Mozart Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) opera to libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Directed 2017 at the Royal Opera House by Revival Director Thomas Guthrie after the 2003 production directed by David McVicar. Stars Mauro Peter (Tamino), Roderick Williams (Papageno), Sabine Devieilhe (Queen of the Night), Peter Bronder (Monostatos), Siobhan Stagg (Pamina), Mika Kares (Sarastro), Darren Jeffery (Speaker of the Temple), and Christina Gansch (Papagena). Julia Jones conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director William Spaulding). Set designs by John Macfarlane; lighting designs by Paule Constable; revival movement direction by Angelo Smimmo after Leah Hausman. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound . Grade: NA
This was the sixth revival of the 2003 McVicar production that was recorded in 2003 and published in Blu-ray in 2008 (as one of the first opera Blu-rays to be released). The cast is all new. Diana Damrau’s depiction of the Queen of the Night in the 2003 became perhaps the most famous icon of opera in the 21st century—a tough act for Sabine Devieilhe to follow . . .
Read MoreRimsky-Korsakov Sadko opera to libretto by the composer with assistance from Vladimir Belsky. Directed 2020 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Stars Nazhmiddin Mavlyanov (Sadko), Aida Garifullina (Volkhova), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Lubava Buslaevna), Yuri Minenko (Nezhata), Stanislav Trofimov (Ocean Sea, the Sea Tsar), Mikhail Petrenko (Whistle), Maxim Paster (Fife), Dmitry Ulianov (Varangian Merchant), Alexey Nekludov (Indian Merchant), Andrey Zhilikhovsky (Venetian Merchant), Sergey Murzaev (Vision of the old mighty Warrior), Roman Muravitsky (Foma Nazaryich), Alexandra Durseneva (His Wife), Vladimir Komovich (Luka Zinovyich), and Irina Rubtsova (His Wife). Timur Zangiev directs the Orchestra and Chorus of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia (Chorus Master Valery Borisov). Set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; costume design by Elena Zaitseva; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinsky. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Sung in Russian. Released 2021, disc has PCM stereo sound. Grade: NA
Tcherniakov continues his grand campaign as opera director to update all operas into the 21st century and to bring the glories of Russian opera to ignorant western audiences. In this title he achieves both goals by . . .
Read MoreFlórez in Florence recital. Performed 2020 at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Juan Diego Flórez performs excerpts from various operas. Features Antonio Garés as second tenor. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini; video production by Metis; recording and sound editing by MASClassica Audio Recording, Claudio Speranzini, and Antonio Martino. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDvořák Rusalka opera to libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil. Directed 2020 by Christof Loy at the Teatro Real in Madrid. Stars Asmik Grigorian (Rusalka); Eric Cutler (The Prince); Karita Mattila (The Foreign Princess), Maxim Kuzmin-Karavaev (Vodnik), Katarina Dalayman (Ježibaba); Sebastià Peris ( The Hunter), Manel ESteve (The Forester), Juliette Mars (The Kitchen Boy), and Julietta Aleksanyan, Rachel Kelly, and Alyona Abramova (Three Nymphs). Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Set design by Johannes Leiacker; costume design by Ursula Renzenbrink; lighting design by Bernd Purkrabek; choreography by Klevis Elmazaj. Directed for TV by Xavi Bové. Sung in Czech. Released 2021, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRameau Hippolyte et Aricie opera to a libretto by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin. Directed 2020 by Jeanne Candel at the Opéra Comique. Stars Reinoud Van Mechelen (Hippolyte), Elsa Benoit (Aricie), Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo (Phèdre), Stéphane Degout (Thésée), Séraphine Cotrez (Œnone), Arnaud Richard (Neptune / Pluton), Eugénie Lefebvre (Diane), Lea Desandre (Prêtresse de Diane / Chasseresse / Matelote / Bergère), Edwin Fardini (Tisiphone), Guillaume Gutierrez (Mercury), Constantin Goubet (First Fate), Martial Pauliat (Second Fate/Arcas), and Virgile Ancely (Third Fate). Raphaël Pichon conducts the Pygmalion Chorus and Orchestra. Dramaturgy and direction of actors by Lionel Gonzalez; set design by Lisa Navarro; costume design by Pauline Kieffer; lighting design by César Godefroy; movement collaborator was Yannick Bosc. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in French. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
The only review I found (October 2021) about this show (recorded during the pandemic with no audience) was . . .
