Kiri Te Kanawa Celebrates Over 50 Years Of Recording

"New Zealand soprano comes up with a staid celebration of 50 years in the recording studio. Te Kanawa's creamy lyric soprano was not made to evoke the malevolent sea monsters of Te Taniwha. Max Cryer's liner notes for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's Waiata make an engaging read. He provides another succinct introduction to the thorny issue of "Maori song" (as he did for Te Kanawa's 1999 Maori Songs) followed by notes on individual tracks. This is a celebration of the soprano's half-century recording career, enlisting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the University of Auckland Chamber Choir, in arrangements by Carl (Piano by Candlelight) Doy. In time for Christmas, Waiata is an unabashed stocking-stuffer, offering minimal rewards for those with a respect for the achievements of this singer. Beside it, her earlier Maori Songs CD, which occasioned a few giggles and squirms in its time, takes on classic status. It had stronger songs and Te Kanawa's voice was 14 years younger. Its ethnic trimmings of kapa haka groups (including Mahinarangi Tocker and George Henare) and a wash of taonga puoro now seem positively piquant. Waiata is a staid affair. Doy's arrangements have fleeting moments of inspiration, with a few impressive Mantovani string clusters, but tinkling piano and churning rhythmic ostinati try the patience, along with overlooked production glitches."[Source] In addition to the new release of Waiata by Sony (set globally for March 2014), other labels such as Warner Classics (featuring former EMI Classics material) and Decca (featuring former Philips Classics material) are reissuing box-sets of their own to commemorate the occasion. Check out the beautiful editions after the jump. 

Simon Estes Gives Gratitude To God For His Vocal Gifts

A 1990 recording from Philips Classics
featuring the bass-baritone giving praise.

"Estes gives full credit to God for his voice and success. His mother and an older sister also had incredible voices. His sister played piano and the family listened to classical music when he was a child.... 'We have very special gifts and talents from God,' Estes says of himself and his fellow opera singers. The ability to project their voices, and fill large opera houses, without the assistance of microphones, requires "very special vocal cords.' Estes said he cares for his vocal cords by avoiding alcohol, tobacco, drugs and by thanking God every day for his gifts. 'I really give the Lord credit,' Estes said....Throughout his illustrious career, Estes has performed for kings and queens, presidents and other world leaders. Three years ago, Estes was asked to perform during the grand finale concert of the World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa. He was called there to perform, Estes said, and while in Africa, God had another mission for him. It was while he was in South Africa that Estes learned that one million children in Africa die of malaria each year. Of all of the deaths from malaria in the world, 90 percent occur in Africa. Every 30 seconds, someone dies. In most cases, the disease is contracted through mosquito bites. 'It's been heavy on my heart for quite some time,' Estes said. He has set a goal, with his foundation, to purchase one million mosquito nets to save African children. He is receiving assistance from the United Nations Foundation." [Source] Watch a video profile of Mr. Estes after the jump.

The Art of Christiane Eda-Pierre Finally Gets Its Day on Decca

Nearly 2 years ago, a post was developed in the "From the Vault" series on Opera Fresh complaining about the lack of releases from soprano Christiane Eda-Pierre's discography. Well, at long last the public will be able to savor this wonderful artist's catalog drawn from Philips Classics recordings that will be issued now on the Decca label for a launch date of May 27, 2013. Pre-order by clicking here.

The Collaborations of Sir Colin Davis and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa

Sir Colin Davis (September 25, 1927 – April 14, 2013) made innumerable contributions to the opera world, but it was one singer in particular with whom he shared quite a number of recordings after first working together on Le Nozze di Figaro: Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Their catalog includes complete recordings of Don Giovanni and Faust, recital discs of Mozart opera arias (Il re pastore, Zaide, La finta giardiniera, etc.) and sacred arias (Vesperae solennes de confessore; "Exsultate, jubilate" K. 165). Here are some samples of their work together:

"Laudate dominum"

"Ruhe sanft, mein holdes leben"

"Exsultate, jubilate"

"Or sai chi l'onore

For more about the conductor's involvement with opera in England, check out the The Telegraph's brief story here.

From the Vault: Christiane Eda-Pierre 18th Century French Arias

Soprano Christiane Eda-Pierre is a French lyric soprano of Martiniquan origin. Her limited discography includes Dardanus (Rameau) and Le Roi David (Honegger) on Erato, Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart), Benvenuto Cellini (Berlioz), Béatrice et Bénédict (Berlioz), Missa Solemnis (Beethoven) and Mass in C minor (Beethoven) for Philips, as well as Les Illuminations (Britten) on the Arion label and Pour un Monde Noir (Chaynes) for Caliope. But perhaps her greatest recorded legacy is an LP titled Airs d’opéras-comiques with The Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields under the direction of Neville Marriner in 1979 for Philips. The tracks include arias from comic opera of André Grétry and François-André Danican Philidor. Although this recital would have been a perfect fit for Universal's "Classic Recital" series, no re-issue on CD or MP3 is available. But thanks to the generosity of YouTube user PopoliDiTessalia, you can sample the tracks below:

1. "Comme un éclair, la flatteuse espérance" La Fausse magie (Grétry)


2. "Tout dormait" Mélide ou le Navigateur (Philidor)


3. "Éprise d’un feu téméraire" Anacréon chez Polycrate (Grétry)


4. "Je crains de lui parler la nuit" Richard Cœur-de-Lion (Grétry)


5. "O ciel!...Quel espoir est pour moi?" La Belle esclave (Philidor)


6. "Plus d’ennemis dans mon empire" Céphale & Procris (Grétry)


7. "De la coquette volage" Les Femmes vengées (Philidor)


8. "Je ne le dis qu’à vous" La Fausse magie (Grétry)


9. "Ô toi qui ne peux m’entendre" Tom Jones (Philidor)