Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński Breakdances & Sings For Pepsi Beat

Breakout opera-star Jakub Józef Orliński dances and adds vocals to a new track called "Never Alone" (Nigdy Sam) in a newly-released music video from Warner Music Poland. Known for his high-flying vocal ornamentations of undiscovered Baroque music, the young countertenor is also a well-skilled breakdancer. He puts his beat skills to the test in the high-energy track. Launched to fame with a YouTube performance that went viral (currently at nearly 6 million views...) of Vivaldi's "Vedrò con mio diletto" from Il Giustino, the Juilliard School of Music alumni has become a darling of Europe performing on several tours with Il Pomo d'Oro with whom he has recorded two albums. Check out the discs here. During the time of COVID-19, the Polish singer has done a recital for Aix-en-Provence and concerts with Capella Cracoviensis in Świdnica. Upcoming engagements include a pastiche project staged by Robert Carsen at Dans les Jardins de William Christie Festival in Thiré, France, and a charity concert at Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa in September.

"Never Alone" (Nigdy Sam) is the second, after the hit 'Where You,' the musical version of the Pepsi Taste The Beat project. Sir Mich again took up the production  and invited a line-up that could only be created on this platform. The first element of this surprising puzzle is Sarius, a top Polish rapper who has taken the Polish scene by storm in recent years. Another is BARANOVSKI, a discovery and great hope for ambitious pop. This absolutely magical trio is complemented by the participation of the repeatedly awarded and delighting countertenor - Jakub Józef Orliński. 'Never Alone' is a pulsating kaleidoscope of talents infecting with positive energy. The publisher of the song is Warner Music Poland and Papaya Films is responsible for the production of the clip directed by  Marcin Starzecki."

"Pepsi Taste The Beat is a timeless music project for those who love music, have their own taste, value their taste and are energized by the energy that lies in beating. This is where we break with the routine, discover the undiscovered, appreciate our sights, cultivate spontaneity and follow our passions! Meet the non-obvious collaborations of artists and a surprising mix of sounds over genres. Get to know a new phenomenon on the Polish music scene. Get carried away by the urban sound. Try this unconventional approach to the subject. This is lifestyle. This is what the city sounds like. This is what Pepsi sounds like. Listen to your taste."

Watch the full video for "Never Alone," the famous "Vedrò" clip, and other videos Jakub has worked on during the quarantine time, after the jump.

[Source, Source, Source]

Angela Gheorghiu Makes "House Of Cards" Debut In Opera Scene

Heard But Not Seen: Angela Gheorghiu's voice
makes an appearance in House of Cards.
(Photo: Gabriel Hennessey/EMI)

The Netflix series House of Cards could be an opera without music. The leading couple, Claire (Robin Wright) and Francis "Frank" Underwood (Kevin Spacey), have been described as Lady Macbeth and Iago. For three seasons, this duo has made drama fly around a fictionalized version of Washington, D.C., on the streaming hit show. But it was in Season 2, Chapter 26, "Hail to the Chief," that we got an operatic injection. We see Frank attending a concert version of Madama Butterfly. Filmed at Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric in Baltimore, the scene captures a soprano (played by soprano Annie Gill) in profile singing "Un bel dì vedremo" from Act 2 of the Puccini opera. The track playing is the voice of Angela Gheorghiu. Next we see feuding villains Frank and Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney) have a face-to-face meeting in the basement of the opera house. During their conversation the love duet "Bimba dagli occhi pieni di malìa" from Act 1 can be heard faintly in the background (decidedly NOT Gheorghiu this time). As the two are wrapping up their non-productive negotiations, Tusk says, "When they put you in that box, barely bigger than a coffin, remember how beautiful the music was tonight." Frank shoots back, "Puccini's such a downer. I prefer something more optimistic." In Puccini's masterpiece, Cio-Cio San asks Pinkerton if it's true that in America they catch butterflies and pin them to boards. He says yes, so they don't fly away. The U.S. Navy Lieutenant has complete dominance over the 15-year old Japanese girl.  Is it possible that Raymond feels "pinned" and helpless under the power of Frank during this episode, knowing he must submit to his destiny? Read more about the episode here. Watch a music video of Angela Gheorghiu singing "Un bel dì vedremo," as well as three other classical bits of music used in the three seasons of House of Cards, after the jump. [Source, Source]

