09.08.2012
Neil Shicoff in La Juive
The legendary American tenor Neil Shicoff is hailed as the best Eléazar in La Juive by Jacques Halévy. On April 28, the Mikhailovsky Theatre is presenting the singer in the new production of the theatre.
Shicoff considers Eléazar the role of his life. ‘I tried to make the character of Eléazar more universal. There are enough contradictions between communities, countries, cities, people, and neighbors. The conflict can appear between a Jew and a Christian, a Christian and a Muslim, a Jew and a Muslim, even between different states. I just wanted to convey the idea that if people can’t learn to live together, everybody loses. It’s true if we speak about a local conflict or a great war between the countries with, let us say, serious weapons — all of us will turn into nothing, and we’ll destroy each other. That’s what I feel when I come onstage’, he admitted in his interview to BBC.
Besides his brilliant vocal gift, he is an exceptional singer who can turn a standard part into the rendition of a staggering personality. Neil Shicoff was once named the Al Pacino of the opera. He performed at the best theatres such as the Metropolitan opera, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Paris Opera, and the Royal Theatre Covent Garden among many others.
Shicoff considers Eléazar the role of his life. ‘I tried to make the character of Eléazar more universal. There are enough contradictions between communities, countries, cities, people, and neighbors. The conflict can appear between a Jew and a Christian, a Christian and a Muslim, a Jew and a Muslim, even between different states. I just wanted to convey the idea that if people can’t learn to live together, everybody loses. It’s true if we speak about a local conflict or a great war between the countries with, let us say, serious weapons — all of us will turn into nothing, and we’ll destroy each other. That’s what I feel when I come onstage’, he admitted in his interview to BBC.
Besides his brilliant vocal gift, he is an exceptional singer who can turn a standard part into the rendition of a staggering personality. Neil Shicoff was once named the Al Pacino of the opera. He performed at the best theatres such as the Metropolitan opera, the Vienna State Opera, La Scala, the Paris Opera, and the Royal Theatre Covent Garden among many others.
