Massenet’s opera “Thaïs,” set in 4th century Alexandria, focuses on two individuals with diametrically opposed outlooks and lifestyles. There is the hedonistic courtesan Thaïs, who seeks only love—although for no longer than a week at a time—and there is a cenobite monk named Athanaël, an ascetic, whose aim is to turn the courtesan to the path of righteousness. While he {…}
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 {…}
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 {…}
This month’s Off the Beaten Track explores the newly released recording of “The Wake World: A Tale for Babes and Sucklings,” a one-act opera composed by Los Angeles-based composer/librettist David Hertzberg and inspired by Aleister Crowley’s work of the same name. The recording is the first opera released under the Tzadik label. Founder and executive producer of Tzadik, John Zorn {…}
On its west facade Rouen Cathedral features a bas-relief of Salome dancing on her hands for the Tetrarch and his guests. In a luring form of “danse macabre,” she thus seals the fate of the Baptist whose execution is shown in the following scene. Flaubert is said to have derived inspiration for his recounting of the Biblical story in the {…}
(Credit: Russell Duncan/Opera Rara/ROH) A little over a year ago, Opera Rara, whose commitment is to record unknown, forgotten and rarely performed works from the 19th century, released a reconstructed version of Donizetti’s then-never performed “L’ange de Nisida.” This world premiere recording reveals the work to be an authentic Bel Canto jewel, providing deep immersion into Donizetti’s style of composition {…}
(Photo: Igor Studio) The countertenor Franco Fagioli’s new CD, entitled “Veni, Vidi, Vinci,” turns the spotlight onto the now relatively ignored composer Leonardo Vinci. During the early 18th century Vinci was a leading figure in the Neapolitan school; he is known to have influenced the works of Pergolesi, Hasse and Handel, collaborated closely with Metastasio, worked with the leading singers {…}