Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. It’s about the holidays so this week there is a new Christmas album as well as a final recording by one of the great mezzos of her time, a re-release of a classic recording, a new recording of Massenet’s work, and many baroque {…}
Welcome back for this week’s look at the latest CD and DVD releases in the opera world. This week audiences will get a chance to listen to world premiere recordings, a rarely performed work and a legendary recording of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Ochre Multiple-GRAMMY-winning ensemble The Crossing offers a new album born of cultural resonance, with new works by three {…}
Bulgaria bass Nicolai Ghiaurov was one of the world’s finest singers throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Born on Sept. 13, 1929, in Velingrad, his childhood featured musical studies in violin, piano, and the clarinet. He would go to study at the Bulgarian State Conservatory and later the Moscow Conservatory. His vocal career got off to a tremendous {…}
Bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, born on Sept. 13, 1929, developed a fantastic resume singing the roles of Verdi and those of Mussorsky. Born in Velingrad in Southern Bulgaria, his potent voice would become his signature and a fan-favorite for opera lovers the world over. His career is filled with a number of major moments, but in this piece, we will highlight {…}
When considered in the context of his entire oeuvre, Verdi’s “Attila” is far from a masterpiece. When propped up against his best work, this early work simply doesn’t hold up. In fact, prominent Verdi scholars, such as Julian Budden, have criticized the opera and called it “the heaviest and noisiest of the Risorgimento operas, blunt in style, daubed in thick garish {…}