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 World of Opera with host Lisa Simeone brings listeners compelling performances from top American and international opera companies. World of Opera encompasses the seminal operas of centuries past as well as today's masterpieces.
NPR World of Opera is a production of WDAV Classical Public Radio, a service of Davidson College.
NPR World of Opera Site Lisa Simeone's bio
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March 27, 2010
World of Opera
OTTORINO RESPIGHI: Marie Victoire
German Opera, Berlin
German Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Michail Jurowski, conductor
CAST: Takesha Meshe Kizart (Marie de Lanjallay); Markus Bruck (Maurice de Lanjallay); German Villar (Cloriviere); Stephen Bronk (Cloteau); Jorn Schumann (Kermarec); Simon Pauly (Simon); Martina Weischenbach (Lison Fleuriot); Gregory Warren (Caracalla)
So you didn't know the popular composer of "The Pines of Rome" also wrote operas? Well, he didn't write many, and this one was forgotten for nearly 90 years after its scheduled premiere was cancelled in 1915. This production from Berlin may make you wonder why, as it shows off a first-rate opera that's packed with high drama and brimming with spectacular music.
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March 20, 2010
World of Opera
GEORGES BIZET: Carmen
La Scala, Milan
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
CAST: Anita Rachvelishvili (Carmen); Jonas Kaufmann (Don Jose); Erwin Schrott (Escamillo); Adriana Damato (Micaela); Gabor Bretz (Zuniga); Michele Losier (Frasquita); Mathias Hausmann (Morales); Adriana Kucerova (Mercedes)
Bizet's masterpiece may have a greater selection of hummable tunes than any other opera, and also the purest, most smoldering brand of passion -- and we hear it hear in the quarter's second production from a true hotbed of opera, Milan's La Scala.
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March 13, 2010
World of Opera
GIUSEPPE VERDI: I due Foscari
Dortmund Musikverein
WDR Radio Orchestra, Dortmund Musikverein Chorus
Carlo Montanaro, conductor
CAST: Renato Bruson (Francesco Foscari); Francisco Casanova (Jacopo Foscari); Manon Feubel (Lucrezia Contarini); Alexander Teliga (Jacopo Loredano); Viktor Sawaley (Barbarico/Fante); Francisca Devos (Pisana)
Verdi's operas are so popular that few of his great dramas could truly be described as unjustly neglected, but this one may fit the bill. One of Verdi's darkest scores, I due Foscari is also one of his most striking: a compelling story of deadly intrigue and political treachery set against the historical backdrop of 15th-century Venice.
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March 6, 2010
World of Opera
VINCENZO BELLINI: Zaira
Opéra Berlioz (Montpellier, France)
Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon National Orchestra
Enrique Mazzola, conductor
CAST: Ermonela Jaho (Zaira); Wenwei Zhang (Orosmane); Varduhi Abrahamyan (Nerestano); Shalva Mukeria (Corasmino); Franck Bard (Castiglione); Marianne Crebassa (Fatima); Carlo Kang (Lusignano)
Zaira was Bellini's fifth opera, and the first of his scores to get a somewhat cool reception at its premiere. Still, its tragic, cross-cultural story has particular resonance in today's world, and this production from Montpellier features a stirring performance with the exciting young soprano Ermonela Jaho in the title role.
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February 27, 2010
World of Opera
JULES MASSENET: Manon
Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Bertrand de Billy, conductor
CAST: Diana Damrau (Manon); Ramon Vargas (Les Chevalier des Grieux); Markus Eiche(Lescaut); Dan Paul Dumitrescu (Le Comte des Grieux); Alexander Kaimbacher (Guillot Morfontaine); Clemens Unterreiner (Monsier de Bretigny)
Jules Massenet wrote a number of truly beautiful operas, but this is the one that put him on the map. Along with Puccini's Manon Lescaut, it's one of two operatic versions of the same story. Both dramas have long been part of opera's standard rep, and while it's hard to outshine Puccini when it comes to tragic romance, Massenet may just have done it.
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February 20, 2010
World of Opera
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Simon Boccanegra
Houston Grand Opera
Patrick Summers, conductor
CAST: Dmitri Hvorostovsky (Simon Boccanegra); Olga Guryakova (Amelia Grimaldi); Marco Berti (Gabriele Adorno); Patrick Carfizzi (Paolo Albiani); Raymond Aceto (Jacopo Fiesco); Ryan McKinny (Pietro); Maria Markina (Amelia's Maid); Beau Gibson (Captain)
At times neglected, this brooding drama is now widely recognized as one of Verdi's most powerful and compelling dramas. Houston Grand Opera presents it with the great baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky as the complex title character.
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February 13, 2010
World of Opera
GIUSEPPE VERDI: La Traviata
Chorégies Festival (Orange, France)
Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra
Myung-Whun Chung, conductor
CAST: Patrizia Ciofi (Violetta Valery); Vittorio Grigolo (Alfredo Germont); Marzio Giossi (Giorgio Germont); Laura Brioli (Flora); Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Gastone); Jean-Marie Delpas (Baron Douphol); Armando Noguera (Marchise d'Obigny)
Verdi's popular classic comes to us from the Theatre Antique in Orange, in a production starring the exciting soprano Patrizia Ciofi in the demanding role of Violetta, with the rising star Vittorio Grigolo as Alfredo.
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February 6, 2010
World of Opera
DOUBLE HEADER!
