Podcasts about glyndebourne festival

Because we American expats in Germany often celebrate Thanksgiving on the weekend after our compatriots in the US, I offer you today a second Thanksgiving episode, this one featuring the extraordinary Ina Souez (1903 – 1992), one of the few Native American singers to achieve worldwide fame on the operatic stage. (For those of you who are unaware, November is Native American Heritage Month). Though her career was truncated by world events, Souez's place in the history of recorded sound is assured by virtue of her participation in the series of Mozart operas as produced by HMV in the mid-1930s as souvenirs of the first seasons of the Glyndebourne Festival. Indeed, one could argue that her Fiordiligi remains the standard by which all other interpreters are judged. This episode also includes recordings from both ends of Souez's career, as it were, including an extraordinarily rare yet impressive and touching 1957 recording of Souez singing arias and songs long after her active career had ended. The episode also features Souez in near-definitive recordings from both Ernani and La Bohème, the latter particularly appropriate as we just recently observed the 100th anniversary of the death of Giacomo Puccini. Finally, this episode also serves as a memorial to Souez, who died 32 years ago this coming week. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.    

Neil Armfield AO is a leading Australian director of theatre, opera and film. Alongside Rachel Healy, Neil was Artistic Director of Adelaide Festival between 2017 and 2022. Prior to that, Neil was the inaugural Artistic Director of Belvoir St Theatre, which he also co-founded, for 17 years.   As Artistic Director of Belvoir, and for other companies, Neil has directed well over 100 productions, with a focus on new and Indigenous writing, Shakespeare, David Hare and Patrick White.  Some highlights include; The Tempest, Hamlet, Up the Road, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Keating!, Toy Symphony, Dallas Winmar's Aliwa, Angels in America, A Cheery Soul, Signal Driver, The Blind Giant is Dancing and Things I KnowTo Be True. Neil's production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman opened in late 2023 to glowing reviews. Produced by GWB Entertainment and Red Line Productions at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne, it starred Anthony LaPaglia and Alison Whyte. After the success of the Melbourne season, the play will be presented at the Theatre Royal Sydney in May/June 2024.   In 2022, Neil directed the world premiere of the oratorio Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan by Joseph Twist at the Adelaide Festival, and Glyndebourne Festival's production of Brett Dean's Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Neil directed the same production of Hamlet at Munich's Bayerische Staatsoper in July 2023. For the 2021 Adelaide Festival, Neil directed the Australian premiere of A German Life by Christopher Hampton, starring Robyn Nevin, as well as Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Festival Theatre. Later that year he directed an acclaimed production of Rameau's comic masterpiece Platée for Pinchgut Opera. In addition to his extensive work in Australia, many of Neil's productions have played internationally. These include Cloudstreet (toured to London, Dublin, Zurich, New York), The Diary of a Madman (with Geoffrey Rush, toured to Moscow, St Petersburg, New York), Exit The King (Broadway), The Book of Everything (toured to New York), The Judas Kiss (toured Australia with Bille Brown, London, New York and Toronto with Rupert Everett), The Secret River (adapted by Andrew Bovell, toured to Edinburgh Festival and London) and the world premiere of David Hare's I'm Not Running for National Theatre in London. Neil frequently collaborates with major opera companies, having directed productions at The Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Zurich Opera, Bregenz Festival, Washington National Opera, Opera Australia, Pinchgut, Canadian Opera, Welsh National Opera, and Houston Grand Opera. In addition to classics by Mozart, Britten and Wagner, Neil directed the premieres of Frankie and The Eighth Wonder by Alan John, Whitsunday by Brian Howard, Love Burns by Graeme Koehne and Bliss and Hamlet by Brett Dean. For screen, Neil directed and co-wrote the feature film Candy, starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish, which screened at over twenty international films festivals including In Competition at the Berlinale. Neil was awarded Best Adapted Screenplay at the AFI Awards and an AWGIE for Best Screenplay. Neil's second feature film Holding the Man premiered at Sydney Film Festival in 2015. For television, Neil directed miniseries Edens Lost for ABC (AFI Award Best Director and Best Mini-Series), The Fisherman's Wake (by Andrew Bovell), which won an ATOM Award for Best Original TV Production, and Coral Island (by Nick Enright). Over his distinguished career, Neil has received 2 AFI Awards, 12 Helpmann Awards and several Sydney Theatre, Victorian Green Room and Sydney Theatre Critics Circle Awards. He holds Honorary Doctorates from Adelaide, Sydney and NSW Universities, and in 2007 was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia. The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts.

