OperaBlog

Live Offerings - Saturday, April 24, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Pick of the litter today seems to be the Metropolitan Opera Tosca with Patricia Racette and Konas Kaufmann, followed by Gluck's Armida with Ewa Podles on Czech Radio and Cavalli's La Calisto with Bejun Mehta. Here's the whole lineup of live offerings for this afternoon:

Metropolitan Opera International Broadcast (on numerous stations) - Puccini's Tosca, with Patricia Racette, Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, David Pittsinger, John del Carlo, Eduardo Valdes, Jeffrey Wells, Richard Bernstein and Jonathan Makepeace, conducted by Fabio Luisi.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) - From the Vienna State Opera, an April 19th and 22nd performance of Bellini's I Puritani, with Désirée Rancatore, Christof Fischesser, José Bros and Mariusz Kwiecien, conducted by Jan Latham-König.
Cesky Rozhlas 3-Vltava - Gluck's Armida, with Mireille Delunsch, Laurent Naouri, Charles Workman, Vincent Le Texier, Yann Beuron, Francoise Masset, Nicole Heaston, Valérie Gabail, Ewa Maria Podles, Brett Polegato, Magdalena Kožená, Sandrine Rondot and Myriam Sosson, conducted by Marc Minkowski.
Espace 2 - From the Grand Theatre in Geneva, Cavalli's La Calisto, with Sami Luttinen, Bruno Taddia, Anna Kasyan, Bejun Mehta, Christine Rice, Kristen Leich, Kristen Leich, Christine Rice, Fabio Trümpy, Mark Milhofer, Catrin Wyn-Davies, Ludwig Grabmeier, Mariana Florès, Mariana Florès, Dina Husseini, and Matthew Schaw, conducted by Andreas Stoehr.
Klara - From the Opera of Lausanne, Rossini's Otello, with John Osborn, Olga Peretyatko, Maxim Mironov, Riccardo Zanellato, Shi Yijie and Isabelle Henriquez, conducted by Corrado Rovaris.
Latvia Radio Klasika - From Opera Bastille in Paris, Symanowski's Krol Roger, with Mariušs Kwiecen, Erik Cutler, Olga Pasišcuka and Vojteks Smileks, conducted by Kazuši Ono.
Radio Tre (RAI) - From the Grand Theatre in Geneva, a November 9 performance of Chabrier's L'Etoile, with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, René Schirrer, Jean Doyen, Fabrice Farina, Marie-Claude Chappuis, Sophie Graf, Blandine Staskiewicz and Jérôme Savary, conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce.
KBIA2 & WDAV - NPR World of Opera: From Washington National Opera, Verdi's Rigoletto, with Carlos Alvarez, Lyubov Petrova, Joseph Calleja, Maigoratza Walewska, Andrea Silvestrelli, Magdalena Wor and Robert Cantrell, conducted by Giovanni Reggioli.
Concert FM (New Zealand) & ABC Classic FM (Australia) - From the Metropolitan Opera, Verdi's Aida, with Stefan Kocán, Dolora Zajick, Hui He, Salvatore Licitra, Carlo Colombara, Carlo Guelfi, Elizabeth DeShong and Diego Torre, conducted by Marco Armiliato.

Happy listening . . . .

MORE MEISTER SINGING

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
Cologne 5 April 2010

If you’re an opera lover (and if you’re not, why are you reading this?), you probably know that Europe is the place to be at Eastertide. Nearly every major city, and even a lot of minor municipalities mount non-stop lyric theater events. The choices you have to make can be bewildering. If you found yourself in the westernmost part of Germany this past Easter Monday, did you attend a Traviata in Bonn, a Gypsy Baron in Pforzheim, or a Parsifal in --let’s see now-- Stuttgart, Frankfurt or Düsseldorf?

I opted for Meistersinger in Cologne because it had three things going for it: of all the alternatives, it’s my favorite opera, the opera house is a 10 minute trolley ride from where I’m staying at the moment, and the cast featured an only-appearance-this-season appearance by Klaus Florian Vogt as Walther von Stoltzing. I can’t get enough of this voice, and Vogt, wisely, doesn’t sing that frequently.

I was sort of dreading my final choice, because Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s controversial staging has several complicated moments for Walther. But the cash-strapped Cologne Opera found the stash to fund sufficient rehearsals for the performance, which went much more smoothly than when I attended the production’s first performances last autumn. Not necessarily a good thing, for its infelicities, especially in the final scene became all the more apparent.

In place of the meadows outside Nuremberg, Laufenberg puts the Song Trial in a recreation of the plaza outside the Cologne Opera House. The set is dominated by a jumbotron that shows, among other scenes, video of the Mastersingers and honored guests entering the theater before taking their places on the stage. That makes sense enough. Mixed in with these proceedings, though, are a newsreel of vignettes showing Cologne before, during and after World War II plus scenes from a previous production of Meistersinger. Huh? When Walther finally takes the stage for his Prize Song, the projections switch to close-ups of Vogt looking dreamy before a background of amber-hued landscapes. To put it charitably, it’s distracting, not to mention awful.

Nonetheless, Vogt sang with even greater persuasiveness than in Berlin several weeks ago in the same role. His is a phenomenal voice: bright, light, penetrating and, for me, soulful. Admittedly, it is so unusual, that it’s not to everyone’s taste. A vocal professor I met during the breaks complained of a “disembodied” quality that left him cold. That quality is evident in the broadcasts of Meistersinger at Bayreuth, where Vogt is currently cast as Walther in Katharina Wagner’s production under Christian Thielemann. The microphone does not love him.

Vogt was partnered in this performance by Barbara Haveman, stepping in for ailing Astrid Weber. She was no disappointment, projecting a well-focussed sound that retained its sucrose in the heftier portions of “O Sachs, mein Freund...” and the Quintet.

The other principals in the cast have grown into their parts since the production’s premiere (see my report). Especially rewarding was Robert Holl as Sachs. Could but all singers mature with such grandiose gracefulness! Despite a moment of breath-catching in Sach’s Oration, Holl’s shoemaker was indeed a masterful singer.

General Music Director Markus Stenz led the Gürzenich Orchestra and the augmented chorus with sensible tempi and majestic sweep, but he still needs to parse out the dynamics. The outset of the prelude to Act One is marked “mezzo-forte.” And with good reason: the forte at the conclusion of the prelude must sound significantly louder Throughout the performance, the difference between loud and loudest was minimal.

All told, though, a richly satisfying performance.

©Sam H. Shirakawa
Photos: Forster

POWER TRIP

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:10:00 +0000

WAGNER: RIENZI

Oper Leipzig
2 April, 2010

What a deliciously perverse idea!

Hitler’s supposedly favorite opera Rienzi presented on Good Friday in Wagner’s hometown!

That was the inspiration of Oper Leipzig under the artistic direction of Peter Konwitschny, son of fabled, politically controversial, conductor Franz Konwitschny. If the sparse attendance at this performance was a reliable barometer, maybe it wasn’t such a hot idea after all. Leipzig’s operagoers seemed more in the mood for an operetta gala playing at the city’s Musical Komödie. It was sold out to the rafters. I caught the first half of this delightful potpourri before racing to the main opera house in time for the start of Rienzi.

Too bad the attendance for Rienzi was so slim, because this production was musically, at least, excellent. Admittedly, I’ve never heard a complete, unabridged Rienzi live -- it takes about six hours to perform, not counting intermissions. At best, the live performances I’ve heard in New York, Berlin, Bremen, and now Leipzig amount to summaries or highlights. Each version has featured numbers that were excluded from the others. The current Leipzig production took four hours, including two intermissions, just long enough to savor a smorgasbord of ideas that Wagner was cooking up for his future operas.

Like most well-organized musical buffets, Rienzi offers generous portions of tantalizing tidbits to abate aural hunger, providing you have an appetite for German operatic cuisine. And that caveat may irk some operagoers: a lot of Rienzi is just loud. Beautiful, yes, but loud. Its principal dramatic theme is the dynamic of political power, and even the loss of influence does not necessarily mean less volume. Beefy singers in the leading roles must always be able to run the estimable distance from forte to fortissimo without tiring, and make themselves sound interesting.

The title role in particular.

In this production, Stefan Vinke delivered the goods in surprisingly interesting fashion. All the more surprising, because he has bettered himself in every professional respect since I last heard him in Leipzig as Lohengrin. Back then (2006), he seemed sufficiently competent to essay the Grail Knight, but his stage demeanor was at best tentative. That, however, was then, and his voice has now emerged fully armed from Euterpe’s larynx: dark, virile and evenly distributed. It can sustain itself through distended declamation without degenerating into droning. In rare moments of quietude, his consummate musicality and affinity to this music evince a deeply felt sensitivity that eludes so many heroic tenors. Undeniably, the voice has accrued some metal, but it has also retained ample honey. His account of “Almächt'ger Vater, blick herab” received sustained, richly deserved applause. The jury is still out on his stage demeanor, but the role doesn’t demand much more than ambling about looking important, which Vinke manifestly succeeded in doing.

Marika Schönberg as Rienzi’s daughter Irene seemed a bit uncertain at the outset, but proved sufficiently reliable once she hit her stride. Her stage personality is still in the process of defining itself, but she shows optimistic signs of becoming an A-Class opera singer.

