OPERA “PUNCH AND JUDY” BY HARRISON BIRTWISTLE WINNER OF TWO GREAT PRIZES IN BUDAPEST

Posted on November 9, 2014 by editoreusa

Mr. Punch (derived from the Italian character Pulcinella) and his wife Judy are puppet characters, who are popular in England and occupy a status comparable to that of the Kasperltheater genre in Austria. Typically, a hand puppeteer will present several brief sequences that usually lead to conflicts of a somewhat rough and naive nature. These usually include violence, and it was this violence in Harrison Birtwhistle’s opera Punch and Judy that sparked off heated debate in the wake of its 1968 world premiere. To this day, the opera has retained its polarizing effect.

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Just a few minutes into the action, Mr. Punch brutally murders his own child and Judy –and as the plot progresses, he ends up killing almost everyone else he encounters. He allows only Pretty Polly -whom he practically worships -/to stay alive. But eventually, Punch is overcome by horrible nightmares and the music begins to change in character…

10703572_723407504404645_5375735756551272416_nPaul Griffiths once wrote that Birtwistle’s Mr. Punch is the diametric opposite of Petrushka in Stravinsky’s eponymous ballet. While Petrushka is a puppet, which behaves more and more like a human being, Mr. Punch is a human being, who treats those surrounding him like puppets –carelessly, brutally, and devoid of conscience.

Harrison Birtwistle and his librettist Stephen Pruslin created a stylized tragedy full of grotesque moments. The music is as capable of portraying a monstrous being as it is of portraying love. Their work opens up a positively other-worldly realm, with insane twists and the atmosphere of the marketplace.Written commissioned by Aldeburgh Festival, the work is presented as a tragic comedy, focuses on the adventures of Punch, a mad man suffering from severe personality disorders.

10701973_723407391071323_4197965706741301479_nThe Opera, in the production of Neue Oper Wien (Wien, Austria), in october 2014 won the great prize of the jury at the ARMEL FESTIVAL and the audience prize at ARTE LIVE TELEVISION, in Budapest.

A tragical comedy or comical tragedy in one act. Scenario and libretto written by Stephen PRUSLIN, Director: Leonard PRINSLOO, Conductor: Walter KOBÉRA.

10609528_723407354404660_6182004286197680360_nPunch – Richard RITTELMANN (Hungary) Judy; Fortune teller – Manuela LEONHARTSBERGER Choregos; Jack Ketch – Till VON ORLOWSKY Pretty Polly; Witch – Jennifer YOON Lawyer – Lorin WEY Doctor – Johannes SCHWENDINGER Dancer – Evamaria MAYER

WITH: amadeus ensemble-wien Set and costume – Monika BIEGLER Video design – Bernd PREIML Lighting design – Norbert CHMEL Language coach – Stephen CHAUNDRY Musical coach – Anna SUSHON Musical assistant – Jack RIDLEY Dramaturgy – Axel PETRI-PREIS Stage manager – Lucija DEDIC Assistant – Thomas WAHL Production manager – Su PITZEK Technical director – Norbert CHMEL Make-up artist – Henriette ZWÖLFER Assitant director – Barbara PREIS Orchestra management – Wolfgang TROJAN Stage construction – winter artservice

This Opera’s production will be performed at the theatre Opera of Avignon on june 2015.

rittermanRichard RITTELMANN (baritone, Hungary) – Punch Richard Rittelmann debuted at the age of 22 at the Opéra National de Lyon in Doktor Faust (Busoni). Since then he has been a winner at various international competitions. His discography covers a wide repertoire, from baroque to classical, romantic, 20th-century and contemporary repertoire, including some world premieres. His most memorable roles include Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss), Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac (Alfano), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), Danilo in The Merry Widow (Lehár), Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia (Britten), and Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy), for which he gained worldwide reputation…

neueNEUE OPER WIEN The Neue Oper Wien was founded in 1990. The company specialises in modern music theatre, with the uncompromising policy of selecting only works from the 20th and 21st centuries. New discoveries as well as world and local premieres are central to the company’s work. Its objective is to revive modern opera repertoire. The Viennese audience enthusiastic about the works of Benjamin Britten was impressed by the Neue Oper Wien, when they staged Billy Budd for the first time in Austria in 1996. The first performance of Lachenmann’s Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern was also put on stage by the Neue Oper Wien in 2003 – this production was a sensational success and drew much international attention. Lacking its own venue or a constant company, the Neue Oper Wien could remain flexible; it regularly changes the venue of its performances. It selects stages for the work to be to be performed, with the constant modification of the space, the scenery is adapted closely to the space, aiming at the best acoustic effect possible. Under the leadership of Walter Kobéra, the Neue Oper Wien has demonstrated that innovation and popular success are not mutually exclusive, and that modern opera and innovative stagings need not distract lovers of music from this genre, but rather lead to intense discussions between audience and artists. The Neue Oper Wien considers the music theatre as a laboratory of “new music,” a forum to discuss timely social issues.

