This week on Rhode Island Public television,
WSBE: (Comcast 294, Cox 808, Full Channel 109, and Verizon 478)
MANON
~ALL LINKS ARE LIVE~
 |
| ANNA NETREBKO is |
Saturday, May 3 -- 8:00pm; Sunday, May 4 -- 3:00am; Monday, May 5 -- 12:00am
MANON
Anna Netrebko's dazzling portrayal of Massenet's
tragic heroine in Laurent Pelly's new production travels to the Met from the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Piotr Beczala and Paulo Szot also star, with
the Met's principal guest conductor Fabio Luisi on the podium.
DURATION: 180 MIN
DETAILS: [CC] [STEREO]
GENRE: PARENTS PICKS
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OPERA ON THE INTERNET
WITH
DAVE D' AGUANNO
This coming Saturday (May 3), most
opera stations on the internet will be broadcasting the LIVE performance from
the Met of Bellini's "I Puritani" which features an outstanding cast,
including tenor Lawrence Brownlee as Arturo. In recent performances of this
role, Brownlee has actually taken the (optional) high F in the ensemble in the
final scene of the opera (N.B. all you High-Note Fanatics).
Another popular Bellini opera can be heard on
Saturday when the Belgian station Klara brings us a performance from
Barcelona of his slightly earlier "La Sonnambula." This time around,
it's tenor Juan Diego Florez who will be "scaling the heights" of his
role, as he did a few years back in the Met's HD-transmission of this same
opera.
French Radio, on the other hand, has a rather
special treat in store for those who enjoy operas written in the 17th century,
as Francesco Cavalli's 1659 opera "Elena" can be heard in a
performance from Lille that took place on April 14 of this year. While many of
Cavalli's operas are presumed "lost" for all posterity,
"Elena" was actually re-discovered, giving us an opportunity to hear
a work that hadn't been performed anywhere in the world for the last 3
centuries!
LIVE from Stockholm, Swedish Radio will be
broadcasting a performance of Wagner's "Tannhauser."
Finally, as we move all the way into the 20th
century, Bohuslav Martinu's "Mirandolina" (written in 1953/54) will
be broadcast on German Radio, the performance itself having taken place in
Giessen on March 30, 2014.
The video of "Au Monde" -- the new opera by Philippe Boesmans -- is available for viewing here:
No English subtitles, but you can choose French or Dutch subtitles if you wish.
(Courtesy of La Monnaie in Brussels)
Enjoy!
DAVE
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COMING in Met HD on May 10, 2014
Joyce Di Donato, the Yankee Diva, in
LA CENERENTOLA
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COMING SOON!
THIS WEEK!!
Rhode Island Civic Chorale Chamber Choir:
Intimate Songs of the Heart
Sunday, May 4, 2014 7:00 PM, First Baptist Church in America: 75 North Main Street Providence, RI 02903
Featuring the music of Bolcom, Brahms and Lauridsen
Tickets are $12 at the door. Call (401) 521-5670 to reserve.
Note: tickets will not be sold for the Sunday May 4, 2014 concert.
A free will offering will be taken.
