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A Sentimental Journey, The Opera
Thanks to a comment left on this blog by the Laurence Sterne Trust I discovered that the composer Craig Vear has written and produced a digital opera based on A Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne. You can actually hear the 45-minute long piece streamed on the internet in a recording of the public showing at the […]
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See the Nutcracker at the Cinema this Christmas
If you can’t make it to the Royal Opera House to see The Nutcracker this Christmas, you need not miss out. Opus Arte, the ROH’s multi-platform arts production and distribution company, is bringing The Nutcracker to cinema screens across the country, filmed in a high-definition recording from the Royal Opera House itself. To promote the […]
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Don Giovanni: Rebel Hero or Threat to Society
The character of Don Giovanni in Mozart’s opera personifies two contrasting aspects of the Enlightment: The embodiment of liberty. Don Giovanni sees himself as exempt from the laws of state, society, culture and religion. In this sense he is the Enlightenment hero, an extreme example of the idea of liberty that marks the age. The […]
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Video: Analysis of Don Giovanni
This video from San Diego Opera Talk series provides a useful analysis of the opera Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte. Nick Reveles talks through some of the dramatic and musical elements of the opera, providing insight into some of the themes of the work and the effects that Mozart and […]
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Mozart, Don Giovanni: Best Recorded Version
I like a mix of different approaches with my favourite classical works. For Don Giovanni, the opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, there are three clear choices, which critics (at least in the UK and Europe) unanimously highlight. 1. Don Giovanni: The Traditional Account Don Giovanni performed by the Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Carlo […]
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Mozart’s Don Giovanni: Resources and Links
The following links offer useful resources for analysis of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. Analysis The Nowhere Man – the mystery of Don Giovanni, by Nicholas Lezard Mozart’s Don Giovanni: An Enlightenment Hero? by John Kerns Don Giovanni, man or idea, by Kenneth LaFave Søren Kierkegaard’s Interpretation of Mozart’s Opera Don Giovanni : An Appraisal and […]
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Wagner and Mythology
It takes a lot of work on the listener’s part to understand Wagner. I’ve been trying in vain for years, but I’ve recently made a kind of breakthrough. The catalyst was a few intense listening sessions with Tristan and Isolde. With its mythological setting, ambiguous themes, overwhelming length and dense musical chromaticism it’s not an […]
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Quotes on Richard Wagner
The best witticisms in musical criticism are invariably about Wagner. Here are some choice quotes: Wagner’s music is better than it sounds. Edgar Wilson Nye One can’t judge Wagner’s opera ‘Lohengrin’ after a first hearing, and I certainly don’t intend hearing it a second time. Gioacchino Antonio Rossini Mr. Wagner has beautiful moments but awful […]
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Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin – Best Recorded Version
The Gramophone Good CD & DVD Guide 2005 praises the recording of Eugene Onegin conducted by Semyon Bychkov with the Orchestre de Paris and the baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky on Philips: ‘[They] make the finale the tragic climax it should be; indeed the reciting of this passage is almost unbearably moving. Bychkov illuminates every detail of […]