Episodes
| Series | Episode | Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 01 | The Garc\u00eda Clan | 20210614 | 20230508 (R3) | Donald Macleod explores the life and music of the 19th-century French singer, pianist, composer and influential society figure, Pauline Viardot. Today he looks at her early training as a member of the Garc퀀as, a family of singers, originally from Spain. `When I want to do something, I do it in spite of water, fire, society, the whole world,` an indicator, if ever there was one, of the inner steel of this week's composer. Born in 1821, Pauline Viardot possessed an array of exceptional qualities. As one of the opera stars of her age, she was admired from Paris to St Petersburg as a sublime interpreter of Rossini, Bellini, Handel and Gluck. Beyond her incomparable voice, her twice-weekly artistic salons were a high point in Parisian cultural life. She knew, and was admired by Chopin, George Sand, Delacroix, Liszt, Faur退, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Sa뀀ns to name but a few. While having, according to Saint-Sa뀀ns, an unnecessarily modest view of her talent, she was also an accomplished composer. A talented linguist with five languages at her command, her compositions include a substantial body of songs, one or two instrumental works and a series of highly appealing operettas. Across the week, Donald Macleod will be exploring different facets of her extraordinary life. We'll be hearing from a range of Viardot's compositions as well as some of the operatic roles she made famous. He'll be examining her role in Parisian cultural circles, and her friendships with leading writers among them Charles Dickens, and in particular Ivan Turgenev, and composers such as Berlioz, Saint-Sa뀀ns, Meyerbeer and Gounod, all of whom created roles specifically for her incredible voice. Les filles de Cadix Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano Myung-Whun Chung, piano Sc耀ne d'Hermione (Andromaque) Act IV: Je ne t'ai point (pas), Cruel? Gy怀rgyi Dombrကdi, mezzo-soprano Lambert Bumiller, piano Manuel Garcia Snr: La figlia dell'aria: Ȁ non lo vedo - Son regina International Chamber Vocalists Zurich La Scintilla Orchestra @dကm Fischer, conductor Liszt: El Contrabandista - Rondo Fantastique sur Un Th耀me Espagnol, S.252 Valentina Lisitsa, piano Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia (Act 2) Don Basilio! Cosa veggo? - briconi, birbanti Hermann Prey, baritone, Figaro Teresa Berganza, mezzo-soprano, Rosina Luigi Alva, tenor, Count Almaviva Enzo Dara, bass, Dr Bartolo Paolo Montarsolo, bass, Don Basilio London Symphony Orchestra Claudio Abbado, conductor Rossini: Otello (Act 3, Sc 1) Canzone del Salice: Assisa a pie d'un salice Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano, Desdemona Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Edoardo Müller, conductor Donald Macleod explores the life and music of multi-talented musician Pauline Viardot. |
| 2021 | 02 | The New Sensation | 20210615 | 20230509 (R3) | Donald Macleod explores how Pauline Viardot's career was assisted by the support of two influential figures, the poet Alfred de Musset and the novelist George Sand. `When I want to do something, I do it in spite of water, fire, society, the whole world,` an indicator, if ever there was one, of the inner steel of this week's composer, 19th-century French singer, pianist, composer and influential society figure, Pauline Viardot. Born in 1821, Pauline Viardot possessed an array of exceptional qualities. As one of the opera stars of her age, she was admired from Paris to St Petersburg as a sublime interpreter of Rossini, Bellini, Handel and Gluck. Beyond her incomparable voice, her twice-weekly artistic salons were a high point in Parisian cultural life. She knew, and was admired by Chopin, George Sand, Delacroix, Liszt, Faur退, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Sa뀀ns to name but a few. While having, according to Saint-Saens, an unnecessarily modest view of her talent, she was also an accomplished composer. A talented linguist with five languages at her command, her compositions include a substantial body of songs, one or two instrumental works and a series of highly appealing operettas. Across the week, Donald Macleod will be exploring different facets of her extraordinary life. We'll be hearing from a range of Viardot's compositions as well as some of the operatic roles she made famous. He'll be examining her role in Parisian cultural circles, and her friendships with leading writers among them Charles Dickens, and in particular Ivan Turgenev, and composers such as Berlioz, Saint-Sa뀀ns, Meyerbeer and Gounod, all of whom created roles specifically for her incredible voice. Madrid Gy怀rgy Dombrကdi, mezzo-soprano Lambert Bumiller, piano Hai luli Olena Tokar, soprano Igor Gryshyn, piano Six Mor瀀eaux 1 Romance II Boh耀mienne III: Ber瀀euse Reto Kuppel, violin Wolfgang Manz, piano Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Act 2) Ah! qual colpo inaspettato! Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano, Rosina Leo Nucci, baritone, Figaro William Matteuzzi, tenor, Almaviva Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna Giuseppe Patan耀, conductor Plainte d'amour (Mazurka in F sharp minor, op 6 no 1) Urszula Kryger, mezzo-soprano Charles Spencer, piano L'Oiselet (Mazurka op 68, no 2) Sophie Karth䀀user, soprano Eugene Asti, piano La S退paration (Mazurka no 14 in G minor op 24, no 1) Ina Kancheva, soprano Kamelia Kader, mezzo-soprano Ludmil Angelov, piano Rossini: La Cenerentola - Overture South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden Alberto Zedda, conductor 3 M怀rike Songs no 1. In der Frühe no 2. Nixe Binsefuss Catriona Morison, mezzo-soprano Simon Lepper, piano Donald Macleod explores how Pauline Viardot was aided by Alfred de Musset and George Sand. |
| 2021 | 03 | A Poet And A Civil Servant | 20210616 | 20230510 (R3) | Donald Macleod attempts to unravel the complexities of Pauline Viardot's close friendship with the writer Ivan Turgenev, which lasted, albeit with a few breaks, until his death in 1883. `When I want to do something, I do it in spite of water, fire, society, the whole world,` an indicator, if ever there was one, of the inner steel of this week's composer, 19th-century French singer, pianist, composer and influential society figure, Pauline Viardot. Born in 1821, Pauline Viardot possessed exceptional qualities. As one of the opera stars of her age, she was admired from Paris to St Petersburg as a sublime interpreter of Rossini, Bellini, Handel and Gluck. Beyond her incomparable voice, her twice-weekly artistic salons were a high point in Parisian cultural life. She knew, and was admired by Chopin, George Sand, Delacroix, Liszt, Faur退, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Sa뀀ns to name but a few. While having, according to Saint-Saens, an unnecessarily modest view of her talent, she was also an accomplished composer. A talented linguist with five languages at her command, her compositions include a substantial body of songs, one or two instrumental works and a series of highly appealing operettas. Across the week, Donald Macleod will be immersing himself in the many facets of her extraordinary life. We'll be hearing a range of Viardot's compositions as well as some of the operatic roles she made famous. He'll be examining her role in Parisian cultural circles, and her friendships with leading writers among them Charles Dickens, and in particular Ivan Turgenev, and composers such as Berlioz, Saint-Sa뀀ns, Meyerbeer and Gounod, all of whom tailored roles specifically for her incredible voice. Ber瀀euse-cosaque Katherine Eberle, mezzo-soprano Robin Guy, piano Golden glow of the mountain peaks Do not sing, my beauty, to me Olena Tokar, soprano Igor Gryshyn, piano Rossini: Il barbiere di siviglia (Act 1, no 5) Una voce poco fa Cecilia Bartoli, mezzo-soprano Orchestra of Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Giuseppe Patan耀, conductor Le dernier sorcier (Act 1) no 1 Par ici no 2 Chanson de Lelio `Dans le bois frais et sombre` no 3 Romance de la Reine `Ramasse cette rose` Adriana Zabala, mezzo-soprano, Lelio Eric Owens, bass-baritone, Krakamiche Sarah Brailey, soprano, Verveine Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano, the Queen Liana Pailodze Harron, pianist Myra Huang, piano Manhattan Girls' Chorus 12 songs of Pushkin, Fet and Turgenev No 1 Tsvetok 5 poems of Lermontov & Turgenev: No 1 Na zare 10 poems of Pushkin, Lermontov, Koltsov, Tyutchev and Fet No 3 Ya lyubila yego 12 poems of Pushkin, Fet and Turgenev: No 4 Polunochnyye obrazy Ina Kancheva, soprano Ludmil Angelov, piano Bellini: La sonnambula, (Act 1) `..In Elvezia non v'ha rosa, Fresca e cara al par d'Amina - ..` Care compagne, e voi, tenere amici! Sovra il sen la man mi posa Nathalie Dessay, soprano, Amina Paul Gay, bass-baritone, Alessio Sara Mingardo, contralto, Teresa Chorus and Orchestra of Lyon Opera Evelino Pid , conductor Donald Macleod assesses Pauline Viardot's friendship with writer Ivan Turgenev. |
