December 19, 2013, 11:22 pm
Filmmaker and photographer Felipe Sanguinetti was granted access to the rehearsal and opening night of the Metropolitan Opera's new Robert Carsen production of Verdi's Falstaff.
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December 20, 2013, 11:27 pm
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| (Photo: Monika Hoefler/DG) |
"In January Deutsche Grammophon releases Villazón’s new CD, Mozart Concert Arias – a collection of rarely recorded concert arias for tenor recorded with Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra. The star tenor declares that the coming year will be 'all Mozart, all the time,' adding that with the new album '...It is as if I have uncovered a whole new world. No composer speaks to me as directly as Mozart.' Villazón will be touring the Mozart Concert Arias repertoire widely in 2014, including U-Live concerts in Prague (28 March), Munich (31 March), Vienna (3 April), Paris (6 April), Dortmund (29 April), Berlin (2 May) and London (6 May)." [Source]
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December 21, 2013, 12:20 am
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| Domingo, Netrebko, and Chakall, in Berlin (Photo: Wiese Genusskommunikation) |
"Das 'Sudaka' in Berlin-Schöneberg ist für Daniel Barenboim fast so etwas wie sein zweites Wohnzimmer. Viel Fleisch, Empanadas – also die typisch-argentinische Küche von Fernsehkoch Chakall – hat es dem Star-Dirigenten angetan. Und deshalb lag es überaus nahe, dass der 71-Jährige nach einem harten Arbeitstag in sein Stammrestaurant kommen würde – diesmal mit seinen Kollegen. So durfte Chakall am späten Sonntagabend Starsopranistin Anna Netrebko und Plácido Domingo in seinem Restaurant an der Schöneberger Golzstraße begrüßen. So spät, weil sie zuvor gemeinsam ihren großen Auftritt in der Staatsoper im Schiller-Theater im Stück Il Trovatore hatten....Auf ganz besondere Weise bedankte sich Domingo beim Koch für Pfannkuchen mit Dulce de Leche, eine argentinische Spezialität. Chakall bekam vom Opernstar ein kleines Privatkonzert, der für ihn den Tango 'El Día Que Me Quieras' im Restaurant anstimmte. Bereits beim letzten Besuch hatte er ihn mit Gesang belohnt. 'Im März bin ich wieder da, da komme ich auf jeden Fall wieder vorbeikommen", sagte der spanische Startenor, der mit seiner Frau zum Abendessen gekommen war. Am Essen teil nahm auch der spanische Botschafter Pablo García-Berdoy." [Source] Check out the menu for the restaurant by clicking here.
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December 21, 2013, 11:40 pm
"Phénomène vocal exceptionnel, Mado Robin fut aussi une agréable collègue. Elle fut une de mes Rosine à la fin des années cinquante. Eloignée de la scène pour une opération chirurgicale, elle ne tarde pas à reprendre sa carrière. C'est encore Le Barbier de Séville qui nous rassemble. Mado chante son air avec ses notes vertigineuses. Sa voix est intacte mais c'est dans le texte de Beaumarchais qu'un trou de mémoire, sans doute une séquelle de l'anesthésie, vint interrompre la scène avec Figaro. Le barbier que j'étais improvisa une phrase pour reprendre le fil de la pièce et fit signe au chef d'orchestre d'attaquer le duo Rosine-Figaro. La représentation se déroula sans autre incident et le public, satisfait, ne s'était aperçu de rien." [Source] Track listings are after the jump.
CD 1: Airs d opéra Direction Eugène Bigot01 La flûte enchantée - Mozart : « Ah...02 La flûte enchantée - Mozart : « Ah...03 Manon Lescaut - Auber : L’éclat de...04 Mignon - Ambroise Thomas : « Je...05 Les noces de Jeannette - Victor...06 Roméo et Juliette - Charles Gounod...07 Les Contes d’Hoffmann - Jacques...08 Manon - Jules Massenet : « Suis-je...09 Le Pardon de Ploërmel - Giacomo...10 La perle du Brésil - Félicien...11 La Fille du régiment - Gaetano...12 Lucia di Lammermoor - Gaetano...13 La sonnambula - Vincenzo Bellini :...14 Lakmé - Léo Delibes : Air des...15 Rossignol - Alabiev (Direction...16 Rose-Marie - Friml: chant indien...
