HIGH RISK ìORFEOî FROM CHICAGO LYRIC

Producer Robert Carsen, together with his set designer Tobias Hoheisel, is taking a big risk with their new production of Gl¸ckís 1762 version for alto of ìOrfeo ed Euridiceî at Chicago Lyric Opera.

MEYERBEER: Dinorah

Some opera sets are meant to be an introduction to the work presented. They contain a booklet which tells you about the life of the composer, the history of the work, some analysis, a synopsis of the story, and maybe (if you’re lucky) the libretto translated into your language.

Gabriela Montero ó Piano Recital

This recording features piano works by the pillars of nineteenth-century Romantic piano composition (Chopin and Liszt), the Spanish-speaking musical nationalists (Granados, Ginastera, and de Falla), and the Russian composer-pianists (Scriabin and Rachmaninov) who reinterpreted the Romantic spirit in new and innovative ways for the piano.

MOZART: Requiem

Mozartís Requiem has become widely-known and popular since the 1984 movie Amadeus. Left incomplete at his death, his student and assistant Franz Xaver Sussmayr (1766-1803) completed the work from Mozartís notes.

VERDI: La Traviata

Could La Traviata be the opera with the most versions available on DVD? The appetite for the doomed heroine never wavers.

Wagnerian Songs

If Richard Wagnerís music may be seen to pervade the late nineteenth century, an area that is rarely discussed is his influence on song.

DOVE: Flight

For most of its 40 plus years the Adelaide Festival of Arts has had as its central attraction the Australian premieres of a landmark European opera like Wozzeck, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, The Fiery Angel or landmark contemporary works like Death in Venice, Nixon in China or El Nino presented within a few years of their world premieres.

Karajan Performs Strauss Waltzes and Polkas

Everyone is familiar with the waltzes and polkas of the ìWaltz King,î Johan Strauss II, along with his father Johann I and his brother Josef.

VERDI: Ernani

Verdiís smash hit of 1844 is a relative rarity these days. As Stefano Olcese notes in his booklet essay for a new Dynamic recording, the opera calls for daunting vocal display from tenor, soprano, baritone, and bass.

Mazeppa at the Met ó Three Reviews

This season the Metropolitan Opera presents Tchaikovsky’s infrequently performed opera, Mazeppa. Acording to the Met, “[a]lthough Tchaikovsky is best known for Eugene Onegin and several great ballet scores, he wrote many other wonderful operas including Mazeppa, which receives its premiere at The Met this season. Premiered in Moscow in 1884, it was first seen in St Petersburg just three days later, and has remained in the repertoire of The Mariinsky Theatre from that time. Based on a poem by Pushkin, it tells the story of a 17th century Ukrainian separatist, who falls in love with a friendís daughter. The opera is full of tuneful episodes (similar to those in The Queen of Spades) and this is a very rare chance to see the opera in New York.” Here are three reviews.