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Rossini Opera Festival 2015 preliminary program

Posted on November 8, 2014 by editoreusa

logofestivalRossiniRecent decisions of the government, inviting the drawing-up of triennial artistic projects, have led the organizers to change the order of presentation of the operas that they are planning to stage in the next few years. The 2015 Festival will offer a particularly brilliant program, opening with Damiano Michieletto’s legendary production of La gazza ladra, which won the 2007 Abbiati Prize for stage direction. Another welcome return will be that of Graham Vick, who, on the heels of his recent international successes, will stage a new version of the farsa semiseria [serio-comic one-act opera] L’inganno felice, not performed in Pesaro for 21 years. The third opera on the bill is La gazzetta, directed by Marco Carniti, in a new production that will restore the complete score as originally performed, including the lost quintet that has recently been re-discovered. Among the various performances that, as always, frame the operas, we can announce two great sacred works: the rarely heard Messa di gloria and, on the last night of the Festival, both the Rossini and the Pergolesi settings of the Stabat Mater.

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Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” in Iowa

Posted on November 6, 2014 by editoreusa

Des Moines Metro Opera 

PRESENTS:

Menotti / Amahl and the Night Visitors

Menotti / Amahl and the Night Visitors
Presenting Premier Sponsor is American Equity

Opera in One Act
Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti
First performance: NBC Television Opera Theatre in New York City, Broadcast on December 24, 1951
Performed in English

While giving shelter to the three Wise Men on their journey to find the newborn Child, a poor mother and her crippled son, Amahl, discover the healing power of love. Amahl and the Night Visitors has become a holiday classic for the whole family. Hoyt Sherman Place Theatre will provide the historic backdrop for this beautiful production. In many places around the world, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors rings in the Holiday Season. Originally composed for television in 1951, the opera is a delightful and touching story of a poor woman and her child who play hosts to three mysterious strangers bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh.

This production is presented in memory of Wendy Waugaman, who was a remarkable president of the Des Moines Metro Opera Board of Directors and a passionate entrepreneur in bringing new audiences to this dynamic art form. American Equity is the Premier Presenting Sponsor and Wendy’s many friends and colleagues are working together with Des Moines Metro Opera to bring this production to the stage in her honor. Support for Amahl and the Night Visitors has generously been provided by the many colleagues and friends of Wendy Waugaman. Presenting Premier Sponsor is American Equity Investment Life Insurance and Presenting Sponsor is Sammons Financial Group. Additional support provided by Major Sponsors Lou Waugaman and Marla Lacey/Steve Znerold and Supporting Sponsors Athene USA, Brokers International Ltd, David E. Franasiak, Knapp Properties, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Bankers Trust/Ruan Transportation.

7:30 EVENING December 6 | December 7
2:00 MATINEE December 7

CAST:
Amahl, a crippled boy Pierce Mansfield
His Mother Julie Makerov
King Kaspar Edwin Griffith
King Melchior Todd Thomas
King Balthazar Patrick Blackwell
The Page Craig Irvin

Chorus of Shepherds and Villagers

PRODUCTION:
Conductor David Neely
Stage Director Robert L. Larsen
Musical Preparation Kyle Naig
Set Designer Steven J. McLean
Costume Supervisor Virginia McKeever
Lighting Designer James R. Trenberth
Make-Up/Hair Designer Joanne Weaver
Costumes Malabar, LTD.
Choreographer Albert Adams

Cast, production and opera are subject to change without notice.

Des Moines Metro Opera
106 West Boston Avenue, Indianola, IA 50125

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TOSCA at the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen

Posted on November 2, 2014 by editoreusa

Experience one of the world’s most cherished tragic operas, by Puccini. The story of Tosca, who sets out to save her beloved, is rife with jealousy, murder, lust and deception.
Add to this Puccini’s marvellous music and beautiful arias and the opera stage is set for a night of emotion.
Tosca is in love with artist Mario Cavaradossi but is pursued by the chief of police, Scarpia, who uses every means, even miscarriage of justice, fraud and murder in order to conquer this beautiful woman. Scarpia’s predator instinct and Tosca’s personality clash with disastrous consequences.
If you have not previously experienced Puccini’s masterful opera then you can expect a sensation – and if you are already familiar with Tosca you can look forward to a moving reunion. Peter Langdal’s successful staging has played to full houses in previous seasons. The title role is performed by Ylva Kihlberg.
Starring as Tosca’s beloved Mario Cavaradossi is the young Italian-Brazilian tenor Tiago Arancam who is taking the world’s opera stages by storm.
Tosca is performed in Italian with Danish supertitles.

