What's Richard Croft (Singing God) Up to These Days?

This clip is from about two years ago. He was an amazing Tito at Glyndbourne in 2017. What's he up to this year? Lovers of gorgeous tenor singing want to know.

Gratuitous Friday – Miah Persson: "Lascia ch'io pianga"

This is from Rene Jacobs' 2003 complete recording of Handel's Rinaldo, with Mia Persson as "a lovely Almirena," and the ever-reliable Freiburger Baroqueorchester. It may be the slowest performances of this aria I've ever heard. Halting, yet always moving forward, and beautifully ornamented in the da capo. Sigh!

Baroque Arias – Bach and Matthias Goerne (and Barbara Bonney)

I know secular "christmas" is over, but it's still Christmastide in my world. And who has time to look at/listen to Christmas programming before Christmas, anyway? 

This whole program of Baroque (and one Mozart) music (from 1999) is wonderful. Ms. Bonney and Herr Goerne each have a few solo arias and one sweet duet, plus there's some nice orchestral and brass music—none of it blatantly, commercially Christmas-y. Because I love Matthias Goerne singing Bach, I would like to draw your particular attention to Herr Goerne’s rendition of this aria from Bach's Christmas Oratorio:

 

Großer Herr, o starker König,

Liebster Heiland, o wie wenig 

Achtest du der Erden Pracht! 

Der die ganze Welt erhält, 

Ihre Pracht und Zier erschaffen, 

Muss in harten Krippen schlafen.

Great Lord, O mighty king,

dearest saviour, O how little

you regard earthly splendour

He who maintains the whole world 

and created its glory and adornment

must sleep in a hard crib.

Here are some other seasonal posts from the past.

More Miah (Interview from 2011) Plus Sarah and John Mark

I was actually doing a search on tenor John Mark Ainsley, which led me to a 2008 interview with mezzo Sarah Connolly, which (obviously?) led me to this Miah Persson interview from 2011. As we know MP became an amazing Donna Elvira and Governess (in Turn of the Screw); and she turned out a rather charming Adina in L'Elisir. So, meanwhile, here she is in (for me) some unexpected repertoire. Can you imagine her Violetta? Sigh!

OK since I mentioned JMA and SC, here are some clips from them, too 

(in more expected repertoire):

Luca Pisaroni: Opera Nerd (Interview on Singing Bach & Handel & Mozart &...)

Mr. Pisaroni discusses how Bach fits into his career, as a performer of both concert and opera repertoire. This interview was conducted by Stepan Atamian at WKCR on December 22, 2014. Thanks, Stepan, for this great interview. Luca also talks about Handel, and Mozart; singing his first role at the Met; why he went back to Buenos Aries to study voice after he'd already made his professional debut in Europe; the difference between singing opera and oratorios; and why he makes and effort to attend opera and concert performances of his colleagues.

So, Luca, we've got some Handel, but let's hear more Bach from you!

Emmanuelle Haïm Speaks about Handel's "La Resurrezione"

The Berlin Phil posted this video interview on Facebook. When I clicked the YT video to share it, I got this message:

This video is unlisted. Be considerate and think twice before sharing.

So I thought twice, and quite a few more times, and I thought maybe I should just leave it alone. Then I thought, "If I am intrigued enough by this interview to go to the Digital Concert Hall and pay to see the concert, maybe some other people would be, too." (I found it most interesting when she talked about the unusual orchestrations in La Resurrezione and the very operatic tone of this oratorio. It sure made me want to go hear the program!)

I also thought, "Why post it if you don't want people to see it?" and, "I hope I don't get in trouble." Maybe they'd prefer you go directly to the DCH to see the interview. (This is why I just added the link—in two different places.) 

But in the meantime, I can name quite a few people in the blog world who would be really delighted to see this interview (fellow Haïm-heads, unite!) who may not regularly visit DCH or follow the BPO on Facebook. 

So here she is, Emmanuelle Haïm and her hair (in English, with German subtitles):  

I also thought, "I haven't posted anything for a while. I'd better remind the blogosphere that I am still here!" 

