We’re delighted to welcome back David Clarke for our next talk on Saturday, March 14th, at 11am in Buswells Hotel.
David’s talk will be a journey through time, an exploration of operatic brilliance spanning from the grandeur of the Baroque to the rich colors of Modernism. Beginning with the noble architecture of George Frideric Handel and moving through the elegance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, we travel into the passion of Romanticism with masters such as Giuseppe Verdi, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Georges Bizet, Charles Gounod, and Camille Saint-Saëns. The lyric beauty of Léo Delibes and Friedrich von Flotow stands alongside the dramatic intensity of Modest Mussorgsky and Amilcare Ponchielli.
The talk then embraces the raw emotional truth of Verismo through Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea, and Giacomo Puccini, culminating in the lush late-Romantic modernism of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. Arias such as “Dio possente” from Faust, “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila, “Ah! mes amis” from La fille du regiment, the “Improvviso” from Andrea Chenier, “Je dis que rien ne m’épouvante” from Carmen, the “Flower Duet” from Lakme, and “Non più mesta” from La Cenerentola illuminate the stylistic evolution from Baroque structure to Romantic lyricism and Verismo fire.
These masterpieces have been immortalized by legendary voices such as Mario Del Monaco, Richard Tucker, Luciano Pavarotti, Renato Cecchele, Fiorenza Cossotto, Helge Rosvaenge, Cecilia Di Donato, Gundula Janowitz, Aureliano Pertile, Aida Garifullina, Samuel Ramey, René Koll, Giuseppe Silveri, Jon Vickers, and Sherrill Milnes. Together, their artistry reminds us that opera is not only a chronicle of composers and styles, but a living tradition carried forward by extraordinary human voices.
David’s talk is a sweeping panorama of musical history, a celebration of genius, drama, and beauty, and above all, a testament to the enduring power of the operatic voice.
John McCormack Society 