Juan Bautista Massa News
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2024-04-25
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2023-12-18 19:35:00
Ascanio in Alba, Oper Frankfurt, 17 December 2023
[…] thus, quite properly, his and his librettist Giuseppe Parini’s response to it. The second of his three operas for Milan, Ascanio was the second of two operas commissioned for – wait for it… the 1771 marriage of Archduke Ferdinand Charles, Governor of the Duchy of Milan and a younger son of the Habsburg monarch, Maria Theresa, to Maria Beatrice, daughter of Ercole III d’Este, Duke of Modena, and his estranged wife, Maria Teresa, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara in her own right. Various treaties and agreements were made concerning inheritance, which I shall not detail now, but this was, even by ancien regime standards, a complicated dynastic match, not even originally intended for Ferdinand, but rather for one of his elder brothers, (Peter) Leopold, passing down the line of succession when the latter went instead to Florence in 1765, succeeding his father, Francis Stephen, as Grand Duke of […]
2023-11-17 19:46:00
First comes the Overture to Il Ruggiero, Johann Adolph Hasse’s – and Pietro Metastasio’s – final work from Orlando furioso. Originally commanded by Maria Theresa for the marriage of Maria Antonia/Marie Antoinette and the French Dauphin, the work's libretto was not completed in time, so it served instead for the 1771 marriage of the Empress's son Archduke Ferdinand Charles, Governor of the Duchy of Milan, to Maria Beatrice, daughter of Ercole (Hercules) III d’Este, Duke of Modena, and his estranged wife, Maria Teresa, Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara in her own right. As heiress to four further Italian territories, Maria Beatrice offered an advantageous match for the Habsburgs, and had originally been intended for one of Ferdinand's elder brothers, Archduke Peter Leopold (now Duke of Tuscany and later Emperor Leopold II). Ferdinand and Maria Beatrice had been engaged since childhood, the treaty thereby concluded recognising Ferdinand as Ercole's heir. […]
2021-07-11 07:32:29
Dr Bluebeard will see you now: Gothic Opera remakes Bartok's opera and sets it in an Edwardian sanatorium
[…] Bluebeard as a character even though deprived of the essence of Bartok and Balázs' drama. As I have said, Carmine de Amicis was mesmerising as The Patient. Once you accepted the premise of the drama presented, then his incarnations of each of the doors as one of The Patient's fantasies gave us a striking visual interpretation of Bartok's music (and the way he bled after each episode showcased some striking make-up effects courtesy of Ian Massa-Harris). The animations showed great imagination, and I had wished that we could have had a larger, all-encompasing projection or perhaps more economically multiple screens. Alice Usher, Katherine MacRae and Charlotte Osborn provided fine support as the three enslaved Nurse-Wives. Leon Haxby's orchestration relied quite heavily on the organ, so though his reduction was effective it took us a bit far from the opera house. Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle - Alexandra Long, […]
2021-06-13 09:01:27
Remarkable revival: Rodula Gaitanou's production of Verdi's La Traviata is back at Opera Holland Park with the original cast on terrific form
[…] supported Violetta no matter what. Nicholas Garrett was a complete Barone Douphol, drawing a strong thread of character through the opera, whilst Mike Bradley and David Stephenson brought plenty of differentiating difference to Gastone and the Marchese. Henry Grant Kerswell established Dottore Grenvil as being in love with Violetta from the beginning which made sense of his behaviour in Act Three. Robert Jenkins and Alistair Sutherland were neat cameos as Giuseppe and Commissioner, whilst Ian Massa-Harris managed to not steal the show as Flora's servant. Verdi: La traviata, Act Three - Stephen Gadd - Opera Holland Park (Photo Ali Wright) The chorus has plenty to do here, two parties and an Act Three eruption which had a real dramatic edge to it. The twenty singers worked hard, there was plenty of music and movement (no separate movement group here), with vivid individual characters at the parties. […]
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