What Is Missing From The 57th Annual GRAMMY Nominee List?

Nominations for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards came out today and there were some albums, artists, and labels, conspicuously missing from the classical opera, choral, and vocal, recital lists. Eligibility rules state that for the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards albums must be released between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014. For whatever reason, here is a sampling of those not making the list: Elīna Garanča - Meditation (DG); Verdi: Giovanna d Arco- Anna Netrebko, Plácido Domingo (DG); Juan Diego Flórez - L'Amour (Decca); Jonas Kaufmann - You Mean the World to Me (Sony); Jonas Kaufmann - Die Winterreise (Sony); Max Emanuel Cencic - Rokoko: Hasse Opera Arias (Decca); Ildar Abrazakov - Power Players: Russian Arias for Bass (Delos); Rolando Villazón - Mozart Concert Arias (DG); Sabine Devieilhe - Rameau: Le Grand Theatre de l'amour (Erato); Marina Rebeka - Mozart Arias (Warner Classics); Iestyn Davies - Arise, My Muse (Wigmore Hall Live); Javier Camarena - Tenor Recitales (Urtext); Karina Gauvin - Mozart: Concert & Opera Arias (ATMA Classique); Anna Prohaska - Behind the Lines (DG); Thomas Hampson - Notturno: The Strauss Recital (DG); Madgalena Kozená - Prayer: Voice & Organ (DG); Poulenc: Stabat Mater, Gloria, Litanies à la Vierge noire - Patricia Petibon (DG); Verdi: Simon Boccanegra - Hampson, Opolais, Calleja, Pisaroni; Zanetti (Decca); Joseph Calleja - Amore (Decca); Muhly: Two Boys - Coote, Appleby, K. Miller; Robertson (Nonesuch); Vittorio Grigòlo - Ave Maria (Sony Classical); Sacred Verdi - Maria Agresta; Nagano (Warner Classics); Olga Peretyatko - Arabesque (Sony). Ever wonder how your favorite recordings get nominated each year? Find the answer out after the jump, which is where the complete list for year's best opera, choral and solo vocal recordings can be found as well.

Top Singers Commemorate The Fall Of Berlin Wall 25th Anniversary

UPDATE 11/10/2014: Jonas Kaufmann was replaced by heldentenor Klaus Florian Vogt as seen in the photo below. Watch the finale of the performance from Sunday evening by clicking here.

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The Brandenburg Gate Quadriga

On November 9, 2014, conductor Daniel Barenboim will step onto the podium in front of the Brandenburg Gate to conduct the Staatskapelle Berlin in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Berlin Wall falling. Soloists will include Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, Jonas Kaufmann, and René Pape. "The performance is part of a three-day, city-wide celebration of the Fall of the Berlin Wall, which includes a 15 kilometer Lightgrenze, or Light Frontier, from the Wall Memorial to the Brandenburg Gate. The Lightgrenze, by artist Christopher Bauder and filmmaker Marc Bauder, comprises 8,000 illuminated white balloons, each with its own story and patron. The installation also includes large-screen projections of historical film collages, along with guided tours and public exhibits. Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin’s performance will coincide with the release of the 8,000 balloons as they sail above the German capital. The performance will be broadcast on ARD and rbb beginning at 6.50 p.m. CET. Tell the world about your experiences of witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall and what the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 means to you today. Use the hashtags #fallofthewall25 or #fotw25 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and your message will appear in the virtual web portal here." [Source] As we look back to that historic moment in 1989, let's remember the concert that marked the original event: "On December 25, 1989, Leonard Bernstein gave a concert in Berlin celebrating the end of the Wall, including Beethoven's 9th symphony ('Ode to Joy') with the word 'Joy' (Freude) changed to 'Freedom' (Freiheit) in the lyrics sung." The quartet of soloists were comprised of singers from around the world: soprano June Anderson, mezzo-soprano Sarah Walker, tenor Klaus König, and bass Jan-Hendrik Rootering. Conductor Leonard Bernstein led a chorus and orchestra was comprised of members from the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks & Members of the

American soprano June Anderson and British mezzo-soprano
Sarah Walker singing at the historic event in 1989.

Staatskapelle Dresden, Orchestra of the Kirov Theatre, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris. "The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 1989 unleashed a wave of democratisation in Central and Eastern Europe that radically transformed the world order. In a typically grandiose yet eloquent gesture, Leonard Bernstein spontaneously accepted an invitation to conduct a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to celebrate this freedom....In a typically grandiose yet eloquent gesture, Bernstein spontaneously accepted an invitation to conduct a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony to celebrate this freedom. It was only fitting that East Germany’s new-found freedom should be celebrated with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The monumental works, perhaps the world’s most famous Symphony, was inspired by Schiller's poem “Ode to Joy”, a passionate paean to freedom. Adding to the symbolism of the event, Bernstein conducted an orchestra and chorus formed of musicians from both East and West Germany (Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden), as well as the United States (New York Philharmonic), Great Britain (London Symphony), France (Orchestre de Paris) and the Soviet Union (Orchestra of the Kirov

Polish-born and German raised tenor Klaus König and
German-born of Dutch ancestry bass Jan-Hendrik
Rootering sing Beethoven for Bernstein.

