De Staat is a seminally important work. So much modern music stems from it, not only “serious” classical music but progressive popular music too. It “is” music theatre, for it’s designed to be experienced live, the visual effect part of the action.
Year: 2009
Zelmira in Pesaro
August is when Italians immerse themselves in the primal soup of all life. Hordes swarm to the Mediterranean shores and multitudes arrive in Pesaro on the Adriatic, where just then crowds of Rossinians from around the world arrive to partake of their primal operatic soup.
Boito: Mefistofele
The bravura performance by Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role is spoiled by the kitschy and incoherent staging of this production. Mefistofele is unique among operas based on the Faust legend in that it rather closely adheres to Goethe’s version.
Paul Hindemith: Die junge Magd, Op. 23, no. 2; Ernst Toch: Die chinesische Flˆte, Op. 29.
Gustav Mahler was not alone in setting verses from Hans Bethge’s collection of Chinese-inspired poetry entitled Die chinesische Flˆte, as he did in his symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde.
The Full Monteverdi: A Film by John la BouchardiËre
Although the cutesy title sounds like something conjured up by a community
college marketing intern working for a mid-sized city orchestra’s ticket
office—where every concert featuring Wagner and Brahms gets the sobriquet
“Teutonic Titans”—don’t be put off by the moniker. This film is a brilliant adaptation of Monteverdi’s Fourth Book of Madrigals that is totally faithful to the composer’s music.
Wagner’s Tannha¸ser at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden
Good directors don’t always create good productions.
Santa Fe Celebrates Two Divas
With the sublime Christine Brewer and the acclaimed Natalie Dessay on the Santa Fe roster, what more could a discerning opera-goer really want?
Maconchy: The Sofa & The Departure
The two one-act operas – operettes? – on this disc play something like mediocre episodes of The Twilight Zone set to music, though without the quirky memorability of that show’s opening theme.
Stars Shine at Glimmerglass
Everyone once in a while, we veteran opera-goers are privileged to see a promising artist give a break-out performance that announces a giant step forward into major stardom.