Opera On 3
First broadcast from 20030921 to 20100313.
220 episodes
| Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ring Of The Nibelung: Das Rheingold The First Part Of Scottish Opera's Acclaimed New Production | 20030921 | of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, recorded last month at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Donald Macleod presents and describes the prologue to the drama, in which Alberich steals the Rheingold and forges the Ring while the Gods prepare to take possession of Valhalla. Wotan....Matthew Best (bass-baritone) Alberich....Peter Sidhom (baritone) Mime....Alasdair Elliott (tenor) Loge....Peter Bronder (tenor) Fricka....Anne Mason (mezzo-soprano) Freia....Rachel Hynes (soprano) Fasolt....Carsten Stabell (bass) Fafner....Markus Hollop (bass) Woglinde....Inka Rinn (soprano) Wellgunde....Marianne Andersen (mezzo-soprano) Flosshilde....Leah Marian Jones (contralto) Froh....Matthew Elton Thomas (tenor) Donner....Michael Druiett (baritone) Erda....Mary Phillips (contralto) Scottish Opera Orchestra Richard Armstrong (conductor). | |
| 20030922 | The Ring Of The Nibelung: Die Walkure The second part of Scottish Opera's acclaimed new production of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, recorded last month at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Introduced and described by Donald Macleod. Act 1: Siegmund claims his magic sword and falls in love with his twin sister Sieglinde. Act 2: Brunnhilde is forbidden from helping Siegmund, who is killed when Wotan shatters his sword. During the long interval, Donald Macleod talks to the production's director, Tim Albery, about his conception of the Ring as human drama - albeit on an epic scale. Act 3: The Ride of the Valkyries ends when Brunnhilde is imprisoned in a ring of fire. Wotan....Matthew Best (bass-baritone) Siegmund....Jan Kyhle (tenor) Sieglinde....Marie Plette (soprano) Hunding....Carsten Stabell (bass) Brünnhilde....Elizabeth Byrne (soprano) Fricka....Anne Mason (mezzo-soprano) Gerhilde....Sarah Rhodes (soprano) Helmwige....Rachel Hynes (soprano) Waltraute....Jane Irwin (soprano) Schwertleite....Kathleen Wilkinson (soprano) Ortlinde....Mary Callan Clarke (soprano) Siegrune....Clare Shearer (mezzo-soprano) Grimgerde....Yvonne Lea (mezzo-soprano) Rossweisse....Leah Marian Jones (contralto) Scottish Opera Orchestra Richard Armstrong (conductor). | ||
| 20030923 | Edinburgh International Festival 2003 The Ring of the Nibelung Richard Wagner Siegfried The third part of Scottish Opera's acclaimed new production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, recorded last month at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Act 1: Siegfried re-forges the fragments of Nothung, the magic sword. Introduced and described by Donald Macleod. Act 2: Siegfried kills the Dragon, takes advice from the Woodbird and sets off to win Brunnhilde. During the long interval, a chance to hear vintage arcHIVe recording of Anna Russell in her classic introduction to Wagner's Ring for ordinary opera-goers. Act 3: Brunnhilde is released from her ring of flames and surrenders to her destiny. Siegfried....Graham Sanders (tenor) Brunnhilde....Elizabeth Byrne (soprano) Mime....Alasdair Elliott (tenor) The Wanderer....Matthew Best (bass-baritone) Alberich....Peter Sidhom (baritone) Fafner....Markus Hollop (bass) Woodbird....Gillian Keith (soprano) Erda....Mary Phillips (contralto) Scottish Opera Orchestra Richard Armstrong (conductor). | ||
| 20030924 | The Ring Of The Nibelung By Richard Wagner Gotterdämmerung The final part of Scottish Opera's acclaimed new production of Wagner's Ring Cycle, recorded last month at the Edinburgh FestivalTheatre. Act 1: The evil Gibichungs plot to drug Siegfried and steal the Ring. Introduced and described by Donald Macleod. During the long interval, a backstage look at the costuming of this Ring. Donald Macleod talks John Liddell. Act 2: Brunnhilde thinks that she's been betrayed by Siegfried and plots his death. Act 3: Siegfried is killed, Valhalla burns and the Ring returns at last to the Rhine. Siegfried....Graham Sanders (tenor) Brunnhilde....Elizabeth Byrne (soprano) Waltraute....Jane Irwin- mezzo (soprano) Alberich....Peter Sidhom (baritone) First Norn....Lea Marian Jones (contralto) Third Norn....Rachel Hynes (soprano) Hagen....Mats Almgren (bass) Gutrune....Elaine McKrill (soprano) Gunther....Peter Savidge (baritone) Woglinde....Inka Rinn (soprano) Wellgunde....Marianne Andersen (mezzo-soprano) Scottish Opera Orchestra Richard Armstrong (Conductor) With support from the Bank of Scotland. | ||
| 20030927 | Edinburgh International Festival 2003 Richard Wagner's Lohengrin Donald Macleod presents a concert performance of Wagner's epic Romantic opera in 3 acts, starring heroic tenor Torsten Kerl as the Knight in shining armour and soprano Hillevi Martinpelto as Elsa, his damsel in distress. Recorded last month at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. Wagner's fairy tale opera is packed full of magnificent set-pieces: Medieval battle-scenes, black magic, courtly intrigue, and, central to the plot, the tragic story of the two star-crossed lovers. Lohengrin....Torsten Kerl (tenor) Elsa....Hillevi Martinpelto (soprano) Ortrud....Petra Lang (mezzo soprano) Frederick of Telramund....Jukka Rasilainen (baritone) King Henry....Eric Halfvarson (bass) Herald....James Rutherford (baritone) Edinburgh Festival Chorus and men of the Philharmonia Chorus David Jones (chorus master) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Donald Runnicles (conductor). | ||
| Madama Butterfly | 20040124 | Acts Two and Three: Live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera. Concluding tonight's live performance by the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera. Madama Butterfly: Act One. Pinkerton, a dashing officer in the UNITED STATES Navy, is infatuated with the fifteen year old Butterfly, cognizant of her fragility, but "not content with life unless he makes his treasure the flowers on every shore". He says, as he compares her to a butterfly, "I must pursue her even though I damage her wings". The stage is set for tragedy. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Cio-Cio-San....Veronica Villarroel (soprano) Pinkerton....Marco Berti (tenor) Suzuki....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Sharpless....Bruno Caproni (baritone) Goro....Joel Sorensen (tenor) Bonze....James Courtney (bass) Kate Pinkerton....Reveka Evangelia Macrovitis (mezzo-soprano) Yamadori....Daniel Mobbs (baritone) Commissioner....Alfred Walker (bass) Registrar....Stephen Paynter (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Conducted by Placido Domingo In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. For a free copy of the Met Broadcast Guide, call the BBC Information Line on 08700 100300 [national rate]. Continues at 7.55pm, after Twenty Minutes and Opera Snaps. | |
| Rigoletto | 20040207 | When Victor Hugo's play Le roi s'amuse was banned after only one performance, Verdi was determined to produce a worthy operatic version. Rigoletto is the jester of the womanising Duke of Mantua, but both are cursed by the one of his political rivals, Monterone, who's daughter the Duke has ravished. In turn, Rigoletto's own daughter Gilda falls prey to the Duke, but with many schemes of revenge afoot it's no surprise that it all comes to a tragic end with the death of the innocent Gilda. Presented by John Shea. Gilda....Andrea Rost (soprano) Maddalena....Marina Domashenko (mezzo-soprano) Duke of Mantua....Frank Lopardo (tenor) Rigoletto....Juan Pons (baritone) Sparafucile....Julian Konstantinov (bass) Countess Ceprano....Reveka Evangelia Mavrovitis (mezzo-soprano) Giovanna....Diane Elias (mezzo-soprano) Monterone....Anooshah Golesorkhi (bass) Borsa....Michael Forest (tenor) Marullo....Charles Edwin Taylor (baritone) Ceprano....Patrick Carfizzi (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Marco Armiliato (conductor) In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. For a free copy of the Met Broadcast Guide, call the BBC Information Line on 08700 100300 [national rate] Continues at 7.55pm, after Twenty Minutes. / Rigoletto, Act Two. Presented by John Shea. In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. For a free copy of the Met Broadcast Guide, call the BBC Information Line on 08700 100300 [national rate] Continues at 8.55pm, after The Met Opera Quiz and Opera Snaps. / Rigoletto, Act Three John Shea presents the conclusion of Verdi's Rigoletto live from the NEW YORK Met. In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. For a free copy of the Met Broadcast Guide, call the BBC Information Line on 08700 100300 [national rate] | |
| Don Giovanni | 20040313 | Live from the Met. Don Giovanni: Act 1 The Met's Artistic Director James Levine conducts a new production of Mozart's dramatic opera charting the final exploits of the notorious womanising Don, whose luck with the opposite sex appears to be failing. A trail of attempted seduction and violence eventually leads him to one of the most intense and shocking scenes in opera as he is dragged unrepentant into hell. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Don Giovanni....Thomas Hampson (baritone) The Commendatore....Phillips Ens (bass) Donna Anna....Anja Harteros (soprano) Don Ottavio....Gregory Turay (tenor) Donna Elvira....Christine Goerke (soprano) Leporello....René Pape (bass) Zerlina....Hei-Kyung Hong (soprano) Masetto....Ildar Abdrazakov (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor) Continues at 8.35pm. In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. | |
| 20040410 | Live from the Met. Nabucco (Parts 3 and 4): Stephanie Hughes introduces the conclusion of Verdi's popular opera, featuring the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera/Carlo Rizzi. Live from the Met Nabucco Verdi's exhilarating opera tells the story of the Babylonian king who conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC and of the Hebrews' dramatic road from oppression to freedom. Hailed as a 'clamorous and total success' by the press after its first performance in Milan, its theme led the work to become extremely popular in an Italy occupied by the Austrians, with the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Va pensiero) being immediately adopted as a surrogate national anthem. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Verdi: Nabucco (Parts 1 and 2) Abigaille....Andrea Gruber (soprano) Fenena....Marina Domashenko (mezzo-soprano) Ismaele....Gwyn Hughes Jones (tenor) Nabucco....Leo Nucci (baritone) Zaccaria....Samuel Ramey (bass) Anna....Claudia Waite (soprano) Abdallo....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) High Priest of Baal....Morris Robinson (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Carlo Rizzi (conductor) Continues at 8.25pm. In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. | ||
| 20040424 | Act 3: Concluding tonight's performance live from the Met of Götterdämmerung, the climax to Wagner's Ring Cycle. Act 2: Continuing tonight's performance of Wagner's Götterdämmerung, live from the Met. James Levine conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera. Concludes at 9.30pm. Live from the Met Götterdämmerung Radio 3's season of live broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera House in NEW YORK ends with the final part of Wagner's Ring. In Twilight of the Gods, the cursed ring is fought over until Siegfried becomes its latest victim. His lover Brünnhilde takes the ring and leaps on to Siegfried's funeral pyre; now cleansed by fire, it's reclaimed by the Rhinemaidens, while Valhalla, the home of the Gods, goes up in flames. Presented by Stephanie Hughes Brünnhilde....Jane Eaglen (soprano) Gutrune....Margaret Jane Wray (soprano) Waltraute....Yvonne Naef (mezzo-soprano) Siegfried....Jon Frederic West (tenor) Gunther....Alan Held (baritone) Alberich....Richard Paul Fink (baritone) Hagen....Matti Salminen (bass) 1st Norn....Elena Zaremba (mezzo-soprano) 2nd Norn....Wendy White (mezzo-soprano) 3rd Norn....Christine Goerke (soprano) Woglinde....Lyubov Petrova (soprano) Wellgunde....Maria Zifchak (soprano) Flosshilde....Malin Fritz (contralto) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Conducted by James Levine Continues after the Interval at 7.40pm. In association with the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network and the EBU. | ||
| 20040508 | Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Sex and Siberia, murder and melodrama, blood and black humour - it's all there in Dmitri Shostakovich's amazing opera. Russian audiences who flocked to the show in the 1930s had never seen anything like it - and neither had Stalin, who walked out in disgust and launched a brutal clampdown on experimental art. Shostakovich never wrote another opera - and his youthful work is still one-of-a-kind 70 years later as it makes its Covent Garden debut. This new production by Richard Jones is conducted by the Royal Opera's Music Director Antonio Pappano and stars Katarina Dalayman. Trapped in a sterile marriage with a weak husband and a predatory father-in-law - Boris (John Tomlinson) - she murders both of them when she takes as a lover the handsome workman Sergey. And it's all downhill from there. Presented by Stephanie Hughes, in conversation with Antonio Pappano and Richard Jones. Katerina Ismailova....Katarina Dalayman (soprano) Sergey....Christopher Ventris (tenor) Boris....John Tomlinson (bass) Zinovy....Stefan Margita (tenor) Aksinya, the cook....Susan Bickley (mezzo) Shabby Peasant....Peter Bronder (tenor) Old Convict....Gwynne Howell (bass) Police Inspector....Roderick Earle (bass) Sonyetka....Christine Rice (mezzo) Priest....Maxim Mikhailov (bass) Steward/Sentry....Matthew Rose (bass) Female Convict....Victoria Nava (soprano) Porter....Jonathan Fisher (baritone) Teacher....James Edwards (tenor) 1st Workman....Andrew Sinclair (tenor) 2nd Workman/Coachman....Hubert Francis (tenor) 3rd Workman....Donaldson Bell (tenor) Workman from Mill....Jared Holt (baritone) Policeman....Thomas Barnard (baritone) Drunken Guest....Luke Price (tenor). | ||
| 20040525 | 8 Little Greats Stephanie Hughes presents two more of Opera North's "Eight Little Greats" - from the Grand Theatre in Leeds. A festival of one act operas put on to celebrate the company's 25th anniversary. Puccini: Il Tabarro Regarded by many to be one of Puccini's finest pieces this dark and claustrophobic tragedy depicts love, jealousy and murder aboard a PARIS bound barge. (Sung in Italian) Cast: Giorgetta....Nina Pavlovski (soprano) La Frugola....Susan Gorton (mezzo-soprano) Luigi....Leonardo Capalbo (tenor) Michele....Jonathan Summers (baritone) Tinca....Nicholas Sharratt (tenor) Talpa....William Mackie (bass) Song-seller....Richard Coxon (tenor) Chorus of Opera North Martin André (conductor) David Poutney (director) Falla: La Vida Breve The young Manuel de Falla drew on the rich traditions of his native Spanish gypsy culture for the tale of Salud and her thwarted love for Paco, an arrogant young man outside her class. (Sung in Spanish) Worker....Richard Coxon (tenor) Grandmother....Susan Gorton (mezzo-soprano) Salud....Mary Plazas (soprano) Paco....Leonardo Capalbo (tenor) Uncle Sarvaor....Graeme Broadbent (bass) Carmela....Kim-Marie Woodhouse (mezzo-soprano) Singer (flamenco)....Adrian Clarke (baritone) Manuel....Mark Stone (baritone) Workers....Miranda Bevin (soprano), Rachel Mosley (soprano), Cordelia Fish (mezzo-soprano), Harold Sharples (tenor) Christopher Alden (director). | ||
| 20040527 | Eight Little Greats Stephanie Hughes presents two more short operas from Opera North's 25th Anniversary Season, Eight Little Greats. In 1904, for the third and last of his rarely heard one act operas, Rachmaninov turned to the FRANCEsca da Rimini story of doomed love, jealousy and double murder from Dante's Inferno. Rachmaninov: FRANCEsca da Rimini, Opera in two tableaux, a prologue and epilogue Paolo/Dante....Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (tenor) Malatesta/Ghost of Virgil....Jonathan Summers (bass) FRANCEsca....Nina Pavlovski (soprano) Souls of the Damned....Chorus of Opera North Orchestra of Opera North Martin André (conductor) David Pountney (director) Ruggero's Leoncavallo's 1892 drama of infidelity and,jealousy in a commedia del'arte troupe of actors also ends in a double murder. However, he composed his popular classic in the reality 'soap-opera' style of the late 19th Century - Verismo. Director Christopher Alden sets the intrigue within an aging pop band. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci, Opera in two acts and a prologue. Canio....Geraint Dodd (tenor) Nedda....Majella Cullagh (soprano) Tonio....Jonathan Summers (bass) Beppe....Iain Paton (tenor) Silvio....Mark Stone (baritone) Audience....Chorus of Opera North Orchestra of Opera North David Parry (conductor) Christopher Alden (director). | ||
| Eight Little Greats Live From The Grand Theatre In Leeds, Stephanie Hughes Presents The Last Two Of | 20040530 | Eight Little Greats Live from the Grand Theatre in Leeds, Stephanie Hughes presents the last two of Opera North's 'Eight Little Greats' from the company's festival of one-act operas put on to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Bizet: Djamileh In Bizet`s delicately scored opera, Haroun fritters away his wealth on gambling and girls, a different one every month. But this month`s girl, Djamileh has fallen in love with Haroun so disguises herself as a new girl for the following month. When he discovers the truth, Haroun is confronted with feelings that he has never felt before... Haroun....Paul Nilon (tenor) Splendiano....Mark Stone (baritone) Djamileh....Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano) Slave Trader....Keith Mills (tenor) Chorus of Opera North Orchestra of Opera North David Parry (conductor) Christopher Alden (director) Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins Weill collaborated with Brecht on this surreal cabaret, a stab at the heart of conventional morality. Anna I and Anna II each reflect different aspects of the same personality, travelling to seven American cities to earn money. Anna II keeps succumbing to sin but in the end the practical Anna I prevails, at the cost of Anna II`s spirit, which is totally crushed. Anna I....Rebecca Caine (soprano) Anna II....Beate Vollack (dancer) Brothers....Iain Paton, Nicholas Sharratt (tenor) Father....Adrian Clarke (baritone) Mother....Graeme Broadbent (bass) Orchestra of Opera North James Holmes (conductor) David Poutney (director). | |
| Arabella | 20040605 | Live from Covent Garden, Stephanie Hughes presents Strauss' most romantic opera. Arabella, the daughter of an impoverished family, spurns her sophisticated Viennese suitors when she falls in love at first sight with an honest man from the provinces. This simple story inspired Strauss to write some of his warmest and most charming music. Arabella, Act 1 Count Theodor Waldner....Arthur Korn (bass) Adelaide....Cornelia Kallisch (mezzo-soprano) Arabella....Karita Mattila (soprano) Zdenka....Barbara Bonney (soprano) Mandryka....Thomas Hampson (baritone) Matteo....Raymond Very (tenor) Fiakermilli....Diana Damrau (soprano) Count Elemer....John Daszak (tenor) Count Dominik....Quentin Hayes (bass) Count Lamoral....Iain Paterson (bass) Fortune Teller....Mary Lloyd Davies (mezzo-soprano) Welko....Christopher Lackner (baritone) Floor Waiter....Neil Gillespie (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Christoph von Dohnányi (conductor) Acts 2 and 3 follow Opera Box. Arabella, Acts 2 and 3: Concluding tonight's live performance from Covent Garden of Strauss' most romantic opera. Presented by Stephanie Hughes | |
| The Rape Of Lucretia | 20040610 | Stephanie Hughes presents the first full-scale opera production from the Linbury Studio Theatre at LONDON's Royal Opera House. Benjamin Britten's chamber opera is based on a story from Ancient Rome about the envy, violation and destruction of Lucretia's virtue - Lucretia being the only faithful wife amongst those of the Roman Generals away at war. Two characters help in telling the story - the Male and Female Chorus - and it's they who also give contemporary comments on the action. Male Chorus....Hubert Francis (tenor) Female Chorus....Victoria Nava (soprano) Lucretia....Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Collatinus....Matthew Rose (bass) Lucia....Ha Young Lee (soprano) Bianca....Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo-soprano) Tarquinius....Grant Doyle (baritone) Junius....Jared Holt (baritone) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Alexander Briger (conductor) Britten: The Rape of Lucretia. | |
| The Magic Flute | 20040612 | Mozart's visionary opera launches Glyndebourne's 70th anniversary season. With a bewitching mix of drama and pantomime, it tells of the eternal struggle between darkness and light, and the quest for love and enlightenment. The brilliant young cast is conducted by Glyndebourne's Music Director, Vladimir Jurowski, who describes this glittering new production by Adrian Noble as 'a Magic Flute for the 21st Century'. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Mozart: The Magic Flute Tamino....Pavol Breslik (tenor) Pamina....Lisa Milne (soprano) Sarastro....Peter Rose (bass) Queen of Night....Cornelia Götz (soprano) Papageno....Jonathan Lemalu (baritone) Monostatos....Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (tenor) First Lady....Tatiana Monogarova (soprano) Second Lady....Julianne de Villiers (mezzo-soprano) Third Lady....Romina Basso (mezzo-soprano) Speaker....Gerd Grochowski (bass) Second Priest/First Armed Man....Alan Oke (tenor) First Priest/Second Armed Man....Michael Druiett (bass) First Boy....Leo Baker (treble) Second Boy....Jake Alden-Falconer (treble) Third Boy....Milo Harries (treble) Glyndebourne Chorus Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). | |
| Gounod's Faust, | 20040619 | A star-studded new production of one of the most popular of French operas, live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Gounod's seductive music perfectly captures the magic and menace of this classic tale, as Faust is manipulated by the devilish Mephistopheles into bartering his soul in exchange for all the pleasures of the world, including the love of the beautiful Marguerite. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Faust....Roberto Alagna (tenor) Méphistophélès....Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) Marguerite....Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) Valentin....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Wagner....Matthew Rose (bass) Siébel....Sophie Koch (mezzo-soprano) Marthe Schwertlein....Della Jones (mezzo-soprano) Royal Opera Chorus Terry Edwards (chorus director) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Sergey Levitin (leader) Antonio Pappano (conductor). | |
| The Io Passion | 20040621 | One of the highlights at this year's Aldeburgh Festival was the premiere of the new theatre piece by one of our leading composers, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, in this his seventieth year. The Io Passion has a text by Stephen Plaice, and combines Magritte-type imagery, ritual and myth, with a powerful score exploring the darker side of sexual obsession. Humphrey Burton presents this performance of The Io Passion given by Almeida Opera at the Snape Maltings. Birtwistle: The Io Passion Woman 1....Teresa Banham (actor) Woman 2....Claire Booth (soprano) Woman 3....Amy Fretton (soprano) Man 1....Sam McElroy (baritone) Man 2....Joseph Alessi (actor) Man 3....Richard Morris (baritone) Quatuor Diotima Alan Hacker (clarinet/music director) Stephen Langridge(director). | |
| Rodelinda | 20040623 | Stephanie Hughes presents Radio 3's second visit to this year's Glyndebourne Festival is for a production of one of Handel's finest heroic operas. Emma Bell takes the title role of Rodelinda who believes her husband Bertarido to be dead, and who lives with her son in the clutches of the usurper Grimoaldo; he in turn is betrothed to Bertarido's sister Eduige. But Grimoaldo has set his sights on making Rodelinda his Queen and his evil sidekick Garibaldo has designs on Eduige, so a disguised Bertarido sets about rescuing his wife and son with the help of his faithful friend Unulfo. Rodelinda....Emma Bell (soprano) Grimoaldo....Timothy Robinson (tenor) Garibaldo....Paul Gay (bass-baritone) Eduige....Jean Rigby (mezzo-soprano) Bertarido....Marijana Mijanovic (mezzo-soprano) Unulfo....Matthew White (counter-tenor) Flavio....Aaron Fulthorpe (treble) Glyndebourne Chorus Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Emmanuelle Haïm (conductor). Rodelinda Live from the Met. Grimoaldo has taken the Milanese throne from Bertarido, forcing him into hiding, and now has his eye on Bertarido's wife, Rodelinda. But Bertarido is not dead, as everybody thinks, but is on his way back to Milan to seek revenge. The Met gives its broadcast premiere of Rodelinda, one of Handel's most dramatic operas, with a top line-up of soloists including Renee Fleming as Rodelinda, and David Daniels as Bertarido. Continues at 7.35pm. Handel: Rodelinda (Act 1) Rodelinda....Renée Fleming (soprano) Eduige....Stephanie Blythe (mezzo-soprano) Bertarido....David Daniels (counter-tenor) Unulfo....Bejun Mehta (counter-tenor) Grimoaldo....Kobie van Rensburg (tenor) Garibaldo....John Relyea (bass) Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Harry Bicket (conductor). | |
| 20040626 | A Midsummer Night's Dream Stephanie Hughes presents a new production from English National Opera of Benjamin Britten's magical opera, with a libretto specially adapted by him and Peter Pears from Shakespeare's original play. Britten suffuses the music with nocturnal enchantment as the stories of the human courtiers and rustics are played out against the background of the fairy world, and as the boundaries begin to blur between reality and dreams. Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream Oberon....Robin Blaze (counter-tenor) Tytania....Sarah Tynan (soprano) Puck....Emil Wolk (speaking tole) Hippolyta....Leah-Marian Jones (mezzo-soprano) Lysander....Alfred Boe (tenor) Demetrius....Leigh Melrose (baritone) Hermia....Victoria Simmonds (mezzo-soprano) Helena....Linda Richardson (soprano) Theseus....Iain Paterson (bass) Bottom....Peter Rose (bass) Quince....Graeme Danby (bass) Flute....Christopher Gillett (tenor) Snug....Clive Bayley (bass) Snout....Robert Burt (tenor) Starveling....Leslie John Flanagan (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera Paul Daniel (conductor). | ||
| Death In Venice: Act 2. The Conclusion Of Tonight's Performance Of Benjamin Britten's Last Opera By | 20040702 | Death in Venice This year's Cheltenham International Festival of Music is launched with a concert performance of Benjamin Britten's last opera. Inspired by the Thomas Mann novella it tells of Aschebach, an elderly writer, of his final journey to a city caught in the grip of cholera, and about his fascination with a young Polish boy, Tadzio. At the heart of this opera is an exploration of the conflict between the Dionysian and the Apollonian - which Britten vividly portrays in one of his most inspired and imaginative scores. The performance features some of the leading interpreters of Britten's Music, including the tenor Philip Langridge and the conductor Richard Hickox and is introduced from the Town Hall in Cheltenham by Chris de Souza. After Twenty Minutes. Benjamin Britten: Death in Venice Act 1 Gustav von Aschenbach....Philip Langridge (tenor) The Traveller....Alan Opie (bass baritone) Michael Chance....Voice of Apollo (countertenor) BBC Singers City of LONDON Sinfonia Richard Hickox (conductor). Death in Venice: Act 2. The conclusion of tonight's performance of Benjamin Britten's last opera by he BBC Singers and the City of LONDON Sinfonia/Richard Hickox. | |
| 20040703 | Jenufa On January 21st this year the National Opera in Brno staged Janácek's opera Jenufa - exactly 100 years after they first performed it. This Radio 3 broadcast of that performance celebrates the 150th anniversary of Janácek's birth, on July 3rd 1854, as a prelude to tomorrow's Janácek Day. Presented by John Tusa in conversation with Dennis Marks, the opera's performers, and director David Pountney. Based on real-life events, Janácek's opera tells the devastating story of the young Moravian country girl Jenufa, made pregnant by the miller's good for nothing son Steva. Her jealous cousin Laca and her formidable stepmother are driven to extremes of emotion and terrible actions - but even in tragedy Janácek finds hope for the human spirit. Janácek: Jenufa Jenufa....Helena Kaupova (soprano) Kostelnicka....Anja Silja (soprano) Laca, Jenufa's cousin....Peter Straka (tenor) Steva, his half-brother....Michal Lehotsky (tenor) Grandmother Buryja....Marta Benackova (mezzo-soprano) Foreman at Mill....Jiri Sulzenko (bass) The Mayor....Richard Novak (bass) His Wife....Jitka Zerhauova (mezzo-soprano) Karolka, his daughter....Yvetta Tannenbergerova (soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of the National Theatre, Brno Jaroslav Kyzlink (conductor). | ||
| 20040710 | Peter Grimes The Royal Opera House presents Willy Decker's dark and compelling production of Peter Grimes, hot off the stage from La Monnaie in Brussels. Ben Heppner plays the ambiguous anti-hero, despised by the Borough after the suspicious death of his boy apprentice, and desperate for its acceptance. A stellar cast is conducted by Antonio Pappano in Britten's rich musical depiction of the intrigue and prejudices within a small English fishing town, dominated by the ever-present sea. Presented by Martin Handley. Britten: Peter Grimes Peter Grimes....Ben Heppner (tenor) Balstrode....Alan Opie (baritone) Ellen Orford....Janice Watson (soprano) Hobson....Jonathan Veira (bass) Swallow....Matthew Best (bass) Ned Keene....Quentin Hayes (baritone) Rector....Brian Galliford (tenor) Bob Boles....Ian Caley (tenor) Auntie....Anne Collins (contralto) 1st Niece....Ailish Tynan (soprano) 2nd Niece....Helen Williams (soprano) Mrs Sedley....Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano (conductor). | ||
| 20040917 | Christopher Cook presents a concert performance of Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe from the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival. | ||
| 20040918 | Leopold Hager conducts an all-star cast of soloists and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in a concert performance of Richard Strauss's last opera. Described by the composer as a 'conversation piece' on the subject of opera it seeks to establish which is most important, the words or the music? Given in the Usher Hall as part of the Edinburgh International Festival and presented by Christopher Cook in conversation with Michael Kennedy. Richard Strauss: Capriccio Countess....Soile Isokoski Clairon....Anne Sofie von Otter Flamand....Jonas Kaufmann Count....Sephan Loges Olivier....Christopher Maltman La Roche....Siegfried Vogel Italian Soprano....Sarah Fox Italian Tenor....Barry Banks Monsieur Taupe....John Mitchinson Royal Scottish National Orchestra Leopold Hager (conductor). | ||