Lettenbauer, Susanne www.deutschlandfunk.de, Kultur heute

fWotD Episode 2544: Kathleen Ferrier Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Monday, 22 April 2024 is Kathleen Ferrier.Kathleen Mary Ferrier, CBE (22 April 1912 – 8 October 1953) was an English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar. Her death from cancer, at the height of her fame, was a shock to the musical world and particularly to the general public, which was kept in ignorance of the nature of her illness until after her death.The daughter of a Lancashire village schoolmaster, Ferrier showed early talent as a pianist, and won numerous amateur piano competitions while working as a telephonist with the General Post Office. She did not take up singing seriously until 1937, when after winning a prestigious singing competition at the Carlisle Festival she began to receive offers of professional engagements as a vocalist. Thereafter she took singing lessons, first with J. E. Hutchinson and later with Roy Henderson. After the outbreak of the Second World War Ferrier was recruited by the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), and in the following years sang at concerts and recitals throughout the UK. In 1942 her career was boosted when she met the conductor Malcolm Sargent, who recommended her to the influential Ibbs and Tillett concert management agency. She became a regular performer at leading London and provincial venues, and made numerous BBC radio broadcasts.In 1946, Ferrier made her stage debut, in the Glyndebourne Festival premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera The Rape of Lucretia. A year later she made her first appearance as Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, a work with which she became particularly associated. By her own choice, these were her only two operatic roles. As her reputation grew, Ferrier formed close working relationships with major musical figures, including Britten, Sir John Barbirolli, Bruno Walter and the accompanist Gerald Moore. She became known internationally through her three tours to the United States between 1948 and 1950 and her many visits to continental Europe.Ferrier was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 1951. In between periods of hospitalisation and convalescence she continued to perform and record; her final public appearance was as Orfeo, at the Royal Opera House in February 1953, eight months before her death. Among her many memorials, the Kathleen Ferrier Cancer Research Fund was launched in May 1954. The Kathleen Ferrier Scholarship Fund, administered by the Royal Philharmonic Society, has since 1956 made annual awards to aspiring young professional singers.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:32 UTC on Monday, 22 April 2024.For the full current version of the article, see Kathleen Ferrier on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Joanna Standard.

For An Englishman Downunder , Fiona Watson interviews Ballarat based Tenor Jason Wasley, a principle performer for the Enduring Classics concert 'A touch of Spring. Held at Ballarat Anglican Catherdal, 2:30pm on Saturday 9 September. Australian tenor Jason Wasley received a scholarship in 1991 to attend the Victorian College of the Arts Opera Studio in Melbourne.  In 1993, Jason won the Herald-Sun Aria, which enabled him to further his studies in Europe.  The following year he represented Australia in the finals of the Placido Domingo World Operalia Competition in Vienna.  Jason then worked as an apprentice soloist with the Victorian State Opera, undertaking the roles of Sciarrone and The Gaoler in Tosca, Juan in Don Quichotte, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia and Robin Oakapple in Ruddigore. After study at Bertrand Russell Institute of Languages in Italy, Jason moved to London where he was accepted into the National Opera Studio. There, he studied and performed in the roles of Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Silvio in Pagliacci, the title role in Billy Budd, Prince Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Sid in Albert Herring, Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, the title role in Eugene Onegin, Schaunard in La bohème and Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore.  He worked for the Glyndebourne Festival and Touring opera companies performing in the chorus and covering the roles of the Second Prisoner in Fidelio, Patrocle in Iphigénie en Aulide, Morales in Carmen, the title roles in Eugene Onegin, Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni.  Jason has also worked with the Welsh National Opera's education programme, which included performing Don Giovanni and Escamillio from Carmen. He sang the Boatswain in H.M.S. Pinafore for D'Oyly Carte Opera, Figaro in The Barber of Seville for British Youth Opera, Peter in Hansel and Gretel for Clonter Opera and Belcore in L'elisir d'amore for Pegasus Opera Company.  He also sang Kullervo in the British premiere of Aulis Sallinen's Kullervo.  For Melbourne Opera, he has performed Papageno in The Magic Flute and Marullo in Rigoletto. For OzOpera, he sang Marcello in La bohème and Dancairo in Carmen. For Promac Productions he performed the roles of Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and Captain Corcoran in H.M.S. Pinafore.  In 2006, he moved from baritone to tenor and sang the tenor solos in Verdi's Requiem for the Melbourne Chorale, the roles of Don José in Carmen and Cavaradossi in Tosca for Melbourne Opera, the title role in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex for Victorian Opera and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for OzOpera's national tour. Most recently, Jason Wasley has sung Alfredo in Opera Australia's touring production of La traviata, the tenor solos in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Sydney Philharmonia, Florestan in Fidelio, Max in Der Freicschütz and the title role in Rienzi for Melbourne Opera, Verdi's Requiem with Sydney University Chamber Choir and Rodrigo in Otello for State Opera of South Australia. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/kevin-harper1/message

