It's COMPETITION TIME again!In our second competition of the month, we're offering readers the chance to win one of five signed copies of Rare Verdi, the exciting new CD from Danish bass-baritone Johan Reuter which will be released on 31 March 2008 on the Michael Storrs Music label.
Taking its cue from the common nineteenth-century practice of performing opera arias with chamber ensembles in salon settings, the disc brings together Reuter – who is about to star as Theseus in the world premiere of The Minotaur at Covent Garden – and the greatly esteemed Kammerensemble Classic der Deutschen Oper Berlin for eleven extracts from nine of Verdi's early operas. The lucid orchestrations of these early arias make them ideal material for performance by reduced forces; for a singer to work with a small number of select string and wind players also enables a splendid flexibility of expression through controlled tempo and intricate phrasing that might not be possible with a full orchestra.
Stretching from Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio (1839) to Aroldo (the 1857 revision of Stiffelio), this attractive new CD allows the listener to gain an insight into the development of the composer's art over the first decade of his career. The other operas encompass everything from the relatively familiar such as Ernani, which is currently being revived at the New York Met, to obscure works such as Alzira (1845) and Il corsaro (1848).
Born in Copenhagen, Johan Reuter is well known to audiences the world over for an extraordinarily wide repertoire. In his early years as a member of the ensemble at the Royal Danish Opera, he tackled the key Mozart roles with ease, but it is as a dramatic singer that his special qualities have subsequently emerged. Of his striking Covent Garden debut as Wozzeck in 2006 I wrote: 'Reuter's performance was wonderfully full-blooded…We could only sympathise with this poor, manipulated man, however repulsive his character. The tone quality was exceptional, and his voice went from lyrical to tormentedly fractured within a phrase.'
These finely-honed qualities have similarly characterised his acclaimed performances in such varied works as Das Rheingold (Wotan) in Berlin, in Zaide and Alceste at the Salzburg Festival, and From the House of the Dead in Paris. Pertinent to this recording are his many Verdi roles, which have included Macbeth and Simon Boccanegra; to these he will add Posa later this year.
This coming weekend, we will be interviewing Reuter about his role in Birtwistle's new opera, The Minotaur, as well as his future plans which include returns to Covent Garden in Elektra and Salome amongst others.
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To enter the competition, just answer this simple question:
On his debut solo album Rare Verdi, Johan Reuter sings the aria 'Ei fugge!... Mina, pensai che un angelo' from Aroldo (1857). Which of his previous operas did Verdi revise to create Aroldo?
a) La traviata b) Rigoletto c) Stiffelio
Email your answer, full name and postal address to competitions@musicalcriticism.com by 12pm on Monday 14 April 2008.
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For more information about the competition, see http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/competition-reuter-0308.shtmlOther recent articles include two reports from WNO's recent visit to Llandudno, a review of Edita Gruberova at the Wigmore Hall, a DVD of Arabella, a new Hiller CD on Hyperion and a preview of the 2008 Mostly Mozart Festival at the Barbican Hall.
Bryn Terfel in Falstaff: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/wno-falstaff-0308.shtml
Rebecca Evans in The Magic Flute: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/wno-flute-0308.shtml
Gruberova: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/concerts/wigmore-gruberova-0308.shtml
Hiller on Hyperion: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-hiller-0308.shtml
Arabella on DVD: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/dvd-arabella-0308.shtml
Mostly Mozart: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/news/mostly-mozart-0308.shtml
McCreesh records The Creation: http://www.musicalcriticism.com/recordings/cd-creation-0308.shtml
2 comments:
This is criticism??
Assuming you're referring to the top part of the post, I'm thinking it's a competition...
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