| The Greek Passion | 20040925 | Sir Charles Mackerras conducts Covent Garden's Olivier award winning production of Martinu's last major work. The opera tells of how modern Greek villagers set out to put on a Passion play, but are gradually overtaken by their roles as the threatening presence of refugees divides the village. Manolios, cast as Jesus, and Katerina, the village's Mary Magdalen, seek to welcome and comfort the visitors, much against the will of Priest Grigoris and the village elders. Manolios....Christopher Ventris (tenor) Katerina....Marie McLaughlin (soprano) Panait....Douglas Nasrawi (tenor) Grigoris....Peter Sidhom (baritone) Fotis....Willard W White (bass-baritone) Yannakos....Timothy Robinson (tenor) Archon....Jeremy White (bass) Aga....Richard Angas (bass) Schoolmaster....Francis Egerton (tenor) Michelis....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Andonis....Alasdair Elliott (tenor) Nikolio....James Edwards (tenor) Lenio....Juanita Lascarro (soprano) Kostandis....Adrian Clarke (baritone) Despinio....Hilary Taylor (soprano) Father Ladas....Jonathan Fisher (baritone) Dimitri....Thomas Barnard (baritone) Old Woman....Elizabeth Sikora (mezzo-soprano) Old Man....Robert Lloyd (bass) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Charles Mackerras (conductor) Continues after Interval: The Heroic Pessimist. The Greek Passion: Sir Charles Mackerras conducts the final two acts Covent Garden's Olivier award winning production of Martinu's last major work. | |
| 20041002 | Werther Act 1 The poet Werther is gripped by an obsessive love for Charlotte, who has already decided to marry someone else. She eventually begins to reciprocate his feelings, but is it too late for them? Marcelo Alvarez sings the part of the melancholy poet, and Ruxandra Donose the unavailable Charlotte in a new production of Massenet's lyrical Goethe setting by French film director Benoit Jacquot. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Continues at 8.10pm, after Opera Box. Werther....Marcelo Alvarez (tenor) Charlotte....Ruxandra Donose (mezzo-soprano) Albert....Ludovic Tézier (baritone) Sophie....Sally Matthews (soprano) The Bailli....Jonathan Veira (bass-baritone) Schmidt....Gilles Ragon (tenor) Johann....Darren Jeffery (bass-baritone) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning) Antonio Pappano (conductor) Massenet: Werther (Act 1). Act 2 Continues at 9.10pm, after Twenty Minutes. Massenet: Werther (Act 2). Acts 3 and 4 Massenet: Werther (Acts 3 & 4). | ||
| 20041009 | Les Paladins A rare chance to hear Rameau's penultimate opera in an exuberant new production from the Chatelet in PARIS. Although Rameau wrote Les Paladins in his mid-70s, it is full of youthful ardour and new experiments with old forms - at the time it was seen as a bewildering mix of serious opera, ballet and popular comedy. The beautiful young Argie is kept imprisoned by her elderly guardian Anselme who plans to marry her. Then along comes the handsome Atis and his troop of knights (les paladins), determined to claim her for himself. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Rameau: Les Paladins (in 3 Acts) Atis....Topi Lehtipuu (tenor) Argie....Stéphanie d'Oustrac (mezzo-soprano) Nérine....Sandrine Piau (soprano) La Fée Manto....François Piolino (countertenor), Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro (tenor) Orcan....Laurent Naouri (baritone) Anselme....René Schirrer (bass) Un Paladin....Emiliano Gonzalez-Toro (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of Les Arts Florissant William Christie (conductor). | ||
| 20041016 | Ariadne auf Naxos Welsh National Opera's new production of Richard Strauss's tragi-comic opera, from the New Theatre, Cardiff. The richest man in Vienna decides to engage an opera company and a troupe of comedians to entertain his dinner guests. Preparations get under way, but chaos ensues when it's announced that the opera and the farce are to be performed simultaneously. As the tragedy of Ariadne on Naxos unfolds, the comedy troupe appear on her desert island and, improvising wildly, try to cheer her up. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Composer....Alice Coote Ariadne....Janice Watson Bacchus....Peter Hoare Zerbinetta....Katarzyna Dondalska Music Master....Gerd Grochowski Major-Domo....Richard Van Allan Dancing Master....Brian Galliford Harlequin....D'Arcy Bleiker Scaramuccio....Andrew Mackenzie-Wicks Truffaldino....Tim Mirfin Brighella....Wynne Evans Naiad....Gail Pearson Dryad....Arlene Rolph Echo....Elizabeth Donovan Orchestra of Welsh National Opera Carlo Rizzi (conductor). | ||
| 20041023 | Wexford Festival Opera 2004 La Vestale Based on the same story as Spontini's opera of the same name, Mercadante's 'La Vestale' was first performed in 1840. It was a huge public and critical success and was so admired by Verdi that he plagiarized it freely for his 'Aida'! Sean Rafferty presents one of this year's operatic rarities from Wexford Festival. Mercadante: La Vestale Emilia....Doriana Milazzo Giunia....Agata Bienkowska La Gran Vestala....Danna Glaser Decio....Dante Alcalá Publio....Davide Damián Metello Pio....Andrea Patucelli Licinio Murena....Ladislav Elgr Lucio Silano....Mattia Denti Wexford Festival Opera Chorus Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra Paolo Arrivabeni (conductor). | ||
| 20041030 | Live from the Coliseum, the conclusion of English National Opera's production of Verdi's comic masterpiece Falstaff. Falstaff Verdi's comic opera based around Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor (and parts of Henry IV), features one of his favourite characters - the amorous, scheming and corpulent knight Sir John Falstaff. Plot and counter-plot unfold as the men of the opera plan to outwit one another, but in the end they accept that it's the merry wives who've triumphed, and it's Falstaff himself who leads everyone in a reconciliatory burst of laughter. Sung in English (translation by Amanda Holden) and broadcast live from The Coliseum, home of English National Opera. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Continues at 8.05pm, after Opera Box. Verdi: Falstaff (Acts 1 and 2) Sir John Falstaff....Alan Opie (baritone) Ford....Ashley Holland (baritone) Alice Ford....Susannah Glanville (soprano) Mistress Quickly....Rebecca de Pont Davies (soprano) Nannetta....Gillian Keith (soprano) Fenton....Colin Lee (tenor) Bardolph....Alasdair Elliott (tenor) Meg Page....Jean Rigby (mezzo-soprano) Pistol....Graeme Danby (bass) Dr Caius....Andrew Rees (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera Mark Wigglesworth (conductor) Evening Morning Afternoon | ||
| 20041106 | La forza del destino Leonora's planned elopement with her lover Don Alvaro goes horribly wrong when her father is shot trying to prevent it. The dying man curses his daughter, and this begins a disastrous sequence of events for everyone. The Force of Destiny, one of Verdi's most complex and tuneful operas, returns in a production new to the Royal Opera House for the first time in nearly 30 years. Antonio Pappano conducts, and Salvatore Licitra makes his house debut in one of the most difficult tenor roles in the repertoire. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Continues at 7.45pm. Verdi: La forza del destino (Acts 1 and 2) Don Alvaro....Salvatore Licitra (tenor) Leonora....Violeta Urmana (soprano) Don Carlo di Vargas....Ambrogio Maestri (baritone) Padre Guardiano....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Preziosilla....Marie-Ange Todorovitch (mezzo-soprano) Fra Melitone....Roberto de Candia (baritone) Marchese di Calatrava....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Mastro Trabuco....Peter Bronder (tenor) Curra....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Alcalde....Jonathan May (bass) Un medico....Thomas Barnard (bass) Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Renato Balsadonna) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) Antonio Pappano (conductor) Evening Morning Afternoon. Verdi: La Forza del Destino, live from the Royal Opera House. Salvatore Licitra, Violeta Urmana, Ambrogio Maestri, Ferruccio Furlanetto. Antonio Pappano conducts Act 3. Continues at 9.10pm. Verdi: La Forza del Destino, live from the Royal Opera House. Salvatore Licitra, Violeta Urmana, Ambrogio Maestri, Ferruccio Furlanetto. Antonio Pappano conducts Act 4. | ||
| 20041113 | BBC Symphony Orchestra Harrison Birtwistle: The Second Mrs Kong From the festival at the South Bank Centre celebrating Birtwistle's 70th Birthday, the BBC SO is joined by a brilliant cast for the LONDON Premiere of this major 20th century opera. This moving love-story tells of King Kong's pursuit of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring in a richly layered theatrical experience. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Kong....John Daszak Pearl....Rebecca von Lipinski Anubis/Death of Kong....Stephen Richardson Vermeer....Roderick Williams Mirror....Claire Booth Mirror Echo....Amy Freston Inanna (Mrs Dollarama)....Susan Bickley Mr Dollarama....Robert Poulton Swami Zumzum....Andrew Forbes-Lane Orpheus....Andrew Watts Madame Lena....Nuala Willis Eurydice....Lucy Crowe The Dead....Apollo Voices Director: Kenneth Richardson Sound: Sound Intermedia Martyn Brabbins (conductor). | ||
| The Triple Bill Of Operas By Luigi Dallapiccola Concludes With Il Prigioniero And Job. Presented By | 20041120 | Dallapiccola Triple Bill In the first of two evenings celebrating the centenary of the birth of Luigi Dallapiccola, Stephanie Hughes presents Frankfurt Opera's Volo di notte, based on Antoine de Saint Exupery's novel about the early, heroic period of night-time aviation, and Il prigioniero, which tells of a prisoner's attempt to escape from the cells of the Spanish Inquisition. The evening continues with Job, recorded in Hamburg, posing the question "why do the righteous suffer?" Continues at 7.55pm, after Twenty Minutes. Volo di notte Riviere, director of the airline....Zeljko Lucic (baritone) Robineau, superintendant....Soon-Won Kang (bass) Pellerin, a pilot....Hans-Jurgen Lazar (tenor) Radio Operator....Peter Bronder (tenor) Leroux, an old mechanic....Zoltan Winkler (bass) 1st Employee....Pere Llompart (tenor) 2nd Employee....Pavel Smirnov (baritone) 3rd Employee....Michael McCown (tenor) 4th Employee....Gérard Lavalle (baritone) Simona Fabien, a pilot's wife....Taina Piira (soprano) Chorus of Frankfurt Opera Frankfurt Museumsorchester Martyn Brabbins (conductor). The triple bill of operas by Luigi Dallapiccola concludes with Il Prigioniero and Job. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Il Prigioniero The Mother....Taina Piira (soprano) The Prisoner....Lucio Gallo (baritone) The Jailor / The Grand Inquisitor....Stuart Skelton (tenor) 1st Priest....Michael McCown (tenor) 2nd Priest....Dietrich Volle (baritone) Job Narrator....FRANCEsco Faccini (spoken role) Job....Markus Eiche (baritone) Elifaz....Jutta Pottoff (soprano) Baldad....Ulrike Bartsch (contralto) Zofar....Clemens Löschmann (baritone) God/Satan....NDR Chorus NDR Chorus NDR Symphony Orchestra Zoltán Pesko (conductor). | |
| The Mines Of Sulphur | 20041125 | "The season is likely to be remembered for the presentation of Richard Rodney Bennett's little-known opera The Mines of Sulphur: it's a work deserving of a place in the repertory." With those words the NEW YORK Times greeted this year's Glimmerglass Opera festival in up-state NEW YORK. Richard Rodney Bennett's first full-length opera is a Grand Guignol tale of rural murder and revenge in eighteenth century ENGLAND. It was a big hit in the 1960s when it was new - it even went down a storm at La Scala Milan. Glimmerglass's music director Stewart Robertson saw it back then as a student in Glasgow and he's wanted to conduct it ever since. Stephanie Hughes presents your chance to hear this exciting rediscovery. Richard Rodney Bennett: The Mines of Sulphur Braxton, the landowner/Sherrin, the actors' manager....Kristopher Irmiter (bass-baritone) Rosalind, Braxton's maid....Beth Clayton (soprano) Boconnion, an army deserter....Brandon Jovanovich (tenor) Tovey, a vagabond....James Maddalena (baritone) The actors Jenny....Caroline Worra (soprano) Leda....Dorothy Byrne (mezzo-soprano) Fenney....Brian Anderson (tenor) Tooley....Michael Todd Simpson (baritone) Trim....Andrew Gorell (spoken role) Orchestra of Glimmerglass Opera Stewart Robertson (conductor). | |
| Giulio Cesare In Egitto | 20041127 | Roman Emperor Julius Caesar strides into Egypt and on to the Houston stage in Handel's operatic masterpiece. Acclaimed American counter-tenor David Daniels heads the cast in this production from Houston Grand Opera - which features "the three counter-tenors"! Laura Claycomb sings the irresistible Egyptian Queen Cleopatra who finds that seduction is the quickest way to conquer Caesar, and Brian Asawa pitches his own counter-tenor against the Emperor's in the role of Ptolemy, Cleopatra's spoiled brat of a brother. Handel: Giulio Cesare in Egitto Julius Caesar....David Daniels (counter-tenor) Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt....Laura Claycomb (soprano) Ptolemy, her brother, King of Egypt....Brian Asawa (counter-tenor) Sesto, son of the Roman general Pompey....Patricia Risley (soprano) Cornelia, widow of Pompey....Phyllis Pancella (mezzo-soprano) Achilla, general, Ptolemy's adviser....Joshua Winograde (bass) Nireno, confidant of Ptolemy and Cleopatra....Matthew White (counter-tenor) Curio, confidant of Caesar....Nikolai Didenko (bass) Houston Grand Opera Orchestra Patrick Summers (conductor). | |
| Don Pasquale | 20041204 | Stephanie Hughes presents a relay of Donizetti's comic masterpiece from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Star tenor Juan Diego Flórez sings the hero Ernesto, nephew of the crusty old miser Don Pasquale - who wants to get his dirty mitts on Ernesto's beloved Norina. Can the lovers outwit him - with the help of clever Doctor Malatesta? Donizetti: Don Pasquale (in 2 acts) Ernesto....Juan Diego Flórez (tenor) Norina....Tatiana Lisnic (soprano) Don Pasquale....Simone Alaimo (bass) Doctor Malatesta....Alessandro Corbelli (baritone) Notar....Bryan Secombe (bass) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Bruno Campanella (conductor). | |
| Vespri Siciliani | 20041211 | The new season of broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in NEW YORK kicks off with Verdi's tale of 13th century French-occupied Sicily. The underlying tension between the two nationalities finally erupts in violence when weddings bells are used to signal the start of a massacre. Margaret Juntwait is the new presenter of the Met in NEW YORK - only the third regular announcer, and the first woman to take the position, since the broadcasts began in 1931. Elena....Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Arrigo....Francisco Casanova (tenor) Guido di Monforte....Leo Nucci (baritone) Giovanni da Procida....Samuel Ramey (bass) Ninetta....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Tebaldo....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Manfredo....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Danieli....Ronald Naldi (tenor) Roberto....Sebastian Catana (baritone) di Bethune....Peter Volpe (bass) Vaudemont....Andrew Gangestad (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Marcello Viotti (conductor) Includes the Met Opera Quiz at 8.20pm. Steven Blier puts listeners' questions to Ken Benson, Ben Cameron and Suzanne Martinucci. Live from the Met Tannhäuser British conductor Mark Elder and an all-star cast perform Wagner's first operatic song-contest (the second being The Mastersingers of Nuremberg). The minstrel knight Tannhäuser is torn between the orgiastic delights of the Venusberg and the chaste attractions of Elisabeth, niece of Landgrave Herrmann of Thüringia. Things come to a head at the Wartburg song contest, where the challenge for Tannhäuser and the other competitors is to define the essence of love in song. Tannhäuser....Peter Seiffert (tenor) Elisabeth....Deborah Voigt (soprano) Venus....Michelle deYoung (mezzo-soprano) Wolfram von Eschinbach....Thomas Hampson (baritone) Landgraf Herrmann....Kurt Moll (bass) Walther von der Vogelweide....John Horton Murray (tenor) Heinrich....Roy Cornelius Smith (tenor) Biterolf....Charles Taylor (baritone) Reinmar....Morris Robinson (bass) Mark Elder (conductor) Includes the Met Opera Quiz. Steven Blier puts listeners' questions to Cori Ellison, Terrence McNally and Alan Wagner. | |
| I Vespri Siciliani | 20041218 | The new season of broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in NEW YORK kicks off with Verdi's tale of 13th century French-occupied Sicily. The underlying tension between the two nationalities finally erupts in violence when weddings bells are used to signal the start of a massacre. Margaret Juntwait is the new presenter of the Met in NEW YORK - only the third regular announcer, and the first woman to take the position, since the broadcasts began in 1931. Elena....Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Arrigo....Francisco Casanova (tenor) Guido di Monforte....Leo Nucci (baritone) Giovanni da Procida....Samuel Ramey (bass) Ninetta....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Tebaldo....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Manfredo....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Danieli....Ronald Naldi (tenor) Roberto....Sebastian Catana (baritone) di Bethune....Peter Volpe (bass) Vaudemont....Andrew Gangestad (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Marcello Viotti (conductor) Includes the Met Opera Quiz at 8.20pm. Steven Blier puts listeners' questions to Ken Benson, Ben Cameron and Suzanne Martinucci. Live from the Met Tannhäuser British conductor Mark Elder and an all-star cast perform Wagner's first operatic song-contest (the second being The Mastersingers of Nuremberg). The minstrel knight Tannhäuser is torn between the orgiastic delights of the Venusberg and the chaste attractions of Elisabeth, niece of Landgrave Herrmann of Thüringia. Things come to a head at the Wartburg song contest, where the challenge for Tannhäuser and the other competitors is to define the essence of love in song. Tannhäuser....Peter Seiffert (tenor) Elisabeth....Deborah Voigt (soprano) Venus....Michelle deYoung (mezzo-soprano) Wolfram von Eschinbach....Thomas Hampson (baritone) Landgraf Herrmann....Kurt Moll (bass) Walther von der Vogelweide....John Horton Murray (tenor) Heinrich....Roy Cornelius Smith (tenor) Biterolf....Charles Taylor (baritone) Reinmar....Morris Robinson (bass) Mark Elder (conductor) Includes the Met Opera Quiz. Steven Blier puts listeners' questions to Cori Ellison, Terrence McNally and Alan Wagner. Katya Kabanova Katya feels she is fading away in the house of her weak husband Tichon and his fearsome mother Kabanicha. While her husband is away she has a fling with Boris. But when Tichon returns, she confesses everything out of shame. Distraught, Katya drowns herself. Tichon, who tries to go in after her, is stopped by his mother who persists that Katya is not worth it. Continues at 8.15pm. Janacek: Katya Kabanova (Acts 1 & 2) Katya....Karita Mattila (soprano) Varvara....Magdalena Kozena (mezzo-soprano) Kabanicha....Judith Frost (mezzo-soprano) Boris....Jorma Silvasti (tenor) Tichon....Chris Merritt (tenor) Vanya Kudrjas....Raymond Very (tenor) Dikoi....Vladimir Ognovenko (bass) Glasha....Janet Hopkins (soprano) Feklusha....Diane Elias (mezzo-soprano) Kuligin....Sebastian Catana (baritone) Jiri Belohlavek (conductor). | |
| 20041225 | Live from the Met I Vespri Siciliani The new season of broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera in NEW YORK kicks off with Verdi's tale of 13th century French-occupied Sicily. The underlying tension between the two nationalities finally erupts in violence when weddings bells are used to signal the start of a massacre. Margaret Juntwait is the new presenter of the Met in NEW YORK - only the third regular announcer, and the first woman to take the position, since the broadcasts began in 1931. Elena....Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Arrigo....Francisco Casanova (tenor) Guido di Monforte....Leo Nucci (baritone) Giovanni da Procida....Samuel Ramey (bass) Ninetta....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Tebaldo....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Manfredo....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Danieli....Ronald Naldi (tenor) Roberto....Sebastian Catana (baritone) di Bethune....Peter Volpe (bass) Vaudemont....Andrew Gangestad (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Marcello Viotti (conductor) Includes the Met Opera Quiz at 8.20pm. Steven Blier puts listeners' questions to Ken Benson, Ben Cameron and Suzanne Martinucci. Tannhäuser British conductor Mark Elder and an all-star cast perform Wagner's first operatic song-contest (the second being The Mastersingers of Nuremberg). The minstrel knight Tannhäuser is torn between the orgiastic delights of the Venusberg and the chaste attractions of Elisabeth, niece of Landgrave Herrmann of Thüringia. Things come to a head at the Wartburg song contest, where the challenge for Tannhäuser and the other competitors is to define the essence of love in song. Tannhäuser....Peter Seiffert (tenor) Elisabeth....Deborah Voigt (soprano) Venus....Michelle deYoung (mezzo-soprano) Wolfram von Eschinbach....Thomas Hampson (baritone) Landgraf Herrmann....Kurt Moll (bass) Walther von der Vogelweide....John Horton Murray (tenor) Heinrich....Roy Cornelius Smith (tenor) Biterolf....Charles Taylor (baritone) Reinmar....Morris Robinson (bass) Mark Elder (conductor) Includes the Met Opera Quiz. Steven Blier puts listeners' questions to Cori Ellison, Terrence McNally and Alan Wagner. Katya Kabanova Katya feels she is fading away in the house of her weak husband Tichon and his fearsome mother Kabanicha. While her husband is away she has a fling with Boris. But when Tichon returns, she confesses everything out of shame. Distraught, Katya drowns herself. Tichon, who tries to go in after her, is stopped by his mother who persists that Katya is not worth it. Continues at 8.15pm. Janacek: Katya Kabanova (Acts 1 & 2) Katya....Karita Mattila (soprano) Varvara....Magdalena Kozena (mezzo-soprano) Kabanicha....Judith Frost (mezzo-soprano) Boris....Jorma Silvasti (tenor) Tichon....Chris Merritt (tenor) Vanya Kudrjas....Raymond Very (tenor) Dikoi....Vladimir Ognovenko (bass) Glasha....Janet Hopkins (soprano) Feklusha....Diane Elias (mezzo-soprano) Kuligin....Sebastian Catana (baritone) Jiri Belohlavek (conductor). Live from the NEW YORK Met. Janacek's Katya Kabanaova (Act 3), starring Karita Mattila, Jorma Silvasti, Chris Merritt, Vladimir Ognovenko. Jiri Belohlavek conducts. | ||
| Rodelinda | 20050101 | Stephanie Hughes presents Radio 3's second visit to this year's Glyndebourne Festival is for a production of one of Handel's finest heroic operas. Emma Bell takes the title role of Rodelinda who believes her husband Bertarido to be dead, and who lives with her son in the clutches of the usurper Grimoaldo; he in turn is betrothed to Bertarido's sister Eduige. But Grimoaldo has set his sights on making Rodelinda his Queen and his evil sidekick Garibaldo has designs on Eduige, so a disguised Bertarido sets about rescuing his wife and son with the help of his faithful friend Unulfo. Rodelinda....Emma Bell (soprano) Grimoaldo....Timothy Robinson (tenor) Garibaldo....Paul Gay (bass-baritone) Eduige....Jean Rigby (mezzo-soprano) Bertarido....Marijana Mijanovic (mezzo-soprano) Unulfo....Matthew White (counter-tenor) Flavio....Aaron Fulthorpe (treble) Glyndebourne Chorus Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Emmanuelle Haïm (conductor). Rodelinda Live from the Met. Grimoaldo has taken the Milanese throne from Bertarido, forcing him into hiding, and now has his eye on Bertarido's wife, Rodelinda. But Bertarido is not dead, as everybody thinks, but is on his way back to Milan to seek revenge. The Met gives its broadcast premiere of Rodelinda, one of Handel's most dramatic operas, with a top line-up of soloists including Renee Fleming as Rodelinda, and David Daniels as Bertarido. Continues at 7.35pm. Handel: Rodelinda (Act 1) Rodelinda....Renée Fleming (soprano) Eduige....Stephanie Blythe (mezzo-soprano) Bertarido....David Daniels (counter-tenor) Unulfo....Bejun Mehta (counter-tenor) Grimoaldo....Kobie van Rensburg (tenor) Garibaldo....John Relyea (bass) Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Harry Bicket (conductor). Live from the NEW YORK Met, Act 2 of Handel's Rodelinda with Renee Fleming, David Daniels, Stephanie Blythe, Bejun Mehta, Kobie van Rensburg, John Relyea. Harry Bicket conducts. Continues at 9.10pm. Live from the NEW YORK Met, Act 3 of Handel's Rodelinda, with Renee Fleming, David Daniels, Stephanie Blythe, Bejun Mehta, Kobie van Rensburg, John Relyea. Harry Bicket conducts. | |
| Otello | 20050108 | Live from the Met. Ben Heppner leads an international cast as the jealous hero of Shakespeare's play, masterly reworked in music by Verdi. The action pursues the inevitable and tragic decline of Otello, the great military leader, whose love for the innocent Desdemona is poisoned by the evil Iago. Continues at 8.20pm. Verdi Otello (Acts 1 & 2) Desdemona....Barbara Frittoli (soprano) Otello....Ben Heppner (tenor) Iago....Carlo Guelfi (baitone) Emilia....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Cassio....Garrett Sorenson (tenor) Roderigo....Bernard Fitch (tenor) Montano....Charles Taylor (baritone) Lodovico....Vitalij Kowaljow (bass) Herald....Brian Davis (tenor) Chorus & Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). Live from the NEW YORK Met. Verdi's Otello Acts 3 and 4. James Levine conducts. | |
| 20050117 | Das Rheingold A world of magic and fantasy erupts on the stage of the Royal Opera House in Keith Warner's new production of Wagner's Rhinegold, launching the epic Ring cycle. And why not? Tolkien nicked plenty from Wagner, whose own "Lord of the Ring", the Nibelung Alberich, renounces love to make himself ruler of all. Bryn Terfel stars in his long-awaited debut as Wotan, leader of the Gods, whose own power is compromised by his violence and broken promises. Has he met his match? Can the world be saved? Find out over the next four operas. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. The gods Wotan....Bryn Terfel (baritone) Fricka....Rosalind Plowright (soprano) Freia....Emily Magee (soprano) Donner....James Rutherford (baritone) Froh....Will Hartmann (tenor) Loge....Philip Langridge (tenor) Erda....Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano) The Nibelung dwarves Alberich....Günter von Kannen (bass) Mime....Gerhard Siegel (tenor) The giants Fasolt....Franz-Josef Selig (bass) Fafner....Philip Ens (bass) The Rhinemaidens Woglinde....Sarah Fox (soprano) Wellgunde....Heather Shipp (mezzo-soprano) Flosshilde....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano (conductor) At 7.00pm: How does the UKs leading opera house go about creating a Ring cycle for the 21st century? Stephanie Hughes talks to the conductor - the Royal Operas Music Director Antonio Pappano - the singers, including Bryn Terfel and Rosalind Plowright - and the creative team, led by director Keith Warner. At 7.10pm: Stephanie Hughes narrates the story of the Rhinegold. The opera resumes at 7.15pm. | ||
| 20050122 | Le Roi de Lahore Massenet's exotic opera, set in INDIA and based on a story from the epic book the Mahabharata. Stephanie Hughes, in conversation with Richard Langham-Smith, presents this performance which was recorded last December at the newly restored opera house of La Fenice in Venice. Alim, the King of Lahore, is slain in battle and succeeded by ScINDIA, his rival in love for priestess Sita. But the god Indra takes pity on Alim and allows him to return to earth as a beggar to win back Sita. She kills herself to avoid the evil ScINDIA, but in doing so, she and Alim are then reunited in heaven. Massenet: Le Roi de Lahore Sita....Ana Maria Sanchez (soprano) ScINDIA....Vladimir Stoyanov (baritone) Kaled....Maria Jose Montiel (mezzo-soprano) Alim....Giuseppe Gipali (tenor) Indra....Deyan Vatchkov (bass) Timour....Riccardo Zanellato (bass) La Fenice Chorus and Orchestra Marcello Viotti (conductor). | ||
| Puccini's Turandot, Act 2: Live From The New York Metropolitan Opera With Andrea Gruber, Krassimira | 20050129 | Turandot Live from the Met. In legendary times, by the Forbidden City in Peking, a Mandarin reads an edict: any prince seeking to marry Princess Turandot must answer three riddles - and if he fails, he will die. Andrea Gruber stars as the icy princess, and John Botha as Calaf, who will eventually teach her what love is. Continues at 7.45pm. Puccini: Turandot (Act 1) Turandot....Andrea Gruber (soprano) Liù....Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano) Calàf....John Botha (tenor) Timur....Hao Jiang Tian (bass) Ping....Haijing Fu (baritone) Pang....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Pong....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Emperor....Charles Anthony (tenor) Mandarin....James Courtney (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Puccini's Turandot, Act 2: Live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera with Andrea Gruber, Krassimira Stoyanova, Johan Botha and Hao Jiang Tian. Bertrand de Billy conducts. Continues at 9.00pm. Puccini's Turandot, Act 3: Live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera with Andrea Gruber, Krassimira Stoyanova, Johan Botha and Hao Jiang Tian. Bertrand de Billy conducts. | |
| Puccini's Turandot, Act 3: Live From The New York Metropolitan Opera With Andrea Gruber, Krassimira | 20050129 | Turandot Live from the Met. In legendary times, by the Forbidden City in Peking, a Mandarin reads an edict: any prince seeking to marry Princess Turandot must answer three riddles - and if he fails, he will die. Andrea Gruber stars as the icy princess, and John Botha as Calaf, who will eventually teach her what love is. Continues at 7.45pm. Puccini: Turandot (Act 1) Turandot....Andrea Gruber (soprano) Liù....Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano) Calàf....John Botha (tenor) Timur....Hao Jiang Tian (bass) Ping....Haijing Fu (baritone) Pang....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Pong....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Emperor....Charles Anthony (tenor) Mandarin....James Courtney (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Puccini's Turandot, Act 2: Live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera with Andrea Gruber, Krassimira Stoyanova, Johan Botha and Hao Jiang Tian. Bertrand de Billy conducts. Continues at 9.00pm. Puccini's Turandot, Act 3: Live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera with Andrea Gruber, Krassimira Stoyanova, Johan Botha and Hao Jiang Tian. Bertrand de Billy conducts. | |
| 20050205 | Pelléas et Mélisande Live from the Met. 'Music in opera is far too predominant!' So said Claude Debussy, and he put his money where his mouth was in this revolutionary opera. Anne Sofie von Otter stars as the mysterious Mélisande, loved by the brothers Golaud and Pelléas. Their tragic tale plays out in as if - as Debussy put it - in dreams: 'No place, no time. No big scene. Characters at the mercy of life or destiny...' Continues at 8.05pm, after Opera News on the AIr. Mélisande....Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) Pelléas....William Burden (tenor) Golaud....José van Dam (baritone) Arkel....Roberto Scandiuzzi (bass) Geneviève....Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano) Doctor....Patrick Carfizzi (baritone) Shepherd....LeRoy Lehr (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (Act 3): Opera on 3 continues with Act 3 of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera, conducted by James Levine. Continues at 9.05pm. Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande (Acts 4 and 5): Live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera with Anne Sofie von Otter, William Burden, Jose van Dam, Felicity Palmer and Roberto Scandiuzzi. | ||