Charika Mavropoulou stepped in as Adriano for the indisposed Elena Zhidkova. She also shows signs of heading for major-league opera houses, but she is encumbered with excess weight in a trouser-role that demands quite a bit of running around. That said, she is in full possession of a ballsy mezzo-soprano that induces thrilling frissons at full-throttle.

Miklos Sebastien as Colonna, Jürgen Kürth as Orsini and Roman Astakhov rounded out the principal roles without fault.

Thanks to Matthias Foremny’s richly detailed reading and supernal playing from the Gewandhaus Orchestra, I heard details that I never noticed before in this music. Take, for example, the elegiac postlude to Rienzi’s prayer. It's long, seemingly rambling and fitfully anticipates the conclusion to Elisabeth’s prayer in Tannhäuser. But Foremny and the Gewandhaus made it sound unique unto itself.

I’ve left mentioning Nicolas Joel’s production to last, because it is the least impressive element of this otherwise superior mounting. Why Rienzi is dressed in an Ancient Roman tunic, while almost everybody else is dressed in Gangsta Moderne, never becomes apparent. If it was an effort to distinguish the ill-fated Tribune from everyone else in the plot, the ploy succeeded only in exposing Stefan Vinke’s estimable gams.

©Sam H. Shirakawa

We're Still Here . . . .

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 05:10:00 +0000

Due to a family emergency, we have not posted here for several weeks, but we are now back (more or less) to our routine. You can expect some new reviews from Sam Shirakawa and some posts from us in coming days.

It's good to be back!

Live Offerings - Saturday, April 10, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 06:34:00 +0000

All sorts of personal issues have prevented us from posting here for several weeks, but we are now back.

The Met is offering Mozart's Magic Flute with Matthew Polenzani; Sveriges has Meistesinger from Goteborg with an all-Swedish cast;Radio Oesterreich International is re-airing the Met's March 6th broadcast of Verdi's Attila; Radio 4 Netherlands offers Saariaho's Emilie with Karita Mattila; Norwegian Radio is carrying Handel's Agrippina from La Fenice , while Radio Tre is carrying Handel's Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, also from La Fenice. ANd ther;s more - here's the complete list for this afternoon:

Sveriges Radio P2 - From Göteborg Opera, a live performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, with Anders Lorentzson, Richard Decker, Sara Andersson, Åke Zetterström, Ingrid Tobiasson, Mathias Zachariassen, Johan Schinkler, Ingemar Anderson, Mattias Nilsson, Mats Persson, Iwar Bergkwist, Sten Pernmyr, Mattias Ermedahl, Andreas Lundmark, Michael Schmidberger, Peter Loguin and Sami Yousri, conducted by Olaf Henzold.
LRT Klasika - From Palais Garnier in Paris, Gounod's Mireille, with Inva Mula and Charles Castronovo, conducted by Marc Minkowski.
DR P2 - From Teatro Real in Madrid, a March 20th performance of Martín y Soler's L'arbore di Diana with Ekaterina Lekhina, Ketevan Kemklidze, Ainoa Garmedia and Marisa Martins, conducted by Ottavio Dantone.
Dwojka Radio Polskie - From Moscow, a March 6th performance of Berg's Wozzeck, with Georg Nigl, Mardi Byers, Maxim Paster, Pyotr Migunov, Roman Muravitsky, Fredrik Akselberg, Xenia Vyaznikova, Valery Gilmanov and Nikolai Kazansky, conducted by Teodore Currentzis.
Metropolitan Opera Internation Radio Broadcast (on numerous stations) - Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, with Nathan Gunn, Matthew Polenzani, Julia Kleiter, Albina Shagimuratova, Wendy Bryn Harmer, Jamie Barton, Tamara Mumford, Jakob Taylor, Neem Ram Nagarajan, Jonathan A. Makepeace, Monica Yunus, Hans-Peter König,David Pittsinger, Greg Fedderly, David Crawford, Bernard Fitch, Philip Webb and Richard Bernstein, conducted by Adam Fischer.
Radio 4 Netherlands - From l'Opéra National de Lyon, Saariaho's Emilie, with Karita Mattila, conducted by Kazushi Ono.
NRK Klassisk & NRK P2 - From Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Handel's Agrippina, with Lorenzo Regazza, Ann Hallenberg, Florin Cezar Ouatu, Veronica Cangemi, Zavier Sabata, Ugo Guagliardo, Milena Stori and Roberto Abbondanza, conducted by Fabio Biondi.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) - From the Metropolitan opera in New York, the March 6th broadcast of Verdi's Attila, with Ildar Abdrazakov, Violeta Urmana, Giovanni Meoni, Ramón Vargas, Russell Thomas and Samuel Ramey, conducted by Riccardo Muti.
Klara - From Vlaamse Opera, Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin, with Tommi Hakala, Anna Leese, Katarina Bradic, Thorsten Büttner, Ilya Bannik, Mireille Capelle, Livia Budai and Guy De Mey, conducted by Dmitri Jurowski.
Radio Tre (RAI) - From Teatro La Fenice in Venice, a March 14th performance of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, with Ann Hallenberg, Marlin Miller, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Oriana Kurteshi, Sabrina Vianello, Elena Traversi, Julianne Young and Krystian Adam, conducted by Attilio Cremonesi.
KBIA2 & WDAV- NPR World of Opera: from the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Rossini's Zelmira, with Kate Aldrich, Juan Diego Flórez, Marianna Pizzolato, Alex Esposito, Mirco Palazzi, Gregory Kunde, Francisco Brito and Sávio Sperandio, conducted by Roberto Abbado.

Happy listening . . . .

Tenor Monsters

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:34:00 +0000

I thought I'd indulge myself by taking a break, via putting some flesh on the bones of some stray remarks I've recently made on the tiny handful of tenor roles that require everything, or practically everything.

For as much as I've looked into some of these monster scores, as well as from haphazardly assembling a set of varied reflections from certain singers and historical specialists, nine roles in particular seem to surface again and again that are thoroughly dramatic and also require a degree of suppleness above the ordinary. In chronological order, they are

1818 Rossini: RICCIARDO E ZORAIDE (Agorante)

(requiring the ultimate in coloratura flexibility, and with a startlingly baritonal tessitura in much of the ensemble writing, alternating with moments of stratospheric passagework)

1819 Rossini: ERMIONE (Pirro)

(its length requires more stamina, but it has the same degree of incredible agility and stratospheric passagework, while its tessitura is more comfortable for most tenors)

1822 Rossini: ZELMIRA (Antenore)

(requiring even more stamina, but otherwise the same as Pirro)

1829 Rossini: GUILLAUME TELL (Arnold)

(the heaviest role written up to then, with variations in tessitura alternating from passaggio-heavy to baritonal, and some degree of flexibility if not equivalent to the first three, requiring unusual stamina for its sheer length)

1836 Meyerbeer: LES HUGUENOTS (Raoul)

(not quite as consistently heavy throughout and without the same variations in tessitura, but with a similar level of flexibility and sheer length)

1838 Donizetti: POLIUTO (Poliuto)

(alternates lyric and dramatic writing to an uncommon degree, with its heaviest scene even heavier than anything in Arnold or Raoul, its alternations in tessitura splitting the difference between Arnold and Raoul, somewhat less demanding flexibility than the previous two)

1840 Donizetti: LES MARTYRS (Polyeucte)

(in this POLIUTO revision, all the requirements of the original, plus variations in tessitura fully comparable to those in Arnold)

1849 Meyerbeer: LE PROPHETE (Jean)

(more than one scene here fully as dramatic throughout as Poliuto's/Polyeucte's heaviest sequence, requiring more flexibility also, but with practically no variations in tessitura at all)

1855 Verdi: VEPRES SICILIENNES (Henri)

(more flexibility needed than in Poliuto/Polyeucte but somewhat less than in PROPHETE, slightly heavier than Raoul, although still not as heavy as Jean, while just as heavy as Poliuto/Polyeucte in Henri's last two acts)

Looking over these, one can say that any one role here may be tougher than another, depending on which factor(s) one is spotlighting. There seems to be little question, for instance, that Arnold marks a huge break with those roles preceding it in the sheer density of the scoring and the new-fangled heroic utterances in the vocal writing as a result. At the same time, its somewhat less intricate agility means that it does defer somewhat to Antenore, for instance, in this regard (while the unusual length of both roles entails a similar level of stamina for both).

A similar trade-off is apparent in comparing, for instance, Arnold with Jean, arguably the two roles that come up the most often as the very hardest roles of all. Jean is even heavier than Arnold for most of its writing, but Arnold's emotional intensity combined with its more varied tessitura can make its most challenging sequences of all seem slightly more daunting to some singers than anything in Jean, however more consistently heavy Jean may be as a whole. I found it intriguing that one tenor, Rick Christman, one of the few on this planet who's sung both Arnold and Jean, told me that Arnold is actually (slightly) more challenging for him, while, on the other hand, bel canto historian Randy Mikelson feels that the level of the scoring is simply so heavy in PROPHETE as to put Jean in a class entirely by himself. It would be interesting to know which one Gedda finds tougher.

It's not really possible to say -- 1, 2, 3 -- which is the most difficult role, which the second most difficult, and so on. But perhaps, broad groupings are possible. Tied at first place is probably

1829 Rossini: GUILLAUME TELL (Arnold)
1849 Meyerbeer: LE PROPHETE (Jean)

Then might be

1818 Rossini: RICCIARDO E ZORAIDE (Agorante)
1819 Rossini: ERMIONE (Pirro)
1822 Rossini: ZELMIRA (Antenore)
1840 Donizetti: LES MARTYRS (Polyeucte)

followed by

1838 Donizetti: POLIUTO (Poliuto)
1855 Verdi: VEPRES SICILIENNES (Henri)

with

1836 Meyerbeer: LES HUGUENOTS (Raoul)

at the end -- and Raoul is hardly easy!

