Gratuitous Friday – Peter Mattei is (still) Don Giovanni

Need I say any more?  

OK, I will acknowledge that some may question the appropriateness of his ornamentation in the repeat. And my reply is: it may not be 100% stylistically correct, but golly he sure does do it well! 

Simply Irresistible!

Don Giovanni: Deh vieni alla finestra (Aix en Provence, 2002)

Another Good Reason to Attend Local Opera Performances

Wolf Trap Opera Company Director Kim Witman wrote in her blog that the April issue of Opera News:

...featured the five 2013 Opera News Award Winners, two of whom – Eric Owens and Dawn Upshaw – are Trappers. The profiles of artists featured in that month’s Met broadcasts included Wolf Trap alums Stephanie Blythe, Erin Morley, Richard Paul Fink, Mark Delavan and Simon O’Neill. 

And Barihunks noted recently: 

If you want to catch Brandon Cedel, he'll be appearing at the Wolf Trap Opera beginning on June 21st in Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims. That production also includes barihunks Aaron Sorensen, Norman Garrett and Steven LaBrie. Additional information is available online. 

Pictured: Wolf Trap Opera Company's featured cast of Rossini's Il Viaggio a Reims 

Left column from top: 

Kiri Deonarine, Ryan Speedo Green, Andrea Carroll, Steven LaBrie, Brandon Cedel 

Right column from top: 

Juan José de León, Maya Lahyani, Aaron Sorensen, Ying Fang, Brenton Ryan

Gratuitous Anja Kampe Post – Der Fliegende Holländer in Amsterdam

Anja Kampe really is Senta these days (and Seglinde now and then.) BBC Radio 3 broadcast her 2009 Holländer from the ROH last week. And the Bayrische Staatsoper featured her in their video webcast last month. 

This Fliegende Holländer is a concert version from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on Sunday May 26, broadcast on hr2-kultur Radio. Andris Nelsons led soloists, choruses, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. 

I managed to catch Acts 2 & 3 of the broadcast, and here is Senta's Ballad—dramatic, tender, haunted, manic, beautiful. The full concert is available at Radio 4, Netherlands. Below the clip is the full cast list. 

Wagner Birthday Concert with Kaufmann, Thielemann, and the Dresden Staatskapelle

From 27 May to 2 June 2013, MDR FIGARO in concert is looping a Wagner 200^th Birthday concert from the Dresden Frauenkirche. 

"On the eve of Wagner's birthday, Christian Thielemann conducted overtures and great tenor scenes from Wagner's operas. He was joined by Jonas Kaufmann, “one of the most sought after Wagner tenors of our time.” [ed. - That's putting it mildly!] In memoriam Hans Werne Henze, the Staatskapelle performed Henze's Fraternité – Air pour l'orchester."

Wagner 200: The Flying Dutchman @ BBC Radio 3 – Anja Kampe and Bryn Terfel

Wagner 200: The Flying Dutchman

BBC Radio 3 recently broadcast the 2009 Royal Opera House production of The Flying Dutchman, starring Bryn Terfel as the ghostly sea captain and Anja Kampe as Senta (both shown at left). 

Andrew Clements of The Guardian said Terfel's ...performance is mesmerising – hauntingly well-sung..." and Fiona Maddocks (also at The Guardian) noted, "Anja Kampe's Senta— nervy, intense, powerful in high fortissimo passages, tenderly inflected and sinuously acted—was outstanding."

The recording is available for about 3 more days.

Wagner: Derfliegende Höllander (The Flying Dutchman)

The Dutchman ..... Bryn Terfel (baritone)
Senta ..... Anja Kampe (soprano)
Daland ..... Hans-Peter Konig (bass)
Erik ..... Torsten Kerl (tenor)
Steersman ..... John Tessier (tenor)
Mary ..... Clare Shearer (soprano)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Marc Albrecht, conductor