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ELIJAH
Felix Mendelssohn’s Masterpiece
Dear Friends,
Please join us on Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 7:30 PM for our next concert at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul, Providence. We invite you to hear our presentation of Felix Mendelssohn’s masterpiece, Elijah, featuring our chorus, orchestra, four distinguished, internationally acclaimed soloists and members of the Chorus of the Community College of RI, Dr. Joseph Amante, Conductor. Completed in 1846, one year before his untimely death, Mendelssohn had begun work on the oratorio ten years earlier, but it might never have been written except for the close ties he had with the English musical community. He established that relationship in 1829 when, at the age of 20, he visited London as both pianist and composer. The success of his St. Paul, in 1836, prompted Mendelssohn to contemplate another oratorio. In 1845, the director of the Birmingham Music Festival proposed that Mendelssohn write a new oratorio for presentation the following year. Large choral works such as oratorios were staples at the festival. He went to England himself to conduct the work, presented in a quickly written English translation (later revised). The performance provided one of the great triumphs of his career and ensured Elijah’s position as one of the great oratorios of the 19th century. Elijah has no unbroken narrative thread but is, rather, a series of tableaux depicting scenes from the prophet’s life interspersed with prayers or prayer-like meditations. Mendelssohn described the process this way, “With a subject such as Elijah, the dramatic must predominate…and the contemplative, moving aspect…must be conveyed through the words and moods of the characters.” Dramatic scenes, such as God’s appearance to the prophet, provide many of the musical highpoints, and the opportunity to set these events to music was what most attracted Mendelssohn to the subject of Elijah. I will, in future notes leading up to our performance on May 17, comment on various aspects of Mendelssohn’s great oratorio and his religious beliefs, as well as include short bios of our wonderful solo artists: Diana McVey, Soprano; Teresa Buchholz, Mezzo-soprano; Kirk Dougherty, Tenor and Stephen Bryant, Bass-baritone, who portrays the title role.
Stephen Bryant, Elijah
My association with my good friend and colleague, Stephen Bryant, goes back to our graduate school days at the University of Michigan. Since then, Stephen has gone on to have a stellar career as a performer here and abroad and a much sought-after voice teacher. His distinguished career in opera Stephen Bryanthas taken him around the world, with acclaimed performances in the US, Europe and Asia. He has sung with the New York City Opera and the Santa Fe Opera, and with orchestras such as the New York and Japan Philharmonics. He was nominated for a Grammy® in 2009 for "Best Opera Recording" in Tan Dun's Marco Polo. He has performed roles such as Colline in La Bohème, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Figaro in La Nozze di Figaro. Recent concert appearances include Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with the Indianapolis Symphony and Pittsburgh Symphony; Mozart’s Requiem with Princeton Pro Musica; and Verdi’s Requiem with the Washington National Opera Orchestra under the auspices of the Defiant Requiem Foundation.
On the opera stage he has appeared in numerous roles with New York City Opera, most recently in productions of A Quiet Place and Intermezzo during the 2010-11 Season. Other opera performances include Mr. Gobineau in The Medium at the Spoleto Festival USA; Robert Gonzales in Stewart Wallace’s Harvey Milk and the Bonze in Madama Butterfly with San Francisco Opera; Capulet in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, Chautauqua Opera, and Toledo Opera; George Milton in Of Mice and Men with Arizona Opera; and Indiana Elliot’s Brother in Thomson’s The Mother of Us All with Santa Fe Opera.
Mr. Bryant holds a Master's degree from the University of Michigan, and is on the voice faculty at William Paterson University.
I hope to see you at our concert on May 17. This will be the RI Civic Chorale & Orchestra’s first performance of Elijah since the spring of 1987. I promise you a spectacular evening!
Yours truly,
Edward
Edward Markward, Music Director
Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra
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The Met
Saturday afternoon radio broadcast
Bellini's
I PURITANI
May 3, 2014 1:00 pm ET
Mariotti; Peretyatko, Brownlee, Kwiecien, Pertusi
Synopsis:
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Matters of Interest
Planet Opera: Opera in Chicago Avoids Troubles
Seen Elsewhere
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 - 12:28 PM
By Fred Plotkin
Javier Camarena Gives Rare Encore at
Metropolitan Opera
Saturday, April 26, 2014
By Brian Wise
Camarena became only the third singer in 70
years to perform an aria encore on Friday night. Here's how it happened.
Ben Heppner to Retire From Singing
By Michael Cooper April 24, 2014, 12:59 PM
Tenor Ben Heppner Announces His Retirement
By Brian Wise
Thursday, April 24, 2014 - 02:00 PM
Gabriel Garcia Marquez Inspired Operas
Friday, April 18, 2014 - 05:00 PM
By Brian Wise
John Shirley-Quirk, Elegant English
Bass-Baritone, Dies at 82
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
By Brian Wise
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NO OPERA ON WGBH TV
THIS WEEK!