David Pickard discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known. David Pickard studied Music at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, before starting his career as Company Manager of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Following this, David worked at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park and was the Assistant Director for the Japan Festival (1991) before becoming Sir John Drummond's deputy at the European Arts Festival. In 1993 he was appointed Chief Executive of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment where he significantly increased the orchestra's artistic reputation and international profile, helping to establish the OAE as the pre-eminent period-instrument orchestra in the world. In 2001 he was made General Director of Glyndebourne Festival where during his tenure he created an extensive digital programme including online streaming, big-screen and cinema relays and broadened the company's audience base through specially priced performances for young people and a pioneering education programme. In November 2015, David took up the role of Director of the BBC Proms. Since then he has introduced a number of initiatives, all in support of the Proms' central mission: to bring ‘the best of classical music to the widest possible audience.' These have included an innovative series called ‘Proms at…' exploring music in new spaces, both in London and around the UK. He has introduced greater diversity among the composers, conductors and soloists showcased by the Proms - both in gender and ethnicity - and has also made youth music-making and youth audiences a major focus. He has expanded the range of genres explored in the festival to include gaming music, contemporary jazz, world music and, in 2018, a twenty minute animated light show projected onto the external and internal façades of the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by a new work for orchestra and chorus by Anna Meredith. Women composers https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/latest/great-women-composers/ Lorenz Hart https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2002/08/15/he-took-manhattan/ Digital meat thermometer https://www.aarp.org/home-family/your-home/info-2022/importance-of-meat-thermometers.html I, An Actor by Nigel Planer and Christopher Douglas http://thedabbler.co.uk/2012/10/1p-book-review-i-an-actor-by-nicholas-craig/ Franconian Switzerland https://www.thecrowdedplanet.com/visit-franconian-switzerland/ Piano duets https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/06/arts/the-ins-and-outs-of-piano-duets.html This podcast is powered by ZenCast.fm

Synopsis The reign of the Roman emperor Nero, notorious for his horrific deeds, was chronicled by the historian Tacitus. His account of the rise of the courtesan Poppea from Nero's mistress to his empress, provides the plot of one of the operas written by the 17th century Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi's “The Coronation of Poppea” was first performed in Venice at the Teatro Sanctae Giovanni e Paolo in the autumn of 1643. The first performance of Monteverdi's “Poppea” in modern times had to wait until 1913, when the French composer Vincent d'Indy presented his arrangement of “Poppea” in Paris. In America and Britain, “Poppea” was first staged in 1927, at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and at Oxford University in England. It wasn't until today's date in 1962 that a full professional staging of “Poppea” occurred at the Glyndebourne Festival in England, in a version prepared and conducted by Raymond Leppard. Monteverdi did not prescribe specific vocal ranges for the characters, and since there was no standardized orchestra in the 17th century, it was customary back then to simply give a list of some suggested instruments and leave it to the performers to decide who played what and when. Therefore, any MODERN performance of a Monteverdi opera is always somebody's “version” of the surviving notes, based on educated guesswork and the available performers. Music Played in Today's Program Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643) –L'incoronazione di Poppea (soloists; Vienna Concentus Music Vienna; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond.) Teldec 42547

A new opera version of Hamlet is onstage at New York's Metropolitan Opera through June 9. Composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn talk with host Barbara Bogaev about adapting the texts of the earliest editions of Hamlet to create a libretto that subverts expectations and composing orchestrations that take audiences inside the minds of Hamlet and Ophelia. The Saturday, June 4 performance of Hamlet will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world via The Met's Live in HD series. Watch it at a cinema near you. Brett Dean is the composer and Matthew Jocelyn is the librettist for Hamlet, which premiered at Britain's Glyndebourne Festival in 2017. The opera is onstage at the Metropolitan Opera through June 9. From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Published May 24, 2022. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This podcast episode, “Sing Thee to Thy Rest,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster. Ben Lauer is the web producer. Leonor Fernandez edits our transcripts. We had technical help from Andrew Feliciano and Evan Marquart at Voice Trax West in Studio City, California.

Melly Still on directing ‘The Wreckers', by Ethel Smyth, the first ever opera by a woman composer to be performed at the Glyndebourne Festival. Morgan Quaintance and Hettie Judah join us to review Emergency, the new film directed by Carey Williams and the Cornelia Parker exhibition at The Tate. Ivor Novello Awards: Sam Fender's track Seventeen Going Under, taken from his album of the same name, was today awarded the accolade of Best Song Musically and Lyrically at this year's Ivor Novello Awards. We step inside the anatomy of the song with singer, musician, composer and lyricist Joe Stilgoe as he talks us through its prize-winning qualities.

Welcome our guest: soprano Amanda Woodbury. A native of Crestwood, Kentucky, soprano Amanda Woodbury has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as having a voice that is “bright, beautifully colored, and full of strength and passion.” The 2021 – 2022 season sees Ms. Woodbury's debut with the Glyndebourne Festival to sing Countess in the Michael Grandage production of Le nozze di Figaro. Ms. Woodbury also returns to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Une voix d'en haut in a new production of the original five act French version of Don Carlos, and cover the title role in Rodelinda. She also made her house debut as Micaëla in Carmen with Palm Beach Opera. Orchestral engagements include Handel's Messiah with the United States Naval Academy.

