I am not a huge fan of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore which has some pretty music but a rather feeble plot, even by bel canto comedy standards. I was enchanted though by the recently released recording of the 2023 Royal Opera House production.
Diasporic Bridges, at Trinity St. Paul’s on Sunday afternoon, was the Amici Chamber Ensemble’s final concert of the season. It celebrated the way that music binds emigrant communities together and provides a link to “home”. Most, though not all, of the pieces performed were by composers of diverse styles and backgrounds living and working in Canada and the live music was preceded by an excerpt from Amici’s upcoming film on the same topic. I’ll save writing about that until I’ve seen the whole thing.
It’s not all that often I feel genuinely moved by an opera on video. It’s so much less immersive than experiencing live. There is the occasional one. Both the Berlin Parsifal and the Aix-en-Provence La traviata come to mind. The recently released La traviata from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is another one. It’s an interesting and effective production with a strong cast centred on the searing Violetta of Nadine Sierra.
operaramblings 