Harteros, Kaufmann, and Finley – Otello Live on Staatsoper.TV

Live on December 2, and available on-demand the next day for 24 hours. I am not an Otello super-fan, but I am looking forward to seeing/hearing this performance. 

Connect to the stream on December 2nd. 

And find out more information about the production now. 

  

Five Flute Friday (Magic Flutes, that is!)

ROH, 2008

Salzburg, 2006

Royal Concertgebouw, 1995
Act 1

Act 2



Hamburg Oper, 1971

Kenneth Brannagh Film, 2006
Act 1

Act 2

Cosi fan Luca (and Martin and Gerald)

Thanks to the YouTuber who posted the opening sequence from last year's Salzburg revival/reworking of Sven-Eric Bechtolf's "don't drink the blue (in this case green) kool-aid" Cosi. Maestro von Eschenbach received generally bad reviews for this performance, but this bit seems to go well. (Note that the action begins before the overture ends.)

Speaking of the blue kool-aid, I notice there is more byplay with beverages in this opening scene than before. There seems to be some foreshadowing that Alfonso is gonna get it this time. 

Also note the nightgown exchange...already the boys are having trouble remembering which sister is his girlfriend. I must find the rest of this broadcast!

Watching the Radio – The Baritones-on-Ö1 Edition*

*With a bonus mezzo. Because there should always be a mezzo.

Thomas Hampson: Richard Strauss Orchestral Songs

Gerald Finley: Schubert and Liszt Lieder

Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender and his lovely daughter Brigitte, who is kind of an honorary baritone, since she often "gets the girl" in Operaland. And besides, it's her birthday! (July 3rd – this one airs Thursday night.)  

Alexander's Feast – Röschmann, Schade, Finley, and Harnoncourt

Unfortunately, Nikolaus Harnoncourt was not well enough to conduct a performance of Haydn's Seasons for this year's Internationale Barocktage Stift Melk (Michael Schade, Artistic Director). The upside is, in its place, Ö1 re-broacast this 2001 Festival performance (the first year Herr Schade participated in the festival):

Georg Friedrich Händel: 

Alexander's Feast or The Power of Music

Dorothea Röschmann, Soprano

Michael Schade, Tenor

Gerald Finley, Bass

Arnold Schoenberg Chor

Concentus Musicus Wien

Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Recorded December 7, 2001 in the Stiftskirche Melk

Bonus: If you'd rather watch and listen, I just came across this: 

More Gerald Finley; More Master Classes

Gerald Finley takes a more technical approach in this master class at the Royal College of Music (Sept. 2013) than some (say, JDD, for example) other artists might. I think he's brave to mess with a singer's technique. He does seem to approach gently, but personally, I think he talks too much. I'd rather hear the singer spend more time working with his concepts than hear the concepts stated over again. 

On the other hand, as he goes along, building on the work that's been done, we begin to understand where he's going: "Be careful. Remember that your instrument is already beautiful, if you don't get in the way." 

One thing Mr. Finley reminds me is the irony of music:  singers frequently are encouraged to emulate a violin or cello, or clarinet; and instrumentalists are always exhorted to sing!

Salzburg 2013 Cosi Finally on Ö1 Radio. Hooray!

© Michael Pöhn

Guess why Ferrando and Guglielmo are jumping for joy? 

Tonight, Austria's Ö1 Radio is finally broadcasting the Salzburg Festival Cosi Fan Tutte! The broadcast is at 19:30 (which is about 1:30 PM Eastern Time), and it should stay in the archive for about a week on (the amazing and handy) 7 Tage Ö1 (A week of radio when you want it!)

The performances did not garner glowing reviews (the Maestro seems to have been lackluster at best). But the singing must be at least semi-stellar. I mean, look at this cast list:

Malin Hartelius – Fiordiligi

Marie-Claude Chappuis – Dorabella

Martina Janková – Despina

Martin Mitterrutzner – Ferrando

Luca Pisaroni – Guglielmo

Gerald Finley – Don Alfonso

Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor

Wiener Philharmoniker

Christoph Eschenbach

Recorded in the Haus für Mozart in August as part of the Salzburger Festspiele 2013

Gerald Finley Master Class Webcast on September 18

We interrupt Miah Persson Week here at Regie, or not Regie to bring you this special bulletin:

Gerald Finley's masterclass at the Royal College of Music will be broadcast live on the RCM website starting at 14.00 this Wednesday September 18th.

For those of us who will be otherwise occupied at 2 PM, London time on Wednesday, this event will appear later on the RCM’s YouTube channel, where you can also now watch recordings of two recent masterclasses, with legendary violinist Ida Haendel and pianist András Schiff.

Everything's Different, Nothing's Changed – Salzburg Festival "Cosi"

© Michael Pöhn

SN: Sie haben alle Da-Ponte-Opern in Zürich inszeniert.... Stimmt, was Intendant Alexander Pereira versichert: In Salzburg wird alles ganz und gar neu?

