Italian Auto-Maker Vygor Presents Their $192,000 Car: Opera

"If there’s even been a perfect example of a car you either love or hate, the Vygor Opera is it. About two weeks ago, Vygor, a company claiming to be based in Tuscany announced that it would be unveiling a new luxury car on October 10 destined for production. Well, that date is today and as promised Vygor has released the first details and images of its new luxury car, the Opera coupe crossover. Designed for the expanding niche of high-performance cars on stilts, the Vygor Opera will be built to order in Italy in a limited run of 150 cars in total. Exclusivity will be the name of the game with no two Operas expected to be the same.

Anne Sofie von Otter Creates Two Musical Worlds in Australia

Mezzo-soprano down under in Sydney
(Photo: Jane Dempster/The Australian)

Mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter performed at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony in the Concert Hall on November 3 and as part of the Utzon Music Series in the Utzon Room on November 6. "From her recordings and reputation, I knew Swedish mezzosoprano Anne Sofie von Otter was a remarkable artist. What her two Sydney concerts also demonstrated was her impressive stylistic range. Whether she's singing classical, jazz or pop, von Otter is assured across her tessitura and sustains superb dynamic control and nuanced tone colours. The first half of her Sydney Symphony concert was devoted to a selection of Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne. Von Otter is renowned for her capacity to completely capture a song's character. So it proved here. Her strong sense of line created sensitively shaped accounts of 'Bailero' and 'La Delaissado,' her precise attack and clarity of articulation invigorated 'L'aio de Rotso' and 'Lou Boussu' and she showed delightful comic touches in 'Lou Coucut'.....von Otter sensibly employed a microphone in her selection of popular

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Nabucco"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Verdi's Nabucco live tonight at 7:30 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guests: Robert Levine.

Complete Music Video for "La Wally" Featuring Angela Gheorghiu

That white backdrop and all those tree branches sure look familiar. Any ideas? Have a look after the jump and see if there are any similarities to another dark-haired diva's music video from 2004.

Die Electrola Querschnitte (1960-1963) mit Fritz Wunderlich!

He was one of the greatest tenors of the 20th century. At age 35 he tragically lost his life. Fritz Wunderlich is still regarded as one of the most gifted opera singers ever immortalized in the studio. 50 years ago, Electrola (EMI Köln) recorded opera highlights in stereo of eight different operas sung in German by the tenor and some of the greatest artists on stage at the time including Pilar Lorengar, Hermann Prey, Anneliese Rothenberger, Gottlob Frick and Elisabeth Grümmer. Now remastered, these recorded treasures have been resurrected in this new seven-CD collector's edition box set. Some of the music sounds a bit strange in a language other than the original Italian or Russian, but the quality of the singing by all the artists is unmistakably superb. As a recording artist for Deutsche Grammophon, Fritz Wunderlich has a bulk of his back-catalog on that label so this EMI release is a real treasure. "We stood there in the studio and got there more and more carried away, as if we were on stage." (Pilar Lorengar in an interview with Thomas Voigt, 1991)

Listen to two excerpts (auf Deutsche) from Madama Butterfly with Pilar Lorengar, Hermann Prey and Fritz Wunderlich:




Complete track listing is after the jump.

Sony Classics Releases Live MET Operas, 4.0

If you missed round one or two of the Metropolitan Opera archive performances being released on Sony Classical, here is your chance to join in the celebration! The latest installment of the series takes a decidedly French turn with the release of Mignon (1945 broadcast), Carmen (1952 broadcast), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (1955 broadcast) and La Fille du Régiment (1940 broadcast). The big interest in these recordings is getting to hear singers that performed at the MET yet somehow they were never household names like James Melton, Mimi Benzell, Nadine Conner, Martial Singher and Raoul Jobin.

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Satyagraha"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Philip Glass's Satyagraha live tonight at 7:30 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guests: Nico Muhly and Renée Fleming.

