It was better than chat!
Last week’s listening experiment showed that, left to their own devices, most folks spring into instant inertia. So maybe gentle prodding and encouragement would do some good.
11:00-2:00 LRT KLASIKA: La sonnambula – Is Natalie Dessay really Alvin the Chipmunk in drag?
1:00-2:15 AUDITORIUM: Das Lied von der Erde — Peter Sieffert and Thomas Hampson. Relax, it’ll be over before you know it.
1:00-4:30 BARTOK RADIO: Prince Igor – Yes, there was Russian opera before Valery Gergiev.
1:00-5:00 CBC TWO: Rossini’s Otello — This is an eye-opener if you haven’t heard it before.
1:00-4:00 DEUTSCHLANDRADIO KULTUR: Die Passagierin — Who was it heard this thing and really loved it? Oh yeah, me.
1:00-4:00 DR P2: Hasse’s Pyramus and Thisbe — This is the version without Flute the Bellows-Mender and Schneider the Tailor
1:00-5:30 ESPACE MUSIQUE: Faust –Beczala, Isokowski, not bad.
1:00-4:00 KBYU: Das Rheingold from Los Angeles — “And — in the Center Ring — Achim Freyer and his Wonder Dogs.”
1:00-4:30 NPR World of Opera: The Cunning Little Vixen from Florence — Isabel Bayrakhdarian makes this one worth a visit.
1:00-5:00 RADIO 4 NETHERLANDS: Lohengrin from Bayreuth — Anyone who hasn’t heard it already should drag out their Jonas Kaufmann posters and Kleenex.
1:00-5:00 RADIO CLASICA DE ESPANA: Eugene Onegin from Vienna — Okay, so Jonas doesn’t do it for you, how about Dima?
1:00-5:00 RTP ANTENA 2: Agrippina — Hallenberg, Genaux, I’ve heard better.
1:00-6:00 WFMT NETWORK: Siegfried from Los Angeles. “And now, Achim Freyer and his Flying Rutabagas.”
1:00-5:00 WRTI: Die Walküre from Los Angeles. “Achim Freyer, all alone, without a net.”
1:30-4:00 NRK KLASSISK: Carmina Burana — For all you Katherine Jenkins fans.
2:00-6:30 Numerous stations: Die Walküre from Bayreuth. — What if they gave a Ring and nobody came?
2:00-4:30 RADIO STEPHANSDOM: Siegfried Wagner’s Banadietrich — My pick. I’m on this big Siegfried Wagner kick. His Heidenkönig is really pretty good.
As always, the chat room is open on Saturday afternoon at La Casa della Cieca.
(Listings courtesty of Our Own Betsy Ann Bobolink.)
I too loved the PASSAGIEREN. Am curious about the Bayarkdarian CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN as a precurser to her NY Philharmonic performances next June. And have been swearing I would try a Siegfried Wagner opera for a decade now. damn, still too much to choose from. I liked Breslik and Hvorostovsky in the ONEGIN last week.
Remember, Operacat (and others), all broadcasts will be available at the House of Bobolink for easy downloading.
I also would go for Sieggried Wagner!
What is the House of Bobolink?
Did our GREAT doyenne have her birthday yet?
(I want to congratulate!!!)
Will there ever be more UNNATURAL ACTS?
(I miss La Cieca´s voice!!!)
So many questions, My dear Marquis. I’ll answer the one that seems addressed to me.
When I’m not laying eggs and eating spiders, I moderate a small group called Log-Jammers. Our goal is to record and share all the broadcasts on Saturday afternoons. (All, that is, except commercial releases. I may be rowdy, but I’m a good Union member.)
Go to , tell me what you want. I send you a short sales pitch to join our group, and then the opera you request, if it’s on my hard-drive.
BTW, Banadietrich is a commercial release, so I suggest you listen to that and ask me for Cunning Little Lingus.
Well, crap, the email address erased itself. I’ll try again.
ditzbobble@gmail.com
Sales pitch? What sales pitch?
I’m a log-jammer… and a fudge packer, which I guess makes me twice the log-jammer. mwahahaha
You EAT spiders.
I kinda hoped you were Charlotte, in her later years. (Yes, her death in “CW” was faked. No soul that gentle and sweet should ever be allowed to die in a children’s book.)
On this site, “eat” can mean — oh , just lots of things.
There’s been little interest in treating our dear doyenne Cieca to a birthday party. Guess it’s too hot in NYC.
She deserves at least a brunch at Tiffany & Co.
What be the day? We could all get together and give her an eejy-boo.
Me – I miss the much put upon, yet sublimely patient Milton.
Yes, I love Milton as well. For those who haven’t heard it, I wholeheartedly recommend the old unnatural act of Adriana Lecouvreur with Scotto/Aragall/Obrastova. The introduction in the the second act, where La Cieca gives the plot summary is hilarious. And it’s followed directly by the ferocious Obrastova tearing into La Principessa’s aria.
