What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Clayton]

courtesy of Spot-a-Fly

Caldara: La Clemenza di Tito
Mya Fracassini, Ornella Pratesi, Eleonora Contucci, Patrizia Zanardi, Lucrezia Raffaelli, Aurio Tomicich
Camerata Polifonica Viterbese, Orchestra della Stagione Armonica, Sergio Balestracci
2003

[Festat]

I'm dusting my Traviatas.

[Clayton]

Beautiful music but a tragic tale

An intermezzo in two parts which the composer called his finest work

Hasse, J A: Piramo e Tisbe
Ann Monoyios (Soprano); Barbara Schlick (Soprano); Wilfried Jochens (Tenor)
La Stagione Orchestra, Michael Schneider

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Beautiful music but a tragic tale

An intermezzo in two parts which the composer called his finest work

Hasse, J A: Piramo e Tisbe
Ann Monoyios (Soprano); Barbara Schlick (Soprano); Wilfried Jochens (Tenor)
La Stagione Orchestra, Michael Schneider

Can't think of this as tragic when I have a clear vision of Britten and Shakespeare's "mechanicals" doing the play.

[Clayton]

Can't think of this as tragic when I have a clear vision of Britten and Shakespeare's "mechanicals" doing the play.

Yes, I understand. It is sometimes I think that some of the difficulty with modern or contemporary operas are the "realism" that they convey. Suicide in a eighteenth century opera, or related in a nineteenth century drama or portrayed in a twentieth century artwork all have much difference in how today we receive it.

I like the power of Britten in Billy Budd, I can smell the rope, taste salty sea air and I remember the heart beating whilst standing in line outside the library waiting for fagging duties. I quiver to the sound of Benjamin, the sound of eyelashes scraping at the pillow is almost a terror of the night.

So I agree, tragic maybe Piramo e Tisbe is not. Not anymore.

The music is good though, ironically perhaps delightful but I think it is not his best work.

[Clayton]

Wagner: Das Rheingold
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Wotan), Josephine Veasley (Fricka), Gerhard Stolze (Loge), Simone Mangelsdorff (Freia), Robert Kerns (Donner), Donald Grobe (Froh), Zoltan Kéléman (Alberich), Erwin Wohlfahrt (Mime), Martti Talvela (Fasolt), Karl Riddersbusch (Fafner), Oralia Dominguez (Erda), Lisolette Rebmann (Woglinde), Edda Mosler (Wellgunde), Anna Reynolds (Flosshilde)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Salzburger Festspiele
Herbert von Karajan
7 April 1968



A little bit of noise but oh so good

[Clayton]

DFD Wotan Yeah

[Adrian]

I'm dusting my Traviatas.

I know the feeling, hopeless

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Can't get away from Vivaldi:

Vivaldi: L'Olimpiade
Marianna Kulikova (mezzo-soprano), Sara Mingardo (contralto), Laura Giordano (soprano), Riccardo Novaro (baritone), Sergio Foresti (bass). Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini



Vivaldi: Il Teuzzone
Paolo Lopez (Teuzzone), Raffaella Milanesi (Zelinda), Delphine Galou (Zidiana), Furio Zanasi (Silvenio), Roberta Mameli (Cino), Antonio Giovannini (Egaro) & Makoto Sakurada (Troncone). Le Concert des Nations, Jordi Savall

[Nekrotzar]

I seem to be moving away from Wagner. Here is an opera I like very much:

[MAuer]

A delightful live recording with a very fine cast.

[Adrian]

A delightful live recording with a very fine cast.

I've seen Canonici once on our Prinsengracht concert (in the Amsterdam canals)

No idea what happened to the guy

[DasNino]

La Traviata, MET broadcast from March, 1946, Licia Albanesa and Richard Tucker (his first MET broadcast). Albanesa was celebrated as the best Violetta... well, she is good, but Moffo is still the best one for me.

[MAuer]

I've seen Canonici once on our Prinsengracht concert (in the Amsterdam canals)

No idea what happened to the guy

This made me curious, so I checked Google. According to Wikipedia, he's no longer pursuing an active singing career -- at least not in opera -- but appears to be involved in festival organization and management, as well as the antiques business. He certainly had (has?) a lovely voice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luca_Canonici

[Nekrotzar]

Now is the time to listen to Bellini. I've never heard anything by Bellini before. Ever. This is completely new to me. Currently I am reading about the opera as well to get an idea of the plot, Bellini's style and other things.