There is a purpose of sorts behind these reflections: I'm wondering if anyone here has ever experienced, either as a singer or as a colleague or as a spectator or as a listener, any performances of any of these roles in which the tenor writing actually came off as (relatively) easy, perhaps seemingly easier than some other role not on this list in which the same singer seemed to have an apparent struggle instead. I can already think of one such case myself, but since it involves a role that most seem agreed on as no heavier than lirico spinto, I'm hoping it doesn't upset too many applecarts: Marcello Giordani actually seemed to have smoother sailing when doing Arnold at Carnegie Hall with Eve Queler than he had doing Gualtiero in PIRATA at the Met. But since Gualtiero has a slightly higher tessitura anyway, pure matters of vocal category may have as much to do with this as anything involved in overall difficulty as such. (Also, bear in mind that it was very clear that Giordani's Arnold was sung with atypical containment for him; he wasn't necessarily cautious or understated, but he was unusually careful that night in minding his technical "p"s and "q"s, so to speak, in order to keep the line going smoothly and evenly to the end of the evening without tiring; the tone was well forward and there were very few lunges and percussive attacks were rare; the result was that he was even able to encore the cabaletta and still show no sign of fatigue in the last scene [where he admittedly has little to do]! On the other hand, he seemed much more relaxed as Gualtiero but also a shade careless here and there, and there was marked fatigue by the end, whether or not as the direct result of less careful singing may be hard to say.)

Also, are there any supreme examples of total mastery of the music in any of these nine cited roles that still abides with anyone here as marking a peak in their experience unlikely to be challenged any time soon? Thanks.

Geoffrey Riggs

Live Offerings - Saturday, February 20, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:34:00 +0000

Many European stations are carrying the Met broadcast of Ariadne auf Naxos this week, so there a re fewer offerings than usual this week....

France Musique - From Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, a January 30th performance of Rossini's La Cenerentola, with Antonino Siragusa, Stéphane Degout, Pietro Spagnoli,
Carla Di Censo, Nidia Palacios, Vivica Genaux and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo.
Metropolitan Opera Broadcast (on numerous stations) - Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, with Nina Stemme, Kathleen Kim, Sarah Connolly, Lance Ryan, Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Anne-Carolyn Bird, (Tamara Mumford, Erin Morley, Tony Stevenson, Sean Panikkar, Mark Schowalter and Markus Werba, conducted by Kirill Petrenko.
KBIA2 & WDAV - NPR World of Opera: From Houston Grand Opera, Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Olga Guryakova, Marco Berti, Patrick Carfizzi, Raymond Aceto, Ryan McKinny, Maria Markina and Beau Gibson, conducted by Patrick Summers.
Espace 2 - From the Vienna State Opera, a December 14, 2009 performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, with Robert Dean Smith, Violetta Urmana, Yvonne Naef, Bo Skovhus, Franz Josef Selig, Clemens Unterreiner, Peter Jelosits, Wolfgang Bankl and Gergely Nemethy, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.
Klara - From the Barbican Hall in London, a concert performance of Martinu's Julietta, with Magdalena Kozena, William Burden, Michel Andreas Jäggi, Rosalind Plowright, Zdenek Plech, Anna Stéphany, Jean Rigby, Frederic Goncalves and Roderick Williams, conducted by Jiri Belohlavek.
And later on this evening:
WFMT - Live from Chicago Lyric Opera, Opening Night of Berlioz' Damnation of Faust, with Paul Groves, Susan Graham, John Relyea and Christian Van Horn, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
ABC Classic FM (Australia) & Concert FM (New Zealand) - From the Metropolitan Opera, Verdi's Stiffelio, with José Cura, Julianna Di Giacomo, Andrzej Dobber, Michael Fabiano, Phillip Ens, Jennifer Check and Diego Torre, conducted by Plácido Domingo.

Happy listening

A Wagner Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 09:45:00 +0000

WAGNER: DIE MEISTERSINGER

Deutsche Oper, Berlin
February 14, 2010

Berlin’s Deutsche Oper gave its supporters a valentine of sorts on Valentine’s Day: a performance of Die Meistersinger. Nothing special about that, were it not for the presence of Klaus Florian Vogt as Walther von Stolzing. Despite a uniformly upper drawer cast that included Michaela Kaune as Eva, James Johnson as Sachs, and Markus Brück, Kristinn Siegmundson and Paul Kaufmann as Beckmesser, Pogner and David respectively, it seemed as though the stage darkened to a pin spotlight on Vogt, whenever he was on the boards, which, as those familiar with the work know, is most of the time.

In the seven years since I first heard Vogt as Lohengrin in Bremen, he has become, justifiably, I think, internationally known as one of the finest Wagner tenors of this age. Considering how few really great Wagner singers there have been in any age, his emergence into pre-eminence may be more a matter of luck than talent simply outing itself. What is extraordinary is that he is also emerging as one of the great voices of this or any other age. That is a real accomplishment in the light of how many singers of widely varying quality are vying for attention via their press agents, recording companies and media machines.

Some listeners have described his unusual sound as “boyish” while others have called it sort of “androgynous.” Actually, it is neither. Vogt played the horn at Hamburg’s Staatsoper, before a vocal teacher suggested that he might have a brighter future singing above the pit, rather than playing out of it.

Sometimes things work out.

Vogt’s sound in its current disposition is indeed reminiscent of a French horn played by Philip Miller or Dennis Brain: sweet in soft passages, penetrating and dominant under pressure. It is immediately recognizable, it commands attention even in the thick of competition from other voices and other instruments. It never tires the ear. I’ve never heard anything quite like it. It is, in the grandest sense of the word, unique.

Wagner created a real character in Walther von Stolzing, and the role gives Vogt an opportunity to act. His Walther is youthful, quick to anger and ardently passionate, but the passion is imbued with intelligence and humility. You get the impression that he’s really listening to Sachs, matter-of-factly sung by James Johnson, when the Master of the Mastersingers gives him a lesson in songwriting in the third act. And the Prize Song in the next scene becomes, in Vogt’s voice, a cumulative rather than repetitive precipitate of the Master’s tuition.

With such masterful singing in a work about the Art of Singing (among a few other things), it’s hard to comment on the able efforts put forth by Vogt’s colleagues: the aforementioned aural pin-spot on Vogt tended to occlude them. Nontheless, Michaela Kaune was an effectively flirtatious Eva, Markus Brück portrayed a delightfully irritating Beckmesser, Kristinn Sigmundsson’s height enabled him to present a grandly imposing Pogner, Ulrike Helzel sounded pleasantly youthful as Magdalena, and Paul Kaufmann as David showed hopeful signs of becoming an Almaviva with whom to be reckoned.

The Deutsche Oper’s new Music Director Donald Runnicles stepped in for the originally designated conductor, so his somewhat lackluster reading may have been the result of brief rehearsal time and the effort to avoid disasters in such a wildly complex work.

Götz Friedrich’s production from the mid-90s hold up well, primarily because it never strays far from the composer’s stage directions. In fact, it is a delight to see the festival in the final scene look and feel festive.

The current run of Meistersinger is part of the Deutsche Oper’s Wagner Weeks, in which most of the composer’s works -- including a new production of Rienzi -- are being presented over the course of several months. Rienzi has attracted a lot of press coverage, largely because its producer has turned it into a quasi-allegory in which the eponymous hero bears the appearance of a certain Austrian-born dictator. I haven’t seen it, so I can’t report much more, except to say, I’m looking forward to hearing the Leipzig Oper’s production this spring with none less than Elena Zhidkova as Orsini.

If you’re in Berlin this weekend, do what you must to get a ticket to Meistersinger on Sunday, providing that Vogt is singing. There’s only one bad seat in the house: the one you don’t get. But caveat emptor: it’s pretty much sold out.

©Sam H. Shirakawa

Bon-Bons from Bonne Bonn

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:38:00 +0000

WAGNER : TANNHÄUSER

Theater Bonn

7 February 2010

I’ve made three trips to Bonn from Cologne in the past month (less than 30 minutes by train), twice to hear the last performances this season of Tannhäuser. As I suspected, the best thing about Klaus Weise’s new production is how new it looks.

Following the current trend, the musical format mixes the Dresden (1845) and Paris (1860) versions. For those members of the Great Unwashed who don’t know the key differences between the two versions: the Paris Edition has a ballet; the Dresden version has more singing, primarily in the second act. The mixed version going around these days purveys the ballet and more singing. For purists, this might not make sense: The later version is significantly more sophisticated. As the fat lady tauntingly told her husband though: All in all, there’s just more to love.

What’s truly to love in Bonn’s new production is Scott MacAllister. I never thought I would ever hear a Heinrich (that’s T’s first name) so well sung. All the more surprising, because I heard him sing a number of roles (mostly Mozart) 20 years ago in Mannheim, and I could not have imagined that I would ever hear him attempt, let alone achieve excellence in a Wagner opera. The voice in its current estate has no perceptible register breaks. It’s bright and open at the top, solid in the middle and below. The sound is clean, large and remains sweet under pressure: Think Bjørling meets early Max Lorenz. MacAllister needs at least one strophe of his Hymn to Venus to warm up, but once he hits his stride, he’s full-throttle right up to the final curtain. Of the 15-odd tenors I’ve heard as Tannhäuser over more than 30 performances, including Hans Hopf, James McCracken and Peter Seifert (and oh, yes, Pekka Nuotio, too), none come close to challenging him. Unfortunately though, the size of his midriff has increased in direct proportion to the outsize amplitude of his voice.