Pastor Rick Warren Uses Opera Analogy For Religious Clarity

"'You don't need to change any of your Pentecostal practices.' Such was the advice from a leading evangelical pastor, Rick Warren, to a recent gathering of Assemblies of God (AG) pastors in Phoenix, Arizona, at their biennial council. Urging the ministers not to abandon their use of spiritual gifts, he said, 'What you do need to do [instead] is explain them. Do not compromise what God has called you to do; simply make it explainable.' While reminding AG leaders that healthy churches focus on five purposes (worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and evangelism), he suggested that Pentecostal church 'health' also means a sixth focus: 'to be Pentecostal.' He used the analogy of a person's first visit to the opera to explain the importance of helping newcomers to Pentecostal charismata understand what is going on: '[You wouldn't] ask the vocalists [in an opera] to sing in English or to change their tune; [you] simply want a little help in understanding what's going on and what it means.' One website currently offers these words of advice to those new to the opera: 'Operas are beautiful expressions of the Italian spirit...a tricky world for the novice. Understanding this glorious art requires patience and a willingness to learn. Opera...can bring the viewer to great heights of understanding and self-awareness.' Warren offers a clever and considerate analogy to the world of Pentecostalism." [Source] Which reigning Wagnerian diva takes an active interest in Rick Warren? Find out after the jump.

Does Competition and Foundation Prize Money Help Singers?

Angela Meade (l) with 1986 Richard
Tucker Award winner Dolora Zajick
(Photo: Ruth Fremson/NY Times)

Anthony Tommasini wrote in the New York Times: "Since 1975 the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, named for the great American tenor, has fostered the careers of emerging singers." The annual gala concert was held on Sunday (November 7) evening. "The evening’s main business was to honor this year’s Tucker Award winner, the young soprano Angela Meade, who receives a $30,000 prize, the foundation’s largest grant. Ms. Meade recently sang three performances of the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena in the Met’s new production, and she returns to the company in February for Verdi’s seldom-heard Ernani. Her first offering here was a fiery aria from Verdi’s Attila. Her sound was enormous, rich and unforced; her coloratura runs and passagework were dispatched with aplomb and precision. Vocally, Ms. Meade was even better in the Act I finale of Bellini’s Norma, for which she was joined by the mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick as Adalgisa and the sturdy tenor Frank Porretta (substituting for Mr. Giordani) as Pollione." But how much fostering does Ms. Meade's career need at this point? According to the Metropolitan Opera, a top-earner makes $16K/performance. Even a newcomer like Meade (who actually was a winner of the National Council Auditions in 2007 and made her debut at the MET in the 2008 production of Ernani) could easily pull in $9K/performance at the low-end estimate. So at this stage of the game, does a singer like Angela Meade need the help of the Richard Tucker Foundation? Looking back at past Tucker Award winners might show that most of these singers were well on their way and didn't need much "fostering." Check out examples, as well as video performances of these past winners at the Richard Tucker Gala, after the jump.

Angela Gheorghiu to Sign CDs After OONY "Adriana Lecouvrer"

"Angela Gheorghiu will be happy to meet the fans after the concert performance of Adriana Lecouvreur at Carnegie Hall on November 8. The CD signing session will take place in the foyer of the venue." Which CD you ask? The homage.

"Alberto Veronesi conducts his first performance as OONY's new Music Director. Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur features two of the most dynamic artists on the scene today. Acclaimed soprano Angela Gheorghiu stars in the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur along with celebrated tenor Jonas Kaufmann singing the role of Maurizio. Rounding out this spectacular cast are mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili as the Principessa du Boullion, along with baritone Ambrogio Maestri as Michonnet. The story of jealous rivalry in love is set between the worlds of the theatre and the aristocracy. This fictional version of the real life story of famous actress Adrienne Lecouvreur is played out to its final and deadly conclusion."

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles
Angela Gheorghiu • Jonas Kaufmann • Anita Rachvelishvili • Ambrigio Maestri
Alberto Veronesi, Conductor
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 • 8:00 PM
Carnegie Hall
[Source, Source]

Images are by photographer Cosmin Gogu. Two more after the jump.