GIACOMO PUCCINI: La Boheme
Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Emmanuel Villaume, conductor
CAST: Adriana Damato (Mimi); Vittorio Grigolo (Rodolfo); Nicole Cabell (Musetta); Paolo Pecchioli (Colline); Hyung Yun (Marcello); Trevor Scheunemann (Schaunard)
One of the all-time great "date operas" (remember Cher and Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck?), Puccini's La Boheme is also one of the most popular operas ever composed. This production from the nation's capital features a truly vibrant young cast.
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Agrippina
La Fenice/Teatro Malibran, Venice
La Fenice Orchestra and Chorus
Fabio Biondi, conductor
CAST: Ann Hallenberg (Agrippina); Lorenzo Ragazzo (Claudio); Florin Cezar Ouatu (Nerone); Veronica Cangemi (Poppea); Xavier Sabata (Ottone); Ugo Guagliardo (Pallante); Milena Storti (Narciso/Giunone); Roberto Abbondanza (Lesbo)
A biting satirical comedy with a realistically emotional edge, Agrippina is considered by many to be Handel's first true operatic masterpiece. It was premiered in 1710 in Venice, and this peformance comes to us from the same city. The production, by La Fenice, is presented in the historic company's smaller, more intimate theater, the Malibran.
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January 30, 2010
World of Opera
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL: Agrippina
La Fenice/Teatro Malibran, Venice
La Fenice Orchestra and Chorus
Fabio Biondi, conductor
CAST: Ann Hallenberg (Agrippina); Lorenzo Ragazzo (Claudio); Florin Cezar Ouatu (Nerone); Veronica Cangemi (Poppea); Xavier Sabata (Ottone); Ugo Guagliardo (Pallante); Milena Storti (Narciso/Giunone); Roberto Abbondanza (Lesbo)
A biting satirical comedy with a realistically emotional edge, Agrippina is considered by many to be Handel's first true operatic masterpiece. It was premiered in 1710 in Venice, and this peformance comes to us from the same city. The production, by La Fenice, is presented in the historic company's smaller, more intimate theater, the Malibran.
*Repeats on February 6th
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January 23, 2010
World of Opera
GIUSEPPE VERDI: Macbeth
Bastille Opera, Paris
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Teodor Currentzis, conductor
CAST: Dimitris Tiliakos (Macbeth); Violeta Urmana (Lady Macbeth); Ferruccio Furlanetto (Banco); Stefano Secco (Macduff); Alberto Nigro (Malcolm); Letitia Singleton (Lady-in-waiting)
Truly successful operas based on Shakespeare are astonishingly rare -- a generous estimate would put the count at about half a dozen. Even more remarkable is that Verdi alone accounted for three of them. Macbeth may not be heard quite so often as his other two -- Otello and Falstaff -- yet it's still among Verdi's finest and most evocative scores.
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January 16, 2010
World of Opera
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: Orfeo
La Scala, Milan
La Scala Orchestra and Chorus
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor
CAST: Georg Nigi (Orfeo); Roberta Invernizzi (Euridice/La Musica); Sara Mindardo (Messenger/Hope); Luigi De Donato (Caronte); Raffaella Milanesi (Proserpina); Giovanni B. Parodi (Plutone); Furio Zanasi (Apollo)
It's hard to say who wrote the very first opera, but there's little debate about who composed the first truly great one. It's Monteverdi's Orfeo -- heard here from one of the world's truly great opera houses, La Scala, in Milan.
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January 9, 2010
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY: The Tsarina's Slippers
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Alexander Polianichko, conductor
CAST: Olga Guryakova (Oxana); Vsevolod Grivnov (Vakula); Larissa Diadkova (Solokha); Vladimir Matorin (Chub); Sergei Leiferkuss (His Highness); Maxim Mikhailov (The Devil); Vyacheslav Voynarovsky (Schoolmaster); Alexander Vassiliev (Pan Golova); John Upperton (Panas)
This charming and colorful folk tale with a holiday angle is based on the same story by Gogol that inspired Rimsky-Korsakov's more familiar opera, Christmas Eve. |
January 2, 2010
World of Opera
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI: La Cenerentola
Houston Grand Opera
Edoardo Muller, conductor
CAST: Joyce DiDonato (Cenerentola); Lawrence Brownlee (Don Ramiro); Patrick Carfizzi (Don Magnifico); Tamara Wilson (Clorinda); Catherine Cook (Tisbe); Nikolai Didenko (Alidoro); Earle Patriarco (Dandini)
One of Rossini's most delicate and delightful comedies, La Cenerentola is based on the classic fairy tale Cinderella. In this version of the story, it's not magic slippers and fairy godmothers that carry the day, but rather the strength of love and the resiliency of the human spirit. |
December 26, 2009
World of Opera
G. F. HANDEL: Ariodante
Beaune, France (International Baroque Opera Festival)
Modo Antioco Orchestra
Federco Maria Sardelli, conductor
CAST: Ann Hallenberg (Ariodante); Karina Gauvin (Ginevra); Maarten Engeltjes (Polinesso); Jael Azzaretti (Dalinda); Krystian Adam (Lurcanio); Sergio Foresti (King of Scotland)
Among all of Handel's many, brilliant operas, Ariodante is considered by many to be his most exciting. It was was premiered at what was then a brand-new opera house, in a place now synonymous with opera in England -- Covent Garden. This production, from Beaune, features some of today's finest Handel singers. |
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