My comfort opera after all these years remains Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, even with its sociologically problematical presentation of Japanese culture.
Quite simply, the singers are not around today who are steeped in the tradition of verismo, or for that matter the later part of the 19th century.
The heroic forces of VAI ride to the rescue once more with a cleaned up release of one of the most coveted (and pirated) live opera telecasts: the NHK Lirica Italiana production of La fanciulla del West, starring the luminescent Antonietta Stella. Â
Tell us: Filth or dementia?
Hasten thee to feed another quarter of conversation for The Talk of the Town!
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