Friday, March 27, 2015

Joyce DiDonato with the Berlin Philharmonic

In the BPO Live Lounge this weekend:

...and in concert on April 11:


And I love watching Sara Willis' video blog. She makes everyone demonstrate their ability (or lack thereof) to play the french horn!

Hanging out with the amazing @JoyceDiDonato LIVE online on saturday, join us! http://t.co/emUIdLQbyV @BerlinPhil pic.twitter.com/RUsaQlknlA



Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Watching the Radio – JDD and TH in live Orchestral Programs


OK, so if it's not a master class blog, is this becoming a blog full of gratuitous mentions of Joyce DiDonato and Thomas Hampson? Probably. 

But don't worry, I am not forgetting my other obsessions! It's just what's happening now is you can hear both TH's and JDD's recent orchestral programs online in the radio archives, thanks to NPO Radio 4 in the Netherlands and WQXR in New York, NY. 

Thomas Hampson recently participated in Mariss Jansons' farewell concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (March 20), singing Mahler (natürlich), Copland (of course), and Berio (not as surprising as you might think).

And Joyce DiDonato brought her Carnegie Hall residence to a close on March 18 with a wonderful bel canto concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, sharing the stage with Laura Claycomb and Lawrence Brownlee. 

I caught most of TH's program (including a fine orchestral reading of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra) but I totally zoned out and missed JDD's concert. Now we all can relive (or live for the first time these two outstanding programs!

Enjoy!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Mozart Monday – Four Weddings and a Figaro

Of course, all of them have a Figaro! Here are five fine performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro—each with its own particular charmscourtesy of our fellow opera lovers over at YT. (And there are several more, if you're so inclined.)

Happy Monday!

Ludovic Tézier,  Barbara Frittoli, Ekaterina Siurina, Luca Pisaroni, Karine Deshayes
Philippe Jordan, Opéra national de Paris orchestra and chorus (2010)





Knut Skram, Ileana Cotrubas, Benjamin Luxon, Kiri Te Kanawa, Fredirica Von Stade 
John Pritchard, Glyndebourne (1973)





Hermann Prey, Mirella Freni, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kiri Te Kanawa, Maria Ewing
Karl Böhm, Wiener Philharmoniker (1973)





Lucia Popp, José van Dam, Gabriel Bacquier, Gundula Janowitz, Frederica Von Stade 
Georg Solti, Opéra de Paris Orchestra and Chorus (1980)





And, of course:
Dorothea Röschmann, Bo Skovhus, Anna Netrebko, Ildebrando d'Archaneglo, Christine Schäfer Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Salzburg Festspiele (2006)


Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Joyce DiDonato "Debriefs" her Carnegie Hall Residency

Is this becoming a Master Class blog? Maybe. But that's not important right now. What's important is this interview with Joyce DiDonato, in which she reflects on her residency at Carnegie Hall as it draws to a close. From the WNYC.org website: 

Celebrated mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato discusses her Carnegie Hall "Perspectives" series, ranging from the Baroque and bel canto eras to new works by Jake Heggie. She completes the series on Wednesday, March 18 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor Maurizio Benini, singing the rarely heard bel canto arias and ensembles with soprano Nicole Cabell and tenor Lawrence Brownlee.

It's interesting to hear the interviewer. He does a good job, but from his questions, he doesn't seem too tuned into music in general or opera in particular. 

Listen to the interview here. The Carnegie Hall concert airs tonight, on WQXR.

P.S. If you haven't watched the Master Classes yet, do so. Now. Or soon.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Thomas Hampson's Julliard 2015 Master Classes Archived

The Julliard School has finally posted Thomas Hampson's 2015 Master Classes. If you missed them back in January, here's your chance to get caught up.

Or, if you saw them back in January, here's your chance to go back and savor the special moments. 

Like, "Let's pretend that this country has opera houses in sizes that are actually about opera and not about ticket sales." And the wonderful, unexpected coaching that accompanist Valeriya Polunina received as a bonus for playing for (amazing young) tenor William Goforth. 

OK, so stop reading this blog post, and go watch and learn! (And be entertained, too.)

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