Je sens une force nouvelle
Chris’s Cache offers three striking interpretations of another Gluck masterpiece Alceste from Janet Baker, Anna Caterina Antonacci, and Véronique Gens
Anna Caterina Antonacci
43 pieces since 2006 — in 16 roles, at 10 companies, most often at San Francisco Opera.
43
pieces
16
roles
10
companies
21
years
By role
Role Alceste
Role Armide
I put a spell on you
Armide with a superbly grand Francophone heroine in Karina Gauvin and conducted by the always excellent Ivor Bolton.
Role Brunehild
The other Valkyrie
While D.C. Wagnerians wait for Nina Stemme’s Brünnhilde to arrive next week, “Trove Thursday” presents the erstwhile Valkyrie of another compelling diva: Anna Caterina Antonacci as Brunehild, the heroine of Ernest Reyer’s Sigurd, a French grand opera also based on the Nibelungenlied.
Role Carmen
Duet to me one more time
Patrick Mack reviews yet another Puccini album from Jonas Kaufmann
Role Cassandre
Not since Ilium
As I mentioned in a previous post, one of my two favorite operas is Les Troyens,
Fou fighter
It is easy to become overly identified with opera—as a cleverer friend of mine once noted: being a sports fan is an interest, but if you like opera, everyone thinks of it as a crippling obsession.
Role Cesira
Warhorse
Three blocks from the opera house is a terrible time to realize there was homework.
Role Donna Elvira
The beast with three backs
Among the “auditions” that have come flooding in from the cher public are reviews of three very different productions of Don Giovanni. Your doyenne has taken the liberty of combining the three critiques into a single posting, but she urges you to remember, remember well the names of the authors of this troika of treatises.
Role Elizabeth
Gold rush
Now we find Mariella Devia, a diva held in near mythic regard due to her vocal longevity, with competing videos of two of her performances that were released, literally, on the same day.
Role Elle
Operas on the verge of a nervous breakdown
It’s a pity that Francis Poulenc took so long to getting around to compose his operas.
Only connect…
Anna Caterina Antonacci delivered a tour de force of French diction, subtlety of phrasing, variation of vocal timbre, and white-hot stage acting.
Role Iphigénie
Females on the beach
Karita Mattila is a gift to this planet.
Role La Marchesa di Poggio
One Day more
There’s that old joke; What’s the difference between opera and sex? Punchline; you can have good sex.
Role Madame de Croissy
Changing habits
A new production of Dialogues des Carmélites featuring Anna Caterina Antonacci proves that it’s hard to be an iconoclast in Venice.
Role Maria Stuarda
Queens Power Struggle — Update
La Cieca rushes back into blackout-torn Queens, New York to podcast Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, starring Barbara Frittoli and Anna Caterina Antonacci. Unnatural Acts of Opera.
Role Nerone
Mithridates is dead
Trove Thursday marks Mozart’s 264th birthday on Sunday with the 14-year-old’s remarkable opera seria Mitridate, Re di Ponto .
An embarrassment of divas
As if last week’s survey wasn’t enough, a few more recent diva-recital disks remain worthy of attention particularly since they arrive from five front-rank singers.
Role Rachel
No country for gold men
Trove Thursday offers two very different live recordings of Halévy’s grand opera La Juive.
Role Vitellia
The quality of mercy
“Trove Thursday” offers Mozart’s late opera seria in a Paris “pirate” featuring the high-voltage diva-duo of Anna Caterina Antonacci and Elina Garanca.
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
