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 World of Opera with host Lisa Simeone brings listeners compelling performances from top American and international opera companies. World of Opera encompasses the seminal operas of centuries past as well as today's masterpieces.
World of Opera is a production of WDAV Classical Public Radio, a service of Davidson College.
World of Opera Site Lisa Simeone's bio
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May 25, 2013
GIACOMO MEYERBEER: Robert le Diable (Robert the Devil)
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Oren, conductor
CAST: Bryan Mymel (Robert); Patrizia Ciofi (Isabelle); John Relyea (Bertram); Marina Poplavskaya (Alice); Jean-Francois Borras (Raimbaut); Nicolas Courjal (Alberti)
This five-act extravaganza features everything from an orgy of evil spirits, to a chorus of defrocked nuns rising from their graves, to a deal with the devil which, for once, doesn't turn out all that badly. The work's Paris premiere, in 1831, instantly made Meyerbeer the most celebrated opera composer of the time.
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May 18, 2013
PHILIP GLASS: Kepler
Spoleto Festival USA Orchestra
Westminster Choir
John Kennedy, conductor
CAST: John Hancock (Kepler); Anne-Carolyn Bird, Leah Wool, Kathryn Krasovec, Gregory Schmidt, Dan Kempson, Matt Boehler (Scholars)
In an encore presentation, the American stage premiere of Philip Glass's dynamic new drama, rooted in the life and inspirational ideas of the 17-century mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler.
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May 11, 2013
RICHARD WAGNER: Das Rheingold
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus
Antonio Pappano, conductor
CAST: Bryn Terfel (Wotan); Wolfgang Koch (Alberich); Stig Anderson (Loge); Sarah Connolly (Fricka); Gerhard Siegel (Mime); Ann Petersen (Freia); Peter Coleman-Wright (Donner); Andrew Rees (Froh); Maria Radner (Erda); Iain Paterson (Fasolt); Eric Halfvarson (Fafner); Nadine Livingston (Woglinde); Kai Rüütel (Wellgunde); Harriet Williams (Flosshilde)
Das Rheingold gets Wagner's monumental Ring cycle off to a rousing start, in a quickly-paced drama introducing a fanciful world of vivid characters and world-shaping passions.
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May 4, 2013
JACQUES OFFENBACH: The Tales of Hoffman
Liceu Orchestra and Chorus
Stéphane Denève, conductor
CAST: Michael Spyres (Hoffmann); Kathleen Kim (Olympia); Natalie Dessay (Antonia); Tatiana Pavlovskaya (Giulietta); Susana Cordón (Stella); Laurent Naouri (Lindorf/Coppelius/Miracle/Dappertutto); Francisco Vas (Andrès/Cochenille/Frantz); Carlos Chausson (Crespel); Isaac Galán (Hermann/Schlémil); Alex Sanmarti (Luther); Airam Hernández (Nathanaël); Michèle Losier (Nicklausse/Muse); Manel Esteve (Spalanzani); Salomé Haller (Voice)
Laurent Naouri tackles the combined tour de force of Offenbach's four challenging baritone roles, while a full complement of brilliant sopranos brings a variety of vocal styles to the opera's colorful array of female characters.
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April 27, 2013
GIACOMO PUCCINI: Manon Lescaut
La Monnaie Orchestra and Chorus
Carlo Rizzi, conductor
CAST: Eva-Maria Westbroek (Manon Lescaut); Brandon Jovanovich (Chevalier des Grieux); Giovanni Furlanetto (Geronte); Aris Argiris (Lescaut); Julien Dran (Edmondo); Alexander Kravits (Dancing Master/Lamplighter)
There aren't many stories which have inspired more than one great opera. One of them is the tale of Manon, a beautiful young woman who falls victim to a combination of her own passions, and the men who both love and exploit her.
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April 20, 2013
GAETANO DONIZETTI: La Favorite
National Orchestra of France, Radio France Chorus
Paolo Arrivabeni, conductor
CAST: Alice Coote (Léonor de Guzman); Judith Gauthier (Inès); Marc Laho (Fernand); Ludovic Tézier (Alphonse XI); Carlo Colombara (Balthazar); Loic Felix (Don Gaspar)
International intrigue is the order of the day when a novice priest turns fearsome warrior, to win the hand of a king's mistress, in a drama that combines the pomp and elegance of French grand opera with the passionate intensity of Donizetti's Italian tragedies.
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April 13, 2013
ANTONIN DVORAK: Armida
National Moravian-Silesian Theatre Orchestra and Chorus
Robert Jindra, conductor
CAST: Dana Buresová (Armida); Tomás Cerný (Rinald); David Szendiuch (Petr); Martin Gurbal (King Hydraot); Ulf Paulsen (Ismen); Martin Bárta (Bohumir); Peter Svetlik (Dudo); Martin Srejma (Sven); Matej Chadima (Gernand); Ondrej Koplik (Roger); Roman Vlkovic (Ubald); Martin Stolba (Muezzin); Marianna Pillárova (Siren)
The fearsome yet sentimental sorceress Armida is a denizen of Tasso's epic poem Jerusalem Liberated. Her story has inspired operas by composers ranging from Lully and Gluck, to Haydn and Rossini, and this version by Dvorak is a true rarity.
