Ildar Abdrazakov Introduces Barbara Frittoli To Wine Journalist

Is that Mendoza Malbec in your globus cruciger?: Ildar Abdrazakov and Barbara Frittoli in
Don Carlo at Regio di Torino (Photo: Ramella & Giannese)

"On off days he and his Italian girlfriend love to drive the Tuscan countryside searching for wineries and wines to buy...He introduced the woman with him as Barbara, visiting him for about 10 days while he was singing here and on to Chicago for a Verdi Requiem with Muti conducting. Pretty and lively, dressed casually in jeans and a flowing blouse, she spoke English with a bit of an Italian accent but with more confidence and a better vocabulary than Ildar's. She became a vital part of our conversation. She seemed highly knowledgeable about opera. She looked vaguely familiar, too. I asked, innocently, 'Do you sing?' She said yes, and Ildar added, 'She's Barbara Frittoli.'" [Source]

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Siegfried"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Wagner's Siegfried live tonight at 6:00 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guests: Luca Pisaroni , Ekaterina Gubanova and Barbara Frittoli.

Contemporary Interpretations of Leonora in "Il Trovatore"

Listen to some of the sopranos from the last decade to take on the challenging role of Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore. Following are samples of the difficult aria "D'amor sull'ali rosee" by a few well-known artists, as well as some new contenders:







BONUS: Renée Fleming singing "Tacea la notte" after the jump.

Congratulations Grammy Award Winners!

BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM

Verdi: Requiem

Riccardo Muti, conductor; Duain Wolfe, chorus master; Christopher Alder, producer; David Frost, Tom Lazarus & Christopher Willis, engineers/mixers; Silas Brown, mastering engineer (Ildar Abdrazakov, Olga Borodina, Barbara Frittoli & Mario Zeffiri; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Chicago Symphony Chorus) [CSO Resound]

BEST OPERA RECORDING

Saariaho: L'Amour De Loin

Kent Nagano, conductor; Daniel Belcher, Ekaterina Lekhina & Marie-Ange Todorovitch; Martin Sauer, producer (Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; Rundfunkchor Berlin) [Harmonia Mundi]

BEST CHORAL PERFORMANCE

Verdi: Requiem

Riccardo Muti, conductor; Duain Wolfe, chorus master (Ildar Abdrazakov, Olga Borodina, Barbara Frittoli & Mario Zeffiri; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Chicago Symphony Chorus) [CSO Resound]

BEST CLASSICAL VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Sacrificium

Cecilia Bartoli (Giovanni Antonini; Il Giardino Armonico) [Decca]

BEST CLASSICAL CROSSOVER ALBUM

Tin, Christopher: Calling All Dawns

Lucas Richman, conductor (Sussan Deyhim, Lia, Kaori Omura, Dulce Pontes, Jia Ruhan, Aoi Tada & Frederica von Stade; Anonymous 4 & Soweto Gospel Choir; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) [Tin Works Publishing]