Alexa Goes For Hell's Revenge In New Commercial From Amazon

Alexa, Amazon's virtual assistant that uses artificial intelligence technology, is activated by voice interaction to control music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news. In their latest television commercial, they tap one of Mozart's most famous arias from Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) sung by the Königin der Nacht (Queen of the Night): "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen." Known as the "Vengeance Aria," it is wickedly high and hard to sing. The promo is pushing customers to create playlists with Summer Vibes. The client trying to relax interrupts the performance to request "something more fun" which quickly transforms the scene to Donna Summer singing "I Feel Love." Watch the full Amazon commercial, a performance of Edda Moser singing the complete aria, a video of Donna Summer, and check out the lyrics with translations for the aria after the jump. [Source, Source]

Natalie Dessay Claims No Opera Roles Left For Her To Sing Onstage

Dynamic Duo: Dessay (left) with recital and recording partner
Philippe Cassard in a photo from their most recent release.

"French soprano Natalie Dessay gave a recent recital in London that one critic called 'sublime' and her latest CD of French art songs has been well received, but she says her fans will never see her again on the opera stage that made her famous. Dessay, the petite gamine of the French opera world, soared to fame as the mechanical doll Olympia in Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann and scared the living daylights out of her male counterparts as the mad, knife-wielding Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. But at age 50, she says the opera is no longer for her. 'I have no roles anymore, I've done everything I could do and I don't want to repeat myself over and over,' Dessay told Reuters in an interview at London's Barbican....With opera behind her, Dessay is alternating song recitals, with piano accompanist Philippe Cassard, and tours with the French pop song and film composer Michel Legrand, but her real passion is for live theater. She recently starred in a French revival of the British playwright Howard Barker's dark, one-woman play Und, about a Jewish woman whose guest is overdue for tea, and who will not accept that the reason her house comes under a series of escalating malicious attacks is because the visitor is a German camp officer. She is looking for more such roles, but in the meantime she hopes her opera audiences will look out for her in the different venues where she will still be performing. 'It turns all the time around the same thing,' she said. 'How to make people travel with me, how to tell them stories in different ways.'" [Source]

Ljuba Kazarnovskaya Gets Blacklisted By Azerbaijan Foreign Minister

"'Lyubov [sic] Kazarnovskaya has violated Azerbaijan’s law on 'State border' and illegally visited our country’s territories occupied by Armenia,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told APA-Economics while commenting on illegal visit of Russian opera-singer Lyubov Kzarnovskaya to Azerbaijan’s occupied territories. According to him, this person will be added into the list of “undesired persons” as a result of relevant investigation: 'Kazarnovskaya’s speeches in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories promote Armenia’s aggression and occupation against Azerbaijan, bloody ethnic cleansing committed against Azerbaijanis in the occupied territories and Armenia, while the art figures should serve peace and truce. Speaking about establishment of Music Center in the occupied territories, Kazarnovskaya must know that as a result of aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan and barbarism committed in the occupied territories, Azerbaijani people’s material and cultural heritage, as well as Karabakh music school underwent destruction and devastation.'" [Source] Read more about the soprano, watch a performance and interview, after the jump.

British Coloratura Finds A Home At Prague State Opera House

"Opera singer Christina Johnston says she would love to be based in her home country but there is simply much more opportunity in Prague. 'Prague has a lot more cultural enthusiasm for opera than England,' she told the Prague Post. 'In England you have this stereotype it’s for people who have money, and here it is young people, old people, no matter where they are from,' she said, adding that London with a population of more than 8 million has two opera houses, while Prague with a population of 1.25 million has three opera houses. 'The whole culture is a little more available,' she said. Her favorite venue in Prague is the State Opera. 'As a little girl it is what I dreamed an opera house would look like,' she said. She also finds the atmosphere in Prague less competitive. 'So many wonderful opera singers here are so wonderful and so down to earth, really the opposite of [the stereotype]. It has always been a pleasure to work with people in the Czech Republic It has always been a team effort,' she said. 'In England I think there is a lot more competition.' She also said she is probably treated a bit better since she is a foreigner here. 'I feel very lucky to come here and be accepted by these people,’ she added. Between July and August, she will be appearing in a production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Estates Theater. This is a different one than is put on in the regular season. 'We are doing it the way Mozart did it,' she said, adding that this production is intended to be a re-creation of the premiere in Prague in 1787 at the same theater where Mozart conducted it." [Source] Read more of the article here and watch a performance of Christina Johnston singing, after the jump.

