Oberon's Grove

Karen Cargill ~ Song of the Wood Dove

Karen Cargill sings the Song of the Wood Dove from Arnold Schoenberg's GURRE-LIEDER at the BBC Proms. The concert, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, took place in August 2017.

Watch and listen here.

Marina Rebeka ~ Bel raggio lusinghier

Marina Rebeka sings "Bel reggio lusinghier" from Rossini's SEMIRAMIDE from a Rosenblatt Recital given in London in 2012. Giulio Zappa is the pianist.

Watch and listen here.

Nika Antuanette: HOLOGRAM

 

"The world is round, the screen is flat..." is perhaps the most evocative line in Jeremy Cone's soundtrack for dancer Nika Antuanette's short film, HOLOGRAM. This collaboration between these two artists produces the most imaginative video to come my way during the pandemic: HOLOGRAM is both wonderfully entertaining and truly timely.

 

The lavender holographic image of Nika Antuanette rises onto the blank, black screen; the actual Nika greets this image of herself with a wary smile, and the two Nikas find their common ground in dance. They pick up moves from one another, and dance in sync. Meanwhile, photos of places, people, and things - typical of the images that pervade the on-line world - flow across the screen at increasing speed.

 

The dancer and her double continue to dance, becoming competitive. The real Nika begins to look frazzled; her energy flags while her virtual counter-part remains fresh and glowing; the real Nika, no longer able to keep up, falls out of the frame as her holographic incarnation continues to blissfully execute perfect pirouettes.

 

The contrast between reality and the one-dimensional social media experiences in which so many of us spend our hours is thought-provoking, especially in these days of COVID isolation. But that is another topic altogether.

 

For now, Nika Antuanette and Jeremy Cove's HOLOGRAM is very much worth watching. Check it out in YouTube here.

My First TANNHAUSER ~ 1978 @ The Met

Above: Richard Cassilly as Tannhauser and Tatiana Troyanos as Venus

I saw Wagner's TANNHAUSER for the first time in 1978 in The Met's classic Otto Schenk/Gunter Schneider-Siemssen production, conducted by James Levine. Here's what I wrote in my opera diary the morning after:

"TANNHAUSER - first time - great!! Really a superb production (equal to the LOHENGRIN, but the opera is less exciting...) The sets, costumes, direction, and choral work were all excellent. Levine had some bombastic moments, and some places where he covered the singers, but his pacing was excellent and the orchestra played beautifully.

Kathleen Battle was the very fine Shepherd - she sounds a bit like Reri Grist, which is a huge compliment. Vern Shinall made an exceptional impression as Biterolf, and Richard Kness (most likely the cover for the title-role) sang powerfully as Walther.

Kurt Moll, repeating his Met debut role as the Landgraf, brought his warm, velvety bass to the music - a great pleasure to hear his clear and steady tones, wonderfully resonant in the deep notes.

Bernd Weikl as Wolfram (above) looked as handsome as he sounded. His voice is lyrical, and he projected superbly in the big hall. An outstanding performance! This was my first time hearing Weikl, and he immediately became a favorite. 

As Elisabeth, Teresa Zylis-Gara (above) began with an exciting "Dich teure halle", followed immediately by her thrilling singing in the duet with Tannhauser, wherein she conveyed subtle emotional changes convincingly. Zylis-Gara's portrayal of the saintly woman as she searched desperately among the pilgrims for her beloved, and her subsequent downcast expression, were extremely poignant. She sang the Prayer with haunting expressiveness, and then walked slowly and sadly up the hill to her fate. It's great to have Zylis-Gara moving into heavier German repertoire - the voice is satiny and strong; I would love to hear her as Elsa, Ariadne, Chrysothemis and, eventually, as Sieglinde.

Richard Cassilly was a powerful, committed Tannhauser. His voice is not tonally beautiful, but he makes great use of it. The role is vocally grueling, almost sadistic in its demands. Cassilly was able to summon great reserves of sound, but he could also be subtle at need. He not only sang tirelessly, but made the character come vividly to life. His manic joy as he described the Venusberg to the stunned court, and later his crushed, agonized acting as a returning pilgrim were particularly well brought off. Cassilly's potent rendering of the Rome Narrative, with his mocking of the Pope's voice, was superb. He really deserved the huge ovation...bravo! 

Tatiana Troyanos was electrifying as Venus, possibly her best role. She looked absolutely gorgeous, and her portrayal abounded in sensuous allure. Her wrath when she rejected Tannhauser was so intense, and her brief appearance in the opera's final scene was simply spectacular. Her vocalism, which could smoulder alluringly one moment and blaze forth the next, was stunning. Troyanos was a stand-out in an outstanding cast.

There were tumultuous ovations during the curtain calls, with the singers basking in the audience's vociferous praise at the end of this glorious performance."

~ Oberon

Avi Avital ~ Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto in C-major

Avi Avital plays Antonio Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto in C-major at the 8th Osaka International Mandolin Festival.

Watch and listen here.

Luciana Serra in I PURITANI

Luciana Serra (above) is Elvira, with Gregory Kunde, Adib Fazah, Pierre Charbonneau, Renato Capecchi, Robert Tate, and Gabrielle Lavigne in a performance of Bellini's I PURITANI from Montreal in 1987. Elio Boncompagni conducts.

Watch and listen here.

Verdi REQUIEM ~ Verona 1980

A performance of the Verdi REQUIEM from the Arena di Verona, 1980. Riccardo Muti conducts.

Watch and listen here.

It's a rather murky video, but the singing is superb. The soloists are Montserrat Caballé, Brigitte Fassbaender, Veriano Luchetti, and Ruggero Raimondi.

ELEKTRA: Robert Carsen's Production ~ Paris 2013

Above: Iréne Theorin as Elektra, borne aloft by the maids

I came upon this video of Robert Carsen's 2013 production of Strauss's ELEKTRA for the Bastille, Paris, by chance. Despite an odd acoustic (which you'll get used to) and the annoying watermark that cuts across the screen, it's incredibly powerful both musically and visually.

Here is a link to watch it on YouTube. I wish it would be released on DVD.

~ Oberon

Let There Be Peace On Earth

The SUNY Oswego Virtual Choir performing Let There Be Peace On Earth.

Watch and listen here.

Cheryl Studer & Luciana D'Intino ~ AIDA Duet

Cheryl Studer and Luciana D'Intino sing the confrontation duet from Act II of Verdi's AIDA from a 1994 performance at London's Covent Garden.

Watch and listen here.