Video on Tosca

Performance period: 12. Oct. – 02. Dec. 2014
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes. 2 intervals.

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Synopsis

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Act 1

In the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle

toscadenmark2Cesare Angelotti, a political prisoner, has escaped from the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome. He seeks refuge in the family chapel at the church of Sant’Andrea della Valle using a key hidden by his beautiful sister, Marchioness Attavanti. The Sacristan turns up but thinks that the noise at the door was made by the artist Mario Cavaradossi. The painter is currently working on a depiction of the Madonna inspired by the Marchioness, who has sat for the portrait in the church over the last couple of days. The artist also likens the portrait to a miniature of the woman he loves, the singer Floria Tosca.

toscadenmark1Once the Sacristan has left, Angelotti comes out of hiding and recognises Cavaradossi – a friend whom he can trust in his struggle for the republic. Cavaradossi gives him the lunch basket prepared by the Sacristan but urges Angelotti to hide in the far end of the chapel when he hears Tosca, who goaded by jealousy pounds on the church door and calls out to her lover, convinced as she is that he has locked the door to seek privacy with another woman. He lets her in.

toscadenmark3Cavaradossi attempts to reassure Tosca, but she notices that the eyes of the Madonna on the portrait resemble those of Marchioness Attavanti and she accuses him of cheating on her. He, however, assures her that she has nothing to fear. When Tosca has left the church Cavaradossi fetches Angelotti and together they find the women’s clothing that Angelotti has hidden as disguise for his escape. Cavaradossi advises Angelotti to seek refuge in his personal villa. No sooner has Angelotti left the church before canon fire is heard from the Castel Sant’Angelo, signalling that the jailbreak has been discovered. Cavaradossi decides to accompany Angelotti through Rome.

toscadenmark4The Sacristan returns with tidings of the defeat of Napoleon by the Austrians, thus securing the continued rule of monarchy in Rome. The church chorists rejoice in the prospect of grand celebrations to be held at Palazzo Farnese the same evening, including a cantata by none other than Floria Tosca. There is also promise of a bonus to be paid for the Te Deum, staged by the church as part of the festivities. Baron Scarpia of the secret police turns up, which immediately quells the jubilation, although revellers are quick to reassure him that their jubilant behaviour is a mere expression of their joy of victory.

toscadenmark5Scarpia and his henchmen look for leads in their search for Angelotti. They soon find Attavanti’s fan in the church, which Scarpia uses to convince Tosca – the object of his desire – of Cavaradossi’s faithlessness. He sends a spy to trail Tosca while she hastens to Cavaradossi fearing she will find him in the arms of his mistress.

Act 2

At Scarpia’s office in Palazzo Farnese

toscadenmark6Tosca and Baron Scarpia are to rendezvous the same evening, following her performance. Scarpia hopes his scheme will work – soon Tosca will be his! Scarpia is unsuccessful in his pursuit of Angelotti but his men arrest Cavaradossi instead on the charge of abetting a fugitive. He refuses to reveal Angelotti’s hideout and Scarpia orders him to be interrogated in the next room.

When Tosca arrives her dilemma soon dawns on her: she can only save her beloved Cavaradossi from torture if she reveals Angelotti’s hideout. At first she refuses to cooperate but is soon unnerved by Cavaradossi’s harrowing agony and reveals Angelotti’s whereabouts. Cavaradossi has, however, confessed to republican leanings and is to be executed at dawn the next day, unless Tosca yields herself to Scarpia.

toscadenmark7However, Angelotti commits suicide in his hiding place before the arrival of Scarpia’s men. So is Cavaradossi now to face the firing squad? Initially, Tosca agrees to Scarpia’s conditions for Cavaradossi’s release but she also demands free passage out of Rome for them both. Scarpia issues a pass and orders a mock execution of Cavaradossi using blanks. toscadenmark11But Tosca has a trump up her sleeve. She stabs Scarpia with a dagger and flees from the room with the pass in her hand.

Act 3

At the top of Castel Sant’Angelo

toscadenmark12At the break of dawn, Cavaradossi prepares himself for death. He bribes a guard to bring a farewell letter to Tosca and he recalls their happiest hours together.

toscadenmark16Tosca, in reply, shares the good news with him and they rejoice in the prospect of starting a new life together far from Rome. Cavaradossi faces the firing squad with a self-assured air as the soldiers raise their muskets. When the shots are fired he falls down to the ground. Tosca’s future happiness now depends on the unfolding events of the next few seconds….