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April 6, 2013
GIUSEPPE VERDI: I Vespri Siciliani
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus Gianandrea Noseda, conductor
CAST: Angela Meade (Elena); Gregory Kunde (Arrigo); Gabriele Viviani (Guido de Montforte); Ferruccio Furlanetto (Giovanni da Procida); Alexandru Moisiuc (Bethune); Alisa Kolosova (Ninette); Hans Peter Kammerer (Vaudemont); Marian Talaba (Danieli); Carlos Osuna (Tebaldo)
If you've ever wondered why some people think an opera's not over until all the characters are dead, this piece may be the reason. It has enough deadly plotting, and enough of Verdi's finest music, for several evenings in the opera house.
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March 30, 2013
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Nabucco
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Nicola Luisotti, conductor
CAST: Leo Nucci (Nabucco); Liudmyla Monastyrska (Abigaille); Veronica Simeoni (Fenena); Alexander Antonenko (Ismaele); Vitaly Kovalyov (Zaccaria); Tatyana Ryaguzova (Anna); Giuseppe Veneziano (Abdallo); Ernesto Panariello (High Priest of Baal)
Verdi's first hit opera comes to us in a 2013 production from the same, historic theater where its world premiere was staged in 1842. It's one of many Verdi operas in which his patriotic followers found a timely political agenda woven into an exotic, historical context, and its emotional chorus "Va Pensiero" became a sort of unofficial, Italian national anthem.
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March 23, 2013
AGOSTINO STEFFANI: Niobe
Boston Early Music Festival
Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra
Stephen Stubbs and Paul O'Dette, directors
CAST: Amanda Forsythe (Niobe); Philippe Jaroussky (Anfione); Keven D. Skelton (Clearte); Yulia Van Doren (Manto); Charles Robert Stephens (Teresia); Matthew White (Creonte); Jesse Blumberg (Poliferno); Jose Lemos (Nurse)
This rarely-heard gem is a splendid jumble of comedy, tragedy, mythology and politics. It's also one of the most accomplished operas of its time, employing a musical style that seems to bridge the artistic worlds of Monteverdi and Handel.
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March 16, 2013
VINCENZO BELLINI: Il Pirata
Liceu
Liceu Orchestra and Chorus
Antonino Fogliani
Cast: Mariella Devia (Imogene); Gregory Kunde (Gualtiero); Vladimir Stoyanov (Ernesto); Vicenc Esteve (Itulbo); Ferndando Radó (Goffredo); Elena Copons (Adele)
Regarded by many as the first truly Romantic Italian opera, Il Pirata was also Bellini's first indisputable hit, beginning a career that soon saw him threatening Rossini as Italy's most popular opera composer.
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March 9, 2013
MODESTE MOUSSORGSKI: Khovanshchina
Paris National Opera Orchestra,
Chorus, Children's Chorus
Michail Jurowski
CAST: Gleb Nikolsky (Ivan Khovansky), Larissa Diadkov (Marfa), Vladimir Galusin (Andrei Khovansky), Orlin Anastassov (Dosifei), Vsevolod Grivnov (Golitsin Sergei), Murzaev (Shaklovity), Marina Lapina (Susanna), Vadim Zaplechnyy (Scribe), Natalia Tymchanko (Emma).
During the Soviet era, Russian composers faced a vexing problem in trying to practice their art, and make a living, without running afoul of government cultural authorities. To solve it they sometimes looked to the movies, where directors often resolved similar difficulties by turning to a subject long favored by the country's opera composers: Russian history.
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March 2, 2013
GUISEPPE VERDI: La Traviata
Teatro San Carlo, Naples
Teatro San Carlo Orchestra and Chorus
Michele Mariotti, conductor
CAST: Carmen Giannattasio (Violetta); Saimir Pirgu (Alfredo); Vladimir Stoyanov (Giorgio Germont); Giuseppina Bridelli (Flora); Bernadette Lucarini (Annina)
2013's yearlong celebration of Verdi's 200th birthday continues with one of his most beloved operas, in a performance from the historic San Carlo in Naples, a theater dating to the mid 1700s.
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February 23, 2013
LEOS JANACEK: Janufa
Zurich Opera House
Zurich Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Fabio Luisi, conductor
CAST: Kristine Opolais (Jenufa); Christopher Ventris (Laca); Michaela Martens (Kostelnicka); Pavol Breslik (Steva Buryja); Ivana Rusko (Karolka); Hanna Schwarz (Grandmother Buryjovka); Cheyne Davidson (Starek); Lukas Jakovski (Mayor); Susanne Grossteiner (Jano)
Janacek was in his sixties, at an age when many are thinking of retirement, when the surprise success of Jenufa first brought him widespread fame. The opera is an undoubted masterpiece, telling a disturbing, yet strangely inspiring story of multiple betrayals, gruesome murder and ultimate, if unlikely, forgiveness.
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