What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Clayton]

I do beg your pardon but did someone mention Bellini?
Oh jolly good.

Bellini: I Capuleti e I Montecchi
Vesselina Kasarova (Romeo), Ramon Vargas (Tebaldo), Eva Mei (Giulietta), Simone Alberghini (Lorenzo), Umberto Chiummo (Capellio)
Munchner Rundfunkorchester,
Roberto Abbado
Recorded 23-30 June 1997 in Studio 1 of the Bavarian Radio, Munich



Another fine, fine recording. Quite fine.

[Clayton]

Russian fever...

The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya



Rimsky Korsakov: The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia
Vladimir Galusin (Grishka Kutyer'ma), Galina Gorchakova (Fevroniya), Nikolai Putilin (Fyodor Poyarok), Nikolai Ohotnikov (Yury Vsevolodovich), Yevgeny Boitsov (Merchant I), Evgeny Fedorov (Merchant II), Nikolai Gassiev (Bear Trainer), Olga Korzhenskaya (Youth), Larissa Diadkova (Alkonost)
Kirov Opera & Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre,
Valery Gergiev
Recorded live February 1994, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg

[Clayton]

Meyerbeer: Robert Le Diable
Bryan Hymel (Robert), Matial Defontaine (Raimbaut), Carmen Giannattasio (Alice), Patrizia Ciofi (Isabelle), Alastair Miles (Bertram), Carlo Striuli (Alberti), Angelo Nardinocchi (Un Chevalier), Francesco Pittari (Un heraut – le maitre de cerimonie), Paolo Gloriante (Un Chevalier), Elena Memoli (Une dame d’honneur)
Orchestra Filarmonica Salernitana Giuseppe Verdi’ & Coro del Teatro dell’Opera di Salerno,
Daniel Oren



My first time listening to the opera. I like the story and the music is nice.
However I thought Alastair Miles is a pretty unconvincing (I wonder how Samuel Ramey would have portrayed Bertram) and Bryan Hymel is, as our friend Hoffmann might put it, a bit "meh".
Take out Robert and the devil and we're left with an opera which is just le.
I like Carmen Giannattasio and Patrizia Ciofi.
I'll come back here soon and hopefully the two ladies can help me through to see the music better.

I am back here today.

I see a lot more now; the comments about Alistair Miles and Bryan Hymel were unqualified.
Bertram is a man who has fallen and I think Miles portrays this well. Robert has stepped on rocky roads but is still a young man unsure and again Hymel is a beautiful voice that characterizes this well.

Furthermore I must describe both the story and music as much more than nice... however I will go away and work on my communication skills so that I may relate better next time.

- - - Updated - - -

I have also discovered that Samuel Ramey did perform the role of Bertram at Palais Garnier in 1985 with June Anderson as his Isabella. Released by Lyric label as live performance.

[Clayton]

Boito: Mefistofele
(Mefistofele) Nicolai Ghiaurov, (Faust) Luciano Pavarotti, (Margherita) Mirella Freni, (Elena) Montserrat Caballé, (Marta) Nucci Condò & (Wagner) Piero de Palma
London Opera Chorus/Trinity Boys’ Choir & National Philharmonic Orchestra,
Oliviero de Fabritiis
Recorded: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, August 1980 & January 1982

[Clayton]

Yes, I did end up here again today.

Enjoying sooo much of what I am listening to, pretty much anyone could suggest "how about this?" and the chances are I will end up there sooner rather than later...

Dvorak: Rusalka, Op. 114
Renée Fleming (Rusalka), Ben Heppner (Prince), Dolora Zajick (Jezibaba), Eva Urbanová (Foreign Princess), Franz Hawalta (Water Goblin)
Kühn Mixed Choir, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra,
Charles Mackerras
Recorded Rudolfinum, Prague, 28 April - 9 May 1998

[Clayton]

Scarlatti: Griselda
Dorothea Roschmann (Griselda), Lawrence Zazzo (Gualtiero), Veronica Cangemi (Costanza), Bernard Fink (Roberto), Silvia Tro Santafe (Ottone), Kobie van Rensburg (Corrado)
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin,
René Jacobs



Harmonia Mundi Baroque Opera collection is really a bargain.