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Don Giovanni at LaMonnaie/De Munt in Bruxelles

Posted on November 2, 2014 by editoreusa

dongiovannibrux‘As the hero of the opera, Don Giovanni is the denominator of the piece, he gives it its name as the hero usually does, but he does more than this : he is the common denominator. Compared to his existence, all others are merely derivative.’ So wrote the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard, who, like many others, was fascinated by Mozart’s 1787 opera. ‘It is this absolute centrality that makes this work exercise the power of illusion more than any other.’ Does this work, the second joint venture by Mozart and the librettist Da Ponte, need any further introduction ? This ‘dramma giocoso’ can hardly be categorised : opera seria, opera buffa ? – Don Giovanni is universal, enigmatic, superhuman, mythical. After Così fan tutte and La Clemenza di Tito, Ludovic Morlot will conduct his third opera by Mozart at La Monnaie. For those who are familiar with Warlikovski’s approach, it will come as no surprise that Don Giovanni will be presented as a dark, desperate character.

Rehearsing Don Giovanni

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New productionProduction La Monnaie / De Munt
With the support of Electrabel

Don Giovanni
Music direction ¦ Ludovic Morlot
Director ¦ Krzysztof Warlikowski
Set design & costumes ¦ Malgorzata Szczesniak
Lighting ¦ Felice Ross
Dramaturgy ¦ Christian Longchamp
Choreography ¦ Claude Bardouil
Video ¦ Denis Guéguin
Chorus direction ¦ Martino Faggiani

CAST:
Don Giovanni ¦ Jean-Sébastien Bou
Il Commendatore ¦ Sir Willard White
Donna Anna ¦ Barbara Hannigan
Don Ottavio ¦ Topi Lehtipuu
Donna Elvira ¦ Rinat Shaham
Leporello ¦ Andreas Wolf
Masetto ¦ Jean-Luc Ballestra
Zerlina ¦ Julie Mathevet
Orchestra & chorus ¦ La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

02, 04, 07, 09, 11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 26, 28 & 30 December

Don Giovanni
Dramma giocoso in due atti, KV.527 (1787)
Libretto di Lorenzo da Ponte
Premiere Nationaltheater, Praha, 29/10/1787

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“Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” in Norway

Posted on September 22, 2014 by editoreusa

logonorwayAn Opera by Dmitri Shostakovich
8 productions From September 4. to October 3.
Performed in Russian Texted in Norwegian and English
3 hours and 15 minutes

At the Den Norske opera & Ballet Thater in Oslo

macbeth2A starkly cold fishing village in Northern Norway, a male-dominated society, a loveless marriage, an absent husband, a warm and willing lover, a quick-tempered father-in-law, a poisoned meal, a hidden body, a surprising return, a wedding with complications and a woman with sensational dynamism. These are the main ingredients of Dmitri Shostakovich’s tragic satire Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, staged here in a new production by Ole Anders Tandberg.

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The opera is based on an 1865 novel by Nikolai Leskov. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth it depicts an unscrupulous woman who kills both her father-in-law and husband in order to follow her desires and satisfy her lusts. But Shostakovich’s music gives her a depth that makes her more sympathetic. The composer justified this choice thus: «To Leskov the woman is a murderer. I see her as a complex, tragic force of nature. She is a woman full of love, a deeply sensitive woman, in no way without feelings.» The result is a fascinating woman: strong and weak, affectionate and ambitious, sensitive and brutal, uncertain and unscrupulous, warm and cool, calculating and unpredictable. With the story of this dynamic woman, Shostakovich moves in the area between tragedy and comedy. The music is a blend of grotesque, beautiful, lyrical, dramatic, ironic and humorous – like a little scary laughter in the cold darkness.

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Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is a co-production with Deutsche Oper Berlin, and has its Berlin premiere on 25 January 2015.

Premiere discussion one week before the premiere / free introduction one hour before the performance

Original title : Ledi Makbet Mtsenskogo Uyezda
Music : Dmitri Shostakovich
Libretto : Alexander Preis and Dmitri Shostakovich
Conductor: Oleg Caetani
Direction : Ole Anders Tandberg
Choreographer: Jeanette Langert
Set design : Erlend Birkeland
Costumes : Maria Geber
Lighting design : Ellen Ruge
Cast: The Opera Chorus, The Opera Orchestra