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” It's hard to think of a more famous line from a more famous play. In this iconic speech from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the troubled Danish prince asks whether this whole life thing is even worth it. But “to be or not to be'' is not the only question we're asking this week.  When everyone knows this line so well, how do you make it fresh again? How does adapting Shakespeare's play into an opera change our understanding of the text? In this episode, host Rhiannon Giddens and her guests explore one of the most famous speeches in literature, its transformation into opera, and why Hamlet's brooding soliloquy continues to intrigue artists and audiences four centuries later. Tenor Allan Clayton created the role of Hamlet in Brett Dean's opera at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2017. Dean wrote this vocally and dramatically challenging part specifically for Clayton: he would have him read monologues from Shakespeare's original in order to get a sense of his voice and once even emailed him changes during an intermission. Opera dramaturg Cori Ellison worked closely with composer Brett Dean and librettist Matthew Jocelyn throughout the development of Hamlet. She has been the staff dramaturg at the Glyndebourne Festival since 2012, where Hamlet premiered, and has worked with opera companies around the world. Actor and director Samuel West has worked across theater, film, television, and radio, but he was obsessed with Shakespeare's Hamlet. He starred as the Danish prince (whom he describes as “a floppy-shirted noodle”) for one year and three days with the Royal Shakespeare Company. But who's counting?! Jeffrey R. Wilson is a faculty member in the Writing Program at Harvard, where he teaches a course called “Why Shakespeare?” He feels that Shakespeare is still so popular because of the deep and varied problems his plays present: textual, theatrical, thematic, and ethical problems. He is the author of three books, including Shakespeare and Trump and Shakespeare and Game of Thrones.

What's up peaches! This week I am so excited to be sharing my conversation with Matthew Anchel. Matthew Anchel has been called "a voice to watch" by the Wall Street Journal. He has sung with companies both in the United States and internationally including The Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Stadttheater Giessen, the Glyndebourne Festival, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Oper Leipzig, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Spoleto Festival, Carnegie Hall to name a few. Mr. Anchel also has a large voice studio where he teaches singers who have appeared on Broadway and in major opera houses around the world as well as singer-songwriters, actors performing regionally and Off-Broadway and amateurs who just love to sing. When he is not teaching and singing opera he can be found on TikTok, where he has over 800,000 followers, performing in Cabaret Venues singing showtunes, writing original music, creating music videos, and working with Tracy Cox on their web series Angry Fat People.  TW: Talk of weight loss/weight gain, brief mention of EDs To connect with Matthew, find him on TikTok and Instagram @matthewanchel and www.matthewanchel.com And you can connect with me in the following ways: IG and Twitter @katieiswinnen Email me! peachpleasepodcast@gmail.com Bye peaches!

Imagine finding your voice...in an opera house! On Sing LOUDER, host Jake Heggie talks with great artists about the high wire act of life an opera singer. Ana María Martínez is one of the world’s foremost sopranos. She regularly stars in beloved operas like Madama Butterfly, Rusalka, and Otello, and performs everywhere from the San Francisco Opera to the White House and the World Cup. In this episode, Ana María shares her journey from musical theater to opera, and the spiritual connection she has to music and her voice. You can find Ana María at anamariamartinez.com and @anamariamartinezsoprano on Facebook. Featured Music: Jake Heggie: “Some Times of Day” from The Best Time of the Day Giacomo Puccini: “Un bel dí” from Madama Butterfly, with the Metropolitan Opera, led by Karel Mark Chichon Ernesto Lecuona: “María la O” with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, led by Jesús López Cobos Antonín Dvořák: ”Song to the Moon" from Rusalka, performed with the Glyndebourne Chorus and the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2009 Glyndebourne Festival, led by Jiří Bělohlávek Jonathan Barlow: “Cinder” Producer: Emily Shaw Remote Recording Assistance: Seira McCarthy Mixing: Marisa Ewing Additional Recording: George S. Rosenthal (The Complex Recording Studio) Executive Producer: Bob Ellis Photo by Svetlana Pasedko Sing LOUDER is supported by a non-profit LLC promoting public education about the art of singing. Special thanks to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Mike Parry and Lesley-Ann Jones take another look at life through the lens of Planet Porky. Today they discuss: the monsoon after the sun, the Big Mac and his Big Mac, taking advantage of staff members, A-level results and how they can impact on your future, yet another show about Princess Diana, Paul Burrell, the unbelievable work ethic behind one particular paper, Brian Blessed, working in ferocious heat, keeping it in your trousers, Nick Ferrari, why Porky and LAJ never dated, whether music should accompany horizontal refreshment, enjoying champagne in the morning, tinned sardines and Glyndebourne Festival. It's another effervescent episode of Life on Planet Porky! Remember to subscribe from your favourite podcast provider so you never miss an episode with new ones dropping every Tuesday and Friday. And if you'd like to contact Mike or Lesley-Ann you can do so via Twitter: @MikeParry8 or @LAJwriter or via email: planetporkypod@gmail.com. Your questions and comments are always gratefully received. Stay cool!

