SAN FRANCISCO ó ìMy subject is war and the pity of war, and the poetry is in the pity.î
Category: Reviews
Handelís ìRadamistoî revisited with mixed results in Hamburg
A remarkably quick turnaround from only last May when the first run of Handelís ìRadamistoî was blessed with a consistently high level of vocal performance may have been the reason for sparser houses this time round at the Hamburg Staatsoper (October 6th).
The Metís New Lucia
Of Donizettiís fifty or so ìseriousî operas, Lucia di Lammermoor was the only one to survive his heyday almost unscathed by change of fashion; today, when a dozen of his other worthy works have been restored to the repertory, Lucia easily hangs on.
I Hear American Singing
Recorded in August 2001 at the Salzburg Festival, less than a month before the tragic events of 11 September, the presentation of songs and readings of music by American composers and texts by American authors seems aimed at a different world. Without venturing into political or social dimensions of the event, the concept of America in August 2001 suggested at times a sense of being impermeable, if not invincible.
Thomas Stoltzer. Psalm Motets.
Thomas Stoltzer represents German composition in the wake of the Reformation yet still immersed in the contrapuntal richness of the Josquin tradition.
MAHLER: Symphony no. 6 / Piano Quartet
With its fine engineering, the rich score of Mahlerís Sixth Symphony and the superb playing of the Philadelpha Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach emerge well in this recently released recording.
The Yves Becko Collection
This must be one of the most interesting collectorsí collections to have appeared in many a year. Personally Iíve always liked any singer from Fernando De Lucia to Rolando Villazon but I never was tempted to collect shellac and therefore didnít have to contact Yves Becko.
CAVALLI: La Calisto
RenÈ Jacobsís beautiful 1996 production of Francesco Cavalliís Calisto has garnered many enthusiastic fans over the years.
HAYNES: The End of Early Music ó A Period Performer’s History of Music for the Twenty-First Century
Once upon a time, there was something known as early music. This was not so much a repertoire, a musico-historical epoch, as an attitude, a counter-cultural group.
Carmen at ENO
There is a certain onerous responsibility in developing a new production of Carmen at a major house.