hopkins-norman-and-burdette-in-a-beauty-of-a-billy-budd-central-city-opera-july-21-2019/ .

Photo: Billy Budd (Joshua Hopkins) calmly awaits ex*****on; edited image, based on an Amanda Tipton photograph, courtesy of the Central City Opera.

17/01/2024

A CELEBRATION OF MARILYN HORNE - POST 3

I first saw Marilyn Horne when she was age 26, performing the role of Marzelline in Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the San Francisco Opera, in a cast that included Dutch soprano Gre Brouwenstijn as Leonore, Austrian tenor Fritz Uhl as Florestan and German tenor Paul Schoeffler as Pizarro.

The following is an excerpt from my "historical performances" review for www.operawarhorses.com :

"The San Francisco Opera's General Director [Kurt Herbert Adler] assigned the role of Marzelline, rather than to a light-voiced soubrette as often happens, instead to the larger voiced mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne. This decision always made sense to me. After all, Beethoven wrote less than a half a dozen arias and no principal in the opera has two to sing. Requesting Horne to sing this role (containing one such Beethoven aria 'O wär' ich schon mit dir vereint') to me was a welcome casting decision by Maestro Adler.

'Although the 26 year old Horne had appeared three times the previous season as Marie in Berg's 'Wozzeck' and had one of the smaller roles in Puccini's 'Gianni Schicchi' for a single performance, her role debut in this first 'Fidelio' was only the fifth time she had ever appeared in performance at the War Memorial Opera House.

My entire "historical review" is posted at: https://operawarhorses.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=20893&action=edit .

Photo: Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne performing at the San Francisco Opera at age 26; edited image of a Carolyn Mason Jones photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.

17/01/2024

A CELEBRATION OF MARILYN HORNE - POST 2

BELLINI'S "NORMA" - 1982, SAN FRANCISCO OPERA, JOAN SUTHERLAND (NORMA) AND MARILYN HORNE (ADALGISA)

This post continues the celebration of performances of Bellini's operas that I have personally attended, including an 1982 mounting of Bellini's most admired work at the San Francisco Opera.

I saw Sutherland perform three Bellini roles, all in San Francisco, of Amina in "La Sonnambula" (1963), Elvira in "I Puritani" (1966) and the title role of "Norma" in both 1972 and 1982.

In 1982, Sutherland was joined by Marilyn Horne (who on the day this post is prepared is observing her 90th birthday). In celebration of this event, the page "Opera Warhorses" (two words), which I administer, will launch a series of posts relating to roles which I have seen Horne perform.

These roles will include works of Berg, Puccini, Beethoven and Verdi, in addition to the Rossini operas for which Horne is justly famous.

Photo: Joan Sutherland (left) is Norma and Marilyn Horne (right) is Adalgisa in the 1982 San Francisco Opera production of Bellini's "Norma"; edited image, based on a production photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera Archives.

10/12/2023

A CELEBRATION OF MARILYN HORNE - POST 1

In 1969, Rossini's "La Cenerentola" was French director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's first full production at the San Francisco Opera. The operatic comedy was the Italian composer's version of the Cinderella tale, absent any supernatural aspects, like fairy godmothers and pumpkins that turn into horse-drawn coaches.

The production's original season starred Teresa Berganza in the title role, which, in the production's 1974 revival was performed by Frederica von Stade.

In the production's 1982 production, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne was the Cenerentola, whose co-stars were Francisco Araiza as Prince Ramiro, Sesto Bruscantini as Dandini and Paolo Montarsolo as Don Magnifico. That brilliant cast will be celebrated in this and this Facebook site's three subsequent posts.

Below: Marilyn Horne as Cenerentola in her maidservant uniform in the 1982 San Francisco Opera performances of Rossini's "La Cenerentola"; edited image, based on a production photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera Archives.

03/07/2023

On Saturday night July 1, 2023 I was present at the opening performance of the new David Alden production of Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" with spectacular performances by Nicholas Brownlee as the Dutchman and Elza van den Heever as Senta. I will be reporting on the performance in my review for www.operawarhorses.com .

Six years earlier, director David Alden and van den Heever were teamed for a new production of Handel's "Alcina".

In my review [for www.operawarhorses.com ], I wrote of van den Heever's performance: "Van den Heever’s tonal purity and lustrous legato were evident throughout her performance, interspersed with van den Heever’s magnificent displays of the role’s vocal fireworks (and opportunities to act out Alcina’s sometimes near-hysterical reactions to events.)"

