“Meine Lippen sie Kussen so heiß” January 5, 2008
Posted by Jeff in German, Netrebko and Villazón, Opera.add a comment
Literally, “My lips kiss with such fire”, from Giuditta, Franz Lehár’s last stage work, and his only successful opera after a career of hit operettas.
From September 8, 2007, Anna Netrebko sings on the fabled Last Night Of The Proms at Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek.
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“Leicht muß man sein” October 3, 2007
Posted by Jeff in German, Opera, Theater.add a comment
This past summer marked the thirty-fifth anniversary of a significant event in my life: my first attendance at an opera performance as an adult.
I haven’t found an online video that comes even remotely close to imparting that experience … except this:
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Little Miss Britten September 10, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Folk, German, Music, Musicals, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Theater.2 comments
From the video of the final West End performance of Beyond The Fringe, Dudley Moore performs his interpretations of songs by Benjamin Britten and Kurt Weill. Introduced by Jonathan Miller.
Bob Hope introduces Kirsten Flagstad February 28, 2007
Posted by Jeff in 1929 through WWII, German, Movies, Opera, Theater.add a comment
And a ho-yo-to-ho to you, too. Either the best or second-best Wagnerian soprano of the last century performs “Brünnhilde’s battle cry” from Act III of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre.
Flagstad appears as if she’s going to break out laughing at any moment.
Die Fledermaus, act III January 1, 2007
Posted by Jeff in Die Fledermaus, German, Musicals, Opera, Theater.add a comment
This 1984 Covent Garden production marked Plácido Domingo‘s conducting debut. Not very many world-class opera singers ever go on to do anything else but sing, but lately he conducts and runs opera houses more than he performs. A smart transition for his career and his voice.
His sixty-fifth birthday is on January 21; at an age when most of his contemporaries are either retired or should be, he still sings brilliantly.
Die Fledermaus, act II part 2 December 31, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Die Fledermaus, German, Musicals, Opera, Theater.1 comment so far
There’s a longstanding tradition of performing Fledermaus on New Year’s Eve, and the second half of Act II is usually taken up with a “command performance” featuring guest stars.
Die Fledermaus, act II part 1 December 30, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Die Fledermaus, German, Musicals, Opera, Theater.add a comment
Take my word for it — the less attention you pay to the plot, the better. (Tomorrow the plot disappears entirely, and in act III you’ll wish it did.)
Die Fledermaus, act I December 29, 2006
Posted by Jeff in Die Fledermaus, German, Musicals, Opera, Theater.add a comment
Who needs champagne on New Year’s Eve? I certainly don’t — I have this!
Opera of the week: Hansel and Gretel December 22, 2006
Posted by Jeff in German, Opera, Theater.2 comments
Engelbert Humperdinck‘s Hansel and Gretel is probably not the opera I would choose to introduce young people to the art. (But what do I know? My first live opera, at the age of twelve, was Fidelio.)
The Rosenkavalier trio November 24, 2006
Posted by Jeff in German, Opera, Régine Crespin, Theater.3 comments
From Charlie Handelman’s podcast site, a collection of twelve renditions of the Act III trio from Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, featuring …
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, 1915-2006 August 5, 2006
Posted by Jeff in German, In memoriam, Opera, Theater.add a comment
I don’t always think it’s coincidence when this kind of thing happens, but I had been planning a post on Schwarzkopf for the last week or so, when word arrived of her passing on August 3 at the age of ninety.
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