USIA MAGAZINE

"Today, I am as old as the Jewish people themselves" – Baby Yar

Shostakovich's great Symphony No. 13 was composed based on the poem Baby Yar, which reflects on the massacre of thousands of Jews by the Nazis in Kyiv. It was written for a bass soloist, male choir, and large orchestra. The work is imbued with a somber and introspective tone, emphasizing vocal elements and declamation. It combines the structure of classical symphonies with music typical of Russian tradition.

The symphony consists of the following movements:

1st Movement: Adagio – An elegy and funeral ode, with a voice invoking Anne Frank.
2nd Movement: Allegretto – Featuring a song as an ode to humor, offering relief from oppression. As a metaphor, it portrays irreverent strength—a playful image that contrasts with the somewhat somber tone of the other movements.
3rd Movement: Adagio – Aiming to be an ode to the Russian woman, celebrating her sacrifice and endurance in a melancholic tone.
4th Movement: Largo – Evoking "fear," it reflects the failure to fulfill a vision of a society striving for equality and social justice.
5th Movement: Allegretto – A depiction of careerists, where the work gains a moment of lightness, becoming vocally more lyrical and soothing, with bells ringing as a conclusion.
Shostakovich greatly admired his compatriot composer Mussorgsky, whose influence can be seen in this composition.

The Conductor and Soloist

Conductor Nuno Coelho proved to be a revelation, achieving beautiful nuances and, most importantly, respecting the male voices in the choir by not overpowering them with the orchestra's strong sound. This deserves high praise, as there are conductors who, as if in competition with the singers, sadly drown out their voices, especially during the finales.

The legendary Swiss bass, endowed with a powerful yet sweet voice, as well as a bass-baritone register with beautiful high notes and a rich tonal quality, delivered an exceptional performance.

Opening Work: Xántara

The concert began with Xántara, a piece by composer Andreia Pinto Correia (b. 1971). The work has been described by The New York Times as an "auditory tapestry" and "powerfully meditative," and has also been praised by The Boston Globe and other U.S. outlets. Andreia has been a resident artist at the Rockefeller Foundation and a guest associate professor at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, among other distinctions.

The grand symphony "The Symphony of a Thousand" had not been presented here for 30 years. Its return to the Centro Cultural de Belém, performed by the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, was a momentous event.

Composed between 1906 and 1907, this work is renowned for its massive instrumental forces, featuring eight soloists and two choirs. It embodies an innovative and progressive structure divided into two parts:

Part I presents the hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus," a plea for illumination and inspiration of the heart.

Part II draws from the conclusion of Goethe's "Faust," depicting Faust's redemption and forgiveness after making a pact with Mephistopheles, the devil.

The symphony premiered in Munich in 1910, boasting over 1,000 performers, and was conducted by the composer himself. It is influenced by Beethoven's 9th Symphony and "Missa Solemnis," as well as Wagner's "Parsifal" and "Die Meistersinger."

Symbolizing a spiritual journey of redemption and enlightenment, the performance under Maestro Antonio Pirolli featured notable soloists, including the promising Portuguese soprano Silvia Sequeira, a rarity in the realm of lyric spinto or dramatic sopranos.

The choruses from São Carlos and Cantar performed in such a way as to ensure that the overwhelming number of instruments did not drown out the vocal lines. The participation of the children's choir from the University of Lisbon added an extra dimension to this unforgettable spectacle, making it a worthy counterpart to the last performance three decades ago.

While the event was indeed a celebration, it is crucial to reflect on why such a significant work had been absent for so long. Was it a lack of vision from our cultural institutions, or perhaps an underestimation of the audience's appetite for bold, complex music? The success of this performance serves as a reminder of the richness we have been missing and the need for more regular engagements with such monumental works in the future.

The grand celebration of the National Opera, lasting 21 days, is themed "Fatal Instinct." OPERfest 24 is in its 5th edition, this time set in the sumptuous and historic gardens of the Marquis of Pombal, in Oeiras. It is worth noting that the Marquis of Pombal was the great architect behind the reconstruction of Lisbon, which was almost destroyed by the 1755 earthquake.

The festival opens with two of the most popular Italian verismo operas: Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo. Both operas are directed by Maestro Osvaldo Ferreira and star the Basque tenor (lyric spinto) Andeka Gorrotxategi and soprano Catarina Molder in both productions — a rare feat, performing both operas in the same recital. The staging is by Mónica Garnel. These are two operas in a single act, where tragedy, crimes of honor, marital crimes, and romantic conflicts are brought into the popular realm.

The first opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, is centered around a love triangle and revenge, portraying the typical stereotype of the Sicilian people — overly passionate and impulsive. The Overture and Symphonic Intermezzo consist of beautiful melodies and famous excerpts from the work's themes.

The characters include Turiddu, a young villager who returns from military service, portrayed by the lyric spinto tenor Andeka Gorrotxategi, of Basque origin, endowed with a voice of a bright and rounded timbre, powerful and dramatically expressive. He lives with Santuzza, played by soprano Catarina Molder, who is unmatched in dramatic expression, as her voice has darkened over time (this role is sometimes performed by mezzos) in her despair and anguish after discovering that her lover has betrayed her with Lola (mezzo-soprano Leila Moreso), who is married to Alfio (brilliant baritone Cristhian Luján). Out of revenge, Santuzza exposes the betrayal and infidelity.

It is Easter, and in an intense and aggressive duet, they challenge each other to a duel, which, according to Sicilian customs, involves Turiddu biting the other’s ear. Santuzza sings the famous aria "Voi lo sapete, o Mamma," complaining to her mother, Lucia (Catarina Figueiredo). Meanwhile, the tenor, in his farewell, sings the famous aria "Mamma, quel vino è generoso," often performed in concerts. The opera ends with the scream of a woman announcing that Turiddu has been killed!

"First the Word, then the Music"
PAGLIACCI by Ruggero Leoncavallo
Conductor: Osvaldo Ferreira
Staging: Monica Garnel

The opera that followed was "PAGLIACCI," in two acts, first released in 1892, centered on themes of betrayal and murder.

Act 1: The opera begins with a Prologue sung by Tonio, the baritone, who addresses the audience, warning them that they are about to see and hear a play based on real events. The action takes place in an Italian village where a group of traveling comedians arrives. The leader is Canio (the clown), sung with great drama by the Basque tenor Andeka Gorrotxategi, and his wife Nedda (also known as Colombina), sung by soprano Catarina Molder. The performance is particularly notable for the excellent stage presence and vocal interpretation, especially from the soprano. Other characters include Tonio (baritone Jorge Martins), Tadeu, and Beppe (Arlecchino), sung by tenor Bruno Almeida. Tonio, a crippled man who was rejected by Nedda, hides and witnesses her with her lover, Silvio (Rui Baeta). Seeking revenge for Nedda's rejection, he reports the affair to Canio. The role of the Chorus is also quite significant throughout the opera. In a moment of deep sorrow, Canio, crying, sings the famous aria "Vesti la giubba," typically performed by a dramatic tenor.

Act 2: There is a performance of a play in the style of "Commedia dell'Arte." The husband, suspecting his wife of adultery, kills the lovers by stabbing them. With his heart broken, he turns to the audience and declares, "La Commedia è finita!" This "verismo" style aims to portray real life as it is, filled with human flaws and emotions.

Giuseppe Verdis masterpiece and last opera.
The comedy turns between the mischief of the voluminous character Sir John Falstaff, at Windsor during the reign of Henry IV. in which he tries to seduce and obtain money, from two married women, from the cunning Mistress Quickly and Mistresses Page and Ford!

Full of dynamic compositions and some melodies with great mastery in orchestration, score and voices. Baritone Pietro Spagnoli, endowed with a voice that has placed him in the greatest operatic theaters, is particularly interpretive, which contributes to his broad figure and big paunch, but his voice was often drowned out by the excessive volume of the orchestra.

With sets and props from the Teatro Regio in Parma, directed by Jacopo Spirei. We highlight lyric soprano Dora Rodrigues in expression and voice timbre!
This opera is filled with comments on love, honor and finally the human condition and vanity, reflecting Verdi's genealogy. The orchestra direction by Maestro Antonio Pirolli, which is dynamic and vibrant, but we would like, however, if the very strong sound of the orchestra did not cover the voices, especially in the crucial moments of the singers and in the emission of their high notes, so that the voices are project over the orchestra.

Act 1. Falstaff (baritone Pietro Spagnoli), rambles about honor, having failed to get Bardolph tenor L.Pinheiro and Pistola (Miguel Ángel Zapater-Bass) to deliver love letters to Mistresses Meg Page (mezzo-Catia Moreso) and Alice Ford (Dora Rodrigues-Soprano), they compare the cards and solve to trick Faltaff! They ask Mrs Quickly (Maria Luiza de Freitas- mezzo) to arrange a visit with a big man. Ford (André Baleiro-baritono) troubled due to his daughter Nannetta (Rita Marques-Soprano) who loves Fenton (Michele Angelini-Tenor) and refuses to marry Dr. Caius (Marco Alves dos Santos-tenor).