Read MoreWagner Wesendonck Lieder and Bruckner Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic"). In 2020, Christian Thielemann conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker at the Großes Festspielhaus as part of the Salzburg Festival. Features vocalist Elīna Garanča. Sung in German. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Both Wagner and Bruckner wrote big music. To add variety, this program includes 5 substantial songs by Wagner (relatively light) that are considered to be studies for Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde opera . . .
Read MoreFuoco Sacro (Sacred Fire) is a “behind-the-scenes” documentary about opera sopranos with many short video segments of Asmik Grigorian, Barbara Hannigan, and Ermonela Jaho. Most segments come from interviews and rehearsals with piano accompaniment. I normally exclude documentaries about the fine arts as they usually are compiled of trash. But I took a chance, paid retail, and watched this thrice. It’s more trash. My revenge is Grade: D-
The skilled soprano with her high-pitched voice can be heard on the opera stage over all the men on the stage, a chorus, and a huge orchestra. This fierce ability is, I think, the essence of the soprano “sacred fire.” On stage the fire is mollified by the acting, set, costumes, and other music surrounding her. But when the fire is heard solo or with a piano accompaniment, it can be overpowering and even harsh. That’s how these ladies sound much of the time on this disc . . .
Read MoreLa mégère apprivoisée (The Taming of the Shrew) ballet. Music by Dmitri Shostakovich. Choreographed and directed 2020 by Jean-Christophe Maillot (with faithful assistant Bernice Coppieters) at Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. Stars Ekaterina Petina (Katherine), Matèj Urban (Petruchio), Katrin Schrader (Bianca), Jaeyong An (Lucentio), April Ball (The Housekeeper), Daniele Delvecchio (Gremio), Anna Blackwell (The Widow), Simone Tribuna (Hortensio), Christian Tworzyanski (Baptista), and Adam Reist (Grumio). The Maids are Ksenia Abbazova, Portia Soleil Adams, Chelsea Adomaitis, Taisha Barton-Rowledge, Anissa Bruley, Candela Ebbesen, Juliette Klein, Gaëlle Riou, Anne-Laure Seillan, Kaori Tajima, and Hannah Wilcox. The Servants are Jaat Benoot, Koen Havenith, Alexandre Joaquim, Artjom Maksakov, Zino Merckx, Roger Neves, Christian Oliveri, Lennart Radtke, Francesco Resch, Alessio Scognamiglio, and Benjamin Stone. Igor Dronov conducts the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo. Scenography by Ernest Pignon-Ernest; lighting design by Dominique Drillot; dramaturgy by Jean Rouaud; costumes by Augustin Maillot assisted by Jean-Michel Lainé. Directed for TV by Louise Narboni. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
This show premiered 2014 at the Bolshoi and became a hot ticket. It’s modern dance based on classic steps with the women on point.
Read MoreRiccardo Zandonai Francesca da Rimini opera to libretto by Tito Ricordi. Directed 2021 by Christof Loy at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Stars Sara Jakubiak (Francesca), Jonathan Tetelman (Paolo il Bello), Ivan Inverardi (Giovanni lo Sciancato, or The Lame), Charles Workman (Malatestino dall’Occhio or The One-Eye), Alexandra Hutton (Samaritana), Samuel Dale Johnson (Ostasio), Meechot Marrero (Biancofiore), Mané Galoyan (Garsenda), Arianna Manganello (Altichiara), Karis Tucker (Adonella), Amira Elmadfa (Smaragdi), Andrew Dickinson (Ser Toldo Berardengo), Dean Murphy (Il giullare or The Jester), Patrick Cook (Il balestriere or The Crossbowman) / Prisoner’s Voice), Thomas Lehman (Il torrigiano or The Towerkeeper). Actors are Jan Gerrit Brüggemann, Farouk El-Khalili, Hanno Jusek, Marcus Mundes, Andrea Spartá, Koray Tuna, Benjamin Werth, Nicolas Franciscus, Franz Gnauck, Kay Bretschneider, Paul Krügener, Lukas Lehner, Maximilian Reisenger, and Pablo Nina Toculescu. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines), and Supernumiaries of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Set design by Johannes Leiacker; costume design by Klaus Bruns; lighting design by Olaf Winter. Directed for TV by Götz Filenius. Sung in Italian. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
In the 13th century the land now called Italy was divided into warring oligarchic city-states. In 1275 Francesca Polentani of Ravenna was married to Giovanni Malatesta of Rimini, known as Giovanni the Lame, to bolster the strength of both families . . .
