Living at the Opera

By ?James L. Zychowicz
Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard – Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews
Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Donato Renzetti(conductor) Lyric Opera Center, Chicago 16.2.2008 (JLZ)
Production:
Director: John Copley?Set Design: John Conklin?Costumes: Michael Stennett?Lighting: Duane Schuler?Chorus Master: Donald Nally
Cast:
Figaro: Nathan Gunn?Rosina: Joyce DiDonato?Count Almaviva: John Osborn?Dr. Bartolo: [...]

Now that the Rossini revival has passed the quarter century mark, it seems fitting for the opera world to take a look at performances before the advent of critical perusal of Rossini’s operas. One such look leads us to his Mosè recorded for RAI in Rome on June 27th, 1956. This is the Italian version [...]

Gioachino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Mose in Egitto – azione tragico-sacra in three acts (1819 version) Mose – Lorenzo Regazzo (bass) Elcia – Akie Amou (soprano) Faraone – Wojtek Gierlach (bass) Osiride – Filippo Adami (tenor) Amaltea – Rossella Bevacqua (soprano) Aronne – Giorgio Trucco (tenor) Amenofi Karen Bandelow (mezzo-soprano) Mambre – Giuseppe Fedeli (tenor)
Württemberg Philharmonic Orchestra [...]

By James L Zychowicz
Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard – Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews
Sir Andrew Davis (conductor), Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago 1.2.2008 (JLZ)
Production:
Stage Director: Olivier Tambosi
Set and Costume Designer: Frank Philipp Schlössmann
Lighting Designer: Christine Binder
Stage Band Conductor: Craig Terry
Chorus Master: Donald Nally
Stage Manager: John W. Coleman
Cast :
Dr. Caius: David [...]

There are two live recordings of the opera with Renata Scotto, one from Palermo in 1968 and the other, much preferred here, from Venice in 1970. One finds Scotto on firmer vocal ground in the latter hitting most of the High Cs and Ds head on that are scattered throughout the score. This vocal security [...]