RenÈe Fleming and the Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall ó Two Reviews

On 8 January 2006, the Met Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall with James Levine, RenÈe Fleming and Julien Robbins.

CILEA: LíArlesiana

For a work that is known as a one-aria-opera, four official (this one included) recordings is not a bad record. And of course most opera-lovers have not only ìE la solita storiaî in their many tenor recitals but know the baritone aria ìCome due tizziî and the mezzoís ìEsser madre Ë un infernoî as well.

MOZART: Idomeneo

Idomeneo, rË di Creta. Dramma per musica in tre atti (K. 366).

Music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Libretto by Giovanni Battista Varesco after IdomenÈe by Antoine Danchet.

Operatunity Winners ó Denise Leigh and Jane Gilchrist

When asked if I had any interest in reviewing the discs of ìthe Operatunity finalists,î I admit I was so ignorant of what Operatunity was that I had to make a quick web search to find out.

A Tenor Voice That Carries Across a Century

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/06/AR2006010601992.html

An unlikely heroine to the rescue …

http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,1681768,00.html

He Can Sing With His Shirt On, Too

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/arts/music/08tomm.html

Vienna returns Mozart’s Affection

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060107.wmozart0107/BNStory/specialTravel/

The Guardian on Beaumarchais

How to stage a revolution

Beaumarchais, the dramatist behind The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville, was more than a mere playwright – he shaped the 18th century.

The Guardian on Lorenzo da Ponte

The phoenix

A poet, priest and womaniser, who ended his days as a grocer, he also wrote the words to some of the greatest operas. On the eve of Mozart’s 250th anniversary, Anthony Holden looks at the colourful life of his librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte