My Christmas cherub

This cherub from Austria is one of my favourites, particularly for Christmas: 

Chocolate for the new year ... :-)

My favourite pieces of chocolate by Zotter for the new year 2017!

The Best European 2013-2014 New Year's Concerts: The Dancers of the Wiener Staatsballet "stole the show"

Dancers from the Wiener Staatsballett

The televised New Year's concerts from the Berlin Philharmonie, the Dresden Semper Oper, the Vienna Musikverein and La Fenice in Venice are the eagerly awaited best "delayed Christmas presents" for music lovers in Europe and many countries on other continents.

This year was no exception. All four concerts were wonderful in their own way.



Sir Simon Rattle

The Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle have been doing their "own thing" quite successfully for years now. The Philharmoniker web page describes it in this way:

For classical music fans, jaunty dance rhythms are just as much a part of New Year’s Eve as the sound of corks popping and fireworks. But need it be waltzes from Vienna, the city on the Danube, ringing in the New Year? By no means, according to the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle – and they traditionally programme different music for their New Year’s concerts along the river Spree.

The highlight of the Berlin New Year's Eve concert this year was Sergei Prokofiev's Third Piano Concerto, with the Chinese virtuoso Lang Lang as the brilliant soloist. The entire evening was a great success, with the Philharmoniker and Sir Simon in top form.

Klaus Florian Vogt, Renée Fleming and Christian Thielmann

The Staatskapelle Dresden's "competing" New Year's Eve concert has during the last few years focused on operetta music. The fact that Christian Thielemann, the orchestra's eminent chief conductor, is a self-confessed lover of operetta, is of course a god sent gift to all of us who share his passion.

This year's concert was another smash hit, with the wonderful, velvet voiced Renée Fleming as the highlight of the evening. What an entertainer this multitalented lady is! She certainly knows how to charm an audience. German star tenor Klaus Florian Vogt was as good as was to be expected, and sounded great also in the duets with Fleming.

The Vienna New Year's concerts do not need any introduction. The Wiener Philharmoniker's concert on January 1 is the world's most famous and well known annual music event. I belong to those who in the 1960s and 1970s always looked forward to see the legendary Willi Boskovsky conduct the Vienna concerts on television.

Since1986 the orchestra musicians have chosen a different conductor every year. This year it was great to see maestro Daniel Barenboim in charge of the orchestra, which - as always - sounded great.

But for this "reviewer" the greatest stars of the event were the dancers from the Wiener Staatsballett: Maria Yakovleva, Nina Poláková, Irina Tsymbal, Ketevan Papava, Prisca Zeisel, Kirill Koundraev, Mihail Sosnovschi, Ene Peci, Kamil Pavelka and Alexis Forabosco.

I have never seen more beautifully danced and choreographed concert performances than the ones in this New Year's concert. Kudos to Ashley Page for the choreography! An the dresses by Vivienne Westwood were gorgeous.

Diego Matheuz at the La Fenice New Year's concert

The last of the New Year's concerts was the one from La Fenice, broadcast on ARTE in the evening of January 1. This year the orchestra's young chief conductor Diego Matheuz had chosen a nice mix of well known, mainly Italian opera music by Rossini, Verdi, Bellini, Puccini, Mascagni and Donizetti for the concert. It was again a memorable evening of bel canto from one of the world's most beautiful opera houses. The two soloists, Italian soprano Carmen Giannattasio and American tenor Lawrence Brownlee, were excellent.

 The wonderful dancers of the Wiener Staatsballett: 

 

Suddenly the dancers turned into a painting! It was magical television!

 

First of May in Vienna in the late 19th century

First of May in Vienna

 

Early 1890s woodcut by Rousseau after a watercolour by Myrbach

 

ARTE's broadcast of Puccini's "spaghetti western" La fanciulla del West from the Saatsoper in Vienna

The final scene in Marelli's production of La fanciulla del West: Nina Stemme and Jonas Kaufmann take off
 in a hot air balloon.

Last night the ARTE television channel showed Giacomo Puccini's "spaghetti western" La fanciulla del West from the Staatsoper in Vienna. Puccini, who himself ranked this opera as his best, wrote the piece for the Metropolitan, where it was premiered in 1910.

