21C Media Group

Bard SummerScape 2012 opens July 6 with Compagnie fêtes galantes

2012-05-17

The ninth annual Bard SummerScape festival opens on Friday, July 6 at 8pm, with the American premiere of Let My Joy Remain (“Que ma joie demeure”) by France’s Compagnie fêtes galantes. Described as “a show where joy dominates but dignity remains” (Figaro), Let My Joy Remain brings a contemporary edge to Baroque dance, juxtaposing the surpassingly elegant choreography of Béatrice Massin with the sublime music of Baroque master J.S. Bach. Along with two additional performances, on Saturday, July 7 at 8pm and Sunday, July 8 at 3 pm, the opening night will take place in the Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Bard College’s stunning Hudson River campus.

Susan Graham’s summer 2012 of French rep, Baroque & more

2012-05-16

Fresh from her appearances in Lehár’s The Merry Widow at the Opéra National de Paris and Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopâtre with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as a successful run of Australian recitals in Melbourne and Sydney, Susan Graham continues an action-packed 2012. After a European recital tour in June, “America’s favorite mezzo” returns to the United States for three important summer engagements: she opens Napa Valley’s Festival del Sole with a gala concert on July 13; she appears as Marguerite in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust on July 28 at Tanglewood; and she hosts “Susan Graham and Friends” at the Santa Fe Opera (August 4). Graham, who has received word that she is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award presented by San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, is gearing up for her return to the Met in December and for a recital tour with Renée Fleming that stops at Carnegie Hall in January.

Tune in: American Pianists Assoc. finalists perform on WQXR May 16

2012-05-16

The five finalists for a prize valued at more than $100,000 from the American Pianists Association will be showcased in performance on New York’s classical station, WQXR (105.9 FM and online at wqxr.org) on Wednesday, May 16 at 9pm. There will be a simultaneous broadcast on WFYI in Indianapolis, home of the American Pianists Association. The program, hosted by Robert Sherman, is part of The McGraw Hill Companies Young Artists Showcase. It was recorded last month when the names of the finalists for the 2013 ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association were revealed at Steinway Hall.

Classical Action presents Christine Brewer in concert, May 17

2012-05-15

Classical Action: Performing Arts Against AIDS closes its 2012 Michael Palm Series of house concerts on Thursday, May 17, with a memorable evening of song from soprano Christine Brewer and pianist Craig Rutenberg. Held in the Tribeca loft apartment of supporters Simon Yates and Kevin Roon, who have hosted all concerts in the series since 2010, the upcoming recital is part of the New York City-based salon series named for the charity’s late benefactor. The performance begins at 7:30pm, following an hour of wine and hors d’oeuvres; tickets for this series-closing concert may be purchased online at www.classicalaction.org or by calling Classical Action at (212) 997-7717. For the first time in the history of the Michael Palm Series, the music may also be enjoyed beyond this cozy salon setting: the recital will be recorded for a broadcast presentation at a later date on SiriusXM’s Symphony Hall, channel 76.

medici.tv presents Thibaudet, Les Arts Florissants, and more this month

2012-05-11

This month sees medici.tv offer a French connection to classical music lovers the world over, presenting live concert broadcasts by Gallic stars – from pianists Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Bertrand Chamayou to such ensembles as the early-music group Les Arts Florissants and the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse conducted by the charismatic Tugan Sokhiev. Also, from May 11 to 13, medici.tv will relay the Musicora festival live from Paris, with highlights including jazz violinist Didier Lockwood and pianist Jean-Francois Zygel teaming up for improvisations on themes by Debussy.

