French film and stage director Christophe Honoré presents Puccini’s verismo masterpiece as an opera about opera and brings the legendary prima donna Catherine Malfitano back on stage. Young soprano Angel Blue gives a highly acclaimed debut as Floria Tosca with a “warm and golden yet immensly powerful voice” (New York Times). At her side as Cavaradossi sings Joseph Calleja, one of the top tenors of his generation. “Puccini’s opera triumphed in Aix-en-Provence under the baton of Daniele Rustioni” (Le Monde).
Placído Domingo live at Loreley
Placido Domingo performing on the spectacular stage near the famous Loreley rock! He is joined by the two sopranos Angel Blue, who has been described by Placido as ‘the next Leontyne Price’, and Micaëla Oeste, who was a member of the ‘Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist’ program with Washington National Opera, where she triumphed after stepping in mid-performance as Ophelie in Hamlet. —– Program: PART 1 – 200 Years Wagner & Verdi: Wagner: Die Meistersinger – overture / Walkuere – Winterstuerme / Tannhäuser – Dich theure Halle / O du, mein holder Abendstern // Verdi: Luisa Miller – Lo vidi, e il primo palpito / La Traviata – Pura siccome un angelo / Un giorno di regno – overture / Il trovatore – Udiste … Mira, d’acerbe lagrime /// PART 2: Catalani: Lorelei – Danza delle ondine // Lehár: Das Land des Lächelns – Dein ist mein ganzes Herz // Kálmán: Gräfin Maritza – Höre ich Zigeunergeigen // Lehár: Die Lustige Witwe – Lippen schweigen // Von Suppé: Leichte Kavallerie – overture // Strauss: Die Fledermaus – Trio Act 1 // Luna: El niño judio / D’España vengo // Moreno Torroba: Luisa Fernanda – En mi tierra extremena // Chapí: Las hijas del Zebedeo – Carceleras // Moreno Torroba: Maravilla – Amor, vida de mi vida // Encores
Magic Moments of Music – Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle “Spirituals”
When Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle took the stage of Carnegie Hall March 18, 1990 a breath of history wafted through America‘s most famous concert hall. It is a camera view of the audience that makes clear how long the road to this moment in music history was: there, the now very old African-American opera singer Marian Anderson, one of the great voices of her generation. In 1939, she had been barred from singing in Constitution Hall, because she was black. The twelve-year-old Jessye Norman had absorbed Anderson‘s biography, just like the music she performed that evening together with her great colleague and competitor Kathleen Battle: Spirituals. That evening in March 1990 was under enormous pressure of expectation and the tension crackled at all corners. For one thing: Would the two compete? Where did the competition lie? Divas who would actually manage to sing together and not against each other? But the two divas take Carnegie Hall by storm; critics and audiences alike pay homage to them: It is a musical feast of charisma, virtuosity, liveliness and show. Jessye Norman dominates the stage with her authentic timbre and an African colourful costume, Kathleen Battle still hits the finest high coloraturas.