| Le Nozze Di Figaro (acts 3 & 4): Mozart's Opera Live From The New York Met With John Relyea, Andrea | 20050212 | Continuesat7.40pm,afterTwentyMinutes | Le Nozze di Figaro Live from the Met. Mozart's heady mix of subterfuge, sexual jealousy and revenge centres around the relationships between two couples: the Count and Countess Almaviva, unhappy in their marriage, and on the other hand Figaro and Susanna, who are on the brink of marital bliss. That is until the Count does everything to cancel the wedding because of his feelings for Susanna; eventually he's caught out and returns to his wife to beg her forgiveness, a humbler and wiser man. Countess....Janice Watson (soprano) Susanna....Andrea Rost (soprano) Cherubino....Jossie Pérez (soprano) Count....Mariusz Kwiecien (baritone) Figaro....John Relyea (bass) Babarina....Yvonne Gonzales Redman (soprano) Marcellina....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Don Basilio....Michel Sénéchal (tenor) Don Curzio....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Dr. Bartolo....Robert Lloyd (bass) Antonio....Patrick Carfizzi (baritone) 1st Bridesmaid....Anita Johnson (soprano) 2nd Bridesmaid....Edyta Kulczak (mezzo-soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). Le Nozze di Figaro (Act 2): Mozart's opera live from the NEW YORK Met with John Relyea, Andrea Rost, Janice Watson, Mariusz Kwiecien and Jossie Perez. [Continues at 9.05pm, after The Met Opera Quiz] Le Nozze di Figaro (Acts 3 & 4): Mozart's opera live from the NEW YORK Met with John Relyea, Andrea Rost, Janice Watson, Mariusz Kwiecien and Jossie Perez, conducted by James Levine. |
| 20050219 | Continuesat7.55pm,afterTwentyMinutes | La Boheme Live from the Met. Ruth Anne Swenson and Roberto Alagna star in Puccini's bittersweet masterpiece. It's PARIS, CHRISTMAS Eve, c1830. In their Latin Quarter garret, painter Marcello and poet Rodolfo try to keep warm by burning pages from Rodolfo's latest drama. Then fragile Mimì appears at the door, saying her candle has gone out. Nothing will be the same again for Rodolfo. Mimì....Ruth Ann Swenson (soprano) Musetta....Patricia Racette (soprano) Rodolfo....Roberto Alagna (tenor) Marcello....Dwanye Croft (baritone) Schaunard....Earle Patriarco (baritone) Colline....Oren Gradus (bass) Benoit / Alcindoro....Paul Plishka (bass) Officer....Robert Maher (baritone) Sergeant....David Asch (bass) Parpignol....Gregory Lorenz (tenor) Prugne di Tours....Jeffrey Mosher (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Daniel Oren (conductor). La Boheme (Act 3): Ruth Anne Swenson and Roberto Alagna star in Puccini's bittersweet masterpiece live from the NEW YORK Met. [Continues at 8.45pm, after The Met Opera Quiz] La Boheme (Act 4): Ruth Anne Swenson and Roberto Alagna star while Daniel Oren conducts in Puccini's bittersweet masterpiece, live from the NEW YORK Met. | |
| 20050226 | Continuesat8.20pm,afterTheMetOperaQuiz | Nabucco Live from the Met. For Hebrews, read Italians. Verdi's operatic breakthough with Nabucco was as much about nationalism as it was about music. On the long road to Italian unity, the song that kept them all going was the famous Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, Va pensiero. Nabucco, King of Babylon....Nikolai Putilin (baritone) Abigaille, his elder daughter....Maria Guleghina (soprano) Fenena, his younger daughter....Wendy White (soprano) Zaccaria, Hebrew High Priest....Paata Burchuladze (bass) Ismaele, Hebrew lover of Fenena....Gwyn Hughes Jones (tenor) High Priest of Baal....Julien Robbins (bass) Abdallo....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Anna....Claudia Waite (soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). Nabucco (Acts 3 & 4): Concluding tonight's live performance of Verdi's breakthrough work by the Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera, conducted by James Levine. | |
| 20050228 | Wozzeck From 7.30pm: The opening night of a new Welsh National Opera production in its new home, the Wales Millennium Centre. Stephanie Hughes meets the General Director of WNO, Anthony Freud, at the centre in Cardiff Bay to discuss the significance of the company's move there. Then, before curtain goes up on this historic performance, director Richard Jones, conductor Vladimir Jurowski, and soloists talk about why Berg's modernist classic of 20th century opera, Wozzeck, remains so radical. First performed in 1925, but banned as degenerate by the Nazis in 1933, it became the first atonal opera to find a niche in the repertoire after World War Two. From 7.45pm we present Acts 1-3 of the opera with no interval. Wozzeck, an uncomprehending and neurotic private soldier, is forced to submit to the humiliating demands of his superiors in order to earn enough money to feed his mistress, Marie, and their illegitimate child. Brutalized and subject to hallucinations, he is driven over the edge when he learns Marie has been unfaithful to him. Wozzeck....Christopher Purves Captain....Peter Hoare Marie....Gun-Brit Barkmin Drum-Major....Peter Svensson Doctor....Clive Bayley Andres....Matthew Beale Margret....Nicola Morgan Apprentice 1....Tim Mirfin Apprentice 2....Howard Kirk Idiot....Michael Clifton-Thompson Orderly....Michael Clifton-Thompson Soldier....Paul Gyton Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). | ||
| 20050302 | La Traviata The second of this week's broadcasts from Welsh National Opera's debut season at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Nuccia Focile and Peter Wedd star as the tragic lovers in this modern production of Verdi's timeless tale, conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Violetta....Nuccia Focile Alfredo....Peter Wedd Giorgio Germont....Jonathan Summers Baron Douphol....Eddie Wade Flora....Amanda Baldwin Marquis of Obigny....Gareth Rhys-Davies Doctor Grenvil....David Soar Gaston....Philip Lloyd Holtam Annina....Sian Meinir Giuseppe....Michael Clifton-Thompson A Peasant....John King Flora's Servant....George Newton-Fitzgerald Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera Carlo Rizzi (conductor). | ||
| Samson Et Dalila | 20050305 | Continuesat7.45pm,afterTwentyMinutes | Live from the Met. Sex and religion are the driving forces in Saint-Saëns' opera based on the biblical story from the Book of Judges. Samson is the hero who fights, but eventually gives in to, the feminine wiles of Dalila. But when he is taken prisoner to the pagan temple of Dagon, Samson prays to God to restore his strength and wreaks a terrible revenge. Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila (Act 1) Dalila....Denyce Graves (mezzo-soprano) Samson....José Cura (tenor) High Priest....Jean-Philippe Lafont (baritone) Abimélech....James Courtney (bass) The Old Hebrew....Robert Lloyd (bass) 1st Philistine....Bernard Fitch (tenor) 2nd Philistine....Richard Hobson (baritone) Messenger....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Samson et Dalila: Act 2 of Saint-Saens's opera with Denyce Graves, Jose Cura and the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Met/Bertrand de Billy. [Continues at 8.30pm, after the Met Opera Quiz] Samson et Dalila: Act 3 of Saint-Saens's opera with Denyce Graves, Jose Cura and the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropliation Opera/Bertrand de Billy. Live from the Met. |
| Il Barbiere Di Siviglia | 20050312 | Rossini's setting of the first play in the trilogy by Beaumarchais is the tale of Figaro before his marriage, when he was a carefree barber in the city of Seville. As he says, his profession opens every door in the city to him, and so he is able to help Count Almaviva - who has fallen in love with the beautiful Rosina - ward off the comically pompous Dr Bartolo who keeps her a virtual prisoner. But as Bartolo wishes to marry Rosina himself, there is much intrigue involving secret letters, disguises and hastily hatched plots before the lovers are married in the nick of time, and Bartolo is left with no option but to grin and bear it. Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Acts 1 and 2) Rosina....Katarina Karnéus (mezzo-soprano) Count Almaviva....Matthew Polenzani (tenor) Figaro....Franco Vassallo (baritone) Dr Bartolo....Carlos Chausson (bass) Don Basilio....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Berta....Claudia Waite (soprano) SergeantBernard Fitch (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Maurizio Benini (conductor). Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait, live from the Met. Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Act 3) | |
| Don Carlo | 20050319 | Live from the Met. Don Carlo, heir to the Spanish throne, has been promised to Elisabeth, daughter of the King of FRANCE, to promote peace between the two nations. They meet and fall in love, but it's then decided that Elisabeth should marry Carlo's father, Philip II of Spain, instead. This begins a tale of conflict between father and son, crown and church, and love and duty. Verdi's epic Don Carlo contains some of his most dramatic and memorable music, and is sung by a top cast including Sondra Radvanovsky, Violeta Urmana and Richard Margison. Presented by Margaret Juntwait. Elisabeth de Valois....Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Princess Eboli....Violeta Urmana (soprano) Don Carlo....Richard Margison (tenor) Rodrigo, Count of Posa....Dwayne Croft (baritone) Philip II....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Grand Inquisitor....Samuel Ramey (bass) Voce dal Ciel....Olga Makarina (soprano) Tebaldo....Sandra Lopez (soprano) Herald....Dimitri Pittas (tenor) Lerma....Brian Davis (tenor) Frate....Vitalij Kowaljow (bass) Forester....Patrick Carfizzi (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Fabio Luisi (conductor). Don Carlo (Act 3): Continuing the performance of Verdi's epic by the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera, conducted by Fabio Luisi. [Continues at 8.45pm, after The Met Opera Quiz] Don Carlo (Acts 4 & 5): Concluding the performance of Verdi's epic tale of love and duty by the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera, conducted by Fabio Luisi. | |
| 20050326 | Continuesat8.20pm,afterConductors'RoundTable | Leoncavallo: Pagliacci Tonight's Opera on 3 continues live from the Met with Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. Nedda....Daniela Dessì (soprano) Canio....John Mac Master (tenor) Tonio....Juan Pons (baritone) Beppe....Philippe Castagner (tenor) Silvio....Mariusz Kwiecien (baritone) Villager....Daniel C. Smith (tenor) Villager....Jason Hendrix (bass-baritone). Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci Live from the Met. Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, the ever-popular pair of short operas, return to the Met for a special Easter performance. Easter Sunday, c1880: Lola and Turiddu were sweethearts, but when Turiddu went to do his military service she married another man. When Turiddu came back and found out, he didn't see the funny side. Things will never be the same in the little Sicilian village? A troupe of travelling players comes to town, and the impressario guards his young wife jealously. As it turns out, he has every reason to. Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait. Santuzza....Violeta Urmana (soprano) Turiddu....Eduardo Villa (tenor) Alfio....Frederick Burchinal (baritone) Lola....Sandra Piques Eddy (mezzo-soprano) Mamma Lucia....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Peasant Woman....Mary Meyers (soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Dennis Russell Davies (conductor) | |
| 20050402 | Continuesat8.15pm,afterOperaNewsontheAir | Der Rosenkavalier Live from the Met. The Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera perform Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. Some of Richard Strauss? most glorious music is to be found in this romantic comedy set in 18th century Vienna, a tale of passion, farce and tangled emotions between the aristocratic Marschallin, her youthful lover Octavian, `The Knight of the Rose?, and the beautiful young Sophie, the unfortunate fiancée of the Marschallin?s boorish cousin, Baron Ochs. Marschallin....Angela Denoke (soprano) Octavian....Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano) Sophie....Laura Aikin (soprano) Baron Ochs....Peter Rose (bass) Faninal....Håkan Hagegård (baritone) Marianne....Claudia Waite (soprano) Annina....Wendy White (mezzo-soprano) Valzacchi....Greg Fedderly (tenor) Italian Singer....Matthew Polenzani (tenor) Police Commissar....Paul Plishka (bass) Innkeeper....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Notary....James Courtney (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Donald Runnicles (conductor) Tonight's Opera on 3 continues live from the Met with Act 2 of Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. [Continues at 9.50pm, after the Met Opera Quiz] Continuing tonight's Opera on 3 live from the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera, Act 3 of Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier. | |
| Tosca | 20050409 | Continuesat7.50pm,afterAMapofManhattan | The Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera perform Puccini's Tosca. Margaret Juntwait presents Puccini's opera about an opera singer, Floria Tosca, who thinks she knows how to outwit the notorious Baron Scarpia the vicious Police Chief of Rome. He's out to get her lover Cavaradossi for helping an escaped prisoner, and, in turn, to get her for himself. They strike a bargain to spare Cavaradossi's life, but Tosca murders Scarpia rather than submit to him and he in turn has his revenge from the grave when the mock execution of Cavaradossi turns out to be real. Tosca....Maria Guleghina (soprano) Cavaradossi....Salvatore Licitra (tenor) Scarpia....Mark Delavan (baritone) Spoletta....Bernard Fitch (tenor) Sciarrone....Richard Vernon (bass) Angelotti....Richard Bernstein (bass) Sacristan....Paul Plishka (bass) Jailer....Vaclovas Daunoras (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Conlon (conductor) Tonight's Opera on 3 concludes live from the Met, with Act 3 of Puccini's Tosca. Tonight's Opera on 3 continues live from the Met with Act 2 of Puccini's Tosca. [Continues at 9.05, after The Met Opera Quiz] |
| 20050416 | Continuesat8.15pm,afterAMapofManhattan | Die Zauberflöte Tamino is rescued from a huge serpent by the three attendants of the Queen of the Night. They persuade him to rescue the Queen's beautiful daughter, Pamina, who is held prisoner by Sarastro. Tamino sets off on his adventure, protected by a magic flute and glockenspiel, and with Papageno the birdcatcher for company. Mozart's allegorical singspiel is open to many interpretations, but there's no doubting the quality of the music. It's performed tonight by a top cast, including Lisa Milne as Pamina and Matthew Polenzani as Tamino, conducted by James Levine. Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait. Pamina....Lisa Milne (soprano) Queen of the Night....Erika Miklósa (soprano) Tamino....Matthew Polenzani (tenor) Papageno....Matthias Goerne (baritone) Sprecher....René Pape (bass) Sarastro....Kurt Moll (bass) Papagena....Anna Christy (soprano) 1st Lady....Emily Pulley (soprano) 2nd Lady....Jossie Pérez (soprano) 3rd Lady....Wendy White (mezzo-soprano) Monostatos....Volker Vogel (tenor) 1st Priest....James Courtney (bass) 2nd Priest....Bernard Fitch (tenor) 1st Armed Man....Garrett Sorenson (tenor) 2nd Armed Man....Morris Robinson (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor) The second and concluding act of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, performed live by the Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Met conducted by James Levine. | |
| 20050423 | Continuesat7.05pm,afterTheMetOperaQuiz | Tonight's Opera on 3 concludes with Act 3 of Wagner's Die Walküre, live from the NEW YORK Met. Tonight's performance of Wagner's Die Walküre, continues with Act 2, live from the NEW YORK Met. [Continues at 9.15pm, after Opera News on the Air - Singers' Round Table] Live from the NEW YORK Met, Margaret Juntwait presents the Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera, conducted by Valery Gergiev, performing Act 1 of Wagner's Die Walküre. The cast is led by Plácido Domingo and Katarina Dalayman. The story concerns the relationship between brother and sister Siegmund and Sieglinde, who discover they are related after they've fallen in love. Their father, Wotan, the arrogant leader of the gods, is forced to disown them by his nagging wife Fricka, who's horrified by their relationship that breaks all laws. But then comes the crucial turning-point of the whole Ring Cycle. Brünnhilde the Valkyrie of the title, who's another of Wotan's army of illegitimate children, is so moved by Siegmund's love for Sieglinde that she decides to defy her father and help the lovers. Sieglinde....Katarina Dalayman (soprano) Siegmund....Plácido Domingo (tenor) Brünnhilde....Olga Sergeeva (soprano) Wotan....Mikhail Kit (baritone) Fricka....Larissa Diadkova (mezzo-soprano) Hunding, Sieglinde's husband....Stephen Milling (bass) Helmwige....Claudia Waite (soprano) Gerhilde....Rebecca Copley (soprano) Ortlinde....Janet Hopkins (soprano) Siegrune....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Waltraute....Victoria Livengood (mezzo-soprano) Grimgerde....Jane Gilbert (soprano) Rossweisse....Malin Fritz (mezzo-soprano) Schwertleite....Ellen Rabiner (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera Valery Gergiev (conductor) Evening Morning Afternoon. | |
| 20050430 | Continuesat7.50pmafterTheMetOperaQuiz | Acts 1 and 2. Faust: Live from the Met Roberto Alagna and Soile Isokoski star in a new Metropolitan Opera production of this ever-popular French opera. Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait. During a visit from the debonair Méphistophélès, the despairing and elderly philosopher Faust is manipulated into surrendering his immortal soul in exchange for the alluring promise of eternal youth and the love of a beautiful woman. Marguerite....Soile Isokoski (soprano) Siébel....Kristine Jepson (mezzo-soprano) Faust....Roberto Alagna (tenor) Valentin....Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Méphistophélès....René Pape (bass) Marthe....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Wagner....Patrick Carfizzi Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor) Act 3. Faust. Live from the Met: Roberto Alagna and Soile Isokoski star in a new Met production. Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait. [Continues at 9.10pm after Interval] Acts 4 and 5. Faust. Live from the Met: Roberto Alagna and Soile Isokoski star in a new Met production. Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait. | |
| 20050507 | Continuesat8.05pmafterOperaNewsontheAir | Act 1. La Clemenza di Tito. Live from the Met The Roman emperor Tito finds his well-known clemency tested to the full, not in the affairs of Rome, but of his own heart. Bowing to pressure to marry a Roman princess, Tito chooses Servilia, but releases her when he learns she is in love with his friend Annio. Meanwhile, Vitellia, furious at not being chosen herself, plots Tito's murder. Mozart's final opera seria was written during the last year of his life, while he was also working on The Magic Flute and the Requiem. The top cast tonight includes Anne Sofie von Otter and Sarah Connolly. Presented from NEW YORK by Margaret Juntwait. Servilia....Heidi Grant Murphy (soprano) Vitellia....Melanie Diener (soprano) Sesto....Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) Annio....Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Tito....Frank Lopardo (tenor) Publio....Luca Pisaroni (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the NEW YORK Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor) Act 2. La Clemenza di Tito. Live from the Met: Margaret Juntwait presents the concluding part of Mozart's opera from NEW YORK. Cast includes Anne Sofie von Otter and Sarah Connolly. | |
| The Knot Garden | 20050514 | Continuesat8.45pmafterTwentyMinutes | Tippet's The Knot Garden, live from the Barbican Elizabethan Knot Gardens often resembled a maze. Tippett's opera, with his own libretto, deals with 20th century relationships in turmoil, and has strong echoes of Shakespeare's The Tempest with its themes of enchantment and isolation. The Knot Garden caused controversy at its premiere in 1970. Two of the main characters - the bisexual Black writer Mel and his white friend Dov, a musician - are probably the first openly gay couple to appear in opera. It is their relationship, grown fragile, around which much of the plot revolves. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Faber....Christopher Purves (baritone) Thea....Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano) Flora....Ailish Tynan (soprano) Denise....Rachel Hynes (soprano) Mel....Roderick Williams (baritone) Doy....James Gilchrist (tenor) Mangus....Alan Opie (baritone) BBC Symphony Orchestra Andrew Davis (conductor) |
| Un Ballo In Maschera | 20050521 | Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducts this new production of Verdi's 'most operatic of operas', with the three principals making their debuts in these roles. Marcelo Alvarez plays the governor Riccardo, with Thomas Hampson as his devoted political ally and friend Renato. These characters both love the same woman - Renato's wife Amelia, sung by Karita Mattila - and when Renato turns assassin out of jealousy, the fortune teller Ulrica's prophecy comes true and Riccardo is murdered at Un Ballo in Maschera - a masked ball. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Verdi: Un ballo in maschera Riccardo....Marcelo Alvarez (tenor) Amelia....Karita Mattila (soprano) Renato....Thomas Hampson (baritone) Ulrica....Elisabetta Fiorillo (mezzo-soprano) Oscar....Camilla Tilling (soprano) Sam....Giovan Battista Parodi (bass) Tom....Matthew Rose (bass) Silvano....Jared Holt (baritone) Judge....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Amelia's servant....Neil Gillespie (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Vasko Vassilev (concert master) Antonio Pappano (conductor). | |
| 20050525 | Continuesat9.00pmafterOperaBox | 1984. Act I The Royal Opera House presents the World Premiere of Lorin Maazel's 1984, based on George Orwell's sinister portrayal of a future under the totalitarian regime of Big Brother. Simon Keenlyside and Nancy Gustafson create the roles of Winston and Julia, who dare to defy the system and risk everything in order to love each other. The production is directed by Robert Lepage, and conducted by the composer. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Winston....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Julia....Nancy Gustafson (soprano) O'Brien....Richard Margison (tenor) Syme....Lawrence Brownlee (tenor) Parsons....Jeremy White (bass) Gym Instructress/Drunken Woman....Diana Damrau (soprano) Charrington....Graeme Danby (bass) Prole Woman....Mary Lloyd Davies (soprano) Café Singer....Johnnie Fiori Pub Quartet....The Demon Barbers Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (Chorus Director) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Peter Manning (Concert Master) Lorin Maazel (conductor) 1984. Act II: Stephanie Hughes presents the concluding part of Lorin Maazel's 1984, based on George Orwell's classic novel, from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. | |
| 20050528 | BBC Symphony Orchestra The French composer Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) was fascinated both by Arthurian legend and the operas of Wagner. His only opera, set in 6th century ENGLAND, brings to life the tragic tale of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table - with its themes of illicit love, cHIValry and magic. The superb cast and orchestra are conducted in this new studio recording by Leon Botstein. Presented by Stephanie Hughes with Roger Nichols. Chausson: Le Roi Arthus Genièvre....Susan Bullock (soprano) Arthus....Andrew Schroeder (baritone) Lancelot....Simon O'Neill (tenor) Merlin....François Le Roux (baritone) Mordred....Daniel Okulitch (baritone) Lyonnel....Garrett Sorenson (tenor) Allan....Sir Donald McIntyre (bass-baritone) Apollo Voices Leon Botstein (conductor). | ||
| 20050604 | Bernstein Season. Candide Against the backdrop of McCarthy's witch hunts in the 1950s, Leonard Bernstein and playwright Lillian Hellman found inspiration in Voltaire's satirical novella Candide, set in 18th century FRANCE, which seemed to parody their own turbulent times. This concert performance with a star-studded cast led by Sir Thomas Allen, with Michael Slattery as Candide and Carla Huhtanen as Cunegonde, was recorded earlier this year in the Royal Festival Hall, LONDON. Presented by Tommy Pearson with Humphrey Burton. Narrator/Pangloss/Martin....Thomas Allen Candide....Michael Slattery Cunegonde....Carla Huhtanen The Old Lady....Kim Criswell Maximilian....Sebastien Lemoine Captain/Governor/Vanderdendur/Crook....Bonaventura Bottone Paquette....Anna-Jane Casey Achmet/Alchemist/Segnor/Grand Inquisitor/Bear-Keeper/Ragotski....Christopher Dee Charles Edward/Cosmetic Merchant/Inquisitor I/Judge....Andrew Busher Herman/Junkman/Segnor/Inquisitor II/Croupier/Judge....Mark Meadows Ivan/Doctor/Inquisitor III/Judge....Bruce Ogston Maida Vale Singers and members of the Trinity College of Music Choir BBC Concert Orchestra Rumon Gamba (conductor). | ||
| La Cenerentola | 20050611 | Cenerentola is not allowed to go to the ball where Prince Ramiro will be choosing a bride, but when he arrives at her house disguised as his servant they immediately fall in love. Rossini's take on the Cinderella tale has no fairy godmother, pumpkins or lost slippers. This is a comic opera with a darker side, more about social mobility than magic. In this new production from Glyndebourne, Ruxandra Donose plays Cenerentola with Maxim Mironov making his debut as Prince Ramiro. Vladimir Jurowski and Peter Hall conduct and direct, and discuss their views of Rossini's masterpiece with Stephanie Hughes. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Rossini: La Cenerentola, in two acts Angelina (Cenerentola)....Ruxandra Donose (mezzo-soprano) Don Ramiro....Maxim Mironov (tenor) Dandini....Simone Alberghini (bass-baritone) Alidoro....Nathan Berg (bass-baritone) Don Magnifico....Luciano Di Pasquale (bass) Clorinda....Raquela Sheeran (soprano) Tisbe....Lucia Cirillo (mezzo-soprano) The Glyndebourne ChorusLONDON Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). | |
| Orphée | 20050625 | The Linbury Studio Theatre at The Royal Opera is the venue for this UK premiere production of Philip Glass' Orphée. It's the first in a trilogy of music theatre pieces that Glass wrote in the 1990s based on films by Jean Cocteau, and sees Orpheus transformed into a trendy French poet. The broadcast is introduced by Stephanie Hughes in conversation with the music consultant of Tate Modern, conductor Richard Bernas. La Princesse....Ha Young Lee (soprano) Eurydice....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) Heurtebise....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Orphée....Jared Holt (baritone) Aglaonice....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Cégeste....Christopher Steele (tenor) Reporter/Glazier....Nicholas Sales (tenor) Poet....Brian Bannatyne-Scott (bass) Judge....Matthew Rose (bass) Commissaire....Mark Richardson (bass) Members of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Conducted by Rory MacDonald. | |
| Smetena - The Bartered Bride | 20050702 | Stephanie Hughes presents the Glyndebourne production of Smetana's comic opera about the relationship between love and money. Can true love win against the cynical manipulations of parents and marriage brokers? Will a mysterious man from outside the village be a better husband than someone nearer to home? Will the little dog of the travelling English circus perform on the night as he should? Ludmilla....Diana Montague (mezzo-soprano) Kruina....Andrew Shore (baritone) Marenka....Solveig Kringelborn (soprano) Mícha....Alan Fairs (bass) Háta....Frances McCafferty (mezzo-soprano) Vaek....Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (bass) Jeník....Julian Gavin (tenor) Kecal....Reinhard Dorn (bass) Ringmaster....Andrew Forbes-Lane (tenor) Esmerelda....Olga Schalaewa (soprano) The Glyndebourne ChorusLondon Philharmonic Orchestra Dietfried Bernet (conductor). | |
| Cosi Fan Tutte | 20050708 | from The Sage, Gateshead. Sir Thomas Allen directs this simply staged new production of Mozart's well-loved opera, featuring six gifted young singers supported by the Hexham-based youth arts outfit, The Samling Foundation. Northern Sinfonia is conducted by Thomas Zehetmair. Fiordiligi....Henriikka Gröndahl Dorabella....Carolyn Dobbin Guglielmo....Mattijs van de Woerd Ferrando....Rafael Vasquez Despina....Amy Freston Don Alfonso....Richard Morrison Northern Sinfonia Northern Sinfonia Chorus Thomas Zehetmair (conductor) Sir Thomas Allen (director). | |
| Mitridate, Re Di Ponto | 20050709 | Stephanie Hughes presents an opera by a 14-year-old. Who else but Mozart? Richard Hickox conducts this Royal Opera production, directed by Graham Vick, with Bruce Ford in the title role. Mozart based the story of the opera on the real life Mithridates VI, a genuine historical figure: a rather nasty King of Pontus on the Black Sea, who fought the Roman Empire for 50 years until his defeat and suicide in 63BC. Mozart: Mitridate, re di Ponto, in 3 acts Mitridate, King of Pontus....Bruce Ford (tenor) Aspasia, his betrothed....Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Sifare, his younger son....Sally Matthews (soprano) Farnace, his elder son....David Daniels (counter-tenor) Ismene, Farnace's betrothed....Susan Gritton (soprano) Marzio, Roman tribune....Colin Lee (tenor) Arbate, Governor of Nymphaeum....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Peter Manning (concert master) Richard Hickox (conductor). | |
| 20050921 | Shakespeare in opera is the theme as the aspiring stars of the Royal Opera's Young Artists Programme give their annual concert on the main stage of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Nicolai: The Merry Wives of Windsor - Overture Rossini: Otello - from Act 2 Desdemona....Victoria Nava (soprano) Otello....James Edwards (tenor) Iago....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Rodrigo....Robert Murray (tenor) Ambroise Thomas: Hamlet - from Act 3 Ophélie....Ha Young Lee (soprano) Gertrude....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Hamlet....Jared Holt (baritone) Le Spectre....Matthew Rose (bass) Gounod: Roméo et Juliette - from Act 3 Juliette....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) Roméo....James Edwards (tenor) Frère Laurent....Matthew Rose (bass) Verdi: Macbeth - ballet music from Act 3 Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream, from Act 2 Titania....Ha Young Lee (soprano) Bottom....Matthew Rose (bass) Cobweb....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) Peaseblossom....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Mustardseed....James Edwards (tenor) Moth....Robert Murray (tenor) Walton: Troilus and Cressida - from Act 2 Cressida....Victoria Nava (soprano) Troilus....Robert Murray (tenor) Pandarus....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Diomedes....Jared Holt (baritone) Evadne....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Graeme Jenkins, Rory Macdonald (conductor). | ||