That review is posted at: https://operawarhorses.com/2017/08/03/review-santa-fe-operas-alcina-beautifully-sung-enchantment-july-29-2017/https://operawarhorses.com/2017/08/03/review-santa-fe-operas-alcina-beautifully-sung-enchantment-july-29-2017/ .

My review of the 2023 "Dutchman" is forthcoming.

Photo: the sorceress Alcina (Elza van den Heever) in a moment of reflection; edited image, based on a Ken Howard photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

31/07/2022

Last night (Saturday July 30) the world premiere of "M. Butterfly" took place at the Santa Fe Opera. The opera, by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang, is based on Hwang's play of the same name.

I am scheduled to review the second performance (August 3rd) for www.operawarhorses.com.

Photo: the opera singer Song Lilang (countertenor Jongmin Justin Kim, left) infatuates the French diplomat René Gallimard (baritone Mark Stone, right); edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

26/07/2022

Last Saturday night (July 23) was opening night for Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", the fourth opera of Santa Fe Opera's 2022 summer. The production's principals are Simon O'Neill as Tristan, Tamara Wilson as Isolde, Jamie Barton as Brangaene, Eric Owens as King Marke and Nicholas Brownlee as Kurwenal.

I am scheduled to report on the production's first August performance for www.operawarhorses.com.

Photo: The love potion is fully in effect for Tristan (Simon O'Neill, left) and Isolde (Tamara Wilson, right); edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

24/07/2022

The third of the four operas of the Santa Fe Opera 2022 season that have so far entered the summer rotation is Verdi's "Falstaff". I am scheduled to report on its first August performance for www.operawarhorses.com.

Hawai'ian baritone Quinn Kelsey performs the title role, leading a cast that includes Alexandra LoBianco as Alice and Roland Wood as her husband Ford; Elena Villalón as Nannetta and Eric Ferring as her boyfriend Fenton; Megan Marino as Meg Page and Ann McMahon Quintero as Dame Quickly; and Thomas Cilluffo as Bardolfo, Scott Conner as Pi***la and Brian Frutiger as Dr. Caius.

The production, including its sets and costumes, is the creation of Scottish director Sir David McVicar. Maestro Paul Daniel conducts.

Photo: Falstaff (Quinn Kelsey) has been convinced that if he dresses like the Ghost of Herne the Hunter in Windsor Park late at night that it will further his romantic objectives; edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera..

24/07/2022

Santa Fe Opera's 2022 season now has four of its five operas in rotation, the second of which is Rossini's "Barber of Seville", starring Emily Fons as Rosina, Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva, Joshua Hopkins as Figaro and Kevin Burdette as Doctor Bartolo.

The fifth principal character, Don Basilio, is performed by Nicholas Newton, who sings the July performance and the final August performance, and Ryan Speedo Greene, who sings the remainder of the August performances.

Photo: Masquerading as Don Basilio's apprentice, supposedly replacing Basilio for music lessons of Rosina (Emily Fons, left), the Count Almaviva (Jack Swanson) gains entrance to the house where she is kept a virtual prisoner; edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

22/07/2022

As of this weekend, four of Santa Fe Opera's 2022 five operas will be in rotation. The first of these is Bizet's "Carmen", which opened the season at the beginning of July. Its cast includes Isabel Leonard as Carmen, Sylvia d'Eremo as Micaela and Michael Sumuel as Escamillo, who are scheduled for all July and August performances.

The role of Don Jose is being sung by Matthew White during the month of July, and, beginning August 2 through August 27 by Michael Fabiano. I am scheduled to review the August 2 performance for www.operawarhorses.com.

The new production is by Miriame Clément, whose production of Wagner's "Das Liebesverbot" at the Opera du Rhin in Strasbourg, France, I had reviewed in 2016. See: https://operawarhorses.com/2016/05/23/mariame-clement-mounts-wagners-liebesverbot-opera-du-rhin-strasbourg-may-17-2016/.

Photo: Micaela (Sylvia d'Eremo, right) brings news from home to Don Jose (Matthew White, left); edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

17/07/2022

The Santa Fe Opera's 2022 summer season opened on July 1. The first two nights premiered two of the summer's five scheduled operas - Bizet's "Carmen" and Rossini's "Barber of Seville".

This evening (Saturday, July 16) the third opera of the Santa Fe Opera's 2022 season opens - Sir David McVicar's new production of Verdi's "Falstaff".

I am scheduled to attend the August 3rd performance of "Falstaff", which I will be reviewing for www.operawarhorses.com.