Elisabeth on 7 February was Ingeborg Greiner, who was satisfactory, following a nervous start. Far superior was Anna-Katharina Behnke, who sang the role in Bonn last month. She has grown musically by leaps since I first heard her as Aida in Halle about 12 years ago, but she remains an underestimated quantity.

Anna Magdalena Hofmann was an attractive Venus and Lee Poulis a dignified Wolfram. Both received a big round of applause at the curtain calls. The other principals carried out their duties efficiently: Ramaz Chikviladze (Hermann), Mirko Roschkovski (Walther), Mark Morouse (Biterolf), Mark Rosenthal (Heinrich der Schreiber), Marton Tzonev (Reinmar). No standouts though.

Stefan Blunier drew some excellent playing from the house orchestra.

On the third of my three recent trips to Bonn, I attended a recital by Monserrat Caballe. She's now 76 and walks with a cane. Time and fevers, to borrow from Auden, have taken their tolls, but her radiance remains undiminished. 'Nuf said.

Caballé in 2007

© Sam H. Shirakawa

An Insomniac's Ring Cycle . . . '

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:08:00 +0000

For those who can't sleep tonight, there's always Wagner's Ring Cycle. Swiss Radio Crazy's Opera channel will be airing the complete Haitink Ring Cycle starting sometime after 9:00PM EST. This recording features Eva Marton (Brunnhilde), Siegfried Jerusalem (Siegmund), James Morris (Wotan), Cheryl Studer (Sieglinde), Reiner Goldberg (Sigfried), and Waltraud Meier (Fricka).

Enjoy!

Live Offerings - Saturday, February 13, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:32:00 +0000

The Met broadcast is now underway, but most other offerings are just about to start:

Metropolitan Opera Broadcast (on numerous stations) - Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, with Diana Damrau, Juan Diego Florez, Meredith Arwady, Maurizio Muraro, Donald Maxwell, Roger Andrews and Kiri te Kanawa, conducted by Marco Armiliato.
Radio 4 Netherlands - From La Monnaie in Brussels, a Gluck double bill: Iphigénie en Aulide, with Andrew Shore, Charlotte Hellekant, Véronique Gens, Avi Klembergand and Henk Neven; and Iphigénie en Tauride, with Nadja Michael, Stéphane Degout, Topi Lehtipuu, Werner van Mechelen and Violet Serena Noorduynconducted by Christophe Rousset.
France Musique - From Opera Bastille in Paris, a February 12th performance of Massenet's Werther, with Jonas Kaufmann and Lodovic Tezier.
KBIA 2 - NPR World of Opera: From the Chorégies Festival in Orange, France, Verdi's La Traviata, with Patrizia Ciofi, Vittorio Grigolo, Marzio Giossi, Laura Brioli, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Jean-Marie Delpas and Armando Noguera, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung.
NRK Klassisk & NRK P2 - From La Monnaie in Brussels, Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, with Nadja Michael, Stéphane Degout, Topi Lehtipuu, Werner van Mechelen and Violet Serena Noorduynconducted by Christophe Rousset.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) - From Schlosstheater Schönbrunn, an August 2009 performance of Zeller's Der Obersteiger, with Bernhard Berchtold, Santiago Bürgi, Cornelia Zink, Wolfgang Müller-Lorenz, Donna Ellen and Anna Siminska, conducted by Herbert Mogg.
Espace 2 - From the Ukrainian National Opera, an October 31st performance of Lysenko's Taras Bulba, with Taras Shtonda, Alla Pozniak, Petro Priymak, Pavlo Priymak, Yevghen Orlov, Svetlana Golevska, Vasyl Kolybabiuk, Serghiy Skochelias, Viktor Dudar, Oleksandr Gourets, Andriy Gonkulov and Dmytro Gryshyn, conducted by Volodymyr Kozhukhar.
HR2 Kultur - From the Vienna State Opera, a June 20th performance of Strauss's Die Schweigsame Frau, with Jane Archibald, Kurt Rydl, Michael Schade, Janina Baechle, Adrian Eröd, conducted by Peter Schneider.
Klara - Starting at GMT 1900/EST 2:00PM - the Met's La Fille du Régiment.
Latvia Radio Klasika - From the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, a November 21st performance of Verdi's Don Carlos, with Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavska, Simon Keenlyside, Feruccio Furlanetto and Marianne Korneti, conducted by Semyons Bychkov.
MDR Figaro - From Staatsoper Dresden, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, with Krassimira Stoyanova, Elina Garanca, Michael Schade and Franz-Josef Selig, conducted by Christian Thielemann.
Radio Tre (RAI) - From Teatro San Carlo in Naples, a January 27th performance of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, with Gregory Kunde, Teresa Romano, Elena Monti,, Monica Bacelli, Francesca Russo Ermolli and Vito Priante, conducted by Jeffrey Tate.
WDAV - NPR World of Opera on a one-week delay: From Washington National Opera, Puccini's La boheme, with Adriana Damato, Vittorio Grigolo, Nicole Cabell, Paolo Pecchioli, Hyung Yun, Trevor Scheunemann, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume.
ABC Classic FM (Australia) & Concert FM (New Zealand) - From the Metropolitan Opera, the historic broadcast (February 1, 1958) of Barber's Vanessa, with Eleanor Steber, Nicolai Gedda, Rosalind Elias, Regina Resnik, Giorgio Tozzi, George Cehanovsky and Robert Nagy, conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos.
And, last but not least, don't forget video feed of the the last (of 4) performance of the Indiana University production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, with Heather Youngquist, Joshua Lindsay, Andrew Kroes, Scott Hogsed, Nikhil Navkal, Samuel Green, Jane Rownd and Amanda Sesler, conducted by Arthur Fagen (Guest Stage Director: James Marvel, Set & Costume Designer: C. David Higgins).

Happy listening (and watching) . . . .

Live Offerings - Saturday, February 6, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:33:00 +0000

Somewhat slimmer pickings than usual. The biggest curiosity will probably bed Placido Domingo singing the title role in Simon Boccanegra (usually tackled by baritones). Also two different performances of Verdi's Macbeth, and from La Scala, a live performance of Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust. Here's the complete lineup:

DR P2 - From Geneva, Mozart's Don Giovanni, with Pietro Spangnoli, José Fardilha, Diana Damrau, Serena Farnocchia and Christoph Strehl, conducted by Kenneth Montgomery.
Metropolitan Opera Broadcast (on numerous stations)- Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, with Placido Domingo, Adrianne Pieczonka, Marcello Giordano, James Morris, Nicola Alaimo and Richard Bernstein, conducted by James Levine.
Radio 4 Netherlands - Handel's Ariodante, with Ann Hallenberg, Karina Gauvin, Maarten Engeltjes, Jaël Azzaretti and Krystian Adam, conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli.
Radio Clasica de Espana - From Ukrainian National Opera in Kiev, Lysenko's Taras Bulba, with T. Shtonda, A. Pozniak, P. Priymak, P. Priymak, Y. Orlov, S. Godlevska, T. Kuzminova, O. Gourets, V. Kolybabiuk, S. Skochelias, V. Dudar, A. Goniukov, D. Gryshyn, O. Boyko, M. Gubchuk and O. Vostriakov, conducted by V. Kozhukhar.
KBIA2 - NPR World of Opera: From Washington National Opera, Puccini's La Boheme, with Adriana Damato, Vittorio Grigolo, Nicole Cabell, Paolo Pecchioli, Hyung Yun and Trevor Scheunemann, conducted by Emmanuel Villaume.
Radio Tre (RAI) - From La Scala in MIlan, Schumann's Szenen aus Goethes Faust, with Michael Volle, Dorothea Röschmann, Dimitri Ivashchenko, Steve Davislim, Irena Bespalovaite, Adina Aaron, Elena Zhidkova, Maria Radner and Jacheui Kwon, conducted by Pinchas Steinberg.
Cesky Rozhlas 3-Vltava - From Glyndebourne, Dvorak's Rusalka, with Ana Maria Martinez, Brandon Jovanovich, Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Mikhail Schelomianski, Larissa Diadkova, Natasha Jouhl, Barbara Senator, Elodie Méchain, Diana Axentii, Alasdair Elliott and John Mackenzie, conducted by Jirí Behlohlávek.
Espace 2 - From the Vienna State Opera, a December 7, 2009 performance of Verdi's Macbeth, with Simon Keenlyside, Erika Sunnegardh, Stefan Kocan, Dimitri Pittas, Gergely Nemety, Donna Ellen and Alfred Sramek, conducted by Guillermo Garcia Calvo.
Klara - From Vlaamse Opera, Bernstein's Candide, with Michael Spyres, Jane Archibald, Graham Valentine, Thomas Oliemans, Andrew Ashwin, Katarina Bradic, Karan Armstrong, Keith Lewis, Adrian Fischer, Gijs Van der Linden, Milcho Borovinov and Thorsten Buettner, conducted by Yannis Pouspourikas.
HR2 Kultur - A November 1, 2009 performance of Act 2 of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, with Waltraud Meier, John Mac Master, Michelle Breedt, Franz Josef Selig and Kurwenal Michael Vier, conducted by Daniel Harding.
WDAV - NPR World of Opera (on a one week delay): From Bastille Opera in Paris, Verdi's Macbeth, with Dimitris Tiliakos, Violeta Urmana, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Stefano Secco, Alberto Nigro and Letitia Singleton, conducted by Teodor Currentzis.
ABC Classic FM (Australia) & Concert FM (New Zealand) - Another chance to hear the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Bizet's Carmen, with Elina Garanca, Barbara Frittoli, Roberto Alagna, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Earle Patriarco, Keith Jameson, Keith Miller, Trevor Scheunemann, Elizabeth Caballero and Sandra Piques Eddy, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

. . . And don't forget the live videocast of the Indiana University Lucia di Lammermoor tonightat 8:00PM EST.

