Ricciardo e Zoraide

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the premiere of the Rossini rarity, the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro stages “Ricciardo e Zoraide” with an all-star cast. Juan Diego Flórez makes his debut as the crusader Ricciardo, giving a “masterclass in bel canto” (Bachtrack). Pretty Yende – “radiant and richly expressive” (Financial Times) as Zoraide – proves that she is “a virtuosa in Rossini singing” (Neue Musikzeitung).

Verdi: Falstaff

At Festival Verdi, the city of Parma celebrates its most distinguished son, Giuseppe Verdi, with exceptional stagings such as Jacopo Spirei’s take on the composer’s last opera “Falstaff”. In a contemporary British setting, Italian baritone Roberto de Candia gives a hilarious performance in the title role, but at the same time manages to outline’s Falstaff’s melancholy. The role of the jealous husband is played by Giorgio Caoduro, who exhibits “excellent vocal qualities, his timbre clear and vibrant, his intonation perfect.” (Bachtrack) Riccardo Frizza conducts the bittersweet comedy.

Turandot

Visionary stage director Stefano Poda continues his successful collaboration with conductor Gianandrea Noseda. He stages Puccini’s masterpiece about Princess Turandot, whose cold heart is won by her cunning suitor Prince Calaf, as “a stirring theatrical spectacle of great sensuality” (Operalounge). Grammy Award nominee Noseda at the helm of the “impeccable” orchestra of the Teatro Regio Torino impressively conducts the Italian composer’s final opera “as modern as you have rarely experienced it. Chapeau!” (Operalounge)

Kirill Petrenko conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker

The first performance at the Lucerne Festival of the Berliner Philharmoniker with their designated chief conductor Kirill Petrenko – Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker in Lucerne were joined by the Chinese hypervirtuosa Yuja Wang in Sergei Prokofiev’s most popular Piano Concerto, the spirited No. 3. The program began in the world of Persian fairy-tales with Paul Dukas’s ballet score to “La Péri” from 1911, which recounts the story of a good fairy who is half-angel, half-human. And this Impressionist-flavored piece by no means needs to yield ground to Dukas’s better-known “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” … Kirill Petrenko feels extremely devoted to Austrian composer Franz Schmidt, one of the last of the Romantics, who had to endure a traumatic experience when his only daughter, Emma, passed away in March 1932. He subsequently wrote a kind of Requiem with his Fourth Symphony, which includes elegiac laments, a wide-ranging funeral march, and, at the end, a celebration of farewell: “a dying in beauty,” as Schmidt said, “with the whole of one’s life passing in review.”

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.

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.

When the evening and morning meet – A Journey into the Music of the Baltic

Not only is the beauty of the Baltic region stunning, it also offers a varied music scene. The film “When the evening and morning meet” embarks on a fascinating journey through Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. With their knowledge and charm, musicians of diverse styles show the similarities and differences of their musical culture, guiding the viewer by land and sea from the major cities to the musical province and presenting the eventful history of the Baltic States. The result is a multifaceted and entertaining portrait of three small countries with huge musical potential.

Le Concert de Paris 2018

«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 François-Xavier Roth, propose a top-quality programme, giving pride of place to the voice and brings together some of the world’s greatest soloists, including Aida Garifullina, Joyce DiDonato, Philippe Jaroussky, Matthias Goerne, Patricia Petibon, Katia Buniatishvili and Renaud Capuçon.