Oberon's Grove

Cheryl Studer ~ “Dich, teure Halle”

Soprano Cheryl Studer sings “Dich, teure Halle” from Wagner's TANNHÄUSER in a televised concert from Munich in 1988. Leopold Hager conducts.

Watch and listen here.

Verdi REQUIEM ~ Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería

A 2019 performance of the Verdi REQUIEM by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería. The soloists are Joyce El-Khoury, soprano; Susan Platts, mezzo-soprano; Kang Wang, tenor; and Kevin Deas, bass. The conductor is
Carlos Miguel Prieto.

Watch and listen here.

Discoveries

Things I found on YouTube by chance during the pandemic:

Cesare Bardelli sings the Prologo from PAGLIACCI at the Philadelphia Academy of Music in 1949. Listen here.

Eliane Coehlo sings Isolde's Narrative and Curse from TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, recorded in March 2011. Watch and listen here.

Doris Jung (above) and Mario Zanasi in the duet "Fatal mia donna" from Verdi's MACBETH from a performance at Catania in 1969. Listen here.

Monte Pederson (above) is Jochanaan with Mara Zampieri as Salome and Richard Brunner as Narraboth in a scene from SALOME from the Vienna State Opera,1991. Peter Schneider conducts. Watch and listen here.

Contralto Ortrun Wenkel, famed for her portrayal of Erda in the Boulez/Chéreau Bayreuth RING Cycle, sings "Ombra mai fu" from Handel's SERSE with Philip  Moll at the piano in a televised program. Watch and listen here.

In a recording from 1929, the Dutch soprano Elisabeth Ohms sings the Liebestod from TRISTAN UND ISOLDE. There is a slight cut; her singing is quite lyrical. Listen here. 

Tenor Seungju Mario Bahg sings the poignant aria "Angelo casto e bel" from Donizetti's IL DUCA D'ALBA at the 2019 Operalia Competition. Placido Domingo conducts. Watch and listen here.

Irmgard Seefried sings Richard Strauss's "Zueignung" from a televised concert in 1965. Watch and listen here.

James Levine Has Passed Away

It was sad to read of the death of Maestro James Levine at the age of 77. I attended his Met debut in 1971, and - by coincidence - his final Met performance in 2017. During the intervening years, his conducting of MEISTERSINGER, the RING Cycle, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, ELEKTRA, OTELLO, WOZZECK, and MOSES UND ARON gave me some of my most wonderful musical memories.

James Levine transformed the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra from a really good pit band into a world-class ensemble. Instilling the musicians with pride in their artistry, he brought them to Carnegie Hall and to international stages in Europe and Asia to show them off in symphonic music they would not otherwise have played.

Levine was also a superb pianist; he often joined his favorite singers in recital programs. One such event, at Alice Tully Hall in 1985, found the Maestro at the Steinway in collaboration with the beloved soprano Elisabeth Söderström. The entire afternoon was vastly pleasing, and in Schubert's Gretchen am spinnrade, they went beyond music and words, plumbing the depths of the character's desperation.

There are countless Levine videos and recordings I could include here, but there are two that are of special significance to me. First is a brief 1987 film of the Maestro coaching Jessye Norman in Ariadne's music, and working with the cast in the theatre. They were preparing for a run of performances that culminated in the incredible international Met telecast of this - my favorite opera - in March 1988. Aside from Jessye, we see glimpses of Kathleen Battle, Tatiana Troyanos, Hermann Prey, Dawn Upshaw, Myra Merritt, Gweneth Bean, Anthony Laciura, Allan Glassman, James Courtney, Charles Anthony, Artur Korn, and the late, lovely baritone Stephen Dickson. It's a real Met affair. Watch and listen here.

Then we have the ROSENKAVALIER trio, as performed by Ms. Söderström, Ms. Battle, and Frederica von Stade at the 1983 Met 100th Anniversary Gala. Levine's obvious affection for both the music and the singers is very moving for me; I was at this concert and the atmosphere was palpable. Watch and listen here.

Today, watching these film clips and recalling all the magic that occurred at The Met between 1971 and 2017, while Levine was the presiding musical force, I can't help but think that a great era has passed. And I wonder if that magic can ever be re-captured.

Be at peace now, Maestro. I hope you and Jessye and Tatiana are making music together again.

Artur Rucinski @ The Teatro Real

The Polish baritone Artur Ruciński sings "Eri tu" from Verdi's UN BALLO IN MASCHERA from a performance at the Teatro Real, Madrid, in September 2020.

Watch and listen here.

Marina Krilovici & Ludovic Spiess ~ OTELLO Duet

The love duet from Act I of Verdi's OTELLO sung by Marina Krilovici and Ludovic Spiess.

Watch and listen here.

SALOME ~ Dresden 2005

Above: Evelyn Herlitzius as Salome and Alan Titus as Jochanaan

Bizarre production, but an interesting cast:

Salome: Evelyn Herlitzius;  Jochanaan: Alan Titus;  Herod: Wolfgang Schmidt;  Herodias: Dagmar Peckova; Narraboth: Martin Homrich;  Page: Anke Vondung; 1st Nazarene: Geiorg Zeppemfeld;  2nd Nazarene: Woo Kyung Kim. 

Conductor: Kent Nagano

Watch and listen here.

Carol Neblett ~ Depuis le jour

Carol Neblett - Depuis le jour ~ LOUISE -1971

It's Been A Year Now

Friday March 12, 2021 - Today we mark the one year point since life as we know it in New York City ground to a halt.

On March 11th, 2020, my friend Roberto Villanueva and I attended a performance by Scottish Ballet at The Joyce. While dire predictions of the spread of the Covid-19 virus were swirling about, we didn't know how rapidly and completely things were about to change.

On March 12th, 2020, the performing arts in Gotham began closing down...at first it was "for two weeks" or "until mid-April", but it soon became clear that it would be nearly impossible to put on an opera, a concert, or a ballet under these conditions. The people who handle press requests for The Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society, The Joyce, and Carnegie Hall were at first hopeful that the season would be able to resume. All too soon, those hopes evaporated.

And now we have lived thru a year without the consolation of great music and dance being performed live, before audiences of fellow humans starved for beauty and hope.

I look back wistfully on those four March dates in 2020 when, by sheer chance, each of the art forms most dear to me were represented on succeeding nights: chamber music, opera, symphony, and dance. Now, I wonder if things will ever truly return to normal.

~ Oberon 

Klara Wośkowiak ~ Rameau's L'Egyptienne

Harpist Klara Wośkowiak plays Jean-Philippe Rameau's L'Egyptienne. 

Watch and listen here.