| La Fanciulla Del West | 20050924 | ContinuesafterOperaBoxat8.00pm | Set against a backdrop of the California gold rush, Puccini's La Fanciulla del West returns to the Royal Opera House in a celebrated production by Piero Faggioni, with Andrea Gruber as the heroine and José Cura as the dashing villain. Minnie falls in love with a visitor to her saloon, Dick Johnson, not realising that he's actually the notorious bandit Ramerrez. But Rance the Sheriff is determined to win Minnie's love, and to bring the villain to justice. Minnie....Andrea Gruber (soprano) Dick Johnson....José Cura (tenor) Jack Rance....Mark Delavan (baritone) Nick....Francis Egerton (tenor) Ashby....Robert Lloyd (bass) Jack Wallace....Jonathan Lemalu (baritone) Sonora....Mark Stone (baritone) Bello....Grant Doyle (baritone) Happy....Jared Holt (baritone) Joe....Harry Nicoll (tenor) Larkens....Graeme Broadbent (bass) Trin....Hubert Francis (tenor) Harry....Robert Murray (tenor) Sid....Adrian Clarke (baritone) José Castro....Jeremy White (bass) Wowkle....Clare Shearer (mezzo-soprano) Billy Jackrabbit....Graeme Danby (bass) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Royal Opera Chorus Antonio Pappano (conductor) The second act of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West live from the Royal Opera House. [Continues after Twenty Minutes at 9.10pm] The third and final act of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, live from the Royal Opera House. |
| Carmen | 20050927 | Symphony Hall in Birmingham becomes the colourful Spanish town of Seville as the CBSO's Artistic Director Sakari Oramo conducts Bizet's Carmen. Carmen....Katarina Karneus (mezzo soprano) Don Jose....Gordon Gietz (tenor) Frasquita....Mary Hegarty (soprano) Escamillo....Leigh Melrose (baritone) Micaela....Geraldine McGreevy (soprano) El Don Cairo....Jonathan Gunthorpe (baritone) Mercedes....Emma Selway (mezzo soprano) Morales....Rhydian Roberts (baritone) Zuniga....Quentin Hayes (baritone) El Remendado....Nicholas Watts (tenor) City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus (seniors) Sakari Oramo (conductor) Michael Barry (director). | |
| The Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant | 20051001 | Continuesat8.45pmafterOperaBox | Stephanie Hughes introduces Gerald Barry's new opera, based on the play by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, translated by Denis Calandra, exploring the tortured connections between desire and power. Petra von Kant, a successful but arrogant fashion designer in her mid-30s, falls passionately in love with Karin, a beautiful, cunning young woman who wants a career in modelling. Watching over everything, but never uttering a single word, is the enigmatic Marianne, the slavish secretary, maid and co-designer, whom Petra takes every opportunity to humiliate. Petra and Karin seal their newfound relationship with a torrid kiss, but the aftermath is devastating. Acts 1 and 2 are performed before the interval. Acts 3, 4 and 5 follow after the interval. Petra von Kant, a famous fashion designer....Stephanie Friede (soprano) Karin Thimm, a young model....Rebecca von Lipinski (soprano) Sidonie von Grasenabb, a friend....Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano) Valerie von Kant, Petra's mother....Kathryn Harries (mezzo-soprano) Gabriele von Kant, Petra's daughter....Barbara Hannigan (soprano) Marlene, Petra's assistant....Linda Kitchen (soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera André de Ridder (conductor) The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, Acts 3, 4 and 5: Stephanie Hughes introduces the second half of Gerald Barry's new opera, based on the play by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. |
| Maskarade | 20051008 | Continuesat8.25pmafterOperaBox | The comic opera comes to London's Royal Opera House for the first time, a century after it was written. Carl Nielsen's sparkling music tells a classic tale of star-crossed young love rebelling against killjoy parents - with the help of some servants who are happy to take the mickey out of all and sundry. This egalitarianism - epitomised by the masked ball of the title, where everyone is equal - was what drew Nielsen to the story in the first place; and some say it's typically Danish. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Leander, the hero....Michael Schade (tenor) Leonora, the heroine....Emma Bell (soprano) Henrik, Leander's servant....Kyle Ketelsen (bass-baritone) Pernille, Leonora's maid....Gail Pearson (soprano) Jeronimus, Leander's father....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Magdelone, Leander's mother....Kari Hamnøy (mezzo-soprano) Arv, their servant....Adrian Thompson (tenor) Leonard, somebody's father....Robin Leggate (tenor) Corporal Mors....Martin Winkler (bass) Flower seller....John Hewitt-Jones (bass) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Vasko Vassilev (concert master) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Michael Schønwandt (conductor) The second and third acts of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade, from London's Royal Opera House. |
| Isis | 20051015 | One of Lully's most grandiose tragic operas is brought back to life by the French ensemble devoted entirely to reviving France's musical heritage of the 17th and 18th centuries - La Simphonie du Marais. Its founder Hugo Reyne directs this concert performance recorded in July at the 9th festival of Baroque music in Vendée, France. The opera's characters are taken from ancient mythology: Jupiter tries to seduce the nymph Io, but Juno (wife of the King of the Gods) is jealous. She punishes Io, who is imprisoned, escapes and is ultimately saved from death when Jupiter agrees to renounce his love for her; Juno responds by turning her into the goddess Isis. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Io, who becomes Isis....Françoise Masset (soprano) Renown, Iris, Hebes....Isabelle Desrochers (soprano) Calliope, Mycenes, Syrinx....Valérie Gabail (soprano) Juno....Guillemette Laurens (mezzo-soprano) Apollo, Pirante....Robert Getchell (tenor) Mercury....Howard Crook (tenor) Hierax, Pan....Bertrand Chuberre (bass) Jupiter....Bernard Deletré (bass) Neptune....Renaud Delaigue (bass) Le Chur du Marais La Simphonie du Marais Hugo Reyne (conductor). | |
| Tristan Und Isolde | 20051022 | An acclaimed performance of Wagner's most intimate music drama from the Bastille in Paris, recorded in May this year. The cast includes Ben Heppner and Waltraud Meier as the star-crossed lovers who discover that only in death can their love be truly fulfilled. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Tristan....Ben Heppner (tenor) Isolde....Waltraud Meier (soprano) Jurwenal, Tristan's assistant....Jukka Rasilainen (baritone) Brangäne, Isolde's maid....Yvonne Naef (soprano) King Mark....Franz-Josef Selig (bass) A shepherd/A young sailor....Toby Spence (tenor) Melot....Alexander Marco-Buhrmeister (tenor) A steersman....David Bizic (baritone) Paris National Opera Orchestra Esa Pekka Salonen (conductor). | |
| Siegfried | 20051029 | Continuesat8.10pmafterOperaBox | The Royal Opera's new cycle of Wagner's Ring reaches it third instalment, the story of the coming-of-age of young Siegfried. Will this innocent hero forge the sword to kill the dragon Fafner and retrieve the all-powerful Ring itself? Will he brave the fire and the wrath of his grandfather Wotan to wake and woo the beautiful sleeping Valkyrie Brünnhilde? Or will he be outwitted by the devious Nibelungs Mime and Alberich? Presented by Stephanie Hughes, who meets the featured singers, conductor Antonio Pappano and stage director Keith Warner. Siegfried....John Treleaven (tenor) Brünnhilde....Lisa Gasteen (soprano) Mime....Gerhard Siegel (tenor) Wotan....John Tomlinson (bass) Alberich....Peter Sidhom (baritone) Fafner....Philip Ens (bass) Woodbird....Sarah Fox (soprano) Erda....Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Vasko Vassilev (concert master) Antonio Pappano (conductor) Siegfried: Act 2 of the Royal Opera House's production of Wagner's Siegfried. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. [Continues at 9.40pm after Opera Box] Siegfried: Act 3 - The final Act of the Royal Opera House's production of Wagner's Siegfried. |
| 20051105 | Starting a week of concerts to celebrate the work of The Cleveland Orchestra. Geoffrey Smith talks to some of the players, Executive Director Gary Hanson, Artistic Administrator Peter Czornyj and the current Music Director Franz Welser-Möst about their work and the long traditions associated with the orchestra. Featuring a performance of Verdi's Don Carlo, recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland. Philip II, King of Spain....Samuel Ramey (bass) Don Carlo (Philip's son)....Marcus Haddock (tenor) Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Elisabeth, Philip's queen....Miriam Gauci (soprano) Princess Eboli....Yvonne Naef (mezzo-soprano) The Grand Inquisitor....Hao Jiang Tian (bass) Tebaldo, Elisabeth's page....Rebecca Ringle (mezzo-soprano) Count of Lerma....Joseph Holmes (tenor) An old monk....Eric Owens (bass) Voice from Heaven....Malia Bendi Merad (soprano) Six Flemish Deputies....Keith Brautigam, Dan Hild, Ray Liddle, Cyrus A McFarlin, Michael Preacely, Robert Thompson (bass baritone) The Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus Franz Welser-Möst (conductor). | ||
| 20051109 | Franz Welser-Möst explains to Geoffrey Smith why The Cleveland Orchestra is ideally suited to playing the music of Richard Strauss and Elektra in particular. Strauss: Elektra Elektra....Lisa Gasteen (soprano) Chrysothemis....Christine Brewer (soprano) Klytaemnestra....Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano) Orest....Alan Held (baritone) Aegisth....Volker Vogel (tenor) The Tutor....Todd Boyce (baritone) The Confidante....Harriett Jean Lowe (soprano) The Trainbearer....Marie Masters (soprano) 1st maid....Karen Jesse (mezzo-soprano) 2nd maid....Rebecca Ringle (mezzo-soprano) 3rd maid....Kathryn Leemhuis (mezzo-soprano) 4th maid....Twyla Robinson (soprano) 5th maid....Bengi Mayone (soprano) Overseer....Denise Knowlton (soprano) Young servant....Garrett Sorenson (tenor) Old servant....Ray Liddle (bass) The Cleveland Orchestra The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus Franz Welser-Möst (conductor) Recorded at Severance Hall, Cleveland. | ||
| Shadowtime | 20051112 | Brian Ferneyhough's first opera recorded on its only visit to the UK at English National Opera. Dispensing with conventional action and characters, the work unfolds in a sequence of seven scenes, beginning with the suicide of the German philosopher Walter Benjamin. His writings on time, history and representation are woven into Charles Bernstein's dream-like libretto, to form a modern equivalent of the early 'intermedi'. Preceded by a debate on the ideas behind Shadowtime, as Stephanie Hughes is joined by Ivan Hewett, with contributions from Nicolas Hodges and the composer himself. The opera itself begins at 6.50pm. Nicolas Hodges (piano/speaker) Mats Scheidegger (guitar) Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart Nieuw Ensemble Jurjen Hempel (conductor). | |
| Sir Charles Mackerras At 80 | 20051116 | Continuing a series of concerts to celebrate the landmark birthday of a conductor dubbed 'the musician's musician'. A historic recording from 1984 - Handel's opera Julius Caesar, recorded in English. Presented by Donald Macleod, in conversation with Sir Charles Mackerras and Dame Janet Baker, who starred in the title role. Julius Caesar....Dame Janet Baker (mezzo-soprano) Curio....Christopher Booth-Jones (baritone) Cornelia....Sarah Walker (mezzo-soprano) Sextus....Della Jones (mezzo-soprano) Cleopatra....Valerie Masterson (soprano) Ptolemy....James Bowman (countertenor) Achillas....John Tomlinson (bass) Nirenus....David James (countertenor) English National Opera Chorus Orchestra of English National Opera Charles Mackerras (conductor). | |
| Sir Charles Mackerras At 80 | 20051119 | Donald Macleod in conversation with Sir Charles Mackerras, whose birthday celebrations continue with a concert performance of Fidelio, recorded recently at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh. Ludwig van Beethoven: Fidelio, Op 72 Leonora....Christine Brewer (soprano) Florestan....Thomas Moser (tenor) Marzelline....Lisa Milne (soprano) Rocco....Peter Rose (bass) Scottish Chamber Orchestra Charles Mackerras (conductor). | |
| The Midsummer Marriage | 20051126 | Michael Tippett's first opera, featuring some of his most glorious music, returns to the Royal Opera House in Graham Vick's production. Presented by Stephanie Hughes, in conversation with Vick and choreographer Ron Howell. Two couples step into a magical world and find themselves on a voyage of self-discovery. Mark....Will Hartmann (tenor) Jenifer....Amanda Roocroft (soprano) King Fisher, her father....John Tomlinson (bass) Bella, his secretary....Cora Burggraaf (soprano) Jack, her boyfriend....Gordon Gietz (tenor) Sosostris....Elena Manistina (mezzo-soprano) He-Ancient....Brindley Sherratt (bass) She-Ancient....Diana Montague (mezzo-soprano) Half-Tipsy Man....Jonathan Fisher (baritone) Man Dancing....Steven Boydall (tenor) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Peter Manning (concert master) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Richard Hickox (conductor) Including intervals at 7.40pm - in which Ivan Hewett draws on Tippett's newly-published letters to uncover the long drawn out genesis of The Midsummer Marriage - and at 8.35pm: more letters unveil the protracted and often anguished negotiations over the opera's original production. | |
| 20051203 | Continuesat8.05pmafterOperaBox | A Midsummer Night's Dream. British Music Focus Act 1 Forty-five years after its premiere, Benjamin Britten's classic remains one of the supreme translations of Shakespeare into operatic form, his music effortlessly and wittily conjuring the mysteries of the Athenian wood where the confusions of love are tested and resolved. This new production, especially conceived by director Olivia Fuchs for the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, is conducted by Richard Hickox, and presented by Stephanie Hughes. Oberon, King of the Fairies....William Towers (counter-tenor) Titania, Queen of the Fairies....Gillian Keith (soprano) Puck....Jami Quarrell (actor) Theseus, Duke of Athens....Mark Beesley (bass) Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) The Lovers Lysander....Robert Murray (tenor) Demetrius....Grant Doyle (baritone) Hermia, in love with Lysander....Tove Dahlberg (mezzo-soprano) Helena, in love with Demetrius....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) The Rustics Bottom, a weaver....Darren Jeffery (bass) Quince, a carpenter....Jonathan Best (bass) Flute, a bellows-maker....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Snug, a joiner....Jeremy White (bass) Snout, a tinker....Andrew Sritheran (tenor) Starveling, a tailor....Andrew Mayor (baritone) The Fairies Cobweb....James Walsh (treble) Peaseblossom....Ben Davies (treble) Mustardseed....Tom Nichols (treble) Moth....Edmund Jillings (treble) City of London Sinfonia (leader Nicholas Ward) Tiffin School Choir (music director Simon Toyne) Richard Hickox (conductor) A Midsummer Night's Dream. British Music Focus. Act 2: Britten's classic performed at The Linbury Theatre with Richard Hickox. Stephanie Hughes presents. [Continues at 9.15pm after Twenty Minutes] A Midsummer Night's Dream. British Music Focus. Act 3: The concluding part of Britten's classic opera performed at The Linbury Theatre, conducted by Richard Hickox. Stephanie Hughes presents. | |
| Billy Budd | 20051210 | Continuesat8.15pmafterTwentyMinutes | One of Britten's most richly worked operatic scores is performed live from English National Opera, with Simon Keenlyside in the title role, and John Tomlinson as Claggart. Presented by Martin Handley. Popular able seaman Billy Budd is accused by the master-at-arms John Claggart of plotting mutiny. When confronted by Captain Vere, Billy's stutter prevents him from defending himself any other way than by striking Claggart, who dies from the blow. Vere as an old man looks back at this incident on HMS Indomitable, and wonders if he had any other option than to sentence Billy to death. Billy Budd....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Captain Vere....Timothy Robinson (tenor) Claggart....John Tomlinson (bass) Mr Redburn....Ashley Holland (baritone) Mr Flint....Pavlo Hunka (baritone) Lieutenant Ratcliffe....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Red Whiskers....Adrian Thompson (tenor) Donald....Toby Stafford-Allen (baritone) Dansker....Gwynne Howell (bass) Novice....James Edwards (tenor) Squeak....Richard Coxon (tenor) Bosun....Nicholas Folwell (bass-baritone) Maintop....Andrew Rees (tenor) The novice's friend....William Berger (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Andrew Litton (conductor) The second Act of Britten's opera Billy Budd, live from English National Opera. |
| Rigoletto | 20051229 | Continuesat9.15pmafterTheMetOperaQuiz | The new season of broadcasts from New York's Metropolitan Opera House opens with Verdi's tragic tale of love and revenge. Presented by Margaret Juntwait. When the hapless jester Rigoletto discovers that his ruthless boss, the Duke of Mantua, has seduced and kidnapped his daughter Gilda, he plots his revenge. But he doesn't count on the possibility that Gilda might have feelings for the Duke. Gilda....Anna Netrebko (soprano) Rigoletto....Carlo Guelfi (baritone) Duke of Mantua....Rolando Villazon (tenor) Maddalena....Nancy Fabiola Herrera (mezzo-soprano) Sparafucile....Eric Halfvarson (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Asher Fisch (conductor) Rigoletto: The third and final act of Verdi's Rigoletto from New York's Metropolitan Opera House. |
| An American Tragedy | 20051230 | The world premiere broadcast of American composer Tobias Picker's fourth opera, portraying the dark side of the American dream where an ordinary man's desire for wealth and status overwhelms his moral sense. The story is based on the controversial 1925 novel by Theodore Dreiser, which drew its inspiration from the real-life trial and execution of Chester Gillette for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend in 1906. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Clyde Griffiths....Nathan Gunn (baritone) Roberta Alden, Clyde's fiancée....Patricia Racette (soprano) Sondra Finchley....Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano) Elvira Griffiths, Clyde's mother....Dolora Zajick (mezzo-soprano) Samuel Griffiths, Clyde's uncle....Kim Begley (tenor) Elizabeth Griffiths, Samuel's wife....Jennifer Larmore (mezzo-soprano) Gilbert Griffiths, Clyde's cousin....William Burden (tenor) Bella Griffiths, Clyde's cousin....Jennifer Aylmer (soprano) Orville Mason, District Attorney....Richard Bernstein (bass) Hortense....Anna Christy (soprano) Grace Marr....Clare Gormley (soprano) Reverend McMillan....Mark Schowalter (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Conlon (conductor). | |
| Wozzeck | 20051231 | Margaret Juntwait introduces Berg's great opera telling the story of the lowly soldier Wozzeck. Victimized by nearly everyone he comes across, Wozzeck lives with Marie, his mistress, but she betrays him with the pompous Drum-Major, who humiliates Wozzeck before his company with boasts of his conquest. Berg's music is some of the most expressive ever composed for the opera stage, and transforms the cruel tale into something tragically poignant. Marie....Katarina Dalayman (soprano) Drum Major....Clifton Forbis (tenor) Captain....Graham Clark (tenor) Wozzeck....Alan Held (baritone) Doctor....Walter Fink (bass) Margret....Jill Grove (mezzo-soprano) Andres....Eric Cutler (tenor) 1st Apprentice....James Courtney (bass) 2nd Apprentice....Ronald Naldi (tenor) The Fool....Anthony Laciura (tenor) A Soldier....Raymond Aparentado (tenor) A Townsman....Stephen Paynter (baritone) Marie's Child....Jacob Wade (treble) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). | |
| L'elisir D'amore | 20060107 | Continuesat8.10pmafterTheMetOperaQuiz | One of the greatest of all comic operas, Donizetti's masterpiece has real feeling as well as fun and games. Will Adina and Nemorino get it together - with or without the help of "Dr" Dulcamara's love potion or the hindrance of dashing Sergeant Belcore? And will they grow up a bit in the process? Find out in this sparkling performance. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Adina....Ruth Ann Swenson (soprano) Nemorino....Ramón Vargas (tenor) Sergeant Belcore....Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone) Dulcamara, the quack doctor....Andrew Shore (bass) Giannetta....Alyson Cambridge (soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Maurizio Barbacini (conductor) Live from the Met. L'Elisir d'Amore. Act 2: Concluding Donizetti's comic opera presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. With the Orchestra and Chorus of the Met conducted by Maurizio Barbacini. |
| Il Barbiere Di Siviglia | 20060112 | Continuesat8.50pmaftertheInterval | Stephanie Hughes presents the new Covent Garden production of Rossini's masterpiece, described by Verdi as the most beautiful comic opera of all. Figaro is helping Count Almaviva win the hand of the lovely Rosina. But first the Count and his trusty barber must stop her guardian, Dr Bartolo, from marrying her himself. Fiorello....Robert Gleadow (bass) Count Almaviva....Toby Spence (tenor) Figaro....George Petean (baritone) Rosina....Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) Dr Bartolo....Bruno Praticò (bass-baritone) Don Basilio....Raymond Aceto (bass) Berta....Elizabeth Gale (soprano) Officer....Christopher Lackner (bass) Ambrogio....Bryan Secombe (bass) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus master) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Peter Manning (concert master) Mark Elder (conductor) The second and final Act of Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. |
| A Mozart Celebration | 20060114 | Margaret Juntwait presents 60 years of starry Mozart performances from the New York Met's treasure trove of archive recordings. Great singers featured include Renee Fleming, Nicolai Gedda, Ezio Pinza, Leontyne Price, Frederica von Stade and Richard Tucker. Conductors range from Karl Böhm to Bruno Walter, plus the Met's current Music Director James Levine, who offers his own insights throughout the evening into Mozart's genius, in conversation with Ara Guzelimian. Including: Idomeneo Die Entführung aus dem Serail Le nozze di Figaro (The marriage of Figaro) Don Giovanni Così fan tutte La clemenza di Tito Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). | |
| Die Zauberflöte | 20060121 | Continuesat8.20pmafterTheMetOperaQuiz | Live from the Met, presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Mozart's combination of magic, mystery and pantomime is conducted by Paul Daniel, with Eric Cutler and Mary Dunleavy as the hero and heroine. Tamino is rescued from a huge snake by three ladies, attendants of the mysterious Queen of the Night. They persuade him to rescue the Queen's daughter, Pamina, who's been captured by the tyrant Sarastro. Tamino sets off on his adventure with Papageno the birdcatcher, a magic flute and a glockenspiel for protection. Tamino....Eric Cutler (tenor) Pamina....Mary Dunleavy (soprano) Sarastro....Morris Robinson (bass) Queen of the Night....Erika Miklósa (soprano) Papageno....Nathan Gunn (baritone) Papagena....Anna Christy (soprano) Monostatos....Greg Fedderly (tenor) First Lady....Susannah Glanville (soprano) Second Lady....Maria Zifchak (mezzo-soprano) Third Lady....Malin Fritz (mezzo-soprano) Speaker....Julien Robbins (bass) First Priest....Michael Devlin (bass-baritone) Second Priest....Bernard Fitch (tenor) First Armed Man....Garrett Sorenson (tenor) Second Armed Man....Gregory Reinhart (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Paul Daniel (conductor) Die Zauberflöte: The second Act of Mozart's magical opera, live from the New York Metropolitan Opera. |
| Così Fan Tutte | 20060128 | Continuesat8.35pmafterMetOperaQuiz | Mozart's most human of comedies is conducted by James Levine, with Alexandra Deshorties, Magdalena Kozená, Matthew Polenzani and Mariusz Kwiecien as the lovers. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Guglielmo and Ferrando are so sure of their fiancées' fidelity that they're prepared to enter a bet with Don Alfonso to put them to the test. They disguise themselves in order to woo the other's girl, and a good-natured bet soon becomes much more serious and complicated. Fiordiligi....Alexandra Deshorties (soprano) Dorabella....Magdalena Kozená (soprano) Despina....Nuccia Focile (soprano) Ferrando....Matthew Polenzani (tenor) Guglielmo....Mariusz Kwiecien (bass) Don Alfonso....Thomas Allen (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor) Live from the Met, part two of Mozart's Così fan Tutte. |
| Cyrano De Bergerac | 20060204 | Continuesat8.25pmafterMetOperaQuiz | The Met's first production of Franco Alfano's 1936 heroic comedy. Antonio Barasorda stars as the poet and swordsman who falls madly in love with his beautiful cousin Roxane. Believing that his large nose gives him little hope of winning her affections, he sacrifices his love to help a tongue-tied fellow soldier, Christian, gain her hand instead. If only Cyrano had known at the start that the intelligent Roxane wasn't so concerned about appearances after all. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Roxane....Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Cyrano....Antonio Barasorda (tenor) Christian....Raymond Very (tenor) De Guiche....Anthony Michaels-Moore (baritone) Ragueneau....Roberto de Candia (baritone) Le Bret....Julien Robbins (bass) The Governess....Sheila Nadler (contralto) Sister Marta....Diane Elias (mezzo-soprano) de Valvert/Spanish Official....Brian Davis (baritone) Lisa/A Sister....Jennifer Check (soprano) Carbon....Louis Otey (baritone) Lignière....Andrew Gangestad (bass) Musketeer....Richard Pearson (bass) Montfleury....Bernard Fitch (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Marco Armiliato (conductor) The second Act of Cyrano de Bergerac, live from the Met in New York. Antonio Barasorda stars as the poet and swordsman. |
| La Traviata | 20060211 | Continuesat7.30pmafterTwentyMinutes | Verdi's heart-wrenching tragedy, based on a true story, presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Angela Gheorghiu stars as the beautiful Violetta, who finds love with Alfredo and some relief from her mortal illness. Their happiness is short-lived however, as Alfredo's father, worried that Violetta's reputation as a frivolous party-goer will damage his family's honour, persuades her to make the ultimate sacrifice. Violetta....Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) Alfredo....Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Germont....Anthony Michaels-Moore (baritone) Flora Bervoix....Leann Pantaleo (mezzo-soprano) Annina....Diane Elias (mezzo-soprano) Gastone....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Baron Douphol....John Hancock (baritone) Marquis d'Obigny....Earle Patriarco (baritone) Doctor Grenvil....LeRoy Lehr (bass) Giuseppe....Marty Singleton (tenor) Messenger....Jason Hendrix (bass-baritone) Servant....Richard Pearson (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Marco Armiliato (conductor) The second Act of Verdi's La Traviata, live from the Met in New York. [Continues at 9.00pm after The Met Opera Quiz] The third and final Act of Verdi's La Traviata, live from the Met in New York. |
| Le Nozze Di Figaro | 20060215 | Continuesat9.00pmafterTwentyMinutes | The Royal Opera celebrates the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth with a new production of his sexually charged masterpiece, based on the second of Beaumarchais' two Figaro comedies. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. The servants Figaro and Susanna want to get married, but on this crazy day everything conspires against them. The Count has his own plans for the wedding night which don't involve Figaro, and the elderly Marcellina wants to settle a legal claim by marrying him herself. Somehow, amid all the subterfuge and confusion, happiness is still to be found. Figaro....Erwin Schrott (baritone) Susanna....Miah Persson (soprano) Bartolo....Jonathan Veira (bass) Marcellina....Graciela Araya (mezzo-soprano) Cherubino....Rinat Shaham (mezzo-soprano) Count Almaviva....Gerald Finley (baritone) Basilio....Philip Langridge (tenor) Countess Almaviva....Dorothea Röschmann (soprano) Antonio....Jeremy White (bass) Don Curzio....Francis Egerton (tenor) Barbarina....Ana James (soprano) Bridesmaids....Glenys Groves, Kate McCarney (soprano) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus master) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Sergey Levitin (associate concert master) Antonio Pappano (conductor) The third and fourth acts of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro from The Royal Opera House. |
| Aida | 20060218 | Continuesat7.40pmafterInterval | Live from the Met Aida, Act I The Ethiopian slave Aida is in love with the Egyptian warrior Radames. He loves her too, which angers the Egyptian princess Amneris who wants him for herself. Aida is hiding the fact that she is the King of Ethiopia's daughter, so when her father is taken prisoner by the Egyptians she has to make a choice of loyalty to him or Radames. Aida is on the surface one of Verdi's grandest operas, but is also an intimate drama of love versus duty. Andrea Gruber and Johan Botha play the doomed lovers, with James Conlon conducting. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Aida....Andrea Gruber (soprano) Amneris....Olga Borodina (mezzo-soprano) Radamès....Johan Botha (tenor) Amonasro....Juan Pons (baritone) Ramfis....Kwangchul Youn (bass) The King....Hao Jiang Tian (bass) Priestess....Jennifer Check (soprano) Messenger....Ronald Naldi (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Conlon (conductor) Live from the Met. Aida, Act II: Margaret Juntwait presents Verdi's grand opera with Andrea Gruber and Johan Botha, and James Conlon conducting. [Continues at 8.20pm after The Met Opera Quiz] Live from the Met. Aida, Act III: Margaret Juntwait presents Verdi's grand opera with Andrea Gruber and Johan Botha, and James Conlon conducting. [Continues at 9.45pm after Twenty Minutes] Live from the Met. Aida, Act IV: Margaret Juntwait presents Verdi's grand opera with soprano Andrea Gruber and tenor Johan Botha, and James Conlon conducting. |
| Samson Et Dalila | 20060225 | Continuesat7.45pmafterTwentyMinutes | Live from the Met Samson et Dalila Saint-Saëns' opera based on the biblical story from the Book of Judges, presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Samson is the hero who eventually gives in to the feminine wiles of Dalila, as he reveals to her the secrets of his strength. In return she betrays him to the Philistines, and he is taken prisoner to the pagan temple of Dagon. Samson takes his revenge as he prays to God to restore his strength. Dalila....Olga Borodina (mezzo-soprano) Samson....Clifton Forbis (tenor) High Priest....Jean-Philippe Lafont (baritone) Abimelech....James Courtney (bass) The Old Hebrew....Kwangchul Youn (bass) 1st Philistine....Bernard Fitch (tenor) 2nd Philistine....Brian Davis (baritone) Messenger....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Emmanuel Villaume (conductor) |
