It’s easy to dismiss the undoubted charms of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love with a wry smile and a dash of condescension.
Month: September 2011
The Italian Girl in London, Bampton Classical Opera
As one of the most successful Italian opera composers of the late-eighteenth
century, Domenico Cimarosa’s reputation lasted well into the following
century during which his operas were staple repertoire in all the major
European opera houses.
Paris: A Thrilling Leap and Then a Stumble
Stylish, spirited vocalism that rang convincingly through the Palais Garnier was the hallmark of Paris Opera’s thrilling revival of one of Mozart’s least appreciated mature operas.
Willy Decker’s staging of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron
As a rule the celebrated incomplete operas of the repertory eluded completion due to the untimely death of the composer.
Schiller: Ein Leben in Liedern, Wigmore Hall
While the music industry seems to be spiralling dementedly downmarket, the Wigmore Hall keeps standards extremely high.
Heart of a Soldier, San Francisco
The house lights dimmed, SFO General Director David Gockley instructed us to stand and sing the Star Spangled Banner. This crucial moment revealed the intentions and complexities of this fine production at San Francisco Opera.
Wigmore Hall International Song Competition 2011
The Wigmore Hall is the most respected centre of art song excellence in Britain and its Song Competition attracts interest from all over the world.
Bruckner: Symphony no. 9
Recorded on 31 October 2007 in the Grofler Musikvereinssaal, Vienna, this performance of the Cleveland Orchestra offers a compelling interpretation of the three completed movements of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony.
L’Amour des trois oranges on CD and DVD
Opera companies around the world — though relatively few in the United States — cannot resist the temptation to stage Sergei Prokofiev’s first major opera.
BBC Prom 73: Der Freisch¸tz
Why would a French composer take an opera which epitomises German Romanticism and Nationalism and adapt it to the conventions of the French grand opera tradition?