What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Itullian]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to stop by and say hi to my old friends and hope you're all doing ok.
I haven't been listening to much opera lately.
I've been listening to orchestral and instrumental.
When I do pop on some opera it's either Wagner, R. Strauss Mozart.
It would be pretty boring to you folks me posting Wagner all the time.
Anyway, love to all of you and have a great Memorial Day Holiday.
You're friend
Itullian

[Florestan]

Good to hear from you, Itullian! I will soon be listening to some Wagner, namely The Flying Dutchman sung in English. I have been on an opera-in-English-translation binge lately!

[MAuer]

Hi, Itullian! Glad to hear you're doing well and enjoying your favorite music. Hope you'll also have a wonderful Memorial Day (with some Wagner, Strauss, or Mozart).

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

Hi, Itullian! Glad to hear you're doing well and enjoying your favorite music. Hope you'll also have a wonderful Memorial Day (with some Rossini, Donizetti, or Bellini).

[Florestan]

[Florestan]

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

One of many recordings I have with the Carreras-Ricciarelli duo in the leads.

My first Il trovatore and still my favourite audio version.

[Florestan]

FYI: I see several sets on Amazon for $8 or $9 shipped. Not one to pass up lightly.

[MAuer]

Conductor/orchestra: Ferdinand Leitner, Cappella Coloniensis
Cast: Dame Joan Sutherland, Fritz Wunderlich, Jeannette Van Dijck, Nicola Monti, Norma Procter, Thomas Hemsley

More guilty pleasures with Dame Joan's Alcina (well, there's nothing guilty about that one) and Fritz Wunderlich's Ruggiero.

[Florestan]

This is a good one! Back cover with description of the performance.
Recorded live at the Vienna State Opera, May 25, 1962

[MAuer]

Conductor/orchestra: Lothar Zagrosek, Bavarian Broadcasting Orchestra
Munich Radio Chorus, Tölz Boys Choir
Cast: Siegfried Jerusalem, Helen Donath, Roland Hermann, Kurt Moll, Ortrun Wenkel, Friedrich Lenz, Klaus Hirte, Theodor Nicolai, Gudrun Greindl-Rosner, Erika Rüggenberg, Martin Finke, Peter Lika, Renate Freyer

It’s been quite a while since I’ve listened to this recording (my version is in LP format). The Austrian composer Wilhelm Kienzl’s Der Evangelimann would definitely be considered a rarity these days, though it was popular in Germany and Austria for several decades from the late 19th century into the 20th. From what I can tell, it’s seldom performed in the German-speaking countries now, and I don’t know if it ever caught on outside of those countries. Kienzl wrote both the music and libretto for the work in 1894, basing the text on Leopold Florian Meissner’s short story Aus den Berichten eines Polizeikommisärs (From the reports of a police commissario).
In the plot, the brothers Johannes and Mathias Freudhofer are employed as a teacher and clerk, respectively, at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Othmar in Lower Austria. Both are in love with Martha, the niece and ward of the magistrate Friedrich Engel, a resident at the Abbey. Martha loves Mathias, but can’t stand Johannes. When Engel finds out what’s going on between his niece and the clerk, he dismisses Mathias and orders him out of the Abbey. This isn’t enough to satisfy the jealous Johannes, who sets fire to the monastery and then frames his younger brother for the crime. Mathias is imprisoned for 20 years, during which time Martha commits suicide and Johannes amasses a considerable fortune through unscrupulous dealings. After his release from prison, Mathias becomes an itinerant lay preacher. His journeys bring him to Vienna, where the now seriously ill Johannes lives. Mathias meets his brother, who confesses his guilt in the blaze at St. Othmar. Mathias forgives him so that Johannes can die in peace.

Mathias’ second act aria, “Selig sind, die Verfolgung leiden,” in which he reads a portion of the Beatitudes to a group of children, has remained a popular concert aria for tenors and has been recorded by such luminaries as Fritz Wunderlich, Plácido Domingo, Rudolf Schock, and René Kollo. Here’s Siegfried Jerusalem’s rendition from the recording:

[Florestan]

[MAuer]

Leonore (Kubiak) and Florestan (Jerusalem) from that wonderful 1981 production of Fidelio at the New Orleans Opera -- unfortunately, each on a different recording! A number of NO performances have been released on recordings, but so far (regrettably), that hasn't been one of them.

[Florestan]

[Florestan]