United States Festival O23 [1] – Verdi, Simon Boccanegra: Soloists, Opera Philadelphia Chorus and Orchestra / Corrado Rovaris (conductor). Academy of Music, Philadelphia, 22.9.2023. (RP)
Stellar cast shines in Opera Philadelphia’s Simon Boccanegra
Festivals
Aleksandra Kurzak, Roberto Alagna and Luca Salsi are outstanding in Verona Opera Festival’s Tosca
Italy Puccini’s Tosca at the 100th Arena di Verona Opera Festival 2023 [3]: Soloists, Children’s Choir (conductor: Elisabetta Zucca), Chorus (chorus director: Roberto Gabbiani) and Orchestra of Arena di Verona / Francesco Ivan Ciampa (conductor). Recorded (directed by Barbara Napolitano) at the Arena di Verona on 29.7.2023 and available on RaiPlay for a limited time. (JPr)
Persian music takes centre stage at Musikfest Berlin 2023
Germany Musikfest Berlin 2023 [5] – Schweinitz and Persian music improvisations: Helge Slaatto (violin), Frank Reinecke (double bass), Majeed Qadianie (tār, setār), Niloufar Mohseni (tombak). Kammermusiksaal, Philharmonie, Berlin, 15.9.2023. (MB)
The Prommers revel as the Last Night of the Proms 2023 is a proper party once again
United Kingdom Prom 71 – Last Night of the Proms 2023: Lise Davidsen (soprano), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), BBC Singers (chorus master: Nicholas Chalmers), BBC Symphony Chorus (chorus master: Neil Ferris), BBC Symphony Orchestra / Marin Alsop (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 9.9.2023. (JR)
Nobuyuki Tsujii plays an astounding Rachmaninoff Third in one of the great BBC Proms of recent times
United Kingdom Prom 70 – Honegger, Rachmaninoff, Ortiz, Bernstein: Nobuyuki Tsujii (piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Domingo Hindoyan (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 8.9.2023. (MBr)
Marian Consort spun an enchanting web of sound during Lammermuir Festival 2023’s first weekend
United Kingdom Lammermuir Festival 2023 [1] – Renaissance polyphony in celebration of the Virgin Mary: Dr Lizzie Swarbrick (speaker), Marian Consort / Rory McCleery (director). St Mary’s Church, Haddington, 9.9.2023. (SRT)
Pichon and Pygmalion’s theatrical, yet deeply spiritual approach to Mozart’s Requiem
United Kingdom Prom 69 – Mozart/Süssmayr, Requiem: Malakai Bayoh (treble), Sandrine Piau (soprano), Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano), Laurence Kilsby (tenor), Alex Rosen (bass), Pygmalion / Raphaël Pichon (conductor). Royal Albert Hall, London, 7.9.2023. (CC)
Two reviews from the Cumbria Opera Festival 2023, truly a hidden gem
United Kingdom Poulenc, La voix humaine and R. Schumann, Frauenliebe und -leben: Sofia Kirwan-Baez (soprano) and Alex Norton (pianist). Penrith Playhouse, Cumbria, 26.8.2023.
