Giuseppe Verdi's "Il Trovatore"

"Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings."

 - Ed Gardner

Hello my blogosphere friends!

Yes!  Another outstanding Metropolitan Opera Live in HD presentation this past Saturday!  Saturday's opera was Giuseppe Verdi's "Il Trovatore" ("The Troubadour").  Every aspect of the opera was superb and nothing less.  Music, musicians, conductor, sets, story-line, costumes, acting, singers, and supporting cast alike put heart and soul into Saturday's live performance.  Every aspect shined brightly.  Certainly one of my favorite performance of the season, to date.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Count di Luna

I suppose I most like Verdi's compositions. Highly dramatic and my feet and heart stomped all through the presentation.  Favorite scene?  Probably the anvil and orchestra mix.  

Giuseppe Verdi

Of other particular note was the set design.  Instead of creating a multitude of acts requiring intermission to change sets, the entire sets were designed upon a rotating round center stage.  The opera moved beautifully and fluid from one scene to the next.  Only a single intermission for this 3-hour masterpiece.

Sondra Radvanovsky as Leonora and Marcelo Álverez as Manrico

The performers?  Wonderful!  Each of them was fantastic and brought this performance to life.  The case ensemble was a perfect blend of talent and one performer fed off from the other.  Love interest Leonora was played by Sondra Radvanovsky, gypsy mother Azucena by Dolora Zajick, gypsy son & troubadour Manrico by Marcelo Álvarez, can-never-make-happy Count di Luna by Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and loyal captain Ferrando by Štefan Kocán.  You would truly be challenged to find a better ensemble for this opera performance.

Metropolitan Opera's Il Trovatore

The synopsis?  This time I've included the MET's synopsis sheet.  Chucky offers the following synopsis:

• Count di Luna and Manrico have hots for Leonora.
• Leonora loves only Manrico.
• Count di Luna and Manrico are archenemies.
• Mom (Azucena) has it out for Count di Luna.
• Count di Luna has is out for Manrico.
• Lots of passionate love and passionate hate to be shared by all.
• Sword fights, burning at the stake, death, romance, hatred, revenge, surprises, secrets revealed and everything in between supplied from this opera.

Synopsis sheet

Excluding encore presentations, the 2010-2011 MET Live in HD season has but a single performance remaining my friend.  You won't want to miss the last performance, Die Walküre.  Trust Chucky, you won't want to miss this one.  You will see a truly spectacular performance played on a stage and set beyond your imagination.  This is one where opera meets Hollywood movie stage.

Hi-dee hi-dee don't-cry-to-Chucky-when-the-MET-Live-in-HD-season-passes-you-by-ho my friend!