Sunday Brunch – Arleen Auger sings Brahms

Last Thursday, blogger dehggial at opera, innit? posted a clip of Arleen Auger as Alcina. At the conclusion of that wonderful performance, YouTube (being the great time-sink of the interwebz that it is) offered me another Auger clip. This is from a performance of the Brahms Requiem under the direction of Sergiu Celibidache. 

This has got to be the slowest performance on record. But rather than sounding static, it gave me a sense of being suspended in time. At some points, it almost threatens to go backwards. It's gorgeous. And best of all, soprano Arleen Auger is undaunted by the slow tempo. Kudos also to the chorus and orchestra for keeping the line moving. Exquisite!  

You now have sorrow; 

but I shall see you again 

and your heart shall rejoice 

and your joy no one shall take from you.

Behold me:I have had for a little time toil and torment, 

and now have found great consolation. 

I will console you, 

as one is consoled by his mother.

For the 3 Other People Who Missed It – CSO & Muti: Verdi Requiem

I found out about it as the live performance was drawing to a close, so I decided to wait and watch/listen to the whole thing from the beginning. For the three people besides me who missed it, here is a link to the webcast replay, and to a few reviews. 

Video On Demand

CSO Website  

Chicago Tribune Website 

A Few Reviews

The Trib

The Times

Chicago Classical Review (blog)

  

Verdi Requiem – October 10, 2013

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

RICCARDO MUTI conductor

TATIANA SERJAN soprano

DANIELA BARCELLONA mezzo-soprano

MARIO ZEFFIRI tenor

ILDAR ABDRAZAKOV bass

CHICAGO SYMPHONY CHORUS

DUAIN WOLFE chorus director

Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros Sing Verdi's Requiem at La Scala

This is the new recording of Verdi's Requiem from La Scala. 
We finally watched it last night with the subtitles on (the DVD player's default setting, apparently). I'm not used to following the text so closely during this work, but it was illuminating, particularly in this excerpt. JK is the first tenor I've seen who gives any sense of story line to this piece. The usual story presented is "I'm a tenor, and I am singing this Verdi piece; listen to how beautiful my voice is." In this performance I really get a sense of someone who is more than a little bit worried of what he is going to face on that "day of wrath." 

This aria is not my favorite bit from the Requiem (plus, I generally prefer my Ingemiscos in context), but it it sure is wonderful. And of course, JK and AH are outstanding!

Speaking of Anja Harteros:

Sunday Brunch – Verdi Requiem: Domine Jesu Christe (excerpt)

Decca offers us a teaser from the La Scala Verdi Requiem recorded earlier this year. It will be available in the U.S. on DVD, Blu-ray, and CD on September 3. Have you pre-ordered yours yet?

Théâtre des Champs-Elysées : Wolfgang-Amadeus Mozart

♫ Requiem  
♫ Symphonie N°41 


Regular readers know why this drew my attention. This Mozart concert was recorded at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on May 22, 2013  (Don’t be startled when you first click. Yes, that’s Bernstein right at the start.)


Miah Persson is in good voice, as always. I wonder, is her voice darkening somewhat? Not in a bad way, mind you. Maybe it's because, or perhaps why, she's moving into Donna Elvira territory. Jeremy Ovenden and Nahuel di Pierro are known quantities in Mozart (NdP most recently as Masetto in that Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Don Giovanni.) Renata Pokupic is a Croatian mezzo-soprano who  “has developed a global reputation for her performances of baroque, classical and coloratura music.” I am sure we’ll be hearing more from her.

Mozart Requiem for Mozart

Stephansdom

I recently rediscovered a lovely performance of Mozart's Requiem—sung as part of a full Mass almost 20 years ago to celebrate Mozart—It contains some striking contrasts, performer-wise. And it’s a performance I will enjoy watching and listening to again.

This is the last Mozart performance of the lovely and tragically short-lived soprano Arleen Auger—a quintessential Mozart singer who succumbed to cancer in the prime of her career. It's also one of the last performances of the elderly Sir Georg Solti (and I hope I don’t sound unkind if I say he probably should have stopped conducting sooner.) The always-slightly-under-the-radar Vinson Cole was early-mid career; and Cecelia Bartoli and Rene Pape were just getting their feet wet (RP was not yet thirty!).