Act 2. Mistress Quickly tells Falstaff that Alice is waiting for him, between hours two and three. And several episodes follow, till a laundry basket is carried and they torment and hide Faltaff inside.

Act 3. The Intrigue continues, Fenton disguised as Oberon, sings a beautiful aria to Nannette.
Falstaff leads the company until the final 'Fuga'; 'TUTTO NEL MUNDO E BURLA'.

The only opera by Beethoven that had the title Leonora and then FIDELIO, with text by Josef Sonnleitner, the work was subject to several versions, ending up being altered and reduced into 2 Acts in 1806, ending up being the final version in 1814.

The 1st version premiered in Vienna in 1805, with the invading Napoli troops among the audience. The 1st Act is divided into 2 scenes, even by Mahler!

In this current production from Hamburg in partnership with Teatro São Carlos, in Lisbon, with a dictator Pissaro, Leonora, the wife of the political prisoner, disguises herself as a man to get into her husband's saddle! When opening the curtain (staged by George Delnon) we come across a modern room with large panoramic windows overlooking a garden, which is designed to have movement that is somewhat decorative but always outside the context and time in which the action took place. Now this has been happening, for some years or decades now, in almost all theaters in the world. The directors, in a general philosophy and conception, want to innovate in order to hear more with their eyes to perhaps attract a younger audience or perhaps, less knowledgeable in lyrical singing (belcanto).

However, as the opera progresses, some drawer rooms open to form the prison, in short...

As for the main singers, foreigners, Fidelio sung by the soprano Gabriela Scherer, we would like it to have better brilliance and"Flato" and involvement of a dramatic soprano, which the role requires, her husband Florestan was the lyrical Tenor Maximilian Schmitt, without the due dark voice and without being itself, a helden tenor.

Rocco: baritone Joshua Bloom, Marcelina: Susana Gaspar, Pizarro: Boaz Daniel, Jaquino: Leonel Pinheiro, and others.

The orchestra led by Maestro Graeme Jenkins conducted with vigor, although there were some disagreements with the singers.

The Choir was reinforced, delivering an intense sound typical of Beethoven.

A fabulous concert, with an orchestra at its best and a wonderful sound, atthe level of the best European orchestras, which I heard playingMusic by Strauss and opera overtures took us to the New Year's concerts in Vienna, Austria!
As for tenor Jonathan Tetelman, the star of the night full of expectations, which led to sold-out tickets, although there were many empty seats, was the big revelation.

Starting with Verdi's aria, "Questa o Quella," the lyrical tenor'svoice warmed up, until he began to sing arias more appropriate to alyrical tenor 'Spinto', by Mascagni, Bizet, and Donizetti, "Una furtiva lágrima", This aria is for light tenor, but Jonathan sang it with some dramatism, followed by Giordano, Ponchielli, and Puccini (composer forwhom he recorded records), followed by an also famous aria, byZarzuela "No Puede Ser"( often sung by Plácido Domingo), the program ended with the audience giving a vibrant standing ovation, leading to more extra arias! With Puccini's very difficult aria: "Nessun dorma"in which he revealed himself with spectacular high notes, emitting aperfect natural B, whose projection and voice tuning made the entireroom shiver.

This 36-year-old tenor, born in Chile and adopted in the USA, promises to become a dramatic tenor, whose timbre is maturing, as we expect this to happen. With a brilliant career, he has sung in severalEuropean theaters, with a second performance planned at the New YorkMetropolitan. He won the award with the record 'Opus Klassik for the "Young Artist ofthe year 2023".

The foundation once again presented concerts not only with piano butalso with famous singers, so congratulations!

The late afternoon concert on Sunday, 11/26, was one of the best ever held at the Gulbenkian Foundation. A wave of emotion and spirituality was effectively generated, with the audience applauding frantically, surrounded by the joy of perfect art achieved musically! The Polish Countertenor JAKUB JOZEF ORLINSKI and the Barroque Orchestra II Pomo d'oro.

The excellent voice contributed, which goes beyond being often undervalued within the lyrical world, except in Barog and 17th-century music. The program From Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) L'Incoranaione di Poppea, passing through Caccini's famous 'Amarilli, mia bella', whose expressiveness by Jakub surpasses everything I had already studied and listened to! Other composers sung and played by the orchestra were Cavalli and lesser-known composers such as Biagio Marini, Johann Caspa von KerllI, Barbara Strozzi, Carlo Pallavicino Demetrio: "Sinfoni Giovanni Cesare Netti, António Sartorio, Giovanni Cesare Netti, Adam Jarzebski, and Sebastiano Moratelli.

Finally, a panoply of baroque works, with instruments of the time mainly violins, viola, viola da Gamba and lirone, cello and double bass, Torba, Archialude and guitar, harpsichord and organ, harp and corneto, and flute.A series of emotions permeated the audience, especially with the empathy of Jakub, who performed, danced, and even performed stunts, remaining on stage, even performing pieces for orchestra only, and, in one of the arias, singing in the audience with bare feet!

The barroque tuning fork is not 440 Hz but usually 432 Hz, which gives singers greater comfort and an unusual tuning. As countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski is one of the most acclaimed artists of his generation, elevating this type of voice to the level of great performers, he exceeded all our expectations. Well done to Gulbenkian for treating us to a magical night of superlative music.

NABUCCO
Opera in 4 Acts by VERDI
Text by Solera, premiered in 1842 at the Teatro Scala in Milan
Sung at the Lisbon Coliseum by singers: Maria Ruiz, Maria Luisa Corbacho,
Manuel Más, António Alonso and Pablo Sanchez.
Production GRUPO CHIADO. Hesperian Symphony Orchestra.

Thus said the Lord: I shall deliver this city into the hands of King of Babylon, and he will destroy it by the fire- Jeremiah, 4;2

Nabucodonosor II: He was the 2nd greatest king of the Babylonian empire and had an important role in the Jewish war.In Verdi's opera, a beautiful chorus stands out (from the slaves of the Jewish slaves) that became universally known as a hymn:"VA PENSIERO"

Taking inspiration from these events, Nabucco is divided into the following parts:
Part I: -Jerusalem
Part II-The impious one
Part III-The Prophecy-with 2 Scenes
Part IV-The broken Idol- with 2 scenes

Considerations: The excellence of the voices was a surprise, whose singers, although unknown to us, have excellent singing skills. The main characters, both the baritone and bass, the soprano (Abigaille), stood out for their beauty, musicality and timbre of voices.
The public applauds enthusiastically and with 'bravos'!

MADAMA BUTTERFLY by Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

This is one of the most famous and most sung Opera in the world. It opens the 2023-2024 season at the TNSC, in Lisbon, being an event in the cultural sphere. This time starring Zarina Abaeva, on the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th October and Elisa Cho, on the 12th and 14th of October. The story of Butterfly originates from temporary marriages that took place in Japan, in 1885 in Nagasaki, with the habit of a contract lasting one month. This was until the foreigner leaves the country. Premiered in Milan in 1904 and in Lisbon in 1908.

1st Act: Unfolds with the Lieutenant of the American Navy, Pinkerton, full of voluptuousness played by the Portuguese Tenor Carlos Cardoso, endowed with good high notes and, with dramatic expression, not voice, but which we would like with lyrical beauty, round and with a more timbre sweet. Goro, the matchmaker was Marco Alves dos Santos, who revealed stage experience. Goro is paid for the Contract intervention. Meanwhile, the American Consul appears, Sharpless sung by baritone Stefan Astkhov, who seemed somewhat immature for the role, with an unmusical voice. The ceremony is interrupted by Uncle Bonzo sang by the excellente and big voice of Christian Luján, a Buddhist priest, who condemns such a marriage! Butterfly and her lover sing a duet, in which she explains how butterflies are pricked with a pin so they don't run away.

2nd Act: Butterfly sings the beautiful aria 'Un Bel Di Vedremo', three years pass without hearing news from the American, reporting the reasons why she became Geisha, due to economic scarcity. Suzuki the maid, played by mezzo-soprano Cátia Moreso, (dramatic and deep voice), who laments her mistress's deception and loneliness, which will lead to a dramatic end.
Before the Consul who visits her, Cio-Cio--San (Butterfly), shows him the American's son, while a gun salute is heard, announcing the arrival of a ship (with Pinkerton).

3rd Act:: Sitting looking at the pier are the three of them, Butterfly, Susuki and the boy. where they spent the night until sunrise. Pinkerton appears and sings the beautiful aria 'Adio Fiorito Asil', a lady is seen in the garden, it is the lieutenant's wife who wants to adopt their son. An ending in which soprano Zarina Abaeva gave more voice, finding the best point of acoustics and voice projection.

Considerations: The staging of Acopo Spirei respected the context, which is not happening in Opera Theatres, and the ending with a white-haired Butterfly, obese watching TV, without the courage or strength to stab herself
The Orchestra directed by Maestro Antonio Pirolli, had excellent strength and sound, although we already inform not to cover the voices with excessive orchestral sound!The audience gave an enthusiastic standing ovation!

"There is no more selfish passion than a luxurious life" - by Marquês de Sade.