CAST: Main roles

Svetlana_Sozdateleva3

Svetlana Sozdateleva

Svetlana Sozdateleva as

Katerina Lvovna Izmajlova

Svetlana Sozdateleva has been a leading soloist at Helikon Opera Moscow since 1999 and performed Katerina Izmailova in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Liza in The Queen of Spades, Maria in Mazeppa, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Abigaille in Nabucco, Emilia Marty in The Makropulos Case, Carmen, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des
Carmelites, Dvořák’s Rusalka, Stefanie in Giordano’s Siberia, and Isabella in Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot. She also sang Katerina in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Radio France Festival, Montpelier, Ravenna Festival 2003), Abigaille in Nabucco
(Dijon, Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg, Shalyap in Opera Festival Kazan, Russia, Eva Marton Festival Miskolc,Hungary), Renata in The Fiery Angel (La Monnaie Brussels, Komische Oper Berlin), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Glyndebourne Festival),
Isolde, cover and Kostelnička in Jenufa (both Glyndebourne), Tosca (Latvian National Opera Riga), Sieglinde in Die Walküre (Russian National Orchestra, Kent Nagano), Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony (Russian National Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder).Upcoming engagements include Renata in The Fiery Angel (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera (Helikon Opera Moscow), and Fevronia in The Legend of the invisible city of Kitezh (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona) among others. Sozdateleva is nominated for the award DER FAUST in 2014.

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Alexey Kosarev

Alexey Kosarev as Sergej

The Moscow born tenor Alexey Kosarev graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College.

He made his debut as Harlequin in Pagliacci in Helikon Opera Theatre in Moscow where he sang for 10 years main tenor parts such as Alfredo in La Traviata, Lykov in The Tsar’s Bride, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Duca in Rigoletto, Macduff in Macbeth, and Sergey in Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk District.

Other engagements include Sergey in Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk District (Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen, Staatsoper Hannover, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Theater Freiburg, Festival Internacional de Santander, and Festival de Radio France et Montpellier), Macduff in Macbeth and Manrico in Il Trovatore (Landestheater Detmold), Prince Vasiliy Golitsin in Khovanshchina (Deutsche Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar), Vodemon in Iolanta (Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen), Alfredo in La Traviata, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Cavaradossi in Tosca and Radames in Aida (Oldenburgisches Staatstheater), Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Oldenburgisches Staatstheater and Staatstheater Mainz), the title role in G. Kingsley & M. Kunze‘s Raoul (Theater Bremen), Herr Hermann in Hindemith’s Neues vom Tage (Landestheater Linz), Calaf in Turandot, Macduff in Macbeth, Prinz in Dvorak’s Rusalka, Radames in Aida, the title role in Don Carlo, Rodolfo in La bohème, Hans in The Bartered Bride, and Tambourmajor in Wozzeck (Freiburg), Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann (Freiburg and Theater Flensburg), Hermann in The Queen of Spades (St-Pölten Festspiele), Lykov in The Tsar’s Bride (Opernhaus Zürich), Husar in Mavra (Opéra National de Paris), and Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Rostropovich Festival Evian)

Recent and upcoming engagements are Boris in Katja Kabanova (Opéra de Dijon), Sergey in Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk District (Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern), and
Manrico in Il Trovatore (Landestheater Detmold), among others.

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Magne Fremmerlid

Magne Fremmerlid as

Boris Timofeevich Izmajlov

«Exceptional», «clear as ever» and «one of his finest performances ever» are just some phrases critics have used to describe Magne Fremmerlid in the past couple of years.

A member of the Norwegian National Opera soloist ensemble since 1997, Fremmerlid’s diverse repertoire includes roles as Scarpia in Tosca, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Colline in La Bohème, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Fafner in Das Rheingold, Hagen in Götterdämmerung, the Water Goblin in Rusalka, King Mark in Tristan und Isolde, Hermann in Tannhäuser, Stuart in Around the World in 80 Days and Time/Neptune in The Return of Ulysses to his Homeland. In September 2012 he gave a solo recital in the Second House with Boris Schäfer.

Fremmerlid’s stylistic range is extensive, including both the opera Querini on the island of Røst and the jazz opera Storkaren (The High Flyer) as part of the Fjord Cadenza Festival.

He is also a sought-after concert and oratorio singer, and has been a soloist a number of times with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.

Marius-Roth-Christensen-Gjestesolist

Marius Roth Christensen

Marius Roth Christensen as Zinovij Borisovich Izmajlov

Marius Roth Christensen has a versatile career. He first became known as the guitarist and vocalist of the rock band Seigmen. He later studied at Østlandet Music Conservatory and the National Academy of Operatic Art.

Roth Christensen made his debut at the Norwegian National Opera in 2006, in the role of Tamino in The Magic Flute. He has been a member of the soloist ensemble since 2013, and we have seen him in roles likelike Beppe in Pagliacci, Alfredo in La traviata, the White Minister in Le Grand Macabre and Der Steuermann in The Flying Dutchman.

His roles on opera stages around Norway include Rodolfo in La Bohème, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci, Bastien in Bastien und Bastienne and Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana. He has also sung in several musicals, including West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Carousel and Fiddler on the Roof. In 2012 he had his debut at the Lyric Opera Dublin in the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.

Earlier this year he sang Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni – a role he will do again this fall. In addition he will do Zinovij Borisovich Izmajlov in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Alfredo in La Traviata.