Today I'm really excited to speak with internationally recognized conductor James Gaffigan.  I think you will resonate with James' message and I hope that you walk away as inspired as I did after speaking with him! In this episode, James discusses: How he learns a score, from first glance to performance How he likes to approach rehearsing with musicians and how their perspective on a work influences his own interpretation His advice to young musicians on how to succeed as an orchestra member (and why he always looks at the back of the section!) What he means by “Trust creates magic” and how important it is for him to create trusting relationships with all artists   NEW ON THE WEBSITE: A Resources page! You can find my favorite websites, cds, as well as the other podcasts I like to listen to and the amazing books recommended by my podcast guests! Visit www.mindoverfinger.com/resources! Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get your free guide to a super productive practice using the metronome!  This guide is the perfect entry point to help you bring more mindfulness and efficiency into your practice and it's filled with tips and tricks on how to use that wonderful tool to take your practicing and your playing to new heights! TURN THE METRONOME ON AND START PRACTICING BETTER AND LEARNING FASTER RIGHT NOW!  GET YOUR FREE METRONOME GUIDE TODAY AT www.mindoverfinger.com!!!!   More about JAMES GAFFIGAN: Website: https://jamesgaffigan.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/james.gaffigan/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCljnsdbDEHbGLjTA1I1VkVg   Hailed for the natural ease of his conducting and the compelling insight of his musicianship, James Gaffigan continues to attract international attention and is one of the most outstanding American conductors working today. James Gaffigan is currently the Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and Principal Guest Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, recently extended for the third time. Since becoming Chief Conductor of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester James has made a very significant impact on the orchestra's profile, both nationally and internationally, with a number of highly successful tours and recordings. In recognition of this success his contract has been further extended until 2021. James is in high demand working with leading orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. The 2019/20 season features re-invitations to the Chicago, San Francisco and Detroit Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre National de France and Czech Philharmonic, as well as debuts with Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Melbourne Symphony and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He undertakes four major opera productions in the United States including La Cenerentola at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Ernani at San Francisco Opera, Don Giovanni at Lyric Opera Chicago and Tristan and Isolde at Santa Fe Opera. The 2018/19 season saw James make his debut with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks and return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester and BBC Symphony Orchestra. In the US he made house debuts at Metropolitan Opera for La bohème and San Francisco Opera for Carmen while European productions included a new production of La Fanciulla del West and Don Giovanni at Bayerische Staatsoper and Porgy and Bess at Dutch National Opera. Regularly conducting at major opera houses around the world, James' recent appearances include La bohème, Don Giovanni, La Traviata and Le nozze di Figaro at the Wiener Staatsoper; Così fan Tutte, La Cenerentola and Falstaff at the Glyndebourne Festival; Salome for Hamburg Opera; La bohème for the Opernhaus Zurich and Così fan tutte for Chicago Lyric Opera. James also works internationally with many leading orchestras and recent guest appearances include the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-orchester Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, Wiener Symphoniker, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Zurich Tonhalle, Seoul Philharmonic and Tokyo Metropolitan. In North America he has worked with New York Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, Baltimore and Toronto, among others. Born in New York, James was named first prize winner of the 2004 Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition. In 2009, he completed a three-year tenure as Associate Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, in a position specially created for him by Michael Tilson Thomas. Prior to that appointment James was Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, where he worked for Music Director Franz Welser Möst.   If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review on iTunes!  I truly appreciate your support! Visit www.mindoverfinger.com for information about past and future podcasts, and for more resources on mindful practice. Join the Mind Over Finger Tribe here!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfingertribe/     THANK YOU: Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme!  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson. Also a HUGE thank you to my fantastic producer, Bella Kelly!   MIND OVER FINGER: www.mindoverfinger.com https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/ https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/

Bogdan Rudnytski interviewed the Ukrainian Opera Star Andrei Bondarenko. Ukrainian baritone is one of the most exciting young baritones of today around the world (Sydney Opera House, The Marriage of Figaro - 18, 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Oct; 1, 2 Nov 2019). Despite his youth, he has already appeared at Salzburg Festival, Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Opera, Teatro Colon, Cologne Opera, Sydney Opera House, The 2019/20 season includes Conte Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro on tour with Currentzis and Musica Aeterna in Vienna and Lucern; Andrei will reprise this role later in the season with Opera Australia and at The Bolshoi Theatre. Andrei will make his debut at the Royal Opera House as Marcello in La bohème, and will return to New Isreali Opera in the title role in Eugene Onegin… - Sydney Opera House, The Marriage of Figaro - 18, 21, 23, 25, 29, 31 Oct; 1, 2 Nov 2019. Богдан Рудницький розмовляє із оперною зіркою світової слави, як свідчить оперна еліта та міжнародні засоби медії, співаком-баритоном Андрієм Бондаренком. Він - один з найперспективніших баритонів сучасності, який підкорив найзнаменитіші оперні і концертні зали всього світу, став лавреатом різних міжнародних конкурсів та фестивалів, виконавцем головних партій у відомих операх. Величезну популярність принесла співакові участь в постановках Зальцбурзкого і Глайндборнского оперних фестивалів, сольні концерти в Нью-Йорку та Лондоні, виступи у багатьох інших театрах світу. І, звичайно, в Австралійській опері. Тут, незадого, і ви можете полюбуватися голосом славного українця, котрому аплодує і поклоняється світ широкий... Не упускайте нагоду!