George Bizet's opera ‘CARMEN’ it is based on the novel of Prospere Mérimée (1845). A writer born in 1803, in Paris who wrote also the novels "La Vénus d'Ille" and "Colomba", creating a new literary movement. Carmen is an adaptation for opera, but with changes in the story, authored by the librettists Meilhac and Halévy.

With premiere in 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, it was at that time a scandal. It is curious that, in the following years, thousands of performances of ‘Carmen’, made this opera a stunning success, making ‘Carmen’ one of the most popular operas of all time! Even the greatest singer of the century, Maria Callas, made a recorded opera, but never performed it!

In the beginning of the Opera, famous arias were sung by a mezzo-soprano " LÁmour et an Oiseaux rebelde", Habanera, 'Prés des Rempart de Seville' and, by Toreador baritone-'Votre Tost Je Vous Le Rendre', following, 'La Fleur que Tu M'ávait Jetée' by tenor, The wonderful Duet with Micaela and D.José.

1st Act: A square in Seville near the Military Campus and a Factory of cigarettes, appears Micaela (soprano Alexandra Bernardo) who is in love with the Soldier D.José ( Tenors : Rodrigo Pourras Garoulo and Leonel Pinheiro, alternating), the young woman comes to give news of her mother, followed by a duet, which we consider to be one of the most beautiful moments of the opera! While D.José reads his mother's letter, the Gypsy smoker Carmen appears throwing to him a flower, in a seducing game. Zuniga ( Baritono Ricardo Rebelo Silva) orders her arrest but D.José let Carmen escape, and by this, he was also arrested.

2nd Act: In the Taberna de Lillas Pastia, a meeting place for the smugglers, Carmen arrives with Frasquita and Mercedes. During this arrival she declines any type of men interested in her, because she expects the release of D.José, which was 2 months in prison.
Sundently the bullfighter or Toreator Escamilho (Bariton Christian Luján) appears and it is greeted by everybody with the song the Toreator's aria.
While all this is happening , the scene ends up with D. José and Carmen togheter and D. José deserting.

3rd Act: In the mountains the smugglers prepare the merchandise,
Carmen reads the letters that always reveal her death. Tired of the jealousy of the lover, she falls in love with the Toreator. This will have as consequence the fight between Toreador and D. José. While this happens, Micaela suddenly appears announcing that D. José mother is dying, asking him to return to the land where they were born. D. José this leaves with Micaela but promises to return.

4th Act: In front of the bull square the crowd rejoices and greats Escamilho which appears with the exuberant Carmen. Frasquita and Mercedes warn her
that D.José walks over there, to which she without fear prefers to accept death,
The ex-lover begs her not to abandon him to what she answers: "Kill Me or Leave Me " Immediately D.José stabs Carmen in front of the astonishing crowd.

Considerations:

Analyzing the singers, it happened that who originated the biggest applause and 'bravos' in the charming garden of the MNAA - Museum of Ancient Art, it was mezzo Katia Moreso. I should say that effectively endowed with a warm and round timbre, with wonderful interpretation of a character somewhat psychologically complex, which is Carmen a woman with narcissistic disorder. Carmen feeds suffering of others gaining with it pleasure, getting tired briefly of her lovers, because for her, love either does not exist or is very naife.

As for the tenors, Rodrigo P. Garulo of Mexican origin, already pleased us in previous Opera ‘Tosca’ at Opera Fest a few years ago with of timbre lyric ‘spinto’. He sang the final in a extremely dramatic and a powerful voice.

The other tenor that alternated in the two recitals was the portuguese Leonel Pinheiro, who is currently doing a international career at european theatres, especially english, also ‘spinto’, with even greater expression and dramatic grip. Leonel Pinheiro however I would like that his vocal technique should have a better ascend to the so-called 'mask' of resonance and greater diaphragmatic security.

Micaela was performed by the lyrical soprano Alexandra Bernardo, with beautiful and sweet timbre, also a great musicality. I have already heard her without amplification and with greater amplitude at Ajuda Palace in Lisbon in a Masterclass. I know she was awarded with 1st place in a Rotary contest.

I would like to notice that among many performers, I would emphasize the baritone Christian Lujan with dramatic voice. Christian Lujan, who although of Colombian origin, already lives among us for many years is practically Portuguese, becoming a famous.

By day, he is endowed with an excellent voice from good singing school lyric. He had a remarkable participation in ‘La Boheme’ of Giacomo Puccini at TNSC - National Theatre of San Carlos.Zuniga, also baritone was highlighted with a beautiful voice. The female and male singers with shorter roles were fulfilled their goals.The Orchestra was with an arrangement of fewer musicians, but sounded very well with the direction of Maestro Jan Wierzba.

The scenic direction by Tonan Quitoe and scenography of Pedro Azevedo was also well adapted.

It constitutes a great victory and jubilation for the lovers of Opera these ‘OPERAFEST’ in Lisbon, in which is already going on the 4th year, with the brilliant director and creator Catarina Molder! Already known at European level, with an initiative that deserves the greatest support. Following Carmen various and diverse shows, highlighting to Puccini with his small great work "Angélica Suor"! We'll have also "The Magic Flute" sung in Portuguese!!!

Opera in 1 Act, with music composed by Puccini and text by Forzano and debut in 1918. Musical direction of Maestro Luis Sepúlveda.

This is the 2nd opera of 'Il Trittico', composed by two more operas: Gianni Schicchi and Il Tabarro.

It constituted a great triumph the interpretation of Catarina Molder in the main role of sister Angelica, transmitting a great emotion to all the audience, to the point that we have seen spectators with tears in the eyes! Achieving great perfection, both in color and l tone of voice, very beautiful high notes, full of musicality, above all the expression of interiority and the sublime suffering!

Prologue

The action takes place around 1600, in a convent in the vicinity of Florence. Angelica was forced by her family to be locked up in this convent during 7 years. She was atoning for her sin because she gave birth to a child from a love affair, and her family took the child immediately as he was born. Having a child from a love affair would be a scandal.

After the prayer the nuns have just been called to the attention of the penitences and even the tunic to be used for any 'sin' committed. During this call, Sister Genoveva (Célia Teixeira) draws attention to the fact that the month o may is coming, and that it is the time when the water becomes with golden color due to the sun rays. When that happens, Sisters must put some of that water on the sister’s tomb that passed away. Suor Angelica comments that all the desires only grow in the living, because the dead do not have them. All the Sisters comment, subtly, that Angelica was noble and, lives tortured for not knowing the son's news.The Sister nurse asks if Angelica have some medicinal herbs to treat some bites of Vespa.

In the meantime, we hear a carriage coming. Abadessa (Alexandra Calado) warns Angelica that it is her aunt, 'Principesca' (Ana Ferro). Upon arrival the Aunt which presents itself with great coolness, brings a
document for her to sign the termination of the inheritance. Angelica claims to have made all things to be atonement for the virgin, but that the son who was taken from birth, could not be forgoten. The aunt finally tells her that her son died two years ago.

Suor Angelica sings a song with the superb aria: ‘Senza Mamma’. She decides to end her life, but after taking poisonous herbs, she regrets due to the fact that she will be soaked by hell, dying with the vision of the reunion with his son.

Considerations

The opera Suor Angelica is composed only by female singers, having participated in addition to the singers mentioned, the following: Rita Coelho, Leila Moreso, Rita Filipe, Sonia Alves, Laura Martins, Nadia Lys and Ana Isabel Freitas.
The orchestra, adapted to space, was impeccably directed. A Scenic Direction by David Pereira Bastos and Scenography of Patricia Costa.

Opera composed by VERDI with libretto by Piave, from the melodrama Le Roi S'Amuse by Victor Hugo.

Original title: "La Maledizione"

It takes place in the sec.16th in Mantua.

1st Act: The Duke of Mantua (Tenor) tells one of the courtiers that he is attracted to a young woman, whom he saw in the church. The hunchbacked jester Rigoletto (Baritone) appears, amusing the courtiers. Monterrone (Bass) erupts, roaring and cursing them! Meanwhile, a thief and murderer, he offers his services to the jester. The Duke disguised as a student and escaping to Giovanna (Mezzo) nurse Gilda (soprano) this daughter of Rigoletto, who being deceived by the courtiers, fears the curse.

2nd Act: The courtiers comment on the kidnapping of Gilda, whom they believe to be the fool's lover and not his daughter. Gilda runs in tears singing that she was deceived by the Duke but falls in love with him, persuading the murderer to spare her life, asking to kill another!

3rd Act: At Sparafucile's place, Madalena enters and Gilda knocks on the deor and is stabbed. It's midnight and a bag is delivered to Rigoletto, at that moment the Duke's voice can be heard singing the famous aria 'La Dona é Mobile'. Rigoletto opens the bag and sees with horror that it is his daughter in her death throes, collapsing over her bodv.

Considerations

Verdi composes the melodic sung recitative, and on the Duke's aria, he gave the order to keep it secret and nobody to sing it, before the premiere. Indeed 'La Dona é Mobile' has become very popular! In this Opera, the Baritone is the protagonist, which was very well interpreted by the Peruvian Jorge Tello, in this Production at the Lisbon Coliseum. Endowed with a voice full of brightness and with a beautiful rounded timbre, attacking the high notes with ease and with a 'legatto' and exemplary musicality and phrasing.

