Here, I post my reviews and document my love of opera. I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to comment on any of my posts or contact me if you wish to.
Have a nice stay!
David Buchler
There are tens of thousands of well-meaning operatic compositions that lay in the waste of time. It is extremely difficult to find the template required for a new work that does more than just have its ‘premiere’.
This was the main operatic success of the composer, Francesco Cilea. He has given us wonderful orchestration and at times a rather long drawn out melody, but it is not a score of gripping intensity or passion, despite the story of the celebrated Parisian actress who’s love for the handsome Count is met by a rival who eventually kills her with poison.
An old friend is back. To see Jonathan Miller’s Rigoletto return to the stage was a great comfort. It has been intelligently revived by Elaine Tyler-Hall and the sets (particularly the art deco at the beginning of Act I and in Act II) as well as the bar scene in Act III are clear, precise and still very relevant today.
