The Telegraph critic Rupert Christiansen defends his position amidst a storm of controversy. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
One of Limelight’s recent 30 under 30s excels in ASO debut with Orff and Rach. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
This New Zealand diva is still well within her use by date. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Rediscovered manuscript of Russian composer’s ‘original’ Second Symphony goes into private hands. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Superstar tenor will return to Sydney for one further performance in August. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
An open letter from Harbour City Opera’s Artistic Director, soprano Sarah Anne Walker. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Soprano Karita Mattila speaks out against conductor Valery Gergiev’s support of Vladimir Putin. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Prominent singers come out in support of colleague attacked for stature rather than voice. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Director aside, there’s much to enjoy in half of the Con’s operatic double bill. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Bulgarian operatic great passes at 77. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Vocal pleasures and some real star turns, but too many mirrors reflect badly on Verdi’s drama. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in
Until the 1980s Johann Adolf Hasse remained a historical footnote – a famous and prolific opera composer in his day of whom one had hardly heard a note. Then in 1986, William Christie made a landmark recording of Cleofide with an exotic line up of four counter-tenors and he was gradually rediscovered. Fast-forward to today and counter-tenors are superstars and major labels release whole recitals of Hasse – who’d have thought? Max Emanuel Cencic was first heard as first boy on Solti’s 1991 Die Zauberflöte and has since developed into one of those aforesaid superstars. This superb recital includes seven world premiere recordings plus a mandolin concerto for instrumental interlude. Cencic’s voice is one of the richest around today with a gleaming top, a fulsome but firm bottom register and his technical facility is spectacular yet always beautifully expressive. His fiorature runs are cleanly articulated but always maintain a legato line with no nasty aspirates. The accompaniments are bold, energetic yet elegant and technically immaculate; intonation is spot on. Theodoros Kitsos plays the mandolin concerto with limpid tone. The recording is close but not annoyingly so and wonderfully firm and weighty. Hasse’s arias rival Handel for invention but the whole…
Haydn entered the lucrative market for British national song arrangements during his last years in London, churning out 400 or so to satisfy the craze of the day, but as a man of integrity he refused to skimp on craftsmanship and care – these are natural beauties and though dressed for an outing in society they do give an inkling of their humble origins. The modest selection offered here is culled from his more elaborate piano trio arrangements. The program is arranged as if for a domestic evening’s entertainment with the movements of Haydn’s Piano Trio No 43 interspersed to show off the talents of the fine instrumentalists; the artistry here is no doubt way beyond the capabilities of the intended performers of the day. The German tenor Werner Güra is one the finest lieder singers of our time (his Die Schöne Mullerin is an overlooked gem, and a bargain) and brings his elegant musicianship and customary diction and care for word painting to bear (however the dialect requires one to keep the texts handy for reference). His period accompanists are first class with lovely sounding instruments including a superbly restored Collard & Collard fortepiano. A scholarly essay graces an…