Photo: Upper level, left to right: Bardolfo (Scott Conner), Falstaff (Quinn Kelsey) and Ford (Roland Wood). Lower level, left to right: Nannetta (Elena Villalón), Alice Ford (Alexandra LoBianco), Meg Page (Megan Marino) and Dame Quickly (Ann McMahon Quintero); edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

15/07/2022

This is the third week of the Santa Fe Opera 2022 season. Last night (July 13) Rossini's "Barber of Seville" was performed. Tomorrow night, Bizet's "Carmen" will repeat and then, on Saturday night July 16, a new production of Verdi's "Falstaff", created by Sir David McVicar, will premiere.

I am scheduled to see the performances of "Carmen" on August 2, "Falstaff"on August 3 and "Barber" on August 6. A separate review of each of these operas (and of the other two offerings of the 2022 Santa Fe Opera season - Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" and Ruo's and Hwang's "M. Butterfly") - will be posted on www.operawarhorses.com.

Photo: The Count Almaviva (Jack Swanson, in "Sevilla" sweatshirt) disguised as the student Lindoro) is hoisted on the shoulders of hired musicians who are anxious to be paid; edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera).

06/07/2022

Tonight (Wednesday, July 6) is the second performance of Bizet's "Carmen" at the Santa Fe Opera, starring Isabel Leonard in French director Miriam Clement's conceptualization of the opera.

Photo: Carmen (Isabel Leonard) flirts with the men of the Spanish regiment; edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

03/07/2022

Tonight (July 2) the second evening in the opening weekend of the Santa Fe Opera's 2022 sseason, is the first performance of director Stephen Barlow's new production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville".

The opera stars Joshua Hopkins as Figaro, Emily Fons as Rosina, Jack Swanson as Count Almaviva, Kevin Burdette as Don Bartolo and Ryan (Speedo) Green as Don Basilio.

This is the tenth anniversary (virtually to the day) of Stephen Barlow's Santa Fe Opera opening night new production of Puccini's "Tosca". My review of that performance is posted on www.operawarhorsses.com at:
https://operawarhorses.com/2012/06/30/echalaz-jagde-aceto-open-santa-fe-opera-season-in-wonderfully-sung-tosca-june-29-2012/.

For my interview with the Figaro, Joshua Hopkins, for www.operawarhorses.com, see: https://operawarhorses.com/2018/08/05/rising-stars-interview-with-baritone-joshua-hopkins/.

Photo: Joshua Hopkins as Figaro in the 2022 Stephen Barlow production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville" at the Santa Fe Opera; edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

02/07/2022

Tonight (Friday, July 1) the Santa Fe Opera's 2022 season begins, opening with a new Mariame Clement production of Bizet's "Carmen", starring mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as Carmen and tenor Michael White as Don Jose.

White, a recent graduate of Philadelphia's Academy of the Vocal Arts, replaced tenor Bryan Hymel.

Originally, I was intending to be present for both operas of Santa Fe Opera's opening weekend, including the July 2 "Barber fo Seville" but a confluence of events required postponement of travel. I am now scheduled to review both operas in early August.

Photo: Carmen (Isabel Leonard, right) is delighted to entertain Don Jose (Michael White, left); edited image, based on a Curtis Brown photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

11/06/2022

COUNTDOWN TO SANTA FE OPERA'S 2022 SEASON OPENER: MATTHEW WHITE ASSUMES ROLE OF DON JOSE IN BIZET'S "CARMEN"

Philadlephia's Academy for the Vocal Arts (AVA) has an extraordinary record of training a carefully selected group of North American artists to successfully achieve international careers in opera performance.

The 2022 Santa Fe Opera season, opening with Bizet's "Carmen", had secured one of AVA's most successful 2009 graduates, tenor Michael Fabiano, to perform the role of Don Jose in all of its August, 2022 "Carmen" performances. The company has just announced that a 2019 AVA graduate, tenor Matthew White, has taken on the July Santa Fe Opera "Carmen" performances as Don Jose, replacing the previously announced Bryan Hymel. Both White and Fabiano are scheduled to perform Don Jose to the Carmen of Isabel Leonard.

I am scheduled to review the Matthew White's July 1 opening night performance, as well as Michael Fabiano's first performance of August 2, 2022. Each review will be posted on www. operawarhorses.com.

Photo: Matthew White; edited image of a publicity photograph, from The Dallas Opera.

08/06/2022

COUNTDOWN TO SANTA FE OPERA'S OPENING NIGHT OF ROSSINI'S "BARBER OF SEVILLE" STARRING JACK SWANSON AS COUNT ALMAVIVA

Santa Fe Opera's 2022 Summer season opens with Bizet's "Carmen" on Friday, July 1 and Rossini's "Barber of Seville" on Saturday, July 2. I will be reporting on each of these opening weekend performances in separate reviews for www.operawarhorses.com.

