Polish Film "The Hater" Uses Bach, Beethoven, Fauré, and Purcell

Dido's Lament: Ewa Majcherczyk is accompanied by string quartet in this 17th-century masterpiece

A new Polish film on Netflix directed by Jan Komasa, The Hater (Sala samobójców. Hejter), features classical music throughout. Selected pieces include  "Ach bleibe dich, mein liebstes Leben" from Ascension Oratorio (Bach); "Ode to Joy" from Symphony #9 (Beethoven); "Les berceaux" Fauré; and "When I Am Laid in Earth" from Dido and Aeneas (Purcell). This last selection is performed by soprano Ewa Majcherczyk in a scene that intersperses shots of the

Family Affair: Szymon Komasa

protagonist inside the theater against him working in the office. The significance of the music isn't lost on audiences as the characters in the opera mirror those in the movie with themes like betrayal, envy, jealousy, rejection, and abandonment. This is a sequel to Komasa's 2011 film Suicide Room (Sala samobójców) which also made use of classical music including works of Chopin, Gluck, Mozart, and Schubert. During the closing credits we also hear the director's brother, bass-baritone Szymon Komasa, singing "Lament Hansa" composed by Paweł Mykietyn. The track is featured on the singer's recording Polish Love Story. "An important movie, which exams Scio/Psychopathic behaviour in youth along with sides effects of social media presence in backdrops of political unrest in the world. This seems a lot to handle in one film, but Jan Komasa masterfully handled these subject matters. The film never felt overburden by the issues it tries to examine. Starring: Maciej Musiałowski, Agata Kulesza, Danuta Stenka, Vanessa Aleksander, Maciej Stuhr, Jacek Koman, Adam Gradowski, Piotr Biedroń, Martynika Kosnica"

Silent Obsession: Tomasz (Musiałowski) tries to seduce Gabi (Aleksander) at the disco

Read about the film, watch a video clip of Ewa Majcherczyk singing the Purcell piece, and view the trailer for The Hater after the jump.

Natalie Dessay Rejoins Philippe Cassard For "Fiançailles pour rire"

The Happy Couple: Natalie Dessay and Philippe Cassard
make a musical "marriage" made in heaven for Erato. 
Pre-order the disc by clicking here.

"For their second Warner Classics album of French song - a follow-up to the Debussy CD they released in 2011 - soprano Natalie Dessay and pianist Philippe Cassard have adopted the title of Francis Poulenc's song cycle Fiançailles pour rire (A betrothal for fun). Poulenc's compact, charming and touching cycle, composed in 1939 to poems by Louise de Vilmorin, is programmed with some of the best-loved mélodies in the repertoire, such as Fauré's 'Après un rêve', 'Mandoline', and 'En sourdine', Duparc's 'Invitation au voyage' and 'Au pays où se fait la guerre', and Chausson's 'Le temps des lilas' and 'Chanson perpetuelle'. In 2013, Natalie Dessay announced that she was leaving the opera stage, but since then her inimitable vocal and dramatic talents have been showcased in the music of Michel Legrand - in concerts of his songs (and the Warner Classics CD 'Entre elle et lui') and in a semi-staged version of Les parapluies de Cherbourg (available on a Warner Classics DVD) - and in further live recitals with Philippe Cassard....On this new disc she can also enjoy the company of some old friends: in Chausson's 'Chanson perpetuelle' she is joined by the Quatuor Ebène (who welcomed her as a guest artist on their best-selling Fiction album back in 2010) and by the bass-baritone Laurent Naouri - who is, as it happens, her husband. Naouri also duets with her on the final track of the album, Poulenc's haunting 'Colloque', a setting of words by Paul Valéry. 'There can be no doubt as to Natalie Dessay's intelligence as an interpreter and her finesse as a musician,' wrote the French magazine Diapason when the Debussy album was released, also praising Philippe Cassard for playing that was 'warm and eloquent, and not prone to the

Single Lady: Dessay last month in a monologue of Howard Barker
 directed by Jacques Vincey with sets by Mathieu Lorry-Dupuy.
 She will reprise the character at the Festival Paris Quartier
d'été starting July 21, 2015.