Emmy Destinn as Minnie and Pasquale Amato as Rance
in the Metropolitan 1910 production. The man "asleep" in
the middle is Enrico Caruso (Dick Johson).
(image by Wikipedia)

Musically La fanciulla del West is clearly Puccini at his best, but the libretto, which is based on  David Belasco’s play, “The Girl of the Golden West”, is not quite on the same level as those by Giacosa and Illica in previous operas. (Personally I have always had difficulties with a 19th century opera set in the Wild West, but that may of course be a prejudice).

Wonderful singing by Nina Stemme, but maybe she "could do with a touch of glamour".

The audience and the critics rightly praised this production by Marco Arturo Marelli, not least because of the stellar cast. Nina Stemme - widely considered to be the world’s reigning dramatic soprano - gave a powerful performance as Minnie, and Jonas Kaufmann - widely considered to be the leading dramatic tenor in the world - was equally convincing as Dick Johnson (Ramerrez).

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann as Dick Johnson.

However, I agree with Financial Times critic Richard Fairman, who in his otherwise extremely positive review added, that "Maybe Stemme’s tomboy portrayal of Minnie, not helped by a frizzy red wig and jeans, could do with a touch of glamour".

A strong performance by baritone Tomasz Koniezny.

Baritone Tomasz Konieczny also produced some fabulous singing in the third main role as the embittered sheriff  Rance. And, as always, the Staatsoper orchestra (whose members also constitute the Vienna Philharmonic) led by Generalmusikdirektor Franz Welser-Möst was a joy to listen to.

An enthusiastic audience at the Staatsoper.

The Musikantenstadl - A wonderful German language popular folk music television program

The Viennese born singer and entertainer has since 2006 hosted the Musikantenstadl.

When it comes to music, I'm pretty much a "omnivore", although I nowadays mainly listen to classical music and opera. One of may favourite televised music entertainment programs outside of the classical genre is the German language popular folk music show Musikantenstadl, broadcast live on three European TV channels, ORF1, Das Erste (ARD) and SRF1.

The Musikantenstadl owes much of its popularity to its presenter, the Viennese-born
singer/entertainer Andy Borg, who has hosted the show since 2006. Borg's good natured down-to-earth style clearly makes both live and television audiences feel at home.

The latest Musikantenstadl, broadcast live from the St. Jakobshalle in Basel on November 16, was a joy to watch. Among the many talented popular musicians and other guests, my own favourites were the three young Swiss sisters Geschwister Weber and the precision drum corps Top Secret Secret Drum Corps from Basel.

Geschwister Weber from the Swiss canton Basel-Landschaft.

 

Sandra Weber

The Top Secret Drum Corps from Basel - one of the best precision drum corps
in the world.

Carlo Brunner (on the left) and his Superländlerkapelle were one of the bands
appearing at the Musikantenstadl in Basel.

The lively audience enjoying the evening in Basel.

The ski lodge set with tables on the floor.

 Presenter Andy Borg

A vocally and visually great Don Carlo from Salzburg

Jonas Kaufmann in the title role.

Almost all recent Salzburg Festival opera productions have been "modernized" versions, mainly enjoyable as radio broadcasts. When somebody - in this case the legendary director Peter Stein - dares to make a traditional staging, some of the critics cannot stand it:

The Salzburg Festival’s new Don Carlo staging is an object lesson in sumptuous emptiness. Throwing everything that money can buy at a production is no guarantee of excellence. Peter Stein, who has been sinking ever further into his own conservatism in recent years, has outdone himself in cringe-inducing dullness with this production. So diligently does he strive for authenticity that you can almost smell the mothballs; it is a wonder the whole thing does not crumble at the touch.
The costumes are historical, the poses are borrowed from period stage sketches, the detail is extravagant. Ferdinand Wögerbauer’s sets look alarmingly like something dug from the bottom of a cornflakes packet, and the little things that go wrong are almost legion enough to supply the missing entertainment value.

Fortunately, the audience - and quite a few other reviewers - disagreed. On the television screen (as broadcast by ARTE last night) Stein's production was hugely enjoyable. It was a vocally and visually stunning evening of great Verdi music. Thank you Peter Stein, Ferdinand Wögerbauer (sets) for daring to challenge the "modernizers"!

The star-studded cast, with Jonas Kaufmann in the titel role, Anja Harteros as Elisabetta, Thomas Hampson as Rodrigo and Matti Salminen (still in fine voice at 68!) as Filippo, of course, also should be thanked. And the Vienna Philharmonic under Antonio Pappano, as well as the fine chorus, should not be forgotten either.