Tenor Alain Damas, with his voice still maturing, skipped the high notes, saving it for the last Act, where he should improve the rhythm.
As for the lyrical soprano with a full voice, Alicia Hervas.
The orchestra is sometimes impaired by amplification.
A good show with a full audience!

Legendary tenor Enrico Caruso used to say: This masterpiece requires the four greatest singers in the world!

Drama in 4 Parts- 1851-53

Revision 1856-Premiere at the Apollo Theater in Rome
Staging and costumes by Alessandro Ciammarughi
Music Director: Antonio Pirolli

The plot, which is plausible, is full of magnificent melodies! Together with Il Trovatore and the operas Rigoletto and La Traviata, Verdi composed a trilogy. About chivalry, honor, valor, and tragic love.

The characters are: Leonor (soprano Cristiana Oliveira), Manrico (Tenor Ivan Gyngasov), the Count di Luna (Baritone Alessandro Luongo), Ferrando (Dario Russo), Inês (Joana Seara), Ruiz (Sérgio Martins), Azucena (Cátia Moreso).

1st Act: In the aria Tacea la notte placida, the soprano Leonora, although she recognizes Manrico from afar, mistakenly embraces the Count of Luna, followed by a duel between the two rivals.

2nd Act: In a gypsy community camp, the old sorceress Azucena (Cátia Moreso), mezzo soprano, tells the story of an old gypsy dead at the stake. Describing to his 'son' Manrico, that the old Count killed his grandfather, he, upon hearing her piercing screams, in a gesture, throws the Count's son into the flames. After all, she comes to know that, by mistake, the man she killed was her own son! And furiously asks him why she didn't kill the Count? Manrico replies that he heard a voice from heaven, Meanwhile, Leonora enters a Convent, judging her lover dead. The Count tries to kidnap Leonora, but Manrico's friends disarm him.

3rd Act: The Count attacks the Castle where Leonora was taken, and Ferrando arrests Azucena by tying her up and taking her to the bonfire. Manrico sings the famous aria, 'Di Quella Pira' and runs to save his mother.

4rd Act: Leonora, in prison, hears a miserere to save the beloved, and, in exchange, she surrenders to the Count. After which she drinks poison, and not knowing this, her lover accuses her of treason. You can hear the aria 'In Quest´nfame l´amor vendutto´. The Count orders Manrico killed, and Azucena shouts that it was her brother.

We highlight the lyrical spinto tenor voice that Manrico sang, endowed with a brilliant timbre and excellent vocal technique, the rest complied, although we would have liked Leonora to be sung by a dramatic soprano, with more voice volume. As for Azucena, it was a triumphant night for the Portuguese mezzo-soprano Cátia Moreso, who sang with a beautiful voice and dramatic expression! The resident conductor, António Pirolli, gave great relief and control to the singers, however, we would have liked the orchestra not to cover the voice of the singers, especially at the end. The production and settings of the Opera de Trieste, very traditional and have a warrior atmosphere.

"Longing, the sateless desire that cannot fail to be reborn" Joan Matabosch.

Main cast

Isolde: Catherine Foster, the dramatic soprano, who received an honorary grant from the Royal Birmingham Conservatory, is known for interpreted the operas 'Die Frau Ohne Shatten', 'Fidelio', 'La Forza del Destino', 'Don Carlos', 'Electra' and 'Turandot'.

Tristan: Andreas Schager, austrian heroic tenor, who began his career as a lyrical tenor, but in 2013 he appeared as Siegfried, at the state of Berlin Opera House and later at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, in the Wagnerian repertoire. Andreas Schager sang at the Metropolitan Opera House (NYC) and several times at Teatro Real Madrid, becoming an international opera singer back then.

Kurwenal: Thomas Johannes Mayer - A german baritone, who had already sung at Teatro Real Madrid the famous operas: Lohengrin (2014) and Der Fliegende Höllander (2016).

Brangäne: Ekaterina Gubanova - Mezzo soprano, who born in Moscow, having sung for major opera houses including Bayreuth.

King Mark: Franz-Josef Selig - Bass.

Prologue

1st Act - Tristan introduces Isolde to King Mark to be her spouse, however she is denied, with a message by the armour-bearer Kurwenal. Due to this events, Isolde orders her handmaid - Bragäne - to prepare a poison for King Mark to drink, but instead of a poison, King Mark and Isolde drink a love filter. And the love story begins when after drinking the love filter, both fall insanely in love.

2nd Act - Isolde meets Tristan in the absence of King Mark, as he went hunting with Melot (tenor). In an incantatory love duet they sing with their most deep passion, which can only blossom during the night. Suddenly, they are surprised by appearance of Melot and King Mark, who is in love with Isolde. When King Mark realizes this deep passion between Isolde and Tristan, starts with his most rage against Isolde. King Mark feels an enormous betrayal. Isolde chooses to follow Tristan, his love, which makes Melot to seriously injure Tristan.

3rd Act - The trustful Kurwenal saves Tristan, and takes him to his castle in Brittany, in France. The mistreated Tristan, who keeps pronouncing deliriously the name of Isolde. Meanwhile, two boats approach, one with Isolde and the other with King Mark. With their arrival, Kurwenal wounds Melot (not knowing that King Mark had forgiven them). Tristan regains his consciousness and curses the filter of love. Faced with this tragedy, Isolde arrives and sings 'Liebestodt' lamenting, and then faints in the
beloved's arms - Tristan.

Considerations

In this semi staged version of the concert 'Tristan und Isolde' at the Teatro Real Madrid, without a score, but with the singers acting together, i always find myself in a phenomenon in which for a music lover, i can enjoy with deeper inner concentration. This is what makes 'Tristan und Isolde' a masterpiece after all.

Catherine Foster who plays Isolde, is endowed with a lyrical voice, with warm treble, soft and splendorous timbre. Catherine drew at the end of the concert strong applauses. Her voice was full with legato, dramatic intent and good articulation. Catherine Foster replaces soprano Ingela Brimberg, who as initially scheduled to play this role.

Heldentenor Andreas Schager, full with enormous energy gave the role of a vehemence and intensity, with an excellent technique of diaphragm and articulation. The voice with a somewhat lyrical timbre, although with middle notes, in which we would like to hear, a little darker.

Kurwenal is a baritone with a beautiful and full timbre and also very fiery. The mezzo-soprano in the role of Brangäne with a lyrical timbre and clear. The Russian Maestro Semyon Baychkov made a safe and vigorous conduction, in addition to building the singers with precision.

As for the staging, i liked the proposed solutions, in opostion to the aberrant and out-of-context stagings i saw in past (I recall the Tetralogy, in which the gold of the Rhine, was replaced by bombs of gasoline!). This time we saw a Kurwenal with passion and distress. Kurwenal embraces his lord with something beyond between the handmaid and Isolde! The Woman's singers wardrobe were made with old suits, but the menswear were limit to a actual suit.

Wagner opened doors to the breaktrought of tonal music. I shall consider 'Tristan und Isolde' also a Tragedy or even an aesthetic religious piece due to the complexity of emotions and insatiable yearning of desire.

On the 1st of July, I and António Lourenço took it upon ourselves to travel from Lisbon to Alcobaça, an hour drive, to meet soprano extraordinaire, a real force of nature who managed to hold on to the entirety of her voice until the very end of her career, one of the greatest voices of her generation, the Italian Mariella Devia.

Fresh from her retirement, she was invited to host a masterclass in Alcobaça, her first time on Portuguese soil, for promising young Portuguese voices, some established soloists and some still looking for their big break. Although we only listened to six pupils over the course of the day, it was clear from the get-go that she was determined to pass along the skills that she honed throughout her career to the masterclass participants, who on that day were all but one sopranos themselves.

Having enrolled in several masterclasses myself in Portugal and abroad, as a professional singer I know how meticulous, even surgical work is expected both of me and the teacher. She and her pupils passed that “test” with flying colours, having managed to overcome the handicaps presented by the stone used in the walls of the room, much more suited for conferences than singing lessons.

From 10-13 and 15-18 we powered through the soprano operatic repertoire, as is customary in masterclasses, due to the fact that very often the vast majority of pupils are sopranos, listening to arias from operas such as Turandot, La Sonnambula, Le Nozze di Figaro or Lucia di Lammermoor.

With incredible tact regarding more serious matters regarding breathing and intonation, Mariella Devia managed to make the pupils understand how to work on their shortcomings and move ahead, bearing in mind that there’s no magical formula and no fits-all solution, as we must discover what works for each and everyone of us specifically when being coached by a teacher.

On the afternoon break, we finally had the opportunity to engage the maestra herself and ask a couple of questions, which we had prepared beforehand:

António: Is there a reason why only now we here in Portugal are graced with your presence, after a long and distinguished career all over the world?

Mariella Devia: Well, you’ll have to ask my various managers about that (chuckles). I just never got invited to sing in your Teatro Nacional de São Carlos or anywhere else in this country.

Nuno: What do you think of opera audiences and their future?

