When in Rome
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s only opera for Rome was written to an existing libretto by the great Pietro Metastasio, L’Olimpiade, which had already been set by Vivaldi the year previously.
Jessica Pratt
14 pieces since 2010 — in 8 roles, at 4 companies, most often at Metropolitan Opera.
14
pieces
8
roles
4
companies
17
years
Role Adelaide
Role Amira
Conquering Ciro
By the time Rossini was 20, he had produced six operas, most of them brief, comic and slight. He admitted to admiring Mozart (not then well known south of the Alps), but the melodies of his early works show more of the influence of Paisiello.
Role Desdemona
‘Twas pitiful, ’twas wondrous pitiful
I have to confess to a certain bias: I adore Rossini’s music. Barber was the first album I ever bought, and fittingly, the first opera I ever sang. Rossini was an astonishingly prolific composer, writing more than thirty-five operas, as well as numerous secular and sacred choral works, songs, and chamber music.
Role Elvira
Giglio d’april
April brought I Puritani to Palermo’s centerpiece Teatro Massimo.
Role Fairy Godmother
After midnight
The Met’s Cinderella is a charming adaptation of Massenet’s opera. Frothy, fun, and enchanting, it is a magical holiday treat for the whole family to enjoy.
Every little thing she does is magic
A good time seemed to be had by all though I don’t recall seeing a single child in attendance.
Role Giovanna
Site unseen
Giuseppe Verdi was so unhappy with the first production of his Giovanna d’Arco at La Scala in 1845 that he swore an oath to himself that he would never entrust that theatre with a prima again.
Role Lucia
Madness on the moors!
The new cast at the Met suggested an alliterative retitling of Lucia di Lammermoor was needed—perhaps Lost Loonies in Love or its Italian equivalent?
Trapped in the web of love
Which operatic character could be best described as a spider?
Role Norma
The best thing I saw this year was Pittori fiamminghi
Part of the annual Festival Illica honoring the city’s native son Luigi Illica, the performance offered a precious opportunity to hear a rare score by an even rarer composer in a gorgeous medieval piazza.
Norma demente
Jessica Pratt’s last-minute Norma in Milan might well be the stuff of legend