Theater). Recorded at the Schauspielhaus, Berlin, December 25, 1989, the German label Deutsche Grammophon would commemorate the event by issuing multiple CD versions with different title and one limited edition copy that contained a piece of the Berlin Wall for collectors. "The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier that existed between 1961 and 1990, constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on August 13, 1961, that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until it was opened in 1989. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the 'death strip') that contained anti-vehicle trenches, 'fakir beds' and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the 'will of the people' in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period....In 1989, a series of radical political changes occurred in the Eastern Bloc, associated with the liberalization of the Eastern Bloc's authoritarian systems

Lucky collectors were able to get a recording of the
event with a piece of the Berlin Wall inside

and the erosion of political power in the pro-Soviet governments in nearby Poland and Hungary. After several weeks of civil unrest, the East German government announced on November 9, 1989, that all GDR citizens could visit West Germany and West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed and climbed onto the wall, joined by West Germans on the other side in a celebratory atmosphere. Over the next few weeks, euphoric public and souvenir hunters chipped away parts of the wall; the governments later used industrial equipment to remove most of what was left. Contrary to popular belief the wall's actual demolition did not begin until Summer 1990 and was not completed until 1992. The fall of the Berlin Wall paved the way for German reunification, which was formally concluded on October 3, 1990." [Source, Source] Watch the finale of that historic concert from 25 years ago, and see the different packaging for the DG recordings, after the jump.

New CDs: DiDonato In Stars; Garanča Meditates; Kaufmann Goes Light

CLICK ON INDIVIDUAL COVER ART TO PRE-ORDER.

Photos: Anna Netrebko is Anna Bolena

(Photo: Michael Pöhn/Wiener Staatsoper)

Head over to the Intermezzo blog to see a whole lot of photos from the production of Anna Bolena that is to be premiered at the Wiener Staatsoper on April 2 featuring Anna Netrebko in the title role, Elīna Garanča and Ildebrando d'Arcangelo. There is also an article in the Kurier with more photos.

Royal Wedding Music, Part 2: Who Would Be Available To Sing?

POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR ROYAL WEDDING SOLOIST
In a business where professionals are contracted out five years in advance, what singer could possible be free to sing for the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011? Checking schedules of the top dozen front-runners for the job discloses that some could be a private jet ride away from the event:

Renée Fleming will have completed her last performance of Strauss's Capriccio at the Metropolitan Opera on April 23 and has a Strauss concert of orchestral songs and scenes from Arabella with the Berlin Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann.

Anna Netrebko sings the Pergolesi Stabat Mater on April 28 in Geneva, Switzerland, and again on May 2 in Toulouse, France.

Kate Royal makes her Metropolitan Opera debut the night of April 29 in Orfeo ed Euridice. The second performance of the run is May 4. There are only five performances of the Gluck opera.

Angela Gheorghiu has concerts on April 27 and May 1 at the National Concert Hall in Seoul, Korea.

Marina Poplavskaya is performing The Tsar's Bride of Rimsky-Korsakov at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden during the month of April and her penultimate performance in the run takes place at 7PM on April 29.

Elīna Garanča "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" Wiener Opernball

Elīna Garanča Performs at the Vienna Opera Ball

As this year's entertainment, Elīna Garanča sang an aria from Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns) and "Wien, Wien, nur du allein" (Sieczynski). For more photos of the mezzo-soprano's performance after the jump and more images of the event here.

Elīna Garanča May Be Wiener Opernball Guest

(Photos: Gabo/Deutsche Grammophon)

Dominique Meyer, Director for the Wiener Staatsoper, has hinted that mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča will be the main guest at this year's opera ball on March 3. The singer was asked after an invitation to George Clooney was rejected. Confirmation should come this week, but no word on whether she will sing if she attends the festivities. She will of course be at the Wiener Staatsoper rehearsing Anna Bolena with Anna Netrebko in the title role, so the audience may get a two-for-one treat. [Source]

Elīna Garanča Celebrates in Berlin

(Photo: DAVIDS)

The mezzo-soprano sang the New Year's Eve concert with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel. Singing selections from Carmen, Samson et Dalila, La Damnation de Faust and "Las hijas del Zebedeo" from Ruperto Chapì's Spanish operetta Al Pensar. Although Frasquita and Mercédès are missing from the "Les tringles des sistres tintaient" number, there is the added extra bonus of Emmanuel Pahud's flute playing in the prelude! Watch the video after the jump.