Double-Mezzo Monday – Belle nuit, Indeed!

Continuing my pursuit of Sd'O: what to my wondering eyes did appear? 

A duet with ASvO (before she learned the part of Niklaussse by heart!)!! 

Three Rs: Rosenkavalier, Röschmann, and aRiodante (not together)

Der infamous Rosenkavalier from Glyndebourne (Video available for about 6 days.)

Dorothea Röschmann singing Faure, Liszt (somewhat surprisingly), Strauss, and Wolf (less surprising) in recital from Wigmore on Radio BBC 3 (For about 7 more days.)

Handel’s Ariodante in a 1997 performance from the Concertgebouw on Radio 4 Concerthuis (for about 16 more days) with Anne Sofie von Otter, Richard Croft, Marc Minkowski, and others.

Monteverdi Monday – Nerone in Love (Another Clip for the Otterphile)

Anne Sofie von Otter in pants again; this time as Nerone. She/he is so seduced...and we can see why. Mirelle Delunsch is a pretty irresistible Poppea! This performance was recorded in 2000. I haven't found a  recording of the whole performance yet, but there are more excerpts on the Toob. Look for them!!

Gratuitous Friday – Anne Sofie von Otter, Barbara Bonney, and the Rose

Our instinct is to look at the person who's singing. But this time, watch Anne Sofie von Otter as Octavian while Sophie (Barbara Bonney) goes on about how pretty the rose smells. ASvO's emotion is electric and honest. I never ever forget that she is a girl playing a boy, but I totally believe she is totally fascinated, turned on, and perhaps even already in love with this lovely girl. And Barbara B. helps by being totally adorable. It sounds cliche, but I actually get chills watching ASvO in this scene. The singers and director make this work!

Carlos Kleiber und Der Rosenkavalier (The Conductorcam Edition)

Anyone can watch what's happening on the stage, including the conductor. But during an opera, the only people who can (or need to) watch the conductor are the musicians—the singers and instrumentalists.

Here are about 90 minutes of the orchestra-eye view of the great maestro Carlos Kleiber in action—not a rehearsal (there are a lot of those clips around, too), but a live performance; not “just” an orchestra concert, but an opera. I am a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. If I can see into the wings from my seat, I watch what’s going on backstage almost as much as what’s on stage. If I am sitting high enough to see into the pit, I watch the orchestra a lot, too.

The Otterphile – Easter Edition

Anne Sofie von Otter with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert:

Happy Easter!

The Orfeo/Orphee Comparo Edition (Part 1)

Franco Fagioli

So I keep listening to the new Orfeo broadcast, and I keep trying to figure out who Franco Fagioli reminds me of. While I was thinking, I decided to post the Act 3 duet, so we can all hear how well his voice blends with Malin Hartelius. What a lovely combo!

After a few listens, I realized that Fagioli kind of reminds me of Marilyn Horne. Wait, I know that sounds weird, but when he goes into his awesome chest voice...well, here is MH with Pilar Lorengar for comparison:

And just for good measure and because I was listening to all the different recordings I have, here are Richard Croft and Mireille Delunsch singing the French version. Have I mentioned that I think Richard Croft is a musical god?

And finally, Berlioz must have his say, too. So here are Anne Sofie von Otter and Barbara Hendricks:

More Mahler, Otterphile Style - Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz

ASvO sings Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz, the fourth song from Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. An outstanding and sensitive performance from 1997-ish, with surprisingly (to me) John Eliot Gardiner at the helm! (Sadly, audio-only)

Gratuitous Friday (Otterphile Edition) – Une soirée avec Kurt Weill

Available on demand at France Musique until December 15: Anne Sofie von Otter and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under the direction of HK Gruber present an An Evening with Kurt Weill, including The Seven Deadly Sins, and selections from One Touch of Venus and Lady in the Dark.

The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music website* says:

Ever since she recorded Die sieben Todsünden for Deutsche Grammophon in 1994, Anne Sofie von Otter has made the work her own. 

© 2012 The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. All rights reserved.

The Otterphile – AsvO Sings the Wesendoncks (Encore)

This is Anne Sofie von Otter's performance of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder with Marc Minkowski from last spring. I originally posted about this concert back then. It's no longer available at medici.tv, but some kind soul posted it for us at the Toob, so we can enjoy it all over again. This clip even includes her encore of the final song, Träume. 

And as a bonus, here is an even more recent performance of the Wesendoncks with Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, recorded in June 2013. I think this Träume may be even better than the two above!