NYC Opera’s Orpheus opens May 12

2012-05-11

Widely renowned for resurrecting Handel’s operas in North America, New York City Opera continues its exploration of the Baroque by presenting the New York premiere of Georg Philipp Telemann’s 1726 opera Orpheus from May 12-20 at the intimate Teatro del Museo del Barrio in East Harlem. Rediscovered only in the late 20th century, the score showcases Telemann’s progressive spirit and vivid imagination. The tri-lingual libretto, featuring texts drawn from operas by Handel and Lully, turns the traditional Orpheus myth on its head, focusing on the character Orasia, Queen of Thrace, whose jealousy brings about the destruction of Orpheus and Eurydice. NYC Opera favorite Joélle Harvey and debut artist Daniel Teadt portray the ill-fated lovers, who become the obsession of the vengeful queen, sung by Jennifer Rowley in her company debut. Also making her NYC Opera debut is Catherine Miller, who will be dancing a role specially created for this production: Thanatos, the ancient Greek personification of death. Inventive director Rebecca Taichman, known for her intelligent renderings of Shakespeare’s plays, makes her NYC Opera debut with this new production as well. Gary Thor Wedow, for many years NYC Opera’s lauded chorus master and a much-acclaimed Baroque specialist, will conduct.

Pape sings for the Pope, stars in “Don Carlos” and more this summer

2012-05-10

Superstar bass René Pape has a busy European summer season ahead, packed with high-profile appearances. After performances in Franz Schmidt’s oratorio The Book With Seven Seals under Fabio Luisi in Vienna (May 13-14), Pape will sing in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Daniel Barenboim at Milan’s La Scala, in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI (June 1). The bass will then star as King Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlos, led by Franz Welser-Möst at the Vienna State Opera (June 16-29). The German singer has embodied the role of King Philip to universal critical praise; after his portrayal at the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Times said Pape “so dominated the performance that Verdi’s Don Carlos might have been renamed ‘The Tragedy of King Philip.’” In July, Pape will take part in another performance of Beethoven’s Ninth with Barenboim, this time closing the Summer Olympics in London with a Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall (July 27).

Fabio Luisi chats about career before double debut at La Scala

2012-05-10

Fabio Luisi passed a busy spring in New York, leading six different Metropolitan Opera productions in April – more than any conductor has accomplished in a single month since James Levine in 1979. Now Maestro Luisi returns to Europe for orchestral and operatic performances that include a double debut in Milan. First, he leads the Filarmonica della Scala in concert on May 21; then, in June, he makes his opera debut at Milan’s storied Teatro alla Scala, conducting the Laurent Pelly production of Massenet’s Manon, in which he has already won high praise this season at the Met. Luisi will also tour with the Filarmonica della Scala in St. Petersburg and Baden-Baden this summer, and is scheduled to return to La Scala in fall 2013 to lead Verdi’s Don Carlo. In May meanwhile, as Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony, the conductor leads two programs: the first comprising Franz Schmidt’s oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln (“The Book with Seven Seals”), while the second pairs Mahler’s First Symphony with Bruch’s First Violin Concerto, featuring star violinist Joshua Bell. The coming summer also sees Luisi return to Sapporo, Japan, to lead concerts and a conducting master class as Artistic Director of the Pacific Music Festival.

Pisaroni sings Figaro, Rossini’s Maometto II, more

2012-05-09

Luca Pisaroni has already had a banner year, including his universally praised debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago as Argante in Handel’s Rinaldo (“terrific,” according to the Huffington Post) and a recital of Schubert and Liszt at Lincoln Center (which the New York Times lauded for his “keen dramatic instincts”). The Italian bass-baritone’s spring and summer promise to be just as exciting, starting with him reprising his star-making role of Figaro in productions of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (May 3-13) and at the Vienna State Opera (June 3-13). This summer, Pisaroni will carry the title role in Santa Fe Opera’s world premiere of the new critical edition of Rossini’s Maometto II (July 14-August 16). He will also perform in concerts at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in July, and he caps his summer with a solo recital at the Edinburgh International Festival (August 23).

Trinity Wall Street at River To River Festival 2012

2012-05-08

This summer, Trinity Wall Street will once again participate in the River To River Festival®, lower Manhattan’s free annual summer arts festival, which this year takes place from June 17 – July 15. Trinity will present three events, bringing a breadth of programming – ranging from choral sounds from Indonesia and evocations of ancient Italy to the music of New York’s own rising downtown star Nico Muhly – that illustrates why both church and festival have grown close to New York’s heart.