Since his 2007 Grand Prize-winning performance at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, tenor Michael Fabiano has been one of opera’s fastest-rising stars. The University of Michigan grad has headlined performances around the world including those with the San Francisco Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Deutche Oper Berlin, Vancouver Opera and more. Fabiano currently appears in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Puccini’s Manon. Michael Fabiano is featured in the Michigan Opera Theatre’s season-opening gala concert on October 12th at the Detroit Opera House. WRCJ’s Peter Whorf speaks with Michael about his days at the University of Michigan..and two experiences that helped Fabiano to prepare for a life in performance…high school debate and baseball umpiring.

The summer festival road trip continues as the OBS yobs gatecrash the Glyndebourne Festival in England... 'Pop Quiz' returns, as Matt tests the collective brainpower (some would say brain freeze) of Oliver and Tobias... In the ‘Two Minute Drill’, hirings and firings are happening fast and furious this week in Operaland… www.facebook.com/OBSCHI1 www.operaboxscore.com

In this episode of the Glyndebourne podcast Katie Derham is joined by novelist Kate Mosse, author of the multi-million selling Languedoc Trilogy and a major new historical series that starts with the first novel The Burning Chambers, published in May 2018. The music of Debussy has been a lifelong passion for Kate and the composer is an off-stage character in the second book in her Languedoc trilogy – Sepulchre. In this podcast, Kate discusses her love for Debussy and his opera Pelléas et Mélisande, which is being staged at Glyndebourne Festival 2018. Presenter: Katie Derham Produced by Katherine Godfrey and Nathan Gower for Whistledown Productions for Glyndebourne Festival 2018 The music in this podcast is from the 1963 recording of Pelléas et Mélisande released on the Glyndebourne Label. Music by kind permission of G.Ricordi & Co(London)Ltd Image of Kate Mosse. Photographer Ruth Crafer

In this episode of the Glyndebourne podcast, we explore the tangled web of politics and love in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with contributions from top mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, William Fitzgerald, Professor of Latin Language & Literature at King’s College London and Suzanne Aspden, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Oxford. Presenter: Katie Derham Produced by Katherine Godfrey for Whistledown Productions for Glyndebourne Festival 2018 The music in this podcast is from the Glyndebourne production of Giulio Cesare, directed by David McVicar, which was recorded as a co-production between Glyndebourne and Opus Arte in 2006. The musical edition by Winton Dean and Sarah Fuller is performed by arrangement with Oxford University Press Image: Sarah Connolly as Giulio Cesare and Danielle de Niese as Cleopatra in the Glyndebourne Festival 2005 production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare. Photographer: Mike Hoban

Brett Dean shares thoughts on his new opera Hamlet following its season at the Adelaide Festival.

Brett Dean shares thoughts on his new opera Hamlet following its season at the Adelaide Festival.

Es ist das britische Festival schlechthin für Oper im Sommer. Mit seiner ersten Saison als Generaldirektor des Glyndebourne Opera Festivals konnte Sebastian F. Schwarz 2016 die Auszeichnung "Festival of the Year" einheimsen. Im BR-KLASSIK-Interview spricht er nun über seine Pläne für einen Gesangswettbewerb und die Auswirkungen des Brexit.

Australian composer Brett Dean talks about on his new opera, Hamlet, for the Glyndebourne Festival, which is one of the most eagerly anticipated operatic premieres of the year.Laura Barnett's latest novel, Greatest Hits, focuses on Cass, a successful singer songwriter who retires from public life, and then plans her return 10 years later with her greatest hits. Singer songwriter Kathryn Williams has written a soundtrack to accompany the book and the two discuss their collaboration with Kirsty Lang.Theresa vs Boris, a docu-drama about the Conservative Party's 2016 leadership campaign, will be broadcast on BBC Two this weekend. Yet, after the 2017 general election the docu-drama already looks to be overtaken by the shenanigans in Westminster. Documentary maker Michael Cockerell and playwright Jonathan Maitland discuss the pitfalls and the pleasures of creating programmes based on recent political events, and if it is ever too soon to begin making such programmes. For BBC Music Day tomorrow all 40 BBC Local Radio stations and Asian Network in England have teamed up with the British Plaque Trust to unveil 47 historic Blue Plaques celebrating iconic musicians and venues. From Aspatria in Cumbria to Penzance, Kirsty Lang introduces some of the more unusual ones.Presenter: Kirsty Lang Producer: Julian May.