CD 2: Airs et duo d opéra Direction Richard Blareau01 Lakmé - Léo Delibes : « Air des...02 Carnaval de Venise - Julius...03 Hamlet - Ambroise Thomas : Air de...04 Mireille -Charles Gounod : Valse05 Mireille -Charles Gounod : Trahir...06 Mireille -Charles Gounod : Heureux...07 Lucia di Lammermoor - Gaetano...08 Lucia di Lammermoor - Gaetano...09 Le Barbier de Séville - Gioacchino...10 Rigoletto - Giuseppe Verdi : air...11 Ah ! Vous dirai-je maman «...12 La flûte enchantée - Mozart : « Ah...13 La flûte enchantée - Mozart : « Ah...
CD 3: La Traviata - Verdi Pierre Dervaux, Salle Wagram, 196001 Ouverture02 Buvons, amis ! (Rodolphe, Violetta)03 Un jour pour charmer ma vie...04 Quel trouble ! (Violetta)05 Folie ! (Violetta, Rodolphe)06 Tout me le dit, cher ange...07 Vous êtes Violetta (D’Orbel,...08 Ah de mes larmes (Violetta, D...09 Oh mon Dieu que je souffre...10 Lorsqu’à de folles amours (D’Orbel)11 Adieu tout ce que j’aime (Violetta)12 Loin de Paris (Rodolphe, Violetta)13 Ah ma fille ! (D’Orbel, Violetta,...14 A toi, mon bien-aimé (Violetta,...15 Parysatis (Camille Saint-Saëns) «...16 L’Oiseau (Henry Février – A....17 La Gitane et l’oiseau (Julius...18 Grande Valse brillante (Joachim...19 A Vucchella (Francesco Paolo Tosti...20 Chanson provençale (Eva Dell’Acqua)21 Villanelle (Eva Dell’Acqua) « J’ai...22 Chanson bohème (Louis Gallini – S....
CD 4-5: Lakmé Chœur et orchestre sous la direction de Jules Gressier, Paris 195501 Prélude02 Chœur et prière03 “Soyez trois fois bénis...”04 “Lakmé, c’est toi qui nous protège...05 “Viens, Malika... Sous le dôme...06 “Quand une femme est si jolie...”07 “Prendre le dessin d’un bijou......08 “O toi qui nous protèges...”09 “Les fleurs me paraissent plus...10 Duo de la jeunesse11 Finale “Allons, avant que midi...12 “C’est un pauvre qui mendie...”...13 “Ou va la jeune indoue...” air des...14 “Au milieu des chant d’allégresse....
CD 5: Lakmé Chœur et orchestre sous la direction de Jules Gressier, Paris 195501 Duo Lakmé-Gérald02 Finale03 “Sous le ciel tout étoilé...”04 “Je me souviens...”05 “Ah! viens dans la forêt profonde....06 Scène et chœur07 Duo Gérald Frédéric08 Duo Lakmé Gérald09 “Tu m’as donné le plus doux rêve.....10 Lakmé : Air des clochettes,...11 Pourquoi dans les grands bois...12 Air des clochettes13 Finale
CD 6: Rigoletto Verdi Orchestre Radio-Lyrique de la RTF Robert Benedetti, Paris 195601 Le vieillard m’a maudit (Rigoletto...02 Je t’aime (Gilda, Le Duc)03 Carlo Baldi ! …O doux nom (Gilda)04 Courtisans, race vile (Rigoletto)05 Au temple où ma prière (Gilda,...06 Pleure, ô ma fille (Gilda,...07 Tu te trompes, ô vieillard...08 Le vieillard m’a maudit (Rigoletto...09 Tous deux égaux (Rigoletto, Gilda,...10 Carlo baldi ! …O doux nom (Gilda,...11 Courtisans, race vile (Rigoletto)12 Au temple où ma prière (Gilda,...13 Comme la plume au vent (Le Duc)14 Un jour, bel ange (Le Duc, Gilda,...
CD 7 L'École des Maris, Orchestre et Chœur du Théâtre National de l Opéra-Comique Direction : Albert WOLFF, Paris 195401 La vieillesse, mon frère (Ariste)02 Allons, fuyons (Sganarelle, Valère...03 Interlude04 Ciel ! Ce jeune homme ici...05 Hélas ! Quelle aventure ! (Ergaste...06 Ô Ciel pardonne encore (Isabelle)07 Approchez donc (Sganarelle, Valère...08 Cet artifice est fort original...09 C’est parler sagement (Sganarelle)10 Voyez notre pénible sort (Les...11 Crépuscule moins bleu (Valère,...12 La Malibran (scène dramatique avec...13 Hamlet (Ambroise Thomas) Air de la...
