The Met returns to Marcus Theatres Sep 2, 2009
The latest season will open with Puccini s "Tosca," a new production conducted by James Levine. The Met will be presenting its fourth season under an agreement with , which digitally transmits live and prerecorded events to theaters through its Fathom division. (Milwaukee Business Journal, WI)
Puccini Opera Manon Lescaut Aug 31, 2009
Manon Lescaut, an Italian lyric tragedy drama by Giacomo Puccini: opera plot summary, character list, and other Puccini opera information. Giacomo Puccini (December 22, 1858 November 29, 1924) composed Manon Lescaut, a four-act Italian lyric drama ... Although it's been suggested by some critics that s version was more favored, Puccini's Manon became an instant success that time. (Suite101.com)
Local firm selected for Puccini/Coppola world premiere Aug 24, 2009
This fall, the company will perform the world premiere of La Coupe et Les Levres (The Cup and the Lips), a transformation by conductor and composer Anton Coppola of Giacomo Puccini s opera Edgar. Company and Altamura Center co-founder Carmela Altamura announced the performance Sunday during a 150th Anniversary Tribute to Giacomo Puccini concert of the composer s arias ... No one living has seen a premiere of a Puccini opera. (Catskill Daily Mail, NY)
Hildegard Behrens, singer famed for Wagnerian roles, 72 Aug 21, 2009
Between her Met debut as Giorgetta in Puccini s Tabarro in 1976 and her appearances as Marie in Berg s Wozzeck in 1999, she sang 171 performances with the company, including Leonore in Beethoven s Fidelio, Elettra in Mozart s Idomeneo, and the title roles in Strauss s Salome and Elektra. She sang the title role in Puccini s Tosca opposite Placido Domingo in the premiere of the popular Franco Zeffirelli staging introduced in 1985, a production later broadcast on public television. (Boston Globe)
No comments posted. Aug 20, 2009
The Puccini anniversary: Everyone's favorites ... Published: Thursday, August 20, 2009 2:19 AM EDT ROUND TOP Could there be a better way to honor Giacomo Puccini than to perform his popular Gianni Schicchi ... On Sunday, August 23 at 2 p.m., the Altamura Center in Round Top will present a 150th Anniversary Tribute to Giacomo Puccini, the second of the 2009 Cappuccino Series concerts. (Catskill Daily Mail, NY)
B'WAY COMPOSER TAKES OPERA TURN Aug 6, 2009
Mozart, Puccini, Verdi all had tunes. " OK. Never having hummed Turandot's "Nessun Dorma," I wouldn't know. "And defined voice ranges -- tenor, mezzo, bass. (New York Post -- Gossip)
Opera served a la carte at the Chatham House Aug 1, 2009
Diners will savor the songs of Puccini, Verdi, Mozart and Gershwin sung by the five-member group Opera a la Carte, while enjoying an award-winning meal at one of the top 10 restaurants in the Hudson Valley ... Dahlin got his idea for Opera a la Carte from a restaurant in Seattle where the owners and singers provided guests with the soaring sounds of Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Delibes and Gershwin. (Hudson Register Star, NY)
When doomed passion snuffs out zest for life Jul 18, 2009
However, Puccini didn't see it this way ... It is interesting to hear Teddy Tahu-Rhodes as Lescaut since his singing is usually marked by a solid edge and strong-jawed emphasis to the lines rather than that expressively descending curve that is at the heart of Puccini's melody ... In the market scene of act one the gambling and debauchery take place on top of the stage coaches, and the stage business lacks the flow of Puccini's music. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp return to ‘Rent’ Jul 12, 2009
For the uninitiated, Rent - a rock musical loosely based on Puccini s opera La Boheme - follows a group of impoverished artists and musicians squatting on Manhattan s Lower East Side and struggling to create and survive under the specter of AIDS. The show was an instant success with bittersweet beginnings: The musical s writer and composer, Jonathan Larson, died of an aortic aneurysm just hours before the show s off-Broadway premiere in 1996. The Broadway production closed last September after... (Boston Globe)
Dramatic opening Jul 9, 2009
Listening to one of the early orchestral rehearsals it is clear Prima Donna aspires to the melodic energy and the elegance of a Verdi or a Puccini. Though there has always been a theatricality to Wainwright's work, the lushness of the sound may surprise fans of his rockier stuff. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
