#53 - Duly Noted
Attending Tosca at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, I was struck that an opera is worth one note, in this case Mario's "Vittoria!" sung last night by Neil Shicoff.
The note -- a bold, loud, rising, long affirmation -- explodes out of the opera's melodrama, transforming Puccini's magnificent artifice into something more dirty and real, pure and messy, grounding and, yet, liberating.
For intriguing commentary on (and audio samples of) this famous note of "Vittoria!" visit Grandi Tenori.
23 February 2005