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Knut Skram

Knut Skram as Gammel tvangsarbeider

 

 

 

Other roles

Aksinja
Hege Høisæter

Lærer
Svein Erik Sagbråten

Politibetjent/formann
Per Andreas Tønder

Politikommissær
Jens-Erik Aasbø

Prest
Ketil Hugaas

Sersjant/gårdskar/fengselsvakt
Halvor Melien

Sonetka, tvangsarbeiderinne
Tone Kummervold

Tvangsarbeiderinne
Oksana Myronchuk

Ynkelig mann
Thor Inge Falch

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Andrzej Czajkowski’s THE MERCHANT OF VENICE in Poland

Posted on September 22, 2014 by editoreusa

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Sun 6:00pm October 26, 2014

Moniuszko Auditorium

The Grand Theatre – National Opera in Warsaw, Plac Teatralny 1, Warszawa, POLAND

polandlogo2THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Opera in three acts
Libretto: John O’Brien after William Shakespeare’s play

World premiere: Bregenzer Festspiele, Austria, 18/07/2013
Polish premiere: 24/10/2014
In the original English with Polish surtitles

Conductor: Lionel Friend
Director: Keith Warner
Set and Costume Designer: Ashley Martin-Davis
Choreography: Michael Barry
Lighting Designer: Davy Cunningham
Chorus Master: Bogdan Gola
Chorus Master of the children’s choir: Danuta Chmurska

Chorus and Orchestra of Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera,
Władysław Skoraczewski “Artos” Children’s Choir, extras

Co-production: Bregenzer Festspiele
Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Warsaw

Poster designed by Adam Żebrowski

Cast:

Jessica – Marisol Montalvo
Portia – Sarah Castle
Nerissa – Verena Gunz
Antonio – Christopher Robson
Bassanio – Charles Workman
Shylock – Lester Lynch
Lorenzo – Jason Bridges
Salerio – Adrian Clarke
Solanio – Rafał Pawnuk
Gratiano – Philip Smith
Duke of Venice – Dariusz Machej
Boy – Katarzyna Trylnik
Duke of Marocco – Gregory Lockett
Duke of Arragon/Freud – Juliusz Kubiak

His appearance in the piano firmament almost 60 years ago was compared with the exploding stardom of Glenn Gould. Claiming that the globe had at least 150 virtuosos better than him and only a few better composers, André Tchaikowsky was wrong in one thing: that such a numerous group played the piano better than he did. The score of The Merchant of Venice was written with an awareness of the existence of many musical languages. Probably the most important among them was Alban Berg’s style, but one can also sense an affinity with the sound world of Aribert Reimann’s operas. The Merchant of Venice delights with its brilliant musical dramaturgy and its characters; written in all seriousness, it can also surprise with a musical joke – for instance in the famous Shakespearian scene of choosing a bride which includes an ironic quotation of the fate motif from Tchaikovsky’s (Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s!) Symphony No. 4. The world premiere of The Merchant, delayed by over 30 years, directed brilliantly by Keith Warner (the pr sent show is a co-production with the Bregenz Festival), received the prestigious International Opera Award in April 2014. One could feel totally pleased about this if not for the fact that the projects defeated by Tchaikowsky included Paweł Szymański’s Qudsja Zaher staged by the Polish National Opera in 2013.

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Daphne in Bruxelles

Posted on September 14, 2014 by editoreusa

At the La Monnaie / De Munt Theater

In this Daphne – the ‘bucolic tragedy’ about the beautiful Daphne, who is loved both by the simple shepherd Leukippos and the god Apollo – director Guy Joosten sets the world of an ecologically-inspired ‘hipster’ on the fringes of the mainstream against a hard economic reality. Apollo kills his rival and leaves Daphne inconsolable, after which he immortalises her in the form of a laurel tree. Daphne’s sad story, as described by Ovid and given shape to by Bernini and Chassériau in the plastic arts, inspired Richard Strauss to write his thirteenth opera, which quite possibly contains his finest music. ‘ The metamorphosis of Daphne is set in a total union with the music, whereby the words become superfluous and Daphne becomes just a voice that resounds out of the moonlit treetop’ – this is how the librettist Joseph Gregor characterised the ultimate moment in the opera.