[Clayton]

Bellini: I Puritani
XR remastering by Andrew Rose at Pristine Audio, October 2012

Elvira - Maria Callas soprano
Lord Arturo Talbo - Giuseppe Di Stefano tenor
Sir Riccardo Forth - Rolando Panerai bass
Sir Giorgio - Nicola Rossi-Lemeni bass
Enrichetta di Francia - Aurora Cattelani mezzo-soprano
Sir Bruno Robertson - Angelo Mercurialli tenor
Lord Gualtiero Valton - Carlo Forti bass
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro all Scala
Chorus Master Vittore Veneziani
Conductor Tullio Serafin
Recorded 24-30 March, 1953
Basilica di Santa Eufemia, Milan

[Clayton]

Verdi: Rigoletto
Renato Bruson (Rigoletto), Edita Gruberova (Gilda), Neil Shicoff (Il Duca), Robert Lloyd (Sparafucile), Brigitte Fassbaender (Maddalena), Jean Rigby (Giovanna), Kurt Rydl (Monterone), Armando Gabba (Marullo), William Matteuzzi (Borsa), Geoffrey Moses (Il Conte di Ceprano), Maria Grazia Pittavini (La Contessa di Ceprano), Maria Grazia Pittavini (Un paggio)
Coro e Orchestrea dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia,
Giuseppe Sinopoli
Recorded Rome September 1984




"...the chief glory of Victor Hugo as a stage poet was to have provided librettos for Verdi..." - Bernard Shaw

[Clayton]

Verdi: Un ballo in maschera
Plácido Domingo (Riccardo), Katia Ricciarelli (Amelia), Renato Bruson (Renato), Elena Obraztsova (Ulrica), Edita Gruberova (Oscar), Ruggero Raimondi (Samuele), Luigi De Corato (Silvano), Giovanni Foiani (Tom), Antonio Savastano (Un giudice)
Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado
Studio recording, 1979-1980

[Clayton]

Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment
Edita Gruberova, Deon van der Walt, Rosa Laghezza, Philippe Fourcade, Francois Castel, Heidi Steinhaus, Andra Rascher, Hans-Werner Bunz
Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks,
Marcello Panni
Recorded Herkulessaal der Münchner Residenz March 1995

[Clayton]

Quiz: What led me to this recording?

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Edita Gruberova, Rosa Laghezza, Juan Diego Florez, Vladimir Chernov, Enric Serra, Francesco Ellero d’Artegna, James Anderson
Men’s Choir of the Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munchner Rundfunkorchester,
Ralf Weikert
Live recording 1997




Winning draw will win 1 years supply of Mymate.
Post your answer (remember to include a SAE) or telephone (remember to ask the person paying the bill) to;

I have the answer,
PO Box 1832

01 2345 22
(Calls will be charged at $42 per minute)

The winning draw will take place on Friday 1st August 2018
Friends or relatives of associated companies may not participate.

[MAuer]

Quiz: What led me to this recording?

Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Edita Gruberova, Rosa Laghezza, Juan Diego Florez, Vladimir Chernov, Enric Serra, Francesco Ellero d’Artegna, James Anderson
Men’s Choir of the Bayerischen Rundfunks, Munchner Rundfunkorchester,
Ralf Weikert
Live recording 1997




Winning draw will win 1 years supply of Mymate.
Post your answer (remember to include a SAE) or telephone (remember to ask the person paying the bill) to;

I have the answer,
PO Box 1832

01 2345 22
(Calls will be charged at $42 per minute)

The winning draw will take place on Friday 1st August 2018
Friends or relatives of associated companies may not participate.

Um . . . Juan Diego Florez?

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Um . . . Juan Diego Florez?

That must be it it... I've been wracking my brains... mymate very expensive here and the local variety revoltingly sweet... now what am I going to have on my morning toast?

[Soave_Fanciulla]

This Walküre is really good, featuring two of the strongest singer-actors in the business today. Waltraud Meier conveys every emotion that Sieglinde is feeling. Nina Stemme is the best Brunnhilde I have ever seen, I love her voice; the scene (my favourite in the ring) with Siegmund is perfect in its slow development of the characters' positions (Siegmund's decision that he can never leave Sieglinde and Brünnhilde's discovery of what real love can mean, and her support for her half-brother), and Stemme is also excellent in the last scene. This makes up for a rather blank Wotan.



On the other hand I found this Siegfried nearly unbearable due to my strong dislike of Lance Ryan's whiny-shouty voice - although he looks and acts the part brilliantly, especially in the brattish first two acts. Only really redeemed by the women again, Anna Larsson as an unusually feisty Erda, and Nina Stemme reprising Brünnhilde.



This was cute. Had never heard of Campra but he was in the big baroque box.

[Amfortas]

This Walküre is really good, featuring two of the strongest singer-actors in the business today. Waltraud Meier conveys every emotion that Sieglinde is feeling. Nina Stemme is the best Brunnhilde I have ever seen, I love her voice; the scene (my favourite in the ring) with Siegmund is perfect in its slow development of the characters' positions (Siegmund's decision that he can never leave Sieglinde and Brünnhilde's discovery of what real love can mean, and her support for her half-brother), and Stemme is also excellent in the last scene. This makes up for a rather blank Wotan.

Based on video clips, I've been wary of this version, largely because of Simon O'Neill's less than impressive Siegmund. From an overall dramatic standpoint, are the two women really enough to make up for the lackluster men?