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Messages - Il Grande Inquisitor

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1
Broadcast and Recorded Music / Re: BBC Music Mag, June 2013
« on: May 16, 2013, 09:19:25 pm »
Quote from: Stanley Stewart on May 16, 2013, 08:57:53 pm
I was still London based when Hvorostovsky won the prize, in 1989, v Bryn Terfel and shrewd Bill Lyne, managing the Wigmore Hall at the time, instantly booked him to appear within days of getting the prize.   Absolutely preening with confidence, he managed to enrage the management asst at the Wiggie, as after the interval, he insisted that she came on-stage to inform us that Mr Hvorostovsky was ready to resume the recital.   But how he could deliver!   ;D

Hvorostovsky's London recitals have been special occasions ever since (and usually attended by swathes of lavishly attired Russians, especially at the QEH!).

2
Broadcast and Recorded Music / Re: BBC Music Mag, June 2013
« on: May 16, 2013, 08:53:01 pm »
That is quite enticing, Stanley. It's quite remarkable how many top flight singers have emerged through the Cardiff Singer competition - Karita Mattila, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Anja Harteros all leading singers commanding huge respect on the world's operatic stages, and Ekaterina Scherbachenko - for my money - almost ready to do the same. I haven't heard anything of Valentina Nafornita since her 2011 victory, but I see that she's regularly employed at the Wiener Staatsoper, which isn't a bad way to build your career...

Quote from: Stanley Stewart on May 16, 2013, 04:27:39 pm
The 2013 season, 16-23 June at Cardiff, will also be broadcast, times tbc, on BBC 4, R3, BBC 2 Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio Wales, S4C.   

Looking forward to this (and interviewing one of the participants next week).

3
Theatre / Re: Othello - National Theatre
« on: May 05, 2013, 09:45:40 pm »
Thank you for this report, George. All the reviews I've seen so far have been equally positive, so this is a must-see.

Quote from: HtoHe on May 05, 2013, 08:57:15 pm
And there's  a dozen or so days with two performances.  That must take some stamina.

Indeed. I've booked a matinee performance before heading to the Linbury for The Importance of being Earnest, which should prove quite a contrast.

4
Broadcast and Recorded Music / Re: Una furtiva lagrima on In Tune 22-4-13
« on: April 25, 2013, 07:25:40 am »
The conductor is Daniel Oren and it's on Flórez's 'Bel Canto Spectacular' disc. It is the alternative version of Donizetti's aria, written by the composer, and has also been sung by Roberto Alagna on his (second) recording of the opera.

When you're so used to hearing the usual version, it does bring you up with a jolt - a bit like the 'original' version of the Pearl Fishers' duet when it suddenly diverts into the jolly 3/4 "Amitié sainte" instead of the reprise of "Au fond du temple saint".

5
The Opera House / Re: Grimes on the Beach
« on: April 24, 2013, 04:36:00 pm »
Quote from: George Garnett on April 24, 2013, 02:01:32 pm
Will you be there in your oilskins reviewing it, IGI?

I will indeed. Had confirmation of press tickets yesterday and have booked into a B&B not too far away from Aldeburgh, to return home the next day via the Royal Opera House for the first night of their new production of Gloriana - a mini Britten-fest.

6
The Opera House / Grimes on the Beach
« on: April 24, 2013, 10:30:08 am »
No, not a strange fusion between Britten and Glass, but performances of Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh beach in June. I gather the orchestral contributions are being recorded the previous week at Snape (when three concert performances are also planned) and the singers radio-miked on the night. For sheer atmosphere, I think it's going to be quite an event!

http://www.aldeburgh.co.uk/events/grimes-beach

Anyone else planning to venture across to Suffolk for this?

7
The Coffee Bar / Re: Happy Birthday
« on: April 13, 2013, 11:24:20 am »
Have a wonderful birthday, Don Basilio!  :gent:






8
The Opera House / Re: Opera Reviews
« on: April 07, 2013, 11:23:12 pm »
I see Don B went to Nabucco at the ROH and was wowed by Liudmyla Monastyrska (or Loudmyla, as she's referred to in some circles).

My thoughts: http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=897:nabucco-royal-opera-30th-march-2013-&catid=8:opera-reviews&Itemid=16

9
The Coffee Bar / Re: What has made you smile today?
« on: April 07, 2013, 11:21:24 pm »
Quote from: perfect wagnerite on April 05, 2013, 07:43:56 pm
Curiously enough, given his form, there is a Puccini opera in which nobody dies: La fanciulla del West.  Not a comic opera, certainly (not intentionally anyway) but not really a tragedy either.

Nobody dies in La rondine either and it's certainly not a comedy, but a 'bittersweet' plot.

(Has this thread turned into the Opera Quiz?)

10
News and Current Affairs / Re: Today's Barking News Story
« on: March 31, 2013, 03:05:28 pm »
Here's a curious/ bizarre story about Richard Tognetti's violin damaged in a shark attack:

http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Article/338257,tognettis-violin-damaged-in-shark-attack.aspx

 ;)

11
Television / Re: "Eugene Onegin", ROH, BBC 4
« on: March 18, 2013, 04:19:11 pm »
Excellent news, Stanley. I'd assumed we were due a much longer wait for a television broadcast.

12
The Opera House / Re: Opera Reviews
« on: March 18, 2013, 11:39:23 am »
For all you Wagnerites out there (perfect or otherwise), there are fairies at the bottom of Richard's garden:

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=886:die-feen-chelsea-opera-group-17th-march-2013-&catid=10:concert-and-recital-reviews&Itemid=16

13
The Coffee Bar / Re: Musical Connections IV...The Cardinal's Revenge
« on: March 04, 2013, 06:19:02 pm »
Quote from: Chafing Dish on March 04, 2013, 12:50:20 am
This will probably be solved in record time:


Doubtful... afraid I only just spotted this, Chafers.

I really want to say Undine/ Ondine, but can't find a Schumann link as yet...

14
The Coffee Bar / Re: Musical Connections IV...The Cardinal's Revenge
« on: March 03, 2013, 10:06:33 pm »
Quote from: perfect wagnerite on March 03, 2013, 09:16:48 pm
The Lalo was a bit of a punt - I recall reading reviews of a performance by Bloomsbury Opera (which in my advancing years  :oldie: I still think of as University College Opera) a year or so ago which said that it was a work that was worth more than the occasional outing.

They still go by the name UC Opera, performing at the Bloomsbury Theatre. I'm seeing I Lombardi there later this month.

15
The Coffee Bar / Re: Musical Connections IV...The Cardinal's Revenge
« on: March 03, 2013, 07:16:54 pm »
Correct, PW. Have some :bubbly: to share with Chafers!

I didn't know Tchaikovsky had set Schiller's Ode to Joy. I had The Maid of Orleans in mind.

The reason for setting the puzzle was the discovery of Lalo's Fiesque, which I have just received for review for IRR (and is spinning now). I had wondered if it would be a Boccanegra sequel, but is set two centuries later about the conspiracy in 1547.

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