Puccini: La bohème (Live)
LIVE recording of Michael Fabiano's Rodolfo at the Lyric Opera of Chicago of Puccini’s La Bohème.
LIVE recording of Michael Fabiano's Rodolfo at the Lyric Opera of Chicago of Puccini’s La Bohème.
American star tenor Michael Fabiano presents a spectacular set of scenes taken from late Donizetti and middle Verdi operas, revealing the strong ties between these two composers. The album documents a paradigmatic shift in Italian opera, from the beautiful lines and crispness of belcanto to a richer, more dramatic musical universe. The historical line stretches from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Poliuto and Maria di Rohan to mature Verdi operas such as Rigoletto and Un ballo in maschera. In many cases, Fabiano has selected original, {…}
“The most exciting of all these performers, though, and surely one of the most electrifying singers on the Met’s roster, was tenor Michael Fabiano as the jealous poet Rodolfo. While there is great beauty in his basic timbre, particularly in the middle octave of the voice, his real forte is his ideal mastery of Italianate style. Many other tenors can capture the sweet, sentimental side of this opera, but Fabiano’s aggressive attack reminds us that Puccini’s roots were in verismo, realism. He finds in Rodolfo a core of anger and {…}
From Renée Fleming’s ravishing “Porgi, amor” to the brilliant high Cs of Javier Camarena’s “Pour mon âme!,” Anna Netrebko’s show-stopping “Un bel dì” to Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s heroic surprise appearance singing “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata,” this recording captures the magic of a unique and magnificent night at the opera. The 3 CD set is packaged in an 8 panel soft pack with a 40 page booklet comprised of articles from the Playbill, the gala concert dinner program, timeline, and photos.
"In Act One the finest flexibility seems to belong to Michael Fabiano’s Alfredo, out of his depth at a sophisticated party but determined to bare his soul, his love for the sick woman at the centre, in a context which would seem to forbid it." The Arts Desk
Commissioned to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the October Revolution in 1932, Orango tells the fantastical story of a human-ape hybrid, who, through a combination of sleazy journalism, stock-exchange swindles and blackmail, rises to become a ruthless newspaper baron. Because of its explosive political and musical content, Shostakovich left Orango unfinished. The score remained forgotten until 2004, when a 13 page piano score was found in Moscow. At the request of the composer’s widow, Gerald McBurney orchestrated the Prologue to {…}