French Opera Singer Ève Brenner's Son Is Making It Big In Hollywood

Gilles Paquet-Brenner directs actress Charlize Theron in Dark Places (2014).

Gilles Paquet-Brenner born September 14, 1974, in Paris, is a director and screenwriter. He is the son of opera singer Ève Brenner. Gilles Paquet-Brenner was fascinated by film from an early age. He made ​​his directing debut with the short film 13 minutes 13 dans la vie Josh et Anna (1998). He continued two years later with La Marquise, with Patrick Bruel, Marion Cotillard and Stomy Bugsy. He made his mark in 2001 with his first feature film Les Jolies Choses (with Marion Cotillard , Patrick Bruel, Titoff, Ophélie Winter, and Stomy Bugsy) which won an award at the Deauville festival. In 2003, he directed the police comedy hit Gomez et Tavarès, in which we find Stomy Bugsy, Titoff - both already employed by the director for Les Jolies Choses - and Jean Yanne. In 2007, two of his films are released a few months apart: U.V. with Laura Smet and Jacques Dutronc and Gomez vs Tavarès, always with Titoff and Stomy Bugsy. In 2009, he signed his first American film, Walled In, with Pascal Greggory and Deborah Kara Unger. This low-budget horror film came out on DVD in Mexico and the United States, but remains unreleased in France. In 2010, Elle s'appelait Sarah, with Kristin Scott-Thomas and Mélusine Mayance, was acclaimed by critics worldwide. The film was also featured in several prestigious festivals such as the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival film. Kristin Scott Thomas received the César Award for Best Actress. The film received the Audience Award and Best Director at International Film Festival in Tokyo. He wrote and directed the thriller Dark Places, based on the novel Les Lieux sombres by Gillian Flynn . Chloë Moretz, Tye Sheridan and Charlize Theron appear in the 2014 film. [Source] Here is a video of his mother performing "Le matin sur la rivière" on television in 1976. Watch more Ève Brenner videos, and read some of her biography, after the jump.

Filmmaker Casey Neistat Vlog Gets Operatic Opening From Soprano

Thanks to a diva neighbor, Casey Neistat captures some soaring high notes flying around his Tribeca neighborhood office for the opening of his most recent vlog posting on YouTube. Think you can identify the soprano? Watch the video (titled "The Day I Almost Died"), and see a couple of the most famous commercials (Nike, Mercedes Benz, J Crew) Mr. Neistat has directed, after the jump. Keep up with the rest of his vlog videos by clicking here. 

Ninfa Gianfala, Former Metropolitan Opera Young Arist, Releases CD

Ninfa Gianfala, far right, after winning first place in the 1962 
Gulf Coast regional auditions of the Metropolitan Opera.

"The ghostlike image of the little girl from Magazine Street hovers in the background, but she’s not an apparition. 'That’s me,' Ninfa Gianfala says, pointing to the image. 'I was the little girl from Magazine Street.' Inside, she’s still that little girl, the one who loved to perform, the one who was teaching neighborhood kids to sing at age 9, the youngest person ever to become a member of the New Orleans Opera Chorus. The one who has put together a retrospective CD chronicling her career in opera and concerts, titled — what else?— The Little Girl from Magazine Street. The CD comes in a two-disc set and is available on iTunes and at Amazon CDBaby.com. The cover features a photograph of Gianfala from her performance days in the foreground, the ghostlike photo of her as a child in the background. Now she sits at the dining room table in the Baton Rouge home she shares with husband, Daniel Caruso, to tell her story. It was Caruso, along with the couple’s daughter, Lori, who encouraged Gianfala to compile the CD of the music that had taken her from the New Orleans Opera to New York for the Juilliard School for the Performing

