Tag: Madama Butterfly

Renata Scotto Remembered Opera Legend Dies at 89

Renata Scotto has died. I saw her at my first opera at the Met, a long, long time ago, as Cio-Cio-San, in a production of “Madama Butterfly” that she directed. In my memory, it was the longest and rowdiest ovation I ever witnessed. I know there have been longer and rowdier, but I wasn’t there for those! The stage was pelted with flowers and confetti and whatever else happened to be at hand, as she curtsied graciously in her kimono, and the applause only intensified. This would have been back in the 1980s.

It was as Butterfly that she made her belated Met debut in 1965. She made her professional debut in 1952 and within months was singing at La Scala. She sang professionally into the new century, as she transitioned increasingly to directing.

She was a giant of the Pavarotti generation and a recurring presence on the “Live from the Met” television broadcasts. For opera lovers, life was good.

Scotto died earlier today. She was 89 years old.

As Mimi

With lucky Luciano

Vintage “Butterfly”

Complete studio recording

The elixir of lovely

Tokyo “Traviata”

When the arts were still on the periphery of the mainstream: on “The Merv Griffin Show” with Ethel Merman, Ann Miller, Lillian Gish, and Myrna Loy!

2-part interview on “Classic Talk”

August 16, 2023
Princeton Festival Streams Free Music & Opera Online

The Princeton Festival is picking up a good head of steam, heading into its first weekend.

The festival’s 2020 public performance season was canceled over valid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. But in its place, as something of a stay-at-home stop-gap, we now have “Virtually Yours,” a free online series of live and recorded performances of instrumental and vocal music, musical theater, opera, and poetry, along with educational presentations, streamed daily throughout the month of June.

Today, enjoy a recital by organist Matt Middleton, performing on the Aeolian-Skinner organ of Princeton University Chapel. The program was original presented in 2013, and includes works by Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Karg-Elert (after Wagner), Rheinberger, and Reubke.

Then tomorrow, stream the first of four Sunday operas from the Princeton Festival archive. Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” will begin at 1 p.m. EDT.

Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” will follow on June 14; John Adams’ “Nixon in China” will be offered on June 21; and Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” will conclude the series on June 28.

These performances will be streamed ONCE, beginning at 1 PM, SHARP, so be there, or be square! Princeton’s opera productions are uniformly fabulous, so do yourself a favor and definitely check them out.

As a bonus, I am very happy to report that the Festival will be streaming Rachmaninoff’s rarely-seen, one-act opera “Francesca da Rimini” on Tuesday, June 23. This is a souvenir of the 2012 festival and was originally presented on a double-bill with Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” Again, it’s very much worth seeing.

Of course, the Princeton Festival isn’t just about opera. The New York jazz and swing band Fleur Seule will lend a touch of elegance to a special Latin-themed concert to be presented next Saturday at 5 p.m.; a live musical theater revue will take place on June 20 at 8 p.m.; and a dozen poets from around the world will share some of their work on June 22.

Don’t forget, several of the events will air exclusively on WWFM – The Classical Network, including concerts of the Princeton Festival Baroque Orchestra and pianist Rachel Cheung 張緯晴. These programs will be broadcast on Fridays at 8 p.m. and can be heard locally at 89.1 FM, or anywhere online at wwfm.org.

All other events stream free from the Princeton Festival website. This week’s past offerings are still available, so you might want to set aside a little time this weekend to binge!

Check out the complete schedule and register for email notifications of upcoming events at princetonfestival.org.

June 6, 2020