Mariella Devia: With this ongoing pandemic, that’s still a big question mark. Prior to that, we were struggling to captivate and engage young audiences. As I said in previous interviews, music lessons from the earliest age, preferably from elementary school, could be of great help to young listeners and bring more people to the opera world.

After we had exchanged some personal experiences, António mentioning his love for belcanto and how glad he was to finally be able to talk with he considers to be the queen of the operatic genre, up there with Renata Scotto in his opinion, in his bid to listen to perfection (if such a thing even exists),and me focusing on the sorry state of job offers regarding professional singers, be it in professional choirs or solo in Portugal, or my own experiences in masterclasses hosted by such sacred monsters of the opera world like Renato Bruson, Luciana Serra or Montserrat Caballé, we bid heradieu and I said I hoped I had the opportunity to be coached by her in the future, as, owing to the financial devastation caused by COVID-19 which left our life as singers in dire straits, as if our situation weren’t difficult enough before, I could only participate as a listener. Even so, I was ecstatic to have finally met the diva (I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for saying that) in the flesh.

Directed by: Miguel Loureiro
Movement: Miguel Pereira
Libretto by Rudolph Wurlitzer from a short story by Franz Kafka Singers: André Henriques (Baritone) and Frederico Projecto (Tenor)
Performers: João Gaspar and Paulo Quedas

The 20th century composer, Philip Glass was the founder of Minimalism. His first composition of music was called as a 'Repetitive Minimalism', in which we can consider as an obsessive music, with an array of repeated chords.

Its promoters would have make us to believe that music lovers rejected it out of laziness and distance themselves from such exercises, in addition to labeling them as 'conservative'. Now, modern composers juggle notes with notes, forgetting the enjoyment of the public and composing for themselves.

In the past an audience was used to delighting with the melodies and arias, as well in addition to the rhythm and tonal tuning! Many claim with disbelief that opera and belcanto put an end to the operas of Puccini and Richard Strauss. Althouth i regard as Opera a few Operas from the 20th century, especially from the composers: Benjamin Britten, Menotti and Dallapiccola. It is, above all, about the lyrical singing, displaying the talent and technique of the beautiful voices, the Divos and Divas, who took years to perfect their gifted voices, to flood us with melodic beauty!

Now, in Glass's work, the coldness, the aridity and above all, the image to be heard. In this staging there was an attempt to recreate the aridity of the lack of arias, through color and an ambiguous machinery.Great courage by André Henriques, who kept a good voice and who, stripping naked, gave his body to the bullets!

Faced with the scarcity of lyrical shows in our country, it would be much better to use the funds spent on productions that are more accessible to the public and that encourage and attract more audiences, especially the younger ones, an added responsibility as this show will be promoted among the Schools! Will it push them away instead?

"Il Viaggio a Reims" by Gioachino Rossini. Review by António Lourenço, 1st January 2023

In 1825, the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini inaugurates his period of french operas starting with "Il Viaggio a Reims”, which is another name for 'Albergo Lys d'ôr', a giocoso drama with one Act created on the occasion of the Coronation of King Charles X.

This event was mentioned on the book 'Memoire d'Outre Tomb’ by the famous writer Chateaubriand, who attended the ceremony at Reims. He wrote: “…the current coronation will be a representation of a coronation, not a real one.”

Also the great romantic writer Stendhal attended in Paris at the Italian Theater the première of the “Il Viaggio a Reims", and parodying Chateaubriand: “…we would classify it as the crowing of the performance”.

Rossini also ranked the work as a: “Scenic Cantata”.

The plot describes a group of happy idlers coming from different parts of Europe, who are staying in a Termal Hotel to attend the coronation festivities.

Years passed, and composition was never mentioned again, until it was rediscovered in the mid-1980. It is considered a masterpiece, full of joy and folly. The composer will use some themes of this opera, in another opera called "Le Compte D’Ory” made in 1828.

Rossini composed 40 operas between 1810 and 1829. After 1890, long 40 years of silence in which he wrote nothing for the lyric theatre. His music is full of transparent frivolous melodies, with arias, cavatinas, with humour and irony, consolidated with the tragic, the smile and the melodrama. All of these, was made in his residence on Av. Ingres in Paris, decorated the ceilings with frescos and medallions by Mozart, Palestrina, Cimarosa and Paiscello.

Seeking the reason why Rossini abandoned the composition of operas, I see similarities when tired sovereigns of their greatness voluntarily abandoned the throne. Although a sovereign it is easily replaced by another sovereign, not a great artist.

ÈGID-Associação Portuguesa de Artes, associating itself, with the CCB, collaborated in this production, in good time! Highlighting some singers, I mention the role of Maddamma sung by Rita Marques, a coloratura soprano, in frank progress with a clear timbre voice, although in the acoustic of the Auditorium, has shown less volume of voice. The Countess of Foleville was Carla Caramujo, not in good form, weak and not accepted by the public.

The big surprise was Tenor Kon Kim, from Korea, but with success and a career in London at Covent Garden, gifted with a rare voice with highs notes, fulling the auditorium singing and emitting chest "C"-Dó di petto, not a falsetto because this 'Cs' as it is sustained with the support of air and muscles, beautiful timbre and volume.

In Lord Sidney the bass-baritone Gianluca Marghery, born in Florence, is a powerful and musical voice with a good school of singing ( it is curious that after studying singing with several teachers he also studied with a Portuguese Fernando Opa that leaves in Bologna and sang with us in São Carlos)

It took great courage for the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, to undertake to produce such n opera featuring 17 solo singers, 15 Portuguese and a symphonic orchestra and choir. The result was a huge success, with the public standing up to applaud! It was interpreted by 4 Sopranos, 4 Tenors, 6 Baritone, 1 Bass and 2 mezzo-sopranos.

The emphasis on the role of Corina to soprano Barbara Barradas whose evolution amazes us from interpretation to interpretation has shown in a beautiful Aria, with rounder and fuller timbre, and musicality, of a lyrical soprano, (we know that one of her teachers of 'Canto' was Mariela Devia, the queen of ‘Bel canto')! more highlights to baritons André Henriques and Luis Rodrigues. The Conductor Maestro Pedro Carneiro is increasingly revealing himself, with mastery and confidence, in conducting a symphonic orchestra as some as the singers!

A wave of current stage directors continues to reign in Ópera, imposing themselves dictatorially on the lyric world. Opera lovers complain and don't go to opera theaters against the lack of respect for historical periods, desynchronizing the actions and plot, and taking them out of context from the libretto. The most unreasonable stagings are made to display false creativity and narcissism.

In the present case, the staging by Teresa Simas, tries not to escape the period and epoch of the action, using the most economical and stylized means available...and the moment of Dance (?) the most unreasonable Hip Op! But it is not what the public would like to see! Just to be different?

In short: for us, lyrical singing and singers' voices are the main interest in opera, but there is the public that goes to theaters, to admire the staging and the sets!

"Pelléas et Mélisande" composed by Claude Debussy.

Stage director Kristiina Helin and conductor Dinis Sousa by "Orchestra XXI".Review by António Lourenço, 10th October 2022

2022 Fundação Centro Cultural de Belém

The great Auditorium of Centro Cultural de Belém performed "PELLÉAS ET MÈLISSADE".

Now staged in 2022, this Opera it isn’t at our only lyric theater - TNSC - São Carlos of Lisbon but at CCB! This constitutes an event worthy of highlighting, given that the Coliseu of Lisbon rarely presents lyrical shows. Even at this time when the majority Portuguese singers need to get out of their usual lack of work.

Played by "Orquesta XXI" and conducted by Maestro Dinis Sousa, whose direction was very good, it's a fact that the usual opera lovers claimed that the composition for the lyric theatre, ended with Puccini, with his wonderful melodies and Arias, unforgettable, to which we would add Richard Strauss (with 15 operas), and some Russian composers.

Moving now to some chronological data and curiosities, about this Drame Lyric:

In 1893 Debussy obtained permission from Maurice Maeterlinck to compose the music for Pélleas et Melisande and the première took place in Paris at the Opera Comic with soprano Mary Garden, who was chosen by Debussy itself,to play the lead role. Maestro André Massager (1853-1929) directed. The famous soprano Vitoria de Los Angeles (1922-2006) also sang Mélissade in 1979.

In 1908 the first performance took place in an Italian version at La Scala di Milano, with the baton of the legendary Maestro Arturo Toscanini.

Proceeding with the 2022 Production at CCB, The Portuguese singers Susana Gaspar and Andre Baleiro interpreted the main roles and the remaining characters, we had Stephan Loges as Goland, Elodie Méchain as Geneviève and Patrick Bolleire as King Arkel, and Nuno Dias and Luis Pereira. We verified a degree of professionalism in our singers, despite the little savvy they are subject to in this country, where often the culture has been relegated by other forms of alienating sport.

In good time the CCB returned to producing and showing opera, and we are delighted with this happening, eagerly awaiting the next Italian lyrical spectacle " Il Viaggio a Reims". Opera is one of the great symbols of culture encompassing all forms Art, from music, plastic arts, dance, and especially, Canto - singing or Belcanto!

Salzburg Festival 2022 - Program

The Salzburg Festival is the world's most significant festival for opera, music and drama. The diverse programme includes classics and world-famous artists as well as a growing range of events for young people.