The Almaviva in "Barber" will be Minnesota tenor Jack Swanson, who four years ago was Santa Fe Opera's Lindoro in its revival of the 2005 Edward Hastings/Robert Innes Hopkins Santa Fe Opere production of Rossini's "L'Italiana in Algeri" (that transferred the action to the early 20th century with Isabella becoming an aviatrix flying her plane to Algiers to save her lover, Lindoro)

In my review of that performance, I said of Swanson's performance "The role of Lindoro requires a tenor with comfort in the higher parts of the tenor range, because it is there that he must sing for much of the evening.

"Minnesota lyric tenor Jack Swanson proved to be an eloquent Lindoro. Swanson’s passionately sung opening aria 'Languir per una bella' – followed by its rollicking cabaletta 'Contenta quest’alma' – suggested the emergence of another Rossini tenor of the first rank."

Coincidentally, 'Lindoro', besides being the name Isabella's love interest in "L'Italiana", is also the name that Count Almaviva has assumed in disguising himself as a "impoverished student" to court Rosina in "Barber of Seville".

Photo: Lindoro (Jack Swanson, right) joins his lover Isabella (Daniela Mack) in examining a model of the airplane of which she is the pilot in the 2018 revival of the Hastings/Hopkins Santa Fe Opera production of Rossini's "Barbiere di Siviglia"; edited image, based on a Ken Howard photograph, courtesy of the Santa Fe Opera.

08/06/2022

COUNTDOWN TO SANTA FE OPERA'S OPENING NIGHT OF ROSSINI'S "BARBER OF SEVILLE" STARRING EMILY FONS AS ROSINA

I will be reporting on the two operas being performed during Santa Fe Opera's 2022 season opening weekend for www.operawarhorses.com. I will be posting separate reviews of "Carmen" on July 1 and "Barber of Seville" on July 2.

Photo: Emily Fons (right) as Zerlina in San Diego Opera's 2015 production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" with Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (left) as Don Giovanni; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Diego Opera.

06/06/2022

COUNTDOWN TO SANTA FE OPERA'S OPENING NIGHT OF ROSSINI'S "BARBER OF SEVILLE" STARRING JOSHUA HOPKINS AS FIGARO

On July 2, 2022 the Santa Fe Opera will present a new production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville" with Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins in the title role. I am scheduled to review the opening performance for www.operawarhorses.com.

My interview with Joshua Hopkins is posted at: https://operawarhorses.com/2018/08/05/rising-stars-interview-with-baritone-joshua-hopkins/.

My www.operawarhorses.com reviews of Hopkins' operatic performances include Orpheus in the Los Angeles Opera world premiere of Aucoin's "Eurydice", Harry Bailey in the world premiere of Heggie's "It's a Wonderful Life" at Houston Grand Opera (October 2016) and a revised version of the opera at San Francisco Opera (November 2018).

Other reviews include the title role of Britten's "Billy Budd" at Central City (Colorado) Opera (July 2019), Dr Falke in Johann Strauss' "Die Fledermaus" at Santa Fe Opera (July 2017), Flamand in Richard Strauss' "Capriccio" at Santa Fe OPera (July 2016), Count Almaviva in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro" at Houston Grand Opera (January 2016), and Nardo in Mozart's "La Finta Giardiniera" at Santa Fe Opera (Juy 2015).

My colleague Tom also posted www.operawarhorses.com reviews of Hopkins' performances in Santa Fe Opera's 2010 season - as Sid In Britten's "Albert Herring" and Papageno in Mozart's "Magic Flute" (both August 2010).

Each review referenced above can be accessed by the month of the review utilizing the monthly "Archives" links on the right side of the website's front page.

Photo: Joshua Hopkins as Figaro in the 2018 Francesca Zambello production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville"; edited image, based on a Karli Cadel photograph, courtesy of the Glimmerglass Festival.

06/06/2022

COUNTDOWN TO SANTA FE OPERA'S 2022 SEASON OPENING NIGHT (BIZET'S "CARMEN" STARRING ISABEL LEONARD & BRYAN HYMEL).

I will be attending (and reviewing for www.operawarhorses.com) the Santa Fe Opera's opening weekend of Bizet's "Carmen" and Rossini's "Barber of Seville" at the begining of July, 2022. Then I will be returning the first part of August for an additional four performances.