Raymond Tusk receives his invitation to a "Madame" Butterfly from Frank Underwood

Annie Gill lip synching Puccini's "Un bel dì vedremo" from Madama Butterfly

Joseph Colaneri And Francesca Zambello Talk 40th Anniversary

Opera Titan: Francesco Zambello leads the
Glimmerglass Festival into its 40th Season.
(Photo: Claire McAdams)

"The Glimmerglass Festival this year seems grander than ever before. The opera company, with its Alice Busch Theater and campus on the western shore of Otsego Lake north of Cooperstown, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Artistic and general director Francesca Zambello has put together a remarkable season of events and activities, running from July 10 through August 23. Scheduled for the opening and closing performances is the familiar and beloved Mozart masterpiece, The Magic Flute. Other mainstage productions are Verdi’s dark tragedy Macbeth and an amazing unknown opera by Antonio Vivaldi, Cato in Utica. The traditional American musical theater offering is Leonard Bernstein’s witty and clever take on Voltaire’s classic short novel, Candide. Voltaire ends his philosophical reflection on the meaning of life with Candide’s words, 'we must cultivate our garden.' This year the Glimmerglass 'campus' will have a three-part modern landscape installation for sharing stories and quiet person reflection. 'A beautiful garden has both unity and variety,' Zambello says, and the golden thread running through this season is the importance and beauty of our natural surroundings....The festival will also present a lecture by Supreme Court Justice Ruth

Blandine Staskiewicz Inked Up On Cover Of New Recording

French mezzo-soprano Blandine Staskiewicz releases a new recording in March 2015. The disc, Tempesta, features arias of Vivaldi (Andromeda liberata, La verita in cimento, Griselda, L'Olimpiade), Händel (Agrippina, Radamisto, Serse), Porpora (Carlo il Calvo), and Pergolesi (Adriano in Siria). On the cover, the artist displays her bare back with the title of the album tattooed on her skin. It's a very avant-garde approach for a Baroque recording. "With Tempesta, her first recital disc, mezzo-soprano Blandine Staskiewicz has chosen to venture into the emotional storms and calms beloved of Baroque composers notably Vivaldi and Handel which provided their operatic arias with that intense charge that captivates listeners still. As befits one raised on the tranquil, yet at times tempestuous, Belle-Île-en-Mer, lying off the Brittany coast, Staskiewicz is able to portray a fabulous array of moods to match her vocal beauty. If the Neapolitans Nicola Porpora and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi are each represented on this disc by a single burst of concentrated dramatic feeling, it is to the fiery and tempestuous music of Vivaldi and the more psychological and interiorised offerings of Handel that Blandine Staskiewicz directs her attention in these arie di tempesta. Staskiewicz s control of the depths and heights of the soul are matched by the instrumental accompaniment from Les Ambassadeurs and its director Alexis Kossenko. Blandine Staskiewicz, who has appeared on previous Glossa albums in Lully, Campra and Handel in the company of Hervé Niquet and Fabio Bonizzoni, herself contributes an intriguing note about the genesis of this programme complete with an alluring cover design but it is her wonderfully controlled singing (and expertise in Baroque repertoire) which characterises Tempesta so beguilingly." [Source] Read a biography of Blandine Staskiewicz after the jump. Listen to a sampling of the mezzo-soprano:

Andreas Scholl Makes Vocal Appearance In "Bob's Burgers" Cartoon

"'Ear-sy Rider' is the first episode of the third season of the animated comedy series Bob's Burgers. The episode premiered on September 30, 2012 in the United States on Fox. The episode's title is a parody of the film Easy Rider. Mort is holding a funeral for Horny Dave, the head of a motorcycle gang called the 'One-Eyed Snakes.' After the ceremony, the gang goes to Bob's Burgers to have beers, much to Bob's dismay. After having wrecked much of the restaurant, Critter, the new leader of the 'One-Eyed Snakes,' pays for the damage and gives Bob a card which he can use to ask the gang for a favor in the future. Meanwhile, the kids are crossing by a street corner which is often occupied by skateboarding teenagers after school. Louise taunts Logan, one of the teens, to the point where he grabs Louise's bunny ears and runs off. Louise, unable to cope with the loss, starts to act crazy and wears a hoodie as a replacement. She is determined to get her bunny ears back. When bribery fails, Louise begins to follow and stalk Logan in numerous desperate attempts to get them back. Logan is resistant because he believes that the bunny ears have given him good luck. She finally tattles on Logan to his parents. When his parents confront him, Logan tells Louise that he had them sent to the dumpster. When Louise tries to track them down to the waste management plant but it is believed that they are incinerated and she is too late. This brings Louise to her breaking point as she plots revenge. She cashes in the 'One-Eyed Snakes' card and the gang arrives to threaten Logan. He confesses to never having thrown the bunny ears away and pulls them out of his backpack to give back to Louise. The gang returns to Bob's Burgers to celebrate as Louise tells them food and drinks are on the house. Having learned that their son was threatened, Logan's family gathers the neighbors and they all confront the "One-Eyed Snakes" in the restaurant. Linda gets into a fight with Logan's mom. When Critter tries