Read MoreJohn Corigliano The Ghosts of Versailles opera to libretto by William M. Hoffman. Directed 2019 by Jay Lesenger at the Royal Opera of Versailles. Stars singers Teresa Perrotta (Marie Antoinette), Jonathan Bryan (Beaumarchais), Kayla Siembieda (Susanna), Ben Schaefer (Figaro), Brian Wallin (Count Almaviva), Joanna Latini (Countess Rosina), Peter Morgan (Louis XVI), Christian Sanders (Bégearss), Emily Misch (Florestine), and Spencer Britten (Léon), all from the Glimmerglass Young Artists program, as well as dancers from the Glimmerglass Festival. Joseph Colaneri conducts the Chorus of the Glimmerglass Festival and the Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal. Directed for TV by Olivier Simmonet. Sung in English. Title includes a Blu-ray disc, a DVD, and a CD. Released 2021, Blu-ray disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Grade: NA
After 7 years in composition, this opera premiered at the Met in 1991. It has since been produced in various forms a handful of times. Previous recordings of this consist of a VHS, a Laserdisc, and a 2-SACD audio album. (The show may be available via Met Opera on Demand, and there is a weak YouTube video of the Met show.) If this title is any good at all, it could be the only modern recording that you can buy.
Ghosts of Versailles is a comedy designed to provide a field day for (1) opera experts, (2) opera trivia fanatics, and (3) graduate students in history. Will this have appeal to the rest of us? Well, this recording will likely be the best way for the rest of us to find out . . .
Read MoreProgramme V (Audycja V) opera. Music by the Pole Andrzej Krzanowski to his own libretto, which includes texts from Polish poets. Directed by Natalia Babińska on September 23, 2018 at the ATM studio in Warsaw as part of the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music. Szymon Bywalec conducts the New Music Orchestra (Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej) and singers from the Katowice City Singers’ Ensemble (Camerata Silesia). Assistant conductor was Wojciech Wantulok and choirmaster was Anna Szostak. Tape music by Pawel Hendrich. There is only one solo singer: soprano Joanna Freszel. She is joined in solo roles by two actors who recite Polish poetry: Jerzy Głybin and Przemysław Stippa. Karol Urbański is mime and choreographer for dancers of the Szczecin Castle Opera Ballet. Staging and costume design by Klaudia Klimka; mulitmedia and film by Marian Oslislo, Krzysztof Zygalski, and Tomasz Strojecki; lighting by Piotr Sadlik. Directed for TV by Jacek Dybowski. Performed in Polish + Salve Regina in Latin. Subtitles in Polish and English. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 surround sound. Grade: B
Andrzej Krzanowski, born into a working class family, was known as the “Chopin of the accordion.” He wrote contemporary classical music for the accordion and other forces before dying at age 39. The opera Programme V is his most complicated work. It’s unusual (maybe unique) in that Andrzej served as his own Regiedirector by specifying in the score all elements of the mise-en-scène and multimedia aspects . . .
Read MoreThe Red Shoes dance production. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne in 2019 at Sadler’s Wells in London. Music by Bernard Herrmann orchestrated by Terry Davies. Stars Ashley Shaw (Victoria Page), Adam Cooper (Boris Lermontov), Dominic North (Julian Craster), Liam Mower (Ivan Boleslawsky), Michela Meazza (Irina Boronskaya), and Glenn Graham (Grisha Ljubov). Other dancers from New Adventures are: Stephanie Billers, Ben Brown, João Carolino, Reece Causton, Harrison Dowzell, Jackson Fisch, Rose Goddard, Bryony Harrison, Daisy May Kemp, Kate Lyons, and Danny Reubens. Brett Morris conducts the New Adventures Orchestra. Set and costume design by Lez Brotherston; lighting design by Paule Constable; sound design by Paul Groothuis; projection design by Duncan McLean; associate artistic director was Etta Murfitt; assistant choreography by Neil Westmoreland; associate lighting director was Rob Casey. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2021, disc has LPCM stereo sound. Grade: A
The Red Shoes story from Hans Christian Anderson is about a poor girl whose only joy was a pair of red shoes that let her dance. She was shamed . . .
