(Photo: Michele Crosera) Given that Venice is the city of Vivaldi’s birth and the scene of most of his musical successes, it is fitting that La Fenice has been one of the leading companies in the movement toward rehabilitating staged performances of his operas. This season’s production of the composer’s 1735 work “La Griselda” will mark the fifth consecutive year {…}
(Photo: Nicola Dal Maso) Francesca Aspromonte’s first solo album, released on the Pentatone label in 2018, explored the Italian 17thcentury opera prologue, with music from a variety of composers including Cavalli, Stradella, and A. Scarlatti. Accompanied by the Il Pomo D’Oro ensemble under the direction of Enrico Onofri, the recording proved itself to be an excellent showcase for the young {…}
(Credit: Michele Crosera) The director for Teatro La Fenice’s production of Vivaldi’s “Farnace,” Christophe Gayral observed in his program notes that “the music for some of the arias is strangely sometimes not completely related to the narrative, the music is light while the situation is dark.” While this is undoubtedly true, it does not act against the work as a {…}
(Photo: Michele Crosera) Four months after La Fenice closed its doors, opera has once again returned to its stage, albeit not necessarily in a form that one normally associates with a traditional opera house. The regulations aimed at containing the spread of COVID 19 mean that Italian theatres, cinemas, and other public performance spaces must comply with stringent restrictions, which {…}
(Credit: Courtesy of English National Opera ) This weekend there are a number of new productions including two comedies, three modern masterpieces, and one classic repertoire staple. Here is a look at our recommendations. Egmont – Theater an der Wien, Austria Edgaras Montvidas, Bo Skovhus, Maria Bengtsson, Angelika Kirchschlager, Theresa Kronthaler, and Károly Szemerédy star in Christian Jost and Christoph {…}
This week Erato has two releases featuring legendary artists and one of today’s most sought-after singers. One releases features rarely performed works while the other features a new edition of a popular work. Here is a look: Orfeo ed Euridice Erato releases a new recording of Gluck’s 1174 classic opera with Philippe Jaroussky and Amanda Forsythe in the lead roles. Diego Fasolis {…}
As part of its 2017 programme, the Festival della Valle D’Itria presented a staging of Vivaldi’s opera “Orlando Furioso.” Embracing the performance traditions of the baroque period and resisting the temptation to make the work “relevant,” its director, Fabio Ceresa and his production team produced a splendid reading of the work, full of color, spectacle, and beauty. The musical direction, {…}