Happy listening . . . .

A Rocket to Mannheim

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:36:00 +0000

DIE FLEDERMAUS / ROBERTO DEVEREUX
National Theater, Mannheim

Why do you want to come all the way to Mannheim just to hear such an old production of Die Fledermaus? asked a lifelong Mannheimer and operagoer.

“Because I need some ear candy,” I replied.

Mannheim has supplied an estimable variety of ear candy to the world for well over three centuries. Most notably: Mozart visited the city four times and spent a total of 176 days here. Some of the venues where he made music are still functioning. The so-called Mannheim School made its home here. The Court Orchestra under Carlo Grua (1700-1773) won renown as one of Europe’s finest ensembles. In the last century, its opera house, first established in 1779, became a way station for such up-and-coming musicians and singers as Artur Bodansky, who led the German wing of the Metropolitan Opera from 1915 to his death in 1939, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Donald Runnicles, Jun Märkl, Adam Fischer; Inge Borkh, Diana Damrau, Franz Mazura, Jean Cox and Scott McAlister.

With such a formidable history that is continually in the making, performers in Mannheim have a lot to live up to, and they know it. Of the 30 odd performances I’ve heard here since 1990, only a few have been lackluster. (A couple of disasters -- yes -- but interesting catastrophes.)

During my most recent stay, I attended two consecutive performances at the National Theater: a production of Die Fledermaus, dating from 1978, and the premiere of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux in concert-format, apparently the first time ever that this opera has been performed professionally in Mannheim. So it came as a surprise to me, how lively and vital the 30 year-old production of Fledermaus came across, whereas the premiere of Devereux seemed somewhat phlegmatic in comparison.

I doubt that any Fledermaus can match the sparkle and fizzle that the Metropolitan Opera’s mounting nearly always manages to produce, but Mannheim comes close. Friedrich Meyer-Oertel clearly conceived his production with fun as the guiding principal, and the principals, bit-players and chorus at this performance were determined to play out this comedy of manners with mirth always in mind.

Particularly rewarding for me was to hear Eisenstein sung by a tenor, as Johann Strauss originally intended. I never heard Uwe Eikötter before, but I’d like to hear him again. He has precisely the right lilt in his voice as he tries to play a not-so good-natured trick on his wife. A mellow sweetness in the timbre suggests he might do well to attempt a more ambitious Fach than Melot, Monostatos and Pong -- parts he apparently regularly sings.

Cornelia Ptassek took a while to get inside Rosalinda, but by the time she got to her rousing Czardas in the second act, she turned into a spouse not to be trifled with.

I’m told that Diana Damrau made Adele into one of her signature roles during her stay in Mannheim, but Katharina Göres at this performance left little to long for. She has clean coloratura, a bright top and an attractive stage personality -- a package that could take her to stages far beyond Germany. Whether she has Damrau’s dramatic range and vocal allure, remains to be seen.

Edna Prochnik as Orlovsky was delightful to experience, not merely because she reveals an incipient vocal temperament that portends bigger roles. She is also a refreshing change from the counter-tenors that I’ve encountered too frequently in this role. Which brings to mind a suggestion for the idea-starved directors, whose da-duh productions of this wonderful work I’ve had to endure in the past couple of years: How about an Orlovsky performed by a counter-tenor in an evening gown?

The big surprise of the evening, though, was Wolfgang Neumann as Alfredo. Yes, the Wolfgang Neumann everybody who has survived his Siegfried and Tristan loves to hate! Rarely, have I experienced Alfredo so electrifyingly sung and non-acted! And on this occasion, he was even funny. Neumann sings his farewell this spring in Mannheim, but surely he has more than enough voice left to return for an occasional turn as Alfredo.

At this performance, Lars Møller, Thomas Jesatko and Uwe Schönbeck were cast as Dr. Falke, Frank and Frosch respectively. Møller eschewed the manipulative side of the role and made the most of the merry side of Eisenstein’s sidekick. Jesatko enlivened the party scene, and Schönbeck clearly had the audience in his bottle the moment he stepped on stage as the inebriated jailer. Oskar Pürgstaller’s Blind was a treat.

The linking entity between Fledermaus and Devereux was Alexander Kalajdzic on the podium. He is among the batch of younger conductors cutting their teeth on the international circuit. Currently, the Zagreb native is wrapping up his tour of duty as first Kappelmeister in Mannheim. Next season, he moves on to become Generalmusikdirector at Bielefeld’s opera house.

On Friday night he generated high voltage with his reading of Fledermaus. It became clear at the outset of the overture, that he has Strauss the Younger in his blood, and he communicated his affinity with this music with bodacious enthusiasm. On Saturday, though, his wattage sputtered: possibly because the house orchestra, still after nearly 300 years one of the finest in Europe, seemed disinterested during Devereux. Several back-stand violinists were leaning back in their seats throughout the evening, and the winds and brass generally lacked punch in the big ensemble passages. I would have expected this at Fledermaus. After all, it was the upteenth performance of an old production, but the musicians played like New Year’s Eve. Devereux was a premiere and a First for Mannheim. Yet, the orchestra sounded as though nobody wanted to go to the party.

The seeming lack of enthusiasm among the players seemed to infect the principals, all of whom were performing their respective roles for the first time. Ludmila Slepneva has sufficient power and technique to essay Elizabetta, but she seemed preoccupied with the notes rather than the music. And the notes to which she devoted such care were thrifty on ornamentation. Her voice on this occasion also had a tendency to spread at the top in some instances, while turning shrewish at others. Nonetheless she turned out an effective “Vive Ingrato” in the final scene. Comparisons with singers of the past who have scored in this role are admittedly silly. But Slepnova has formidable competition in this Fach from contemporaries such as Alexandrina Pendatchanska. There’s an Elisabetta!

Marie-Belle Sandis fared better as Sara, Elisabetta’s rival for the affections of Roberto Devereux. Hers is a dark mezzo that retains its warmth from top to bottom. She is not exactly suited for Sara, but she came closest to surmounting the lethargy around her.

Juhan Tralla in the eponymous role sounded the most energetic of the three principals, but it became apparent that he has yet to master his part. He has a pleasing and flexible lyric instrument that holds up under pressure, but he too seemed preoccupied with getting out the notes, rather than enlivening them.

The rest of the principal roles were capably rounded out by Thomas Berau (Nottingham), Mihail Mihylov (Raleigh) and Christoph Wittmann (Cecil).

Thinking back on these two performances and the marked contrast in effect, it occurs to me that Fledermaus is a German/Austrian work that was performed by German-speaking artists, whereas Devereux is an Italian work that was played out on this occasion with quite possibly no Italians onstage. Admittedly, most of the live performances of Devereux I’ve heard have been sung by non-Italians, but the Italianate stylistic panache was always there. At the same time, I failed to sense a Germanic or northern European approach to the music, as is palpable in numerous pirate recordings of Donizetti operas in German. Are we now in a New Age of an intra-national style of performing opera?

© Sam H. Shirakawa

Indiana University to Videocast Four Lucias

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:13:00 +0000

On Friday and Saturday evenings (8:00PM EST and 0100GMT) Indiana University will be airing a live videocast of its production of Lucia di Lammermoor. There will be two different performances broadcast on consecutive nights, each with a different cast.

And then, they will do it all over again next weekend - videocasting the final two performances.

So, altogether we will have four opportunities to see this production. Once the run is over, the University has told us that they will pick the best performance by each cast and make those two performances available as videos on demand.

Kudos to Indiana University's video team for making all four performances available.

Sat., Jan. 30, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:57:00 +0000

Two truly exciting offerings today -- among many:

Metropolitan Opera (on numerous stations) - About to start is a performance of Verdi's Stiffelio, with Julianna Di Giacomo, Jose Cura and Andrzej Dobber, with Placido Domingo conducting.
ESPACE 2 - From La Scala, a performance of Bizet's Carmen, with Anna Rachvelishvili, Jonas Kaufmann and Erwin Schrott, with Daniel Barenboim conducting.

Happy Listening!

Sat., Jan. 23, 2010 (B)

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:27:00 +0000

More offerings this afternoon include:

KBIA2 - NPR World of Opera: Verdi's Macbeth, with Dimitris Tiliakos (Macbeth); Violeta Urmana (Lady Macbeth); Ferruccio Furlanetto (Banco); Stefano Secco (Macduff).
Latvia Radio Klasika - Dvorak's Rusalka starring Ana Maria Martinez
MDR Figaro - Nicolai's Merry Wives, starring Franz Hawlata (Sir John Falstaf); Dietrich Henschel (Herr Fluth); Juliane Banse (Frau Fluth).
RADIO OESTERREICH INTERNATIONAL - A repeat of this season's sterling Richard Strauss Rosenkavalier, from the Met, with Susan Graham, Renee Fleming, Kristinn Sigmundsson, Christine Schäfer and Thomas Allen.
Radio Stephansdom - Wagner's Rheingold, starring John Bröcheler as Wotan.
Radio Tre - Verdi's Falstaff, starring veteran Renato Bruson in the title role.

