News
A Note from the Webmaster:
With the advent of Mr. Furlanetto's official website: www.ferrucciofurlanetto.com, bassnotes.net will be going into a state of semi-retirement. Existing content will remain online indefinitely, but updates are no longer anticipated (though not necessarily precluded).
It's been a fun-filled five years; thank you for visiting this site.
May we meet at the opera.
- JEK, Webmaster
12-01-10
2010 has been a good year for Furlanetto recordings. Be sure to add some of these items to your Christmas list. :)
Got 'em all already? Maybe it's time for another hobby . . .
11-11-10
The Royal Opera House's recent production of Simon Boccanegra is being released on DVD by EMI. Domingo is in the title role and Furlanetto sings Fiesco.
10-14-10
Check out La Republica for some lovely photos of Palermo's upcoming production of Don Quichotte.
10-12-10
An expanded English transcription for the 2010 Wiener Zeitung interview is now available here.
08-25-10
MetTalks, a series of panel discussions with the casts and creative teams of the Metropolitan Opera's new productions will begin next month; the session on Don Carlo is scheduled for Monday, November 1 at 6:00pm. According to Broadwayworld.com, the panel will include conductor Yannick Nézet-Seguin and cast members Roberto Alagna, Ferruccio Furlanetto, and Simon Keenlyside.
08-16-10
Russian readers will enjoy this review of the Salzburg Festival's Norma. The rest of us will enjoy the photo.
08-13-10
National Public Radio's "World of Opera" will be featuring the recent BBC Prom's Simon Boccanegra on August 14th. Use their station finder for details on your local station.
08-08-10
Now you too can cook like the Maestro! New book Die Oper Kocht contains recipes by Furlanetto and other opera stars. Brief footage from the book launch event can be seen on ORF TV.
08-04-10
The 2007 Salzburg Festival production with of Eugene Onegin (with Furlanetto as Gremin) can be found on discs 10 and 11 of this 25-disc, limited edition set from Deutsche Grammophon.
07-30-10
Audio samples and a video clip from Furlanetto's newly released CD of Rachmaninov and Mussorgsky songs are available on MG-Sound's website.
07-25-10
Simon Boccanegra is a hit in Madrid:
"Of the three other principals, only Ferrucio Furlanetto gave a performance that could be described as superb. His rich, rolling bass voice filled the house and his acting, particularly in the reconciliation and death scenes, was a match for Domingo's own." - ConcertoNet
07-20-10
Sunday's Simon Boccanegra (BBC Proms), with Furlanetto singing Fiesco, is available online for a few more days. Reviews from ThisIsLondon and the Telegraph.
!!! At last, an official site: Check out ferrucciofurlanetto.com! (Also available at ferrucciofurlanetto.info.)!!!
07-14-10
We all wish Mr. Furlanetto a swift and thorough recovery from his recent voice loss.
Simon Boccanegra is scheduled for the BBC Proms on Sunday, July 18th; tune in on BBC Radio.
Information is now available about the soon-to-be-released recording of Furlanetto's Russian recital.
07-06-10
Ferruccio Furlanetto on the passing of Cesare Siepi:
"Cesare Siepi has been the greatest inspiration of my career, not only when I was at the beginning but throughout my 36 years so far, and will be for the rest of my time. He will be the most luminous model to follow for the future generations of basses and singers in general, from the vocal point of view and as a singing actor. He had a splendid long life and a wonderful family. This is life, but it is always terribly sad to say good bye to such a human being and artist."
Hat tip to Aria Serious.
07-02-10
Still more Simon Boccanegra reviews:
"If one was ruthlessly marking on points, one might judge him [Doming] outclassed vocally by Ferruccio Furlanetto’s imposing Fiesco." - Telegraph
"Ferruccio Furlanetto reprised his sonorous, sometimes terrifying Fiesco." - MusicOMH
"At moments in the duet with Ferruccio Furlanetto’s majestic Fiesco (Domingo’s equal in artistry), there were traces of the Domingo of old." - Financial Times
"Ferruccio Furlanetto's Fiesco was as excellent as ever . . . Domingo and Furlanetto are patently bringing lots to their characters on their own." - MusicalCriticism
For additional reviews, check out Daily Mail and What's On Stage.
06-30-10
And more:
"Ferruccio Furlanetto and Jonathan Summers as Boccanegro's sworn enemiers [sic] were particularly impressive." - Express
"The sepulchral bass of Ferruccio Furlanetto as Fiesco and the baleful baritone of Jonathan Summers as Paolo throw Domingo’s crossover register into relief." - ThisIsLondon
"Ferruccio Furlanetto is solid and secure as Boccanegra’s implacable enemy, Fiesco." - TheStage
"Ferruccio Furlanetto is a luxuriously velvety Fiesco." - Gardian
06-29-10
From The Independent comes the first review of the Royal Opera's Boccanegra:
"The curtain rises on a prologue which belongs less to Domingo than to the Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto, who incarnates Boccanegra's sworn enemy Fiesco. Stalking each other through the opera, these titanic antagonists must be a match both vocally and dramatically, and in Furlanetto Domingo has his ideal foil. The first moment Domingo gets to make his mark comes with the aria "Del mar sul lido", in which he recounts the loss of his child. Here he brings grief rather than the usual wistfulness, and – vis a vis Furlanetto's awesome basso profundo – he still comes across as a tenor, with his old gilded expressiveness and nobility of tone . . . it is clear that there are three heroes in this production: Calleja, Furlannetto and Domingo."
06-28-10
MusicalCriticism.com has posted an interview with Furlanetto.
06-22-10
The July issue of Opera News offers the following review of the recently released Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Royal Opera) DVD:
“The brilliant Ferruccio Furlanetto adds another vivid portrait to his video gallery with a Basilio of spidery physicality who can boom out an enormously impressive high note, always making it an integral part of the whole.”
06-14-10
The Vienna State Opera's gala concert honoring Ioan Holender will be telecast in Europe on ORF2 on June 26th. A radio broadcast will follow on Ö1 on July 3rd. Furlanetto is among the participating artists.
06-04-10
Tune in to Ö1 tomorrow (June 5th) for the Vienna State Opera's Eugene Onegin with Furlanetto as Prince Gremin. The program begins at 7:30pm CEST.
06-02-10
European viewers can catch Furlanetto in La Scala's recent Simon Boccanegra on Mezzo on June 12th.
04-18-10
The Met's 1988 Il barbiere di Siviglia finally makes its way onto DVD this spring. US release is scheduled for May 11th.
Also in the offing: the Met's celebration of the 25th anniversary of Lincoln Center. Furlanetto makes an appearance in the gala sequence of Act II of Die Fledermaus.
04-13-10
La Scala's Simon Boccanegra production of April 21st will be broadcast on Italy's Radio3.
04-03-10
The Royal Opera's 2009 production of Il barbiere di Siviglia is being released on DVD this spring. Ferruccio Furlanetto sings Don Basilio; Joyce DiDonato sings Rosina from a wheelchair.
Check out EMI's website for details and a video clip.
03-27-10
Opera News (subscription required) offers the following review of La Scala's recent DVD release of Don Carlo:
"Certainly, Ferruccio Furlanetto's Filippo on its own would suffice to merit the release of the DVDs. He captures brilliantly both the tyrannical control and the heartbreaking disappointment of this monarch. Furlanetto's voice is an intrinsically emotional instrument in the hands of a master; Filippo's 'Ella giammai m'amò' is nothing short of perfection, and elsewhere Furlanetto is riveting as well."
03-14-10
More video footage of Furlanetto as Don Quichotte available here (English) and here (Russian).
03-08-10
Here is a review (in Russian, with photos) of Furlanetto's recent recital in St. Petersburg. And here is a video clip that includes some footage of the event.
And a review of Don Quichotte:
"Исполнительским шедевром в Концертном зале Мариинского театра опера стала прежде всего благодаря итальянскому гостю. Ферруччо Фурланетто на деле доказал, что эта партия для него действительно любимая." - St. Petersburg Vedomosti
Trans: Thanks to our Italian guest opera became a performance masterpiece. Ferruccio Furlanetto indeed proved that this part is his favorite one.
02-26-10
Some great footage of Furlanetto singing Don Quichotte in St. Petersburg is available here.
02-22-10
Check out a few photos from Furlanetto's recent triumphs in South Pacific and as Guest Artist at Mariinsky!
In other news: Furlanetto returns to the Met for the 2010-2011 season as Philip II in Don Carlo, with one of the performances to be broadcast as part of the Met's HD series.
02-18-10
And here is another interview with Furlanetto and more press coverage from Fontanka and OpenSpace (all in Russian - with photos).
02-15-10
More footage of Furlanetto at NTV.ru and an interview (in Russian) here.
02-11-10
Visit TV100 for footage of Ferruccio Furlanetto at a press conference in Russia. Mr. Furlanetto is the Mariinsky Theatre's Artist of the Month for February.
01-19-10
South Pacific is such a hit the Volksoper has added another performance.
ORF offers another news clip.
And The Opera Critic has this to say about the performance:
"Ferruccio Furlanetto as Emile treated the score with the same attention Mozart or Verdi might receive - not the Italian operatic bass stepping sideways into a lighter muse, but an articulate, credible Frenchman torn between ideals and emotions, and filling the auditorium with quite glorious singing." -
01-18-10
Furlanetto can be seen (and heard) in some brief news clips about South Pacific from ORF: clip 1 and clip 2.
01-12-10
More interviews (in German) from OÖNachrichten and Kurier.
01-06-10
The Kleine Zeitung has posted a brief interview with Furlanetto (in German).
01-05-10
Ferruccio Furlanetto has been interviewed by Russian radio. (There is a voice-over Russian translation of the conversation, but audio clips from Simon Boccanegra and Boris Godunov are included.)
01-03-10
Happy New Year!
The Don Carlo DVD (La Scala) will be released on January 19th in the U.S.
German readers will appreciate this Furlanetto interview in the Wiener Zeitung.