Happy Birthday: Gwyneth Jones

"Crudele... Non mi dir"
Don Giovanni (Mozart)

Dame Gwyneth Jones DBE (born November 7, 1936, Pontnewynydd, Wales, UK) is a Welsh soprano. She was born into a musical family and sang regularly as a teen. Before becoming a professional singer, Dame Gwyneth worked as a secretary at the Pontypool foundry. She won many formidable prizes at Eisteddfodau Festival. She studied music at the Royal College of Music, London, the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena as well as the International Opera Studio in Zürich. One year after making her professional debut in 1962 as a mezzo-soprano in Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice at the Zurich Opera House, she made her Welsh National Opera debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth. She soon discovered that her easy top range could enable her to sing soprano roles and she switched to the soprano repertoire from around 1964, her first major soprano role being Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. Jones came to

"D'amor sull'ali rosee"
Il Trovatore (Verdi)

prominence in 1964 when she stood in for Leontyne Price as Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Her career then developed rapidly, and she met with success as Aïda, Leonore (in Fidelio), Desdemona (in Otello), Elisabeth (in Don Carlos), Donna Anna (in Don Giovanni), Cio-cio-san (in Madama Butterfly), Lady Macbeth (in Verdi's Macbeth), Santuzza (in Cavalleria Rusticana), Octavian (in Der Rosenkavalier), Médée (in the Italian version) and Tosca. From these, she gradually proceeded to heavier roles like Minnie (in La fanciulla del West), Chrysothemis (in Elektra), Salome, the Marschallin (in Der Rosenkavalier), Eva (in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Senta (in Der fliegende Holländer), Kundry (in Parsifal), both Venus and Elisabeth (in Tannhäuser), Helena (in Strauss's Die ägyptische Helena), Ariadne (in Ariadne auf Naxos) and Sieglinde (in Die Walküre). She has appeared frequently at almost every

"Ritorna vincitor"
Aida (Verdi)

major opera house in the world, including the Vienna State Opera, the Zurich Opera, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Bayerische Staatsoper, the San Francisco Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Paris Opéra. She made debut at Teatro alla Scala as Leonora in Il Trovatore on April 4, 1967. She returned to La Scala as the title role of Salome in January 1974. On November 24, 1972, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House of New York as Sieglinde in Die Walküre. Until her latest appearance at the MET on April 22, 1995 (as Kundry in Parsifal), she sang 11 parts in 10 operas for 93 times at the Met; the most frequent part was the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier (20 times). In August 1979 she made her debut at Salzburg Summer Festival as the Marschallin. Jones's large-scaled, powerful dramatic soprano voice, unusually robust vocal stamina, stage presence and acting abilities were widely admired, although she also faced criticism for the wobble that her voice developed in the 1970s and which afflicted

"Dei tuoi figli la madre" Medea (Cherubini)

some of her performances. Nonetheless, she could still be remarkably secure and tonally rock steady beyond the age of 60. One of her most noted achievements was her interpretation of Brünnhilde in the Bayreuth centennial production of Der Ring des Nibelungen under Pierre Boulez and directed by Patrice Chéreau, a performance preserved on both video and audio discs. The recording won a Grammy in 1983. Her career at Bayreuth Festival - 1966: Sieglinde in Die Walküre; 1968: Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; 1969: Senta in Der fliegende Holländer; Kundry in Parsifal; 1970: Sieglinde in Die Walküre; Senta in Der fliegende Holländer; Kundry in Parsifal; 1971: Sieglinde in Die Walküre; Senta

