Verdi’s opera is set at the time of the first Crusade and tells of the rivalry between two brothers, Arvino and Pagano, for the love of Viclinda. Pagano, in an attempt to abduct Viclinda and kill his brother, in error murders his father. He is exiled to the Holy Land to live as a hermit. Giselda, Arvino’s daughter, has gone with her father on the Crusade, but is captured by Acciano, tyrant of Antioch. She falls in love with his son Oronte. They escape, but Oronte is wounded and dies. The hermit leads the attack on Jerusalem and then reveals his identity to Arvino, dying forgiven in his brother’s arms.
Opera Gala with Thomas Hampson and Luca Pisaroni
Two world-renowned baritones Thomas Hampson and Luca Pisaroni lead the audience through a gallery of opera characters which the “kings of high-Cs” cannot portray. They introduce themselves as devoted friends (Marquis Posa), rulers (Phillip II. and King Herod), devils (Mephistopheles) and the most famous operatic embodiment of evil (Iago) … . Most composers devoted the roles of lovers to tenors; yet, the most famous seducer of all times, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, is a baritone … . —— Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Charles Gounod, Jules Massenet, Giuseppe Verdi, Vincenzo Bellini, Gioacchino Rossini, Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, Leonard Bernstein, Gaetano Donizetti
RCO Opening Night 2018: Thomas Hengelbrock & Evgeny Kissin
RCO Opening Night is the festive opening of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s new season in the company of loyal audience members and new friends. The fourth RCO Opening Night in the history of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is led by Thomas Hengelbrock. Pianist Evgeny Kissin, without a doubt one of the biggest piano players of our time – some say a living legend – is returning to the Concertgebouw Orchestra for the first time since 1994. He is playing the solo in Liszt’s First Piano Concerto. This concert, suffused with the spirit of Romanticism, opens with Berlioz’s concert overture Le Carnaval Romain with its beautiful English horn solo. Mendelssohn’s passionate ‘Italian’ symphony is flanked by works from beloved Italian operas, with several more musical surprises to follow.
RCO Opening Night 2016 – Daniele Gatti’s Inaugural Concert
The inaugural concert of Daniele Gatti as the new music director of Amsterdam’s fabled Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – only the seventh in its 128-year history. Together with baritone Christian Gerhaher, Gatti presented a bouquet of works including Mozart arias and the Wayfarer Songs by Gustav Mahler, with whom the “world’s best orchestra” (Gramophone international music critics’ poll) has a unique tradition going back to the composer himself – who called Amsterdam his “second musical home”. The programme also includes Respighi’s Fountains of Rome as well as overtures by Verdi and Beethoven – with 30 members of the Netherlands Youth Orchestra joining the RCO musicians for the Overture to Egmont.
Tutto Verdi: Simon Boccanegra, Luisa Miller, Giovanna d’Arco, Il Corsaro, I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Nabucco, I due Foscari, Un giorno di regno
On the occasion of the 200th birthday of Giuseppe Verdi in 2013 one of the most important opera houses in Italy, The Teatro Regio in Parma, performes Verdi’s complete operas. As co-producer of this project, Unitel presents the operas in High Definition including 5.1 sound. An exceptional and unique project to honour the great composer! Already available are: ‘Simon Boccanegra’ (155′), ‘Luisa Miller’ (146′), ‘Giovanna d’Arco’ (130′), ‘Il Corsaro’ (90′),’ I Lombardi alla prima crociata’ (130′),’ Nabucco’ (132′),’ I due Foscari’ (114′), ‘Un giorno di regno’ (120′)
New Year’s Eve Concert 1978
Karajan had been appointed music director for life of the Berlin Philharmonic in 1955, and soon the orchestra mastered the entire palette of Karajan’s subtly defined phrasings, moods and orchestral colors. At home in the majesty of Bruckner or the raw power of Beethoven, the orchestra was also able to “let go” and enjoy a rollicking time with Suppé or a Lisztian Hungarian Rhapsody, as the present recording superbly illustrates. For the 1978 New Year’s Eve concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan put together a program of exclusively popular classical works, pieces that would guarantee a bubbly good time. Following Verdi’s Overture to “La forza del destino” are the two major works of the program, Bizet’s Arlésienne Suite No. 2 and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. The Hungarian March, or “Rákóczy March,” from Berlioz’s “La damnation de Faust” never fails to rouse listeners with its dazzling instrumentation. The program closes with the Intermezzo from Mascagni’s “L’amico Fritz” and the ever-popular Overture to “Leichte Kavallerie” by Franz von Suppé.
MSO: Season Opening Gala
Join us for a concert with two universally admired guest artists – Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, described by The Guardian as ‘a master of (his) craft’, and Australian heldentenor and Grammy Award nominee, Stuart Skelton. The celebratory program includes: Beethoven’s majestic “Emperor” Piano Concerto; Carl Vine’s Symphony No. 1 “Microsymphony” (a work encompassing the dramatic features of a symphony compressed into just 12 minutes); and highlights from Fidelio, Die Walküre, Otello and Götterdämmerung sung by Stuart Skelton, who was awarded the International Opera Awards Male Singer of the Year.
Luisa Miller
Giuseppe Verdi’s Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts based on Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe (Intrigue and Love). Just before Christmas 2012, it was recorded at the Malmö Opera, the leading opera house in the expansive region of Öresund in Sweden. Luisa Miller is the story of the lovers Luisa and Rodolfo. Their love is challenged by class distinctions between their families. Despite the couple’s struggle, the story eventually ends in inevitable tragedy. The Russian opera singer and rising star Olesya Golovneva is breathtaking as Luisa and the Swedish Expressen writes that Luc Robert as Rodolfo “is a gold treasure from Canada. A real tenor!” Conducted by internationally acclaimed Michael Güttler, who works for opera houses and orchestras all over the world, including the Orchestre de Paris and the Wiener Staatsoper, this opera is a must have’.
Baden-Baden Opera Gala
“An extraordinary evening full of emotions!” that is how the press called “the concert event of the year”: Anja Harteros, Ekaterina Gubanova, Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel, four singers in a league of their own presented an extraordinary summit of classical music superstars. The star-studded cast took the audience on a long journey, exploring some of the most remarkable and popular operas and combining all the features of this supreme musical genre in a single concert: beauty, magical sound, tragedy, and overflowing passion.
3 Stars in Berlin – Live from the Waldbühne 2011
When Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Erwin Schrott join forces, the result is a summit of vocal giants, recorded for posterity at Berlin’s spectacular outdoor Waldbühne. Accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia under Marco Armiliato, the three singers beguiled the audience with a program ranging from famous arias to forgotten gems. There’s something for everyone, from the connoisseur to the layman who rarely listens to classical music. Also of the highest standard is the recording itself, with expert camerawork ensuring that the concert’s unique atmosphere is vividly transposed to the screen.