On this 1955 recording of Dvo?·k’s folk-tale based comic romp Kate and the Devil, conductor Zden?k Chalaba offers a lighter, faster approach than that heard on the modern studio version Supraphon released in 1981, under conductor Ji?Ì Pinkas.
Category: Reviews
Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra by NYCO
The two performances of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra given at Carnegie Hall — the New York City Opera’s only performances this year while the State Theater is in rehab and the company is in flux — may or may not prove to be swan song of New York’s gallant number two company, whose succession of identity crises have been so fascinating to observe — and hear — over the decades.
MASCAGNI: Zanetto
More than just three letters distinguishes “rarity” from “oddity.” In opera, a rarity would be an admired work seldom performed.
Walter Felsenstein Edition
Some of the more ingenious opera productions of the twentieth century are the work of Walter Felsenstein, who renowned internationally for his efforts in the genre.
DVOR¡K: Lieder
Unjustly neglected, Dvor·k’s Lieder are among his most engaging works, and this selection of some of his most important contributions to the genre demonstrate the range of emotions and the breadth of expression the composer used in these works.
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro
This performance of Le Nozze di Figaro, recorded live at the ThÈ‚tre des Champs-…lysÈes in June 2004, prompts much admiration for RenÈ Jacobs, its conductor.
La Rondine at the MET
The first thing that hits you about the Met’s production of La Rondine is the beauty of the sets and costumes (from the classy team of Ezio Frigerio and Franca Squarciapino, respectively) — especially in contrast to the tawdry glitz of the recent ThaÔs.
ThaÔs at the MET
Everyone who likes Massenet’s ThaÔs seems to feel obliged to apologize for it, or to become defensive: it’s not that bad, they all seem to say.
The Play of Daniel — A Medieval Music Drama from Beauvais
Can we call The Play of Daniel an opera, or “music drama” (as this performance put it), when such terms did not exist, and would not exist for centuries to come when the piece was devised, around 1200, by the cathedral chapter of Beauvais?
Who Was Mary Lewis?
“Mary Lewis, the golden haired soprano” — does that name mean much to today’s lovers of singing and good music?