The programme 2022

About the programme of the Salzburg Festival 2022

With 174 performances in 45 days at 17 venues, the Salzburg Festival presents a diverse program. Opera highlights include Mozart's The Magic Flute and Verdi's Aida. In addition to Jedermann, the drama programme includes Schnitzler's Reigen. The concert programme will feature the Ouverture Spirituelle under the title Sacrificium, as well as numerous other concerts with top-class orchestras and soloists.

Opera

Quasi the starting point of all operas in the summer of 2022 is Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Its energies and motifs can be found in all the featured operas: Bluebeard's Castle / De temporum fine comoedia, Aida, The Magic Flute, Il trittico, Kát'a Kabanová.

Drama

Hugo von Hofmannsthal's Jedermann, the founding play of the Salzburg Festival, will once again be at the centre of the 2022 drama programme. The celebrated ensemble from 2021 will be on stage 14 times this year. The ensemble is led by Lars Eidinger as Everyman and Salzburg native Verena Altenberger as his Paramour. The programme is complemented by works by Marieluise Fleißer, Arthur Schnitzler and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, as well as three readings.

Concert

The 2022 concert programme reads like a Who's Who of classical music: the Vienna Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg, Christian Thielemann, Elīna Garanča, Riccardo Muti and Daniel Barenboim to name just a few from the top-class programme. The Guest Orchestras series opens with Teodor Currentzis and the Mahler Youth Orchestra, and also features Lang Lang and the Berlin Philharmonic. Lieder recitals, chamber and church concerts as well as the Ouverture Spirituelle and the Mozart matinees are also on the programme in the summer of 2022.

jung & jede*r – The Youth Programme of the Salzburg Festival

The youth programme in the summer of 2022 includes 54 performances. In addition to workshops, a children's opera, drama and a music education programme, this summer for the first time there will be Festival patronages, in which experienced visitors to the Festival introduce young people to the world of the Festival. The opera camps for children aged 9 to 17 are also particularly popular.

MET Opera, USA

GIUSEPPE VERDI Don Carlos. Met presents the original five-act French version of Verdi’s epic opera. News, 10th February 2022

For the first time in company history, the Met presents the original five-act French version of Verdi’s epic opera of doomed love among royalty, set against the backdrop of the Spanish Inquisition.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a world-beating cast of opera’s leading lights, including tenor Matthew Polenzani in the title role, soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Élisabeth de Valois, and mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton as Eboli. Bass-baritones Eric Owens and John Relyea are Philippe II and the Grand Inquisitor, and baritone Etienne Dupuis rounds out the all-star principal cast as Rodrigue.

Verdi’s masterpiece receives a monumental new staging by David McVicar that marks his 11th Met production, placing him among the most prolific and popular directors in recent Met memory.

FEB 28 - MAR 26

ROP, UK

Tosca. News, 7th February 2022

Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation

Three outstanding casts bring alive the excitement of one of the best loved operas in the repertory: Puccini’s Tosca. From the demonic chords with which it famously begins to the violent twist of its shock ending, the tension never lets up for a moment.

Into the romantic world of an idealistic painter, Cavaradossi, and his sensuous lover Tosca comes the malevolence of Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police, with fatal results. Jonathan Kent’s taut and intense production with Paul Brown’s historically charged designs wonderfully evokes the dangerous atmosphere of Rome in 1800, where love and evil come – thrillingly – face to face.

8–22 February 2022

Lisbon, Portugal

Opera IOLANTA at Teatro São Carlos de Lisboa with Tchaikovsky's(1840-1893). Review by António Lourenço, 5th October 2021

"I am touched by arguments in scripts in which real living people act, who feel the same way as I do ": Piotr Tchaikovsky.

The libretto was written by himself, translated from Danish, by Vladimir R.Zotov, and this being the last opera by the composer, best known for the music of famous Ballets such as " Swan Lake", " The Nutcracker", Sleeping Beauty", also piano and violin Concerts, and several symphonies. However, he composed 10 Operas or 11 (one with two versions) , There are at least two great masterpieces: "Eugene Onegin" and "Pique Dame" , but at least 6 other Operas, including "IOLANTA", are among the most notable creations produced in Russia!

What is lyric theatre for this composer? An opportunity to communicate with a wide audience, stating this in a letter to Madame Vonmeck, where he expressed is a vision of the difficulties of operatic creation: "the scene -this is not to forget that the theatre it requires not only melody and harmony, but also action, as the audience came to watch, not just to hear, but also to see. Those constraints paralyse inspiration, because in a Sonata or even in Chamber music, one is free, with no restrictions or constraints".

The Opera Iolanta was premiered at Theatre Marinski of S.Peterburg in 1892 (now there are two Marinski theatres) on the same night together with ballet "Nutcracker" having this ballet surpassed the success of Iolanta. The criticism was less favourable, according to the comment of the composer Rimski-Korsakov that in his memories (something bilious) or spiteful.

The action of Iolanta takes place in the 15th century and the pseudo -medievalizing libretto of sentimentality giving the opera a static character, with the intrigue somewhat predictable and with a happy ending, more like scenic Cantata. The protagonist reveals herself in a beautiful aria: "Because I didn't know before, nor longing-nor sadness, nor tears". The plot is about a blind Princess, daughter of the "good King René" of Provence, who will regain her sight through the transfiguring force of love, the word longing-mocka has feelings such as sadness and melancholy and has affinities with german 'sehnsucht' or even with Portuguese 'saudade' suggesting desire, nostalgia, longing always present in Tchaikovsky.

The composer nourished affection for Richard Wagner and Tchaikovsky was present at the inauguration of the Bayreuth Festival in 1876. it is noting in Iolanta some traces of Wagner's "Tristão and Isolda" I remember that Wagner the genial German composer, was the creator of the famous Theatre of Bayreuth!

In Iolanta there are 10 solo voices and choir, in addition to a symphonic orchestra. In this Production, I would like to highlight the soprano Arina Azaeva, although we prefer her in "La Wally" where she showed her excellent voice of spinto. but she performed a good interpretation of the protagonist. As for the Baritone Guriy Guryev, interpreter of the Duque of Burgundy surprised us with the aria: 'Kio Mozet Sra Vnitsa', singing with great vehemence, intensity and volume, also beautiful timbre. The Bass Evgeny Stavinsky possesses a strong timbre, and also Alexander Milev, with a deep bass voice, (as a true Russian bass)!

Concerning the Portuguese soloist, I praised their courage for singing in the Russian language, all sang well.

About the Tenor, I remember the 2006 Production in São Carlos, with the now-famous Tenor Piotr Beczala, a wonderful voice, which already enchanted us at that time, different from the tenor Misha Didyk, now in some rule, because he has an excessive 'vibrato' and harsh voice, although imprinting a great vehemence with high pitched notes somewhat shouted.

The Choir was prejudiced by the installation of diverse virus protection. The Conductor Mr. Graeme Jenkins drove the national Orchestra safely, achieving an apotheotic finish, with immense applause!

Lisbon, Portugal

Philip Glass, Orphée. Review by António Lourenço, 30th January 2022

Composed by Philipe Glass, based on the film by Jean Cocteau (1950)

We went to watch the show that intends to be an Opera, performed in CCB-Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon.

P.Glass is known for his passion for the works of the famous French writer Jean Cocteau and composed also other Operas inspired by him: "La Belle et La Bête"(1994) and "Les Enfant Terrible"(1996). Orphée, following the structure of: 'boy loses girl, boy gets girl, the boy finds girl '.The coldness and minimal repetitive mechanism of the music will be reflected in the staging, dozens of white chairs filled all the stage, not letting the dancers move but playing aberrant gestures and mimics without understanding the meaning.

The lyric singing, vocal techniques, beauty of the voices as well as melodic vein are absent! All the singers were Portuguese, also the Conductor Maestro Pedro Neves.

Orfeu mythic theme inspired several Operas:" L'Orfeu" by Monteverdi; "LA Morte d'Orfeu" by Landi; "Euridice" by Caccini ; "Euridice" by Jacopo Perli; "Orfeu" by Rossi; and Sartori. But "ORFEU ed EURYDICE" composed by Gluck is mostly performed, whose famous aria: "J'ai Perdu mon Eurydice" is sung by Countertenors, Mezzo-Soprano or Tenors.

Lisbon, Portugal

La clemenza di Tito, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Review by António Lourenço, 15th December 2021

LA CLEMENZA DI TITO by Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART(1756-1791), a drama with a mythological subject, serious and heroic, composed in honour of the sovereign Leopold II:

MOZART was born in1756 and has always been considered a child prodigy. At that time, the Enlightenment had paid special attention to childhood, which emerged in the 18th century. 'Amadé' (as he came to sign) having toured Europe often between the ages of 6 and 15, accompanied by his father and sister Maria Anna Mozart (1751-1829)-whose compositions did not rich us.

Mozart composed serious operas such as "Idomeneo", "Mitridate Re Di Ponto", but above all, he is famous for his 'Bufa' or Comic operas such as "Nozze di Figaro"(Marriage of Figaro), Cosi Fan Tutte", with beautiful melodic arias.