Happy listening,

Sat., Jan. 23, 2010 (A)

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:09:00 +0000

Getting a late start today. Two or three things stand out from the crowd of live offerings this afternoon:

DR P2 - A performance of Chabrier's L'Etoile, with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, which is just starting.
Metropolitan Opera (on numerous stations) - Likewise, just starting, an archival b'cast of Barber's Vanessa, with Eleanor Steber, Nicolai Gedda, Rosalind Elias, Regina Resnik and Giorgio Tozzi.

More to come...............

Live Offerings - Saturday, January 16, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:08:00 +0000

Getting a late start today. Two or three things stand out from the crowd of live offerings this afternoon: The Met's new production of Carmen (also being shown in HD in move theaters today), with Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna, from Radio Clasica de Espana a live 1960 Bartered Bride with Irmgard Seefried and a wonderful ensemble cast, and from Sveriges Radio P2 a 1954 Signor Bruschino (Rossini) with Elisabeth Söderströmand Hugo Hasslo. Here's the complete lineup:

Sveriges Radio P2 - A live 1954 perfromance of Rossini's Signor Bruschino from Kungliga Opera, with Elisabeth Söderström, Eleonora Collin, Arne Hendriksen, Sture Ingebretzen, Sigvard Berg, Hugo Hasslo and Anders Näslund, conducted by Lamberto Gardelli.
BR Klassik - An October 10, 2008 performance of Schubert's Winterreise, with Christoph Prégardien and Ensemble Berlin.
Deutschlandradio Kultur - From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a November 22, 2009 performance of Verdi's Don Carlo, with Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavskaya, Simon Keenlyside, Marianne Cornetti, Ferruccio Furlanetto, John Tomlinson, Robert Lloyd, Pumeza Matshikiza, Eri Nakamura and Robert Anthony Gardiner, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.
DR P2 - From the Vienna State Opera, a January 8th performance of Massenet's Manon, with Diana Damrau, Ramón Vargas, Markus Eiche and Dan Paul Dumitrescu, conducted by Bertrand de Billy.
Metropolitan Opera (on numerous stations) - Bizet's Carmen, with Elina Garanca,
Roberto Alagna, Trevor Scheunemann, Barbara Frittoli, Mariusz Kwiecien, Earle Patriarco, Keith Jameson, Keith Miller, Elizabeth Caballero and Sandra Piques Eddy, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Radio Clasica de Espana - From the Vienna State Opera, a November 11, 1960 performance of Smetana's The Bartered Bride, with I. Seefried, W. Kmentt, H. Braun, H. Konetzni, M. Dickie, L. Weber, R. Anday, O. Czerwenka, L. Szemere, L. Maikl and H. Schweiger, conducted by B. Klobucar.
KBIA2 & KOHM - NPR World of Opera: From the Vienna State Opera, Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtensk, with Kurt Rydl, Marian Talaba, Angela Denoke, Mischa Didyk and Donna Ellen, conducted by Ingo Metzmacher.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) - Another chance to hear the Metropoltian Opera's December 19th broadcast of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, with Joseph Calleja, Kathleen Kim, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Kate Lindsay, Alan Held, Alan Oke and Rodell Rosel, conducted byJames Levine.
Cesky Rozhlas 3-Vltava & WDAV - From Teatro alla Scala, a December 19th performance of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, with Roberta Invernizzi, Georg Nigl, Sara Mingardo, Luigi De Donato, Raffaella Milanesi, Giovanni B. Parodi and Furio Zanasi, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini.
Espace 2 - From The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a December 1, 2009 performance of Tchaikovsky's The Tsarina's Slippers, with Vsevolod Grivnov, Olga Guryakova, Larissa Diadkova, Maxim Mikhailov, Vladimir Matorin, Vyacheslav Voynarovsky, Alexander Vassiliev, John Upperton, Sergey Leiferkus, Jeremy White, Changhan Lim, conducted by Alexander Polyanicko.
HR2 Kultur - From Deutsche Oper Berlin, an April 9, 2009 performance of Respighi's Marie Victoire, with Marie de Lanjallay, Takesha Meshé Kizart, Maurice de Lanjallay, Markus Brück, Clorivière German Villar, Simon Simon Pauly and Cloteau Stephen Bronk, conducted by Michail Jurowski.
Radio Tre (RAI) - From Teatro Communale di Bologna, Strauss's Salome, with Robert Brubaker, Dalia Schächter, Nadja Michael, Mark S. Doss and Mark Milhofer and Nora Sourouzian, conducted by Nicola Luisotti.
ABC Classic FM (Australia) & Concert FM (New Zealand) - Another chance to hear the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Strauss's Elektra, with Susan Bullock, Deborah Voigt, Felicity Palmer, Alan Held and Wolfgang Schmidt, conducted by Fabio Luisi.

Happy listening,

Live Offerings - Saturday, January 9, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 17:02:00 +0000

Not to be missed: The Met broadcast of Der Rosenkavalier (G and I attended the Wednesday evening performance, and the cast was close to perfection, one of the all-time best performances of this opera either of us had seen). All four principles were wonderful, but Susan Graham's Octavian outshown them all.

There are other things to listen to this aftenoon, including a live live Manon from Vienna with Damrau and Vargas, so let's get right to them:

Deutschlandradio Kultur - From Mannheim a December 9th performance of Johann Christian Bach's Amadis des Gaules, with Maximilian Schmitt, Cornelia Ptassek, Marie-Belle Sandis, Anne-Theresa Albrecht, Antje Bitterlich and Katrin Wagner, conducted by Reinhard Goebel.

Metropolitan Opera (on numerous stations) - Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier, with Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Christine Schäfer, Eric Cutler, Thomas Allen and Kristinn Sigmundsson, conducted by Edo de Waart.

Cesky Rozhlas 3-Vltava - From Palais Garnier in Paris, Gounod's Mireille, with Inva Mula, Charles Castronovo, Franck Ferrari, Alain Vernhes, Sylvie Brunet, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Sébastien Droy, Nicolas Cavallier and Amel Brahim-Djelloul, conducted by Marc Minkowski.

KBIA2 & KOHM - NPR World of Opera: From La Sclal in Milan, Monteverdi's Orfeo, with Georg Nigi, Roberta Invernizzi, Sara Mindardo, Luigi De Donato, Raffaella Milanesi, Giovanni B. Parodi and Furio Zanasi, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini.

Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) & Radio Tre (RAI) - From the Vienna State Opera, Massenet's Manon, with Diana Damrau, Ramón Vargas, Dan Paul Dumitrescu, Markus Eiche, Alexander Kaimbacher, Clemens Unterreiner, Simina Ivan, Sophie Marilley and Zoryana Kushpler, conducted by Bertrand de Billy.

Espace 2 - From Cologne, Mozart's Così fan tutte, with Iulia Isaev, Bernarda Fink, Marcel Reijans, Marcel Boone, Pietro Spagnoli, Graciela Oddone, conducted by René Jacobs.

Klara - From La Scala, the December 7th opening night performance of Bizet's Carmen, with Anita Rachvelishvili, Jonas Kaufmann, Erwin Schrott, Adriana Damato, Gabor Bretz, Mathias Hausmann, Michèle Losier, Adriana Kucerová, Gabriel Da Costa, Francis Dudziac, Rodolphe Briand and Carmine Maringola, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

WDAV - From NPR World of Opera (on a one week delay), a Royal Opera House, Covent Garden performance of Tchaikovsky's The Tsarina's Slippers, with Olga Guryakova, Vsevolod Grivnov, Larissa Diadkova, Vladimir Matorin, ergei Leiferkuss, Maxim Mikhailov, Vyacheslav Voynarovsky, Alexander Vassiliev and John Upperton, conducted by Alexander Polianichko.

Concert FM (New Zealand) & ABC Classic FM (Australia) - Now that the Antipodes have begun their run of the Met broadcasts, another chance to hear Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, with Joseph Calleja, Kathleen Kim, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Kate Lindsay, Alan Held, Alan Oke, Rodell Rosel, Michael Todd Simpson, Dean Peterson, Mark Schowalter and David Asch, conducted by James Levine.

Happy listening . . . .

