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.

Vocal Joys (and more) from the Verbier Festival

Joyce DiDonato sings Berlioz 

Malin Hartelius, Marie-Claude Chappuis, and others led by Ton Koopman in Mozart's Requiem

Mark Padmore singing Schubert, Tippet, and Purcell

Thomas Quasthoff conducts Bach's St. Matt (with Mark Padmore, Manuel Waiser, Christine Karg, Bernarda Fink, Mauro Peter, and Christopher Maltman) 

Daniela Barcelona, Piotr Beczala and others singing Verdi

Matthias Goerne as Bartok's Bluebeard

Plus a ton of wonderful orchestral and chamber music! See the full list of programmes (some already in archive, and some still to come) at medici.tv.  Go! Watch! Listen!

Gratuitous Mattias Goerne Tannhäuser Clip

Sigh!  That's all.  Just: Sigh!

OK, you know me. I do have more to say. I initially purchased this album only because Dorothea Röschmann sings on three tracks (I posted two of them a while back). It's good go back and rediscover these gems! Overall I am not thrilled with the conducting on the Mozart, but when I skipped over to the Wagner...well, this is what a friend of mine would call schmalzando, especially the playout (after MG, sadly, stops singing).

Please enjoy this bit of Tuesday Tannhäuser (even though it's probably already Wednesday for most of my readers!)

Meanwhile, Streaming on Concert.Arte.TV

Natalie Dessay sings Michel Legrand; quite nicely, if you like this sort of thing (I do.)



Matthias Goerne's Winterreise rides again (till the end of February).



And, of course, there's Tito, Sesto, Vitellia, and the whole crazy gang.

Staged Performance of Die Winterreise with Matthias Goerne

I just took a 90-minute break from my total-Orfeo-immersion week to watch Schubert's Die Winterreise live from the Aix-en-Provence Festival on medici.tv. The cycle is performed by Matthias Goerne and Markus Hinterhäuser, and directed for stage by William Kentridge. Herr Goerne is always worth hearing (and watching). He proves once again that he is a consummate vocal artist; and with the addition of the video animation backdrop and moody lighting, his performance is particularly moving. Some of the images struck me as a little naive, but overall I thought the production was quite effective.

As I type this, Medici is regrouping for the on-demand replays, which you can probably access in the next few hours. It’ll only be available in the U.S. until July 23; they say it’ll be back November 11, but I am guessing that it’ll be for pay-for-play at that point. If you’re in Europe, I think you can continue to watch it throughout the summer. Wherever you are, do take the time to give this performance a watch/listen. 

Gratuitous Friday – Matthias Goerne Sings Wotan's Farewell

In my never-ending search for more recordings of Matthias Goerne, I came across this (audio only) excerpt from a 2013 concert with the San Francisco Symphony. While I'm not sure Christoph Eschenbach is my Wagner conductor of choice, I have no complaints about Herr Goerne’ gorgeous singing!

As Seen On Facebook – Matthias Goerne Steps in for Thomas Hampson

Thomas Hampson

I am very disappointed to have to cancel tonight’s performance of Wozzeck at the Met due to bronchitis. I hope to be better soon and look forward to singing this challenging genius opera. What great luck that my friend and colleague Matthias Goerne is in town and is willing to add tonight’s performance to his busy schedule. Wishing my wonderful colleagues, Maestro Levine, and the whole Wozzeck team and of course the audience a thrilling opening night. I will miss being there, be sure.

I feel sorry for Mr. Hampson. I know from personal experience that having bronchitis is no fun. And I'm very certain (though I do not have personal experience in this regard) that missing one's role debut as Wozzeck at the Met is extraordinarily disappointing. Best wishes for a speedy and thorough recovery, Mr. Hampson! 

I am sure Thomas Hampson fans holding tickets for tonight's performance were rather disappointed, too. But hopefully they were able to get over it and revel in the opportunity to hear the man who stepped in at very short notice.

It just so happens Matthias Goerne is in New York this week. Last night he sang Die Schöne Müllerin at Carnegie Hall, and last week he sang...you guessed it: Wozzeck...in concert with the Wiener Staatsoper. Herr Goerne is only just an Awesome Wozzeck (and an awesome just about anything he sings!)