| Roméo Et Juliette | 20060304 | Continuesat8.40pmafterSinger'sRoundTable | The most famous doomed lovers in history take the stage in Gounod's operatic version of Shakespeare's great tragedy. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Roméo....Ramón Vargas (tenor) Juliette....Nathalie Dessay (soprano) Mercutio....Stéphane Degout (baritone) Friar Lawrence....Kristinn Sigmundsson (bass) Gertrude....Jane Bunnell (mezzo-soprano) Tybalt....John Nuzzo (tenor) Benvolio....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Paris....Daniel Sutin (baritone) Stéphano....Katharine Goeldner (soprano) Capulet....Frederick Burchinal (baritone) Duke of Verona....Julien Robbins (bass) Gregorio....David Won (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Bertrand de Billy (conductor) Acts 4 and 5 of Gounod's operatic version of Shakespeare's tragedy Roméo et Juliette. Conducted by Bertrand de Billy, with Nathalie Dessay and Ramón Vargas, live from the Met. |
| La Forza Del Destino | 20060311 | Continuesat8.20pmafterTwentyMinutes | Leonora and Don Alvaro are about to elope when they are discovered by the Marquis, her father. As a gesture of surrender, Alvaro throws his pistol to the floor, but it discharges. Fatally wounded, the Marquis curses Leonora and the Force of Destiny is thus set in motion. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Leonora....Deborah Voigt (soprano) Preziosilla....Ildikó Komlósi (mezzo-soprano) Don Alvaro....Salvatore Licitra (tenor) Don Carlo....Mark Delavan (baritone) Fra Melitone....Juan Pons (baritone) Padre Guardiano....Samuel Ramey (bass) Curra....Edyta Kulczak (mezzo-soprano) Trabuco....Tony Stevenson (tenor) Surgeon....Sebastian Catana (baritone) Alcade....Andrew Gangestad (bass) Marquis....John Cheek (bass) Beggar woman....Alexandra Newland (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Gianandrea Noseda (conductor) The second Act of Verdi's La Forza del Destino, live from the Met. [Continues at 9.40pm after Met Opera Quiz] The third and final Act of Verdi's La Forza del Destino, live from the Met. |
| Mazeppa | 20060318 | Continuesat8.05pmafterTchaikovskytheSongwriter | Valery Gergiev conducts the Met's first homegrown production of Tchaikovsky's dark and thrilling masterpiece, presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Nikolai Putilin leads the cast as the ageing Cossack chieftain Mazeppa, torn between his love for a much younger woman, Maria, and his fight for Ukrainian independence. Maria loves Mazeppa too, but their relationship destroys the lifelong friendship between Mazeppa and Maria's father Kochubey. Can their love survive the tragic personal and political consequences? Mazeppa....Nikolai Putilin (baritone) Maria....Olga Guryakova (soprano) Kochubey, her father....Paata Burchuladze (bass) Lyubov, his wife....Larissa Diadkova (mezzo-soprano) Andrei, Maria's rejected suitor....Oleg Balashov (tenor) Orlik, Mazeppa's henchman....Denis Sedov (bass) Iskra....Allan Glassman (tenor) Drunken Cossack....Nikolai Gassiev (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Valery Gergiev (conductor) The second Act of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa, live from the New York Metropolitan Opera. [Continues at 9.45pm after Met Opera Quiz] The third and final Act of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa, live from the New York Metropolitan Opera. |
| Der Fliegende Holländer | 20060322 | Presented from the Wales Millennium Centre by Stephanie Hughes. Bryn Terfel stars as the Dutchman in Welsh National Opera's new production of Wagner's early masterpiece. Conducted by the company's music director, Carlo Rizzi, director David Pountney's modernist staging of the opera explores the desolate world inhabited by the Dutchman. He has been condemned by the Devil to wander aimlessly through an infinite world. Every seven years he is allowed to land. If he can find a faithful woman to marry, then he has a slender chance of redemption. Daland....Gidon Saks (bass) Senta....Annalena Persson (soprano) Erik....Ian Storey (tenor) Mary....Mary Lloyd-Davies (soprano) The Steersman....Peter Wedd (tenor) The Dutchman....Bryn Terfel (bass baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera Carlo Rizzi (conductor). | |
| Luisa Miller | 20060325 | Continuesat8.05pmafterMetOperaQuiz | The classic ingredients of a Verdi tragedy, stirred to boiling point by an all-star cast. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Luisa loves Rodolfo, but who is he? Is he promised to another, and what dreadful secret lurks in the shadows, threatening to destroy the whole fabric of their community? Luisa....Karen Slack (soprano) Rodolfo....Eduardo Villa (tenor) Miller, Luisa's father....Carlos Alvarez (baritone) Count Walter....James Morris (bass) Wurm....Phillip Ens (bass) Federica....Irina Mishura (mezzo-soprano) Laura....Tamara Mumford (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Maurizio Benini (conductor) |
| Fidelio | 20060401 | Continuesat9.15pmafterTheMetOperaQuiz | Live from the Met Karita Mattila and Ben Heppner lead the cast in Beethoven's operatic hymn to freedom. Florestan is a political prisoner, thrown into a dungeon by the despotic Don Pizarro. His brave wife Leonore, determined to rescue him, and all others unjustly incarcerated, disguises herself as young man, Fidelio, and gets a job at the gaol. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Leonore....Karita Mattila (soprano) Florestan....Ben Heppner (tenor) Rocco, the gaoler....Kristinn Sigmundsson (bass) Marzelline, his daughter....Jennifer Welch-Babidge (soprano) Jaquino, her beau....Gregory Turay (tenor) Don Pizarro....Alan Held (bass-baritone) Don Ferrando....James Morris (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Paul Nadler (conductor)Fidelio, Act 2. Live from the Met: Margaret Juntwait presents the concluding part of Beethoven's hymn to freedom with Karita Mattila and Ben Heppner. Paul Nadler conducts. |
| Manon | 20060408 | Continuesat8.10pmafterInterval | The third and final part of Massenet's opera Manon, live from the Met in New York. Part Two of Massenet's opera Manon, live from the Met in New York. [Continues at 9.25pm after Twenty Minutes] Live from the Met Manon Renée Fleming sings Massenet's irresistible heroine, in a production conducted by Jesús López-Cobos. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Manon arrives in Amiens on her way to life in a convent. There she meets des Grieux, and abruptly decides that a life of love with him would suit her better. But with des Grieux's father opposing the marriage, and Manon's taste for rich men and glittering society, things are unlikely to be straightforward. Manon....Renée Fleming (soprano) Des Grieux....Massimo Giordano (tenor) Lescaut....Jean-Luc Chaignaud (baritone) Count des Grieux....Hao Jiang Tian (bass) Poussette....Monica Yunus (soprano) Javotte....Kate Lindsey (mezzo-soprano) Rosette....Sandra Piques Eddy (mezzo-soprano) Guillot de Morfontaine....Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor) De Brétigny....William Shimell (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Jesús López-Cobos (conductor) |
| Don Pasquale | 20060415 | Two of the world's top young singers - Anna Netrebko and Juan Diego Florez - join forces in Donizetti's opera. Netrebko makes her debut in the role of Norina. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Norina....Anna Netrebko (soprano) Ernesto....Juan Diego Flórez (tenor) Don Pasquale....Simone Alaimo (bass) Dr Malatesta....Mariusz Kwiecien (baritone) Notary....Anthony Laciura (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Maurizio Benini (conductor). | |
| Le Nozze Di Figaro | 20060422 | The Met continues this year's Mozart celebrations with his popular masterpiece, based on the controversial play by Beaumarchais. The servants Figaro and Susanna want to marry, but on one crazy day everything conspires against them. The Count has his own plans for the wedding night which don't involve Figaro, and the elderly Marcellina wants to settle a legal claim by marrying him herself. Somehow the servants emerge from the confusion victorious. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Figaro....John Relyea (bass) Susanna....Andrea Rost (soprano) Dr Bartolo....Maurizio Muraro (bass) Marcellina....Wendy White (mezzo-soprano) Cherubino....Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) Count Almaviva....Peter Mattei (baritone) Countess Almaviva....Soile Isokoski (soprano) Don Basilio....David Cangelosi (tenor) Antonio....Patrick Carfizzi (baritone) Don Curzio....Bernard Fitch (tenor) Barbarina....Tonna Miller (soprano) Bridesmaid....Yvonne Gonzales Redman (soprano) Bridesmaid....Reveka Evangelia Mavrovitis (soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Mark Wigglesworth (conductor). | |
| Lohengrin | 20060429 | Continuesat7.40pmafterInterval:Singers'RoundTable | Wagner's religious tale of good and evil, presented live from New York by Margaret Juntwait. Elsa stands falsely accused of her brother's murder. Knowing herself to be innocent, she prays to God to send her a knight to champion her cause. A boat appears on the river, drawn by a swan, and carrying a knight in shining armour. Elsa places her honour in his keeping. He makes one condition: she must never ask him who he is or where he comes from. King Henry....René Pape (bass) Lohengrin....Ben Heppner (tenor) Elsa of Brabant....Karita Mattila (soprano) Friedrich of Telramund....Richard Paul Fink (baritone) Ortrud....Luana De Vol (mezzo-soprano) The King's Herald....Eike Wilm Schulte (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Philippe Auguin (conductor) |
| Rodelinda | 20060506 | The Met broadcast season ends with Handel's glorious opera, boasting an impressive cast, including Renée Fleming and Andreas Scholl. Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait. The Queen of the Lombards, Rodelinda, is held captive by Grimoaldo. She believes her husband Bertarido to be dead, and is in no mood for the advances of her captor. Bertarido, and Grimoaldo's jilted lover Eduige, are equally unhappy with the situation, and both plot to resolve it. Rodelinda....Renée Fleming (soprano) Eduige....Stephane Blythe (soprano) Bertarido....Andreas Scholl (counter-tenor) Unulfo....Christophe Dumaux (counter-tenor) Grimoaldo....Kobie van Rensburg (tenor) Garibaldo....John Relyea (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera Patrick Summers (conductor) Evening Morning Afternoon. | |
| Götterdämmerung | 20060513 | "A dark day dawns for the gods" in the final opera of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. Keith Warner's brand-new production for the Royal Opera House is presented from Covent Garden by Stephanie Hughes, in conversation with the people who've brought the huge undertaking to fruition: Keith Warner, conductor Antonio Pappano, and the three singers at the heart of Götterdämmerung. John Treleaven's innocent Siegfried is hoodwinked, corrupted and destroyed by John Tomlinson's scheming Hagen - but can Lisa Gasteen's Brünnhilde snatch final victory from the jaws of defeat? Brünnhilde....Lisa Gasteen (soprano) Siegfried....John Treleaven (tenor) Hagen....John Tomlinson (bass) Gunther, his half-brother....Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone) Gutrune, his half-sister....Emily Magee (soprano) Waltraute....Mihoko Fujimura (mezzo-soprano) Alberich....Peter Sidhom (baritone) First Norn....Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano) Second Norn....Yvonne Howard (mezzo-soprano) Third Norn....Marina Poplavskaya (soprano) Rhinemaidens: Woglinde....Sarah Fox (soprano) Wellgunde....Heather Shipp (mezzo-soprano) Flosshilde....Sarah Castle (mezzo-soprano) The Royal Opera Chorus (chorus director Renato Balsadonna) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (concert master Peter Manning) Antonio Pappano (conductor). | |
| Sir John In Love | 20060520 | A very English opera from English National Opera: Ralph Vaughan Williams' delightful comedy inspired by Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor. A superb ensemble of British singers is led by Andrew Shore as Sir John Falstaff. He has two problems: no money and no woman. Will he succeed in his plan to solve both in one go, or will Windsor's merry wives turn the tables on him? Presented by Stephanie Hughes, in conversation with Andrew Shore, director Ian Judge and conductor Oleg Caetani. Sir John Falstaff....Andrew Shore (baritone) Mrs Ford....Jean Rigby (mezzo-soprano) Mr Ford....Alastair Miles (bass-baritone) Mrs Page....Marie McLaughlin (soprano) Mr Page....Russel Smythe (baritone) Anne Page....Sarah Fox (soprano) Fenton....Andrew Kennedy (tenor) Mrs Quickly....Sally Burgess (mezzo-soprano) Host of the Garter Inn....Nicholas Folwell (baritone) Slender....Christopher Gillett (tenor) Dr Caius....Robert Tear (tenor) Sir Hugh Evans....Iain Paterson (bass-baritone) Bardolph....Peter Kerr (tenor) Nym....Paul Napier-Burrows (baritone) Pistol....Graeme Danby (bass) Rugby....Mark Richardson (bass-baritone) Peter Simple....Richard Coxon (tenor) Shallow....Stuart Kale (tenor) English National Opera Orchestra (leader Janice Graham) English National Opera Chorus (chorus master Martin Merry) Oleg Caetani (conductor). | |
| Il Re Pastore | 20060527 | Written by Mozart when he was only 19, this opera is based around the theme of love versus duty. After a period of instability, Alexander the Great is anxious to ensure peace and prosperity for the lands he has conquered by leaving them in the hands of competent rulers. But one of his chosen kings is a shepherd boy, more in love with a beautiful nymph and the call of the wild than with his duty in the city. Emotions run high - but all turns out well in the end. Introduced from the Linbury Studio Theatre, at the Royal Opera House, by Fiona Talkington. Alessandro....Peter Bronder (tenor) Aminta....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) Elisa....Ana James (soprano) Tamiri....Anna Leese (soprano) Agenore....Robert Murray (tenor) English Baroque Soloists Edward Gardner (conductor). | |
| Scylla And Glaucus | 20060603 | French baroque composer Jean-Marie Leclair was a virtuoso violinist and composer of instrumental music until 1746, when at the age of 50, he composed his only full- length opera. Stephanie Hughes presents a rare performance of this opera from the Royal Opera at Versailles - featuring Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques. A passionate story of gods and goddesses, nymphs and shepherds, unrequited love, vengeance and, inevitably, death - everything you would expect of a baroque opera. It has the added attraction of the wonderful instrumental writing you would expect from the composer considered to have founded the French violin school. Vénus....Salomé Haller (soprano) L'Amour (Cupid)....Céline Scheen (soprano) Chief of the Amanthon....Nicholas Achten (bass baritone) Scylla, a nymph....Gaëlle Le Roi (soprano) Glaucus, a marine god....Robert Getchell (counter tenor) Licas, confidante to Glaucus....Nicholas Achten (bass baritone) Circé, a sorceress....Karina Gauvin (soprano) Dorine, confidante to Circé....Salomé Haller (soprano) Les Talens Lyriques Christophe Rousset (director). | |
| Eugene Onegin | 20060610 | Tchaikovsky's opera is brought to life in a new production from the Royal Opera House, starring Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Amanda Roocroft and Rolando Villazón. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. When Eugene Onegin arrives at Tatyana's village, she falls instantly in love, and pours out her feelings to him in a letter. He's not interested, and rebukes her for her lack of self control. Several years later they meet again, and this time it's Onegin who's smitten. Can it work after all these years, or has the unfortunate timing of their love spoiled their chance of happiness? Tatyana....Amanda Roocroft (soprano) Olga, her sister....Nino Surguladze (mezzo-soprano) Madame Larina....Yvonne Howard (mezzo-soprano) Filipyevna, their old nurse....Susan Gorton (mezzo-soprano) Peasant Singer....Elliot Goldie (tenor) Lensky, a poet in love with Olga....Rolando Villazón (tenor) Eugene Onegin....Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Monsieur Triquet, a French tutor....Ryland Davies (tenor) Trifon Petrovich, an army captain....Jonathan Fisher (baritone) Zaretsky, an army officer....Robert Gleadow (bass) Prince Gremin, a retired army general....Eric Halfvarson (bass) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Pavel Faynberg (guest concert master) Philippe Jordan (conductor). | |
| La Clemenza Di Tito | 20060617 | Recorded in the unique setting of the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, the 19th Century pumping station on Lake Geneva, Stephanie Hughes presents Mozart's late great opera, and explores its themes with Joyce DiDonato and Christian Zacharias. From the final year of his life, La Clemenza di Tito focuses on the theme which preoccupied Mozart in opera more than any other - forgiveness. Sesto is dominated by an older woman, Vitellia, who persuades him to burn Rome and murder his friend, the emperor Tito. The plan fails but Tito, who exhibits clemency to an extraordinary degree, forgives everyone. Tito....Charles Workman (tenor) Sesto....Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) Vitellia....Anna Caterina Antonacci (soprano) Annio....Marie-Claude Chappuis (soprano) Servilia....Corinna Mologni (soprano) Publio....Martin Snell (bass) Xavier Dami (continuo) Chamber Orchestra of Lausanne Christian Zacharias (conductor) Chorus of the Grand Theatre of Geneva Ching-Lien Wu (director). | |
| Ariodante | 20060624 | Christopher Cook presents a production from English National Opera of Handel's Ariodante. British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote takes the title role. Prince Ariodante is tricked into believing his wife-to-be, Princess Ginevra, has cheated on him. Much unhappiness ensues, but will the misunderstanding be resolved before tragedy overtakes? The King of Scotland....Peter Rose (bass) Ginevra, his daughter....Rebecca Evans (soprano) Ariodante, a Vassal Prince....Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) Lurcanio, his brother....Paul Nilon (tenor) Polinesso, Duke of Albany....Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano) Dalinda, lady-in-waiting to Ginevra....Sarah Tynan (soprano) Odoardo, favourite of the King....Nicholas Watts (tenor) Orchestra & Chorus of English National Opera Christopher Moulds (conductor) Martin Merry (chorus master). | |
| Tosca | 20060701 | Continuesat8.05pmafterOperaBox | Puccini's tale of love, lust, corruption and revenge is unveiled at Covent Garden in a new production by Jonathan Kent. A political fugitive, an unwitting revolutionary, a jealous lover, and vicious tyrant make up the ingredients for this tragedy. The stellar cast includes Angela Gheorghiu appearing in the title role on stage for the first time, and Bryn Terfel as the sadistic Baron Scarpia. Stephanie Hughes introduces the production. Floria Tosca, a celebrated singer....Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) Mario Cavaradossi, a painter....Marcelo Alvarez (tenor) Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police....Bryn Terfel (baritone) Cesare Angelotti, former Consul....Carlo Cigni (bass) Spoletta, a police agent....Enrico Facini (tenor) Sacristan....Graeme Danby (bass) Sciarrone, a gendarme....Robert Gleadow (bass) Gaoler....John Morrissey (bass) Shepherd Boy....Jamie Manton (treble) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Sergey Levitin (associate concert master) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Antonio Pappano (conductor) |
| Margot La Rouge | 20060708 | A rare performance of Delius' fifth opera, the one-act Margot la Rouge, in its original version. Delius' only excursion into the world of verismo opera, it's set in a seedy bar in Paris, and tells the tragic tale of a love triangle between Margot la Rouge, her lover The Artist, and Sgt Thibault. Presented by Paul Guinery. Margot la Rouge....Susan Bullock (soprano) Lili Beguin....Janis Kelly (soprano) Nini/First Woman....Lynne Dawson (soprano) The Licensee/Third Woman....Elizabeth Sikora (mezzo-soprano) Second Woman....Nicole Tibbels (soprano) Sgt Thibault....John Hudson (tenor) The Artist....Jared Holt (baritone) La Poigne/Waiter....Owen Gilhooly (baritone) Totor/Police Inspector/Third Drinker....Matthew Rose (bass) First Drinker/Soldier....Stuart MacIntyre (baritone) Second Drinker/Soldier....Edward Price (baritone) BBC Symphony Orchestra David Lloyd-Jones (conductor). | |
| Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg | 20060916 | Edinburgh International Festival 2006 A concert performance of Wagner's epic comic opera, which closed this year's festival and marked the end of Sir Brian McMaster's 15-year reign as Festival Director. Presented by Donald Macleod, in conversation with Brian McMaster and conductor David Robertson. Sung in German. Eva....Hillevi Martinpelto Magdalene....Wendy Dawn Thompson Walther....Jonas Kaufmann David....Toby Spence Hans Sachs....Robert Holl Beckmesser....Andrew Shore Pogner....Matthew Rose Kothner....James Rutherford Nightwatchman....Paul Whelan Eisslinger....John Mitchinson Foltz....Richard van Allan Nachtigall....John Shirley-Quirk Zorn....Jeffrey Lawton BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra David Robertson (conductor) Edinburgh Festival Chorus David Jones (chorus master). | |
| Listen Up -the Return Of Ulysses | 20060930 | Stephanie Hughes visits the Wales Millennium Centre for Welsh National Opera's stylish new production of Monteverdi's masterpiece. Conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini and directed by David Alden. Penelope longs for her husband Ulysses to return from the Trojan Wars. In his absence, treacherous suitors have tried to convince her Ulysses is dead, and to win her hand in marriage. Ulysses....Paul Nilon (tenor) Penelope....Sara Fulgoni (mezzo-soprano) Ericlea....Elizabeth Vaughan (soprano) Antinous/Time/Neptune....Clive Bayley (bass) Irus....Neil Jenkins (tenor) Telemachus....Ed Lyon (tenor) Pisander/Human Frailty....Iestyn Davies (counter-tenor) Melantho/Juno/Fortune....Sarah Tynan (soprano) Minerva....Elizabeth Atherton (soprano) Eurymachus....Andrew Tortise (tenor) Eumaeus....Geoffrey Dolton (baritone) Amphinomous/Jove....Andrew Mackenzie-Wicks (tenor). | |
| 20061007 | Listen Up Opera North's new production of Rigoletto (in three Acts), set in contemporary Italy, and marking the reopening of the Grand Theatre in Leeds. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Rigoletto is an ugly man in a world of beautiful people, twisted inside by the harsh life he has been forced to lead. The only thing he lives for is his daughter. When bitterness and bravura get the better of him, the consequences for his most precious possession are fatal. Duke of Mantua....Rafael Rojas (tenor) Rigoletto....Alan Opie (baritone) Gilda....Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano) Sparafucile....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Maddalena....Rebecca de Pont Davies (soprano) Monterone....Stephen Richardson (bass) Marullo....Olafur Sigurdarson (bass) Matteo Borsa....Ben Kerslake (tenor) Ceprano....A Galloway Bell (bass) Ceprano's wife....Hazel Croft (mezzo-soprano) Court Usher....Garrick Forbes (baritone) Monterone's daughter....Nicola Unwin (mezzo-soprano) Men of the Opera North Chorus Anthony Kraus (chorus master) Orchestra of Opera North Martin André (conductor) During one of the intervals, Stephanie Hughes is joined by Richard Mantle, General Director of Opera North, to discuss the recent refurbishment and development of the Grand Theatre in Leeds. | ||
| Betrothal In A Monastery | 20061104 | Stephanie Hughes presents the Goya-inspired production of Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery from Glyndebourne Festival Opera conducted by Vladimir Jurowski. 'Like champagne' is how Prokofiev described the play by Sheridan on which he based this sparkling opera. A colourful mélange of English Restoration comedy, sung in Russian and set in Seville, the plot centres on the beautiful Luisa whose father is determined to marry her off to a rich but ugly fish merchant - Mendoza. Luisa and her nanny concoct a plot in which they swap identities, with hilarious results. Don Jerome (a nobleman of Seville)....Viacheslav Voynarovskiy (tenor) Mendoza (a rich fish merchant)....Sergei Alexashkin (bass) Ferdinand (Don Jerome?s son)....Andrey Breus (baritone) Don Antonio (in love with Louisa)....Vsevolod Grivnov (tenor) Louisa (Don Jerome?s daughter)....Lyubov Petrova (soprano) The Duenna....Alexandra Durseneva (mezzo-soprano) Don Carlos....Alan Opie (baritone) Clara (friend of Louisa)....Nino Surguladze (mezzo-soprano) Father Augustine....Jonathan Veira (bass-baritone) London Philharmonic Orchestra The Glyndebourne Chorus Vladimir Jurowsky (conductor). | |
| Mozart's Mitridate: Re Di Ponto | 20061111 | Stephanie Hughes presents the first of three Mozart operas recorded at this year's Salzburg Festival, and talks to Mozart expert Jane Glover about the composer's colourful life and times. Written at the age of 14, Mitridate was an extraordinary achievement even for a child prodigy such as Mozart. It vividly recounts the tangled web of love affairs involving the old king Mitridate's betrothed, Aspasia, and his sons Sifare and Farnace and is set against the backdrop of a real war against the Roman Empire. Ismene....Ingela Bohlin (soprano) Mitridate....Richard Croft (tenor) Farnace....Bejun Mehta (counter tenor) Aspasia....Netta Or (soprano) Sifare....Miah Persson (soprano) Marzio....Colin Lee (tenor) Arbate....Pascal Bertin (countertenor) Les Musiciens du Louvre, Geneva Marc Minkowski (conductor). | |
| 20061118 | Stephanie Hughes presents the second of three Mozart operas recorded at this year's Salzburg Festival and talks to its conductor Ivor Bolton. During the interval, Stephanie continues her conversation with Mozart expert Jane Glover about his colourful life and times. It was while composing Die Entführung that the 25-year-old Mozart fell for Constanze Weber. So how much influence did that have on the music of an opera whose heroine is called Konstanze? And did Emperor Joseph II really complain that the result had 'too many notes'? Konstanze....Laura Aikin (soprano) Belmonte, her lover....Charles Castronovo (tenor) Blonde....Valentina Farcas (soprano) Pedrillo, her lover....Dietmar Kerschbaum (tenor) Osmin....Franz Hawlata (bass) Vienna State Opera Chorus Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra Ivor Bolton (conductor). | ||
| La Juive | 20061125 | Stephanie Hughes presents a concert performance of Fromental Halevy's La Juive which drew rave reviews at the Barbican in September. A plot full of melodramatic twists and turns weaves around the topical subject of religious persecution. Eleazar is a Jewish goldsmith under persecution from the Catholic Cardinal Brogni. His daughter loves a handsome Jew who is already married to someone else. Dennis O'Neill....Eleazar (tenor) Marina Poplavskaya....Rachel (soprano) Alastair Miles....Cardinal Brogni (bass) Dario Schmunck....Prince Leopold (tenor) Nicole Cabell....Princess Eudoxie (soprano) Joachim Seipp....Ruggiero (bass) Matthew Rose....Albert (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Daniel Oren (conductor). | |
| Don Giovanni | 20061202 | Stephanie Hughes presents a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni, recorded at this year's Salzburg Festival. Mozart's antihero, an unscrupulous free spirit, attempts to seduce a noblewoman and is challenged to a duel by her father, whom he kills. The subsquent dark chain of events culminates in the unrepentant Don being dragged down to hell. Don Giovanni (a nobleman)....Thomas Hampson (baritone) Il Commendatore....Robert Lloyd (bass) Donna Anna (his daughter)....Christine Schäfer (soprano) Don Ottavio (her betrothed)....Piotr Beczala (tenor) Donna Elvira....Melanie Diener (soprano) Leporello (Giovanni?s servant)....Ildebrando d'Arcangelo (bass-baritone) Masetto (a peasant)....Luca Pisarone (bass-baritone) Zerlina (his betrothed)....Isabel Bayrakdarian (soprano) Vienna State Opera Chorus Concert Association Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Daniel Harding (conductor). | |
| Idomeneo | 20061209 | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Mozart's Idomeneo (Act 1). Idomeneo, King of Crete, has escaped a shipwreck by promising to sacrifice to Neptune the first person he meets. This person, searching for his father, is Idomeneo's son Idamante. Kobie van Rensburg (tenor, Idomeneo) Magdalena Kozena (mezzo, Idamante) Dorothea Roschmann (soprano, Ilia) Alexandra Deshorties (soprano, Elettra) Jeffrey Francis (tenor, Arbace) Stephen Milling (bass, voice of Neptune) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Mozart's Idomeneo (Act 2). Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Mozart's Idomeneo (Act 3). | |
| Don Carlo | 20061223 | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Verdi's Don Carlo. A drama of personal, political and religious passion amid the Spanish Inquisition, this epic yet intimate work, based on Schiller, is considered one of Verdi's most profound. Don Carlo....Johan Botha (tenor) Philip II....Rene Pape (bass) Rodrigo....Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Grand Inquisitor....Samuel Ramey (bass) Elisabeth....Patricia Racette (soprano) Eboli....Olga Borodina (mezzo) Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). | |
| Carmen | 20061226 | Andrew McGregor presents a performance of Francesca Zambello's new Royal Opera production of Bizet's Carmen. Carmen....Anna Caterina Antonacci (soprano) Don Jose....Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Escamillo....Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (bass-baritone) Micaela....Norah Amsellem (soprano) Lieutenant Zuniga....Matthew Rose (bass) Corporal Morales....Jacques Imbrailo (baritone) Frasquita....Elena Xanthoudakis (soprano) Mercedes....Viktoria Vizin (mezzo) Smugglers....Jean Sebastien Bou (baritone), Jean-Paul Fouchecourt (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Peter Manning (concert master) Antonio Pappano (conductor). | |
| The Magic Flute | 20061230 | Mozart's The Magic Flute, live from the New York Metropolitan Opera House in a new, abridged English version for children by American director Julie Taymor. Prince Tamino faces a series of trails to gain the hand of Pamina, daughter of the Queen of the Night, helped, or hindered, by the bird-catcher Pagageno. Tamino....Frank Lopardo (tenor) Papageno....Nathan Gunn (baritone) Queen of the Night....Erika Miklosa (coloratura soprano) Pamina....Ying Yuang (soprano) First Lady....Wendy Bryn Harmer (soprano) Second Lady....Kate Lindsey (mezzo) Third Lady....Tamara Mumford (mezzo) Papagena....Jennifer Aylmer (soprano) Sarastro....Morris Robinson (bass) Monostatos....Gregg Fedderley (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of the New York Metropolitan Opera James Levine (conductor). | |
| I Puritani | 20070106 | Continuesat8.10pm,afterTwentyMinutes, Continuesat9.20pm,aftertheMetOperaQuiz | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Bellini's I Puritani. Set during the English civil war, the plot centres around Lord Arthur Talbot's love for Elvira, daughter of the Puritan governor of the fortress in which Queen Henrietta Maria is confined. Passion and politics intermingle, but there is a happy ending. Elvira....Anna Netrebko (soprano) Arturo....Eric Cutler (tenor) Gualtiero....Valerian Ruminski (bass) Riccardo....Franco Vassallo (baritone) Georgio....John Relyea (bass) Bruno....Eduardo Valdes (tenor) Henrietta Maria....Maria Zifchak (mezzo) Patrick Summers conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera; Act 1. Patrick Summers conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera: Act 2 Set during the English civil war, the plot centres around Lord Arthur Talbot's love for Elvira, daughter of the Puritan governor of the fortress in which Queen Henrietta Maria is confined. Passion and politics intermingle, but there is a happy end. Patrick Summers conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera; Act 3. |