New production Production La Monnaie / De Munt With the support of Belfius

-Chantal-Anderson

Daphne: CAST

Music direction ¦ Lothar Koenigs
Director ¦ Guy Joosten
Set design ¦ Alfons Flores
Costumes ¦ Moritz Junge
Lighting ¦ Manfred Voss
Video ¦ Franc Aleu
Choreography ¦ Aline David
Chorus direction ¦ Martino Faggiani
Peneios ¦ Iain Paterson
Gaea ¦ Birgit Remmert
Daphne ¦ Sally Matthews
Leukippos ¦ Peter Lodahl
Apollo ¦ Eric Cutler
Erste Magd ¦ Tineke Van Ingelgem
Zweite Magd ¦ Maria Fiselier
Schäfer ¦ Matt Boehler
Gijs Van der Linden
Kris Belligh
Justin Hopkins

Orchestra & chorus ¦ La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra & Men’s Chorus

09, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 27 & 30 September

Sung in German
Surtitles in French / Dutch

Approximate running time: 1hour 45′ (no interval)

Pre-performance talks half an hour before the start of the performances by Jacqueline Guisset (in French) in the Grand Foyer and by Reinder Pols (in Dutch) in the Foyer Alechinsky.

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Remembering the Great Licia Albanese

Posted on September 13, 2014 by editoreusa

Written By: Linda Ann Lo Schiavo, as it appeared on L’Idea Magazine (NY), August 27. 2014

My father introduced me to Licia Albanese. I was wearing a bib and enjoying strained bananas, while he was savoring the strains of the glorious love duet from “La Boheme.”
“Licia Albanese is the world’s best soprano,” my Dad explained to me. He nudged my mother, hovering over my highchair. “Listen, honey, and you’ll hear Toscanini humming along!”
“Yes, dear,” agreed my multi-tasking Mom. “I’ve heard Jan Peerce sing with her before.”
Eventually, I learned that this prized performance, captured in 1946, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the world premiere of Puccini’s opera in Turin, led by Arturo Toscanini on February 1, 1896.
Thirteen years later, in July 1909, Felicia Albanese hit her first high C in Torre a Mare near Bari. The 25-year-old made her unofficial debut at Teatro Lirico, replacing a soprano in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” At that magnificent Milanese moment, did this newcomer suspect her voice would take her far, and that she would be in demand for years at Metropolitan Opera, top-billed on leading world stages, and sought after for studio albums? She rose to prominence between 1940 and 1966, appearing in a variety of operas with Jussi Bjorling, Tito Schipa, Franco Corelli, Beniamino Gigli, and Giacinto Prandelli.

Albanese2

Soprano Licia Albanese sang the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly 72 times at the Metropolitan Opera.

Soprano Licia Albanese sang the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly 72 times at the Metropolitan Opera.
Buying Met tickets or those extravagant sets of a complete opera with a libretto were beyond the budget of a municipal employee supporting a family and paying off a mortgage. But my father had two buddies who were opera buffs and bachelors, Augie and Larry. During their visits, they would regale us with the highlights of a live Met performance such as the one on February 15, 1958, when Licia Albanese reprised her role as Mimi, partnered by Carlo Bergonzi as Rodolfo, and conducted by Thomas Schippers.

Claudio Bergonzi

Claudio Bergonzi

Carlo Bergonzi [1924—2014] caught my attention when I learned that he had first trained as a baritone, but retrained as a tenor. By 1958, I was singing in a church choir, shamed by my miserable alto, aware that the prized solos only went to a soprano. I hoped that my weak voice could be upgraded ——like Bergonzi’s ——but my parents dismissed my pleas for coaching as totally ridiculous.
albanese4Taking pity on my LP-less Dad, Augie and Larry bought him “La Boheme,” reissued by RCA Victor. My father played it often, always on Sunday morning when my mother was at Mass and I was putting away my choir books and setting the table. Like Toscanini, he hummed along, especially when his prized nightingale had an aria. I heard Licia Albanese’s recording enough times to memorize the score.
At 17 years old, when I got my first fulltime job, I squirreled away a $5 bill each week and bought my father his second opera set: “Madama Butterfly” starring his idol as the doomed Geisha. In the course of 40 years, Licia would sing this role about 300 times.
To keep herself fresh, despite her frequently repeated performances, Licia had her own approach. During a 2004 interview with Allan Ulrich, music critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, she said, “I always changed every performance. I was never boring, and I am against copying. What I learned from the great singers was not to copy, but that the drama is in the music.”

Albanese3

When I moved to Greenwich Village, Licia followed me. Italian restaurants and the salumerias along Bleecker Street displayed her photo, outfitted in an elaborate kimono. Any time there was an interesting anecdote behind that autographed picture, I would share it with my father.
In 1974, the retired diva founded the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation to support young singers. In 1995, President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of Honor for the Arts. Encouraged by my friend Elsie Cardia to cover the Puccini Foundation’s aspiring singers, I did so, reporting on their annual concert for L’IDEA and others. During my first interview with this lifelong star, we had our picture taken together. When I mailed the article to my father, he was astounded. “She’s still active,” he marveled, “and she looks just the way I remembered.”
Her activities included teaching a master class. Grateful students and other admirers often sent gifts. One day Licia phoned her longtime friend Aldo Mancuso to tell him the Venice Opera House delivered a brick. “So what do I do with a BRICK?” According to him, it was cradled in a beautiful red-velvet case, wearing a bronze tag of authenticity, and is now on display in his Caruso Museum. He also acquired some of her exotic personal memorabilia.

