Holding “The Rose, the Lily & the Whortleberry” in my hands, I pondered for a moment whether it belonged on my bookshelf or in the CD cabinet.
Category: Reviews
VERDI: Nabucco
This 2001 Vienna State Opera production of Verdi’s first smash hit, Nabucco, serves as a textbook example of the “modern dress” production style, for better or worse – and probably, for both.
LEONCAVALLO: Pagliacci
No exact date is given for this performance and there is good reason for
it. The sleeve notes clearly state that baritone Enzo Sordello (of the 15
minutes of world fame when the Met fired him for clinging to a high note
longer than Callas) sings the role of Silvio.
ROSSINI: Il signor Bruschino
ìA jewel box of a theaterî: that great clichÈ of the opera world comes to mind when viewing a production from the Schwetzinger Festspiele held at the Rokokotheater Schwetzingen.
Alice Coote Sings Mahler and Schubert
The British mezzo, Alice Coote, will make her Met Opera debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro later this month. On the first of April, she gave a recital of Mahler and Schubert lieder, accompanied by Julius Drake. Here are two reviews.
Nine German AriasóAn Urban Baroque Film
Itís always interesting when oneís own opinion about a work varies violently from othersí views, even if they are to date minimal in number. In this case, it is not the music per se that is under discussion but the way it is represented, or in my opinion, mis-represented by this film.
Don Pasquale at the Met
Don Pasquale is generally considered one of Donizetti’s greatest works. Yet, “[o]f the three Donizetti operas being performed at The Met this season, the comedy Don Pasquale has been out of the repertoire for the longest time.” This season the opera returns with bass Simone Alaimo (Don Pasquale), soprano Anna Netrebko (Norina) and tenor Juan Diego FlÛrez (Ernesto). Here are four reviews.
Gala Concertó50th Anniversary of the Reopening of the Vienna State Opera
Tuxes and gowns, a marathon of trotting on and offstage by renowned singers, a ritzy audience abusing their palms with ritual clappingóyes, EuroArts has another opera gala event available on DVD in this two-disc Vienna State Opera Gala concert.
RACHMANINOV: Piano concerti nos. 1 and 2
This is a wonderful, recent recording of these popular piano concertos by Rachmaninov. The Piano concerto no. 1 is a studio recording, while the Piano concerto no. 2 is a live version.
STRAUSS: Daphne
New recordings of complete operas lumber into view these days as the dinosaurs trod painfully into a dying sun in an animated depiction of their extinction.