Wednesday 28 April 2010

2001, a great year with a few sour notes


2001, another travel to Spain but one that caused me some unhappiness. March 2001: I wanted to see Parsifal in Madrid with Plácido Domingo and Agnes Baltsa, and Samson et Dalila with Josep Carreras in Barcelona. It is irrational to hate Madrid, Real Madrid and Teatro Real because I could not get a ticket in Madrid. But there it is. I am irrational... José Cura sang Samson instead of Carreras. Maybe the negative experience just made me not able to enjoy Cura this time as Samson. Maybe I was the one with sour notes... One thing that went right in Madrid was that I could get the Coloquio Parsifal with Agnes Baltsa and Franz Grundheber.

In May something else went wrong and right. Wrong was to see half of Roberto Devereux, which I loved (the opera was great). And then it was 2 rights, concerts with Agnes Baltsa, Friedrichshafen and Vienna. In June a great concert in Hampton Court (UK) with Carreras in great form. In September Tosca in Zürich with Cura, Dessi and Raimondi.

In September Josep Carreras gave two recitals in Norway, Stavanger & Oslo. In October it was L'elisir d'amore with Opera Nordfjord sung in Norwegian, and then Capuleti ed i Montecchi as concert in Oslo.

But the year ends in Vienna with Jacobleiter (boring), Gianni Schicchi (fun) and finally A HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Agnes Baltsa as Isabella in Vienna on November 19th.

From Finland with Love 2002

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

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