The Alpine World Ski Championships in Schladming - a great show

Finland's Andreas Romar in action in the downhill comptetition, which was won by Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal. Romar was fifth.

Although I have never done any downhill skiing myself, I find it quite enjoyable to watch the ongoing Alpine World Ski Championships in Schladming, Austria. One cannot but admire the skill and bravery of the participants.

A great performance to LISTEN to: The Salzburg "La Bohème"

If there would be an international award for best radio broadcast of an opera performance, the winner of the 2012 award would without doubt be the Salzburg Festival's „La Bohème“. What a pleasure it was to listen to the great voices of Anna Netrebko as Mimì and Piotr Bezcala as Rodolfo, when the German 3Sat broadcast the opera this week. Beczala particularly showed that he is one of the absolute top tenors in the world right now. (Beczala also excelled in the Semper Operetta Gala last week).

If you look at the pictures below, I think you will understand why the Salzburg „La Bohème“ is a performance to LISTEN to:

The second prize in the radio award competition also goes to Salzburg: The Salzburg Whitsun Festival's production of Georg Friedrich Händel´s opera "Giulio Cesare in Egitto"  (Julius Caesar in Egypt)  had all the winning qualities, except that the rocket artistic director Cecilia Bartoli rode on, was of a somewhat outdated type. 

The best 2012/2013 European New Year's concerts

Soprano Olga Peretyatko was the star of the evening in Baden-Baden.

For music lovers the turn of the year - when major  European television channels bring out the big names in classical music and opera in their New Year's gala concerts - is always a time to look forward to. 

The New Year's concerts from Dresden's Semper Oper, the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Grosser Musikvereinssaal in Vienna and La Fenice in Venice were all pure bliss again this holiday "season". Of course there is some kind of competition going on between the orchestras and broacasters about the largest audiences, but that is of minor interest for an ordinary viewer - what is important is that you get a rare chance to watch and listen to some of the world's best musicians, without having to pay the often exorbitant ticket prices for their concerts. 

Christian Thielemann conducting the outstanding Staatskapelle Dresden.

The New Year concert "season" started on December 30 on German ZDF with the Operetta Gala concert from the Semper Oper, one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. I have already praised the concert in a previous post, so may it suffice just to state that this concert was my own favorite among the four concerts mentioned above. It was just great - and is bound to become a classic! Above all, it was a great evening for the Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, arguably the best tenor in the world in the operetta repertoire. 

Star tenor Piotr Veczala and soprano Ingeborg Schöpf, who saved the evening by standing in for Diana Damrau, who could not sing because of a sudden illness.

New Year's concerts with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker are always first class events. This year's version was no exception. It was great to see Sir Simon so relaxed and really enjoying the evening in front of his magnificient orchestra. I particularly enjoyed Rameau's dance suite Les Boréades, a work previously unknown to me. And of course Cecilia Bartoli brought additional star appeal to the evening. 

Sir Simon was enjoying the evening together with his magnificent Berliner Philharmoniker.

Mezzo soprano Cecilia Bartoli performing Handel's aria »Scherza in mar la navicella«.

Tenor Roberto Villazon and baritone Thomas Hampson were the big names in the Baden-Baden concert, broadcast by French-German ARTE on new year's eve. However, at least for this "reviewer", the real star of the evening was the young Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko, who brought down the house with her Verdi arias. 

Soprano Olga Peretyatko is also a great actress. 

The New Year's Day concert from the Musikverein in Vienna is of course always a very special event. This year Musical Director Franz Welser-Möst appeared more relaxed in front of the Wiener Philharmoniker than last year. It was nice that he had included a piece of Verdi in this year's program, in order to honor the composer's anniversary. 

The flower decorations donated by the city of San Ramo are an important feature of the annual Vienna New Year's concerts.

The dancers of Vienna State Ballet are always a most welcome addition to the annual Vienna New Year's concerts.

Three female members of the Wiener Philharmoniker in the same picture - a sight you did not see ten years ago. 

The New Year's gala concert from the gorgeous La Fenice opera house in Venice has also become a most welcome tradition for television audiences to enjoy. This year it was particularly nice to see early music specialist Sir John Eliot Gardiner in front of the orchestra in a Verdi program, in honor of the composer's 200-year birth-day anniversary. 

Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducting the La Fenice orchestra.

The La Fenice in Venice is one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world.

This year the La Fenice's New Year's gala concert included a performance by members of the La Scala ballet , which probably had a particular appeal to female television viewers.