Don’t be fooled by the Donizetti and Verdi arias references
in our subtitle. Wolfie remains the dearest to our hearts, not the least
because he brought this couple together at a random Manhattan dinner party,
when a discussion started on possible modernizations of Così Fan Tutte… and since then it has been a wonderful New York
operatic love story.
We are Allegri con
Fuoco – for the non-Italian and non-musicians out there: “Fierily Joyful”
or “Quick with Fire” (whether you take it literally in Italian or as the
technical musical tempo). We adore opera as the only form of art that brings
music, theater, poetry and history together, making us laugh, cry and exult,
but also reflect, research and discuss. After many late night walks through the
Upper West Side of Manhattan dissecting that evening’s show, we decided we
might as well keep track of them as we go. And so, this is a forum for our New
York-centric opera talk, although from time to time we also engage in operatic
travel.
You will hear our two voices here. He (“Lui”) brings his literary background to each performance and is
always keen to the narrative, philosophical and historical details in
everything from the libretto and the music to the acting and the staging. She (“Lei”) has a fine-tuned ear for proper
Italian and French articulation and is only satisfied if the singing moves her
emotionally, provoking tangible visceral reactions, like watery eyes, dizzy
exaltation and stomach aching sighs. Both Lui and Lei are increasingly open to
modernizing productions of classical works so long as they remain true to their
original core.
And so, in the words of Susanna:
Se udir brami il resto…
