Giocacchino Rossini (1792-1868) is known today above all as a composer of comic operas. However, he was much more than the admittedly brilliant creator of “Il barbiere di Siviglia” and “La Cenerentola.” The intensive study of his oeuvre over the past decades has brought to light Rossini’s multi-facetedness: Rossini was an important figure and major musical precursor both in the field of opera buffa and opera seria. Following a popular trend, Rossini wrote a number of works in which the rigid boundaries between opera buffa and opera seria are blurred. One example is the romantic melodrama in two acts “La donna del lago”, which was premiered in Naples in 1819. It was based on the novel “The Lady of the Lake” by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. (Donizetti’s successful “Lucia di Lammermoor,” written about 15 years later, was also based on a source by Scott, who was extremely popular in Italy at that time.) It is the most romantic of all of Rossini’s operas: the beautiful Elena, the daughter of a Scottish rebel, wins the heart of the king who, without knowing her true identity, offers her a ring that ultimately helps Elena find happiness. Love, jealousy, political intrigues and royal benevolence set the accents in this melodrama, which is closely connected to the nature, forests, lakes and mountains of the Scottish highlands. Rossini’s wish to depict the Scottish spirit on the opera stage led him onto musical paths that he had never trodden before. Acclaimed movie director Werner Herzog stages this production from Milan’s La Scala. The title role is sung by the fascinating American belcanto soprano June Anderson. The aristocrat of conductors, the autocrat of the baton, Riccardo Muti cuts a noble figure at the head of any orchestra, and ennobles every ensemble through his charismatic personality and red-blooded musicality. In many respects, including his unwillingness to compromise over artistic matters, he is reminiscent of Arturo Toscanini, who was also a demanding ruler at the podium. His rise to international fame set in with his guest conductorships at the Salzburg Festival in 1971 and at the head of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1972. Muti became principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra a few years later, and was named its music director in 1980. Always a conductor of both the symphonic and operatic repertoire, Muti advanced to the post of music director of La Scala in Milan in 1986. The 1990s saw Muti consolidating his reputation at the head of this venerable institution, as well as in countless other high-caliber venues around the world. Today he is one of the undisputed giants among the leading conductors of the world.
La fanciulla del West
Like “Madama Butterfly,” Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La fanciulla del west” was based on a stage play by the American author David Belasco. At its triumphal world premiere in 1910 in New York, Enrico Caruso sang the part of Johnson.
Don Carlo
Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Don Carlos” was based on Schiller’s drama and exists in several versions. Commissioned by the Paris Opéra, it was given its world premiere there in 1867. The work comprised five acts and a large ballet – in conformity with the conventions of the French grand opera at that time. Five years later, Verdi created a heavily cut Italian version which is still the version generally performed today, as in this recording from Milan’s La Scala. For many years, “Don Carlos” was generally given in four acts; the first act was often completely cut and other scenes were left out. A return to the complete, five-act French-language version was ushered in during the second half of the 20th century. The aristocrat of conductors, the autocrat of the baton, Riccardo Muti cuts a noble figure at the head of any orchestra, and ennobles every ensemble through his charismatic personality and red-blooded musicality. In many respects, including his unwillingness to compromise over artistic matters, he is reminiscent of Arturo Toscanini, who was also a demanding ruler at the podium. His rise to international fame set in with his guest conductorships at the Salzburg Festival in 1971 and at the head of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1972. Muti became principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra a few years later, and was named its music director in 1980. Always a conductor of both the symphonic and operatic repertoire, Muti advanced to the post of music director of La Scala in Milan in 1986. The 1990s saw Muti consolidating his reputation at the head of this venerable institution, as well as in countless other high-caliber venues around the world. Today he is one of the undisputed giants among the leading conductors of the world.
Fedora
Le Concert de Paris 2019
«Le Concert de Paris» is an exceptional event held each year on Bastille Day at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, as a prelude to the traditional July 14th fireworks display. Two of Radio France’s most prestigious musical institutions, the Orchestre National de France and the Radio France Chorus, under the baton of maestro Alain Altinoglu, propose a top-quality programme, giving pride of place to the voice and brings together some of the world’s greatest soloists, including Khatia Buniatishvili, Roberto Alagna, René Pape, Gautier Capuçon, Gaëlle Arquez, Jakub Orlinski and many more!
Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachtsoratorium)
Written for the Thomanerchor Leipzig and premiered under the direction of the Thomaskantor himself, the six cantatas of the Christmas Oratorio have been an integral part of the choir’s calendar ever since. In 2018, under the direction of Bach‘s 17th successor Gotthold Schwarz, the Thomanerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig continued this tradition with an outstanding ensemble of soloists.
Adriana Lecouvreur
Cilea’s four-act opera of jealousy and tangled love, first performed in Milan in 1902, is based on the true-life story of Adriana Lecouvreur, an 18th-Century actress at the Comédie Française, whose rival for the love of Maurizio, Count of Saxony, is the married Principessa di Bouillon. Mirella Freni sings the title part in this production, Gianandrea Gavazzeni conducts the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala.
Juan Diego Florez – Besame Mucho
Peruvian star tenor Juan Diego Flórez goes back to his roots with this recital performed at the Wiener Konzerthaus. His passion for Latin American music started at an early age, when he was still a child. It was a deep and lasting passion and his initial encounter with it turned into a lifelong passion. “I grew up with vals criollos, Marineras, boleros, rancheras and tangos, magnificent songs from Latin America,” says tenor star Juan Diego Flórez. His grandmother played tangos on the piano and his father Rubén is a folk singer famous in Peru who has a great deal of love for the great Chabuca Granda, who achieved her success with classics like “José Antonio”. But songs from Cuba and Mexico, especially those by José Alfredo Jiménez, and from other Latin American countries also fascinated Flórez from an early age. “This music goes straight to the heart,” he confesses, “because it deals with things that affect us all directly, such as home, family, the joy of love and the pain of love.” Flórez wants to convey a representative image of the Latin American continent using “songs that are all exemplary of the people and their various countries.
Jesus Christ Superstar – Live in Concert
Jesus Christ Superstar – Live in Concert is an exuberant concert staging of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s iconic rock opera. Filmed in front of a large audience in Brooklyn, N.Y., the show features an all-star cast: John Legend as Jesus Christ, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Alice Cooper as King Herod, Ben Daniels as Pontius Pilate, Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Jin Ha as Annas, Jason Tam as Peter and Erik Gronwall as Simon Zealots. “The show was a thrilling hybrid of Broadway and arena spectacle.” (The Hollywood Reporter); “…officially raised the bar for the live TV musicals to come.” (VOX)
Beethoven Piano Concerto Cycle – Jan Lisiecki
Just aged 25, Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki has won acclaim for his extraordinary interpretive maturity, distinctive sound, and poetic sensibility. The New York Times called him “a pianist who makes every note count”. Lisiecki’s insightful interpretations, refined technique and natural affinity for art give him a musical voice that belies his age. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world’s greatest orchestral music.