Oberon's Grove

Elīna Garanča @ the 2011 Vienna Opera Ball

The Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča sings at the 2011 Vienna Opera Ball.

Watch and listen here.

Trudeleise Schmidt as La Musica

Trudeleise Schmidt is La Musica in the prologue to Monteverdi's L'ORFEO.

Watch and listen here.

Tebaldi/Poggi/Guelfi ~ TOSCA

Renata Tebaldi (above), Gianni Poggi, and Giangiacomo Guelfi star in a televised performance of TOSCA from Tokyo 1961. Arturo Basile conducts. 

Watch and listen here.

Handel ~ Sarabande in D-minor

Handel's Sarabande in D-minor performed by Rodion Zamuruev (violin) and the Mobilis Ensemble; recorded at the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in May 2015.

Watch and listen here.

Waltz of the Snowflakes

Post:ballet presents a 'Waltz of the Snowflakes' from Tchaikovsky's THE NUTCRACKER for the time of the pandemic.

Watch and listen here.

This performance really gave me a lift during this unusual holiday season. I was especially happy to see Landes Dixon dancing; I met him a few years ago when he danced with Steps Repertory Company, and again when he danced with Michele Wiles/Ballet Next.

Credits:

Choreography by Robert Dekkers
Cinematography/editing by Ben Tarquin
Performed by Post:ballet dance artists Cora Cliburn, Landes Dixon, Emily Hansel, Caitlin Hicks, Jenna Marie
With Berkeley Ballet Theater dance artists Mai Corkins, Cameron Heanue, Elizabeth Inami, Monique Jonath, Nina Owen, Frances Pine-Rinella
Produced by Lance Hepler
Costumes courtesy Berkeley Ballet Theater and Post:ballet
Special thanks to Marge Funabiki
Filmed in Alameda, CA following corresponding state and municipal COVID-19 Safety Guidelines for Media Production
Presented by Post:ballet and Berkeley Ballet Theater

Merry Christmas to all!

Christopher Lowrey ~ Ombra Mai Fu

Counter-tenor Christopher Lowrey and Voices of Music perform "Ombra mai fu" from Handel's SERSE.

Watch and listen here.

Beethoven's Christening Day

Apparently, the actual date of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth has never been ascertained. As he was baptized on December 17th, 1770, at Bonn, it is assumed that he was born the previous day.

So let's celebrate the anniversary of his christening with a performance of my favorite among his symphonies: the 4th, performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, conducted by the beloved Dutch maestro Bernard Haitink. Watch and listen here.

Earlier this year, my fellow writer Ben Weaver put together this extended article in which he discusses the various recordings of Beethoven's nine symphonies.

On this day, also, I am recalling a sensational performance of the composer's violin concerto given by Augustin Hadelich with the Orchestra of Saint Luke's at Carnegie Hall in December 2017. Read about it here.

Mr. Hadelich plays Beethoven's Romance for violin and orchestra op. 50 in F-Major at a concert given in December 2010 at Saarbrücken, Germany. Watch and listen here.

And from Beethoven's only opera, FIDELIO, listen to soprano Elizabeth Connell singing Leonore's dramatic aria, 'Absheulicher!':

Abscheulicher! - FIDELIO - Elizabeth Connell - Met bcast 2~16~91

Brahms Viola Songs ~ Kožená/Grosz/Rattle

Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená (above), violist Amihai Grosz, and pianist Sir Simon Rattle perform Johannes Brahms' Zwei Gesänge für eine Altstimme, Viola, und Klavier for Arte TV's Hope@Home series, in April, 2020.

Watch and listen here.

Lise Davidsen ~ Du bist der Lenz

Soprano Lise Davidsen sings Sieglinde's "Du bist der Lenz" from Act I of DIE WALKURE, from a concert given by the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in 2019.

Watch and listen here.

In December 2019, my friend Adi and I met Ms. Davidsen after a performance of Tchaikovsky's QUEEN OF SPADES at The Met.

Lisette Oropesa @ La Scala ~ 2020

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Teatro alla Scala to abandon their planned opening night performance of a new production of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR with Lisette Oropesa in the title-role, the theatre instead honored their traditional opening date - December 7th, the Feast of Saint Ambrose - with a televised gala featuring a number of prominent singers performing arias pre-filmed on the Scala stage, without an audience.

Lisette, wearing an Armani gown, sang Lucia's Act I aria. Watch and listen here.

The Cuban-American soprano is currently in Barcelona for performances of Verdi's LA TRAVIATA.