BBCSSO, 13/12/2012

Bartók : Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin
Bartók : Piano Concerto No. 2 (Olli Mustonen)
Hindemith : Trauermusik (Scott Dickinson)
Hindemith : Symphonic Metamorphoses of themes by Carl Maria von Weber

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins

Scottish Ballet, 12/12/2012

Tchaikovsky : The Nutcracker

Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet Orchestra
Timothy Henty

Metropolitan Opera (HD broadcast), 8/12/2012

Verdi : Un Ballo in Maschera

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Fabio Luisi

RSNO, 24/11/2012

Prokofiev : Cinderella (extracts)
Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488 (Saleem Abboud Ashkar)
Strauss : Also sprach Zarathustra

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Kazushi Ono

The Ladykillers, 20/11/2012

Original screenplay by William Rose
Adaptation by Graham Lineham
Directed by Sean Foley

Alexandre Tharaud, 17/11/2012

Scarlatti : 5 Sonatas (K.380, 3, 514, 481, 141)
Ravel : Miroirs
Mahler : Symphony No. 5 - Adagietto (trans. Tharaud)
Beethoven : Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata"

SCO, 16/11/2012

Wagner : Siegfried Idyll
Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453 (Maria João Pires)
Beethoven : Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral"

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Robin Ticciati

BBCSSO, 15/11/2012

Karlowicz : Eternal Songs
Szymanowski : Violin Concerto No. 1 (Nicola Benedetti)
Prokofiev : Symphony No. 5

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Litton

RSNO, 10/11/2012

Adès : Dances from Powder Her Face
Vaughan Williams : Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Orff : Carmina Burana

Valentina Farcas (soprano)
Daniel Taylor (counter-tenor)
Audun Iversen (baritone)
RSNO Chorus
RSNO Junior Chorus
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

BBCSSO, 08/11/2012

Berlioz : Roméo et Juliette (extracts)
Wagner : Tristan und Isolde - Act 2 (concert performance)

Nina Stemme - Isolde
Robert Dean Smith - Tristan
Jane Irwin - Brangäne
Peter Rose - King Mark

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Donald Runnicles

Metropolitan Opera (HD broadcast), 27/10/2012

Verdi : Otello

Chorus and Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York
Semyon Bychkov

Royal Ballet (HD broadcast), 23/10/2012

Tchaikovsky : Swan Lake

The Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Boris Gruzin

SCO, 19/10/2012

Debussy : Five Preludes (arr. Zender)
Lyle Cresswell : Triple Concerto (Swiss Piano Trio) World première
Takemitsu : How Slow the Wind
Ravel : Ma Mère l'Oye

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Baldur Brönnimann

Scottish Opera, 17/10/2012

Mozart : The Magic Flute

Chorus
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Eckhart Wycik

RSNO, 13/10/2012

Britten : Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
Rachmaninoff : Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Natasha Paremski)
Brahms : Symphony No. 1

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Peter Oundjian

SCO, 12/10/2012

Berlioz : King Lear Overture
Mendelssohn : Violin Concerto (Veronika Eberle)
Beethoven : Symphony No. 3 "Eroica"

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Robin Ticciati

BBCSSO, 11/10/2012

Szymanowski : Concert Overture
Chopin : Piano Concerto No. 1 (Angela Hewitt)
Tchaikovsky : Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Alexander Vedernikov

Bolshoi Ballet (HD broadcast), 30/09/2012

Løvenskjold : La Sylphide

Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Pavel Klinichev

Piano aux Jacobins, 24/09/2012

Isaac Albéniz : El Puerto (Ibéria, Book 1), Asturias, Seguidilla (Chants d'Espagne)
José Antonio Donostia : Préludios Vascos (extracts)
Manuel de Falla : El Amor Brujo - suite
Joaquin Larregla : Gran Jota de Concierto Viva Navarra

Victoria Aja, piano

Paris Opera (HD broadcast), 19/09/2012

Offenbach : Les Contes d'Hoffmann

Chorus and Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris
Tomas Netopil

49th Toulouse International Singing Competition - Final, 08/09/12

Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
David Syrus

Mariinsky Ballet, 30/08/2012

Prokofiev : Cinderella

Mariinsky Ballet
Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra
Valery Gergiev