Bechtolf: Das weiß ich noch nicht.* 

Now we know. The answer to the burning question (well, my burning question) is here. What did Sven-Eric Bechtolf do to upgrade his 2009 Zurich Cosi fan tutte for the 2013 Salzburg Festival?

Gerald Finley is Il Prigioniero (NY Philharmonic Performance Now Available)

I have admired this work since I first heard the Dorati recording with the National Symphony (right). What drew me to this opera was its thematic connection to Dallapiccola's choral work Canti di Prigioni—both textually and musically. 

I think of Il Prigioniero as Puccini meets Berg. Dallapiccola has taken Berg's heavy romantic approach to the 12-tone system and Italianized it. As 12-tone music goes, it's pretty darned lyrical; and Patricia Racette, Gerald Finley, and Peter Horare make the lyrical most of it in this dramatic performance. 

The NY Phil radio broadcast with Gerald Finley is finally available at InstantEncore. I could not find an English translation, but here is the original Italian libretto. And here are the NY Phil program notes by Alan Gilbert. For more background, here are two reviews: Zerbinetta’s for Bachtrack, and Anthony Tommassini’s for the New York Times. 

Super-Sized Gratuitous Friday – Gerald Finley Sings Schubert at Wigmore

Gerald Finley, baritone

Julius Drake, piano

Live from Wigmore Hall

January 15, 2013

Vocally, the bass-baritone was on fine form, rising above an occasional slight throatiness lower down and the odd moment of insecurity in his softer singing to deliver quality tone deployed with a full range of colour and dynamics. 

Gratuitous Friday – Gerald Finley sings Mahler

Gerald Finley and Julius Drake from their recent Wigmore program.  

A Mahler gem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

Text and Translation below.

If player is not working, click here to listen.

Gerald Finley Live from Wigmore Hall – Singing Schubert & Mahler

Update 7 PM EDT: The recital is now available at iPlayer. Click on the same BBC link below. You can listen to it there for the next 7 days.

On BBC Radio 3 today

@ 19:30 London time.

Gerald Finley, baritone

Julius Drake, piano

Programme:

Richard Strauss: Capriccio – Paris, 2004 (Part 2: The Decision Not to Decide)

Strauss is great at setting conversation, which is good, since Capriccio is “A conversation piece with music.” When everyone is teasing La Roche about his mythical presentation, the poet and composer play with the model set and the costumes; the Italian singers squabble, the Countess, Count, and Clairon chat and laugh, and poor La Roche blusters indignantly. (Here the subtitle folks do finally give up on trying to represent every word of text.) A backdrop flies in from above and the stagehands wrestle with it. The dancer dances. And it all makes musical sense.  

Richard Strauss: Capriccio – Paris, 2004 (Part 1: Opera about Opera)

Somewhat like Ariadne auf Naxos, Capriccio is an opera about opera. During the prelude (seen in a previous post) we see the Countess entering the opera house and sitting down to hear Flammand’s music. Here, we are clearly in the theater.  Robert Carsen seems to love this kind of stuff—using a novel setting that allows us see and hear the piece from a different angle. 

An Otterphile Bonus – The Eyes Have It

I made this clip for my review of Capriccio, (yes, that review really is coming up – next week, in fact!) but I just couldn’t wait to share it. This is the scene in which the actress Clarion (Anne-Sofie von Otter) is “auditioning” the Count (Dietrich Henschel), an amateur thespian. Watch as ASvO channels Norma Desmond via Carol Burnett. 

The Eternal Enigma: Words or Music? – Richard Strauss: Capriccio (Introduction)

This is the opening of Robert Carsen's Paris production of Capriccio. Someday I am going to gather my thoughts together enough to finish writing my review of this wonderful performance.

Rainer Trost and Gerald Finley

Carsen does seem to like to remind us we are watching an opera, and this production is no exception. I like this segment because of the way it sets up our theatrical expectations during the wonderful string sextet. Plus, the opening comments from composer Flammand (Rainer Trost) and poet Olivier (Gerald Finley) state the argument of the opera: "Words or Music?"

Sunday Extra – Luca Pisaroni (or: Pretty Little Picture)

Gratuitous Friday Sunday

I posted this clip on YouTube a few days ago to use in an upcoming Gratuitous Friday post; it has already been viewed 37 times. That doesn't count as viral but I was a bit surprised how many people found it already.

This Don Giovanni clip is from Jonathan's Kent's Glyndebourne 2010 production. It also stars Gerald Finley as DG and Kate Royal as DE, among others. It is set in the 1950's, and as you see in this clip, Leporello's "catalog" is a stack of photo albums. (I guess Giovanni gave him a Polaroid camera for Christmas.)

Luca Pisaroni as that lovable scamp Leporello.