CD 8: Mélodies et airs populaires Les 78 tours, 1942-195901 Si j’aime (Franz Grothe – Weger)02 Villanelle « J’ai vu passer l...03 Peer Gynt : Chanson de Solveig...04 l’Oiseau (Henry Février – André...05 Chanson provençale (Eva Dell’Acqua...06 Chanson bohème (Louis Gallini – S....07 Ton épaule pour y dormir (Tiarko...08 La Danza (Gioacchino Rossini –...09 La Gitane et l’oiseau (Julius...10 Ciribiribin (Alberto Pestalozza,...11 Les Filles de Cadix (Léo Delibes –...12 Estrellita (Manuel Ponce, Wal-Berg)13 Frou-Frou (Henri Chatau – Monréal...14 Griserie (Auguste Bosc – Georges...15 Roses de Picardie (Haydn Wood –...16 Si tu le veux (Charles Koechlin –...17 Tu ne sauras jamais (Joseph Rico –...18 Fascination (Dante Marchetti –...19 Le Temps des cerises (Antoine...20 Plaisir d’amour (Martini – Florian)21 Pourquoi je t’aime (Auguste Bosc –...
[Source]
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December 22, 2013, 8:37 pm
"Ms. Plushbottom, Ted's neighbor, wanted her apartment painted like a picture of the Opera Hall. The painters only painted three colors on the wall. The colors on the wall were blue, red, and yellow. Mrs. Plushbottom was voiced by Joan Plowright, who starred in films such as Dennis the Menace (1993) and 101 Dalmatians (1996)." After firing the painters, the diva decides to soak in the tub while opera plays throughout the apartment. Watch the video clip from Curious George: Show Me The Monkey (2006) that features the cabaletta "Tutto sprezzo che d'Ernani" from Ernani by Giuseppe Verdi, as well as a clip of Leona Mitchell singing the full aria from the Metropolitan Opera, after the jump. [Source, Source]
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December 22, 2013, 10:31 pm
"On Sunday, January 12, 2014, Opera Index will presents its 35th Distinguished Achievement Award to mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias, described as one of the finest singing actresses of our time, at its Winter Gala in the Grand Salon of the JW Marriott Essex House, 160 Central Park South, beginning at 6 p.m. with a reception in the Petit Salon. The three-time Grammy and two-time Emmy Award-winning artist made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1954 and over her half-century-long career, has sung more than 50 roles. Ken Benson, renowned artists manager and longtime Opera Index supporter, will present the award to Ms. Elias." [Source]
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December 22, 2013, 10:53 pm
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December 25, 2013, 6:57 am
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December 27, 2013, 9:43 pm
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December 28, 2013, 8:03 am
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| Politician and mezzo-soprano fights for gay rights |
"Opera diva Maria Maksakova, an MP for the ruling United Russia party, says the controversial ban on propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors, dubbed the 'anti-gay' law in the West, must be revised as it damages the investment climate...Maksakova specifically drew attention to the negative impact of this initiative on Russian artists working in the West, who are now facing 'discrimination' because of the so-called 'anti-gay' law. A mezzo soprano soloist with St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, she said her colleagues 'are being kicked out from plays and orchestras' in Europe...Meanwhile, the author of the law, St Petersburg municipal deputy Vitaly Milonov hit back saying he is 'totally opposed' to the singer’s proposal. In his words, Maksakova is an artistic person coming from the world where 'perverts' are not uncommon." [Source]
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December 28, 2013, 11:15 am
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December 29, 2013, 8:37 pm
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| Denyce Graves |
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| Renée Fleming |
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| Jessye Norman |
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| Joseph Calleja performs "Celeste Aida" |
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| Sondra Radvanovsky performs "O Patria Mia" |
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| Joseph Calleja and Sondra Radvanovsky sing the "Triumphal Scene" from Verdi's Aida |
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December 30, 2013, 11:00 am
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December 30, 2013, 11:01 am
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| (Photo: Jonathan Tichler/MET Opera) |
