I am not sure whether I am a huge fan of Verdi’s Ballo in maschera. I like the simplicity of his earlier works like I Masnadieri or Macbeth better. But Renato’s aria „Eri tu“ is perfection - the most thrilling and touching music. But what in addition makes this aria so exceptional is the rawness of Renato‘s hurt masculinity and his vulnerability. One can almost sense that „Eri tu“ is a kind of precursor of Otello’s aria „Dio, mi potevi, scalgiar“- and Otello is not too bad of an opera, is it? For those who do not know what this aria is about: In Eri tu Renato deals with the presumed extramarital affair of his wife with his best friend. In the context of this video it is not important, if they actually had an affair, if they did the coitus thing or not. Important is only that Renato believes they did. And we, thanks to Verdi, can witness how he in his aria is dealing with his feelings of betrayal, loss, anger and love - it’s a true rollercoaster. Original videos: Dmitri Hvorostovsky Yewon Shin Piero Cappuccilli
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