Photo: Bryan Hymel as Aeneas in Sir David McVicar's San Francisco Opera production of Berlioz' "Les Troyens"; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.

04/06/2022

COUNTDOWN TO SANTA FE OPERA'S 2022 SEASON OPENING NIGHT (BIZET'S "CARMEN" STARRING ISABEL LEONARD).

One month from today, the Santa Fe Opera season opens. I am scheduled to review the opening weekend's two performances - Friday July 1 and Saturday July 2 - Bizet's "Carmen" starring Isabel Leonard as Carmen and Bryan Hymel as Don Jose; and Rossini's "Barbiere di Siviglia".

A month later I am scheduled to return to Santa Fe for a second performance of "Carmen", with Michael Fabiano taking on the role of Don Jose. That first week of August, I will also be revieiwing performances of Verdi's "Falstaff", Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" and Ruo's and Hwang's "M. Butterfly".

I first reviewed an Isabel Leonard performance in 2008 (as Cherubino in Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro") and reviewed her Cherubino again in 2011 at the Opera National de Paris. I also reviewed her Rosina in Rossini's "Barbiere di Siviglia" at San Francisco Opera. Each of these interviews in posted at www.operawarhorses.com.

At Santa Fe Opera I also reviewed Leonard's Costanza in Vivaldi's "Griselda", and Ada Monroe in Higdon's "Cold Mountain".

My interview with Isabel Leonard is posted at https://operawarhorses.com/2013/12/19/rising-stars-an-interview-with-isabel-leonard/.

Photo: Mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, as Rosina in San Francisco Opera's Emilio Sagi production of Rossini's "Barber of Seville"; edited image, based on a Cory Weaver photograph, courtesy of the San Francisco Opera.

01/05/2022

COUNTDOWN TO THE LOS ANGELES OPERA'S FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO PRODUCTION OF VERDI'S "AIDA" POST 2: RUSSELL THOMAS AS RADAMES

Performance dates: May 21, 29 (matinee), June 2, 4 (matinee), 9 and 12, 2022.

Florida tenor Russell Thomas returns to the Los Angeles Opera on May 21 to perform the role of Radames in Verdi's "Aida".

My interview for www.operawarhorses.com with Thomas appears
at https://operawarhorses.com/2018/05/11/rising-stars-an-interview-with-russell-thomas/.

In addition I have reviewed nine of Thomas' opera performances, including three at the Los Angeles Opera under the baton of Maestro James Conlon, with whom Thomas will be reunited for "Aida". These include the role of Pollione in a Los Angeles Opera production of Bellini's "Norma", which appears at https://operawarhorses.com/2015/11/23/review-meade-barton-thomas-robinson-sing-beautifully-in-norma-los-angeles-opera-november-21-2015/.

Photo: Russell Thomas as Pollione in the 2015 Los Angeles Opera production of Bellini's "Norma"; edited image, based on a production photograph, courtesy of the Los Angeles Opera.

27/04/2022

COUNTDOWN TO THE LOS ANGELES OPERA'S FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO PRODUCTION OF VERDI'S "AIDA" POST 1

Performance dates: May 21, 29 (matinee), June 2, 4 (matinee), 9 and 12, 2022.

Beginning May 21, 2022, the Los Angeles Opera will assemble an extraordinary group of artists to perform Verdi's "Aida", led by Texas soprano Latonia Moore. The cast includes Russell Thomas as Radames, Melody Moore as Amneris, George Gagnidze as Amonasro and Morris Robinson as Ramfis. Francesca Zambello directs, Maestro James Conlon conoducts. Over the next month, on this Facebook/Opera Warhorses page, I will feature comments on each of these cast and crew members.

I was fortunate to have seen Latonia Moore perform the role of Aida nine years ago in Zandra Rhodes' production at the San Francisco Opera. My performance review is posted here:
https://operawarhorses.com/2013/04/22/latonia-moore-jill-grove-excel-in-zandras-psychedelic-aida-san-diego-opera-april-20-2013/.

In that review, I made the following comments about Moore's performance:

The headline for this performance review appropriately cites the Aida of Texas soprano Latonia Moore, who showed not only the voice of astonishing power on which her emerging international reputation is based, but also of lyrical beauty.

This is one of the great operatic diva roles, highlighted by three famous arias, all of which mix melodramatic intensity with soft, introspective melodies which, when sung as Verdi intended, float through the opera house. Moore demonstrated to San Diegans why she has claim to the small circle of truly great Aidas.

[Below: Latonia Moore as Aida; edited image, based on a Ken Howard photograph, courtesy of the San Diego Opera.]

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