"Dich teure halle"
Tannhäuser (Wagner)

in Der fliegende Holländer; 1972: Elisabeth and Venus in Tannhäuser; Sieglinde in Die Walküre; 1973: Elisabeth and Venus in Tannhäuser; Sieglinde in Die Walküre; 1974: Elisabeth and Venus in Tannhäuser; Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung; 1975: Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle; 1976 : Brünnhilde Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle; 1977: Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle; Elisabeth and Venus in Tannhäuser; 1978: Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle; 1979: Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle; 1980: Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle; 1982: Senta in Der fliegende Holländer. Later in her career (from 1980 onwards), she undertook the title role of Elektra as well as Isolde (in Tristan und Isolde), the Dyer's Wife (in Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Turandot. While best known for her work in the Wagner-Strauss-Puccini repertoire, her versatility enabled her to take on

"Zweite Brautnacht"
Die Ägyptische Helena (R. Strauss)

other roles, such as Poppea (in L'incoronazione di Poppea), Hanna Glawari (in The Merry Widow) and Norma. Starting from the 1990s, other than the aforementioned parts, she went on to sing Widow Begbick (Mahagonny), Ortrud (in Lohengrin), the Woman in Arnold Schoenberg's Erwartung, the Kostelnicka (in Jenůfa), the Kabanicha (in Káťa Kabanová), the Woman in Poulenc's La voix humaine, Ruth (in The Pirates of Penzance), Gertrud (in Hänsel und Gretel), Herodias (in Salome) and Klytemnästra (in Elektra). Dame Gwyneth made roles that exemplify the Wagnerian/heavy dramatic soprano fach, such as Brünnhilde, Isolde, Elektra, the Dyer's Wife and Turandot, part of her core repertoire, and performed them throughout the 1980s and 1990s. She once famously undertook the roles of both Elisabeth and Venus in Götz Friedrich's production of Tannhäuser at the Bayreuth Festival in the 1970s, and has also been

"Marie Theres'...Hab' mir's gelobt"
Der Rosenkavalier (R. Strauss)
w/Brigitte Fassbaender & Lucia Popp

credited with the unique achievement of having performed all three major female roles in Elektra on stage. She also performed in concerts and lieder recitals, television and radio broadcasts and participated in several film projects, including the epic television series, Wagner, in which she played the first Isolde, Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld. She has also devised for herself a couple of one-woman music-theatrical shows - O, Malvina! and Die Frau im Schatten - which are inspired by real historical characters, namely, Malvina Schnorr von Carolsfeld and Pauline de Ahna (wife of Richard Strauss). The soprano part in the Symphony No. 9, titled Vision of Eternity, of Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott was written for and premiered by her. In 2003 Dame Gwyneth made her debut as director and costume designer in a stage production of Der fliegende Holländer in Weimar, Germany. She has also given master-classes for young singers and acted as an adjudicator in international vocal competitions, including the 2009 BBC Cardiff

"Teco io sto" Un Ballo in Maschera
(Verdi) with Plácido Domingo

Singer of the World competition. Despite her advancing years and the extraordinary demands of her chosen repertoire, she remains an active performer on the stage, taking on various soprano, mezzo-soprano and even contralto roles with vocal authority and dramatic conviction. In June 2007, she created the role of the Queen of Hearts in the world premiere of Unsuk Chin's new opera, Alice in Wonderland, at the Bavarian State Opera. In February 2008 she sang the part of Herodias in Stephen Langridge's production of Richard Strauss' Salome at Malmö Opera in Sweden. She repeated this role in August 2010, alongside the Salome of Deborah Voigt, in a concert performance at the Verbier Festival in Verbier, Switzerland, and is scheduled to perform the part on stage at the Vienna State Opera in May 2012. She was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1976 and was promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1986. She is also the recipient of numerous musical/cultural awards and honours from many different countries and organisations, including the Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Golden Medal of Honour in Vienna, the Austrian Cross

"Immolation Scene"
Götterdämmerung (Wagner)

of Honour First Class, the Shakespeare Prize and the Puccini Award. She is a Kammersängerin at both the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera and she has been made a Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France. She has also been conferred honorary doctorates by the University of Wales and the University of Glamorgan. She is currently the President of the Wagner Society of Great Britain. She also took on an ambitious project to convert Adelina Patti's mansion and miniature opera house, Craig y Nos, in the Swansea Valley, into a Welsh Glyndebourne, which sadly came to nought. Jones's daughter Susannah Haberfeld is a mezzo-soprano. [Source, Source]

MET Sirius XM Radio Tonight: "Don Giovanni"

Listen to the Metropolitan Opera perform Mozart's Don Giovanni live tonight at 7:30 PM EST on Sirius XM radio. Intermission guest: Molly Fillmore.

