CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Opera Theater falls under Montemezzi's 'Spell'

Post Gazette: "In 1947, when Donald J. Grout wrote his still-classic 'Short History of Opera,' he called Italo Montemezzi's 'L'amore dei tre re' 'one of the best Italian tragic operas since Verdi's 'Otello'.'
That's quite a statement, yet it was a viable one at the time. Montemezzi was championed by conductors Arturo Toscanini and Tullio Serafin. Between 1914-48, the Metropolitan Opera gave 66 performances of 'L'amore dei tre re,' plus five each of two more Montemezzi operas. But then -- at the end of the tenure of general manager Edward Johnson -- the Met dropped this interesting composer entirely."

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