Watching the Radio – Opera on Concerthuis 4

From Radio 4 in the Netherlands: More reasons to spend time in front of your computer!

Handel: Orlando* 

Bejun Mehta

Sunhae Im

Lenneke Ruiten

Rene Jacobs conducting (2014)

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte

Miah Persson

Topi Lehtipuu

Daniel Schumutzhard

Rene Jacobs conducting (2012)

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Anders Dahlen

Lenneke Ruiten

Cynthia Seiden

Frans Brüggen conducting (2011)

Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa

Lado Ataneli

Gelena Gaskarova

Yuri Kissin

Alexander Vedernikov conducting (2014)

Happy listening!

*This one is great fun! I just finished listening to it, and I'm ready to do it again!

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: 

Gratuitous Friday – Richard Croft Sings Handel (audio only)

Richard Croft sings I Must With Speed Amuse Her, Jupiter’s aria from Act II of Handel’s Semele. (He’s Jupiter! See, I told you he was god-like!) This clip also includes the chorus: Now love that everlasting boy invites.

Bonus track: Where’er you Walk, also from Semele (lightly and tastefully ornamented).

Both clips feature Les Talens Lyriques and Christophe Rousset from a performance at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, 07/02/2010.

The Otterphile – Easter Edition

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

Happy Easter!

And Just in Case Clicking a Link Feels Like Too Much Work...

...how do you feel about embedded audio of Handel's Theodora, as performed last month at Carnegie Hall?

Thank you WQXR. And thank you, Stray! 

More Handel: Theodora from Carnegie Hall – This Sunday at 7

         The English Concert Plays Handel's Theodora

From the WQXR website:

Last month, early-music specialist Harry Bicket came to Carnegie Hall with the English Concert for the latest installment in their Handel project—the rarely heard oratorio Theodora.

Tune in Sunday at 7 pm to hear that performance featuring an all-star lineup of soloists: soprano Dorothea Röschmann, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, countertenor David Daniels, tenor Kurt Streit and bass-baritone Neal Davies.

On choral duties is the Choir of Trinity Wall Street led by Julian Wachner.

Theodora was "Handel's biggest flop and the piece he was most proud of," according to Bicket. But then one could look at other works that "perhaps didn't have such a great reception the first time around and we now appreciate as the masterpieces that they are." Bicket called it a social-political story, influenced by Thomas Paine, among other thinkers, and also an introspective work.

Performers

• The English Concert
  Harry Bicket, Artistic Director and Conductor
• Dorothea Röschmann, Soprano (Theodora)
• Sarah Connolly, Mezzo-Soprano (Irene)
• David Daniels, Countertenor (Didymus)
• Kurt Streit, Tenor (Septimius)
• Neal Davies, Bass-Baritone (Valens)
• The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
  Julian Wachner, Director of Music and the Arts

Update 3/17/2014: It's down there in the comments, but in case you don't make it that far, I wanted to call your attention to the following information from a blog buddy who shared the link to the WQXR archive of this broadcast: 

stray March 17, 2014 at 6:40 PM Wouldn't it be great if some radio station archived it online? Absolutely!

A Handful of Handel Operas

Everyone wants to put their stamp on the classics. On one hand, a classic Peter Sellers regie production of Theodora; and on the other, a more recent, generally disliked regie production of Giulio Cesare. In between, we have two updated, but not hated productions; a concert performance of a stage work; and a staged performance of a concert work: the controversial (and—in my opinion—musically and dramatically brilliant) Messiah from Claus Guth. 

So, several handfuls of Handel. It will take more than a handful of hours to get through them, but I think they’re all worth the time. As always, some of these videos have a short shelf life, so get ’em while they’re hot!

Two Tom Randle Tracks

Over the years, I have managed to take little notice of Tom Randle (sorry Tom!). Once he turned up in Brokeback Mountain, I decided to find out more. Then I decided to share with you. 

Here are two audio tracks: one of an interview, in which he chats about his career and his recent (at the time) apperance as Steva in Jenufa; the other clip is two arias from Handel's Esther. Quite Lovely! 

