“Michael Grandage’s staging of Don Giovanni, DOA when it premiered five seasons ago, served as a vehicle for the return to the Met of Simon Keenlyside after two years of various infirmities. . . . He towered over the listless supporting cast like Daniel Day-Lewis guest-starring in a marionette show.” [Observer]
Simon, Simon, Simon: how we do love you (and miss you)! He is the single most listened-to artist on my Mixcloud site, in recital and opera. While his website does not offer much encouraging news about a return to opera, it does promise an interesting and different project for the baritone this summer: Fagin in Oliver! Read more »
Celebrated conductor William Christie, widely considered among the foremost interpreters of early-music for modern audiences, and his acclaimed ensemble Les Arts Florissants have delighted audiences at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) for 30 years. On March 1st, they return with Rameau, maître à danser, featuring two rarely seen operas originally penned by 18th-century French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau for the court of Louis XV.
A pastoral atmosphere prevails throughout La naissance d’Osiris, a one-act ballet set to a libretto by Louis de Cahusac commissioned to celebrate the birth of the Duke of Berry, future Louis XVI; Daphnis et Églé tells the story of two lovers ignorant of their own love for each other, charming audiences with its use of classic European dance styles like sarabande, gavotte, gigue, minuet, tambourin, and contredanse.
Both operatic miniatures served as a symbol of the court’s opulence as well as a source of evening entertainment; together, as Rameau, maître à danser, they serve as a sublime showcase for Christie’s singular brilliance and the ravishing power of baroque music. At the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House Mar 1—3. Read more »
“George Gagnidze and Zeljko Lucic will share the title role of Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Met this fall, replacing Simon Keenlyside, who is taking a necessary period of vocal rest for much of the year and temporarily removing the role of Rigoletto from his repertoire. Gagnidze will sing the first seven performances of the opera, while Lucic—already scheduled to sing the December performances of the run—will also sing Rigoletto on November 13, 16, and 19.” So says the Met’s press office. Read more »
I’m a long-time fan of the Opera in English series funded by The Peter Moores Foundation that started, fittingly enough, with conductor Reginald Goodall’s performances of Wagner’s Ring cycle recorded live from the London Coliseum and released by EMI
Celebrating Simon Keenlyside, the most popular artist on your alte Jungfer’s Mixcloud Web site.
“Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Luca Salsi will sing the role of Rodrigo in this season’s performances of Verdi’s Don Carlo, replacing Simon Keenlyside, who has withdrawn from the run due to illness.” So says the Met’s press department.
This week, Our Own Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin shares a modern classic: Wozzeck from the Opéra national de Paris, featuring Simon Keenlyside.
This week, Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin has been unusually generous, sharing a performance of Pelléas et Mélisande featuring the dream pairing of Simon Keenlyside and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.
Cher Public