For those who can’t (or won’t) see the forest of an opera for the trees of performance minutiae, here’s the word about the San Francisco Opera’s new production of Wagner’s “Tannhauser” that opened tonight:
Category: Reviews
Music for Compline
The liturgy of Compline marks the end of the monastic day, as the community seeks peaceful repose for the night ahead.
Psalms for the Spirit
Psalmody, be it in the form of chanted recitations or anthem settings, lies close to the heart of liturgical singing, and this collection, ìPsalms for the Spiritî brings together an engaging variety of both long familiar and recent psalms that celebrates the traditions and explores new directions.
BEETHOVEN: Fidelio
Los Angeles Opera opened its 2007 season with Fidelio on September 8th, and on the following day held a gala performance of Verdi’s Requiem.
WAGNER: Die Walk¸re
One of the glories of a well-executed performance of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle is the sonic dimension of the work, with the dramatic contrasts between the larger musical canvasses and the more intimate ensembles that occur between several voices and within the orchestra itself.
Hector Berlioz: Te Deum, op. 22
Often overshadowed by its composer’s Requiem, the Te Deum, Op. 22 (1849) by Hector Berlioz deserves attention for its own merits, and this recent release by H‰nssler in its series of live recordings of the Staatskapelle Dresden is a solid reading of this work.
SCHEIDT: Ludi Musici
The courtly instrumental music of the Halle composer, Samuel Scheidt, is preserved in the printed collection “Ludi musici” (1620), giving congenial suggestion of both the richness of the court practice and the virtuosic abilities of the ensemble players there, including the cornettist, Zacharias H‰rtel.