Haïm (Sorry, no Hair – it’s a radio broadcast) with Händel

Gratuitous
Haïm Hair
Photo

On Ö1Radio this week:

Händel: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo 

(recorded 10/12/2013 in Vienna) 

Emmanuelle Haïm leads Le Concert d'Astrée with soloists Lydia Teuscher, Delphine Galou, and Laurent Naouri.

Gratuitous Friday - The Wunderlich/Ludwig Non-HIP Edition

Earworm's hankering for another recording of Giulio Cesare made me (for some strange reason) think of this performance from 1966*. So, of course, I needed to track it down. In this clip, Fritz Wunderlich and Christa Ludwig as Sesto and Cornelia, sing "Madre...Son nata a lagrimar." But acutally, in this performance from Munich (with the Münchner Philharmoniker, Ferdinand Leitner, conducting) it's in German: "Mutter...Nur weinen lernte ich." 

These performances are not what we'd consider "Historically Informed," though I think they were pretty HIP for the time (pace N. Harnoncourt). Some da capos are cut, but the ones that remain are ornamented. Not ornamented in the way we expect today, (I am not sure what historical period these ornaments would fit into), but I think it's fascinating to hear that they were making an effort to authenticize in a modern setting. 

And of course, here, Sesto is a tenor, but what a tenor!! The main point here is the marvelous singing from both mother and son, and the opportunity to hear these two great artists singing in duet. It will never supplant the most wonderful performances of mezzos, sopranos, or counter tenors singing Sesto, but it's not meant to. 

And for a bonus, here are Walter Berry as Caesar and Lucia Popp as Cleopatra (she's off- or above-stage, which is why she sounds more distant and echo-y).

Additional Agrippina from Liceu

Here are three "fan" videos from Handel's Agrippina from Liceu. Aren't smartphones wonderful? (although the sound is a bit wonky on the Danielle clip.)

Gratuitous Friday – Röschmann and Chance Sing Handel

Handel: Rodelinda

Dorothea Röschmann – Rodelinda

Michael Chance – Bertarido

Umberto Chiumo – lurking about as Garibaldo

More Agrippina from Liceu

What I didn't mention in my last Agrippina post is that the staging in Liceu is by David McVicar. (Partly because that’s not as pertinent when listening on the radio.) So far, I haven't seen any naked executioners, but there is cocaine use, some smooth Gene Kelly style hoofing, and an amusing vignette in which Sarah Connolly (not in pants, for a change) and Danielle de Niese show up at a party wearing the same gown. 

Danielle De Niese i Sarah Connolly. (foto: A. Bofill)

These are among the videos (below) that the Gran Teatre del Liceu have shared for us on the Toob of Yooo. Can there be a full video out there on the horizon? 

Why We Watch Other People's Blogs (or: More Opera Online)

radio alert: agrippina! ...from thadieu's opera rambling outlet

Händel’s Agrippina will be broadcast tomorrow from the Gran Teatre del Liceu, with a basic who's who of early music: Sarah Connolly, Malena Ernman, Danielle De Niese, Franz-Josef Selig, David Daniels, Ian Henry Waddington, Dominique Visse, and Enric Martínez-Castignani conducted by Harry Bicket.

Tha deiu flagged this broadcast for us at World Concert Hall, which boasts: "every online concert in this world." This may be a bit of hyperbole; but,  if not every concert, they sure do have a lot of concerts, and they provide handy links directly to the programs. They don't archive performances, but as often happens on the internet, you can find the source of the broadcast, and discover what other pleasures are available from that same station. 

For example: Agrippina is being broadcast by Catalunya Musica, a Spanish radio station that archives many of its broadcasts. Among those archives, I found a replay of this year's Edinburgh recital by Dorothea Röschmann and a recital by Angela Meade, among many other instrumental and vocal gems. 

World Concert Hall also has a great (and pretty thorough) listing of classical music station websites from around the world at their Channels page. More online music! Who needs to work or sleep?