Edinburgh International Festival, 30/08/2012

Liszt :
La Vallée d'Obermann
Petrarch Sonnet No. 104
Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este
Tarantella (from Venezia e Napoli)
Sonata in B minor

Llyr Williams, piano

Festival de Saint-Lizier, 24/08/2012

Tchaikovsky - Debussy - Delibes - Fauré - Ravel - Stravinsky

David Lively, piano

Festival de Saint-Lizier, 20/08/2012

Nights in the Gardens of Spain - traditional flamenco songs

Arcángel (singer)
Miguel Ángel Cortés (guitar)

Festival de Saint-Lizier, 17/08/2012

Paris by Night - French Songs from the Belle Epoque

Hélène Delavault (mezzo-soprano)
Cyrille Lehn (piano)

Festival de Saint-Lizier, 11/08/2012

Debussy - Mussorgsky - Wagner - Couperin - Berlioz

Ensemble Carpe Diem
Isabelle Irène (puppeteer)
Léa Sarfati (soprano)
Sibylle Cornaton (violin)
François Duchesne (viola)
Marianne Gaiffe (cello)
Isabelle Pierre (flute/piccolo)

Jean-Pierre Arnaud (oboe/director)

Festival de Saint-Lizier, 02/08/2012

Debussy - Grieg - Rameau - Chopin

Philippe Cassard, piano

A little more summer viewing...

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but it is (just) possible to have too much Mozart.  Since the start of July, I have seen on TV Entführung, Clemenza, two Nozze, a rather quirky Don Giovanni live from Stuttgart, and a fearfully boring Zauberflöte live from Salzburg.  Enough, thank you.  However, grateful I am for the alternative to the bombardment of sport this summer, a little variety in the diet would be nice too.  The other broadcasts have all been from Orange; a Pagliacci and Tosca from past years, the previously mentioned Bohème and last night's Turandot, which Alagna battled through valiantly, with considerably better results than those reported on Saturday night, when apparently the top B-flat of "Nessun dorma" just didn't come out at all!

Several concerts/recitals now programmed for this month.  Although I will try to stick to my 24-hour posting rule, it may not always be possible, but there will be reports within a few days.

[Next: 2nd August]

A little summer viewing...

There's been more opera on TV here this last ten days than I've seen in the last twelve months.  Of course, most of it's being shown at an ungodly hour of the night, but that's what PVRs were invented for, after all.  Most of it's been recent, and two have been live, with a third promised at the end of the month, and the prospect of some more from Salzburg next month.  The lives this month have been the Bohème from Orange, and a Nozze from Aix-en-Provence.  The Puccini was pretty good, on the whole.  I quite liked the look of the production, though it has to be said that reading the newspaper reviews afterwards was interesting, showing just how much the view from the camera can change perspective.  Inva Mula was a little retiring as Mimì, but then everyone on the plateau would have seemed like that faced with the ebullience of Vittorio Grigolo.  Thank goodness the man can actually sing, he'd be fatiguing otherwise.  The Nozze was sort of humdrum, an orchestra far too much in retreat, a cast mostly good, but not outstanding, with one notable exception, Kate Lindsey's superb Cherubino.  Very definitely one to watch, there.

There's a Turandot due live from Orange on the 31st, in which much will no doubt depend on whether Alagna is on form or not.

[Next : Well, the 21st July is definitely off, and the next definite date is 19th September, but there should be something before then.]

BRB, 26/06/2012

Matthew Hindson: Faster
(chor. David Bintley)

Birmingham Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Paul Murphy

Bolshoi Ballet (HD broadcast), 24/06/2012

Glazunov: Raymonda

Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre
Pavel Sorokin

Macbeth, 17/06/2012

National Theatre of Scotland presents

Shakespeare : Macbeth

Directed by John Tiffany and Andrew Goldberg
with : Alan Cumming

Scottish Opera, 5/6/2012

Mascagni : Cavalleria Rusticana
Leoncavallo : I Pagliacci

Chorus (Chorus Master : James Grossmith)
Children's Chorus
Orchestra of Scottish Opera
Francesco Corti

