Watching the Radio – JDD and TH in live Orchestral Programs

OK, so if it's not a master class blog, is this becoming a blog full of gratuitous mentions of Joyce DiDonato and Thomas Hampson? Probably. 

But don't worry, I am not forgetting my other obsessions! It's just what's happening now is you can hear both TH's and JDD's recent orchestral programs online in the radio archives, thanks to NPO Radio 4 in the Netherlands and WQXR in New York, NY. 

Thomas Hampson recently participated in Mariss Jansons' farewell concert with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (March 20), singing Mahler (natürlich), Copland (of course), and Berio (not as surprising as you might think).

And Joyce DiDonato brought her Carnegie Hall residence to a close on March 18 with a wonderful bel canto concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, sharing the stage with Laura Claycomb and Lawrence Brownlee. 

I caught most of TH's program (including a fine orchestral reading of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra) but I totally zoned out and missed JDD's concert. Now we all can relive (or live for the first time these two outstanding programs!

Enjoy!

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!

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.

Weekend at the Opera with Radio 4 Concerthuis

Baroque, Classical, and 20th Century opera are all on the menu at the Netherlands Radio 4 Concerthuis. Each recording will be available for about 2 to 3 months.

Vivaldi's Farnace from June 2012, with a cast that includes Max Emanuel Cencic, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Daniel Behle, and Vivica Geneux with Diego Fasolis conducting.

Vivaldi: Farnace

Die Zauberflöte from 1958, with a young, vibrant Fritz Wunderlich, and an otherwise all-Dutch ensemble that includes the young Elly Ameling as the First Boy, and a young Bernard Haitink at the helm. 

The Magic Flute

Richard Strauss' Arabella, from April 2014 with rising star American soprano Jacquelyn Wagner (who seems to be making a specialty of the title role), Agneta Eichenholz as Zdenka, and Marc Albrecht leading this performance from the Netherlands National Opera.

Arabella

Lieder in a Foreign Land – Two Recitals on Radio 4 Concerthuis

For about 20 more days you can listen to Austrian Florian Boesch singing in England and Michael Schade (oft described as German/ Canadian) singing in Switzerland.

Here is Herr Boesch's recent Wigmore Hall recital of Schubert and Wolf, accompanied by Malcolm Martineau.

And here is Herr Schade's Freiberg program of mostly Schubert and Beethoven, accompanied by Justus Zeyen and recorded in June 2013.

Happy Listening!

Mezzo Madness – DiDonato and Garanca Recitals in the Concerthuis

Now on Netherlands Radio4 Concertuis (neither new, but both noteworthy):

Elina Garanca with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2008 singing Mozart, Bizet, and more. (I usually try to be very positive, but this version of Parto, ma tu ben mio seems strangely detached. I mean, I know it's a concert but...) 

And Joyce DiDonato's Drama Queens program with Complesso Barocco as heard last year in the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona. 

Both concerts are enjoyable, but I think these two photos pretty well depict the contrast I hear: the cool-ish tone of one program and the rather more fiery nature of the other. (To be fair, Ms. Garanca was a guest on an orchestra concert, while Ms. DiDonato was the concert!)

Patricia Petibon in Concert from Radio 4 Concerthuis (Netherlands)

I always think of Patricia Petibon as quirky and chirpy (Queen of the Night, Lulu, and assorted Baroque showpieces), but lately it seems her voice has taken on more depth and color than I remember from before. 

In this recital of (mostly) French Chanson (plus some Spanish songs, and a little Bernstein and Arlen), she sounds smoky and sometimes even seductive. 

She has not left the quirks completely behind; she gets a little silly now and then, and the audience is having a great time. The Poulenc (and Bernstein) songs are indeed quirky songs, but they’re hardly chirpy. But the pièce de résistance here is Ravel’s Shéhérazade.

Thanks to an anonymous reader who, a few months ago, posted a link to Netherlands Radio 4 Concerthuis ("All of Radio 4’s concerts under one roof"). They have a treasure trove of archived concerts, including many vocal recitals and of course many Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra concerts. 

Oh boy! More reasons to spend more time in front of my computer!