Corsaro?

The other night at the Merola Finale, soprano Elizabeth Baldwin sang an aria from Verdi's Il Corsaro. The next day, at Stern Grove, tenor Michael Fabiano did the same. (Right, different aria.)

Coincidence or preparation? Is it possible that San Francisco Opera is planning what would very likely be the West Coast premiere of this early Verdi opera? [Ooops, no; San Diego Opera performed it long ago.]

I was in the chorus of the New York premiere of the work, back in 1982. [In retrospect, sure, we were undoubtedly the least idiomatic Verdi chorus you'll ever hear.] David Lawton, scholar and conductor, was a big fan of early Verdi, and also put on a concert reading of the first version of Macbeth, and I was a student at Stony Brook at the time. I can't tell you how stageworthy it is, but I recall some gorgeous music, with meaty roles for tenor, mezzo, and soprano. And it didn't hurt a bit that the tenor soloist for the performance was the great Carlo Bergonzi.

NB: If you ever happen to see a bootleg of that performance, please let me know.