| The First Emperor | 20070113 | Continuesat8.20pm,afterTwentyMinutes | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Tan Dun's The First Emperor. This epic story of love, power and betrayal is based on the historical figure of Emperor Chin, who unified China in the third century BC and built the Great Wall. Emperor Chin....Placido Domingo (tenor) Princess Yue-yang....Elizabeth Futral (soprano) Gao Jian-li....Paul Groves (tenor) General Wang....Hao Jiang Tian (bass) Shaman....Michelle DeYoung (mezzo) Chief Minister....Haijing Fu (baritone) Yin Yang Master....Wu Hsing-Kuo (Beijing Opera Singer) Mother of Yue-yang....Suzanne Mentzer (mezzo) Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus Tan Dun (conductor) (Act 1) |
| 20070120 | Stephanie Hughes presents a rare performance of Lully's Amadis, recorded live at the 2006 Vendee Festival in France. The story, chosen by Louis XIV, tells of the love of the medieval hero Amadis for Oriane. She is in love with Amadis but is convinced he is unfaithful. Meanwhile, a sorceress and her brother are hunting down Amadis to avenge the death of their brother. Prologue Alquif....Matthieu Heim (baritone) Urgande....Camille Poul (soprano) Tragedy Amadis....François-Nicholas Geslot (countertenor) Oriane....Guillemette Laurens (soprano) Florestan....Bertrand Chuberre (baritone) Corisande....Françoise Masset (soprano) Arcabonne....Céline Ricci (soprano) Arcalaus....Florian Westphal (baritone) Ghost of Ardan Canile....Matthieu Heim (baritone) Hugo Reyne conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of La Symphonie du Marais. | ||
| La Fille Du Regiment | 20070127 | Stephanie Hughes presents a performance of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment, recorded at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Marie, the adopted daughter of Sergeant Sulpice and his regiment, is in love with Tonio, a peasant. Not being a soldier he is considered an unworthy match. Marie encounters the Marquise, who turns out to be her aunt - or is she? Marie....Natalie Dessay (soprano) Tonio....Juan Diego Florez (tenor) La Marquise de Berkenfeld....Felicity Palmer (mezzo) Sulpice....Alessandro Corbelli (bass) Hortensius....Donald Maxwell (bass) A Corporal....Bryan Secombe (bass) Duchesse de Crackentorp....Dawn French (speaking part) Royal Opera Chorus Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Peter Manning (concert master) Bruno Campanella (conductor). | |
| 20070203 | La Boheme Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents Franco Zeffirelli's production of Puccini's masterpiece. Mimi....Cristina Gallardo-Domas (soprano) Musetta....Ainhoa Arteta (soprano) Rodolfo....Marcello Giordani (tenor) Marcello....Dwayne Croft (baritone) Schaunard....Aaron St Clair Nicholson (baritone) Colline....John Relyea (bass) Benoit/Alcindoro....Paul Plishka (bass) Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra Carlo Rizzi (conductor) (Act 4). (Act 3). (Acts 1 and 2). | ||
| 20070217 | Continuesat7.35pm,afterTwentyMinutes, Continuesat9.00pm,afterTheMetOperaQuiz | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Janacek's Jenufa. In this tale of love, jealousy and fear of social ostracism, Jenufa is loved by two rival half-brothers, but her stepmother is afraid that she will ruin herself by marrying a drunkard. Jenufa's revelation that she is pregnant changes everything and leads to tragic consequences. Jenufa....Karita Mattila (soprano) Kostelnicka....Anja Silja (soprano) Laca Klemen....Kim Begley (tenor) Steva Buryja....Jay Hunter Morris (tenor) Grandmother Buryja....Wendy Harmer Bryn (mezzo) Jano....Yvonne Gonzales Redman (soprano) Mayor....Paul Pliska (baritone) Mayor's Wife....Kathryn Day (mezzo) Karolka....Alyson Cambridge (soprano) Aunt....Michaela Martens (soprano) Woman....April Haines (soprano) Man....Roger Andrews (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of New York Metropolitan Opera Jiri Belohlavek (conductor) (Act 3). (Act 2) (Act 1) | |
| Monteverdi: L'orfeo | 20070224 | Stephanie Hughes celebrates the 400th anniversary of this outstanding work, seen as the first true opera ever written, with a performance selected from five different recordings. Studio guests John Whenham and Robert Hollingworth join her to discuss Monteverdi's achievement, with additional comment from those who have performed Orfeo, including conductors Jane Glover and Philip Pickett, singer Catherine Bott and director David Freeman. Prologue: Chiaroscuro Nigel Rogers (director) La Musica....Emma Kirkby (soprano) Act 1: Le Concert des Nations Collegium Vocale, Ghent Jordi Savall (conductor) La Musica....Montserrat Figueras (soprano) Pastore....Carlos Mena (countertenor), Francesco Garrigosa (tenor), Ivan Garcia (tenor) Orfeo....Furio Zanasi (baritone) Euridice....Arianna Savall (soprano) Act 2: Concentus Musicus Wien Capella antiqua Munchen Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor) Orfeo....Lajos Kozma Pastore....Gunther Theuring, Nigel Rogers, Kurt Equiluz Messaggiera....Cathy Berberian Act 3: Le concert d'Astrée Les Sacqueboutiers Emmanuelle Haim (conductor) Orfeo....Ian Bostridge Speranza....Sonia Prina Caronte....Mario Luperi Act 4: New London Consort Philip Pickett (conductor) Proserpina....Catherine Bott Plutone....Michael George Orfeo....John Mark Ainsley Euridice....Julia Gooding Act 5: English Baroque Soloists His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts Monteverdi Choir John Eliot Gardiner (conductor) Orfeo....Anthony Rolfe Johnson Eco....Mark Tucker Apollo....Nigel Robson. | |
| 20070303 | Continuesat7.20pmafterTwentyMinutes, Continuesat8.50pmaftertheMetOperaQuiz | Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. In this tale of political struggle set in 14th-century Genoa, the Doge's battles with his rivals tragically cost him both his wife and his daughter. Simon....Thomas Hampson (baritone,) Amelia....Angela Gheorghiu (soprano) Fiesco....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Gabriele....Marcello Giordani (tenor) Paolo....Vassily Gerello (bass) Fabio Luisi conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the New York Metropolitan Opera. (Prologue) Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. (Act 1) Live from the New York Metropolitan Opera, Margaret Juntwait presents a performance of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra. (Acts 2 and 3). | |
| Handel's Agrippina | 20070512 | Sarah Connolly takes the title role in Handel's ancient Roman soap opera in which power-hungry, power-dressing Agrippina will stop at nothing to get her son Nero on the throne. Nero is more interested in the Roman beauty Poppea but, unfortunately, so are two other men, including his stepfather, the current Emperor Claudio. Stephanie Hughes presents the opera, with contributions from some of the stars of the show. Agrippina....Sarah Connolly (soprano) Poppea....Lucy Crowe (soprano) Nero....Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Narciso....Stephen Wallace (countertenor) Ottone....Reno Troilus (countertenor) Claudio....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Pallante....Henry Waddington (bass) Lesbo....Richard Suart (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of English National Opera Daniel Reuss (conductor). | |
| 20070519 | Verdi's Stiffelio Argentinian tenor Jose Cura returns to a role in which he had an early success at the Royal Opera House. Verdi's opera tells of a Protestant pastor's reaction to his wife's infidelity, a subject that was so controversial in Italy at the time that the censors forced Verdi to make drastic cuts. Stiffelio has now re-entered the repertory after the original came to light and this production, which is directed by Elijah Moshinsky and sets the action in a religious community in the American Midwest, has become a resounding success. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Jorg, an elderly minister....Alastair Miles (bass) Stiffelio, a minister....Jose Cura (tenor) Stankar, Lina's father....Roberto Frontali (bass) Dorotea, Lina's cousin....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Raffaele di Leuthold....Reinaldo Macias (tenor) Frederico di Frengel, Lina's cousin....Nikola Matisic (tenor) Lina, Stiffelio's wife....Sondra Radvanovsky (soprano) Renato Balsadonna (chorus director) Vasko Vassilev (concert master) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Mark Elder (conductor). | ||
| 20070526 | Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi Stephanie Hughes introduces a double-bill of comedy recorded last month at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole features rising star Christine Rice as the clockmaker's wife who discovers that the best way to sneak her lovers into the bedroom is inside the grandfather clocks made by her husband. Ravel's score is a masterpiece of colour, as is Puccini's for his only comedy, the story of the village wide-boy Gianni Schicchi who comes to the rescue of the greedy Donati family whilst making sure that he looks after himself as well! Bryn Terfel sings the role of Schicchi for the first time at the Royal Opera House and both operas feature superb supporting casts. Ravel: L'Heure Espagnole Torquemada, a clockmaker....Bonaventura Bottone (tenor) Concepcion, clockmaker's wife....Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Gonzalve, a bachelor....Yann Beuron (tenor) Ramiro, muleteer....Christopher Maltman (baritone) Don Inigo Gomez, a banker....Andrew Shore (bass) Puccini: Gianni Schicchi Gianni Schicchi....Bryn Terfel (baritone) Lauretta, his daughter....Dina Kuznetsova (soprano) Zita, cousin of Buoso Donati....Elena Zilio (contralto) Rinuccio, Zita's nephew....Saimir Pirgu (tenor) Gherardo, Buoso's nephew....Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (tenor) Nella, Gherardo's wife....Joan Rodgers (soprano) Betto di Signa, Buoso's brother-in-law....Jeremy White (bass) Simone, cousin of Buoso....Gwynne Howell (bass) Marco, Simone's son....Christopher Purves (baritone) La Ciesca, Marco's wife....Marie McLaughlin (soprano) Maestro Spinelloccio, a doctor....Henry Waddington (bass) Ser Amantio di Nicolao, a notary....Enrico Fissore (bass) Gerhardino, son of Gherardo. | ||
| Pelléas Et Mélisande | 20070609 | Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande Simon Rattle brings his interpretation of Debussy's enigmatic score to the Royal Opera House, in a production first shown at the 2006 Salzburg Festival and featuring a strong cast led by Simon Keenlyside, together with Gerald Finley and Angelika Kirchschlager. The mysterious Mélisande is discovered wandering in a forest by the prince Golaud, who marries her and takes her back with him to his grandfather's foreboding castle. Mélisande meets Golaud's half-brother Pelléas, and a tragedy unfolds as they are irresistably drawn towards each other. Pelléas, grandson of Arkel....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Mélisande....Angelika Kirchschlager (mezzo-soprano) Golaud, grandson of Arkel....Gerald Finley (baritone) Arkel, King of Allemonde....Robert Lloyd (bass) Genevieve, mother of Pelléas and Golaud....Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano) Yniold, Golaud's son from a former liaison....Tom Norrington (treble) The Doctor/The Shepherd....Robert Gleadow (bass) The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera Chorus Simon Rattle (conductor). | |
| Thomas Ades' The Tempest | 20070623 | Ades' operatic version of Shakespeare's play was a hit at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, when it was premiered in 2004. This year it returned to London with many of the same star singers who originally created the roles, including Simon Keenlyside as the sorcerer Prospero, Ian Bostridge as the misunderstood monster Caliban, and Cyndia Sieden as the airy spirit Ariel, singing one of the most stratospheric soprano parts ever written. Prospero....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Miranda....Kate Royal (soprano) Ferdinand....Toby Spence (tenor) Caliban....Ian Bostridge (tenor) Ariel....Cyndia Sieden (soprano) King of Naples....Philip Langridge (tenor) Antonio....Donald Kaasch (tenor) Sebastian....Jonathan Summers (baritone) Trinculo....David Cordier (countertenor) Stefano....Stephen Richardson (bass-baritone) Gonzalo....Graeme Danby (bass) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Thomas Ades (conductor). | |
| 20070630 | Benjamin Britten: Death in Venice Britten's final opera is based on Thomas Mann's novella about the last days of Aschenbach, a famous writer who, in a city plagued by cholera, is profoundly affected by his meeting with a young Polish boy staying at the same hotel. Ian Bostridge, a noted interpreter of Britten, takes the hugely demanding role of Aschenbach for the first time and the cast also includes a highly versatile Peter Coleman-Wright, who tackles seven different character-sketches ranging from an Old Fop to the voice of a Greek God. Deborah Warner's new production for ENO is the first to be conducted by the company's new Music Director Edward Gardner. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Gustav von Aschenbach, a novelist....Ian Bostridge (tenor) The Traveller, Elderly Fop, Old Gondelier, Hotel Manager, Hotel Barber, Leader of the Players and Voice of Dionysus....Peter Coleman-Wright (baritone) The Voice of Apollo....Iestyn Davies (countertenor) Hotel Porter....Peter Van Hulle (tenor) Strawberry-seller....Anna Dennis (soprano) Guide....Charles Johnston (baritone) Strolling players....Lee Bisset (soprano) and Dwayne Jones (tenor) English clerk in a travel bureau....Jonathan Gunthorpe (baritone) Glass-maker....Richard Edgar-Wilson (tenor) Lace-seller....Constance Novis (soprano) Beggar woman....Madeleine Shaw (mezzo-soprano) Restaurant waiter....William Berger (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Edward Gardner (conductor). | ||
| Mozart's La Clemenza Di Tito | 20070707 | Power, friendship and betrayal are the driving forces behind Mozart's final opera seria. As Holy Roman Emperor, Titus wants to be an honourable ruler, but Vitellia plots to gain the throne herself. Sextus is a close friend of Titus, but he is infatuated with Vitellia, and will do anything to gain her love. Stephanie Hughes introduces this revival by English National Opera which boasts a strong British cast, with Emma Bell and Paul Nilon reprising the lead roles they took in 2005, whilst mezzo-soprano Alice Coote plays the tormented Sextus. Titus, Roman Emperor....Paul Nilon (tenor) Vitellia, daughter of former Emperor Vitellio....Emma Bell (soprano) Sextus, friend of Tito and in love with Vitellia....Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) Servilia, sister of Sextus and in love with Annius....Sarah-Jane Davies (soprano) Annius, friend of Sextus and in love with Servilia....Anne Marie Gibbons (mezzo-soprano) Publius, Praetorian prefect of the Guard....Andrew Foster-Williams (bass-baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Edward Gardner (conductor). | |
| Edinburgh International Festival 2007: Bernstein's Candide | 20070915 | In the opening concert of this year's Festival, Robert Spano conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and an all-star cast in a concert performance of Leonard Bernstein's witty and glittering operetta Candide. Presented by Donald Macleod, from the Usher Hall. Candide....Matthew Polenzani (tenor) Cunegonde....Laura Aikin (soprano) Dr Pangloss/Martin/Narrator....Thomas Allen (baritone) Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski....Keith Lewis (tenor) Old Lady....Kathryn Harries (soprano) Paquette....Jennifer Johnston (mezzo-soprano) Bearkeeper/Inquisitor/Tsar Ivan....Tim Mirfin (baritone) Maximillian/Captain....Roland Wood (baritone) Edinburgh Festival Chorus David Jones (chorus master) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Robert Spano (conductor). | |
| 20070922 | Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso Presented by Donald Macleod. On his triumphant return to Venice in 1727 as a composer and impresario, Vivaldi presented his 'heroico-magical drama', which tells the story of Orlando on the island of the sorceress Alcina, as a model for what opera should be. Corsican conductor Jean-Christophe Spinosi re-assembles many of the stellar cast from his recent recording in this concert performance given at the 2007 Edinburgh International Festival. Orlando....Sonia Prina (contralto) Alcina....Jennifer Larmore (mezzo-soprano) Angelica....Veronica Cangemi (soprano) Ruggiero....Philippe Jaroussky (countertenor) Astolfo....Christian Senn (baritone) Bradamante....Barbara Di Castri (contralto) Medoro....Daniela Pini (mezzo-soprano) Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus Jean-Christophe Spinosi (conductor). | ||
| Britten's The Turn Of The Screw | 20070929 | From this summer's Glyndebourne Festival comes Jonathan Kent's inspired production of Britten's thought-provoking opera, with its taut chamber score perfectly suited to Henry James's chilling story. Rising British star Edward Gardner conducts members of the London Philharmonic and an international cast. The Governess is employed to be in sole charge of two young children, Miles and Flora, at a remote country house. Initially she seems to have found an idyllic world, but gradually she begins to feel a malign influence at work through the ghosts of Quint, a former manservant, and Miss Jessel, the previous governess. She resolves to protect the children and embarks on a battle for the soul of Miles. Martin Handley presents the broadcast in collaboration with soprano Vivian Tierney who gives her insights into performing Britten on stage. Prologue/Peter Quint....William Burden (tenor) Governess....Camilla Tilling (soprano) Flora....Joanna Songi (soprano) Miles....Christopher Sladdin (treble) Mrs Grose....Anne-Marie Owens (mezzo-soprano) Miss Jessel....Emma Bell (soprano) London Philharmonic Orchestra Edward Gardner (conductor). | |
| 20071006 | Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride Geoffrey Smith introduces an exciting new production of Gluck's Iphigenie en Tauride from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Director Robert Carsen's innovative production and Susan Graham's performance in the title role have already received great acclaim in the USA and, together with tenor Simon Keenlyside and conductor Ivor Bolton, they give their insights into the opera. Considered by many as the greatest of Gluck's 'reform operas', Iphigenie en Tauride tells the story of tortured princess Iphigenie, exiled to the island of Tauride and forced to commit sacrificial murder by its paranoid King Thoas. When her estranged brother, Orestes, arrives on the island fleeing the Furies and his own guilt, the story takes a complicated turn. In what is a tragedy of terrifying psychological ordeal, Gluck expertly combined music and theatre with great dramatic intensity. Iphigénie, High Priestess of Diana....Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano) Oreste, Iphigénie's brother....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Pylade, Oreste's friend....Paul Groves (tenor) Thoas, King of Tauris....Clive Bayley (bass) First Priestess/A Greek Woman....Gail Pearson (soprano) Second Priestess....Claire Wild (soprano) Diane, goddess of hunting....Cécile van de Sant (soprano) A Scythian....Jacques Imbrailo (baritone) A Minister....Krzysztof Szumanski (bass-baritone) Coryphée....Kiera Lyness (soprano), Ann Osborne (soprano), Dervla Ramsay (mezzo-soprano), Kate McCarney (mezzo-soprano) The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of The Age of Enlightenment Ivor Bolton (conductor). | ||
| 20071013 | The Sacrifice By James MacMillan. Including at 6.30pm: Christopher Cook is at the Wales Millennium Centre to explore the sound world of James MacMillan's new opera The Sacrifice. Commissioned by Welsh National Opera, The Sacrifice has been ten years in the making. MacMillan and librettist Michael Symmons Roberts discuss its development and how working collaboratively with director Katie Mitchell and designer Vicki Mortimer has created an opera based on the mythological Welsh stories of the Mabinogion. Soprano Lisa Milne and baritone Christopher Purves describe their experience of singing new roles. 6.40pm The Sacrifice Anthony Negus conducts the chorus and orchestra of Welsh National Opera and a hand-picked cast in his opera The Sacrifice. A tribal war between two countries has resulted in bloodshed and destruction. In a bid for peace, The General on one side gives his daughter Sian's hand in marriage to his volatile enemy Mal. Sian sacrifices her lover Evan, The General's personal aide, for the sake of her country, even though she still loves him. Seven years later, at the investiture of Sian and Mal's son Gwyn, Evan's passionate fury for the sacrifice they have made is unleashed with devastating consequences. Sian....Lisa Milne (soprano) Evan....Leigh Melrose (baritone) General....Christopher Purves (baritone) Megan....Sarah Tynan (soprano) Mal....Peter Hoare (tenor) 3 Birds/Dressers....Rosie Hay, Samantha Hay, Amanda Baldwin Gwyn (non-singing child)....Cameron Jones/Oscar Notley Elis (non-singing child)....Tomos Hardy/Ben Evans Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera Anthony Negus (conductor). | ||
| 20071020 | Janacek's Katya Kabanova Katya Kabanova is a free-spirited woman who finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage dominated by an overpowering mother-in-law. When she falls in love with another man in the village, it can only lead to disaster for her. In Trevor Nunn's critically acclaimed production from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Janice Watson sings the role of Janacek's doomed heroine, with Felicity Palmer as her fearsome mother-in-law. Presented by Stephanie Hughes. Marfa Ignatevna Kabanova (Kabanicha), a merchant's widow....Felicity Palmer (mezzo-soprano) Tichon Kabanov, her son....Chris Merritt (tenor) Kateÿrina (Katya), his wife....Janice Watson (soprano) Varvara, Kabanicha's foster child....Linda Tuvas (mezzo-soprano) Dikoj, a merchant....Oleg Bryjak (bass-baritone) Boris, his nephew....Kurt Streit (tenor) Vana Kudrjás, Dikoj's clerk....Toby Spence (tenor) Glasa, a servant....Miranda Westcott (mezzo-soprano) Feklusa, a servant....Anne Mason (mezzo-soprano) Kuligin, a friend of Kudrjás....Jeremy White (bass) Zena, a woman in the crowd....Renata Skarelyte (mezzo soprano) Chodec, a boatman....Neil Gillespie (tenor) The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Charles Mackerras (conductor). | ||
| 20071027 | Massenet's Thaïs Soprano Renée Fleming leads a star-studded cast in Massenet's exotic tale of love and redemption, recorded in concert at the Royal Opera House in June 2007. Based on a tale found in early Middle Eastern monastic manuscripts, the opera tells the story of the monk Athanael and his ultimately tragic desire for the Alexandrian courtesan Thaïs. Massenet's evocative score (which includes the famous Meditation melody) is given vitality and immediacy by the Royal Opera House orchestra under Andrew Davis. Thaïs, actress and courtesan....Renée Fleming (soprano) Athanaël, a coenobite monk....Simone Alberghini (bass-baritone) Nicias, a young sybarite philosopher....Joseph Calleja (tenor) Palémon, an old coenobite monk....Robert Lloyd (bass) Crobyle, a slave....Ana James (soprano) Myrtale, a slave....Liora Grodnikaite (mezzo-soprano) Albine, abbess....Clare Shearer (soprano) La Charmeuse, ballet dancer....Kiera Lyness (soprano) Servant of Nicias....Nigel Cliffe (baritone) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Andrew Davis (conductor). | ||
| 20071103 | Petroc Trelawny introduces the controversial new production of Bizet's Carmen from English National Opera. Directed by acclaimed film-maker Sally Potter and sung in a new English translation by Christopher Cowell, it's a radical take on the Carmen story. Rising British star Alice Coote takes the title role for the first time. The two men who dominate the last days of her life, 'security guard' Don Jose and bullfighter Escamillo, are played by Australian-born tenor Julian Gavin and Welsh baritone David Kempster. ENO's young Music Director Edward Gardner tackles his first 'mainstream' opera since assuming the post. Bizet: Carmen Carmen....Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) José....Julian Gavin (tenor) Escamillo....David Kempster (baritone) Micaëla....Katie van Kooten (soprano) Moralès....Ronan Collett (baritone) Zuniga....Graeme Danby (bass) Merdédès....Fiona Murphy (mezzo-soprano) Frasquita....Elena Xanthoudakis (soprano) Dancairo....Andrew Rees (tenor) Remendado....Scott Davies (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Edward Gardner (conductor). | ||
| 20071110 | Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea Presented by Petroc Trelawny and beginning with a behind-the-scenes feature on the opera and this production. Following their success at English National Opera with Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, conductor Laurence Cummings and director Chen Shi-Zheng team up at ENO once again for Monteverdi's final opera, which contains some of his most sensual music and features an outstanding British cast. Poppea is the mistress of the Emperor Nero, who is easily manipulated - she wants the power of the throne, and the only obstacle in her way is Nero's wife Ottavia. Fortune....Katherine Manley (soprano) Virtue....Jane Harrington (soprano) LoveSophie Bevan....(soprano) Mercury....James Gower (bass) Poppea....Kate Royal (soprano) Nerone....Anna Grevelius (mezzo-soprano) Ottavia....Doreen Curran (mezzo-soprano) Ottone....Tim Mead (countertenor) Drusilla....Lucy Crowe (soprano) Seneca....Robert Lloyd (bass) Arnalta....Christopher Gillett (tenor) Nurse/Venus....Diana Montague (mezzo-soprano) English National Opera Orchestra Laurence Cummings (conductor/harpsichord). | ||
| 20071117 | Charpentier's Louise Alexandra Wilson introduces a production of Charpentier's four-act opera given earlier this year at the Opera Bastille in Paris. Late 19th century Paris is the real hero of the opera, home to Louise, her traditional working-class parents and her bohemian artist lover Julien. It's the tension between Louise's responsibility to her parents and her opportunity to break free with Julien that underpins the work, set among the streets and tenements of Montmartre. The cast is headed by leading French soprano Mireille Delunsch in the title role, American lyric tenor Paul Groves as Julien and the hugely experienced Belgian bass-baritone Jose van Dam as Louise's father. Louise....Mireille Delunsch (soprano) Julien....Paul Groves (tenor) Her Father....José van Dam (bass-baritone) Her Mother....Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano) Irma....Marie-Paule Dotti (soprano) Camille....Natacha Constantin (soprano) Gertrude....Anne Salvan (mezzo-soprano) Noctambulist/King of Fools....Luca Lombardo (tenor) A Rag Picker....René Schirrer (bass-baritone) Paris Opera Chorus and Orchestra Sylvain Cambreling (conductor). | ||
| Keiser's The Fortunes Of King Croesus | 20071124 | Christopher Cook introduces a performance from Opera North in Leeds of a rarely heard 18th century German opera by Reinhard Keiser, an early contemporary of Handel. Croesus tells of a rich and powerful monarch who falls from power and forfeits his fortune. It was a huge success in its day propelled by Keiser's great gift for melody. In this new production, devised by director Tim Albery with conductor Harry Bicket, it is performed in English and features celebrated American male soprano Michael Maniaci in his UK debut role. Croesus, King of Lydia....Paul Nilon (tenor) Atis, Croesus' son....Michael Maniaci (male soprano) Halimacus, confidant to Atis....Stephen Wallace (countertenor) Orsanes, in love with Elmira....William Dazeley (baritone) Clerida, in love with Orsanes....Fflur Wyn (soprano) Eliates, in love with Clerida....Mark le Brocq (tenor) Elcius, a bon viveur....John Graham-Hall (tenor) Queen of Media....Susan Lees (soprano) Elmira, her daughter....Gillian Keith (soprano) Trigesta, her lady-in-waiting....Sarah Pring (mezzo-soprano) Cyrus, King of Persia....Henry Waddington (baritone) Persian Captain....Paul Gibson (baritone) Solon, A Greek Philosopher....Eric Roberts (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North Harry Bicket (conductor). | |
| 20071201 | Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore Nemorino is in love with the fickle Adina, who refuses to marry him. When Sergeant Belcore proposes to her too, Nemorino is desperate enough to put his faith in the love potion that worked for Queen Isolde, sold by the dubious Dr Dulcamara. But it takes 24 hours to work, and Adina and Belcore's wedding is the next day. Several plot twists, and many wonderful melodies later, all ends happily ever after. Laurent Pelly's production for the Royal Opera House stars Aleksandra Kurzak, Stefano Secco and Ludovic Tezier, under the baton of Mikko Franck. Tom Service presents, and is joined in the box by Italian opera expert Professor Roger Parker to guide us through one of Donizetti's most popular works. Nemorino....Stefano Secco (tenor) Adina....Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Belcore....Ludovic Tézier (baritone) Giannetta....Kishani Jayasinghe (soprano) Dulcamara....Paolo Gavanelli (baritone) Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Mikko Franck (conductor). | ||
| Wagner's Parsifal | 20080119 | Martin Handley presents a recording of the recent production of Wagner's final opera from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It marks the return to the theatre's podium of former music director Bernard Haitink, with a cast of leading Wagner interpreters from home and abroad. Parsifal, the 'pure fool made wise by suffering', encounters the knights of the holy grail led by the wounded ruler Amfortas and veteran knight Gurnemanz. He meets the mysterious wild woman Kundry and the evil magician Klingsor. He grows in maturity and is eventually revealed as the redeemer whose task is to take on the role of the new lord of the grail. Gurnemanz....John Tomlinson (bass) First Knight....Nikola Matisic (tenor) Second Knight....Krzysztof Szumanski (bass) First Esquire....Harriet Williams (mezzo-soprano) Second Esquire....Rebecca de Pont Davies (soprano) Third Esquire....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Fourth Esquire....Haoyin Xue (tenor) Kundry....Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano) Amfortas....Falk Struckmann (bass) Parsifal....Christopher Ventris (tenor) Titurel....Gwynne Howell (bass) Voice from above....Pumeza Matshikiza (soprano) Klingsor....Willard White (bass) Flowermaidens....Elizabeth Cragg, Anita Watson, Kichani Jayasinghe, Malin Christensson, Ana James, Pumeza Matshikiza (sopranos) Children's Chorus from Trinity School, Croydon Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Bernard Haitink (conductor). | |