Live Offerings, Saturday, January 2, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:09:00 +0000

Happy New Year! The highlights for this afternoon include two different performances of Verdi's Macbeth from the same December run in Vienna, with Simon Keenlyside; a Meistersinger from the Liceu in Barcelona, with Robert Dean Smith and Véronique Gens; Hansel und Gretel from the Metropolitan Opera, with Miah Persson and Angelika Kirchschlager; from Opéra Bastille in Paris, Giordano's Andréa Chenier, with Marcelo Alvarez. Here's the lineup:

Deutschlandradio Kultur & DR P2 - From the Vienna State Opera, a December 7th performance of Verdi's Macbeth, with Simon Keenlyside, Erika Sunnegardh, Stefan Kocán and Dimitri Pittas, conducted by Guillermo García Calvo.
HR2 Kultur - From Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, a March 23, 2009 performance of Wagner's Die Meistersinger, with Albert Dohmen, Reinhard Hagen, Bo Skovhus, Robert Dean Smith, Norbert Ernst, Véronique Gens and Stella Grigorian, conducted by Sebastian Weigle.
Metropolitan Opera (on numerous stations) - Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel, with Miah Persson, Angelika Kirchschlager, Rosalind Plowright, Dwayne Croft, Philip Langridge, Jennifer Johnson and Erin Morley, conducted by Fabio Luis.
Radio 4 Netherlands - Chabrier's L'Etoile, with Jean Paul Fouchecourt, conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce.
Dwojka Polskie Radio - From the Vienna State Opera, a June 2009 performance of Gounod's Faust, with Soile Isokoski, Zoryana Kushpler, Roxana Constantinescu, Piotr Beczala, Kwangchul Youn, Boaz Daniel and Hans Peter Kammerer, conducted by Bertrand de Billy.
France Musique - From Opéra Bastille in Paris, a December 18 performance of Giordano's Andréa Chenier, with Marcelo Alvarez, Sergei Murzaev, Micaela Carosi, Varduhi Abrahamyan, Stefania Toczyska, Maria José Montiel, André Heyboer, Igor Gnidii, Antoine Garcin, David Bizic, Carlo Bosi, Bruno Lazzaretti, Ugo Rabec and Guillaume Antoine, conducted by Daniel Oren.
KBIA2 & KOHM - NPR World of Opera: From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Tchaikovsky's The Tsarina's Slippers, with Olga Guryakova, Vsevolod Grivnov, Larissa Diadkova, Vladimir Matorin, Sergei Leiferkuss, Maxim Mikhailov, Vyacheslav Voynarovsky, Alexander Vassiliev and John Upperton, conducted by Alexander Polianichko.
MDR Figaro - From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, an August 23, 2009 performance of Verdi's Don Carlo, with Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavskaya, Simon Keenlyside, Sonia Ganassi, Ferruccio Furlanetto and John Tomlinson, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) - From Teatro Comunale in Bologna, an August 9, 2009 performance of Rossini's Zelmira, with Kate Aldrich, Juan Diego Florez, Marinna Pizzolato, Alex Esposito, Mirco Palazzi and Gregory Kunde, conducted by Roberto Abbado.
Cesky Rozhlas 3-Vltava - From Czech radio archives, a 1964 performance of Dvorak's Jacobin, with Richard Novák, Jindr(ich Jindrák, Antonín Švorc, Milada Šubrtová, Karel Berman, Oldr(ich Spisar, Antonín Votava and Helena Tattermuschová, Marie Ovc(ac(íková, conducted by Jan Hus Tichý.
Klara - From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, with Changhan Lim, Juan Diego Florez, Pietro Spagnoli, Joyce DiDonato, Alessandro Corbelli, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Jennifer Rhys-Davies, Bryan Secombe, Christopher Lackner and Andrew Macnair, conducted by Antonio Pappano.

Happy listening.....

Live Offerings - Saturday, December 19, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:11:00 +0000

The strongest, most interesting choice today is probably the Met Tales of Hoffmann broadcast, but there are other offerings worth a look as well. WWFM is re-airing the Bayreuth Meistersinger from this past summer; Deutschlandradio Kultur offers another chance to hear Klaus Florian Vogt in Korngold's Die Tode Stadt from Frankfurt; NPR World of Opera is airing Handel's Ariodante from this past summer's Beaune Baroque Opera Festival with Karina Gauvin; several stations are carrying a Geneva performance of Chabrier's L'Etoile with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt; Radio Tre and Radio Oesterreich International offer Tristan und Isolde from the Vienna State Opera with Robert Dean Smith and Violetta Urmana; and Czech Radio is airing Gounod's Faust with Piotr Beczala and Soile Isokoski (if one doesn't think of Kwangchul Youn as a liability...).

Now for the details:

Deutschlandradio Kultur - From Oper Frankfurt am Main, a November 22 performance of Korngold's Die Tote Stadt, with Klaus Florian Vogt, Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Michael Nagy, Hedwig Fassbender, Anna Ryberg, Jenny Carlstedt, Julian Prégardien and Hans-Jürgen Lazar, conducted by Leitung: Sebastian Weigle.
Espace 2, Dwojke Polskie Radio, NRK Klassisk & NRK P2 - From the Grand Théâtre in Geneva, a November 9 performance of Chabrier's L'Etoile, with Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, René Schirrer, Jean Doyen, Fabrice Farina, Marie-Claude Chappuis, Blandine Staskiewicz and Jérôme Savary, conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce.
Metropolitan Opera (on numerous stations) - Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann, with Kathleen Kim, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Gubanova, Kate Lindsey, Joseph Calleja and Alan Held, conducted by James Levine.
NPR World of Opera - From the International Baroque Opera Festival in Beaune, France, Handel's Ariodante, with Ann Hallenberg, Karina Gauvin, Maarten Engeltjes, Jael Azzaretti,; Krystian Adam and; Sergio Foresti, conducted by Federco Maria Sardelli.
WWFM - From this past summer's Bayreuth Festival, Wagner's Die Meistersinger, with Alan Titus, Artur Korn, Charles Reid, Rainer Zaun, Adrian Eröd, Markus Eiche, Edward Randall, Hans-Jürgen Lazar, Florian Hoffmann, Martin Snell, Hans Schwarz Mario Klein, Diógenes Randes, Klaus Florian Vogt, Norbert Ernst, Michaela Kaune, Carola Guber and Friedemann Röhlig, conducted by Sebastian Weigle.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) & Radio Tre (RAI) - From the Vienna State Opera, a December 14 performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, with Robert Dean Smith, Violetta Urmana, Yvonne Naef, Bo Skovhus, Franz-Josef Selig, Clemens Unterreiner, Wolfgang Bankl, Gergely Nemeti and Peter Jelosits, conducted by Simon Rattle.
Cesky Rozhlas 3-Vltava - From the Vienna State Opera, Gounod's Faust, with Piotr Beczala, Kwangchul Youn, Boaz Daniel, Soile Isokoski, Zoryana Kushpler, Hans Peter Kammerer, Roxana Constantinescu, conducted by Bertrand de Billy.

Messiah Alert!
This being the week before Christmas, there are many opportunities to hear Handel's Messiah (by my count I have entered eight for this week!), including a gem of a performance I heard the other evening with the New York Philharmonic, Helmut Rilling conducting a the Philharmonic's chamber orchestra with the Gächinger Kantorei Stuttgart. The soloists are all more than respectable, but the glory of this performance is the utter clarity and beauty of the choral singing. There will be more than one chance to hear it (unfortunately abridged to fit a two hour time slot - the performance included all three parts and ran about an hour and a half), as many stations in the U.S. will be carrying it as part of their NY Philharmonic series this week.

Happy listening - and Merry Christmas to all!

Exciting Janacek offering

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 17:41:00 +0000

Because of time constraints, today I'm only going to spotlight just one of the many exciting choices on offer over the Web today. As always, we invite you to peruse our Saturday page yourselves for anything that especially appeals to you during this afternoon. But we're especially attracted to a performance from Florence heard on four different stations today:

Deutschlandradio Kultur / Dwojke Polskie Radio - At GMT 1800/EST 1:00PM, Janacek's Cunning Little Vixen: a star-studded cast features

Seiji Ozawa conductor

Quinn Kelsey
The Gamekeeper

Judith Christin
His Wife, The Owl

Dennis Petersen
The Schoolmaster,The Mosquito

Kevin Langan
The Priest, The Badger

Gustáv Belácek
Harašta, a tramp

Federico Lepre
Pásek, The Innkeeper

Marcella Polidori
Páskova, His Wife

Isabel Bayrakdarian
Bystrouška, the Cunning Little Vixen

Lauren Curnow
The Fox.

NRK Klassisk / NRK P2 - At GMT 1830/EST 1:30PM, you can hear this same performance on these stations in even finer sound! However, be aware that NRK Klassisk recently made an arbitrary cut at the start of the last act of a recent Lady Macbeth of Mzensk. Since NRK P2 appears to do their Saturday opera in tandem with NRK Klassisk, both stations may have done the same on that occasion! Consequently, in this case, opting for finer sound today, at GMT 1830/EST 1:30PM, may entail some risk for the listener. "Buyer, beware".

Happy listening.....

