OPERA STUDIES 2012: THE AGE OF BEL CANTO
Opera Studies programs are offered through a unique partnership between the Host, Vero Beach Museum of Art, and the Presenter, Vero Beach Opera. Presented in the Vero Beach Museum of Art Leonhardt Auditorium from 1 PM to 4:30 PM on dates shown.
Tuition for Museum of Art and Vero Beach Opera members is $40.00 for the series. Non-member charge is $50.00 for the series.
To Register: Call 772-231-0707 ext. 116 or click here
Vero Beach Opera Studies Chair, Wayne Kleinstiver, has chosen operas of the Bel Canto era (1810-1845) for the 2012 Opera Studies season. Following a lecture on March 1 about the Bel Canto period, four historic, live Bel Canto opera performances will be presented, featuring bel canto stars Joan Sutherland, Fiorenza Cossoto, Marilyn Horne, June Anderson, Alfredo Kraus, Juan Diego Florez, Samuel Ramey, Ruggero Raimondi, Sesto Bruscantini, and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo on the stages of the Met Opera, Covent Garden, Tokyo and Bologna. Bel Canto = beautiful singing!! (English subtitles for all performances).
The age of Bel Canto opera (1805-1845) is represented primarily by the works of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. Bel Canto - (literally meaning “well sung”) - era operas produced some of the most beautiful and memorable music ever written. It was an era when opera reached the height of its popularity. It saw the rise to supremacy of the prima donna and coloratura singing of extreme virtuosity, and the simultaneous decline to the point of extinction of the castrati who had held sway during the previous century. The operas during this period were written for specific singer’s voices, and they were some of the most famous singers in the history of opera. During this era, orchestras became larger; choruses larger; “mad scenes” became fashionable; lead roles were introduced for the mezzo- soprano who replaced the castrati in male roles (trouser roles); and roles for basses pushed them to the top of their voices, resulting in the rise of the baritone voice, for which Verdi later created many roles.
March 1 • Lucrezia Borgia by Donizetti
Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia was first performed at La Scala in 1833. It is based on a play by Victor Hugo about an event in the life of Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), who was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, who later became Pope Alexander the VI. In 1498 Lucrezia, while at the convent of San Sisto, gave birth, in secrecy, to a son; the alleged father was one of the Pope’s servants. The opera tells the story of Lucrezia’s discovery of this son, Gennero, while attending a party, followed by her attempts to save him from execution ordered (“sword or poison”) by her 3rd husband, Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, for having insulted the name of Borgia in public. Dame Joan Sutherland and tenor Alfredo Kraus star in this tale of 16th century opulence and decadence. Joan Sutherland is arguably the unsurpassed Lucrezia of all-time, and this 1980 production at Covent Garden showcases her incomparable coloratura technique. Mezzo-soprano Anne Howells, and bass Stafford Dean, as Lucrezia’s third husband, Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, round-out the cast. Verdi drew ideas from this opera when composing Rigoletto, which is also based on a play by Victor Hugo.
March 8 • Semiramide by Rossini
Semiramide, by Rossini, is based on Voltaire’s Semiramis, a tragedy based on the legend of Semiramis of Babylon (circa 1200 b.c.). It was first performed in 1823 in Venice and was Rossini’s last opera for the Italian stage. The title role was written for Rossini’s wife Isabella Colbran. This 1990 Met Opera performance brings together what many consider the definitive contemporary cast, led by Marilyn Horne and June Anderson. Semiramide, a strong and melodious work, is one of Rossini's greatest dramatic operas, offering a fine challenge to the superb bel canto singing of Ms. Horne, Ms. Anderson, tenor Sanford Olsen, and bass Samuel Ramey’s mad scene performance in this opera launched him into stardom.
March 22 • La Favorita • by Donizetti
La Favorita is considered by many to be Donizetti’s greatest opera, and arguably his most “Verdian” in music-dramatic style. It premiered in Paris in 1840. Set in 14th Century Spain, the story is about a love triangle involving the King of Castile Alfonso XI, his mistress ('the favorite') Leonora, and her lover, Fernando, against the background of the Moorish invasions of Spain and power struggles between church and state. This 1971 performance features the great mezzo Fiorenza Cossoto, as Leonora (her signature role), tenor Alfredo Kraus, Fernando, bass Sesto Bruscantini as King Alfonso, and bass Ruggero Raimondi (age 29) as Father Superior Baldassarre.
March 29 • I Puritani • by Bellini
Bellini’s last opera premiered in Paris in 1835. It was written for the four greatest singers at the time – Grisi, Rubini, Tamburini and LaBlanche. Time is 1640, during England's Civil War between the Roundheads (the Parliamentarians, or Puritans of the title) and the Cavaliers (Royalists). A love triangle between Arturo (a Puritan), Riccardo (a Royalist) and the beautiful Elvira results in a drama of escapes, disguises and captures, during which Elvira loses her reason (mad scene), before a final pardon restores her senses and unites her with her beloved Arturo. Tenor superstar Juan Diego Flórez shows no strain singing this notoriously difficult lead tenor role. He is partnered by new young Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze. Joining them in a striking new staging by Pier'Alli in this 2009 production at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna is celebrated bass baritone Ildebrando D'Arcangelo.