Adele and Denyce Graves Share the Same Vocal Surgeon

U.K. singer Adele

"The biggest-selling pop artist of the year has gone silent. The British pop/soul singer Adele was forced to cancel the rest of her 2011 tour. Earlier this year, she suffered two vocal hemorrhages and will need to undergo surgery. Singers are in a high-risk business. Many famous singers have needed similar treatment. 'Essentially, people who sing are vocal athletes,' says Dr. Steven Zeitels, director of the Voice Center at Massachusetts General Hospital. 'So you can look at this as a not unusual scenario as an athlete getting an injury in that area.' Zeitels is now working with Adele. He says that after surgery, Adele will most likely need 'a number of months' to recover. The list of Zeitels' patients is like a who's who of great singers: Julie Andrews, Roger Daltrey and opera singer Denyce Graves. Graves says that in 2000, her vocal cords hemorrhaged while she was backstage, in the middle of an engagement. 'I sneezed. It was that simple,' she recalls. 'I sneezed and I hemorrhaged.' Graves says it was clear something serious had happened. 'I lost my voice immediately and it was most frightening, terrifying experiences ever,' she says. She had surgery, but kept it a secret for fear the news would hurt her career." [Source]

American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves

Virgin Countertenors Philippe Jaroussky & Max Emanuel Cencic

Christine Schäfer Debut on Sony Classical Covers 240 Years

The acclaimed soprano Christine Schäfer is making her label debut for Sony Classical with a highly unconventional aria album. The arias she has recorded range in time from Handel to Messiaen, and in style from virtuosic bel canto to the drama of Verdi and the serenity of Richard Strauss. Christine Schäfer’s first-ever recital of operatic arias is a carefully composed musical essay that combines popular and lesser-known works. This highly personal programme is no selection of greatest hits, but a journey of adventure in search of musical beauty. In the manner of a resounding essay Schäfer takes well-known but intentionally diverse pieces from the Baroque period to the present and relates them to each other in unexpected ways. Seductive as they are on their own, in this changed context each seems to have been illuminated anew. The orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin under Julien Salemkour, is the singer’s artistic counterpart and peer, and can shine in a variety of roles.

Release dates: UK - November 21, Germany - December 2, USA - December 27, 2011. See more images for the album by photographer Bodo Vitus by clicking here.

TRACK LISTING:
01 - "Sein wir wieder gut" Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss)
02 - "O sleep why dost you leave me" Semele (Georg Frideric Händel)
03 - "Ah! Non credea mirarti" La Sonnambula (Vincenzo Bellini)
04 - "Overture" Raymond ou le secret de la Reine (Ambroise Thomas)
05 - "Oui pour ce soir...Je suis Titania" Mignon (Ambroise Thomas)
06 - "Morgen Mittag um elf!" Capriccio (Richard Strauss)
07 - "Adagietto" Arlesienne Suite, No. 1 (Georges Bizet)
08 - "Canzone del salice" Otello (Giuseppe Verdi)
09 - "Ave Maria" Otello (Giuseppe Verdi)
10 - "Sommermorgen an einem See" Five orchestal pieces, Op.16, No. 3 "Farben" (Arnold Schoenberg)
11 - "Ah! Dieu nous par éblouit excess verité" St. François d'Assise (Olivier Messiaen)

Watch Gala Concert for Finalists of "Concours Régine Crespin"

Check out coverage by Opera Cake by clicking here. Watch the full video of the finalists concert below: