Delos had earlier recorded this 2008 concert and released it on CD as Verdi Opera Scenes. Then, obtaining film footage of the concert from Russian television, Delos “collaborated with California film editor Steve Scoville, who expertly synched the footage with Delos’ concert audio. The result… takes the viewer/listener to Moscow’s Great Hall for the concert’s most unforgettable moments, with stunning ‘you are there’ sonic and visual impact.” Read more »
The bohemians live in an attic— just like Anne Frank, right ? The Kit Kat Klub is an obvious stand-in for the Cafe Momus and how about a “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” Nazi Youth band for the finale of Act II, that would be sobering, huh? Act III at the Barriere d’enfer could be some kind of Nazi check-point replete with spies and villains and maybe a train headed you-know where. How about having Colline singing “Vecchia zimarra” to his coat with a yellow Star of David on it… Well, the possibilities are nearly endless, believe me, and while we’re on the subject, can we do Aida instead Read more »
This troupe is a Catalan theatrical company known for its gritty urban aesthetic, use of provocative settings and blurring of the so-called fourth wall. In contrast to the overly faithful, flatly literal, almost “riesumazione” approach adopted by John Dexter for his Met production
Richard Strauss’ 1942 conversation-piece opera Capriccio skates along on a fine line between a fascinating idea-driven debate about the purpose of art in the wider world and a rather fussy narrow debate about text and music interesting only to those interested in opera as theatre.
“This is the end of Western culture,” Richard Strauss proclaimed after a rehearsal of his penultimate opera Die Liebe der Danae, in Salzburg in 1944. The octogenarian composer, increasingly on the outs with the Nazis and switched off from contemporary music currents, could well have identified with his protagonist Jupiter, a once-mighty God caught up in an off-kilter world he finds impossible to understand.
I’ve been a big fan of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena since I first heard it on recording and have always felt that it deserved a definitive recorded performance. Here’s a brief tour of why this hasn’t happened. There’s the Bible, also known as the live Scala relay with Callas and Simionato and musical cuts so egregious to anyone who appreciates the full score it will bring them to tears. The Sills recording is complete to a fault but has a few hollow performances and a diva who overdecorates the vocal line to deflect notice of her less than majestic tone. Shirley [...]
At one time, the idea of a performance of La Gioconda conjured up images of over-the-top, competitive, passionate vocalism, and big personalities. As a vehicle for great singers (and especially a great protagonist), it was thrilling.
Only because I am a member of the You Can Never Have Too Much Callas School of Opera Listening can I recommend EMI’s new release The Callas Effect. The beautifully packaged production is the size of a small paperback book and consists of two CDs with 29 arias sung by Callas plus a new 70-minute DVD showing some details of her life and artistry, focusing on her work with the Royal Opera House. The package also contains a detailed and moving essay by Ira Siff plus translations of the texts of all the recorded arias.
Cher Public