Click here to purchase the album

Arts, then to LSU for her master’s degree. Eventually, she opened the Mexican restaurant El Palacio with her husband. Critic Rex Reed used to frequent the restaurant when visiting his ailing father. Gianfala never met him, but he knew about her musical background. And he remembered her upon receiving a copy of the CD, opening his review with, 'Nina Gianfala may not be a household name, but that is just an accident of fate. She deserves to be widely known because her talents are varied and many.' Reed points out that Gianfala is equally at home singing opera and Broadway show tunes. What he doesn’t discuss — and perhaps didn’t know when writing the review — is that she also is a composer, having written a Christmas opera titled 'Malachi.' Gianfala teaches voice lessons, her students ranging from age 5 to 70-something. It’s a job she’s loved since her childhood at 3915 Magazine Street." [Source]

When Sopranos Inspire Young Singers Like Catriona Murray

Brunette Ambition: Catriona Murray is on the rise
(Photo: Snooty Fox Images)

In a new interview, young soprano Catriona Murray talks about those she looks up to:

Who, in the contemporary market, do you look to for inspiration?
I think that Angela Gheorghui is gorgeous and amazing. Barbara Bonney, Felicity Lott, Yvonne Kenny, Lesley Garrett - too many, I think each has inspired me in some way at some stage having listened to their recordings and interpretations of the songs I've been trying to sing myself! Katherine Jenkins is stunning - love her style but she's totally opposite to me... I'm a brunette! Ha!

She also discusses her decision not to take the reality singing competition route; why she loves her gay friends; what her ideal recording would be comprised; thoughts on what would make opera appeal to the mainstream; and what inspired her to pursue opera. [Source] Hear Catriona Murray sing "Vissi, d'arte" after the jump.

Chinese Soprano Song Zuying Promoted To Leadership Position

"Song Zuying, the most famous soprano in China, was promoted to become the new leader of the Song and Dance Troupe of China's Naval Political Department in early August for her outstanding performance serving as the deputy leader of the troupe....In recent years, Song has visited Europe, Australia, United States, Canada and Southeast Asia as part of Chinese art delegations. During the World Cup held in South Korea in 2002, Song was invited to represent China in a large -scale vocal concert. In December 2002, as the cultural ambassador for the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Australia, she held a concert in Sydney. In November 2003, she held a concert in the Golden Hall in Vienna. In 2006, her album The Diva Goes to the Movies: A Centennial Celebration of Chinese Film Song was nominated for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Classical Crossover Album. Song also performed a duet with tenor Plácido Domingo at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing. She also performs regularly on the Chinese Spring Festival Gala. In 2009, in addition to her own song, she sang a duet with Jay Chou. On May 1, 2010, the day following the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Expo 2010, Song joined tenor Andrea Bocelli, singer Jay Chou, and concert pianist Lang Lang in a concert titled Charming China at Shanghai Stadium, in front of an audience of 80,000 people. On June 5, 2012, Song once again performed with Bocelli, Yu Long and Lang Lang in the East Meets West concert at London's Royal Albert Hall. On February 9, 2013, Chinese New Year's Eve, Song Zuying sang the traditional Chinese song Jasmine Flower as a duet with Canadian pop star Celine Dion at the CCTV New Year's Gala." [Source] Watch performances of the soprano after the jump.

Double Lung Transplant Doesn't Stop Soprano From Singing

Read more about Charity Tillemann-Dick by clicking here.

Introducing Young Argentinian Coloratura Soprano Mercedes Arcuri

"Villanelle" (Dell'Acqua)

Born 1979 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, soprano Mercedes Arcuri began her vocal studies at age 15 with Inés Dupen and later worked with Horacio Amauri. She continued her musical training by studying conducting at the Universidad Católica Argentina and went on to study voice at the Instituto superior de arte del Teatro Colón. In Argentina she has sung on the most important stages of theaters such as Salon Dorado del Teatro Colón, Teatro Avenida, and Teatro San Martin, among others. She took part in several master classes with in several of Monique Zanetti’s master classes dedicated to French Baroque repertoire. In 2003, she