In this episode of the Glyndebourne podcast we explore Mozart’s discourse on the power of forgiveness - La clemenza di Tito - with contributions from Glyndebourne’s Music Director Robin Ticciati, Glyndebourne Dramaturg Cori Ellison, Mozart scholar Julian Rushton and Classicist William Fitzgerald. Presenter: Katie Derham ​​Produced by Katherine Godfrey for Whistledown Productions for Glyndebourne Festival 2017 ​​The music you’ve been listening to in this podcast is from the Warner Classics recording of La clemenza di Tito​. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the​ Orchestra of Zurich Opera House. Philip Langridge sings the role of Tito with Ann Murray as Sesto and Lucia Popp as Vitellia. Image: Glyndebourne Music Director, Robin Ticciati. Photographer: Giorgia Bertazzi

In this episode we explore Cavalli’s Hipermestra – an Italian baroque masterpiece that is given its UK premiere at Glyndebourne Festival 2017. Renowned soprano Dame Janet Baker recalls a glorious summer spent singing Cavalli at Glyndebourne in 1970. And conductor William Christie, Cavalli historian Christine Jeanneret and Glyndebourne dramaturg Cori Ellison reveal just how important Cavalli is to the history of opera. Presenter: Katie Derham ​​Produced by Katherine Godfrey for Whistledown Productions for Glyndebourne Festival 2017 Music courtesy of NPO Radio 4 Image: William Christie in rehearsals at Glyndebourne. Photographer: Mike Hoban

Katie Mitchell talks about her time directing Opera. Katie Mitchell is one of the few senior women working in opera in Britain and mainland Europe today. She has worked here at English National Opera, The Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Festival and Welsh National Opera. She is currently opening the revival of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin at the Royal Opera House whilst preparing for George Benjamin’s second commission scheduled for 2018. She has also worked extensively in Germany, France, Austria and Scandinavia at houses like The Staatsoper, Berlin, The Salzburg Festival and Royal Danish Opera. She is currently a resident artist at The Aix en Provence Festival where she has directed five operas including Pelleas and Melisande and Handel’s Alcina. IN her first ‘Conversation’, she will describe her background in theatre and how she fell into opera to become one of its leading international lights.

Attending a new opera? Better take it all in because there's a good chance it may not be performed again. According to a 2015 study by Opera America, of the 589 operas that were premiered over the last 20 years, just 71 (or 11 percent) received subsequent revivals. For the second of two episodes dedicated to contemporary opera, we consider why the revival percentage is so low, and what gives a new opera staying power. Marc Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America, says that historically, few operas have ever entered the standard repertoire. "In the years of the 1780s, over a thousand operas a year premiered," he noted, but only a few, including Mozart's Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni, have withstood the test of time and continue to be performed. "Even though we see such a flowering of American creativity in opera, we still see a relatively limited number of new works." The Opera America study found that Mark Adamo's Little Women has been revived the highest number of times, with 66 revivals since its premiere at Houston Grand Opera in 1998. David Gockley, who was general manager in Houston when Little Women premiered, says its popularity is due to its recognizable title, modest scale and ability to be performed by younger singers. "It is a gorgeous gem of a piece," said Gockley, who is now entering his 10th and final season as general director of San Francisco Opera. Gockley encourages young composers to make their operas "more portable, more performable by different-sized companies." Cori Ellison, dramaturg at the Glyndebourne Festival in England, notes that some larger companies are developing adjunct, black-box-style venues where new works can get their start. "It's good if you can commission a good old barn-burning grand opera now and again," she said. "But I think that a lot of the future of new opera in this country has to do with small venues and more modest scale." Dead Man Walking, by American composer Jake Heggie, has received the second highest number of revivals, at 42, since its 2000 premiere with the San Francisco Opera. Gockley said he's looking forward to more new works by Heggie in the season ahead. He also maintains that the current season is nearly a golden age compared with 40 years ago, when he was starting out in Houston. "Compared with 1974, this is an immense amount of activity and to be thankful for." Listen to the full segment at the top of this page and please share your thoughts below.

When George Benjamin's Written on Skin had its American stage premiere at the Mostly Mozart Festival on August 11, it became an unlikely summer blockbuster: a complex, contemporary opera with an abstract storyline and a dense, modernist musical language. The work got standing ovations from audiences and rave reviews from critics – but not all of them. This summer also saw another big premiere: Cold Mountain, by American composer Jennifer Higdon, at Santa Fe Opera. That work features a more accessible language, with traditional melodies and a conventional linear storyline, though reviews were somewhat more mixed. This week's podcast explores which approach works best in contemporary opera, and what has "sticking power." Joining host Naomi Lewin are Marc Scorca, president and CEO of Opera America, which represents North American opera companies, Cori Ellison, dramaturg at the Glyndebourne Festival in England; she also teaches at Juilliard and the American Lyric Theater; and David Gockley, who is entering his 10th and final season as general director of San Francisco Opera. From 1972-2005 he ran Houston Grand Opera, where he commissioned a lot of new work. Gockley is unconvinced by the popularity of Written on Skin. "It's a connoisseur's piece," he said. "Its musical language is extraordinarily complicated. I mean, are you going to sit down and play [a recording of] that at dinner?" As someone whose job includes filling a 3,200-seat house every night, Gockley says that he looks for works with a certain "bourgeois" appeal. "That is what we are – a bourgeois art form," he said. And if audiences don't immediately embrace a new work, "they're not going to come back." Ellison points out that a very different situation exists in Europe. On a list of some 60 notable modern operas recently compiled by Washington Post readers, only about 15 of them are by non-American composers. "Those 15 operas are in a much more modernist style or spectralist style," she said. European opera houses are generally smaller, benefit from government funding and can afford to take more risks stylistically. "It's a different landscape." A scene from Jennifer Higdon's 'Cold Mountain' (© Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera) But if traditional American opera audiences balk at a complex, modern work, how do we account for the warm reception Written on Skin received, and the cooler one for Cold Mountain? All three guests acknowledge that while Higdon's first opera wasn't perfect, it showed considerable promise. "I left Cold Mountain really wanting to hear Jennifer Higdon's next opera," said Scorca. He adds, "The challenge for today's composers is to find their own sweet spot between being truly contemporary, and writing in the moment of 2015, and finding a way to connect with the audience." And then there are regional tastes – and rivalries. "I think New York feels envious in one way and critical in another way of all the new operatic activity taking place outside of New York," said Gockley. "They are willing to dismiss it as being pap, and therefore, when something like the Benjamin comes along they can jump on that and think it's the bee's knees. As far as I'm concerned, it's just rehashing the modernism that has bit the dust again and again over the last 50 years." To hear our guest's comments on operas based on novels and films, and why that can help their success, listen to the full segment at the top of this page.