To purchase this Andreas Scholl CD, click here.

to break up the fight, Logan's mom accidentally tears off Horny Dave's jacket from Critter and a standoff between the neighbors and the 'One-Eyed Snakes' ensues. Critter, in an attempt to prove his leadership, plans to beat the neighbors up. Before the fight can begin however, Mudflap, Horny Dave's pregnant lover, goes into labor. Logan's dad is a doctor and takes charge of the delivery where everyone in the restaurant lends a hand. After the baby is born, Mudflap confesses to Critter that he is the child's biological father. Everyone is at peace, except for Louise and Logan who were looking forward to the fight. But Louise is happy to have her ears back anyway." [Source] Watch the clip in the episode featuring Andreas Scholl singing "Cum dederit delectis suis somnum" from Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus by clicking here. Watch the countertenor sing the whole piece live after the jump.

Vivica Genaux to Give "Pyrotechnics" Concert in Kansas City

Firework Starter (Photo: Christian Steiner)

"Mezzo-Soprano Vivica Genaux and Europa Galante chamber orchestra will celebrate Vivaldi with a 'Pyrotechnics' concert at 8 p.m. Friday, February 3, at the Folly Theater (12th and Central Sts.) in downtown Kansas City, Mo. Vivica Genaux, the dazzling and theatrically engaging mezzo-soprano, joins forces with conductor Fabio Biondi and the Italian chamber orchestra Europa Galante, acclaimed for revolutionary and passionate performances of Baroque and Classical works. The evening’s concert, 'Vivaldi Pyrotechnics,' is fashioned after the heralded Virgin Classics album of Vivaldi’s arias recorded by Genaux and Europa Galante, and nominated for the 2011 Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Performance. Tickets for the 'Vivaldi Pyrotechnics' concert are priced $20, $40, $45, $55, and $65, and can be ordered online at http://hjseries.org link or by phone at 816-415-5025." [Source]

Two Rival Bio-Pics To Be Filmed About Antonio Vivaldi

The younger Irons actor will take on Vivaldi

Young acting stars, including the son of Jeremy Irons, are coming out of the woodwork to participate in not one, but two films about the life of Vivaldi: "British up and comers Max Irons and Claire Foy are among the actors joining a new biopic of 17th Century Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, who was most famous for writing The Four Seasons. Screen Daily reports Elle Fanning is also in advance negotiations to join the film, along with Neve Campbell, Jacqueline Bisset, Tom Wilkinson, Alfred Molina and Sebastian Koch. Vivaldi follows the true story of genius and priest Vivaldi turned a group of courtesans’ young daughters into a world class orchestra who eventually even played in front of the Pope. Presumably, though no roles were specified, Irons would play Vivaldi while Fanning a standout member of the orchestra. And because apparently no movie can go into production without some sort of rival nipping at its heels, there is indeed another Vivaldi film being planned, and names like Luke Evans, Jessica Biel and Sir Ben Kingsley are being bandied about as possible cast members. That film will center around the composer’s alleged forbidden love for

The original Vivaldi

opera singer Anna Tessiero Giro. Irons, son of Jeremy, broke out as one of two suitors vying for Amanda Seyfried’s affections amidst vicious werewolf attacks in Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight follow-up, Red Riding Hood. Foy was recently seen in the Nicholas Cage dud Season of the Witch. Fanning, on the other hand, has a thriving current and upcoming slate of projects, including JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg’s Super 8 and Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo. Filming on Boris Damast’s long-gestating Vivaldi will begin in September, with shooting locations including Venice, Bruges, Hungary and Germany." [Source]