* [CLASSICAL DVD REVIEW] Jul 1, 2009
Puccini demonstrated again and again (in Tosca and Turandot, say) that terror and death can co-exist with emotionally engaging music. Human beings the world over need and respond to this, and Puccini knew it, as did Verdi, Wagner and even Shostakovich. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
Music May Have A Future Role In Heart And Stroke Patient Rehabilitation Jul 1, 2009
Five random tracks of classical music were played including selections from Beethoven s Ninth Symphony; an aria from Puccini s Turandot; a Bach cantata (BMW 169); Va Pensiero from Nabucco; Libiam Nei Lieti Calici from La Traviata as well as two minutes of silence. Researchers found. (Science Daily)
The Birth, and Death, of the Asian Babe Jun 30, 2009
The story of American penetration of the East was first capturedand storedby Puccini in his opera. The story is stark. (Slate)
Island History for Friday, June 26, 2009 Jun 27, 2009
Both of her local programs featured a number of Japanese folk songs and the Aria from the great Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini s Madame Butterfly. When she first met Puccini (1858-1924) at Rome in 1921, he brought her into his study and said, It was on that piano, it was in this room that I composed Madame Butterfly, and now I have a real butterfly to sing the role ... Her statue, and Puccini s, stands in Nagasaki s Glover Garden. (Lihue Garden Island, HA)
Heart Beat: Music May Help Keep Your Cardiovascular System in Tune Jun 25, 2009
While participants listened to five random selections of Beethoven, Bach, Puccini and other classical artists as well as a two-minute segment of silence, monitors recorded physiological signals. The researchers found that selections with crescendos, especially those with a series of them (think: ), led to proportional constriction of blood vessels and increases in blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. (Scientific American)
Music Can Make the Heart Beat Faster Jun 24, 2009
The Pavia researchers played classical music, including selections from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a Bach cantata, and arias from operas by Puccini and Verdi. They also measured the effects on the cardiovascular systems of two dozen volunteers in their mid-20s, half of whom were trained singers, who listened through headphones. (MEDLINEplus)
Chorus pro Musica closes season in grand, albeit scaled-down, style Jun 3, 2009
Putting the grandeur of "Turandot" into Jordan Hall is somewhat like putting a rock band into a phone booth, but Puccini's swan song is an opera to be happily overwhelmed by, and the group delivered in formidable fashion ... Puccini's protagonists verge on forces of nature; both respective soloists embraced that larger-than-life aspect. (Boston Globe)
Be authoritative,says 'Opera Girl' May 19, 2009
She tried to listen to Puccini while folding laundry and almost decided her character was a pianist after all. But "I learned how to sit still and listen to a piece of music. Church is the very best place for my mind to wander insanely. If I don't have an idea for a novel, just go to church. Ideas come flooding out of me because I know I'm supposed to be listening, and if I know I'm supposed to be listening, I can't listen. (The book) 'Opera 101' really changed my relationship. I learn as I go... (Dowagiac News, MI)
What Bach and Beethoven have to say to Bjork May 18, 2009
For many people, contact with classical music extends to an Ode To Joy ringtone or a BMW commercial set to Puccini. That's no problem for the music critic Alex Ross, who sees them as just more opportunities to appreciate the music. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Chorus to perform Messe Solennelle de Ste. Cecile May 15, 2009
He has appeared as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor in his San Diego Opera debut under the baton of Richard Bonynge, Samson et Dalila, and will appear in their upcoming production of Puccini s Manon Lescaut. Kurt Loft Willett, baritone, has been a featured soloist in opera, symphonic and oratorio literature with the Alabama, Buffalo, Charleston, Charlotte, Delaware, Greenville, Lincoln, Monterey, Nashville, South Bend, Springfield and Virginia symphonies. (Westerly Sun, RI)
* SUNDAY PROFILE: Not quite the final curtain May 10, 2009