| 2021 | 04 | A Composer And A Collaborator | 20210617 | 20230511 (R3) | Donald Macleod considers Pauline Viardot's role as a muse and a collaborator with Gounod, Saint-Sa뀀ns and Meyerbeer, and we hear from her fairy-tale chamber opera to a libretto by Ivan Turgenev, Le dernier sorcier. `When I want to do something, I do it in spite of water, fire, society, the whole world,` an indicator, if ever there was one, of the inner steel of this week's composer, 19th-century French singer, pianist, composer and influential society figure, Pauline Viardot. Born in 1821, Pauline Viardot possessed an array of exceptional qualities. As one of the opera stars of her age, she was admired from Paris to St Petersburg as a sublime interpreter of Rossini, Bellini, Handel and Gluck. Beyond her incomparable voice, her twice-weekly artistic salons were a high point in Parisian cultural life. She knew, and was admired by Chopin, George Sand, Delacroix, Liszt, Faur退, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Sa뀀ns to name but a few. While having, according to Saint-Sa뀀ns, an unnecessarily modest view of her talent, she was also an accomplished composer. A talented linguist with five languages at her command, her compositions include a substantial body of songs, one or two instrumental works and a series of highly appealing operettas. Across the week, Donald Macleod will be exploring different facets of her extraordinary life. We'll be hearing from a range of Viardot's compositions as well as some of the operatic roles she made famous. He'll be examining her role in Parisian cultural circles, and her friendships with leading writers among them Charles Dickens, and in particular Ivan Turgenev, and composers such as Berlioz, Saint-Sa뀀ns, Meyerbeer and Gounod, all of whom created roles specifically for her incredible voice. ɀvocation Gy怀rgy퀀 Dombrကdi, mezzo-soprano Lambert Bumiller, piano Ars Musici AM 1288-2 Le dernier sorcier (Finale to Act 2) C'est moi, ne craignez rien Loupprola, Schibbola, Trix O bienfaisante f退e Salut! Salut! O forꀀt bien aim退e Adriana Zabala, mezzo-soprano, Lelio Camille Zamora, soprano Stella Eric Owens, bass-baritone, Krakamiche Michael Slattery, tenor, Perlimpinpin Manhatten Girls' Chorus Myra Huang, piano Gounod: Sapho (Act 3) O ma lyre immortelle - . Elina Garan?a, mezzo-soprano Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna Yves Abel, conductor Saint-Sa뀀ns: Samson et Dalila (Act 1) Printemps qui commence (Dalila, The Old Hebrew) Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano Samuel Ramey, baritone, the Old Hebrew Orchestre et choeurs de l'Op退ra-Bastille Myung-Whun Chung, conductor Meyerbeer: Le proph耀te (Act V Sc 2, 3 & 4 ) Ԁ prꀀtres de Baal, où m'avez-vous conduite ? - Viens, il en est temps encore ! Marilyn Horne, mezzo-soprano, Fid耀s, mother of Jean James McCracken, tenor, Jean de Leye Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Henry Lewis, conductor Donald Macleod considers Pauline Viardot's role as a muse for Gounod and other composers. |
| 2021 | 05 LAST | The Incomparable Viardot Salon | 20210618 | Donald Macleod considers the significance of Pauline Viardot's famous twice-weekly salons in the cultural life of Paris and her association with the British writer Charles Dickens. `When I want to do something, I do it in spite of water, fire, society, the whole world,` an indicator, if ever there was one, of the inner steel of this week's composer, 19th-century French singer, pianist, composer and influential society figure, Pauline Viardot. Born in 1821, Pauline Viardot possessed exceptional qualities. As one of the opera stars of her age, she was admired from Paris to St Petersburg as a sublime interpreter of Rossini, Bellini, Handel and Gluck. Beyond her incomparable voice, her twice-weekly artistic salons were a high point in Parisian cultural life. She knew, and was admired by Chopin, George Sand, Delacroix, Liszt, Faur退, Tchaikovsky, and Saint-Sa뀀ns to name but a few. While having, according to Saint-Sa뀀ns, an unnecessarily modest view of her talent, she was also an accomplished composer. A talented linguist with five languages at her command, her compositions include a substantial body of songs, one or two instrumental works and a series of highly appealing operettas. Across the week, Donald Macleod will be immersing himself in the many facets of her extraordinary life. We'll be hearing a range of Viardot's compositions as well as some of the operatic roles she made famous. He'll be examining her role in Parisian cultural circles, and her friendships with leading writers among them Charles Dickens, and in particular Ivan Turgenev, and composers such as Berlioz, Saint-Sa뀀ns, Meyerbeer and Gounod, all of whom tailored roles specifically for her incredible voice. Faur退: Puisqu'ici-bas toutes me Janis Kelly, soprano Lorna Anderson, soprano Malcolm Martineau, piano Wagner: Tristan und Isolde love duet (Act 2) O sink herneider, Nacht der liebe Vogt, tenor, Tristan Camilla Nylund, soprano, Isolde Bamburg Symphony Jonathan Nott, conductor Choeur bohemian BBC Singers Helen Neeves, solo soprano Olivia Robinson, solo soprano Grace Rossiter, Elizabeth Burgess, piano Stephen Jeffes, triangle Christopher Bowen, tambourine Grace Rossiter, conductor Brahms: Alto Rhapsody Ann Hallenberg, contralto Collegium Vocale Gent, Orchestre des Champs-ɀlys退es Philip Herreweghe, director Violin Sonatina in A Minor Allegro finale Reto Kuppel, violin Wolfgang Manz, piano Cendrillon (Act 1, Act 2 excerpts) Nous sommes assailis par cette vile engeance Si je n'y venai pas, donc le balarait Je viens te rendre |