BBCSSO, 24/5/2012

Elgar : Sospiri
Richard Strauss : Death and Transfiguration
Glass : Symphony No. 6 "Plutonian Ode" (Lauren Flanigan, soprano)

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Nicholas Collon

Royal Ballet (HD Broadcast), 16/5/2012

Hérold (arr. Lanchberry) : La Fille mal gardée

Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Barry Wordsworth

Idil Biret, 14/5/2012

Beethoven : Piano Sonata Op. 53, "Waldstein"
Liszt : Douze grandes études, S. 137 - No. 9 and 12
Liszt : Venezia e Napoli, S.162

RSNO, 12/5/2012

MacMillan : Britannia
Strauss : Till Eulenspiegel
Ravel : Daphnis et Chloë

RSNO Chorus
RSNO Junior Chorus
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stéphane Denève

Wonderful Town, 8/5/2012

Music by Leonard Bernstein
Book by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov
Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green

The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Members of the Hallé Orchestra
Conducted by James Burton

Director : Braham Murray
Choreographer : Andrew Wright

RSNO, 5/2/2012

Debussy : Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Barber : Violin Concerto (James Ehnes)
Stravinsky : The Rite of Spring

Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stéphane Denève

BBCSSO, 19/4/2012

J.S. Bach : Sonata No. 1 for unaccompanied violin - 1st movt.
(Jennifer Pike)
Vaughan Williams : Symphony No. 4
Vaughan Williams : The Lark Ascending (Jennifer Pike)
Vaughan Williams : Symphony No. 5

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Andrew Manze

Royal Opera (HD broadcast), 17/4/2012

Verdi : Rigoletto

Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Scottish Ballet, 12/4/2012

Peter Salem : A Streetcar Named Desire

Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet Orchestra
Martin Yates

Paris Opera Ballet (HD broadcast), 22/3/2012

Minkus: La Bayadère

Principals and Corps de Ballet of the Ballet of the Opéra National de Paris
Orchestra of the Opéra National de Paris
Fayçal Karoui

Sylvie Guillem, 11/3/2012

"6000 Miles Away"

Rearray (chor. William Forsythe, mus. David Morrow)
27' 52" (chor. Jirí Kylián, mus. Dirk Haubrich)
Bye (chor. Mats Ek, mus. Ludwig van Beethoven)

BRB, 29/2/2012

'Spring Passions'

Ravel : Daphnis and Chloë
Messager (arr. Lanchberry) : The Two Pigeons

Birmingham Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Koen Kessels

Metropolitan Opera (HD broadcast). 25/2/2012

Verdi : Ernani

Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Marco Armiliato

New Adventures, 22/2/2012

Tchaikovsky : The Nutcracker

New Adventures
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Brett Morris (pre-recorded soundtrack)

RCSSO, 17/2/2012

Falla : The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 1
Debussy : Première Rapsodie, for clarinet and orchestra (Fraser Langton)
Respighi : The Fountains of Rome
Falla : The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite No. 2
Respighi : The Pines of Rome

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Symphony Orchestra
Francesco Corti

SCO, 10/2/2012

Cherubini : Overture to Démophöon
Beethoven : Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" (Llyr Williams)
Beethoven : Symphony No. 3, "Eroica"

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Andrew Manze

BBCSSO, 2/2/2012

Debussy : La Mer
Debussy/Beamish : Suite for cello and orchestra (Steven Isserlis)
Ravel (arr. Tognetti) : Deux mélodies hébraïques (Steven Isserlis)
Ravel : Une barque sur l'océan
Ravel : Valses nobles et sentimentales
Ravel : La Valse

BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Donald Runnicles

RSNO, 28/1/2012

Debussy : Nocturnes
Prokofiev : Violin Concerto No. 1 (Hilary Hahn)
Roussel : Bacchus et Ariane

Ladies of the RSNO Chorus
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Stéphane Denève

SCO, 20/1/2012

Kodály : Dances of Galánta
Ligeti : Hamburg Concerto (Alec Frank-Gemmill, horn)
Dvorák : Symphony No. 5

Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Robin Ticciati