Opera and Choral Events

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Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Week of March 30 - April 6, 2017




This week on Rhode Island Public television,
WSBE:  (Comcast 294, Cox 808, Full Channel 109, and Verizon 478)  
Now broadcasting two or three operas every weekend!

Saturday, April 1, 2017, 8:00PM
Sunday, April 2, 2017, 3:00AM


Il Trovatore



Season 10 opens with Verdi's "Il Trovatore," in which long-lost brothers (Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Yonghoon Lee) compete for the affections of the same woman (Anna Netrebko). Dolora Zajick costars as Azucena, the gypsy with a dark secret.
Length: 180

Monday, April 3, 2017, 12:00AM

Macbeth

Verdi's "Macbeth" stars baritone Zeljko Lucic as Lord Macbeth and soprano Anna Netrebko as Lady Macbeth. Fabio Luisi conducts.
Length: 180





Celebrating Arturo Toscanini at 150
Saturday, March 25, 2017
By Fred Plotkin
Arturo Toscanini looms large over opera and classical music. Fred Plotkin writes of the exacting maestro on his 150th birth anniversary.  



Composer and Conductor Anton Coppola at 100: Fortissimo
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
 By Fred Plotkin

Composer and conductor Anton Coppola, uncle of film director Francis, turns one hundred years old today. Fred Plotkin visited Coppola in his Manhattan apartment recently. 







News from Around the World of Music


Watch: This Shostakovich Drumming Performance is Beyond Intense
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Drummer, educator and Marine Jesse Sieff took an orchestral arrangement of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 and spiced it up with an insane snare.

Breaking the Mold: The Life and Music of Missy Mazzoli
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
"Independence" is a theme that permeates much of composer Missy Mazzoli's music, as well as her work to close the gender gap in composition.

Watch a Bluesy Violin and Piano Performance in the Middle of SoHo
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Dotan Negrin of Piano Around the World has kept busy, recently uploading a performance with jack-of-all-trades violinist Andrei Matorin.

Behold the Power of the Oud Featuring Yemeni Musician Ahmed Alshaiba (Video)
Monday, March 27, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Oud player Ahmed Alshaiba recently dropped by the TED studios to play a mini-concert and discuss his connection to the ancient instrument.

8 Unusual Music Duets You Might Have Missed
Monday, March 27, 2017
By Jennifer Gersten
The musical duo is a relationship like any other. Here are 8 videos of unusual duets that will entertain you.

These Philadelphia Orchestra Members Brighten Commutes on Bach's Birthday
Friday, March 24, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Each year on Bach's birthday, musicians all over the world gather in transit hubs to play the music of one of the world's most beloved composers.

Watch: Leonard Bernstein Presents Yo-Yo Ma, Age 7, to President Kennedy and the World
Friday, March 24, 2017
By James Bennett, II
In 1962, a seven-year-old Yo-Yo Ma performed at a White House benefit concert. Leonard Bernstein introduced the cellist, and reminded us of the transcendent power of the arts.


The Hair, Clothes and Tunes: ’80s Pop Culture From the 1480s - Present
Thursday, March 23, 2017
By James Bennett, II
You already know we're gearing up for a weekend of all-’80s madness. We're wondering — if each “’80s” were your buddies from high school, how are they holding up now? Let's find out.


11 Awkward Album Covers from the '80s — Classical Edition
Thursday, March 23, 2017
By Jennifer Gersten
The ’80s were a time of wonderfully awkward fashions and album covers. The classical recording business was not immune to these trends. Check out this list of some of our favorites.

The Best of the '80s ... All of Them
Thursday, March 23, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Madonna and Mozart both ruled the '80s ... depending on the century. Tune in this weekend to WQXR to hear these great '80s classics from the 15th century onward.


Celebrate Stephen Sondheim's Birthday With Selections From 'Passion' and 'Sweeney Todd'
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Today, on Sondheim's 87th birthday, rewatch the composer's visit to WQXR and an awesome tribute from the 2010 Proms.


Here’s a ‘Happy Birthday’ Fit for Bach
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
By James Bennett, II
On J.S. Bach's birthday, not just any performance of “Happy Birthday” will do. In our opinion, this fugal arrangement is the best bet.

Watch: James Rhodes Plays Bach in the WQXR Studios
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
By James Bennett, II
Pianist James Rhodes plays a favorite Bach prelude, and tells you how you can play it too.


Exclusive Music Video: The Knights' 'Ascending Bird,' Featuring Yo-Yo Ma

Monday, March 20, 2017 - 12:00 AM








OPERA ON THE INTERNET 
WITH  
DAVE D' AGUANNO

If you happen to be a fan of the operas of Leos Janacek, the next few days should be pretty exciting for you, beginning tomorrow (March 30) with a LIVE video-stream from Brussels of his delightful "The Cunning Little Vixen." And yes, this is the opera where a fox, a badger, and numerous other animals actually have singing roles!
Then on Saturday (April 1), it's "Jenufa" -- probably one of his most intensely dramatic operas -- coming to us from Stockholm via Swedish Radio, the performance being broadcast having taken place just yesterday (March 28).
From the Met, it's none other than Beethoven's "Fidelio," to be heard on several internet radio stations.
On ORF, Rossini enthusiasts can enjoy the March 17, 2017 performance from Vienna of his "Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra" (1815). Anyone who may be familiar with the piece will know that this opera and "The Barber of Seville" share the same overture -- which, in fact, originated as the overture to the earlier opera "Aureliano in Palmira" (1813).
If you enjoy Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" -- and possibly even his somewhat rarely performed "L'Arlesiana" -- you'll be delighted to know that Radio 3 (RAI) is offering you a chance to hear his very first opera -- "Gina" (1889) -- in a performance that took place in Venice on February 10 of this year.
There also happens to be a FREE video-stream on Saturday, with The Opera Platform website giving us a performance of Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia" direct from Valencia and starring soprano Mariella Devia who is STILL singing, having made her debut at the Met in "Rigoletto" as far back as December 1979!
And Anna Netrebko fans will not want to miss tomorrow evening's LIVE audio-stream from the Met of Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" -- soon to be given a LIVE HD-transmission on April 22.
Enjoy!

DAVE








The Met Saturday afternoon
 radio broadcast  
1 PM



Fidelio
BEETHOVEN
Weigle; Pieczonka, Müller, Vogt, Portillo, Grimsley, Struckmann, Groissböck

 











NO OPERA ON
WGBH THIS WEEK!
Glenn Beck, Conservative commentator