| 20080209 | Verdi's La traviata Based on a play by Alexandre Dumas, La traviata tells the tragic story of Violetta, the consumptive courtesan whose bid for true love finds her pitilessly rejected by the society that once rejoiced in her debauched parties. This Royal Opera House production is led by a cast including Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, tenor Jonas Kaufman and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Presented by Sean Rafferty from the Royal Opera House in conversation with writer and opera critic Alexandra Wilson. Violetta Valery....Anna Netrebko (soprano) Flora Bervoix....Monika-Evelin Liiv (mezzo-soprano) Marquis d'Obigny....Kostas Smoriginas (bass-baritone) Baron Douphol....Eddie Wade (baritone) Doctor Grenvil....Mark Beesley (bass) Gastone de Letorieres....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Alfredo Germont....Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Giuseppe....Neil Gillespie (tenor) Giorgio Germont....Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone) Messenger....Charbel Mattar (bass) Servant....Jonathan Coad (bass) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Maurizio Benini (conductor). | ||
| Richard Strauss's Salome | 20080510 | David McVicar's new production for The Royal Opera features Philippe Jordan conducting soprano Nadja Michael as Salome and baritone Michael Volle as Jokanaan. In Strauss's disturbing one-act opera, based on the play by Oscar Wilde, the adolescent Salome, stepdaughter of King Herod, is attracted to Jokaanan, who rejects him. When the lustful King Herod offers her anything she desires in return for dancing in front of him, she enacts vicious revenge on Jokaanan. The programme, which includes a discussion of the undercurrents of the opera with the conductor, director and members of the cast, is presented by Suzy Klein. Salome....Nadja Michael (soprano) Herodias....Michaela Schuster (soprano) Page to Herodias....Daniela Sindram (mezzo-soprano) Herod....Thomas Moser (tenor) Narraboth....Joseph Kaiser (tenor) Jokanaan....Michael Volle (baritone) First Nazarene....Iain Paterson (bass) Second Nazarene....Andrew Mayor (baritone) First Soldier....Christian Sist (bass) Second Soldier....Alan Ewing (bass) First Jew....Adrian Thompson (tenor) Second Jew....Martyn Hill (tenor) Third Jew....Hubert Francis (tenor) Fourth Jew....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Fifth Jew....Jeremy White (bass) A Cappadocian....Vuyani Mlinde (bass) Slave....Pumeza Matshikiza (soprano) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Philippe Jordan (conductor). | |
| Verdi's Falstaff | 20080524 | Peter Stein directs a revival of his celebrated production of Verdi's comic opera, in a performance given by Welsh National Opera at the Wales Millennium Centre last March. Sir John Falstaff has plans to seduce the wife of a rich local merchant, but Alice and her husband have each made their own arrangements to trick the roguish knight. Who will have the final laugh? Presented by Donald Macleod. Sir John Falstaff....Bryn Terfel (baritone) Dr Caius....Anthony Mee (tenor) Bardolph....Neil Jenkins (tenor) Pistol....Julian Close (bass) Alice Ford....Janice Watson (soprano) Nannetta....Clare Ormshaw (soprano) Meg Page....Imelda Drumm (mezzo-soprano) Mistress Quickly....Anne-Marie Owens (mezzo-soprano) Ford....Christopher Purves (baritone) Fenton....Rhys Meirion (tenor) Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera Carlo Rizzi (conductor). | |
| Birtwistle's The Minotaur | 20080531 | In a performance given at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in April, Antonio Pappano conducts John Tomlinson in the title role, with Christine Rice as Ariadne in the world premiere of Harrison Birtwistle's latest opera, based on the classic Greek myth. Hidden away deep in the labyrinth in Crete is a man with a bull's head who feeds on young men and women sent as tribute from Athens. One day the hero Theseus arrives among these innocents and with the help of Ariadne and her thread, he ventures into the labyrinth intending to kill the beast. Presented by Ivan Hewett. Ariadne....Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) The Minotaur....John Tomlinson (bass) Theseus....Johan Reuter (baritone) First Innocent....Rebecca Bottone (soprano) Second Innocent....Pumeza Matshikiza (soprano) Third Innocent....Wendy Dawn Thompson (mezzo-soprano) Fourth Innocent....Christopher Ainslie (countertenor) Fifth Innocent....Timothy Mead (countertenor) Ker....Amanda Echalaz (soprano) Snake Princess....Andrew Watts (countertenor) Hiereus....Philip Langridge (tenor) The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano (conductor). | |
| Gounod's Romeo Et Juliette | 20080607 | In an Opera North performance given at the Grand Theatre in Leeds, John Fulljames directs Gounod's opera based on Shakespeare's tragic love story, with rising stars Leonardo Capalbo as Romeo and Slovenian soprano Bernarda Bobro in her British debut as Juliette. When Rome and Juliette meet at a party in Verona, they instantly fall in love with each other and marry in secret shortly after. They soon face separation after Romeo is banished from the kingdom and when Juliette is told by her parents she must marry another man, she takes action with tragic consequences. Introduced by Donald Macleod. Romeo....Leonardo Capalbo (tenor) Juliette....Bernarda Bobro (soprano) Mercutio....Grant Doyle (baritone) Tybalt....Peter Wedd (tenor) Stephano....Frances Bourne (soprano) Paris....Geoffrey Dolton (baritone) Capulet....Peter Savidge (bass) Benvolio....Nicholas Sharratt (tenor) Gertrude....Yvonne Howard (mezzo-soprano) Frere Laurent....Henry Waddington (bass) Orchestra of Opera North Martin Andre (conductor) John Fulljames (director). | |
| 20080614 | In an ENO production from London's Coliseum, David McVicar directs Strauss's comic opera about age and class, featuring soprano Janice Watson, mezzo Sarah Connolly and bass John Tomlinson, with the company's Music Director Edward Gardner conducting. The story tells of the love triangle between the noble Marschallin, her young lover Octavian and Sophie, daughter of the 'nouveau riche' Herr von Faninal. The boorish Baron Ochs has his sights set on Sophie and Octavian has to deal with him, as well as his own feelings for the two women in his life. Presented by Andrew McGregor. The Feldmarschallin....Janice Watson (soprano) Octavian....Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Baron Ochs....John Tomlinson (bass) Sophie....Sarah Tynan (soprano) Herr von Faninal....Andrew Shore (bass) Annina....Madeleine Shaw (mezzo-soprano) Valzacchi....Stuart Kale (tenor) Duenna....Janice Cairns (soprano) Singer....Barry Banks (tenor) Police Commissar....Nicholas Folwell (baritone) Notary....James Gower (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Edward Gardner (conductor). | ||
| Birtwistle's Punch And Judy | 20080621 | In an ENO production from London's Young Vic Theatre, Edward Gardner conducts a performance of Harrison Birtwistle's controversial modernist opera, featuring bass Andrew Shore and mezzo-soprano Lucy Schaufer in the title roles. The composer's first work for the stage, Punch and Judy takes its inspiration from the traditional seaside puppet shows and follows Mr Punch as he murders a succession of characters, including his own baby, while pursuing his dream girl, Pretty Polly. Presented by Ivan Hewett. Punch....Andrew Shore (baritone) Judy/Fortune Teller....Lucy Schaufer (mezzo-soprano) Pretty Polly/Witch....Gillian Keith (soprano) Choregos/Jack Ketch....Ashley Holland (baritone) Lawyer....Graham Clark (tenor) Doctor....Graeme Broadbent (bass) Orchestra of English National Opera Edward Gardner (conductor). | |
| Verdi's Don Carlo | 20080628 | Tenor Rolando Villazon and soprano Marina Poplavskaya star in Verdi's tragic love story, directed by Nicholas Hytner and conducted by Antonio Pappano. | |
| Mozart's Le Nozze Di Figaro | 20080705 | Direct from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Charles Mackerras conducts bass-baritone Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and soprano Aleksandra Kurzak in a revival of David McVicar's critically praised production of Mozart's comic opera. The scene is Figaro's wedding day, and his master Count Almaviva is determined to reinstate his feudal right to the favours of Figaro's fiancee Susanna. Amid various mistaken identities and then reconciliations, Susanna and her mistress, the long-suffering Countess, plot to ensure that this cannot happen. Presented by Suzy Klein. Figaro....Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (bass-baritone) Susanna....Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Count Almaviva....Peter Mattei (baritone) Countess Almaviva....Barbara Frittoli (soprano) Cherubino....Anna Bonitatibus (mezzo-soprano) Marcellina....Ann Murray (mezzo-soprano) Bartolo....Robert Lloyd (bass) Don Basilio....Robin Leggate (tenor) Don Curzio....Harry Nicoll (tenor) Barbarina....Kishani Jayasinghe (soprano) Antonio....Donald Maxwell (baritone) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Royal Opera Chorus Charles Mackerras (conductor). | |
| Berg's Wozzeck | 20080712 | A new production from the Opera Bastille in Paris of Berg's dark and disturbing modernist opera, directed by Christoph Marthaler and conducted by Sylvain Cambreling, a noted interpreter of 20th-century scores. Baritone Simon Keenlyside sings the title role for the first time, with leading German soprano Angela Denoke as Wozzeck's common-law wife Marie. Wozzeck, an impoverished soldier stationed in Germany, agrees to undergo medical experimentation in order to gain some extra money for his family. As his mind begins to disintegrate, he experiences dark visions and paranoia until, when confronting his wife about an 'infidelity', he wreaks brutal revenge. Presented by Andrew McGregor. Wozzeck....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Marie....Angela Denoke (soprano) Captain....Gerhard Siegel (tenor) Doctor....Roland Bracht (bass) Drum Major....Jon Villars (tenor) Andres....David Keubler (tenor) Margret....Ursula Hesse von den Steinen (mezzo-soprano) First Apprentice....Patrick Schramm (bass) Second Apprentice....Igor Gnidii (baritone) Madman....John Graham-Hall (tenor) Maitrise des hauts de Seine/Choeur d'enfants de l'Opera national de Paris Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera National de Paris Sylvain Cambreling (conductor). | |
| kurt Weill And Berthold Brecht's The Rise And Fall Of The City Of Mahagonny | 20080920 | HK Gruber conducts soprano Susan Bickley and the Royal National Scottish Orchestra in a performance of Weill and Brecht's anti-capitalist satire, given in August at the Usher Hall in the opening concert of this year's Edinburgh International Festival. The opera's story centres on three fugitives' setting up of a city in an American desert devoted solely to pleasure and debauchery. Prostitution and cheap alcohol attract many prospectors, but when Jimmy the barman declares that all restraints are to be removed, there can only be tragic consequences. Introduced by Donald Macleod, who also talks to the conductor about the context of the work and Weill and Brecht's influence on subsequent operatic developments. Leokadja Begbick....Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano) Fatty....Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts (tenor) Trinity Moses....Alan Opie (baritone) Jenny....Giselle Allen (soprano) Jimmy Mahoney....Anthony Dean Griffey (tenor) Jack Smith, Toby Higgins....Peter Hoare (tenor) Bill....Stephan Loges (baritone) Joe....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Hannah Gordon (narrator) Ladies of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Edinburgh Festival Chorus Christopher Bell (chorus master) Royal Scottish National Orchestra HK Gruber (conductor) | |
| Szymanowski's King Roger | 20080927 | Valery Gergiev conducts baritone Andrzej Dobber and the Mariinsky Opera in a staged performance of Szymanowki's exotic and colourful opera given at the Edniburgh International Festival. A strongly philosophical work, King Roger centres on the arrival at the court of the Catholic King Roger II of Sicily of an enigmatic shepherd, who threatens the established harmony by preaching a seductive and sensually-based pagan religion. Sung in Polish and directed by Mariusz Trelinski. Roger....Andrzej Dobber (baritone) Roxana....Elzbieta Szmytka (soprano) Edrisi....Sergei Semishkur (tenor) Shepherd....Pavlo Tolstoy (tenor) Archbishop....Yury Vorobiev (bass) Deaconess....Lyubov Sokolova (mezzo-soprano) Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinksy Opera Valery Gergiev (conductor) | |
| 20081004 | Act 2 of Robert Carsen's production for ENO of Leonard Bernstein's comic operetta Candide. Rumon Gamba conducts English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra. Candide Martin Handley presents Robert Carsen's controversial production for ENO of Leonard Bernstein's comic operetta, with Voltaire's 18th-century satire updated from Europe to the United States of the 1950s, revealing the dystopian reality of the American dream. Candide, a young man from Westphalia, is in love with Cunegonde, daughter of the local baron. He is a follower of the teachings of his tutor, Dr Pangloss, who believes that 'everything that is, is planned, is wisely planned, is right and good'. The youth is confronted with many disasters, including a massacre during which Cunegonde is apparently killed. He then sets off on his travels, visiting Paris, where he meets an old lady, who accompanies him, along with the miraculously saved Cunegonde, to the New World. He eventually goes to Buenos Aires and to the land of Eldorado. Having survived a shipwreck, he returns to Europe, goes to Venice and finally back to Westphalia. There he realises the folly of his philosophy and resolves to build his own life rather than assuming that everything that happens is for the best. Voltaire/Pangloss/Martin....Alex Jennings Candide....Toby Spence (tenor) Cunegonde....Marnie Breckenridge (soprano) Old Lady....Beverley Klein (mezzo-soprano) Grand Inquisitor/Captain/Governor....Bonaventura Bottone (tenor) Paquette....Mairead Buicke (soprano) Maximilian....Mark Stone (baritone) Cacambo....Ferlyn Brass English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra Rumon Gamba (conductor) | ||
| Love And Other Demons | 20081011 | Peter Eotvos's opera in two acts, performed at Glyndebourne. Based on the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, this story of forbidden love is set in 18th-century Colombia. Sierva Maria....Allison Bell (soprano) Don Ygnacio....Robert Brubaker (tenor) Father Cayetano Delaura....Nathan Gunn (baritone) Abrenuncio....John Graham Hall (tenor) Dominga de Adviento....Marietta Simpson (contralto) Josefa Miranda....Felicity Palmer (mezzo) Martina Laborde....Jean Rigby (mezzo) Glyndebourne Chorus London Philharmonic Orchestra Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) | |
| 20081018 | Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress Robert Lepage directs a new production of Stravinsky's neo-classical opera, based on the story behind a set of engravings by the British painter and satirist William Hogarth, and featuring a libretto by the poet WH Auden. The story centres on Tom, a young country man, and his path to ruin because of the malign influence of Nick Shadow, who appears out of nowhere, offering to help him. Presented by Ivan Hewett. Tom Rakewell....Charles Castronovo (tenor) Nick Shadow....John Relyea (bass) Anne Trulove....Sally Matthews (soprano) Trulove....Darren Jeffrey (baritone) Baba the Turk....Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano) Sellem....Peter Hoare (tenor) Mother Goose....Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Thomas Ades (conductor) | ||
| 20081025 | Ivor Bolton conducts young soprano Sally Matthews and countertenor Lawrence Zazzo in David Alden's Royal Opera House production of Cavalli's tale of the shenanigans of the Roman gods and the mortals with whose lives they meddle. A sex comedy based on an Ovid myth, the plot focuses on the complications and confusion that arises as the chief of the Gods, Giove, lusts for the virginal and naive Calisto. Presented by Catherine Bott. Nature/Satirino/Second Fury....Dominique Visse (countertenor) Eternity/Giunone....Veronique Gens (soprano) Destiny/Diana/First Fury....Monica Bacelli (mezzo-soprano) Giove....Joao Fernandes (bass) Mercurio....Markus Werba (baritone) Calisto....Sally Matthews (soprano) Endimione....Lawrence Zazzo (countertenor) Linfea....Guy de Mey (tenor) Pane....Ed Lyon (tenor) Silvano....Clive Bayley (bass) Monterverdi Continuo Ensemble Members of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Ivor Bolton (conductor) | ||
| 20081101 | Mozart's Cosi fan tutte Riccardo Muti conducts soprano Barbara Frittoli, mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager and bass Ildebrando D'Arcangelo in a performance of Mozart's comic opera, given in February at the Vienna State Opera - in the same city where the work was first performed in 1790. The plot of what is regarded by many as the composer's greatest opera centres on Guglielmo and Ferrando, two army officers who claim to their colleagues that their wives will always be faithful to them. However, their friend Don Alfonso bets otherwise, devising a plan to test the women's fidelity. Presented by Suzy Klein. Fiordiligi....Barbara Frittoli (soprano) Dorabella....Angelika Kirchschlager (mezzo-soprano) Guglielmo....Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (bass-baritone) Ferrando....Francesco Meli (tenor) Don Alfonso....Natale De Carolis (baritone) Despina....Laura Tatulescu (soprano) Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra Riccardo Muti (conductor) | ||
| 20081108 | Handel's Partenope Christian Curnyn makes his debut at the Coliseum, conducting a new ENO production of Handel's comic opera, updated by Christopher Alden to the time of the surrealists and starring Rosemary Joshua, Patricia Bardeon and Christian Rice. Queen Partenope of Naples has four suitors: one, Eurimene, is actually Rosmira disguised as a man and trying to regain the affections of her ex, Arsace, now another Partenope suitor. Another, Emilio, ends up declaring war when she refuses to marry him. After many twists and turns, she ends up with a fourth claimant to her affections, while the ex-lovers are reunited. Presented by Suzy Klein. The broadcast includes interviews with the director and cast, plus insights from Handel expert Dr Donald Burrows. Emilio....John Mark Ainsley (tenor) Partenope....Rosemary Joshua (soprano) Arsace....Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Armindo....Iestyn Davies (countertenor) Rosmira (Eurimene)....Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano) Ormonte....James Gower (bass-baritone) Nicholas Ansdell-Evans, Joseph McHardy (harpsichords) David Newby (cello continuo) David Miller (theorbo continuo) Orchestra of English National Opera Christian Curnyn (conductor) | ||
| 20081115 | Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov Live from London's Coliseum, Suzy Klein presents English National Opera's production of Mussorgsky's classic study of guilt and paranoia. Bass Peter Rose takes the role of the Russian Czar in a performance of the original version with a new translation by David Lloyd-Jones. Boris Godunov....Peter Rose (bass) Prince Shuisky....John Graham-Hall (tenor) Andrei Shchelkalov....David Stephenson (baritone) Pimen....Brindley Sherratt (bass) Grigory, later Dmitri the Pretender....Gregory Turay (tenor) Innkeeper....Yvonne Howard (mezzo-soprano) Varlaam....Jonathan Veira (bass-baritone) Misail....Anton Rich (tenor) Xenia....Sophie Bevan (soprano) Fyodor....Ann Grevelius (mezzo-soprano) Xenia's Nurse....Deborah Davison (mezzo-soprano) Nikitch....James Gower (bass-baritone) Mityukha....Paul Napier-Burrows (baritone) Border Guard....Charles Johnston (bass) Boyar-in-attendance....Philip Daggett (tenor) Simpleton....Robert Murray (tenor) Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera Edward Gardner (conductor) | ||
| Matilde Di Shabran | 20081122 | Carlo Rizzi conducts Aleksandra Kurzak and Juan Diego Florez in Rossini's tragicomedy. Rossini's Matilde di Shabran Ivan Hewett introduces a performance of the first Royal Opera House production since 1854 of Rossini's tragicomedy, with Carlo Rizzi conducting soprano Aleksandra Kurzak alongside tenor Juan Diego Florez. The plot centres on Corradino, who refers to himself as 'heart of iron', but who is actually a petty tyrant, misogynist and hypochondriac. He becomes smitten by Mathilde, a charmer with a ready answer for everything, but has to fight obstacles in the form of love rival Edoardo and the evil Countess. Matilde di Shabran....Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Corradino....Juan Diego Florez (tenor) Ginardo....Carlo Lepore (bass) Aliprando....Marco Vinco (bass) Isidoro....Alfonso Antoniozzi (baritone) Edoardo....Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo-soprano) Contessa d'Arco....Enkelejda Shkosa (mezzo-soprano) Rodrigo....Bryan Secombe (bass) Raimondo Lopez....Mark Beesley (bass) Egoldo....Robert Anthony Gardiner (tenor) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Royal Opera Chorus Carlo Rizzi (conductor) | |
| Humperdinck: Hansel Und Gretel | 20081216 | In a performance from the Royal Opera House, Colin Davis conducts Humperdinck's fairytale opera with a cast that includes mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirschlager as Hansel and soprano Diana Damrau as Gretel. In this classic story from the Brothers Grimm, two children get lost in a forest after dark and are charmed by the witch to enter her magical gingerbread house. The children are ensnared but manage to defeat the witch, and in a rousing happy ending they are returned home and reunited with their parents. Suzy Klein is joined by German music specialist John Deathridge before the start and during the interval to give a guide to the music. With additional insights from members of the cast. Hansel....Angelika Kirchschlager (mezzo-soprano) | |
| Puccini: La Fanciulla Del West | 20081227 | Puccini's La fanciulla del West in a production by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The cloudy mountains of Wild West California at the height of the Gold Rush form the setting for La Fanciulla del West, the most vivdly cinematic of Puccini's operas. Its characters come from the ends of the earth to the Polka Saloon, where they gather to drink, gamble, gossip and fight. The mining camp is full of men, with just one woman, the owner of the saloon, Minnie. She is a scripture-reading innocent, admired and respected by everybody. Into this environment comes Dick Johnson, in reality Ramirez, a bandit on the run. Despite her better instincts, Minnie falls for him, much to the annoyance of Jack Rance the sheriff, who fancies Minnie himself. Rance hunts Johnson down and is about to have him lynched, when Minnie finds a way to save him. Presented by Martin Handley, with guest Alexandra Wilson. Minnie....Eva-Maria Westbroek (soprano) | |
| John Adams's Doctor Atomic | 20090117 | In a performance given in November 2008 at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, Alan Gilbert conducts John Adams's opera, treating the subject of the atomic bomb, which is the latest in a series of works dealing with resonant moments in 20th-Century history. Bass-baritone Gerald Finley portrays Robert J Oppenheimer, the highly cultivated scientific genius whose profound humanism is at odds with his role as the head of the project to create a weapon of unprecedented destructive force. Presented by Margaret Juntwait. Edward Teller....Richard Paul Fink (bass-baritone) alan gilbert conducts gerald finley in an opera about the creation of the atomic bomb | |
| Skin Deep | 20090502 | David Sawer and Armando Iannucci's satirical opera about society's obsession with staying young and beautiful. Richard Farnes conducts and Richard Jones directs an Opera North production from the Grand Theatre in Leeds. It is set in the clinic of cosmetic surgery genius Doktor Needlemeier, who has a dark secret - he's concocting an elixir of youth. All he needs to perfect it is a contribution from Hollywood star Luke Pollock - but when Luke leaves the clinic only half the man he was, questions are asked and Needlemeier flees to California. | |
| Offenbach's Les Contes D'hoffman | 20090516 | Launching a season from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Donald Macleod introduces a revival of the production by film director John Schlesinger, which was first seen in the UK in 1980 in commemoration of the centenary both of Offenbach's death and the premiere of the opera in Paris. Tenor Rolando Villazon returns to perform the central role of the drunken poet Hoffmann who, as he becomes more and more intoxicated, promises to tell his fellow-drinkers the stories of a trio of enchantresses who shared his life between them, one in each act of the opera. Hoffmann....Rolando Villazon (tenor) The Muse/Nicklausse....Kristine Jepson (mezzo-soprano) Lindorf/Coppelius/Dappertutto/Dr Miracle....Gidon Saks (bass-baritone) Olympia....Ekaterina Lekhina (soprano) Giulietta....Christine Rice (mezzo-soprano) Antonia....Katie Van Kooten (soprano) Spirit of Antonia's mother....Gaynor Keeble (mezzo-soprano) Crespel....Matthew Rose (bass) Andres/Cochenille/Pittichinaccio/Frantz....Graham Clark (tenor) Luther....Lynton Black (bass) Spalanzani....Robin Leggate (tenor) Schlemil....Kostas Smoriginas Stella....Olga Sabadoch Students....Changhan Lim (baritone), Ji-Min Park (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano (conductor). Presented by Donald Macleod. Tenor Rolando Villazon stars as Hoffman, a drunken poet. | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Korngold's Die Tote Stadt | 20090523 | In a performance from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, American tenor Stephen Gould and German soprano Nadja Michael take on the two central roles in the UK premiere of the staged version of Korngold's opera, completed when the composer was still only in his early 20s. It tells the story of Paul's relationship with two women - his recently deceased wife Marie and the young actress Marietta. They bear a striking resemblance to each other and they begin to merge in Paul's mind. But what is real and what is fantasy? Presented by Christopher Cook with guest Erik Levi. Korngold: Die tote Stadt Paul....Stephen Gould (tenor) Marie/Marietta....Nadja Michael (soprano) Frank/Fritz....Gerald Finley (bass-baritone) Brigitta....Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano Gastone/Victorin....Bernard Richter (tenor) Juliette....Simona Mihai (soprano) Lucienne....Jurgita Adamonyte (mezzo-soprano) Graf Albert....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Ingo Metzmacher (conductor). Christopher Cook introduces the UK stage premiere of Korngold's opera. Brigitta....Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano) | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander | 20090530 | Radio 3's series of operas from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, continues with Marc Albrecht conducting Tim Albery's new production of Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander, with bass-baritone Bryn Terfel in the title role and soprano Anja Kampe as Senta. Wagner based his great Romantic opera on Heinrich Heine's story about a Dutch sea captain compelled, as punishment for a blasphemous oath, to sail the oceans for ever unless he's redeemed by the love of a faithful woman. For a while it seems that Senta might be that redeeming angel, but after a misunderstanding the Dutchman is disillusioned once more, and returns to the sea, consigning himself to his fate. Presented by Martin Handley. Wagner: Der Fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman) Der Hollander....Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) Senta....Anja Kampe (soprano) Daland....Hans-Peter Konig (bass) Erik....Torsten Kerl (tenor) Mary | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Bellini's I Capuleti E I Montecchi | 20090606 | In a performance from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Elder conducts Russian soprano Anna Netrebko and Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca in Bellini's setting of Romeo and Juliet. It was radically different from the Shakespeare original, featuring two rival political factions instead of families, no balcony scene as well as the role of Romeo written for a woman. Presented by Donald Macleod with opera historian Sarah Lenton. Romeo....Elina Garanca (mezzo-soprano) Giulietta....Anna Netrebko (soprano) Tebaldo....Dario Schmunck (tenor) Capellio....Eric Owens (bass-baritone) Lorenzo....Giovanni Battista Parodi (bass) The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Mark Elder (conductor). Mark Elder conducts soprano Anna Netrebko in Bellini's setting of Romeo and Juliet. | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Strauss' Elektra | 20090613 | Presented by Andrew McGregor. In a performance from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mark Elder conducts soprano Susan Bullock in a highly-praised production of Strauss' one-act opera Elektra. Bullock won an RPS award for her performance in the title role, while Elder was also feted for his work. The opera tells the bloody story of Elektra and her dysfunctional family. She has sworn vengeance for the murder of her father, King Agamemnon, by her mother, Klytemnestra, and she eventually achieves this, but at the cost of several lives including, finally, her own. Elektra....Susan Bullock (soprano) Chrysothemis....Anne Schwanewilms (soprano) Klytemnestra....Jane Henschel (mezzo-soprano) Orest....Johan Reuter (baritone) Overseer....Miriam Murphy (soprano) First Maid....Frances McCafferty (mezzo-soprano) Second Maid....Monika-Evelin Liiv (mezzo-soprano) Third Maid....Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano) Fourth Maid....Elizabeth Woollett (soprano) Fifth Maid....Eri Nakamura (soprano) Confidante....Louise Armit (mezzo-soprano) Trainbearer....Dervla Ramsay (mezzo-soprano) Young Servant....Alfie Boe (tenor) Old Servant....Jeremy White (bass) Orest's companion....Vuyani Mlinde (bass) Aegisth....Frank van Aken (tenor) The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Mark Elder (conductor). Susan Bullock stars in a production of Strauss' opera, from the Royal Opera House. | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Purcell's Dido And Aeneas/handel's Acis And Galatea | 20090620 | Louise Fryer presents a performance from the Royal Opera House, London, as resident choreographer Wayne Mcgregor's stages a double bill featuring two great English Baroque masterpieces - Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Handel's Acis and Galatea. The programme forms part of the celebrations of the 350th anniversary of Henry Purcell's birth and the 250th anniversary of George Frederic Handel's death, as the ROH and the Royal Ballet join forces to couple Dido and Aeneas with Acis and Galatea, two classical tragedies of love and death. British mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly takes on the role of the doomed Queen of Carthage as she succumbs to the tragic fate of an unrequited love, while American soprano Danielle de Niese sings -and dances - as she becomes Galatea, the semi-godess who uses her powers to make love eternal. Purcell: Dido and Aeneas Dido....Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Belinda....Lucy Crowe (soprano) Aeneas....Lucas Meacham (baritone) Second Woman....Anita Watson (soprano) Sorceress....Sara Fulgoni (mezzo-soprano) First Witch....Eri Nakamura Second Witch....Pumeza Matshikiza (soprano) Spirit....Iestyn Davies (countertenor) Sailor....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Handel: Acis and Galatea Acis....Charles Workman (baritone) Galatea....Danielle de Niese (soprano) Damon....Paul Agnew (tenor) Coridon....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Polyphemus....Matthew Rose (bass) Chorus Soprano soloist....Juliet Schiemann Chorus tenor soloist....Philip Bell The Royal Opera Extra Chorus The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Christopher Hogwood (conductor). Louise Fryer presents Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Handel's Acis and Galatea. | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Wagner's Lohengrin | 20090627 | From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Donald Macleod introduces a performance of Wagner's Lohengrin, starring South African tenor Johan Botha, with soprano Edith Haller as Elsa. It is a work which marked a turning point in Wagner's output and paved the way for the quartet of Ring operas that were to come. In it he wrote four challenging roles that have tested singers (and conductors) since the work's first performance in 1850. Lohengrin has been Elsa's champion in a duel but has sworn her to secrecy about his origins. She must never ask his name or where he comes from. Not unnaturally she finds this promise impossible to keep and so he has to leave, though not before revealing to one and all that he is, in fact, a knight of the holy grail with a sacred mission. Having imparted this information he leaves as he arrived, in a boat drawn by a swan. Donald is joined by one of the world's leading Wagner experts, John Deathridge, to help to explain Lohengrin's significance and its very special place in Wagner's output. Wagner: Lohengrin Lohengrin....Johan Botha (tenor) Elsa von Brabant....Edith Haller (soprano) Friederich von Telramund....Falk Struckmann (bass) Ortrud....Petra Lang (mezzo-soprano) Heinrich I....Kwangchul Youn (baritone) Herald....Boaz Daniel (baritone) Nobles of Brabant....Haoyin Xue, Ji-Min Park (tenors), Kostas Smoriginas (bass-baritone), Vuyani Mlinde (bass) Four pages....Anne Osborne, Deborah Peake Jones (sopranos), Louise Armit, Kate McCarney (mezzo-sopranos) The Royal Opera Chorus The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Semyon Bychkov (conductor). Donald Macleod presents a performance of Wagner's Lohengrin, starring tenor Johan Botha. | |
