The joined forces by librettist Aiden K. Feltkamp and composer Rosśa Crean brings the incredible story of Gertrud Günther (also known as Marie Madeleine) on a stage for the first time in the monodrama, called the “The Priestess of Morphine: The Lost Writings of Marie-Madeleine.” Premiered on June 28, 2019, in the International Museum of Surgical Science, opera was soon {…}
An aesthetic outlier in the grand tradition of Italian opera, “La Fanciulla del West” occupies a singular position both historically and within the growing catalog of Pentatone’s multichannel audio recordings. The Dutch label proposes two contrasting takes on Puccini’s tale of the Wild West; a remastered version of the DG classic (with Carol Neblett’s magisterial Minnie) and its most recent {…}
Off the Beaten Track is an album review series that takes readers on a cross-disciplinary journey through recently released recordings, spotlighting the cool, the unusual, and the beautiful work created by artists who push boundaries and take the road less traveled. What was Zachary James thinking? Amid a raging pandemic, the star of stage and screen embarked on a wild, {…}
A cynical depiction of low-class misery and pessimistic determinism in the vein of Zola, “Il Tabarro” may read as a departure from the sympathetic backdrop of Imperial Japan, the mining camps of the western United States, or Bohemian Paris in the 1830s. Yet its musical ingredients leave plenty of room for the elatedness of Puccinian melodies and despite the unusually {…}
(Photo: Denis Rouvre) Naïve’s recent release, “Argippo,” is Volume 64 of its ongoing project to record the entire Vivaldi catalog held by the Italian National Library in Turin. However, unlike the other volumes, this work does not actually form part of the Turin collection. Initially written in 1730 to a libretto by Domenico Lalli for Vienna’s Theater am Kartner Tor {…}
The serenata was essentially a court entertainment written to celebrate special occasions, such as weddings and christenings of the high and mighty, or visits by important dignitaries, performed in front of an invited audience. With the decline of the European aristocracy, it lost its role, so that by the early 19th century it had become an obsolete form to the {…}
Many times the final moments of a piece of art are the ones that leave the audience with the biggest impression. It may be the final image of a film or the final bars of a musical work. In the bel canto repertoire, the final impression is generally left by whether a singer hits a certain high note, be it {…}
At least since the advent of the compact disc has the music industry realized the commercial potential of the Christmas season and long is the line of illustrious voices who have, in turn, indulged in the more or less tasteful rendition of classics like “Adeste Fideles” or “White Christmas.” Even as sophisticated a stylist as Carlo Bergonzi has recorded a {…}
Off the Beaten Track is an album review series that takes readers on a cross-disciplinary journey through recordings, spotlighting the cool, the unusual, and the beautiful work created by artists who push boundaries and take the road less traveled. I have a spooky story for you. Ten friends (seven young women and three young men) flee to the countryside to {…}