Week of November 27 - December 4, 2014

This week on Rhode Island Public television,

WSBE:  (Comcast 294, Cox 808, Full Channel 109, and Verizon 478)

 Saturday, November 29, 8:00pm

Sunday, November 30, 3:00am

Monday, December 1, 12:00am

GREAT PERFORMANCES

La Traviata

Soprano Natalie Dessay stars in Willy Decker's stylized production of Verdi's "La Traviata," about a frail courtesan who sacrifices her happiness in order to spare her beloved (Matthew Polenzani) and his family any strife her reputation could cause them.

DURATION: 150 MIN

DETAILS: [CC] [STEREO]

GENRE: PARENTS PICKS

SYNOPSIS: http://www.metopera.org/metopera/season/synopsis/la-traviata?customid=836

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Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Sir Gabriel the Donkey

Host Deborah Voigt interviews animal trainer Nancy Novograd and Sir Gabriel the Donkey, who stars in the Met's production of Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5siag7TW0GU&feature=youtu.be

Songs For Stuffing: A Thanksgiving Mix

Thanksgiving is about family, food and the soul-deadening stress of logistics. Here's a mix designed to help you keep your mind on the bonding-fueled feast that justifies it all.

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/23/120711823/songs-for-stuffing-a-thanksgiving-mix?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20141126&utm_campaign=Music&utm_term=

OPERA ON THE INTERNET 

WITH  

DAVE  D' AGUANNO

Anyone who may be interested in attending the Met's HD-transmission of Wagner's "Meistersinger" (coming up on Dec. 13) might want to tune in to the Met's FREE live audio-stream next Tuesday evening (December 2) at 5:55 pm for an "audio preview" as the season premiere of this opera will be broadcast at that time, with basically the same cast that will appear in the HD-transmission.

(www.metopera.org/)

If you absolutely need to hear more Wagner before next Tuesday, Radio 4 (the Netherlands) is broadcasting a LIVE performance this Saturday from Amsterdam of his earlier opera "Lohengrin."

(www.radio4.nl/)

Also being broadcast LIVE on Saturday afternoon will be Donizetti's popular comic opera "L'Elisir d'Amore" which is being performed at London's Royal Opera House. Tenor Vittorio Grigolo will be singing the role of Nemorino. A few months ago, as some of you may recall, he appeared as Rodolfo in the Met's HD-transmission of Puccini's "La Boheme."

(www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/)

Two one-act operas are scheduled to be heard on ORF (Austria), and they're NOT "Cav & Pag." Instead, Puccini's very first opera -- "Le Villi" -- will be heard as a companion piece to Leoncavallo's "Gli Zingari" ("The Gypsies"). In the Leoncavallo opera, a jealous (tenor) husband murders his (soprano) wife & her (baritone) lover by setting fire to the tent in which the guilty pair are carrying on their affair. (Hmmm, sounds a bit like "Pagliacci!")

( http://oe1.orf.at/)

While Puccini's very first opera can be heard on ORF, on French Radio you can listen to Massenet's very LAST opera: "Cleopatre." Mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch, who sang the role of Charlotte in this same composer's "Werther" in a fairly recent HD-transmission, will be singing the title role in this performance that took place in Paris on November 18.

(http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/accueil/)

NPR is finished with its series of broadcasts from the San Francisco, so this Saturday they turn to one of Rossini's operas that were performed this past summer in Pesaro. This particular opera is "Armida" which, thanks to the presence of Renee Fleming in the Met's HD-transmission a few years ago, came to the attention of many opera-goers.

(www.wrti.org/)

German Radio, on the other hand, is broadcasting the world premiere of Lithuanian composer Onute Narbutaite's opera "Cornet." The performance took place in Vilnius on November 6 of this year.

(www.dradio.de/dkultur/)

Enjoy! -- And have a safe & happy Thanksgiving!

