(Credit: Palau de la Música Catalana official website) Famed Finnish conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen has received an Honorary Knighthood by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for services to music and to relations between the United Kingdom and Finland. “This is a true personal honor, but more than that, it is meaningful to have artists honored at a national – at a {…}
(Credit: Czech Philharmonic official website) The Czech Philharmonic has announced that it has canceled all performances until the end of February 2021. Among the canceled concerts is the presentation of Janáček’s opera “Káťa Kabanová” on Jan. 21, as well as tenor Ian Bostridge’s scheduled recital on Feb. 7, 2021. However, the orchestra announced a New Year’s Concert without an audience. {…}
(Credit: © Barbara Aumüller/Archiv) Oper Frankfurt has announced that it will extend its closure until at least Jan. 31, 2021. The opera house has also announced changes to its repertoire, canceling the revivals of Bizet’s “Carmen” and Janáček’s “From the House of the Dead.” Instead, Oper Frankfurt plans to showcase more performances of Puccini’s “Manon Lescaut” and Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” {…}
(Photo: Marek Olbrzymek) Superficially “Jenůfa” is a tale of village life, full of folk traditions and colorful costumes, of a close intimate community in which all participate in each other’s daily lives and activities. Sure bad things happen, as they do everywhere, people fall out, they fight and argue and occasionally even murder, but the underlying harmony and all round {…}
(Photo: Marek Olbrzymek) Janacek was not a man to hide his obsession for a woman under a bushel, a fact that became a constant torment to his wife, and they were obsessions, not casual or even consummated affairs. The most famous, of course, was his infatuation with Kamila Stösslová who became the muse for a number of his works, not {…}
(Photo: Marek Olbrzymek) Janacek’s unorthodox song cycle, “The Diary of One who Disappeared” is a theatrical work, to the extent that it is nowadays often presented as a staged, costumed drama, sometimes with an orchestrated score. It even allows for a variety of interpretations such as Ivo von Hove’s recent production which saw the protagonist cast as a photographer looking {…}
My final day at this year’s Janacek Festival ended with a performance of its awarding-winning production of “Jenufa,” starring Karita Mattila as the Kostelnička, Pavla Vykopalova as Jenufa, Peter Berger as Laca and Richard Samek as Števa, in what was a well sung presentation. The conductor opted for a light reading which brought out the lyricism and folk melodies of {…}
Yesterday evening I had just finished writing Day 3 of the Festival Diary when I bumped into the composer Krystof Maratka, whom I had earlier seen performing his piece “Prophecy” for piano and folk instruments, which consisted of bone flutes, whistles, stones and other weird and wonderful instruments. We had an interesting chat in which he explained his fascination with {…}
This morning I headed off to Brno’s Romany Museum, the only one dedicated to the Roma people, their history, and their culture in Europe. Situated in a fairly poor area of the city in which the Roma people had been forcibly settled I was greeted by a most enthusiastic and knowledgable guide who was happy to give me a personal {…}
Finally, I have arrived in Brno for the Janacek Festival, 24 hours later than scheduled thanks to a strike by Italian rail staff, which following a series of cancellations and delays left me stranded and seeking a hotel room in Vienna at half-past midnight. Brno is a small picturesque Czech city set close to the Austrian border which each year {…}
(Credits: Sandrine Expilly / Bertie Watson) The Gramophone has announced its 2020 Awards. The top Opera recording went to the Erato’s release of Handel’s “Agrippina”, featuring Joyce DiDonato, Elsa Benoit, Luca Pisaroni, Franco Fagioli, Jakub Józef Orliński, Andrea Mastroni, Carlo Vistoli, Biagio Pizzuti, and Marie-Nicole Lemieux. Maxim Emelyanychev conducted the Il Pomo d’Oro orchestra. Sandrine Piau received the Recital prize {…}