"Oh! Had I Jubal's Lyre" - Joshua (Händel)

moved to Madrid, Spain, where she participated in several master classes with Teresa Berganza, José Van Dam, Robin Bowman, Jean-Pierre Blivet, Ana Luisa Chova, and Ruben Fernandez Aguirre. In Spain, she performed at the Teatro Real in Tardes con Donizetti (2004) and Rossiniana alta en calorias (2007, 2009), both written and conducted by Enrique Viana. She has performed in Don Pasquale by Donizetti at El Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid), Cosí fan tutte by Mozart at the Teatro Principal (Castellón de la Plana), Marina by Emilio Arrieta at the Teatro Colón (La Coruña) and at the Festival Nacional de Zarzuela (Arnedo), La Infanta de los bucles de oro by José Serrano at the Palau de la música (Valencia), Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro Cervantes (Málaga), and more from Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Euskalduna Theatre (Bilbao). At the Auditorio Nacional of Madrid, she sang soprano soloist in Orff’s

"Durch Zärtlichkeit und Schmeicheln"
Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart)

Carmina Burana with the Orfeon Donostiarra Chorus, participated at the Spanish première of The Magic Opal by Isaac Albeniz, sang in a concert organized by the Teatro Real in Madrid for European Opera Day and was soloist at the Opera and Zarzuela Gala 2009 in Spain with the Orquesta de Radiotelevisón Española conducted by Adrian Leaper. She has been a finalist in many singing competitions such as Luis Mariano (2007), Concours de Chant de Marmande (2008), won the 2nd prize in the International Singing Contest of Logroño in Spain, was awarded with two scholarships offered by Maestro Dalton Baldwin on the Francisco Viñas’ Competition (2008) and the 3rd Price on the International Singing Competiton in Zamora, Spain. In 2008 she won a Scholarship from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares for a workshop in stage performance for opera singers with Gian Carlo del Monaco where she performed the "Mad Scene" from Lucia di Lammermoor. Her operatic repertoire includes

"Eccomi in lieta vesta"
I Capuletti e i Montecchi (Bellini)

Marie (La Fille du Régiment), Amore (Paride ed Elena), Madame Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor), Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Gilda (Rigoletto), as well as many sacred works such as Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’ Messe de Noël, Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and more. Her interest in baroque music led to performances with La Capilla Real de Madrid, conducted by Oscar Gershenshon, whom she has performed Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, Charpentier`s Messe de Minuit, Händel´s Foundling Hospital Anthem at the Palau de la música (Barcelona) and a South American Tour in 2007 organized by the Mozarteum foundation (Brasil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay). She performed with Sphera AntiQva, conducted by Javier Illán and Pablo Gutierrez, whom she toured with in April 2010 for the Festival de las Misiones de Chiquitos in Bolivia. She has given many recitals dedicated to bel canto repertoire at the Auditorio Conde Duque with

"Prendi per me sei libero"
L'Elisir d'Amore (Donizetti)

pianist Manuel Burgueras and has given concerts dedicated mainly to the French chamber music repertoire with pianist Laurence Verna. The soprano's 2011-12 season included her debut in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel) with Teatro del Canal in Madrid and Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao, a co-production with the Atelyer Lyrique de L’opera de Paris and Teatro Liceu de Barcelona, conducted by Didier Puntos and Jean Liermier. She sang Gilda in Rigoletto with Théâtre Roger Barat d’Herbay in Paris under the baton of Jean-Luc Tingaud, Gerhilde in Die Walküre at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville with La Fura dels Baus conducted by Pedro Halffter. Her upcoming appearances will

"Wir beten zu dem Tempel an...
Höchster, mache deine Güte" 
Cantata BWV 51 (J.S. Bach)
[seen above with baritone Manuel Gorka]

include her debut at London's Händel Festival in Delirio Amoroso with The International Baroque Players conducted by Johannes Pramsholer, Ravel's L’enfant et les sortilèges and Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Opera de Lyon with Martyn Brabbins as a conductor and Grzegorz Jarzyna as stage director, and her debut at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence also with L’enfant et les sortilèges [a production that will be done in many music festivals around Europe including Les Jardin Musicaux in Cernier, Switzerland, and a European tour in 2013]. She will also appear in recitals around Spain accompanied by Maestro Borja Mariño. The 2012-2013 season will include her debut at the Wexford Opera Festival, as Minka in Le roi malgré lui by Chabrier, under the baton of Jean-Luc-Tingaud and stage conductor Thaddeus Strassberger.
[Source, Source, Source]






More videos of Mercedes Arcuri are after the jump!