The Metropolitan Opera's decision last week to drop its HD and radio broadcasts of the John Adams opera The Death of Klinghoffer continues to draw strong responses – from newspaper editorial boards, anti-censorship groups, and music critics around the world. But this is only the latest chapter in the fraught history of this work. The opera's January 1991 premiere at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels took place in a tense atmosphere around the launch of the Gulf War, and patrons were greeted with metal detectors in the lobby (a rarity at that time). After the U.S. premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in March 1991, two co-commisioning organizations – the Glyndebourne Festival and Los Angeles Opera – decided to drop Klinghoffer from their schedules. And in 2001, the Boston Symphony dropped a scheduled performance of choruses from the opera.  But in recent years, performances have gone off as scheduled, and with mostly minimal debate; many critics have lauded the work's music and drama. The dialogue ramped up again when the Met cancelled its HD broadcasts, citing fears by Jewish groups that it could incite global anti-Semitism. In this week's podcast, Mark Swed, the classical music critic of the Los Angeles Times and longtime Adams-watcher, tells us what he thinks is behind the outcry. Segment Highlights: What's driving the recent outcry over the opera "It's a lot of hearsay. The people who have only reacted very superficially to the opera have been very loud. There has been a lot of misinformation. It's very easy to drum up outrage these days. You have opinions that are being promoted through social media and all the ways that you can now make a lot of noise without knowing anything and without having any ability to create a context."  On whether concerns of anti-Semitism are justified "Not at all. The problem with the opera of course is that there are anti-Semitic lines that are said by the terrorists. But that's what terrorists say. It would be highly unrealistic if they didn't have anti-Semitic attitudes and were hijacking the Achille Lauro. It would be like making a movie about Hitler in which he only said nice things about the Jews... "It's easy to hate your enemy. But to understand your enemy, to understand where your enemy is coming from, and to even have some feeling for that, and then be horrified by that person – that is so much stronger than a simple good guy, bad guy movie."  On the production itself "I actually didn't think this Klinghoffer production would be a problem. It treats the opera almost like a thriller. It's the least controversial of any production I've seen. And in fact, once people see it, I don’t think that there's going to be a problem." Listen to the full segment above and tell us what you think about the opera and its reception below: .chart_div { width: 600px; height: 300px; } loadSurvey( "what-do-you-think-mets-decision-cancel-klinghoffer", "survey_what-do-you-think-mets-decision-cancel-klinghoffer");  

In this podcast we journey to Russia in the 1820s, the setting for Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s tale of love and loss, Eugene Onegin. The opera was drawn almost verbatim from the novel of the same title by Alexander Pushkin, one of the great works of Russian literature. Here Glyndebourne’s dramaturg Cori Ellison and Marina Frolova-Walker, a specialist in Russian Music at the University of Cambridge, discuss the rich material on offer to Tchaikovsky within the novel and consider how the composer found his own voice with which to tell the story. In addition, baritone Richard Stilwell, who has portrayed Onegin many times, including at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1975, talks about what it’s like to play this not entirely likeable character. Produced for Festival 2014

Conductor Enrique Mazzola and Director Annabel Arden talk to James Whitbourn about their production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Glyndebourne Festival 2011. Recorded on location at Glyndebourne summer 2011.

Director Robert Carsen and Dramaturg Ian Burton talk talk to James Whitbourn about Handel's Rinaldo first performed at the Glyndebourne Festival in 2011 and revived in 2014. Recorded on location at Glyndebourne in summer 2011.

Three opera house music directors, Antonio Pappano from the Royal Opera House, Vladimir Jurowski from Glyndebourne Festival and Edward Gardner from English National Opera came together for a unique interview with broadcaster John Tusa. With an unparalleled frankness they discussed their passions, fears and the future of opera in the UK.