I really miss the podcast, not just for the operas, but for the opening and closing skits. I always thought that Milton sounded just like Worf. And Cieca was too, too divine. And probably in Jungle Red.
And let’s not forget Olga Cratchet.
Well unless my brother gets his wi-fi fixed I won’t be there. Still recovering from dreamy week at Santa Fe.
Bets – who is singing in the Otello?
Have you recovered from your arachno-fever yet?
There’s a full cast list on OperaCast.com, but I know it’s John Osborn, Olga Peretyatko, and Maxim Mironov, all good but a distinct level below the Carreras/von Stade set.
My favorite Otello was Pesaro 1998 with Devia, Ford and Austin-Kelly. I also saw a new production in 2005 in Weimar with singers from the house ensemble. None were world-class, but they honored the work well – the production was bizzare in that the first half was bad Regie (with a food fight)(!), then halfway through, it was as if a light switch went off, the producer dispesed with the nonsense and delivered a white-hot, passionate second half that was very true to the story.
Also, Peretyatko is singing in Pesaro on Monday, in the early (1814) rarity Sigismondo. All three ROF productions will be on RAI-3 this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Thank you APT for the RAI-3 info!
Yes that Otello was spectacular. Devia at her most inspired, vocally as perfect as always and emotionally very involved (and this has not always been the case with her). Ford was excellent, too. Rossini serio as he should be performed.
The intermission feature for the Otello broadcast is bound to make us appreciate the Met broadcast intermissions – what could they be thinking?
Carreras does not strike me as a Rossini singer. The ( impossibly expensive) OperaRara on the other hand, with Bruce Ford, is sublime
I missed the announcement of what the intermission feature will be but I have no doubt you’re right. CBC 2 was “revamped” a year or so ago with some serious dumbing down. The only thing that hasn’t been dumbed down is the programming, which is as interesting and varied as ever, but the packaging is an embarrassment.
Carreras in the early years was sublime in Bel Canto. The Otello, of course, but also a fabulous recording of duets with Katia Ricciarelli, including a gorgeous Poliuto, and some Verdi. They recorded a lot more together than I remembered (I just checked Amazon). They did a lot of the early Verdi.
Thanks for the reminder, Sanford. Carreras and Ricciarelli did indeed make some fine early Verdi recordings and Carreras was a very refined Bel Canto singer. I just never thought of him as a candidate for serious Rossini.
The dramatic Donizetti operas were a great fit for Carreras. There’s a fab live Roberto Devereux with Carreras and Caballe from ’72. I wish he had been involved the Sills’ Three Queens recordings.
Funny enough, a friend of mine just introduced me to Mironov the other day. He’s an excellent Rossini tenor.
Rossini is my least-favourite opera composer (in the true sense of the term) but I’ve heard so much about Otello (and generally prefer his dramatic operas) that I’m listenign to it now. Also, living in Toronto, I just have to turn on the radio and there it is.
Listening to the plot synopsis was interesting — a lot of extra things in there that aren’t in the Shakespeare or Verdi versions.
Oh, and Bets, what is this Siegfried Wagner interest of yours all about? In the past I have tried to listen to him –which I can’t name–but it mostly lulled me to sleep. Any suggestions?
Most of the stuff of his that I’ve heard is pretty weak and shapeless. But a few days ago I heard Heidenkonig and it seemed pretty good — sort of a Germanic Mercadante.
Germanic Mercadante? You mean he doesn’t get any respect like poor old Mercadante and Rodney Dangerfield?
I’ve tried with Mercadante, as well. There’s something from Gli Orazi that is interesting and I’ve listened to Il Giuramento and not been that bored. During his time he was fairly highly esteemed, so one wonders. Guess I had better go back and give another listen. There is a sextet or septet (it’s been years) from Pacini’s Saffo which I have found to be exceptional–yes, I really need to go back and take another look.
Poor Siegfried. What an act to follow.
Watch out for Katharina Wagner as she be the spidey-lady!
“Saffo”
http://tinyurl.com/yznppet
If you really want to hear what Pacini can offer I suggest “Maria Regina d’Inghilterra” (avaiable in MP3 format from Amazon @ $17.98). There’s so many gorgeous numbers in this work it’s hard for me to single out only a few. I love the duet for 2 sopranos in the final act “Qual ora tremenda” that leads into Maria’s final scena “Ciel, quest’amara lagrima”, a double duet for soprano & baritone in the first act “Dalla notturno popolar litizia” & “Al nostro tetto or torno”, and a dynamite cavatina with cabaletta for Maria in Act 2. I first bought the MP3 download and then the Opera Rara CD set (in spite of the price) because I was so bowled over at the beauty of the music as well as the interpretation of the singers (Miricioiu, Ford, Plazas,Fardilho, and Miles) and had to have the libretto and excellent documentation Opera Rara always provides. Try it out (the MP3 download is a bargain). If you like bel canto I’d be very surprised if you didn’t enjoy it immensely.
Naughty, naughty Nerva Nelli!
Archaeological digs on the isle of Lesbos have failed to conclude there were any bikes.
Where o where is the delightful “The passion of _______________” series these days? Are we all out of passionate protagonistas?
Herr Swollenrod!
Maria, regina d’Inghilterra?
I’d never come across it. Very obliged to you for taking the time to recommend it.
Tell me, from what province does your cognomen come from?
Camille,
From Lithuania, actually from “I Lituani” by Ponchielli, which is based on “Konrad Wallenrod” by the Polish poet Mickiewicz. I really enjoy this work, which I think of as another “Gioconda” although it actually preceded the latter in composition by 2 years. The Bongiovanni recording is how I became acquainted with this work, for which I think Miss Bobolink herself has expressed some fondness in this forum.
Please do check out “Maria”. I do like “Saffo” very much, but I really think “Maria” is the opera for which Pacini should be known. In addition to the excerpts mentioned earlier, there’s a dynamite concertance and stretta that ends Act 2. I really wish OONY or Washington Concert Opera would perform this work.
As far as Mercadante, I’m presently into his “Virginia” which also has some fine moments. If I weren’t going to Spain in early October, I’d really have liked to go to Wexford later that month to see “Virginia” as well as Smetana’s “Hubicka”.
Mr. Swollenrod — I’m so grateful for all your tips!
I Lituani have thus far eluded me but armed with this information I will relentlessly hunt them down. His Marion Delorme I have a tape of – somewhere – not quite as good as Gioconda. I, too, would like to hear this ‘Virginia’. I look forward to discovering the works you have recommended to me and I thank your erudition and taste and generosity, ever so kindly.
Thanks, Bets, that’s what I was afraid of. This was an okay performance. A lovely work, but it needed a stronger cast.
I’ll end up probably listening to the least interesting opera of all to me: Das Rheingold, from Los Angeles.
Oh. My! I cursed a blue streak at the poor L. A. Opera person calling me to beg for more money! I sure as hell and not paying for those flying rutabagas!!!!!!! Get Alberto Vilar!
The Chat’s usually worth it, no matter how bad the opera is.
Um, Bets, I don’t chat.
I’m a girl, ergo not one of the guys and it makes me feel shy.
Besides, I just want to listen anyway
Thanks for taking the time and effort for posting all this wealth of choices in broadcasts. It certainly is not just a Milton Cross Saturday Afternoon Opera World, anymore.
Oh Camille, honey, you’ve touched a nerve. It’s nothing like it was. I started Log-Jammers around eight years ago because sometimes there would be 15 or 20 different operas from around the world. A lot of the stations are no longer doing classical music at all. Most of the programmers are so lazy — well, maybe unimaginative or uninformed — they rely on a few major feeds like The Met or Euro Central, so there are a lot of the same things being aired over and over. Some weeks we are lucky to get ten new things.
The guy (or whoever) who runs OperaCast is wonderful and really knows his stuff. Enough so that he knows not to list “Katherine Jenkins Burps La Sonnambula.” And sometimes you get some really cool stuff, like Simone Kermes’ Trovatore Leonora, or the Norma I got today from — I think — Poland, with Katja Pellegrini. I thought Meade was good in the Caramoor production but Pellegrini has just that extra bit of steel that I like in my Norma.
But generally I’m depressed more often than I’m exhilarated.
Bets –
Don’t be depressed.
Are you upset because La Cieca didn’t proclaim you vincitor della patria in the Limerick Contest? Don’t be. I liked yours the best (#1). Try to make up another limerick, for sport.
You do La Cieca and others a lot of good with your posts. Go out, buy yourself a treat and buck up, Bets!
Not a bit.
As a descendant of the dinosaurs, I am more aware than most that raucous civilization is rendering us all irrelevant, and I’m sincerely going to miss civility. To me, opera is one of the last bulwarks against Glenn Beck-ism.
Not to forget 3sat will broadcast the Lulu from the Salzburger Festspiele. Unfortunately, there is no official livestream, but I am guessing some internet search will yield an unoffical one.
This is good news, as many 3Sat telecasts eventally make their way onto DVD.
I am lucky (in a way) because I don’t have the choice and have to listen to Siegfried from LA on the radio.
Why? My speakers no longer work, and dial-up is not the greatest for the internet music.
I used to do all that OperaCast stuff, but I don’t seem to care any longer. Sirius is party to blame, I guess.
See y’all at La Casa della Cieca today!
I’ll miss it as I am in the Hudson Valley and I shall be visiting everal estates today. But I am not shopping for one. I enjoyed Der Ferne Klang last night. (Except for some fat girl’s tits in act 2.)
I meant to add that I enjoyed chatting with the few of us who were there last week.