I didnt believe in specialized singers X This is a Verdi tenor, this is a Puccini soprano; I believe in singing well or singing bad, and if you sing well La Boheme and Tosca and Carmen, for sure you have to try the Neapolitan songs, because its another way to express yourself. . (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Melrose Council on Aging Events May 9, 2009
Painting with Puccini Melrose award-winning artist Tom Sutherland will present Painting with Puccini to Melrose seniors Wednesday, June 10 at 1 p.m. at the Milano Senior Center ... His motivational speech culminates in a 20-minute painting demonstration choreographed to the music of Giacomo Puccini (Belgium, 1858-1924). (Melrose Free Press, MA)
Susan Boyle and Paul Potts May 7, 2009
Britain's Got Talent's Most Unusual and Famous Celebrities. Paul Potts became the first winner of ITV's Britain's Got Talent and Susan Boyle is a current contestant of the show - both have instantly shot to fame. (Suite101.com)
Bohemian, no rhapsody on stage of Beijing May 7, 2009
Seamstress Mimi (played by Yao Hong) and poet Rudolph (Warren Mok) fall in love at first sight in the new production of Puccini's La Boheme ... Turandot is an obvious choice as it is supposedly set in ancient China but director Chen Xinyi, the reigning queen of "re-imagining" opera settings, has displayed a masterful touch for either superfluity or obtuseness when staging the Puccini classic ... It's so suffused with product placements that Puccini might have regretted not inserting all the... (Xinhuanet, China)
The people's tenor sings again May 5, 2009
A world tour in 2008 took the unassuming Puccini singer to more than 100 performances, including seven dates in Canada and a gala benefit concert in front of the Queen in London. Paul Potts begins a five-date Canadian tour on June 25 in Vancouver. (Globe and Mail)
Opera and oratorio highlight weekend's events Apr 18, 2009
You know you are living the good life when in one weekend, without boarding a train or a plane, you can enjoy two illustrious musical dramas: Giacomo Puccini's 1904 tragic opera, "Madama Butterfly," and Johann Sebastian Bach's stirring 1724 oratorio "The St. John Passion.". So it is this week, as Boheme Opera mounts Puccini's moving tale of Cio-Cio-San and her misplaced love for an American officer in turn-of-the-century Japan tonight and Sunday afternoon at Trenton War Memorial's Patriot's... (NJ.com -- Times)
ACDC blazes into funeral charts Apr 17, 2009
For classical music fans, Schubert's Ave Maria, Puccini's Nessun Dorma and Bach's Air On A G String are among the most chosen pieces to comfort their loved ones as they pay final farewells ... Nessun Dorma - Puccini. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Top funeral songs Apr 17, 2009
For classical music fans, Schubert's 'Ave Maria', Puccini's 'Nessun Dorma' and Bach's 'Air On A G String' are among the most chosen pieces to comfort their loved ones as they pay final farewells ... Nessun Dorma' - Puccini 5. (iAfrica.com)
Voice Recital at UMHB Apr 15, 2009
The recital is free and open to the public and will feature songs and arias by Bellini, Chaminade, Dvok, Hndel, Lekberg, Puccini, Schubert, and Rossini. Mrs. Atwood is a 1976 graduate of Skyview High School in Smithfield, UT. She is the recipient of an Associates Degree in Arts ces from Brigham Young University/Idaho. (KWTX.com, TX)
Chinese designer adds fashion chic to Tosca Apr 8, 2009
8 -- A modern Chinese remake of "Tosca", a master piece of operatic realism by the great Italian composer Puccini will meet audiences within the week ... Based on Victorien Sardou's drama, La Tosca, Puccini tells a mournful and touching tragic story of the famous opera actress Tosca in this three-act play. (Xinhuanet, China)
ACLU takes walk-on role in 'Rent' flap Mar 29, 2009
The story of "Rent" is based on the classic Puccini opera "La Boheme," with the setting moved from the arts scene of 19th-century Paris to the gay-heavy world of 1980s New York, and with AIDS substituting for tuberculosis. At that point, Mr. Martin said, the principal told him she was pulling the plug on the play. (Insight on the News)
Russians edge out rising Americans Mar 28, 2009
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto of the United States, the 2006 Olympic silver medalists, gave an impassioned performance to "Tosca" by Puccini, but still had some emotions left when they were done. Before their performance was judged second-best, Belbin fell to one knee at the center of the ice to give Agosto a hug. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