mistiness of would-be Impressionism or to outbursts of sentiment.' 'Dessay has a real relationship with Cassard,' wrote the American magazine Opera News, 'He is the rare pianist, in Debussy's songs or in his piano music, who understands that Debussy wrote genuine contrapuntal lines that are not meant to be negated by washes of pedal.' The magic of the Dessay-Cassard partnership was captured by The Telegraph after they gave a recital at Wigmore Hall in London in 2012: 'The second half began with Chabrier's hesitantly beautiful 'Chanson pour Jeanne' [also on the new CD] and Chausson's rapturous 'Le temps de lilas'. But the highlight was Dessay's veiled and shimmering account of Duparc's masterpiece 'L'Invitation au voyage', in which her vision of Baudelaire's 'luxe, calme et volupté' dissolved into the deep velvet cushioning of Philippe Cassard's wonderfully soft-textured pianism ... Like Shakespeare's Cleopatra, Dessay makes hungry where most she satisfies. Her singing never moves straight forward; it avoids the obvious, the clear-cut, it treats words as if they were paint. And in her throat, these mélodies remain a mystery, a realm in which shadow counts for more than light.'" [Source, Source] The complete track list is after the jump.

Patricia Petibon Gets Eccentric In A Very French Way For DG

"With this new record, soprano Patricia Petibon makes a welcome return to French repertoire on disc, exploring the fascinating world of French art song in this extraordinary new album, titled La Belle Excentrique. The record features all-time favourites by Satie, Fauré, Poulenc, Reynaldo Hahn, Manuel Rosenthal, but also popular hits by Léo Ferré. This selection takes the listener on an exciting journey of discovery: from the decadence of the cabarets of turn-of-the-century Paris to the melancholy of the 60s, from the eccentricity of the fin-de-siècle to modern-day spleen. This original program is a collection of often humorous and eccentric songs with a deeper subtext. Petibon is joined on this occasion by her accompanist and partner of many years,

Purchase your copy of the new disc, set to be
released September 26, by clicking here.

the superb pianist Susan Manoff, and a number of high-profile guests stemming from diverse musical backgrounds and influences, including star violinist Nemanja Radulovic and actor Olivier Py. This is a wonderful new release from one of DG’s key vocalists. Featuring music of exceptional variety and contrast, it showcases Petibon’s versatility and multi-faceted artistry in an intimate setting as never before, while paying homage to the great tradition of French mélodie and chanson." [Source] Watch the EPK video for the album, complete track list, and audio samples after the jump. (Photos: Inge Prader/DG)

All In The Family: Diana Montague & David Rendall Produce Heir

Portrait of Huw Montague Rendall
 by Walter van Dyk

Sometimes in the opera world, celestial singers come together to create some formidable offspring. Such is the case with mezzo-soprano Diana Montague and tenor David Rendall. The English couple made Brockenhurst, Hampshire, their home and produced four children: Mimi, Ed, Nell, and Huw. It is impossible to not have talent on some level when growing up in a house surrounded by music. Witness the jazzy vocals of daughter Nell by clicking here. But it can be expected with such dramatic vocalists for parents, one of the children would venture into the world of opera. Such is the particular case of Huw Montague Rendall. He attended the Ballard School in New Milton, Hampshire, where he graduated in 2010. He went on to study at Brockenhurst College where he received a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts. Currently living in London, he is attending the

The Montague-Rendall clan with the
matriarch: Ed, Mimi, Diana, Nell, and 
Huw (Photo: Facebook)

Royal College of Music where he is studying as a baritone and will graduate in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music degree. Thanks to YouTube, we are able to witness his budding talent. Below are videos featuring Huw singing "Questo amor, vergogna mia" from Edgar by Puccini, "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma by Rodgers & Hammerstein, "Ombra mai fu" from Xerxes by Händel, "Les Berceaux" by Fauré, and "Se Vuol Ballare" from Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart:

The name Huw is of Welsh
origin and means "heart,
mind and spirit"
(Photo: Facebook)

Other than a brief work stint at Tesco, a multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the UK, Huw's only other venture outside the classical music realm has been performing with the band Shrunk In The Wash. He has been lead singer since 2004. The band plays jazz and rock, among other favorites, for various functions. You can see the band in action by clicking here and listen to an amazing rendition of "It Ain't Necessarily So" below:

(Photo: Twitter)

Best of luck to Huw Montague Rendall on his future in music and we will be sure to feature him more often when he reaches the stages of the world's leading opera houses. Be sure to visit his Facebook page and his Twitter page to keep abreast of current engagements. You can read more about Diana Montague and David Rendall after the jump. [Source]