It was live streamed on from the Met's website. I got to hear part of it. (in between wi-fi dropouts! Argh!!!) With James Levine conducting and Deborah Voigt, Matthias Goerne, and other fine singers singing, this work sounded lush and nearly romantic! It was an extraordinary performance!

I am so glad I just happened to check my Facebook feed at dinner time tonight!

As seen today on metoperafamily.org (who are very good about keeping their website up to date. He only said yes at around 2:00 PM today!): 

Goerne Steps in as Wozzeck

Matthias Goerne will be singing the title role in tonight's performance of Berg's Wozzeck, replacing Thomas Hampson, who is ill. Deborah Voigt stars as Marie, and Music Director James Levine conducts.

Gratuitous Friday – Matthias Goerne Smiles!

German baritone Matthias Goerne smiles...but apparently not often.

On the February 2014 issue of Opera Now

His angst is confirmed in this quote from his Opera Now interview:

 Even if I'm happy, things in the world around seem almost unbearable. 

But he's still my favorite* Baripsycho, 

and boy, is he magical in this exquisite Schubert Lied: 

Matthias Goerne & Helmut Deutsch

*For this week, anyway. I waver between Herr Goerne and Christian Gerhaher.

Sunday Brunch - Mattias Goerne Talks About (and Sings) Schubert

From Spanish television: Some clips of Herr Goerne (my baritone-crush of the month) rehearsing/recording An Sylvia and speaking (in English, Gott sei dank) about his series of Schubert Lieder recordings. 

And here is the full song:

Sunday Brunch – Matthias Goerne Sings Bach

I always think of Matthias Goerne as brooding, intense, and borderline psychotic (similar to, but not to be confused with Christian Gerhaher: brooding, intense, and borderline depressive.) 

It’s partly his über-intense eyes; and, in fact, Matthias Goerne plays brooding, intense, and borderline psychotic very very well (his Wozzeck is a good example.) But he has a softer side, too, as heard here. 

Recently, I was looking for something online (I don’t remember what anymore) and, as so often happens on the interwebz, I more or less randomly came across this circa 2000 disc of Matthias Goerne singing Bach Cantatas. All eleven Amazon reader reviews gave this recording five stars! Now I know why, and so will you, when you hear him sing the second aria from Bach’s ubiquitous solo cantata, Ich habe genug (BWV 82). 

I’ve been trying to find words to describe his singing here. First of all, Bach's genius shines brightly in his setting of this text—it's a lullaby, and yet it's so much more. 

The Two New War Requiem Recordings (Plus One)

On the (near) eve of the U.S. release Antonio Pappano's recording of Britten's War Requiem (November 19), we can hear the entire performance online at NPR for about a week. The soloists are Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostridge, Thomas Hampson. Pappano leads the Coro e Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. (Thanks to Mr. Hampson for the heads-up.)

Meanwhile, the Mariss Jansons recording with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, the Tölzer Boys Choir, soprano Emily Magee, tenor Mark Padmore, and baritone Christian Gerhaher is available now. And you can download it from Amazon.com for less than six bucks!

Update: Thanks to Stray (see below) we also have a link to a recent Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcast. Soloists are Tatiana Pavlovskaya, John Mark Ainsley, and Matthias Goerne, with Charles Dutoit conducting. The BSO Media Center is a super resource, with lots of great information, videos, broadcasts and podcasts, including an 11-minute video that offers background on Britten and the War Requiem.

Donnerstag Duetten mit Dorothea

I have to admit I only downloaded three tracks from Matthias Goerne's 2000 opera recital album. These would be the three that include Dorothea Röschmann as his duet partner. Two are Mozart, in roles she's sung many times elsewhere at better tempi (these feel somewhat rushed.) However, if you've heard Dorothea sing Alban Berg's Der Wein and thought, gee I bet she'd be a good Marie or Lulu, here is an opportunity to sample. This is the Act 3, Scene 2 of Berg's Wozzeck, in which Wozzeck murders Marie. I always think of MG as a little intense, and maybe a bit strange. This is the final track of his CD. Just sayin'...

German text below: