tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54836784923457557232024-02-25T13:20:23.769+01:00mostly operamostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.comBlogger680125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-50943851260923449902016-11-19T11:16:00.002+01:002016-11-19T11:16:29.066+01:00continuing as the flying surgeonAs some of you may have noticed this blog has been inactive the last couple of years.
When I started this blog I worked in Denmark, but in 2011, after I became a board-certified surgeon, I made a significant change to my life and for the past 5 years I have worked mainly in humanitarian and war surgery with Doctors without Borders and ICRC as well as working as an offshore medic on an oil mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-59594856537086952013-09-02T20:16:00.000+02:002013-09-03T01:55:01.100+02:00Rusalka in the basement of Fritzl
Rusalka. DVD. Bavarian State Opera 2010. Production: Martin
Kusej. Conductor: Tomas Hanus. Cast: Kristine Opolais (Rusalka), Klaus Florian
Vogt (Prince), Günther Groissböck (Water Goblin), Janina Baechle (Jezibaba),
Nadia Krasteva (Foreign Princess).
A
both shocking and haunting production, this Rusalka is one of Martin Kusej´s best
stagings and probably one that many will find mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-86018552448352589232013-05-01T20:21:00.000+02:002013-05-01T20:21:00.338+02:00don giovanni in dull zambello staging
Don Giovanni, DVD. Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, 2008. Production: Francesca Zambello.
Conductor: Charles Mackerras. Cast: Simon Keenlyside (Don Giovanni), Kyle
Ketelsen (Leporello), Joyce DiDonato (Donna Elvira), Ramon Vargas (Don
Ottavio), Marina Poplavskaya (Donna Anna), Miah Persson (Zerlina), Robert
Gleadow (Masetto), Eric Halfvarson (Commendatore).
I have
never really mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-52039483080886897322013-04-27T22:44:00.000+02:002013-09-02T20:55:26.662+02:00Calixto Bieito
CALIXTO BIEITO
Born 1962 is Mirande de Ebro, Spain. Refers to himself as Catalán. Education: History of art and philology at the University in Barcelona. Afte he worked as an apprentice with ao. Pete Brooks, Old Vic Theatre School (Bristol). Biographical details here. Extensive biography in Spanish here.
Directorial approach: Very contemporary, often describing characters mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-75434085769331126022013-04-25T20:27:00.000+02:002013-04-25T20:27:00.457+02:00Katharina Wagners Meistersinger: A winner on DVD
Meistersinger. DVD. Bayreuth Festival 2008. Production: Katharina Wagner. Conductor: Sebastian Weigle. Dast: Franz Hawlata (Hans Sachs), Michael Volle (Sixtus Beckmesser), Michaela Kaune (Eva), Klaus Florian Vogt (Walther Von Stolzing), Norbert Ernst (David), Carola Guber (Magdalene), Artur Korn (Veit Pogner), Markus Eiche (Fritz Kothner), Friedemann Röhlig (Ein Nachtwächter).
I remember mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-35321905634312192062013-04-23T17:45:00.000+02:002013-04-23T17:45:00.192+02:00Disappointing Meistersinger from Zürich
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Zurich Opera 2003. Production: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Conductor: Franz Welser-Möst. Cast: José Van Dam (Sachs), Peter Seiffer (Walther), Petra-Maria Schnitzer (Eva), Matti Salminen (Pogner), Michael Volle (Beckmesser), Brigitte Pinter (Magdalene), Christoph Strehl (David), Gunther Groissböck (Nightwatchman).
It is not the first time, that otherwise quite inventive mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-83022707272789900482013-04-21T14:34:00.000+02:002013-09-01T19:04:07.520+02:00pique dame barcelona dvd
Pique Dame. DVD. 2010 Liceu Barcelona. Production: Gilbert Deflo. Conductor: Michael Boder. Cast: Misha Didyk (Hermann), Emily Magee (Lisa), Lado Ataneli (Tomsky), Ludovic Tezier (Yeletski), Elena Zaremba (Pauline), Ewa Podles (Countess).
Tchaikovsky´s
opera about the gambling addictive Hermann, who loves Lisa, but kills her
grandmother the Countess in order to gain three secret winning mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-43839653275497228962013-04-19T15:37:00.000+02:002013-04-19T15:37:00.489+02:00singers disappoint in smashing carsen tannhäuser staging
Tannhäuser. DVD. Liceu Barcelona 2008. Production: Robert Carsen. Conductor: Sebastian Weigle. Cast: Peter Seiffert (Tannhäuser), Petra Maria Schnitzer (Elisabeth), Beatrice Uria-Monzon (Venus), Günther Groissböck (Hermann), Markus Eiche (Wolfram).
With this production of Tannhäuser,
Robert Carsen has created one of his best stagings: Elegant, well thought out
as well as thought-provoking. mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-65265734832748282422013-04-17T14:58:00.000+02:002013-04-17T14:58:00.048+02:00giulio cesare by david mcvicar
Giulio Cesare in Egitto. DVD. Glyndebourne 2005. Production: David McVicar. Conductor: William Christie with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightment. Cast: Sarah Connolly (Giulio Cesare), Angelika Kirchschlager (Sesto), Danielle de Niese (Cleopatra), Patricia Bardon (Cornelia), Christopher Maltman (Achilla), Christophe Dumaux (Tolomeo).
We are in
the 19th Century at the time of the British mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-71218392113766290832013-04-14T20:38:00.000+02:002013-04-14T20:38:00.830+02:00Bieito and Don Giovanni - which scandal?
Don Giovanni. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, 2002. DVD. Production: Calixto Bieito. Conductor: Bertrand de
Billy. Cast: Wojtek Drabowicz (Don Giovanni), Kwanchul Youn (Leporello), Regina
Schörg (Donna Anna), Véronique Gens (Donna Elvira), Anatoly Kocherga
(Commendatore), Marcel Reijans (Don Ottavio), Marisa Martins (Zerlina), Felipe
Bou (Masetto).
This is the production, which
mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-65749100807350689232013-04-12T19:13:00.000+02:002013-04-12T19:13:00.018+02:00danielle de niese is poppea
L´Incoronazione di Poppea. DVD. Glyndebourne Festival, June 2008. Production: Robert Carsen. Conductor: Emmanuelle Haim with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Cast: Danielle de Niese (Poppea), Alice Coote (Nerone), Iestyn Davis (Ottone), Tamara Mumford (Ottavia), Paolo Battaglia (Seneca), Marie Arnet (Drusilla), Lucia Cirillo (Valletto), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Arnalta), Dominique mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-19614444176821567822013-04-10T20:56:00.000+02:002013-04-10T20:56:00.021+02:00the authentic rigoletto from mantua with domingo, novikova and grigolo
Rigoletto.
Palazzo Ducale di Mantua. 2010. Filmed for TV. Production: Marco Bellocchio. Conductor: Zubin Mehta.
Cast: Plácido Domingo (Rigoletto), Julia Novikova (Gilda), Vittorio Grigolo
(Duke), Ruggero Raimondi (Sparafucile), Nino Surguladze (Maddalena).
For those seeking authenticity, it does not come more authentic than this: A production of Verdi´s
Rigoletto filmed on location in the mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-11945205565884287062013-04-08T16:19:00.000+02:002013-04-08T16:19:00.401+02:00waltraud meier shines as fidelio in dark production
Fidelio. DVD. Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia. 2006. Production: Pierluigi Pier´Alli. Conductor: Zubin Mehta. Cast: Waltraud Meier (Leonore), Peter Seiffert (Florestan), Matti Salminen (Rocco), Ildiko Raimondi (Marzelline), Juha Uusitalo (Pizzarro), Rainer Trost (Jaquino), Carsten Stabell (Don Fernando).
A largely traditional dark, greenish production with no
obvious raison d´être mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-50348257183912902382013-04-06T13:38:00.000+02:002013-04-06T13:38:00.028+02:00fura dels baus disappoint with futuristic les troyens
Les Troyens. DVD. Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, 2009. Production : Fura del Baus (Carlus Padrissa stage director). Conductor: Valery Gergiev. Cast: Elisabete Matos (Cassandre), Daniela Barcellona (Didon), Lance Ryan (Enee), Zlata Bulicheva (Anna), Gabriele Viviani (Chorebe), Stephen Milling (Narbal), Giorgio Giuseppini (Pantheée).
With this production of Les Troyens in Valencia, mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-40314184607339406992013-04-04T19:46:00.000+02:002013-04-04T19:46:00.026+02:00first (and last?) mireille on dvd
Mireille. DVD. Paris Opera Bastille 2009. Production: Nicolas Joel, Conductor: Marc Minkowski. Cast: Inva Mula (Mireille), Charles Castronovo (Vincent), Alain Vernhes (Ramon), Sylvie Brunet (Taven), Franck Ferrari (Qurrias).
For this, the first production for Nicolas
Joel after taking over the Paris Opera, he chose a largely unknown work by
Gounod: Mireille. Based on Mistral´s poem and mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-32037817613359645982013-04-02T22:35:00.000+02:002013-04-02T22:35:00.280+02:00alcina: splendid harteros, odd kasarova in duchess of devonshire ballroom performance
Alcina, DVD. Vienna State Opera 2010. Production: Adrian Noble. Conductor: Marc
Minkowski with Les Musiciens du Louvre. Cast: Anja Harteros (Alcina), Vesselina
Kasarova (Ruggiero), Kristina Hammarström (Bradamante), Veronica Cangemi
(Morgana), Benjamin Bruns (Oronte), Adam Plachetka (Melisso), Alois Mühlbacher
(Oberto).
Well-educated
British readers (I know there are some out there) will mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-42222485334445315652013-03-31T12:50:00.000+02:002013-03-31T12:50:00.920+02:00Natalie Dessay and Laurent Pelly disappoints in Pelleas and Melisande
Pélleas and Mélisande. DVD, 2009. Theater an der Wien. Production: Laurent Pelly. Conductor: Bertrand de Billy.Cast: Natalie Dessay (Melisande), Stephane Degout (Pelleas), Laurent Naouri (Golaud), Philip Ens (Arkel), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Genevieve).
How does
one evoke the otherworldly ambiance of Pélleas and Mélisande? Not easily and I
have yet to see a staging which does full justice to mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-29767087761719988832013-03-29T16:41:00.000+01:002013-03-29T16:41:00.633+01:00malena ernman and christopher maltman shine in superb dido and aeneas
Dido and
Aeneas, DVD, Opéra
Comique 2008. Production: Deborah Warner. Conductor: William Christie with Les
Arts Florissants. Cast: Malena Ernman (Dido), Christopher Maltman (Aeneas),
Judith van Wanroij (Belinda), Hilary Sumnners (Sorceress).
The first
known performance of Dido and Aeneas took place at a girls´school in London
around 1688. In a superb production combining 17th century withmostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-61858536258559241352013-03-27T19:11:00.000+01:002013-03-27T19:11:00.169+01:00poppea: surrealistic, bizarre, magnificent
L´Incoronazione di Poppea. DVD. 2009. Barcelona Liceu. Production: David Alden. Conductor: Harry Bicket with Baroque Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Cast: Miah Persson (Poppea), Sarah Connolly (Nerone), Jordi Domènech (Ottone), Maite Beaumont (Ottavia), Ruth Rusique (Drusilla), Franz-Josef Selig (Seneca).
Finally available on DVD: David Alden´s deservedly
acclaimed staging of L´mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-67231450789478427842013-03-25T20:22:00.000+01:002013-03-25T20:22:00.212+01:00DVD: Glyndebourne Hänsel und Gretel
Hänsel und
Gretel. DVD, Glyndebourne 2009. Production: Laurent Pelly. Conductor: Kazushi Ono with the London
Philharmonic Orchestra. Cast: Jennifer Holloway (Hänsel), Adriana Kucerova
(Gretel), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (witch), Klaus Kuttler (father), Irmgard
Vilsmaier (mother).
As you
press “play” on the DVD, a cardboard box is brought to the Glyndebourne
Festival House during the mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-59313004802098517342013-03-24T00:46:00.000+01:002013-03-24T00:46:19.627+01:00Robert Carsen
ROBERT CARSEN
Born 1954 in Toronto, Canada. Education: Old Vic Theatre School (Bristol). Biographical details here: Very detailed (in French), less detailed (in English).
Directorial approach: Simplistic, aesthetic stagings, relatively true to the overall written libretto, though often with a twist.
Major achievements in opera: After his breakthrough in 1986 with La Finta mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-68688133292735040052013-03-21T18:47:00.000+01:002013-03-21T18:47:00.480+01:00julia lezhneva with decca solo cd - next superstar or forgotten next year?
Julia Lezhneva. Alleluia. CD. 2013. Motets by Vivaldi, Händel, Porpora and Mozart. Giovanni Antonini conduct Il Giardino Armonico.
Born in Russia in 1989, from 2008 a student at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, winner of several competitions and a protegé of Kiri Te Kanawa. Hyped as few other young singers and now releasing her first solo CD under her new contract with Decca mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-91862540032992389482013-03-18T18:17:00.000+01:002017-09-12T16:57:24.265+02:00la scala: superb peter mattei, disappointing netrebko in elegant barenboim don giovanni
Don Giovanni, La Scala, December 2011. Production: Robert Carsen. Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Cast: Peter Mattei (Don G), Bryn Terfel (Leporello), Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna), Barbara Frittoli (Donna Elvira), Kwangchoul Yun (Commendatore), Giuseppe Filianoti (Don Ottavio), Anna Prohaska (Zerlina), Stefan Kocan (Masetto).
The opening
is entirely stunning: As the initial two chords of themostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-79462265395313220522013-03-15T18:11:00.000+01:002013-03-15T18:11:00.291+01:00classic production of rakes progress
Rake´s Progress. DVD. Glyndebourne Festival 2010. Director: John Cox, designs: David Hockney. Conductor: Vladimir Jurowski with London Philharmonic Orchestra. Cast: Miah Persson (Anne Trulove), Topi Lehtipuu (Tom Rakewell, Matthew Rose (Nick Shadow), Elena Manistina (Baba The Turk), Clive Bayley (Anne´s father).
This
production has in many ways become a benchmark for The Rake´s Progress. mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5483678492345755723.post-9467058546884488242013-03-14T00:30:00.000+01:002013-03-14T00:30:00.396+01:00Krassimira Stoyanova: Reluctant diva excels in Slavic Arias
Krassimira Stoyanova: Slavic Opera Arias, 2011.
Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova had a rather late start to her career; born in 1962, she is as violinist as well, and played in 3 different orchestras before embarking on her singing career in 1995. Perhaps this is why she, 48 at the time of recording of the present CD is as fresh-voiced as ever. A long-time favourite of the Vienna State mostly opera...http://www.blogger.com/profile/05653818157295091506noreply@blogger.com5