Last Capuleti…
Hi there, I had a nice week. On Thursday evening we had our first run through of Onegin. It was not bad for being the first time. I also had the last performance of our production of Capuleti (Bellini). It went really well, the audience was so alive and really supportive. Here in Wuerzburg our audience is really special, and lets put it this way, they are shy, but yesterday was like if it was a premier. It was overall a very nice last show and I am glad it went the way it did. Singing Tebaldo has been nice but I am glad now is over and I can focus mostly on Lensky.
I looked through the music score with some recordings in hand, of the two main roles I am doing next season, which are Titio (Clemenza di Tito, Mozart) and Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti). It will be a big challenge to do these two roles. Both are very demanding in different aspects. Both belong to two different styles and periods. But deffinitely, I may say that Edgardo is from the two, the biggest challenge for me. I do love singing Donizetti so Edgardo will be really, really special for me. With Mozart is different, I do have a relationship with this composer because through the years I have being doing Mozart operas which include, Cosi fan tutte, Magic flute, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Don Giovanni (as Ottavio cover in Stuttgart, back when I was a member of the Opernstudio) and some concert arias, which are also very challenging. However, I hope that I will get to sing more Mozart in Italian, that is why Tito is a very nice role to sing now, because the opera is in Italian and it is the last work of Mozart before he died. Magic flute and Tito where his last two operas if I am not mistaken.
One of my favorite roles to sing is Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, which I sang at the Verbier Festival under the Baton of Jesus Lopez Cobos and later I sang it at Theater Freiburg. Although, I only have done one role by this composer I am really looking forward to sing my second role. Edgardo will be as I mentioned, challenging. I feel very lucky to be able to learn and prepare this role in the best way I can.
Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the cinema to watch a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera in NY of Lucia di Lammermoor with Nadine Sierra, Javier Camarena and Artur Ruciński. I can only say it was incredible, Nadine was superb and Javier was as well great and Artur was equally great. The whole performance was so powerful and I saw for the first time such a human and strong Lucia. I really recommend you to see this production. All the characters were really real and convincing. The staging was great and the fact they had most of the time a camera following Nadine was beautifully done. Please watch this production, this is far the best production I have seen of Lucia. I was so moved in several times that brought me to tears specially at the end of the whole mad scene. During the applause I also felt really moved to see how the people supported Mr. Camarena. It is so powerful and inspirational to see another Mexican triumphing at the Met. Bravo Javier Camarena.
I countinue reading Seneca's letters. I find them really satisfying and they are full of such reach ideas and beliefs. Every day to read few letters, really brings me to a very relax state somehow. I hope you can read some of them if not all of them... also, I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed reading the Mediations by Marcus Aurelius, if you can, read them.
I wish you a great week ahead of you. Until next time.