Green Valley briefs Mar 27, 2009
Published: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 9:46 PM MDT Puccini s Tosca preview ... Arizona Opera s 2008-09 season concludes with Giacomo Puccini s Tosca on April 4 at 7:30 p.m. and April 5 at 2 p.m. at Tucson music Hall, Tucson ... Iris Arnesen will lecture on the story, the music and Puccini s life. (Green Valley News & Sun, AZ)
* US group honors orchestra from Nazi concentration camp Mar 27, 2009
During the 18 months the Birkenau orchestra existed, its musicians played pieces the German officers loved X Beethoven symphonies, Puccini arias, Chopin and Strauss waltzes. The women also had to play marches for emaciated, often sick prisoners as they struggled to walk to their forced labor jobs. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
Ballet's co-director comes out of retirement to dance in 'Carmen' Mar 21, 2009
Other ballets, all choreographed by Galvez, in "Gala Romantica" include: "From the Garden," set to music of Puccini and Sartori; "Sentimental," set to music by David Foster and Alberto Testa; "Poem," set to music by Jules Massenet; "Thais Meditation," set to the opera by Massenet; and "Time Out of Memory," set to music by Frank Gutierrez Jr., the son of Montero and Galvez. The role of Carmen and Don Jose will be danced by Orlando Ballet principal dancers Zoica Tovar and Andres Estevez, who also... (Florida Today)
Cruise industry execs optimistic, despite economy Mar 19, 2009
He played a 90-second video featuring sweeping shots of giant cruise ships replete with lush buffets and strobe-lit discos set to the music of opera star Luciano Pavarotti belting out Puccini s Nessun Dorma. There s a special part of our industry that s very artful and very beautiful, Sasso noted. (Puget Sound Business Journal, WA)
* Labors journey from job to work to little rows of noughts Mar 19, 2009
In Il tabarro, Puccini wrote an aria for an aching stevedore who spends his day loading sacks onto a barge in the Seine. The tenors complaint about this back-breaking labor ends with a resonant high note. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Stars Sing The Met's Praises At Gala Mar 17, 2009
Shaky in an aria from Puccini's "La fanciulla del West," the tenor later soared in scenes from "Parsifal" and "Otello." He even offered a preview of his next role for the Met - the baritone lead in Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra," in a duet with warm-voiced soprano Angela Gheorghiu ... Joseph Calleja and Alexandrs Antonenko scored with Puccini arias and Juan Diego Fl. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Plácido Domingo: Singing every day as if it were the last Mar 17, 2009
Vocal purists might argue that by endowment Mr. Domingo was an ideal Verdi and Puccini tenor. His Wagner singing was a triumph of vocal accommodation. (International Herald Tribune)
Celebrate 125 Years of Metropolitan Opera History with Historic Broadcast on SIRIUS XM'S Metropolitan Opera Radio Channel Mar 14, 2009
Highlights from the gala performance will include four excerpts from Faust, the opera that opened the Met on October 22, 1883; an aria from Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, which had its world premiere at the Met in 1910; the finales of both Das Rheingold and Siegfried, in homage to the first Ring cycle given in America at the Met in 1889; and three tenor arias from Puccini operas saluting the productions of Franco Zeffirelli. Margaret Juntwait will serve as host, joined by commentator William... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Sarah Brightman: A journey TOLD IN song Mar 14, 2009
She is well known for singing opera arias composed by the likes of Puccini, pop songs by artists such as Kansas or Dido, and tunes where she mixes her pop and classical voices such as "Anytime, Anywhere". Some of her most famous renditions include "Time to Say Goodbye", "Hijo de la Luna", "A Question of Honour" and, of course, "The Phantom of the Opera". (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Czech Fairy Tale Has Just The Right Tenor Mar 11, 2009
Stunning in a Czech work like "Rusalka," this Latvian artist should also sound thrilling in more familiar operas by Puccini, Verdi and Wagner. "Rusalka" is a variation on the "Little Mermaid" legend. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Curtain Time (2) Mar 8, 2009
