(Photo credit: Hans Jörg Michel) Hans Thomalla’s third opera “Dark Spring”—the others being “Fremd” and “Kaspar Hauser”—was premiered by Mannheim Opera in Fall 2020 and recorded by Oehms Classics over the course of its five performances. Since November a recording has been available both online and as a CD. It is this recording which is now being reviewed. This work {…}
(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 {…}
The history of Italian opera is indissociable from Manuel Garcia and his children who have shone in the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Balfe, and Gounod to name but a few. They established themselves as icons of the 19th century whose culture and societal life the sisters Maria, known as La Malibran, and Pauline, wife of Louis Viardot, dominated like {…}
(Photo: Gianpaolo Parodi) In 1708 Händel wrote “Aci, Galatea and Polifemo,” a serenata for three voices, as part of the celebrations to mark the marriage of Beatrice Tocco di Montemiletto and Duke D’Alvito Tolomeo III. Its narrative, taken from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” relates how the love between the shepherd Aci and the nymph Galatea enrages the cyclops Polifemo, who in a {…}
It is with a mix of fearful excitement and some heartfelt admiration for its Herculean task that critics and institutions alike have spilled ink over China’s claims to the international operatic stage. Take the relentless construction of world-class venues (note the recently unveiled proposals for the Shenzhen waterfront!) and the musical training of a whole new generation of singers to {…}
Naxos has recently released the new production of Robert Carsen’s “I Pagliacci/Cavalleria Rusticana,” which opened the 2019/20 season at the Dutch National Opera. It is a new development, as historically it has been Opus Arte which release Amsterdam’s operatic DVDs. Opus Arte always included interesting footage from rehearsals and interviews with the cast and creative team in their DVDs. Naxos {…}
Photo Credit: Anna Barbera In this column, we’ve explored the sacred and the profane—from a song cycle of Psalms composed by Dvořák and performed by Elyse Anne Kakacek to a spoken-word recording reimagining the character of Salome. What’s missing? A good meal. In this installment of Off the Beaten Track, the off-menu special is “In Appetizing Portions,” a newly released {…}
Opus Arte, the label which records the performances of The Royal Opera House, has released the second recording of Sir David McVicar’s production of “Faust” (the first DVD was released in 2010 from the premiere of this production in 2004). The production, from 2018, features a luxury cast of singers in what is probably the best production of “Faust” in {…}
Four electro-acoustic compositions, united by the vocals and unique musical approach of Uruguayan-born American composer Sergio Cervetti, make up his ninth album “Mortal Dreams” with Navona Records. Born 80 years ago with a career spanning more than half a century and over 100 compositions made for the concert stage, dance, theater, and film, the composer is best known and most {…}