Dvorak's Armida and other Operatic Delights from Sveriges Radio

Dvorak: Armida

Dvorak wrote an opera about Armida and Rinald(o), too? Well, why not? A whole boatload of other composers did (most notably Handel and Rossini.) This month on Sveriges Radio (Sweden) you can hear a performance from the Czech Republic of Dvorak's relatively rare opera. Rumor has it he modeled his work on Wagner's Tannhäuser. Maybe so, but I Dvorak also drew a lot from his "New World" influences.  

Dvorak's music is really lovely (I still need to sit down seriously with Rusalka!) and I'd like to explore this opera further. It turns out that the blog Operalia has a link to a video of this same Czech performance. (I have yet to successfully download anything from that site; any tips would be greatly appreciated.)

Nina Stemme

Sveriges Radio broadcasts operas weekly, and most of them (except for the ones from the stingy Peter Gelb) are archived for 30 days. Dvorak's Armida is available for about three more weeks. November offerings are listed on the Sveriges Radio website. 

Of particular interest this month is the live broadcast (on November 30) of the Stockholm Royal Opera premiere of a new production of Salome, starring Nina Stemme.

In between is a L'Elisir d'Amore from Gothenburg and Britten's Gloriana from Covent Garden. When seeking intersting opera broadcasts, don’t forget Sweden’s Sveriges Radio!