As Renée Fleming, “America’s Diva,” introduced the third to last piece in a program that ranged from Handel to Cantaloube to Harold Arlen, the beloved singer sighed deeply. It was a testament to the magic and beauty she had spun singing one of the standout numbers of her concert, “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.” She sang the {…}
(Credit: Gregor Hohenberg / Sony Classical) When the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown the entire planet, the Metropolitan Opera was among the first companies to realize the potential of streaming operas to audiences worldwide. With its massive catalogue of opera recordings from both this century and the last, the company set out to present performances on a nightly basis. Other companies caught {…}
(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: Javier del Real) (This review is for the performance on July 4, 2020) After 90 days of closure, the Teatro Real de Madrid reopened on July 1 with a semi-staged production of “La Traviata.” With the theater at half capacity due to the social distancing protocols instituted, the atmosphere on opening night was enthusiastic and hopeful. The Teatro Real {…}
As we wrap up June and African-American Music Month, Off the Beaten Track explores the 2019 recording of composer and librettist Richard Thompson’s “The Mask in the Mirror,” the story of the ill-fated romance between America’s first Black poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Alice Ruth Moore, a New Orleans Creole, poet, journalist, and early civil rights advocate. For those new {…}
“What could Mahler’s ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ might mean for the people gathered in a beautiful inner yard of Alma Mater Vilnensis on this hot summer evening?” These were my thoughts as I entered the yard of Vilnius University. “Would it inspire them? Would it hit?” That night would be the first large scale classical music event in Vilnius {…}
The Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro has long championed the operas composed by Rossini, including many of his forgotten works. Among those forgotten is “Ricciardo e Zoraide,” which was first performed in 1846 before disappearing from the stage until 1990 and then 1996. The festival revived the work in 2018, promptly releasing a DVD of the production; all of these {…}
Whether it is a brand new Ferrari or a Rolls Royce cabriolet – the relationship between star singers and their cars has always been something of an amour fou. Piotr Beczała is no exception and the Polish tenor drives a sleek and elegant Jaguar XK150 which, in general terms, might well serve the description of his voice. Timeless, and equipped {…}
(Photo: Frances Marshall ) The seasons have provided a rich source of inspiration for composers; Vivaldi’s violin concerti and Haydn’s oratorio spring to mind, but there are many others, such as Vaughan-Williams’ “Folk Songs of the Four Seasons,” and more recently Cage’s “The Four Seasons,” whilst Schumann’s “Spring” symphony and Schubert’s song cycle “Winterreise” focused on a particular season. They {…}