#karina gauvin

[sigmastolen]

Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 | Samuel Barber, text by James Agee

Karina Gauvin, soprano; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor

[paul-archibald]

The French Connection

Music in France around the end of the 19th Century and beginning of the 20th Century is often defined by the music of Debussy and Ravel. However, there were other composers at that time who, stylistically, were heading in another direction. Phil Whelan and I take a look at some of these composers and, unsurprisingly, find some glorious music. Georges Bizet (1838-1875)Symphony in C: Movt IV…

[lesser-known-composers]

Camille Saint-Saëns : Ascanio (Acte V, Tableau VII, Scene I)

Karina Gauvin, Guillaume Tourniaire,

Orchestre de la Haute École de musique de Genève

[winurban]

Karina Gauvin pour Marie Hubert Fille du Roy from Winston McQuade on Vimeo.

[villasugandhala]

Handel : Lascia chi'o pianga - Karina Gauvin

[lmarodrigues]

Handel's Partenope, recording with Philippe Jaroussky & Karina Gauvin

[dressupjohnnyk]

Thursday’s outfit! 💖🤍💖

Tonight I’ll be a Koerner Hall as soprano Karina Gauvin joins conductor Nicolas Ellis and the TSM Festival Orchestra for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Month of New Operatic Works, Round 2, #9: Olimpie (Palazzetto Bru Zane): Reactions

This is actually from yesterday, but I forgot to write this up, so as I relisten to part of this, I’m writing this up.

Because I wasn’t feeling well yesterday and didn’t have much in the way of energy, I didn’t read the libretto simultaneously, instead skimming over this synopsis beforehand. Basically it’s kinda like Massenet’s Le Cid, except the love interest is actually innocent of killing Olimpie’s dad (a second would-be love interest did it) and that it’s set in post-Alexander the Great Ephesus, not medieval Spain. (And Alexander the Great was Olimpie’s dad.) So really it’s not like Le Cid. I don’t know why I said that but okay. At least both operas end happily.

Spontini is one of those composers that People In The Know TM are like “this dude’s super-important”, but until this point I’d never gotten around to listening to any of his work. But it’s really wonderfully interesting: I can hear everything from late Baroque and Gluck all the way to proto-Boito (this scene, which opens Act II, sounds like a dry run of sections of the Prologue from Mefistofele. unsurprisingly, this was also my absolute favorite moment). that’s about 100 years of style stuffed into one score.

Bru Zane engages in its usual exemplary and often-surprising casting: I was extremely pleasantly surprised to find Kate Aldrich in marvelous form as Olimpie’s mother and Alexander’s widow Statira; these big declamatory French mezzo roles are just Absolutely Her Thing. It was also a very pleasant surprise to have Josef Wagner (whom I’ve seen do Massenet and Korngold roles wonderfully) as Antigone (not the one from the Oedipus myth). Less surprising (as in “he’s been on these recordings before”) but still wonderful was Mathias Vidal (aka Cute French Tenor Baby) as Cassandre, Olimpie’s love interest. Karina Gauvin is a new name to me but she was an excellent Olimpie. 

Anyway, definitely a recommend.

[verdiprati]

Mostly Mezzo Mondays: Lemieux, Mameli, Prina, Erraught, Hallenberg (x2), Gauvin, Baráth, Lindsey (x2)

Mostly Mezzo Mondays: a recurring (though not weekly) feature where, on Monday nights, I blog a list of the upcoming broadcasts that have caught my eye on World Concert Hall. My interests: baroque vocal music, art song recitals, and a list of favorite singers.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux sings Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été with the Orchestre National de France. Live broadcast Wednesday, September 18 on France Musique.

Roberta Mameli and Sonia Prina make up two thirds of the vocal team for a performance of Handel’s Aci, Galatea, e Polifemo with Labarroca at the Enescu Festival. Live broadcast Thursday, September 19 on Radio România Muzical (and presumably a video livestream from the festival as well).

Tara Erraught sings lieder by Wolf, Schubert, Mahler, and Brahms in a recital at Schwarzenberg with clarinetist Jörg Widmann and pianist Malcolm Martineau. Deferred broadcast Thursday, September 19 on Ö1. 

Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Enescu Festival features a countertenor Cesare (Christopher Lowry) but mezzophiles may enjoy hearing Ann Hallenberg in the role of Sesto. Also notable: Karina Gauvin as Cleopatra. The Cornelia, Eve-Maud Hubeaux, is unknown to me; her YouTube clips give evidence of a mahogany-toned voice. The orchestra is Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset. Live broadcast Friday, September 20 on Radio România Muzical (and video livestream, I assume).

Emőke Baráth sings the role of Euridice in a performance of Monteverdi’s Orfeo. Other names that stand out to me on the cast list are Cyril Auvity and Nuria Rial. Live broadcast Friday, September 20 on the Müpa Budapest website (it’s not clear to me whether this will be audio-only or a video livestream). 

Ann Hallenberg leads the cast of Handel’s Agrippina at the Enescu Festival. Much of the casting of Cesare is repeated (including Lowrey and Gauvin), as are the orchestra and conductor. Live broadcast Saturday, September 21 on Radio România Muzical (and, presumably, in a livestream on the Festival’s website). 

Kate Lindsey sings, I assume, the role of Juliet in Berlioz’ Romeo et Juliette. Andrew Staples and Shenyang are also on the roster. Deferred broadcast Saturday, September 21 on RBB Kultur.

Kate Lindsey also sings—or rather, sang, eight years ago—a recital of works by Liszt, Bizet, Fairouz, Arlen and Argento. With Kim Pensinger Witman. Very, very deferred broadcast Sunday, September 22 on WETA. 

[sigmastolen]

Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Op. 24 | Samuel Barber, text by James Agee

Karina Gauvin, soprano; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Marin Alsop, conductor

[lives-in-a-harpsichord]

Surprise Creepy Opera Time!

Una guerra ho dentro in seno from Apollo e Dafne by G. F. Händel, sung by soprano Karina Gauvin as Daphne and baritone Russell Braun as Apollo!

[lesser-known-composers]

Johann George Conradi - Ariadne, Act II: Doch ich will in Hoffnung bleiben

Artist: Karina Gauvin

Orchestra: Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra

[winurban]

KARINA GAUVIN-ALCINA.mp4 from Winston McQuade on Vimeo.

[mebwalker]

Mostly Diderot & Catherine II 'the Great'

Mostly Diderot & Catherine II ‘the Great’

Claude-Joseph Vernet, The Shipwreck, 1772, oil on canvas, Patrons’ Permanent Fund and Chester Dale Fund, 2000.22.1 (National Gallery of Art, UK)

Horace Vernet Joseph Vernet Tied to a Mast in a Storm, c. 1822, Musée Calvet, Avignon, photograph by André Guerrand

This post isn’t about Claude-Joseph Vernet, Horace Vernet‘s grandfather, nor is it about Händel. It is about me, briefly, but my prominent…

[lmarodrigues]

Erik Satie Je te veux Karina Gauvin Ensemble Caprice

[juanvaldescesar]

Ombre pallide (Handel) Karina Gauvin