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.
Gˆtterd‰mmerung, Operaen, Copenhagen
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/e9635d6c-ad37-11da-9643-0000779e2340.html
Discovering a Hidden Trove in a Little-Known Latin World
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/07/arts/music/07sava.html
Sir John In Love, Coliseum, London
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/reviews/article349460.ece
HILLIARD ENSEMBLE: Thy Kiss of a Divine Nature ó The Contemporary Perotin
The richness of the Ars Antiqua flourishing in Paris in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries marks the time as one of high cultural achievement, drawing nurture from the contemporaneous rise of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the University of Paris.