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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 12, 2012
G.F. Handel: Teseo
Göttingen International Handel Festival
Göttingen Festival Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
CAST: Susanne Rydén (Teseo); Amy Freston (Agilea); Dominique Labelle (Medea); Drew Minter (Egeo); Céline Ricci (Clizia); Robin Blaze (Arcane); Johanna Ness (Minerva)
With Teseo, Handel ventured into the world of operatic special effects, in a drama filled with magical transformations and supernatural interventions, all reinforced by one of the composer's most vibrant scores.
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May 5, 2012
RICHARD WAGNER: Das Rheingold
Bavarian State Opera, Munich
Bavarian State Opera Orchestra
Kent Nagano, conductor
CAST: Johan Reuter (Wotan); Stefan Margita (Loge); Johannes Martin Kränzle (Alberich); Sophie Koch (Fricka); Aga Mikolaj (Freia); Ulrich Ress (Mime); Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Erda); Levente Molnár (Donner); Thomas Blondelle (Froh); Thorsten Grümbel (Fasolt); Philliip Ens (Fafner); Eri Nakamura (Woglinde); Angela Brower (Wellgunde); Okka von der Damerau (Flosshilde)
Das Rheingold, the Prologue to Wagner's immense Ring Cycle, is 2-plus hours of nonstop drama, with more action than a summertime movie blockbuster and special effects galore. It comes to us from Munich, in a production featuring the acclaimed Danish baritone Johan Reuter as Wotan and led by conductor Nagano.
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April 28, 2012
C.W. GLUCK: Iphigenia in Tauris
Canadian Opera Company, Toronto
Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus
Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor
CAST: Susan Graham (Iphigenia); Russell Braun (Orestes); Joseph Kaiser (Pylades); Mark S. Doss (Thoas, King of Scythia); Lauren Segal (Diana)
Gluck's second "Iphegenia opera" was the last in his string of hits in Paris. It's also among the finest, most purely expressive of all his operas, heard here with a powerful and moving performance by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in the title role.
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April 21, 2012
GUISEPPE VERDI: Otello
Vienna State Opera
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Dan Ettinger, conductor
CAST: Peter Seiffert (Otello); Krassimira Stoyanova (Desdemona); Franco Vassallo (Iago); Marian Talaba (Cassio); Peter Jelosits (Roderigo)
Leave it to Verdi to take a classic tragedy by Shakespeare and, if anything, make it even more powerful and heartrending. Otello, Iago and Desdemona, three of literature's most complex and compelling characters, come to life in what many consider Verdi's most moving opera.
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April 14, 2012
GIACHINO ROSSINI: The Barber of Seville
Grand Theatre of Geneva
Grand Theatre Orchestra and Chorus
Alberto Zedda, conductor
CAST: Silvia Tro Santafé (Rosina); Juan Francisco Gatelli (Almaviva); Tassis Christoyannis (Figaro); Alberto Rinaldi (Bartolo); Burak Bilgili (Basilio); Nicolas Carré (Fiorillo); Bénédicte Tauran (Berta)
There may be no such thing as artistic perfection, but with The Barber of Seville Rossini surely came as close as anyone to creating a flawless operatic comedy. It's one of the most popular operas in history, heard here in a gleaming production from Geneva.
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April 7, 2012
JULES MASSENET: Manon
Bastille Opera, Paris
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Evelino Pidò, conductor
CAST: Natalie Dessay (Manon); Giuseppe Filianoti (Chevalier des Grieux); Franck Ferrari (Lescaut); Paul Gay (Comte des Grieux); Luca Lombardo (Morfontaine); André Heyboer (de Brétigny)
Jules Massenet wrote several stylish, witty and genuinely beautiful operas, but it was Manon that put him "on the map." It's one of two operatic versions of the tragic legend of Manon Lescaut. While Puccini's take on the story may be more sensational, Massenet's opera has left its mark as a brilliant combination of musical elegance and emotional power.
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March 31, 2012
JOSEPH HAYDN: Orlanda Palatino
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra
CAST: Stéphane Degout (Orlando); Sine Bundgaard (Angelica); Magnus Staveland (Medoro); Pietro Spagnoli (Rodomonte); Sunhae Im (Eurilla); Victor Torres (Pasquale); Alexandrina Pendachanska (Alcina); Arttu Kataja (Licone/Caronte)
Of all Haydn's operas, this was the most popular in his lifetime, and arguably his best -- described as "a comedy of errors in which most of the characters are in love with the wrong partner." Orlando, literally crazy for love, searches for Medoro and Angelica, while Rodomonte tries to murder him, and the witch Alcina targets him with fiendish hexes.
