Oberon's Grove

Porpora: Alto Giove ~ Meili Li/Shanghai Camerata

Countertenor Meili Li sings Porpora's 'Alto Giove' with the Shanghai Camerata at a concert given in 2019.

Watch and listen here.

Alessandro Tardino ~ CINDERELLA Waltz

Pianist Alessandro Tardino plays the waltz of Cinderella and the Prince from Prokofiev's ballet CINDERELLA.

Watch and listen here.

Deborah Polaski ~ Die stille Lotosblume

Deborah Polaski sings Clara Schumann's Die stille Lotosblume from a recital with pianist Charles Spencer.

Watch and listen here.

Giuseppe Giacomini Has Passed Away

The great Italian tenor Giuseppe Giacomini has passed away at the age of 80.

Giacomini made his operatic debut in 1966 at Vercelli as Pinkerton. and was soon singing throughout Italy. His international career commenced at Berlin in 1970, which led to engagements at Lisbon, Barcelona, Munich, and in Vienna, where he received the title Kammersänger.

He triumphed at La Scala, in Turin, and in Rome, and made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1976, with debuts at Paris and Covent Garden following soon after.

Giacomini is featured on the Metropolitan Opera's DVD of LA FORZA DEL DESTINO with Leontyne Price, and on commercial recordings as Turiddu (opposite Jessye Norman), Pollione (with Renata Scotto), Otello (with Dame Margaret Price), and he is Cavaradossi on the Muti TOSCA with Carol Vaness.

The tenor celebrated his 60th birthday singing in TOSCA at Covent Garden, and in 2010 he toured China with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra.

I first saw Giuseppe Giacomini onstage (his US debut) at The Bushnell in Hartford, where he appeared in an exciting FANCIULLA DEL WEST opposite Radmila Bakočević in 1975. At the 1987 Richard Tucker Gala, Giacomini brought down the house twice with his singing of the final scene of ANDREA CHENIER with Eva Marton, and with his powerhouse performance as Otello in the Act II duet with Sherrill Milnes; during the applause that followed, Mr. Milnes bestowed a comradely kiss on the tenor's cheek. Watch and listen here.

On December 10th, 1988, Giacomini gave a thrilling performance as Canio in PAGLIACCI at a Met matinee. The tenor - along with Diana Soviero (Nedda) and Juan Pons (Tonio) - was simply on fire, his top notes blazing into the hall. During the bows, a crowd gathered at the orchestra railing - like in the old days - to scream their heads off for the singers. I was so elated to be part of it. 

As it turned out, that PAGLIACCI was Giuseppe Giacomini's last Met performance.

Giuseppe Giacomini - Un tal gioco - PAGLIACCI - Met bcast 1988

There's lots of Giacomini to be found on YouTube; here are a few of my favorite things:

Giuseppe Giacomini sings Calaf's aria "Non piangere Liu" from TURANDOT from a Paris Opera production in 1981. Watch and listen here.

The tenor sings the Improviso from ANDREA CHENIER here...

...and Calaf's "Nessun dorma" from a 1989 Moscow concert here...with an encore!

And here's Giacomini as Radames...

Giuseppe Giacomini ~ Celeste Aida ~ Chicago 1988

...and in the final duet from ANDREA CHENIER, with Ghena Dimitrova:

ANDREA CHENIER ~ final duet - Ghena Dimitrova & Giuseppe Giacomini

Lusitano ~ Regina Coeli

The Choir of Somerville College, Oxford, directed by Will Dawes, perform a setting of the Regina coeli by the Portuguese composer Vicente Lusitano.

Watch and listen here.