Live Offerings, Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:20:00 +0000

Further live offerings for this afternoon:

Dwojke Polskie Radio - Is also carrying the Szymanowski Król Roger from the Liceu; a correction: Josep Pons is the sonductoir (and not the singer Juan Pons, as I ahd eal;rier supposed).
France Musique - From Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, a November 9 performance of Donizetti's Don Pasquale, with Nicola Alaimo, Laura Giordano, Mario Cassi, Francisco Gatell and Gabriele Spina, conducted by Riccardo Muti.
NPR World of Opera - From the Vienna State Opera, Mozart's Don Giovanni, with Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, Rene Pape, Ricarda Merbeth, Soile Isokoski, Michael Schade, Michaele Selinger, Boaz Daniel and Eric Halfvarson, conducted by Constantinos Carydis.
NRK Klassisk & NRK P2 - From Palais Garnier in Paris, Gounod's Mireille, with Inva Mula, Charles Castronovo, Franck Ferrari, Alain Vernhes, Sylvie Brunet, Anne-Catherine Gillet, Sébastien Droy, Nicolas Cavallier and Amel Brahim-Djelloul, conducted by Marc Minkowski.
Radio Oesterreich International (OE1) - From Theater an der Wien, an October 22 performance of Vivaldi's Armida al Campo d'Egitto, with Sara Mingardo, Furio Zanasi, Monica Bacelli, Raffaella Milanesi, Marina Comparato, Romina Basso and Martin Oro, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini.
Cesky Rozhlas-3 Vltava - From trhe Metropolitan Oper archives, a 1959 broadcast pf Verdi's Macbeth, with Leonie Rysanek, Leonard Warren, Carlo Bergonzi, Jerome Hines, William Olvis, Carlotta Ordassy, Gerhard Pechner, Harold Sternberg, Osie Hawkins, Calvin Marsh, Emilia Cundari and Mildred Allen, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf.
Klara - Is running a full day of Purcell programming, and in their opera slot listen to Glyndebourne performance of Purcell's The Fairy Queen, with Lucy Crowe, Claire Debono, Anna Devin, Carolyn Sampson, Robert Burt, Ed Lyon, Andrew Foster-Williams, Sean Clayton, Adrian Ward, and Lukas Kargl, conducted by William Christie.
Latvia Radio Klasika - From the Grand Theatre in Geneva, a February 28 performance of Strauss's Salome, with Alan Held, Nikola Bellere Karbone, Hedviga Fasbindere and Kim Begley, conducted by Gabriele Ferro.
NDR Kultur - From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a September performance of Verdi's Don Carlo, with Jonas Kaufmann, Maria Poplavskaya, Simon Keenlyside, Sonia Ganassi, Ferruccio Furlanetto and John Tomlinson, conducted by Semyon Bychkov.
Radio Tre (RAI) - From Opéra Berlioz, Le Corum, Montpellier, a July 13 performance of Bellini's Zaira, with Ermonela Jaho, Varduhi Abrahamyan, Shalva Mukeria, Wenwei Zhang, Franck Bard, Marianne Crebassa and Carlo Kang, conducted by Enrique Mazzola.
Radio Tre (RAI) - In their weekend late-night archival broadcast slot, tonight hear an October 25, 1963 broadcast of Leoncavallo's's La Boheme, with Angelo Loforese, Guido Mazzini, Fernando Lidonni, Giorgio Tadeo, Osvaldo Scrigna, Osvaldo Scrigna, Walter Brunelli, Antonio Petrini, Bianca Maria Casoni, Florida Assandri Norelli and Maja Sunara, Orchestra Sinfonica e coro di Milano della Raiconducted by Pietro Argento; tomorrow night hear Puccini's La Boheme, with Agostino Lazzari, Rolando Panerai, Enrico Ciampi, Franco Calabrese, Aristide Baracchi, Melchiorre Luise, Elena Rizzieri, Graziella Sciutti, Walter Artioli and Egidio Casolari, Orchestra Sinfonica e coro di Milano della Rai conducted by Nino Sanzogno.

Happy listening.....

Live Offerings, Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:08:00 +0000

Getting a late start on this blog today (thanks to a late but great party last night). Some things are already underway:

Sveriges Radio P2 - Stravinski's The Rakes Progress, from Malmö, with Nikola Matisic, Hulda Björk Gardarsdóttir, Bengt Krantz, Emma Lyrén, Ethel Schelin, Daniel Hellström, Sellem - Rickard Söderberg, Thomas Hildebrandt and Skådespelare - Keijo J. Salmela, conducted by Staffan Larsson.
WUFT-FM HD2 - From Houston Grand Opera, a Choral Gala.
Bartok Radio - Its Budapest Ring Cycle continues with a June 14 performance of Gotterdammerung, with Christian Franz, Oskar Hillebrandt, Eric F. Halfvarson, Hartmut Welker, Linda Watson, Markovics Erika, Cornelia Kallisch, Gál Erika, Németh Judit, Szabóki Tünde, Korondi Anna, Fodor Gabriella and Shöck Atala, conducted by Adan Fischer.
BBC Radio 3 - From Opera North, Massenet's Werther, with Paul Nilon, Alice Coote, Fflur Wyn, Peter Savidge, Donald Maxwell, Richard Burkhard and Joshua Ellicott, conducted by Richard Farnes.

And about to start:

CBC Two - From La Scala in Milan, Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, with David Daniels, Rosemary Joshua, Emil Wolk, Daniel Okulitch, Gordon Gietz, and Erin Wall, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.
Deutschlandradio Kultur - From Staatsoper Hannover, a November 14 perfromance of Wagner's Das Rheingold, with Tobias Schabel, Jin-Ho Yoo, Young-Hoon Heo, Robert Künzli, Stefan Adam, Jörn Eichler, Albert Pesendorfer, Young Myoung Kwon, Khatuna Mikaberidze, Arantxa Armentia, Okka von der Damerau, Nicole Chevalier, Julia Faylenbogen and Mareike Morr, conducted by Wolfgang Bozic.
DR P2 - From the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, an August 29 performance of Haydn's Orlando Paladino, with Tom Randle, Sine Bundgaard, Pietro Spagnoli, Magnus Staveland, Alexandrina Pendatchanska and Sunhae Im, condiucted by René Jacobs.
Espace Musique - From Vienna State Opera, Wagner's Lohengrin, with Robert Dean Smith, Morten Frank Larsen, Ain Anger, Falk Struckmann, Janina Baechle and Camilla Nylund, conducted by Leif Segerstram.
KBYU - From Houston Grand Opera, Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, with Iestyn Davies, Laura Claycomb, Jon Michael Hill, Norman Reinhardt, Liam Bonner, Marie Lenormand, Katie van Kooten, Matthew Rose, Steven Cole, Ryan McKinny, Robert Pomakov and Leann Sandel-Pantaleo, conducted by Patrick Summers.
Radio 4 Netherlands - From The Liceu in Barcelona, Szymanovsky's Krol Roger, with Juan Pons and Anne Schwanenwilms and Scott Hendricks.
Radio Clasica de Espana - From Wexford, an October 31 performance of a double bill: Chabrier's Une éducation manquée, with K. Jayasinghe, P. Murrihy; and Rossini's La cambiale di matrimonio, with G. Bellavia, C. Pervin, G. Pelligra, V. Prato, L. Dall’Amico and A. Gill, both conducted by C. Franklin.
RTP Antena 2 - From Thuríngia, a February 2 performance of Mendelssohn's Soldatenliebschaft, with Gerlinde Illich, Linlin Fan, Joan Ribalta, Bernardo Kim and Serge Noviqueconducted by Eric Solén.
WETA - From Washington National Opera, one more airing of Handel's Tamerlano, with Placido Domingo, David Daniels, Sarah Coburn, Patricia Bardon, Claudio Huckle and Andrew Foster Williams, conducted by William Lacey.
WFMT Opera Series (on numerous stations) - From Houston Grand Opera, a Choral Gala.
WQXR - from Los Angeles Opera, Verdi's Requiem, with Adrianne Pieczonka, Stephanie Blythe, Arturo Chacón-Cruz, and René Pape, conducted by Placido Domingo.
XLNC1- From Houston Grand Opera, Verdi's Rigoletto, with Scott Hendricks, Albina Shagimuratova, Eric Cutler, Andrea Silvestrelli, Maria Markina, Bradley Garvin, Jamie Barton, Adam Cioffari, Shon Sims, Octavio Moreno, Faith Sherman and Tommy Ajai George, conducted by Patrick Summers.

More to come shortly. Happy listening.....

Saturday, November 14, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Liz) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:05:00 +0000

Here are a few high spots for this afternoon --

CBC TWO - Massenet's Werther, with Rolando Villazon and Susan Graham, under Kent Nagano.
DRP2 - Gounod's Faust, with Piotr Beczala, Soile Isokoski and Boaz Daniel; Bertrand de Billy conducts.
Espace Musique - A broadcast of Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail, featuring Matthew Polenzani, Erin Wall, and Aleksandra Kurzak; Sir Andrew Davis conducts.
KBYU - Joyce Di Donato stars in an English-language production of Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedick.
RTP Antena 2 - Cavalli's's Ercole Amante: Ivor Bolton leads a performance featuring Veronique Gens.
WETA - Charlotte Hellekant stars as Nerone in Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea.
XLNC1 - From Houston Grand Opera, Britten's Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Iestyn Davies, Laura Claycomb, Norman Reinhardt, Liam Bonner, Katie van Kooten, Marie Lenormand, Matthew Rose and Steven Cole, conducted by Patrick Summers.
France Musique - A rebroadcast of this summer's Bayreuth Festival performance of Wagner's Parsifal, featuring Christopher Ventris and Mihoko Fujimora.
NPR World of Opera on numerous stations - From Washington National Opera, Richard Strauss's Elektra, with Susan Bullock, Christine Goerke, Irina Mishura, Daniel Sumegi and Alan Woodrow, conducted by Heinz Fricke.
NRK Klassisk / NRK P2 - Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mzensk, starring Angela Denoke.
Sveriges Radio P2 - A rare historic broadcast of a 1974 performance in New York of Verdi's Vespri Siciliani, starring Montserrat Caballé, Nicolai Gedda, Sherrill Milnes and Justino Díaz, James Levine conducting.
Bartok Radio - Monteverdi's Orfeo, starring Ian Bostridge, Patrizia Ciofi, Natalie Dessay, Alice Coote and Véronique Gens; Emmanuelle Haim conducts.

Happy listening . . . .