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March 24, 2012
GUISEPPE VERDI: La Forza Del Destino
Bastille Opera, Paris
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Phillipe Jordan, conductor
CAST: Violeta Urmana (Leonora); Marcelo Alvarez (Alvaro); Vladimir Stoyanov (Don Carlo di Vargas); Mario Luperi (Marquis of Calatrava); Nadia Krasteva (Preziosilla); Nicola Alaimo (Fra Melitone); Rodolphe Briand (Trabuco); Nona Javakhidze (Curra)
The last of this quarter's trio of shows from the great opera houses of Paris, this production of Verdi's relentless drama of politics, passion and revenge boasts a top-notch, international cast.
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March 17, 2012
GIACOMO PUCCINI: La Boheme
Maggio Musicale
Florence Maggio Musicale Orchestra and Chorus
Zubin Mehta, conductor
CAST: Gianluca Terranova (Rodolfo); Carmela Remigio (Mimi); Alessandra Marianelli (Musetta); Stefano Antonucci (Marcello); Simone del Savio (Schaunard); Marco Vinco (Colline); Andrea Cortece (Alcindoro)
Puccini's love-stoked tearjerker may end tragically, but the opera's multiple levels of passion and sentiment still make for a great "date night." And, as the perfect remedy for any tottering romance, La Boheme is also among the most popular operas ever composed.
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March 10, 2012
W. A. MOZART: Don Giovanni
La Scala, Milan
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
CAST: Peter Mattei (Don Giovanni); Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna); Barbara Frittoli (Donna Elvira); Bryn Terfel (Leporello); Giuseppe Filianoti (Don Ottavio); Anna Prohaska (Zerlina); Stefan Kocan (Masetto); Kwangchul Youn (Commendatore)
If ever a story fell right into a composer's wheelhouse, this would be the one. It's hard to imagine a more complex weave of antic comedy, shocking violence and emotional betrayals than Lorenzo da Ponte's incisive adaptation of the Don Juan legend -- or a composer better equipped to handle it than Mozart.
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March 3, 2012
Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmilla
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and Chorus
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
CAST: Albina Shagimuratova (Lyudmilla); Mikhail Petrenko (Ruslan); Vladimir Ognovenko (Svetozar); Yuri Minenko (Ratmir); Almas Shvilpa (Farlaf); Alexandrina Pendachanska (Gorislava); Charles Workman (Finn/Bayan); Elena Zaremba (Naina)
Glinka's opera has a famously rollicking overture -- and the rest of the opera keeps the action going strong. Based on a poem by Pushkin, it might be called an "epic frolic" -- a lush but lighthearted romp, through a world of fantastic adventures and fairytale love, heard here from Moscow's historic Bolshoi.
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February 25, 2012
Gioachino Rossini: La Cenerentola
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Bruno Campanella, conductor
CAST: Karine Deshayes (Cenerentola); Javier Camarena (Don Ramiro); Riccardo Novaro (Dandini); Carlos Chausson (Don Magnifico); Alex Esposito (Alidoro); Jeannette Fischer (Clorinda); Anna Wall (Tisbe)
Based on the fairytale favorite "Cinderella" La Cenerentola is one of Rossini's most delicate and delightful comedies. But in this version of the story, it's not magic slippers and fairy godmothers that carry the day, but rather the strength of love and the resiliency of the human spirit.
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February 18, 2012
Leos Janacek: The Makropulos Affair
Maggio Musicale, Florence
Maggio Musicale Orchestra and Chorus
Zubin Mehta, conductor
CAST: Angela Denoke (Emilia Marty); Miro Dvorsky (Albert Gregor); Karl Michael Ebner (Count Hauk-Sendorf); Rolf Haunstein (Dr. Kolenaty); Andrezej Dobber (Baron Jaroslav Prus); Mirko Guadagnini (Janek); Jan Vacik (Vitek); Jolana Fogasova (Kristina); Roberto Abbondanza (Strojnik); Stefanie Iranyi (Poklizecka)
A complex and fascinating drama told in the compelling musical and dramatic idiom that's unique to Janacek's operas. The Makropulos Affair is the mysterious story of a miraculously ageless diva who seems to have found a formula for immortality, only to be confronted by the sudden reality of death.
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February 11, 2012
Guiseppe Verdi: Oberto
Champs-Elysées Theatre, Paris
National Orchestra of France, Radio France Chorus
Carlo Rizzi, conductor
CAST: Michele Pertusi (Oberto); Maria Guleghina (Leonora); Ekaterina Gubanova (Cuniza); Sophie Pondjiclis (Imelda); Vater Borin (Riccardo)
Oberto was Verdi's first opera, and the young composer picked an intimidating a venue for his first world premiere: Milan's La Scala. The opera's high-octane story involves an illicit romance that leaves the title character dead, the lead tenor's character in exile, and his girlfriend headed for a cloister.
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