The central theme of "La Clemenza di Tito" will be that of a tyrant who forgives everyone, with the action taking place in Rome. The composer thought singers Castrati for the characters of Sesto, a friend of Tito, and Vitellia lover, and Anio, a friend of Sesto, Servilia lover. Castrati possessed feminine voices ( because teenagers were submitted to castration surgery in order the voices sound falsetto). The opera is full of duets, tercets, quintets, and arias, as well as recitatives and some choirs.

Sesto's arias: 'Parto, ma tu ben mio' and 'Deh, per questo instant solo', sung by the mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose, something difficult, to perform! As well Vitelia's:'Non piú de Fiori', sung by soprano Susana Gaspar, was well sung with remarkably 'coloratura' and vocalizations. The soprano Cecilia Rodrigues was Servilia, Sesto's sister and Annio's lover, sung by Miriam Albano. In the role of the Emperor of Rome Tito Vespasiano, was the Tenor Pablo Bermsch, endowed with a beautiful voice, but we would like and advise some improvements in his vocal technique.

Regarding Orchestral interpretation, remembering that in the 60's/80's and also before, there was a so-called Mozartian style which we refer to, the great Maestro Karl Böhm, that was a standard example. The voices should not be muffled by the conductor. The Italian Maestro António Pirolli was although a good interpreter.

Once again we left the São Carlos Theater, enchanted by the sublime music of Mozart, with great expectations for the next season of 2022!

Würzburg, Germany

The Mozart Festival in Würzburg celebrates 100 years amid pandemic. News, 2nd June 2021

A Mozart tapestry

Expressionist Oskar Kokoschka designed the set and costumes for Mozart's "The Magic Flute" twice — once in the 1950s and once in the 1960s. He combined various informal scenes from his sketches of the opera on this woven tapestry.

Until very recently, the people of Würzburg had been worried whether their 100th anniversary Mozart Festival would even be able to take place in front of a real audience — due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. - DW

"Giving up was out of the question for all of us. We had to fight for this season to happen," says the music festival's artistic director, Evelyn Meining. She says that the musicians were fed up with playing in front of cameras or against glass windows. "This music that comes from the heart and is intended to pull on your heartstrings can only be communicated as a live experience," she told DW.

The declining numbers of COVID infections have already allowed a limited number of listeners to attend the opening concert on site, including guest of honor, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In his opening speech, Steinmeier emphasized that Mozart was not a composer who was only to be enjoyed during "good times."

"The same applies to (Mozart) as to art in general: we need him especially during difficult times."

How much Mozart does one need?

Steinmeier welcomed the fact that the Mozart Festival would not only feature the composer's music but would also encourage a discussion about the direction of Europe's overall cultural heritage. He was alluding to a planned series of discussions as part of the festival entitled "How much Mozart does one need?"

Mozart has long become synonymous with art and culture, said Evelyn Meining in response, highlighting that the real question therefore is how much education and how much culture people need — and how prepared we are as a society, especially during the COVID pandemic, to fight for the preservation of art and culture.

For the opening event, Evelyn Meining and conductor and composer Jörg Widmann put together a program featuring a broad range of Mozart works. The focus was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's last symphony, the Jupiter Symphony.

Widmann's own composition Con Brio was also played, which featured abrupt jumps between classical chords and surprising sounds. "You can hear Mozart even more intensely when you combine his work in a program featuring a contemporary piece," Widman said.

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Lisbon, Portugal

Opera ERNANI in Theater São Carlos of Lisbon. Review by António Lourenço, 24th May 2021

Sao Carlos

It was one of the biggest hits of recent years. The cast gathered to interpret Verdi's opera, less sang.

ERNANI's last performance was 51 years ago in São Carlos cinema, in Lisbon, but this concert version without sets, made us discover much more of this treasure of bel canto, and with such a cast of the greatest and famous singers, as is usually in theatres like La Scala, Metropolitan of New York, Covent Garden, Liceo of Barcelona, Real of Madrid, etc.

Possible, maybe due to the epidemic and the rarity of performances in the world, it was possible to bring to Lisbon such a luxury cast. Singing by heart, with gestures and acting!

The American Gregory Kunde (56 years old) was the protagonist, endowed with a beautiful voice of tenor lyric spinto, splendid high notes that spilt over the theatre. However, sometimes, his medium notes caused a lake of timbre, but compensated with the high pitched ones!

D. Carlos, the king of Spain, future Carlos V, sang by Simone Piazzola, born in Verona, surprised the audience doted of rare timbre and colour of the voice of true lyric-bariton and full of emotion. He was 2nd Prize, a public prize in the 2013 Operália competition in Verona and also the "Abbiati" prize, having a promising future and an international careear.

Elvira, loved by 3 men, superbly sung and performed by the Chinese-born soprano Hui Hi, possessing a powerful and dramatic voice, voluminous and round. She is being requested by all the top theatres in the world, maybe even the Metropolitan with 4070 seats, could sound little to such a big voice!

The bass, Fabrizio Beggi, was D.Ruy Gomes de Silva, a deep voice of ´"basso-profundo", and an intense histrionic expression, performing also he was in a scene and not in a concert version, so like all the singers.

The remaining Portuguese interpreted we highlighted the coloratura soprano Rita Marques and also Sergio Martins and João Oliveira.

The roman Maestro António Pirolli, directed with great elevation, contributing to huge success, although sometimes the sound of the orchestra covered the ensembled voices. The enthusiasm of the audience proved how an opera in concert is a transcendental and exciting experience!

RUSALKA - Lyric fairy tale, is an opera by the Czech composer Antonin Dvorák. Review by António Lourenço, 24th May 2021

The libretto was written by Jaroslav Kvapil (1868-1950), based on the fairy tales from Karel Jaromir Erben and Bozena Nemcova.

A rusalka is a water sprite from Slavic mythology, It's one of the most successful Czech operas (Dvorák composed 9 operas).

The composer, Dvorák, played viola in the pit orchestras in Prague, and he had an experience of operas by Mozart, Weber, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner and Smetana.

Russalka has beautiful melodies and orchestral timbres but, only last years, has been performed more regularly.

"Song of the Moon" is an aria, most known sung by a soprano often in concerts also. The composer completed this opera at the end of 1900, and the first performance was in March 1901 in Prague, which soon gained success. In 1910 was given in Vienna. But, only In 1959, the UK stage premiere at Sadler's Wells Theater, following the United States in 1975. At last in 1993, At N.Y. Metropolitan Opera.

RUSALKA, a water-nymph, tells that she has fallen in love with a human prince and she want to become human to embrace the prince. After drinking a potion, the prince appears from the forest and embraces her!

The spectacle is about 3 hours. At the tragic end, Rusalka thanks the prince for letting her experience human love, returning to her place in the depths of the lake as a demon of death.

The Music allowing for nationally inflected passages and GROVES judges that the work shows the composer at the height of his maturity admired the melodic patterns, and orchestration described a profound disturbing drama their majestic almost hymnic solemnify.

The duet between the Prince and Rusalka was considered as the most glorious minutes in all opera.

Rusalka was sung in the original language by the Portuguese soprano Dora Rodrigues. It was a success with beautiful tone and expressivity, a soprano lyric, that deserves much more opportunities.

The Prince was a heldentenor Peter Wedd, strong voice of Wagnerian tenor and the Spirit of waters was the baritone Thomas Johannes Mayer, a strong and imposing voice almost bass-baritone.

We want to mention the Portuguese mezzo-soprano, Maria Luisa de Freitas, also a good voice and it was a "tour de force of singing in the Czech language" and the Conductor, Graeme Jenkins.

Congratulation to the Director and staff of Teatro São Carlos, for its high-level production!"

OPERAFEST Lisboa. Post by Francisco Lacerda, 12th April 2021

OPERAFEST Lisboa

After the success of the summer 2020 edition, the new OPERAFEST LISBOA, 11 to 20 August 2021 will be directed by soprano Catarina Molder and with the production of Ópera do Castelo. It looks that it is now a proven reality!

Combining tradition and avant-garde, in a summer program, comprehensive to reach all types of audiences, betting on the opera of the future and new creators, national talent and the conquest of new audiences, has as its epicenter in the unique setting of Jardim do National Museum of Ancient Art.

Still on the path of tragedy, an essential subject of opera, following the programmatic matrix “the worse, the better”, but in the wake of a pandemic that paralyzed the world, jeopardizing social life and human sharing, art presents itself as a invaluable path to the world of the unlimited and the fantastic - dream and magic are now essential needs!

It will be a program that combines tears and dreams, marked by great classics (Madame Butterfly by Puccini), but also by unpublished opera (The Medium by Gian-Carlo Menotti), new orders (“Until death do us part” - opera in creation by Ana Seara) in double dose with Magagonny Songspiel by Kurt Weill, but also new proposals with satellite opera (Opera Gala staged: Soul on Fire, Lyrical Machine performance, Singing lessons for amateurs, Opera Marathon XXI - Arias and Cine contest -opera), to reach unusual audiences, passing through distant, exotic and fantastic worlds.

