The acclaimed baritone Benjamin Appl is constantly on the move, primarily in Europe, Japan, and South America. Now he returns to his hometown of Regensburg and joins forces with the Regensburger Domspatzen and soprano Elsa Dreisig to give a Christmas concert featuring carols from around the world. Melodies by John Rutter, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Cécile Chaminade, Michael Praetorius, as well as Traditionals from France, Sweden and Austria resound in the Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady to the Ancient Chapel in Regensburg. The international Christmas programme musically draws on the traditions of multiple cultures and regions, hence appealing to a wide audience.
Richard Strauss – In the Twilight
He is a music mage. To this day, he fascinates audiences with his magical sense of sound. But the tracks of the luminous figure that is Richard Strauss are followed by a dark shadow in discreet agreement. Who is one, who is the other? How are they connected? The film IN THE TWILIGHT illuminates the multiple layers of the man and musician Richard Strauss. Oscillating between high key and low key, between darkness and light, visually striking spaces are revealed for the musical genius as well as the viewer´s desire for association.
Magic Moments of Music – Angela Gheorghiu „La Traviata“ at Royal Opera House
It was a uniquely magic moment of music. In what would be the first and only time, the BBC dedicated its prime time weekend schedule to broadcast an opera live to an audience of millions. In place of popular motoring programme Top Gear, the British public were treated to La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. Legendary conductor Sir Georg Solti convinced decision-makers at the BBC that it was time to introduce a phenomenal singer and performer to the world: Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Until this moment, Gheorghiu was a talent known only to a few. Solti himself was at the podium to conduct La Traviata for the first time in his storied career, while the staging was by theatre and feature film director Sir Richard Eyre – likewise working on his very first opera. Eyre agreed on one specific condition. “I wanted a soprano as described by Verdi himself: young, elegant and with a voice full of passion.” Angela Gheorghiu had all of these qualities and more. In an interview she said: “During the broadcast I felt that my time had arrived. I was in no doubt: it was now or never!” Alongside Angela Gheorghiu, who the film accompanies 30 years later to the Royal Opera House in London – the birthplace of her global success – are memories and reflections from tenor Frank Lopardo, who sang the role of Alfredo, opera director Sir Richard Eyre, BBC film director Peter Maniura, French-Danish singer Elsa Dreisig, conductor Marie Jacquot, opera critic Nick-Martin Sternitzke and the writer Salomé Balthus.
LSO: Rattle conducts Christ on the Mount of Olives
In the words of Sir Simon Rattle, Beethoven is “absolutely inescapable”, especially in the year of his 250th anniversary. Nevertheless, Christ on the Mount of Olives is a rarely heard masterpiece and Beethoven’s only oratorio, which combines the emotive force of the composer’s later Missa Solemnis with the theatre of a Bach Passion. With orchestra, chorus and soloists, it tells the story of Jesus’ prayer and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. “What Rattle made clear is that the music is full of life. It is hard to imagine this performance being bettered.” (Financial Times)