"Another small insider homage could be found on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera this month, in its lavish production of Der Rosenkavalier, by Richard Strauss. In the third act, after the boorish Baron Ochs’s attempted assignation at a tavern goes disastrously and hilariously wrong, he is besieged with bills from the innkeeper and a host of others. Invisible to the audience — whether sitting in the back of the Family Circle or the front of the orchestra — is what the long paper bills thrust at him actually say. In flowing cursive writing, the bills list the cast from the current production’s 1969 premiere, starting with the conductor, Karl Böhm, and naming everyone from Leonie Rysanek, who sang the Marschallin, to Christa Ludwig, who sang Octavian, to Charles Anthony, who was the innkeeper that night (and who sang some 2,928 mostly small roles at the Met during his long career). The tradition of these kinds of in jokes goes back centuries. Mozart’s Don Giovanni has an allusion in the last act to his own Le Nozze di Figaro." [Source]
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December 30, 2013, 8:42 pm
"Tune in to PBS on Jan. 11 to watch Stephanie Blythe, Stephen Costello, Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming, Christine Goerke, Susan Graham, Gregg Grimsley, Angela Meade, Eric Owens, Ailyn Pérez, Matthew Polenzani, and 2013 Richard Tucker Award Winner Isabel Leonard perform at the highly anticipated opera event. Check local listings: http://to.pbs.org/12CzT1B"
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December 31, 2013, 8:03 am
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Is that Mendoza Malbec in your globus cruciger?: Ildar Abdrazakov and Barbara Frittoli in
Don Carlo at Regio di Torino (Photo: Ramella & Giannese) |
"On off days he and his Italian girlfriend love to drive the Tuscan countryside searching for wineries and wines to buy...He introduced the woman with him as Barbara, visiting him for about 10 days while he was singing here and on to Chicago for a Verdi Requiem with Muti conducting. Pretty and lively, dressed casually in jeans and a flowing blouse, she spoke English with a bit of an Italian accent but with more confidence and a better vocabulary than Ildar's. She became a vital part of our conversation. She seemed highly knowledgeable about opera. She looked vaguely familiar, too. I asked, innocently, 'Do you sing?' She said yes, and Ildar added, 'She's Barbara Frittoli.'" [Source]
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January 1, 2014, 10:36 am
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Susanna Phillips (Rosalinde) and Christopher
Maltman (Eisenstein) in Johann Strauss, Jr.'s
Die Fledermaus at the Metropolitan Opera
(Photo: Nick Heavican) |
"Real Champagne tends to provoke sticker shock in cash-strapped young people hoping to drink their way through New Year’s Eve. A popular solution is André, the saccharine, mass-produced sparkling wine that sells for about $4 or $5 a bottle. The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Johann Strauss Jr.’s tuneful farce Die Fledermaus, which rang in the new year on Tuesday evening, is operatic André: bubbly, sweet and syrupy. It’s not subtle or deep, but if you’re determined to have a party, it’ll get the job done. And the Met’s youthful cast is nothing if not determined to celebrate. The performers sing, dance and mug their way through Strauss’s classic waltzes with big smiles and lots of hearty laughter, intent on showing the audience a good time. But their lines are often worthy of groans more than giggles." [Source]
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January 1, 2014, 10:40 pm
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Tenor Michael Fabiano, with his mother Carole, at the opening night reception for the
MET's new production of Die Fledermaus (Photo: Facebook) |
"'Renee Fleming has been very good to me. During the Paris [run of Otello] she took a big leap of faith with me,' he stated. 'And there were moments when we would have time to talk and I would be able to listen to her and learn. Even small moments, three minutes or six listening to an expert is magnificent. It is something that you don't get with others. To talk![]() |
Singing Lucrezia Borgia
with Renée Fleming at the
San Francisco Opera in 2011 |
with someone so special like Ms. Fleming and understand what is running in her mind about the business and how she sings and the pressures of it. Those kinds of moments are priceless.' Another major influence on his life has been soprano Aprile Millo; the tenor noted that he met Millo during a master class at age 21 and has kept in touch with her since. 'She is a wonderful soprano who has been a dear friend and given me very wonderful advice throughout the last several years,' he stated. 'I look up to her for the old tradition of singing. The grand opera tradition. Because she was part of that I think more of that is needed today.'" [Source]
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| Anna Netrebko, with Plácido Domingo, photographed by Benno Kraehhan in Berlin during December 2013 |
"De Vienne à Los Angeles, la soprano russe, affole tous les opéras du monde. A New York, où elle vit la moitié de l’année, la star des cantatrices raconte sa journée de bonne vivante." Read the daily schedule by clicking here.
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