Over the past few years, there has been an emergence of Russian albums recorded by many of today’s greatest divas. Many of the same arias, spanning from Rimsky Korsakov’s gorgeous oriental melodies to Rachmaninov’s lush melodies, havce been recording. It can be very difficult to listen to these pieces over and over unless that interpreter has something new to say. With her fourth {…}
For years Meyerbeer’s music has been ignored or gone into obscurity. In recent years, some of his operas have been able to make resurgences thanks in part to star singers. But even so, the composer, one of the most famous of his time, remains an obscurity in the modern opera world. Now Diana Damrau is finally paying homage to a {…}
In the last half century, Gustav Mahler has become arguably the most widely recorded composer in the world of classical music. His music is a deeply personal experience for the truest of Mahlerites, who while open to new interpretations, remain steadfast in their devotion to their all-time favorites. No two recordings of a Mahler work are anywhere close to similar. {…}
For decades Bizet’s “Les Pêcheurs de Perles” was rarely ever performed. We would hear the famed “Friendship Duet” or get the occasional recording here and there, but seeing a staged performance was a thing of dreams. But now opera lovers can enjoy a live performance of Bizet’s often-ignored work from the comfort of their living rooms. Mind you, the Metropolitan {…}
Aida Garifullina is quickly rising to stardom in the operatic world. Her career has surged in the past year as she has taken leading roles in the world’s greatest houses and has now become an exclusive recording artist for Decca Classics. For her debut album, Garifullina has chosen a program of classic Russian pieces that are meaningful to her and {…}
The ending of Puccini’s “Turandot” is one of opera’s great tragedies. The composer, at the peak of his power, had composed his most musically daring work to date with some of his most phenomenal strokes of dramatic genius alongside some of his most riveting and enduring melodies. And yet, when he was ever so close to completing it, he hit {…}
Elina Garanca has steadily been moving to the dramatic mezzo-soprano repertoire as her career has developed. In this new solo album, the mezzo-soprano showcases what audiences will hopefully see in the future. “Revive,” the title Garanca has chosen for her album, is a mix of many popular tunes from the mezzo repertoire and some rarely heard. The result is an {…}
For any artist making his or her first solo album is a daunting task. Aside from the technical challenges of going into a studio and repeatedly re-recording tracks that will be spliced together in a manner far different from the spontaneity of live performance, but the repertoire selection can be a point of contention. It would not be surprising to {…}
When Puccini set out to write his “Manon Lescaut,” the composer drew attention to his “feeling it like an Italian, with a desperate passion.” Though the comment came in the context of his comparing it with Massenet’s own interpretation of the work, that idea of desperation has certainly played into numerous readings of the work. A look at the catalogue {…}