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Sundays, 7pm
NPR World of Opera
Program Website: http://www.npr.org/programs/worldofopera/
World of Opera with host Lisa Simeone brings listeners the world
of tragedy and triumph, passion and seduction, intrigue and disaster,
jealousies and dreams -- the world of opera. Featured are the best in
opera performances from around the world, both historical and contemporary.
January 24
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Macbeth
Bastille Opera, Paris
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Teodor Currentzis, conductor
CAST: Dimitris Tiliakos (Macbeth); Violeta Urmana (Lady Macbeth); Ferruccio
Furlanetto (Banco); Stefano Secco (Macduff); Alberto Nigro (Malcolm);
Letitia Singleton (Lady-in-waiting)
Truly successful operas based on Shakespeare are astonishingly rare --
a generous estimate would put the count at about half a dozen. Even more
remarkable is that Verdi alone accounted for three of them. Macbeth may
not be heard quite so often as his other two -- Otello and Falstaff --
yet it's still among Verdi's finest and most evocative scores.
January 31
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Agrippina
La Fenice/Teatro Malibran, Venice
La Fenice Orchestra and Chorus
Fabio Biondi, conductor
CAST: Ann Hallenberg (Agrippina); Lorenzo Ragazzo (Claudio); Florin Cezar
Ouatu (Nerone); Veronica Cangemi (Poppea); Xavier Sabata (Ottone); Ugo
Guagliardo (Pallante); Milena Storti (Narciso/Giunone); Roberto Abbondanza
(Lesbo)
A biting satirical comedy with a realistically emotional edge, Agrippina
is considered by many to be Handel's first true operatic masterpiece.
It was premiered in 1710 in Venice, and this peformance comes to us from
the same city. The production, by La Fenice, is presented in the historic
company's smaller, more intimate theater, the Malibran.
February 7
GIACOMO PUCCINI: La Boheme
Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor
CAST: Adriana Damato (Mimi); Vittorio Grigolo (Rodolfo); Nicole Cabell
(Musetta); Paolo Pecchioli (Colline); Hyung Yun (Marcello); Trevor Scheunemann
(Schaunard)
One of the all-time great "date operas" (remember Cher and Nicholas
Cage in Moonstruck?), Puccini's La Boheme is also one of the most popular
operas ever composed. This production from the nation's capital features
a truly vibrant young cast.
February 14
GIUSEPPE VERDI: La Traviata
Chorégies Festival (Orange, France)
Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra
Myung-Whun Chung, conductor
CAST: Patrizia Ciofi (Violetta Valery); Vittorio Grigolo (Alfredo Germont);
Marzio Giossi (Giorgio Germont); Laura Brioli (Flora); Stanislas de Barbeyrac
(Gastone); Jean-Marie Delpas (Baron Douphol); Armando Noguera (Marchise
d'Obigny)
Verdi's popular classic comes to us from the Theatre Antique in Orange,
in a production starring the exciting soprano Patrizia Ciofi in the demanding
role of Violetta, with the rising star Vittorio Grigolo as Alfredo.
February 21
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Simon Boccanegra
Houston Grand Opera
Patrick Summers, conductor
CAST: Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Simon Boccanegra); Olga Guryakova (Amelia Grimaldi);
Marco Berti (Gabriele Adorno); Patrick Carfizzi (Paolo Albiani); Raymond
Aceto (Jacopo Fiesco); Ryan McKinny (Pietro); Maria Markina (Amelia's
Maid); Beau Gibson (Captain)
At times neglected, this brooding drama is now widely recognized as one
of Verdi's most powerful and compelling dramas. Houston Grand Opera presents
it with the great baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as the complex title character.
February 28
JULES MASSENET: Manon
Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Bertrand de Billy, conductor
CAST: Diana Damrau (Manon); Ramon Vargas (Les Chevalier des Grieux); Markus
Eiche(Lescaut); Dan Paul Dumitrescu (Le Comte des Grieux); Alexander Kaimbacher
(Guillot Morfontaine); Clemens Unterreiner (Monsier de Bretigny)
Jules Massenet wrote a number of truly beautiful operas, but this is the
one that put him on the map. Along with Puccini's Manon Lescaut, it's
one of two operatic versions of the same story. Both dramas have long
been part of opera's standard rep, and while it's hard to outshine Puccini
when it comes to tragic romance, Massenet may just have done it.
March 7
VINCENZO BELLINI: Zaira
Opéra Berlioz (Montpellier, France)
Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon National Orchestra
Enrique Mazzola, conductor
CAST: Ermonela Jaho (Zaira); Wenwei Zhang (Orosmane); Varduhi Abrahamyan
(Nerestano); Shalva Mukeria (Corasmino); Franck Bard (Castiglione); Marianne
Crebassa (Fatima); Carlo Kang (Lusignano)
Zaira was Bellini's fifth opera, and the first of his scores to get a
somewhat cool reception at its premiere. Still, its tragic, cross-cultural
story has particular resonance in today's world, and this production from
Montpellier features a stirring performance with the exciting young soprano
Ermonela Jaho in the title role.
March 14
GIUSEPPE VERDI: I due Foscari
Dortmund Musikverein
WDR Radio Orchestra, Dortmund Musikverein Chorus
Carlo Montanaro, conductor
CAST: Renato Bruson (Francesco Foscari); Francisco Casanova (Jacopo Foscari);
Manon Feubel (Lucrezia Contarini); Alexander Teliga (Jacopo Loredano);
Viktor Sawaley (Barbarico/Fante); Francisca Devos (Pisana)
Verdi's operas are so popular that few of his great dramas could truly
be described as unjustly neglected, but this one may fit the bill. One
of Verdi's darkest scores, I due Foscari is also one of his most striking:
a compelling story of deadly intrigue and political treachery set against
the historical backdrop of 15th-century Venice.
March 21
GEORGES BIZET: Carmen
La Scala, Milan
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
CAST: Anita Rachvelishvili (Carmen); Jonas Kaufmann (Don Jose); Erwin
Schrott (Escamillo); Adriana Damato (Micaela); Gabor Bretz (Zuniga); Michele
Losier (Frasquita); Mathias Hausmann (Morales); Adriana Kucerova (Mercedes)
Bizet's masterpiece may have a greater selection of hummable tunes than
any other opera, and also the purest, most smoldering brand of passion
-- and we hear it hear in the quarter's second production from a true
hotbed of opera, Milan's La Scala.
March 28
OTTORINO RESPIGHI: Marie Victoire
German Opera, Berlin
German Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Michail Jurowski, conductor
CAST: Takesha Meshe Kizart (Marie de Lanjallay); Markus Bruck (Maurice
de Lanjallay); German Villar (Cloriviere); Stephen Bronk (Cloteau); Jorn
Schumann (Kermarec); Simon Pauly (Simon); Martina Weischenbach (Lison
Fleuriot); Gregory Warren (Caracalla)
So you didn't know the popular composer of "The Pines of Rome"
also wrote operas? Well, he didn't write many, and this one was forgotten
for nearly 90 years after its scheduled premiere was cancelled in 1915.
This production from Berlin may make you wonder why, as it shows off a
first-rate opera that's packed with high drama and brimming with spectacular
music.
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