Puccini s La Boheme (one of the most popular operas of all time and the basis of the Broadway hit Rent ) will be presented by the College of the Desert Performing Arts program for one weekend only. Curtain time: 8 p.m. Fri. (Desert Entertainer, CA)
Weezer Pinkerton: Album Review Mar 7, 2009
The album is loosely based on Puccini s opera Madame Butterfly. The name of the album is derived from the protagonist of the opera. (Suite101.com)
The last concert: George Darden to perform benefit March 29 Mar 5, 2009
Prior to his work with the Met, Darden was associated with the Houston Grand Opera, Texas Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, New Orleans Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Company of Boston, Augusta Opera, Baltimore Opera, Nevada Opera Company and in Spain at Valencia's Puccini Festival. He has been featured on a number of recordings as well as on radio and television programs around the world. (Orangeburg Times and Democrat, SC)
Three Redneck Tenors: ‘Pavarotti with a mullet’ Feb 22, 2009
They are the Three Redneck Tenors, and music lovers around the world say Puccini must be rolling in his grave - likely from laughter ... "Join Billy Bob, Billy Joe and Billy Billee as they mix NASCAR with Beethoven, lite beer with Puccini and even kick up a little dust with Ave Maria Dixie," the group's Web site heralds. (Yuma Daily Sun, AZ)
City Beat (17) Feb 22, 2009
Followed each night by Puccini s Suor Angelica. Tickets, 216-791-5000, ext. (Cleveland Jewish News, OH)
Institute fosters lifelong education Feb 20, 2009
So far, he has taught diverse subjects within the opera field, such as comic, French and Puccini. There s enough diversity and enough subjects within the opera field; they could go on for a long time, Cancro said. (The Daily Targum, NJ)
From a vault in Paris: The sound of opera in 1907 Feb 17, 2009
Wouldn't any opera season today also offer evergreens by Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini as well as by Bizet, Gounod, Wagner and Mozart ... The great tenor Enrico Caruso can be heard in three excerpts from Verdi and one from Donizetti and Puccini each, while the Australian soprano Nellie Melba sings a solo from "Rigoletto" and Cherubino's "Voi che sapete" from "Le Nozze di Figaro.". (International Herald Tribune)
Canadians come out strong at Berlinale Feb 14, 2009
Snow's Puccini Conservato, a 10-minute handheld study of loudspeakers playing music from La Boh. me, opened the program, followed by two other Puccini-inspired short films by two other directors. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Jerry takes his place in the new-style chorus Feb 13, 2009
"Puccini always said he was writing about great griefs in small souls," Maunder says. "We may know the histories of these people, but we have no idea what they were feeling. The addition of music to their stories can give us some sort of insight into where they were coming from.". (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Quartet performs Valentine's Day concert at Central Feb 10, 2009
The program includes audience favorites such as Mozart s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Puccini s O mio babbino caro and Pachelbel s enduring Canon in D. advertisement For the classical music aficionado, the quartet will perform selections from string quartets by Mendelssohn, Dvorak and Brahms, according to a press release. More popular tastes will be treated to a passionate tango by Piazolla and an arrangement of the jazz standard Stolen Moments. (Ellensburg Daily Record, WA)
Alex Ross: The affordable art of concertgoing. Feb 8, 2009
e Fleming and Thomas Hampson, and Puccini s La Rondine, with Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna. For Tha. (New Yorker)
Griffin: La Rondine swoops in on the wings of high def Feb 8, 2009
Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, in high definition, seemed to relish playing in Puccini s opera La Rondine ... It usually has been regarded as one of Puccini s minor works. (Cambridge Chronicle, MA)
First-rate day trips for business travelers Feb 7, 2009
When visiting Dubai on business, besure to linger in the old town and the old port, says restaurant designer Bob Puccini ... Bob Puccini, a San Francisco-based restaurant designer who works on projects around the world, always makes time to get to know the street culture of the places he's visiting ... Puccini may have a bit more of a taste for that sort of thing than others, since he served in the Peace Corps in Brazil in the late '60s. (MSNBC -- Travel)