The Rake's Progress on Ö1 Radio

I just noticed that Ö1 Radio broadcast Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress from Vienna’s Theatre an der Wien last weekend. This means we have only about 24 hours left to listen to it on 7 Tage Ö1. I’ve only heard the first 20 or so minutes, but it’s sounding pretty good (including the always-wonderful Arnold Schoenberg Chor.) 

Toby Spence (Tom Rakewell)

Bo Skovhus (Nick Shadow)

Anna Prohaska (Anne Truelove)

Manfred Hemm (Truelove)

Anne Sofie von Otter (Baba the Turk)

Caroline Wilson (Mohter Goose)

Gerhard Siegel (Sellem)

Arnold Schoenberg Chor

ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester

Dirigent: Michael Boder

Sunday Brunch – Ah Perdona (Catherine Robbin and Sylvia McNair) & ASvO Bonus

Two-and-a-half minutes of Mozartean soprano bliss. These ladies need no pardon. Catherine Robbin and Sylvia McNair as Annio and Servilia. Maybe it's because it's my first "Ah perdona.." but I think this is the best I've ever heard.

Ah perdona al primo affetto

This recording of La clemenza di Tito is led by Sir John Eliot Gardiner and also boasts Julia Varady as Vitellia, Anne Sofie von Otter as Sesto, and Anthony Rolfe Johnson as Tito.

OK, so I let the opera keep playing and got to Parto...sung by ASvO. mmmmmmmm!

So here is that one, too:

Parto, parto...

Sunday Brunch – Auger and von Otter Sing Bach

Helmut Rilling's recording of Bach's B-minor Mass is a good representation of the state of  the modern-instrument/HIP hybrid of the 80s (We can tell it's the 80s from ASvO's haircut, and because Arlene Auger is still singing.) I think if you search diligently, you can find the entire mass on YT, in bits and pieces. This is sublime music making.

Britten's Spring Symphony in Sweden - Radio Broadcast

Anne Sofie von Otter, Daniel Harding, Mark Padmore

They're celebrating the Centenary of Benjamin Britten in Sweden, too (and they even imported some Brits to help them out.) Under the direction of Daniel Harding, the Swedish Radio Chorus and Symphony presented Britten's Spring Symphony on May 24th this year.

Anne Sofie von Otter's Dreamy Wesendonck Lieder

Here is something I haven't seen in a while: ASvO received a lengthy ovation at the end of her performance of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. That ovation wasn’t unusual—the wonderful surprise was her encore of the fifth song: Träume (Dreams). It was even better than the first time—a bit slower and dreamier. 

Gratuitous Friday (The Otterphile Edition) – Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend

Pop, Opera, Lied, or Broadway: ASvO can Sell it!!

Happy Friday

Incidentally, ASvO will be singing Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder with Marc Minkowski and the Orchestre National du Capitol de Toulouse this evening (2 PM New York time). It will be webcast by medici.tv.

The Otterphile – Vintage von Otter @ Definitely the Opera

For fanboys and girls who (like me) just can't get enough Anne Sofie von Otter:

The Vintage von Otter Series

by

Definitely the Opera 

featuring clips and photos from the early career of ASvO

More Digital Concert Hall – Mahler from von Otter, Kaufmann, and Abbado

I've extolled the Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall in other posts. It's a pay site; I'd rather be able to get these concerts on DVDs, but this service is so worth it! And this concert is one reason why:

Here is something to be thankful for: Anne Sofie von Otter and Jonas Kaufmann on stage with Claudio Abbado at the helm. What more could a fanboy ask for? This is a near-perfect performance of Das Lied von der Erde. We already know that ASvO loves singing Mahler, and JK has the perfect voice for it too. They are both consummate singer/actors, slash actor/singers. And Maestro Abbado achieves so much with relatively few podium dramatics. I love the visual feedback Maestro Abbado gives his singers. He clearly loves the human voice. Watch especially for the look he gives JK after the fifth song.

Thursday Extra – More Reviews of Sale

MH is feeling low

Thanks to the blog Definitely the Opera, we have links to a few more reviews (one actually in English – YAY!) plus some bigger photos. I direct you there for more detail. 

O gods of opera videos, please grant us a glimpse this odd but interesting-looking production. 


Sale - The First Post
Sale Part 2 - A review

Sale – Handel, Marthaler, Zurich Opera – Part 2

We found one review, of Marthaler's "new" Handel opera via the blog Welt der Oper neu.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the review is in German. Since it's late on election night, I'm not going to try to make a sensible (logical and in standard English) translation just now. 


With a strong reading comprehension of German, you'll get more detail than I did. However, with Google translate's literal translation, we can get some idea of how the evening went.