About ten years ago, after Licia had accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Mancuso to a remembrance Mass for Enrico Caruso at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, she invited them to her apartment on East 72nd Street and Third Avenue. After trying on four different Cio-Cio-San costumes, Licia asked Aldo which was his favorite. He pointed to a gold-threaded kimono from a San Francisco Opera performance; she donated the complete ensemble (with headdress and shoes) to his Caruso Museum in Brooklyn, New York.
“Licia Albanese and I attended many events together,” recalled Mancuso, “because I was her ‘wheels’ for more than 20 years.” He explained that she didn’t like anyone to try to help her into or out of a car, priding herself on her capability and independence. “Wherever we went, she was the life of the party,” he recalled, “often joking, dancing, and breaking into song. She was used to late hours and I would gently remind her at 11 o’clock that my bed was calling me.” The last evening they spent together was in December 2013 at a holiday party for the Gerda-Lissner Foundation when Licia was 104. “On that occasion, I whispered in her ear that surely her bed was calling her.”
Licia Albanese died in her apartment on Friday, August 15, 2014, and her son, Joseph Gimma Jr. commented to the press, “My mom had a wonderful, wonderful life and great career.” She was 105.

Alfredo Vecchio, a frequent member of the audience at her performances, gave the following tribute to the career of Licia Albanese at New York City’s Columbus Club in 1986:
Like all great artists, Licia’s specific ingenuity as a singer, the originality of her art, lay in the fact that technique for this artist at least was always a means to an end and never an end in itself — — for the salient features of all great art is the ability to connect technique to the emotions. Any other approach would have been for Albanese contrary to the musical sense with which she was born, contrary to musical training she acquired, and, if such exists, contrary to her musical morality. It was this, Licia’s uniqueness and musical mastery which drew me, which drew us, into the world of Mimi, Cio-Cio-San, Manon, Liu, and Violetta, week after week, year after year, inviting me to a place and places I had never been before. It is for all these reasons that Virgil Thomson was able to write of Licia’s first Violetta: ‘She did not sing the role — — she recreated it for our times.’ As we all know, Albanese’s art is capable of the widest range of effects from the tragic to the comedic, from dramatic repertoire to the lyrical and even soubrette. And for anyone fortunate enough to have heard her rendition of operetta pieces, she leaves no doubt in the mind that she was born to the operetta form as well as to the rest.

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Opera fans around the world are grieving for the loss of famed soprano Licia Albanese, who died on August 15, 2014, at the age of 105, in her home in Manhattan.

Posted on September 9, 2014 by editoreusa

Licia-Albanese3-300x202Born Felicia Albanese in Torre a Mare near Bari, Italy, in 1909, she debuted in Milan in 1934, replacing another soprano in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. In forty years, she sang more than 300 performances of Cio-Cio-San, a role for which she became famous for.
Albanese made her Metropolitan Opera debut on February 9, 1940. She had an immediate success, and Albanese stayed at the Met for twenty-six seasons, singing at the same time at the San Francisco Opera. During her career, besides performing widely in recitals, concerts, and opera, she participated in benefits, entertained the troops, had her own weekly radio show, was a guest on other broadcasts and telecasts, and recorded frequently.
Her voice had a distinctive character which the Italians call a lirico spinto, marked by its quick vibrato, incisive diction, intensity of attack and unwavering emotional impact. albanese4During her career she performed with many of the contemporary greats of opera—Beniamino Gigli, Claudia Muzio, Jussi Björling, and Franco Corelli. She worked with some of the best conductors of her time, but it is her work with Toscanini that has endured.
In 1995, President Bill Clinton presented her with the National Medal of Honor for the Arts. She received awards and honorary degrees from Marymount Manhattan College, Montclair State Teachers College, Saint Peter’s College, New Jersey, Seton Hall University, University of South Florida, Fairfield University, Siena College, Caldwell College, and Fairleigh Dickinson University.
licia-albanese-4-211x300In 2000, Rudolph Giuliani presented her with the prestigious Handel Medallion, the highest official honor given by the City of New York to individuals for their contributions to the city’s cultural life.
Albanese was chairman of the The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, founded in 1974 and dedicated to assisting young artists and singers. She also served as a trustee of the Bagby Foundation. She worked with the Juilliard School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and Marymount Manhattan College, and conducted master classes throughout the world.
Licia Albanese, who was interview by our magazine a few years ago, was also present at many events within the Italian American and operatic communities.

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