As the world remembers fallen soldiers this week and the year marks the centenary of WW I, conductor Marin Alsop writes about the enduring power of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem and why it is unique amongst sacred works.
Click here to read.
There is an absolute treasure trove of German Art Song on a new album release from ABC Classic, Love’s Torment, Love’s Delight: Songs by Brahms, Schumann & Mendelssohn, available now. Four superb voices and four hands at one piano celebrate the delights of love. Soprano Jacqueline Porter, mezzo-soprano Anna Dowsley, tenor Andrew Goodwin and baritone…
Soprano Jessica Pratt is to debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at Milan’s high altar of opera, the Teatro alla Scala. Mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble takes up her writer’s quill to interview Jessica prior to her historic performance under the baton of Pier Giorgio Morandi. Click here for feature in ClassicMelbourne
In a project reminiscent of Daniel Barenboim’s efforths at political and social reconciliation through music, composer Paul Stanhope has created “Exile Lamentations” , a work for chamber choir, soloists and oud, which was performed in Sydney by the Sydney Chamber Choir recently. This week Stanhope was awarded two APRA awards for composing both this (“Deserts of…
OA artistic director Lyndon Terracini believes that quotas on the hiring of non-Australian singers should be lifted. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/lyndon-terracini-blasts-prehistoric-union-opera-quota/story-e6frg8n6-1226310782416
Here are the upcoming nightly opera streams from the Met: Thursday, June 4 – Puccini’s Tosca with Pavarotti Friday, June 5 – Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel, conducted by Adès Saturday, June 6 – Verdi’s Otello with Sonya Yoncheva Sunday, June 7 – Massenet’s Thaïs with Renee Fleming Each stream becomes available at 7:30PM EDT…
The visionary composer and conductor Andre Previn has died aged 89. His diverse positions included a stint as the principal conductor of the London Symphony and as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony; he wrote concertos, opera, song cycles, film scores and chamber music, winning four Oscars and numerous other nominations….