DAVE

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Praise for RICCO:

Rhode Island Civic Choral & Orchestra Continues to Make Beautiful Music

http://www.ricreativemag.com/ricco.html?utm_source=RICM+NOV+2014+Issue&utm_campaign=RICM+NOV+2014&utm_medium=email

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JOIN US THIS WEEKEND! Dear Friends, Please allow me to share with you a few thoughts about the first concert of our 2014 - 2015 season, our 58th. The Chorale is busy preparing the exciting music of three diverse yet accessible composers: Giovanni Gabrieli, Ottorino Respighi and John Rutter. In this first newsletter I'd like to focus on the largest work on the program, Ottorino Respighi's Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Laud to the Nativity or Hymn of Praise for the Birth of Our Lord). Respighi, of course, is justly famous for his trilogy of tone poems depicting scenes of Rome: Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome and Roman Festivals. The Lauda per la Natività del Signore is a beautiful pastoral work that depicts the nativity of Jesus as the shepherds might have seen it. Respighi employs several archaic forms and devices: madrigals, Monteverdi-like arioso, some plainchant, and even a touch of fugue in the "Gloria" section. The work is scored rather intimately for six wind instruments, piano (4 hands), triangle, chorus and three soloists: Soprano (The Angel), Mezzo-soprano (Mary) and Tenor (Shepherd). It mainly takes the form of dialogue among the various characters, with the chorus portraying in turn angels and shepherds. Although somewhat operatic in style, by virtue of the extended use of the chorus, the work leans mainly in structure toward the cantata. Written in 1930, it is nearly singly responsible for the revitalization of choral writing in Italy. That being said, it is one of only two choral compositions by Respighi, the other being La Primavera (Spring). The Lauda is based on a text by Jacopone da Todi, a 13th-century Franciscan poet who was originally a successful practitioner of the law. Following a particularly tragic event in which his wife was killed, the devastated Jacopo abandoned his profession and his belongings, joined the Franciscan order after a decade of penance, and became a writer of laude (psalms), of which he composed some 200. We are very confident that you will enjoy this rare opportunity to hear this tuneful, intimate and sincere work. The title of our Christmas program is "Reflect and Rejoice," and Respighi's wonderful seasonal offering allows us to do both in one composition. In this and the ensuing newsletters we are privileged to introduce our soloists to you. Our soprano for this concert is lyric coloratura soprano Katrina Galka, who portrays the Angel in this her first appearance with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale & Orchestra. Katrina, originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been recognized for her "fearless and courageous" performances and elegant musical interpretations. This fall, Katrina will join Portland Opera as a Resident Artist in its 50th Anniversary Season. She will perform the roles of Ida (Die Fledermaus), Frasquita (Carmen), and Adult Kim (Show Boat) while also covering Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Anne Trulove (The Rake's Progress). Returning to OperaTheatre of Saint Louis this past summer, she debuted the role of Papagena in Isaac Mizrahi's production of The Magic Flute and covered the role of Sister Constance in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Over the past year Katrina was a member of the Boston University Opera Institute. Ms. Galka recently completed her MM in vocal performance from Boston University. She earned her BM in vocal performance from Southern Methodist University. Ms. Galka has received additional training at the Coöperative Program, Amalfi Coast Music & Arts Festival, and at the Castleton Festival, where she trained under the baton of Lorin Maazel as a member of the C.A.T.S. Training Seminar. In our next newsletter, I will introduce our other esteemed soloists as well as share further thoughts about other music on this program. Additionally, I hope to share with you some thoughts by our singing members about what the RICCO experience means to them. We hope you will join us in kicking off the Rhode Island Holiday Season on November 29 at 7:30 PM at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter & Paul in Providence or on November 30 at 3:00 PM at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Newport. Cordially, Edward Edward Markward, Music Director   In this and the ensuing newsletters we are privileged to introduce our soloists to you.

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The Met

Saturday afternoon radio broadcast 

resumes December 6.

Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia

December 6, 2014, 12:00 pm ET

Mariotti; Leonard, Brownlee, Maltman, Muraro, Burchuladze