Tag Archives: Verdi

Byron writes himself the lead role in Verdi’s Il corsaro in Valencia

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: Il corsaro *** Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, 28th March 2018 By the time it premiered in Trieste in 1848, Giuseppe Verdi had rather fallen out of love with Il corsaro, his piratical opera based on Byron’s poem. Indeed, he … Continue reading →

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Darkness and grandeur in Christophe Honoré’s staging of Don Carlos for Opéra de Lyon

Posted on March 18, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: Don Carlos **** Opéra de Lyon, 17th March 2018 Verdi was obliged to cut music from Don Carlos so the Paris première finished before midnight, allowing the public time to catch the last trains home. Why didn’t he simply request an … Continue reading →

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Macbeth, Thane of Wall Street: Lyon’s Verdi Festival launches with “the Scottish opera”

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: Macbeth *** Opéra de Lyon, 16th March 2018 Forget 11th-century Scotland. Ivo van Hove views Macbeth as an exploration of what people will do for power. With the world of finance dominating politics today, he sets Verdi’s opera in a Wall Street skyscraper … Continue reading →

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Murder on the dance floor: an underwhelming Masked Ball from Opera North

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: Un ballo in maschera ** Opera North, Leeds Grand Theatre, 3rd February 2018 If you had received an invitation to a masked ball at which there turned out to be no masks and no dancing, it’s understandable you’d feel … Continue reading →

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Wheel of Fortune: Preziosilla spins Pountney’s Force of Destiny

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Mark Pullinger

Verdi: La forza del destino **** Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, 2nd February 2018 When the entire plot is triggered by a freak accident, you can’t blame director David Pountney for making Fate itself the opera’s key character. The first scene of Verdi’s La … Continue reading →

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