By Márcio Bezerra It was well worth the wait: After 60 seasons, Palm Beach Opera finally staged Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff, in a remarkable production that will remain as one of the highest achievements of the (at times heroic) company’s history. Premiered at La Scala in Milan in 1893, the opera is not as popular as Verdi’s earlier output, not only because it … [Read more...]
Echols a gently winning Violetta in PB Opera’s ‘Traviata’
It’s a commonplace of Verdi scholarship that the composer’s “big three” operas of the early 1850s – Il Trovatore, Rigoletto and La Traviata – were game-changers for him in that they announced a consistent mature style in addition to introducing tunes so catchy they hold their popularity today. All of which is true, but it takes an especially sensitive and musical performance … [Read more...]
‘Rigoletto’ at PB Opera, second cast: Brilliant singing, smart staging
Saturday’s performance of Rigoletto by the Palm Beach Opera was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It reached the realms of the divine on occasion. Verdi’s knack of capturing Victor Hugo’s dramatic essence in music and song of this father-daughter relationship is a mark of his genius. Jay Lesenger’s direction made the action crisp and the story easy to understand. … [Read more...]
‘Rigoletto’ at PB Opera, first cast: Chioldi stuns as jester in effective production
A magnificent central role performance and some marvelous supporting voices made Palm Beach Opera’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto one to admire and remember. Returning to this 1851 mega-hit after an absence of nine years, the troupe’s A-cast mounting was led by baritone Michael Chioldi, who should be close to considering Palm Beach Opera his home company. His … [Read more...]