There is no shortage of good and, sometimes, exceptional recordings of Puccini’s “Turandot,” with aficionados generally swaying between Molinari-Pradelli’s studio release (with Franco Corelli and Birgit Nilsson) and Mehta’s landmark take from 1972. Add to this Franco Ghione and, in excerpts, Barbirolli’s visceral “Turandots” from the pre-war period, and nearly all aspects of Puccini’s swan song – from the ritualistic {…}
(© Semperoper Dresden/Matthias Creutziger) The Semperoper Dresden has announced that it will stream the 2016 double-bill production of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci.” The operas star Maria Agresta, Liudmyla Monastyrska, Annalisa Stroppa, Stefania Toczyska, Tansel Akzeybek, Alessio Arduini, Jonas Kaufmann, Ambrogio Maestri and Dimitri Platanias. Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden. This Unitel recording is made available in collaboration {…}
With opera companies remain closed, there is still plenty of opera that will be streamed this week. Here are our recommendations for the week. Don Pasquale – New National Theatre Tokyo (NOW) For those interested in some comedy, there is no doubt that “Don Pasquale,” Donizetti’s greatest comedy, is the best offering this week. The cast is top-notch, led by {…}
This week there will be two major releases. One of the releases will be a solo album with waltzes and the other a new production from Vienna. Wien Jonas Kaufmann takes audiences on a personal voyage with melodies from the birthplace of waltz and operetta. Accompanied by Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Ádám Fischer and featuring soprano Rachel Willis-Sorensen, the new album {…}
Jonas Kaufmann has cancelled his final performance at the Barbican. The tenor sent out a message on Facebook that stated, “Dear Friends, Jonas deeply regrets that because he has bronchitis his concert at the Barbican is cancelled. In due course they hope to reschedule this concert to a future date. Thomas Voigt.” The concert was to have included Strauss’ “Vier letzte {…}
