Tribute to Maestro Claudio Abbado from France Musique

Last week's edition of the France Musique radio program Lirico Spinto is a 90-minute tribute to Claudio Abbado's work in the opera house.

Even if you have heard and/or have most or all of Abbado's opera recordings for Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, there's some great listening here. Excerpts from commercial releases include the entire Act 1 Finale of  Die Zauberflöte, and the Act 2 Finale of Fidelio. In addition, there are bits from live La Scala performances of Macbeth, Aida, and Boris Godounov. The Aida excerpt (from 1972) features Domingo and Arroyo; and it is particularly exciting!

In addition to the radio program listings, the web page contains embedded full-length videos (as seen on YT) of:

• Macbeth
• Il Viaggio a Reims
• Lohengrin
• Don Giovanni

It looks like this audio program will be available for two years (but my French comprehension is neither strong nor reliable.) Just in case the website is wrong (or I am), go listen ASAP! 

Godunov Going Fast – Only 7 More Days to Watch

Calixto Bieito's production of Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Gudonov for the Bayerische Staatsoper is on view at Arte live, but only for a few more days. The musical values are high and the production is strange, as  expected; but it's much lower on the gross-out meter than we've come to expect from Bieito. Watch it before it disappears.

Meanwhile, La Sonnambula is still online for about another month. 

And if you live in Europe, you have 14 days to see the Bregenz Festival Die Zauberflöte (not available in the U.S.)