MANNHEIM - One of the world’s most eminent conductors at the head of his own first class orchestra, in a hall with near perfect acoustics, what more can a classical music lover want?
All three conditions were met at the May 12, 2007 concert of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by its music director Lorin Maazel on tour at the Rosengarten Hall in
VALENCIA – Few new opera houses would dare tackle Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungen their first season. But Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia has already shown a tendency to rush in where others fear to tread — with astoundingly good results. So now it’s taken on the grandest and most complex undertaking of the opera world. The new Ring is a co-production with the Maggio Musicale in Florence, which undoubtedly defrays some of the huge costs. (more…)
For Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera “Così fan tutte” the opening scene shows a stark, three-sided paper-walled room decorated with an abstract seascape. Ferrando and Guglielmo, in preppy T-Shirts and tailored suits, play ball with a Don Alfonso barely older than they are. The ball presages more games to come – life is just a game and real emotions are still an undiscovered psychological realm, at least until the second act. The bet that they strike is an expression of their youthful curiosity. No one really expects anyone to get hurt, self-confidence reigns sublime.
April 19, 2007 DRESDEN — A series of performances in April 2007 of Jake Heggie’s opera Dead man walking, libretto by Terence McNally, this time conducted by the American Stefan Lano, was the excuse for a quick trip to the “Florence of Germany” – Dresden.
After its world premiere in October 2000 at the San Francisco Opera, this opera has been successfully taken up by several theaters. In 2006-2007 alone, it will be played more than 50 times, including the Klangbogen Festival in Vienna (October 2007) and has recently had its Scandinavian premiere in Malmö, Sweden. Based on the true story of Sister Helen Prejean, it tells the story of her initial pen pal contact to the prisoner Joseph de Rocher, convicted of two murders and awaiting his death sentence. She agrees to accompany him on this last stage of his life. A friendship develops between them, whereby Sister Prejean keeps insisting “admitting the truth in life will set you free”. In the end, de Rocher does admit, as much to himself as to others, that he is guilty, that he did commit the murders and asks for forgiveness. (more…)
Zypressen Handschrift Dvorak - Courtesy of National Museum Prague
23/04/07
LUDWIGSHAVEN — Antonin Dvorak was only 24-years old when he wrote his Lieder Cycle “Cyprise” – or “Cypress Trees.” The impoverished young Czech musician in was in love with Josefina Cermakova – an unrequited love that the young actress did not return.
He chose 18 poems from a collection called “Cypresses “ by Gustav Pfleger-Moravsky and set them to music. Although Dvorak returned to the cycle 20 years later and made substantial changes to the songs, the lieder in their original form, were neither published nor publicly performed until now. The premiere was in Ludwigshaven, Germany on April 22. (more…)