Read MorePablo Picasso at Pompeii. Features two ballets: Parade, with pre-recorded music by Satie, runs about 24 minutes; Pulcinella, with pre-recorded music by Stravinsky, runs about 36 minutes. Directed 2017 by Eleonara Abbagnato at the ancient outdoor Roman Theater at Pompeii. Choreography by Léonide Massine (father) revived by Lorca Massine (son). Stars the Corps de Ballet of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Set designs by Pablo Picasso reconstructed by Maurizio Varamo. Costumes by Picasso reconstructed by Anna Biagiotti. Lighting by Mario De Amicis. Directed for TV by Paolo Santioni. No keepcase booklet. Stravinsky’s score for Pulcinella includes parts for soprano, tenor, and bass. Subtitles selected by remote control (not a menu). Released 2021, disc has PCM stereo sound. Grade: A
This show harks back to World War I when Picasso and Jean Cocteau visited Italy to work on the Parade ballet for impresario Diaghilev of the famed Ballet Russes. Parade premiered in Paris in 1917. Far ahead of its time, the original created scandal. Undaunted, Diaghilev premiered Pulcinella in Rome in 1920 with similar forces.
I get the impression that neither Parade nor Pulcinella has been regularly performed. But in 2017, the Italian Ministry of Culture decided . . .
Read MoreSister of Gods opera. “Sister of Gods” translates to ahat-ilī [Akkadian] and Siostra bogów (Polish). The actual title of the opera is “Ahat ilī—siostra bogów.“ The libretto was written in Polish, but then translated into English to improve the marketability of the work. So “ahat ilī—Sister of the Gods” is the name you will likely see most often. I call it “Sister of the Gods” to help you find it in our Alphalist. Music by the Pole Aleksander Nowak. Libretto by Pole Olga Tokarczuk inspired by her own novel Anna in the Tombs of the World, which was in turn inspired by ancient Sumerian myth. This performance, the world premiere of the opera, was directed by Pia Partum in 2018 at the Sacrum-Profanum festival in Kraków, Poland. Stars Urszula Kryger (Ninshubur), Joanna Freszel (Inanna), Ewa Biegas (Ereshkigal), Jan Jakub Monowid (Dumuzi), Łukasz Konieczny (Father 1—grammarian and priest), Bartłomiej Misiuda (Father 2—logician), Sebastian Szumski (Father 3—sociobiologist). Marek Moś conducts AUKSO, the Chamber Orchestra of the City of Tychy, and the Polish Radio Choir (Choirmaster Maria Piotrawska-Bogalecka). Stage design and costumes by Magdalena Maciejewska; lighting by Jacqueline Sobiszewski; choreography and assistant direction by Agnieszka Dmochowska-Sławiec; video by Agnieszka Beaupre and Patryk Stokłosa; hanging and circling objects by Franciszek Wardyński. Sung in English with some parts in Akkadian, Latin, Ancient Greek, Proto-Slavic, and Aztec. Directed for TV by Andrzei Kosowski. Exhaustive and beautiful keepcase booklet has complete libretto in English and Polish. Subtitles in English and Polish. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 surround sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreBildbeschreibung (Description of a Picture) concert for 2 voices, chamber orchestra, special instruments, and electronics. This is the Polish premiere performed on September 27, 2018 of music composed by the Polish Agata Zubel to lyrics by the German playwright Heiner Müller. Titus Engel conducts the Klangforum Wien chamber orchestra at the ATM studio in Warsaw as part of the Warsaw Autumn Festival. "She" sung by soprano Agata Zubel; "He" sung by bariton Frank Wörner. Special instrumental solos (all electrified) are: Vera Fischer on bass flute; Eva Furrer on contrabass flute; Olivier Vivarès on contrabass clarinet; Gerald Preinfalk on tubax saxophone; Andres Nyqvist on double-bell trumpet; Florian Müller on sound-sampling keyboard; Bendikt Leitner on cello; and Alexander Gabryś on doublebass. All special instrumentalist soloists also contribute voiced text. Lyrics in German. Directed for TV by Jacek Dybowtki. Disc also has a bonus extra about Agata Zubel called called Words like Sounds. Subtitles in Polish, German, and English. Released 2022 by Anaklasis Recodings, a division of PWM Edition. Disc has 5.1 sound. Grade: A+ with ‽ and 💓 designations . . .
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