"Il TABARRO"- The Cloak. Review by António Lourenço, 25th May 2021

Isabel Matos

The vibrantly and emotional music of Puccini filled all Theatre São Carlos of Lisbon, under the conductor's baton of Roman Maestro Antonio Pirolli, in a genuinely Puccini interpretation, transporting spectators to his melodic and sublime world. The dramatic soprano: Elizabete Matos, gave us a brilliant Giorgetta, with beautiful timbre and tunning conveying sensuality and passion, the most celebrated Portuguese singer, who stepped on the famous stages in the world, including the Metropolitan where she has sung "La Fanciulla del West". The Italian dramatic tenor: Marco Berti as Luigi, with a powerful voice and truly Italian articulation, sang the aria "Hai bene rezone, Meglio non Pensare" with strong intensity interpretation and passion, notable for a personage of a longshoreman.

Michele was sung by the Bulgarian bass-baritone: Kiril Manolov with harshness but sometimes with 'Mezza voce'. We would prefer to hear in this role more a lyrical baritone, with an Italian school of singing. Anyway, although "Il Tabarro" only lasts an hour, we have been looking forward to so much!

Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim play piano duets News, 7th April 2021

Caroline Doutre 2021. Festival de Pâques

Canceled last year due to the pandemic, the organizers of the Easter Classic Music Festival, in Aix-en-Provence, did not want to waste another year and opted, this time, for an "online" and free version , with all the concerts. played live.

One of the highlights of this year is the duet of Argentine pianists Daniel Barenboim and Marta Argerich .

This Wednesday, the Portuguese Maria João Pires enters the scene .

Barenboim says that "he has been making music for more than 70 years and people continue to want to see it, or in language more than this century, to pay to see it, which is very gratifying".

"Ernani" Opinion of António Lourenço, 15th January 2021

This recording was a big surprise, with no audience at Teatro Máximo de Palermo-

It was with singers, from the Italian Belcanto School, for whom we often know where the great Italian voices come from.

“Ernani” is a less sung opera, on stage, than the best known composed by the genius of Busseto, Verdi as the Traviata (Callas sang it in Lisbon, in 1958), and so many others like Rigoleto, Aida, Otello, etc.

"Ernani" has Piave's argument, based on Victor Hugo's drama, "Hernâni". In this production, the choir singers are distributed, one by one, through the boxes and the solo singers in the audience (chairs removed). Dressed in a rich wardrobe, from the time of the century. XVI, romanticized, at the same time, due to contingency, becomes an unprecedented solution.

Let's start with the baritone Simone Piazzolla, in the role of D. Carlos that is endowed with a beautiful singing school, with a beautiful timbre, phrasing and expressiveness. We also highlight tenor Giorgio Berrugi in “Ernani”, Soprano Eleonora Burato in Elvira,

Bass Michael Pertuzi in the evil Silva, after the end of each act, the camera moves to the place where the singers prepare, already with a protective mask.

Continuing, inside the theater room, forming an arena, with the orchestra on stage, we see the singers. Ernani (tenor) who was after all Don Juan de Aragão, a bandit banned by the king of Castile and who loves Dona Elvira (soprano) who is about to marry the old Ruy Gomes da Silva great of Spain, and hides Ernani refusing to release him. However, it combines to free Elvira, also loved and hostage of Don Carlos, king of Castile, later elected Emperor, will forgive those condemned to death, consenting to the marriage between Elvira and Ernani. Meanwhile a hunting horn is heard, but Ernani having arranged with Silva that he would kill himself, if the horn sounded, dies in Elvira's arms and finishes the opera.

The beautiful aria "Ernani Involami" is sung by Elvira, being a laugh with coloratures, it is one of the most difficult for a lyrical spinto voice.

"About Tosca" Review by António Lourenço, 15th January 2021

One of the most famous and sung operas, Tosca opened on January 14 (1900), in Rome, with eternal music by Giacomo Puccini and libreto, by the duo Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

It originated in a play written in 1887, by the French writer Victorien Sardou, for the famous actress Sarah Bernard (who stayed in the history of the theater).

A neurotic "owner" would be the subject of study of the various psychological variants and pathologies, from being jealous, insecure, obsessive and impulsive. In love with the painter, Mario Cavaradossi (sung by a lyrical Tenor), she will face the powerful police chief, Baron Scarpia (sung by a Baritone), a man full of lust who uses power to perversely manipulate his victims and will use them as an object of desire. Tosca, a lyrical soprano, in the play and on the stage, loses confidence in his lover Mario, which will further crumble the world around him, suspecting that he has a secret connection with the lady who is painting the portrait.

Scarpia personifies the abuse of power, with its mistakes and dirty games of corruption, using that power to subdue the weakest, to satisfy their desires, destroying the lives of those who oppose or do not think like him, using torture and the murder. The opera ends. With a total of 3 homicides and Tosca's suicide!

Opera "LA WALLY" In Theater São Carlos on 14th, 16th and 18th October News, 12th October 2020

Composer Alfredo Catalani - First performed at La Scala, Milan on 20 January 1892. Is well known especially owing to the beautiful aria: "EBEN, NE ANDRÓ LONTANA" (I'll go far away). A story from the Tyrolean Alps, based on an episode in the life of tyrolean painter Anna Stainer-Knittel "Die Geir-Wally '' epithet, from once stealing a vulture’s hatchling from her nest.

Catalani had composed the most famous aria, independently as "Chanson Groënlandese" in 1878 and, later, incorporated it in his Opera. The heroine throws herself into an avalanche, and because of the difficulty of staging is rarely performed, owing to this scene. There is a movie "La Wally", 1932 (Dir. by Guido Brignone).

The protagonist of the opera "La Wally", soprano ZARINA ABAEVA, was endowed with a beautiful and rare dramatic soprano voice, with a splendid timber and wonderful articulation, with 33 years of promise and great successes.

The composer Alfredo Catalani, with dense music and an orchestral score full of density, both in the accompaniments and in the beautiful preludes, is part of the VERISMO movement (“I love you, you betrayed me, I kill you”). Although, weak in melodies, the reason that made him less known and represented, because even the famous aria "EBBEN? NE ANDRÒ LONTANA", was taken from a peasant song, which he had previously composed.

The version presented in São Carlos, was in Concert, given the pandemic in which we live, in addition to being a work difficult to stage, due mainly to the avalanche scene.

Tenor, Azer Zada, in the role of Giuseppe Hagenbach, lyrical spinto, fulfilled it thought with a certain effort and guttural voice. Sromminger, the Brazilian Luiz Ottavio Faria, with a deep, very deep voice; the promised groom Vincenzo Gelner, sung by the baritone Luis Cansino, with a deep voice, with intense volume and something rude. The remaining secondary roles, very well interpreted by, Joana Seara, Patrícia Quintas and Nuno Dias. The version of Concerto allow us to appreciate more deeply the great music of Catalani (deceased at the age of 39), without the scenographic distractions, We left the Theater in a state of grace.

"Opera Fest Lisboa 2020" Review by António Lourenço , 18th September 2020

Amazing initiative to launch an opera festival, in such a dramatic moment that humanity faces, as it was a real "spear in Africa", generated by a great passion of Catarina Molder, a lyrical singing. His mentor, soprano who also played Tosca's role, with dignity, feeling that this love is in the blood. It is an authentic landmark in Portugal, which brings together sublime music, drama and lyrical singing, in addition to visual arts, staging. It was a great difficulty, to find a place for the shows and gorges to be in the ruins of Carmo, it took place in the beautiful gardens of the National Museum of Ancient Art, the most famous and important in Portugal.

Since opera performances are highly expensive, the adventure was even greater.

Opera marathon XXI: In addition to "TOSCA", the director invited 7 young Portuguese national composers to compose, a mini 20 to 25 minutes. The result of the contest, awarded the composer Sara Rosa in "Margarida". In general, there was an excess of words in the mini-operas, except for the 4th - "The Treasury" and the 7th "I don't know how many souls I have", in which the song predominated. There was also a Rave and a Gala, with the Mexican Tenor Rodrigo P. Garulo. Throughout the organization there was a spirit of calling and bringing more young people to watch opera performances!

For the role of Mario Cavaradossi, Spanish tenor Xavier Moreno, with a lyrical spinto voice, was invited.

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'Carmen' George Bizet's at Opera Fest, Lisbon. Music Direction: Jan Wierzba. Review by António Lourenço 10th September 2023

"There is no more selfish passion than a luxurious life" - by Marquês de Sade.

Considerations:

'Suor Angelica' Giacomo Puccin at Opera Fest, Lisbon. Music Direction: Luis Sepúlveda. Review by António Lourenço 7th September 2023

Considerations

'Rigoletto' Giuseppe Verdi at Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon. Music Direction: Francisco Antonio Moya. Review by António Lourenço 25th July 2023

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'Il trovatore' Giuseppe Verdi at Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon. Music Direction: Antonio Pirolli. Review by António Lourenço 24th June 2023

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'Tristan und Isolde' by Richard Wagner at Teatro Real Madrid. Music Direction: Semyon Bychkov. Review by António Lourenço, 29th April 2023

Main cast

Prologue

Considerations

One day with Mariella Devia, Soprano. António Lourenço and guest Nuno Fonseca, 5th July 2021

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