Opera Chic freely admits her status of hawpless fangirl when it comes to maestro Leo Nucci, the best Verdi baritone working now (sorry Maestro Bruson we *heart* you too!), and possibly the best Italian opera baritone, too (he kills in Puccini and Rossini, too).
He's too much of a gentleman, but whenever immigration agents at passport control ask him his profession, he should simply answer "I show'em how it's done". Maestro Nucci is now showing how it's done in Verona, at the beautiful Arena, singing in the warm night Summer air his Nabucco, the season's opening, last night. Director Denis Krief explained that Nucci, who enters the stage riding an actual horse (the beauty of open-air opera, the unfortunate animal would probably stink up an actual theatre's stage so bad it isn't even funnay) took daily lessons to learn how to ride the horse.
We're not sure about the pajamas-like costumes, kind of apocalyptic Jedi-bathrobe-chic dyed in desaturated ghreys and brawns, but the Denis Krief production of the Verdi blockbuster seems to be pretty cool, Franco Zeffirelli's anathema notwithstanding.
Hope me Obay One Kaynobay!