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House, Berg's Lulu | 20090704 | Concluding a season from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, is a performance of Alban Berg's Lulu, in which director Christof Loy throws light on the dark psychological corners of a disturbing tale. Its score - with its wide scope and ambition - is just one element that has given Lulu its place as one of the acknowledged masterpieces of 20th-century opera. Agneta Eichenholz plays the title role in a tragic story about a woman who destroys all who come within her orbit. Lulu's journey takes her from society darling of the glittering salons of Vienna and Paris, to the pitiful squalor of prostitution in East End London, the victim of Jack the Ripper. Presented by Suzy Klein in conversation with novelist Philip Hensher. Berg: Lulu Lulu....Agneta Eichenholz (soprano) Dr Schon/Jack the Ripper....Michael Volle (baritone) Countess Geschwitz....Jennifer Larmore (mezzo-soprano) Animal Trainer/Athlete....Peter Rose (bass) Alwa....Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor) Schigolch....Gwynne Howell (bass) Prince/Manservant/Marquis....Philip Langridge (tenor) Painter/Policeman/Negro....Will Hartmann (tenor) Prof of Medicine/Theatre Manager/Banker....Jeremy White (bass) Dresser/Schoolboy/Groom....Heather Shipp (mezzo-soprano) Journalist....Kostas Smoriginas (bass-baritone) Manservant....Vuyani Mlinde (bass) Lady Artist....Monika-Evelin Liiv (mezzo-soprano) Mother....Frances McCafferty (mezzo-soprano) 15-year-old girl....Simona Mihai (soprano) The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano (conductor). Antonio Pappano conducts Berg's tragic opera Lulu, starring soprano Agneta Eichenholz. | |
| Britten's Peter Grimes | 20090711 |  The final offering from Opera on 3 before the Proms, this English National Opera Peter Grimes was the hot ticket of the season. Sold out for its entire run, David Alden's production wowed critics and audiences alike with its unconventional but powerful take on Britten's music drama, set at the time of its premiere - postwar Britain.The cast that inspired this adulation included Amanda Roocroft as Ellen Orford, Gerald Finley as Captain Balstrode and Australian tenor Stuart Skelton in the epic title role - a compelling interpretation of the misunderstood outsider, victim of his own weaknesses and contradictions, at once unstable and unpredictable, visionary and violent. Edward Gardiner conducts an orchestra and chorus on top form in an unforgettable operatic experience. Presented by Martin Handley. Peter Grimes....Stuart Skelton (tenor) Ellen Orford....Amanda Roocroft (soprano) Captain Balstrode....Gerald Finley (bass-baritone) Auntie....Rebecca de Pont Davies (soprano) First niece....Gillian Ramm (soprano) Second niece....Mairéad Buicke (soprano) Bob Boles....Michael Colvin (tenor) Swallow....Matthew Best (bass) Mrs Sedley....Felicity Palmer (mezzo) Rev Horace....Stuart Kale (tenor) Ned Keene....Leigh Melrose (baritone) Hobson....Darren Jeffery (bass) English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra Edward Gardner (conductor). David Alden's ENO production of Peter Grimes with Stuart Skelton in the title role. | |
| Verdi's Macbeth | 20090919 | Presented by Donald Macleod. In a performance given in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, as part of the 2009 International Festival, David Robertson conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a concert version of Verdi's dramatic setting of Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Verdi's four-act opera was originally composed in 1847, but this performance is of the more commonly-heard 1865 version. It was the first manifestation of the composer's lifelong inspiration from the Bard. Georgian baritone Lado Ataneli sings the title role, alongside American soprano Susan Neves as his scheming wife. Macbeth....Lado Ataneli (baritone) Lady Macbeth....Susan Neves (soprano) Banquo....John Relyea (bass) Macduff....Vsevolod Grivnov (tenor) Lady-in-Waiting....Katherine Broderick (soprano) Malcolm....Nicholas Phan (tenor) Doctor/Servant....Vuyani Mlinde (bass) Murderer/Herald/Apparition....Wade Kernot (bass) Two Apparitions....Michael Yeoman and Niall Docherty Edinburgh Festival Chorus BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra David Robertson (conductor). BBC SSO under David Robertson in a concert performance of Verdi's setting of Macbeth. | |
| Gershwin's Let 'em Eat Cake | 20090926 |  Presented by Donald Macleod.In a performance from the Grand Theatre in Leeds, Wyn Davies conducts the British premiere of George and Ira Gershwin's 1933 Broadway hit musical Let 'em Eat Cake - the sequel to his more popular Of Thee I Sing. Like its follow-up, Let 'em Eat Cake was based on a book by George S Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, and had the same producer, writers and stars in its original Broadway incarnation. Its tone is much darker, though, and the issues are more complex - including ironic references to Fascism. However, Gershwin himself believed the piece contained some of his best music, and thought it to be his greatest achievment to date - although it never received the plaudits he thought it deserved. It centres on US President John P Wintergreen, who after serving four years seeks re-election, only to find voters do not fall for his slogans and his 1930s spin. He loses the election by a landslide, but under the new regime, the political and economic situation spirals completely out of control. Soon, Wintergreen leads a blue-shirted revolution to victory, and the US is under the control of a new, albeit tried and tested, dictator. This production by Opera North is directed by Caroline Gawn, with choreography by Caroline Pope. Wintergreen....William Dazeley (bass) Mary (his wife)....Rebecca Moon (soprano) Throttlebottom....Steven Beard (tenor) Louis Lipman....Nicholas Sharratt (tenor) Francis X Gilhooly/Uncle William....Martin Hyder (baritone) Matthew Arnold Fulton....Rob Edwards (baritone) Carver Jones....Richard Morris (baritone) Senator Robert E Lyons....Graham Howes (baritone) Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North Wyn Davies (conductor). Wyn Davies conducts the British premiere of George and Ira Gershwin's Broadway musical. | |
| Dvorak's Rusalka | 20091003 |  Presented by Louise Fryer.In a performance given at 2009's Glyndebourne Festival, Jiri Belohlavek conducts a production of Rusalka, Dvorak's best-known opera. It's the first time in its history that the famous festival has staged this tale, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, but translated into a Czech idiom. Rusalka, a water nymph, lives in a pool in a dark and brooding forest. She's doomed not only to lose her lover but to live forever as a will-o-the-wisp tempting other men to their deaths. This critically-praised production is directed by Melly Still, making her operatic debut, with Anna Maria Martinez as Rusalka and American tenor Brandon Jovanovich as the prince she falls in love with. Rusalka....Ana Maria Martinez (soprano) Prince....Brandon Jovanovich (tenor) Vodnik....Mischa Schelomianski (bass) Jezibaba....LarisSa Diadkova (mezzo-soprano) First Wood Nymph....Natasha Jouhl (soprano) Second Wood Nymph....Barbara Senator (mezzo-soprano) Third Wood Nymph....Elodie Mechain (contralto) Hunter....John Mackenzie (tenor) Gamekeeper....Alasdair Elliott (tenor) Kitchen Girl....Diana Axentii (mezzo-soprano) Foreign Princess....Tatiana Pavlovskaya (soprano) London Philharmonic Orchestra The Glyndebourne Chorus Jiri Belohlavek (conductor). Jiri Belohlavek conducts the 2009 Glyndebourne production of Dvorak's Rusalka. | |
| Rossini's Barbiere Di Siviglia (the Barber Of Seville) | 20091010 | From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Donald Macleod presents Rossini's comic opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Artistic director Antonio Pappano conducts a cast including Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez as the Count, Italian baritone Pietro Spagnoli as the resourceful barber and American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato as the young maiden Rosina. This is a revival of the critically acclaimed production by French directors Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier. Figaro....Pietro Spagnoli (bass) Count Almaviva....Juan Diego Florez (tenor) Rosina....Joyce DiDonato (mezzo-soprano) Dr Bartolo....Alessandro Corbelli (baritone) Don Basilio....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Berta....Jennifer Rhys-Davies (soprano) Fiorello....Changhn Lim (baritone) Ambrogio....Bryan Secombe (bass) Officer....Christopher Lachner (baritone) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Antonio Pappano (conductor). Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. | |
| Verdi's Don Carlo | 20091017 |  From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Presented by Donald Macleod.Semyon Bychkov conducts the first revival of Nicholas Hytner's Royal Opera production of Verdi's grandest opera, first heard in 2008. When Don Carlo of Spain surreptitiously contrives to meet his fiancee Elizabeth of France in the forest of Fontainebleau, he is enraptured, and the pair are thrilled at the idea of spending their lives together. But it is not to be - as part of a new peace treaty, Elizabeth is suddenly forced to marry Carlo's father, the severe old Spanish King, Philip II. Carlo is devastated, and searches for a new role as liberator of Flanders. The title role is taken by one of today's most admired tenors, Jonas Kaufmann, with Marina Poplavskaya as Elizabeth of Valois, and Ferruccio Furlanetto as Philip II of Spain. Around this tragic central triangle is a wider confrontation between authoritarian religion, represented by John Tomlinson's Grand Inquisitor, and political liberation, represented by Carlo's closest friend, the Marquis of Posa, sung by Simon Keenlyside. Verdi: Don Carlo Don Carlos....Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa....Simon Keenlyside (baritone) Elizabeth of Valois....Marina Poplavskaya (soprano) Philip II....Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) Princess Eboli....Marianne Cornetti (mezzo-soprano) Grand Inquisitor....John Tomlinson (bass) Count of Lerma....Robert Anthony Gardiner (tenor) Carlos V....Robert Lloyd (bass) Flemish Deputies....Daniel Grice, Dawid Kimberg, Changhan Lim, David Stout, John Cunningham (baritones), with Lukas Jokobski (bass) Voice from Heaven....Eri Nakamura (soprano) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Semyon Bychkov (conductor). The first revival of Nicholas Hytner's Royal Opera production of Verdi's grandest opera. | |
| Bizet's Carmen | 20091024 | From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Louise Fryer presents a recent revival of Francesca Zambello's colourful Royal Opera House production of Bizet's Carmen, a work which is one of the most popular of all time and which has been called 'the perfect opera'. Frenchman Bertrand de Billy, a celebrated conductor of Carmen, leads Latvian mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca in the title role alongside Sicilian/French tenor Roberto Alagna, for whom Don Jose has long been a special role. Bizet: Carmen Carmen....Elina Garanca (mezzo-soprano) Don Jose....Roberto Alagna (tenor) Escamillo....Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (bass) Micaela....Liping Zhang (soprano) Morales....Changhan Lim (baritone) Zuniga....Henry Waddington (bass) Frasquita....Eri Nakamura (soprano) Mercedes....Louise Innes (mezzo-soprano) Le Dancaire....Adrian Clarke (baritone) Le Remendado....Vincent Ordonneau (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Bertrand de Billy (conductor). Louise Fryer presents Bizet's Carmen, in a production from the Royal Opera House. | |
| Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde | 20091031 |  From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.Covent Garden artistic director Antonio Pappano conducts a performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, arguably one of the most influential and heartbreaking operas ever written. The starry cast includes two of the leading Wagnerian singers of today - Canadian tenor Ben Heppner and Swedish soprano Nina Stemme, as they take on the title roles of the tragic lovers. Presented by Martin Handley with comments from Wagnerian John Deathridge. Wagner: Tristan und Isolde Tristan....Ben Heppner (tenor) King Marke....Matti Salminen (bass) Isolde....Nina Stemme (soprano) Kurwenal....Michael Volle (baritone) Brangane....Sophie Koch (mezzo-soprano) Melot....Richard Berkeley Steele (baritone) Sailor....Ji-Min Park (tenor) Steersman....Dawid Kimberg (baritone) Shepherd....Ryland Davies (tenor) Royal Opera Chorus Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Antonio Pappano (conductor). Antonio Pappano conducts tenor Ben Heppner and soprano Nina Stemme as the tragic lovers. | |
| Britten's The Turn Of The Screw | 20091107 |  From the London Coliseum. Presented by Martin Handley.Based on Henry James's creepy ghost story, Britten's disturbing chamber opera explores themes of sexual repression and the corruption of innocence. Charles Mackerras, who knew and worked closely with Britten, and has performed this eerie and ambiguous masterpiece for more than 50 years, conducts David McVicar's celebrated English National Opera production from the London Coliseum. 6.15pm Martin Handley in conversation with award-winning documentary maker and author John Bridcut. 6.30pm The Turn of the Screw - Act 1 7.25pm Martin Handley and John Bridcut further explore the themes and composition of the opera, and Valentine Cunningham looks at Henry James's novella, the literary inspiration behind Britten's music. 7.50pm The Turn of the Screw - Act 2 Prologue/Peter Quint....Michael Colvin (tenor) Governess....Rebecca Evans (soprano) Mrs Grose....Anne Murray (mezzo-soprano) Miss Jessel....Cheryl Barker (soprano) Miles....Charlie Manton (treble) Flora....Nazan Fikret (soprano) Members of the ENO Orchestra Charles Mackerras (conductor). From the London Coliseum, Charles Mackerras conducts ENO's production of Britten's opera. | |
| Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre | 20091114 |  Presented by Ivan Hewett.In a performance given at Le Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Leo Hussain conducts Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre with an international cast in a production by innovative Catalan theatre company La Fura dels Baus. Ligeti's anarchic opera centres on a set of 'stock' characters, including a pair of young lovers, a cuckolded husband and domineering wife, a drunk, a pair of corrupt politicians and a corpulent prince. They live in a timeless dystopian 'Breughelland', visited by Death who promises the end of world but, though drink and incompetence, fails to deliver. 6.00pm Ivan Hewett introduces Ligeti's 'anti-anti-opera' - as the composer himself called it - with the help of Ligeti's biographer Richard Steinitz. 6.10pm Le Grand Macabre: Scenes 1 and 2 6.55pm Richard Steinitz reveals more about the hidden depths and difficult gestation of this remarkable piece of theatre. 7.10pm Le Grand Macabre: Scenes 3 and 4 Piet the Pot....Chris Merritt (tenor) Amando....Frances Bourne (mezzo-soprano) Amanda....Ilse Eerens (soprano) Nekrotzar....Werner Van Mechelen (baritone) Astradamors....Frode Olsen (bass) Mescalina....Ning Liang (mezzo-soprano) Venus....Barbara Hannigan (soprano) Prince Go-Go....Brian Asawa (countertenor) Ruffiak....Bernard Villiers (baritone) Schobiack....Gerard Lavalle (baritone) Schabernack....Jacques Does (baritone) White Minister....Eberhard Lorenz (actor) Black Minister....Martin Winkler (actor) Gepopo/Chief of Secret Police....Barbara Hannigan (soprano) La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Leo Hussain (conductor) Contains strong language. Ligeti's 'nearly apocalyptic' blackly comic opera. Contains strong language. | |
| Massenet's Werther | 20091121 | Presented by Donald Macleod. In a new Opera North production directed by Tom Cairns, Richard Farnes conducts tenor Paul Nilon and mezzo-soprano Alice Coote in Massenet's four-act opera Werther. The work was written after the composer read Goethe's novel The Sorrows of the Young Werther while in Bayreuth to hear Wagner's Parsifal. While initially seen as too gloomy for audiences, it is now perhaps Massenet's most popular opera, giving an insight into the deep recesses of the human psyche although on the surface appearing to be a straightforward tale of love and death. It tells the story of impossible love between Werther, a passionate young poet, and Charlotte, the eldest daughter of a local family. She has promised her dying mother that she would marry another man and, although his love for her is reciprocated, it becomes impossible after she marries. Ultimately, Werther's obsession leads him to take his own life, destroying those of Charlotte and her family. Werther....Paul Nilon (tenor) Charlotte....Alice Coote (mezzo-soprano) Sophie....Fflur Wyn (soprano) Albert....Peter Savidge (baritone) The Magistrate....Donald Maxwell (bass) Johann....Richard Burkhard Schmidt....Joshua Ellicott Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North Richard Farnes (conductor). Richard Farnes conducts an Opera North production of Massenet's opera Werther. | |
| Peter Maxwell Davies: Taverner | 20091128 | With a performance from City Halls, Glasgow's mini-festival celebrating Peter Maxwell Davies' 75th birthday comes to an end with a concert performance of his iconic morality opera Taverner. This production brings together the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, a cast featuring the best of British vocal talent and combined choirs. Begun in 1956 and premiered in 1972, it is considered by many to be one of the composer's greatest creations. It is based on episodes from the life and times of the English Tudor composer and recounts John Taverner's religious and personal journey from believer to persecutor. Presented by Tom Service with contributions from the composer and performers, and commentary from Ian McQueen. Peter Maxwell Davies: Taverner John Taverner....Daniel Norman (tenor) Richard Taverner....Richard Angas (bass) Cardinal/Archbishop....Martyn Hill (tenor) King/Archangel Michael/Captain....Stephen Richardson (bass) Jester/Death....David Wilson-Johnson (bass) White Abbot....Roderick Williams (bass) Priest/God....Andrew Watts (countertenor) Boys....Michael Yeoman, Alasdair Robertson (trebles) Antichrist/Second Monk....Stephen Jeffes (spoken/tenor) Archangel Gabriel/First Monk....Christopher Bowen (tenor) Rose/Virgin Mary....Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Chamber Choir University of Glasgow Chapel Choir Royal Scottish National Orchestra Junior Chorus Martyn Brabbins (conductor). Martyn Brabbins conducts the BBC SSO and tenor Daniel Norman in Maxwell Davies's Taverner. | |
| Tchaikovsky's The Tsarina's Slippers | 20091205 | Presented by Martin Handley. A rare chance to hear Tchaikovsky's only comic opera, his Christmas story The Tsarina's Slippers (Cherevichki), performed for the first time at London's Royal Opera House in a new production by director Francesca Zambello and choreographer Alastair Marriott. Inspired by one of Nikolai Gogol's most famous short tales, Christmas Eve, the opera is a mix of village comedy and fairy-tale fantasy. The beautiful Oxana will only marry her besotted blacksmith Vakula if he finds the Tsarina's little leather slippers for her. The desperate Vakula finally uses the Devil to help him fulfil his beloved's wish. There is much devilry, mistaken identity, hiding of lovers and drunken villagers along the way. Written in 1885, the opera is a revision of one Tchaikovsky had written 10 years earlier, Vakula the Smith, with which he had won a competition set by the Russian Music Society. However, his first attempt at setting this story never won the public's favour and in 1885 he took up the score again, made revisions and changed the title to Cherevichki. The music ranges from popular dances and Christmas carols to deeply moving lyrical scenes such as Vakula's despairing monologue in Act III. Solokha (a witch)....LarisSa Diadkova (mezzo-soprano) The Devil....Maxim Mikhailov (bass) Chub (an elderly Cossack)....Vladimir Matorin (bass) Panas (Chub's friend)....John Upperton (tenor) Oxana....Olga Guryakova (soprano) Vakula....Vsevolod Grivnov (tenor) Pan Golova (The Mayor)....Alexander Vassiliev (baritone) The Schoolmaster....Vyacheslav Voynarovskiy (tenor) Wood Goblin....Changhan Lim (baritone) Echo....Andrew Macnair (tenor) His Highness....Sergei Leiferkus (bass) Master of Ceremonies....Jeremy White (bass) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Royal Opera Chorus Alexander Polianichko (conductor). Martin Handley presents a rare performance of Tchaikovsky's only comic opera. | |
| Gershwin's Porgy And Bess | 20100123 | Porgy and Bess isn't a work one would associate with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who has been in the forefront of the period instrument movement for almost 50 years. But in recent years his repertoire has moved into the 19th and 20th centuries. Last July at his own Styriarte Festival in Graz, Austria fulfilled a long held desire to conduct Gershwin's opera and this recording was made then. Harnoncourt is adamant that Porgy is an opera not a musical and in his performances has adopted many of the cuts Gershwin himself made during the initial run of the opera. Presented by Suzy Klein. Porgy: Jonathan Lemalu (bass-baritone) Bess: Isabelle Kabatu (soprano) Serena: Angela Renée Simpson (soprano) Sportin' Life: Michael Forest (tenor) Crown: Gregg Baker (baritone) Clara: Bibiana Nwobilo (soprano) Maria: Roberta Alexander (soprano) Jake: Rodney Clarke (baritone) Mingo/Robbins/Peter/Honeyman and Crab-man: Previn Moore (tenor) The Arnold Schoenberg Chorus The Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts Jonathan Lemalu in Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. | |
| Live From The Met, Donizetti's La Fille Du Regiment | 20100213 | In tonight's Live from the Met Diana Damrau stars as Marie, the daughter of the 21st regiment of the French army. She's in love with Tonio, but won't marry him because he's not in the regiment, so the only option is for him to enlist. Meanwhile, Marie's long-lost mother has other plans for her romantic future. Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment combines comedy with some famously virtuosic vocal writing, including Tonio's aria which includes no fewer than nine top C's, sung tonight by Juan Diego Flórez. And the production includes Kiri Te Kanawa in the speaking role of the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Marie: Diana Damrau (soprano) Tonio: Juan Diego Flórez (tenor) Marquise de Berkenfeld: Meredith Arwady (contralto) Sulpice PIngot: Maurizio Muraro (bass) Hortensius: Donald Maxwell (bass) Corporal: Roger Andrews (bass) Duchesse de Krakenthorp: Kiri te Kanawa Conductor: Marco Armiliato Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Marco Armiliato conducts Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau in Donizetti's comic opera. | |
| Live From The Met, Strauss' Ariadne Auf Naxos | 20100220 | Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Greek tragedy collides with the mischief-making of the commedia dell'arte in Richard Strauss's opera-within-an-opera Ariadne auf Naxos, conceived in collaboration with the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The fabulous Swedish soprano Nina Stemme takes the title role, with Kathleen Kim as the ever-pragmatic Zerbinetta, and Sarah Connolly as the naive young Composer. Strauss's music combines pathos and wit in this inventive piece. At the house of a Viennese nobleman, a new opera 'Ariadne auf Naxos' is to be performed, followed by an Italian comedy, but it is announced that both plays will have to be performed simultaneously due to time restrictions. In the opera itself, Ariadne has been abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus. She longs for death, but Zerbinetta tries to persuade her to replace her love for Theseus with another, as it is only human to change an old love for a new one. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Live backstage interviews during the interval. Ariadne: Nina Stemme (soprano) Zerbinetta: Kathleen Kim (soprano) Composer: Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano) Bacchus: Lance Ryan (tenor) Music Master: Jochen Schmeckenbecher (baritone) Najade: Anne-Carolyn Bird (soprano) Dryade: Tamara Mumford (mezzo-soprano) Echo: Erin Morley (soprano) Dancing Master: Tony Stevenson (tenor) Brighella: Sean Panikkar (tenor) Scaramuccio: Mark Schowalter (tenor) Harlequin: Markus Werba (baritone) Kirill Petrenko - conductor Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Kirill Petrenko conducts Strauss' opera within an opera, starring Nina Stemme. | |
| Live From The Met, Puccini's La Boheme | 20100227 | Piotr Beczala and Anna Nebtrenko star in Puccini's opera about bohemian artists. | |
| Live From The Met, Verdi's Attila | 20100306 | Well-known as a champion of Verdi's early works, the conductor Riccardo Muti makes his long-awaited Met debut with this remarkable opera, Attila, which is being performed for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera. The story of Attila explores a pivotal moment in history - the collapse of the Roman Empire under attacks from the 'barbarians' led by Attila. The demanding title role is sung here by the young Russian bass Ildar Abrazakov. Attila is a ruthless but honourable leader who falls in love with one of his conquests, the Italian slave Odabella, sung by the soprano Violeta Urmana. She, in turn, seeks revenge on Attila because he killed her father. The tenor Ramón Vargas is her lover, Foresto, who rallies the defeated Italian people and Carlos Alvarez is the General Ezio, a brilliant but corrupt soldier. Veteran bass Samuel Ramey, himself a spectacular Attila in the 1970s and 80s, makes a cameo appearance as Leone (Pope Leo 1). One of the opera's most stirring moments is the historical scene between Attila and the Pope (who convinced the invader to spare Rome). It is a fascinating story of the clash of religions, politics and love with a score full of the youthful vitality and magnificent spirit of the 33-year old musical genius. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews with members of the cast during the interval. Attila: Ilda Abrazakov (bass) Odabella: Violeta Urmana (soprano) Ezio: Giovanni Meoni (baritone) Foresto: Ramón Vargas (tenor) Uldino: Russell Thomas (tenor) Leone: Samuel Ramey (bass) Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra Riccardo Muti (conductor). Riccardo Muti makes his Met debut conducting Verdi's rarely performed early opera. class="blq-clearfix"> Ezio: Carlos Alvarez (baritone) | |
| Live From The Met, Shostakovich's The Nose | 20100313 | Kovalyov has a shave in Yakovlevich's barbershop. The following morning, Yakovlevich discovers Kovalyov's nose in his freshly baked loaf of bread, much to the annoyance of his wife who demands that he gets rid of it. He eventually manages to throw it into a river, by which time Kovalyov has noticed it's missing and begun to hunt for it. It turns up in the Cathedral, human sized, dressed as a State Councillor, and wanting nothing to do with its desperate owner. It then escapes from Kovalyov, who spends the rest of the opera being outwitted by it. Shostakovich's adaption of Gogol's absurdist short story is performed by a stellar cast conducted by Valery Gergiev. Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. Police Inspector: Andrei Popov (tenor) The Nose: Gordon Gietz (tenor) Kovalyov: Paulo Szot (baritone) Ivan Yakovlevich: Vladimir Ognovenko (baritone) Praskovya Osipovna: Claudia Waite (soprano) Newspaper Clerk: James Courtney (bass) A Mother: Maria Gavrilova (soprano) A Countess: Wendy White (mezzo-soprano) A Pretzel Vendor: Claudia Waite (soprano) A Doctor: Gennady Bezzubenkov (bass) Yaryzhkin: Adam Klein (tenor) Mme Podtochina's daughter: Erin Morley (soprano) Mme Podtochina: Barbara Dever ( mezzo-soprano) Respectable lady: Kathryn Day (mezzo-soprano) Valery Gergiev: conductor Orchestra and Chorus of Metropolitan Opera. Valery Gergiev conducts Shostakovich's adaptation of Gogol's absurdist short story. | |
| Rachmaninov's Aleko | 20100313 |
Gianandrea Noseda conducts the BBC Philharmonic, Turin Regio Chorus and an all-Russian cast in Rachmaninov's early 1-Act opera Aleko, based on Pushkin's dramatic poem The Gypsies. Synopsis: Aleko has fled society and is taken in by the gypsy Zemfira. He is soon performing with a tame bear, singing as it dances, while Zemfira's father plays a tambourine and Zemfira herself collects money from the audience. They have a child, but Zemfira betrays Aleko with a young gypsy. One night, he surprises the lovers and murders both. The tribe moves off, leaving him alone on the steppe. Aleko: Sergey Murzaev (baritone) Old Gypsy: Gennadi Bezzubenkov (bass) Zemfira: Svetla Vasilieva (soprano) Young Gypsy: Evgeny Akimov (tenor) Old Gypsy Woman: Nadezhda Vasilieva (mezzo-soprano) Gianandrea Noseda (conductor) BBC Philharmonic Turin Teatro Regio Chorus. Gianandrea Noseda conducts Rachmaninov's opera Aleko, based on Pushkin's poem The Gypsies. | |
| Bizet's Carmen |  | ||
| Massenet's Werther |  | ||
| Opera On 3 From The Royal Opera House |  | ||
| Rossini's Il Barbiere Di Siviglia (the Barber Of Seville) |  | ||
| Tchaikovsky's The Tsarina's Slippers |  | ||
| Verdi's Macbeth |  |