Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre 2013 - A musically and visually superb performance

The cast of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre performance of
Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito.

Thank God that you can still find non-modernized performances of classic - particularly baroque - operas! One of the best - and certainly the most beautiful - venues for historically informed performances (HIP) is the Drottningholm Palace Theatre in Stockholm.

This intact 18th century opera theatre, which has been described as "the Swedish jewel in our European cultural heritage crown of centuries-old theatres", was after the assassination of King Gustav III in 1792 (Verdi based his Un ballo in maschera on the event) forgotten for almost 130 years, until it was rediscovered in 1921.

The highlight of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre's 2013 summer season was without doubt Mozart's La clemenza di Tito in a HIP production by Sigrid T'Hooft. Last night, those who did not have a chance to attend one of the performances, could watch Swedish SVT2 channel's broadcast of the opera. The star studded cast included Richard Croft (Tito), Katija Dragojevic (Sesto), Annemarie Kremer (Vitellia), Luciana Mancini (Annio), Elena Galitskaya (Servilia) and Markus Schwartz (Publio). The The Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra was eminently conducted by Drottningholm's artistic director Mark Tatlow. The small, but superbly singing chorus consisted of members of the Swedish Radio Choir.

One must hope that this performance of extraordinary musical and visual beauty soon will be available on DVD!

Mezzo soprano Luciana Mancini as Annio was one of the brightest stars of the evening.

 

Tenor Mark Croft was a superb Tito.




A scene with Tito, Publio and Sesto.

 

Sesto, Publio and Vitellia.

Members of the excellent Drottningholm orchestra.

Views from my balcony (18): Late afternoon lights on the Danish side of the Sound

This time of the year it is quite dark already in the late afternoon, particularly on a cloudy day. For a few minutes a small area of the last sunlight brightened up the sky above Helsingør at about 5 p.m. this afternoon.

"A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals" - An unforgettable evening at the 2009 Proms

Sarah Fox and Sir Thomas Allen at the Prom 22, 2009.

 

 

One of the nice things about the BBC Proms is that they cover such a wide range of music. Late last night for example the BBC HD channel rebroadcast Prom 22, "A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals", one of the absolute highlights of the 2009 Proms.

Soprano Sarah Fox.

Conductor John Wilson and his hand picked orchestra, the Maida Vale Singers and an array of star vocalists, including Kim Criswell, Sarah Fox, Sir Thomas Allen, Curtis Stigers and Seth MacFarlane, made this celebration of the golden age of Hollywood musicals truly unforgettable. John Wilson had painstakingly reconstructed the original orchestral scores, which were lost when the studio destroyed its music library to make way for a car park.

Sir Thomas  Allen.

Sir Thomas Allen and Sarah Fox.

Kim Criswell

For friends of all those great movie classics, including The Wizard of Oz, Meet Me in St Louis, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, High Society, Gigi and Singin' in the Rain, this stunning evening of great film music is fortunately available also on DVD.     

Medieval and modern in Helsingborg's Church of St. Mary

Visiting medieval cathedrals and churches is always fascinating. On every visit you discover something new or unexpected.

Like today, when I spent some time in the medieval Church of St. Mary in Helsingborg - the church where the great Buxtehude learned to play the organ - I noticed how well the beautiful modern mosaic windows go together with medieval art objects:

Detail of the 15th century altarpiece.

 

Dutch cargo ship M/V Dintelborg on its way to Vlissingen

M/V Dintelborg close to Helsingborg/Helsingør today.

Late this afternoon the 133 m x 15 m Dutch registry cargo ship M/V Dintelborg was on its way from Kronshtadt to Vlissingen. Moderate or rough seas are forecasted for the German Bight, but the ship should have a safe journey.

However, the Dintelborg has had its share of really bad weather. A couple of years ago the ship was in serious distress southeast of Nantucket Island:

The vessel in question was the M/V DINTELBORG, a Dutch flag, gearless, box hold bulker, with an overall length of 438’, and a deep draft of 22’ aft, carrying a full load (8000 MT) of steel from Oxelosund, Sweden to Delaware. According to information we later received, the vessel had encountered very heavy weather between February 15 and 17 after leaving the English Channel, and had suffered a variety of damages, mostly to deck fittings and bulwarks. We were also advised that some time subsequent to the initial weather damage the ship had a fire and she became disabled on February 25. Information later received from the Coast Guard confirmed that the fire was confined to the bridge, but the damage there required that the main engine and propeller be secured, and emergency steering engaged. It was also reported that power on the ship was limited. --

The tug ROWAN M. MCALLISTER was immediately dispatched to perform the tow. The ROWAN had a rough trip from Providence to the ship through heavy seas and high winds. However, the M/V DINTELBORG was eventually met at sea and taken safely in tow by the ROWAN at 0130 on February 27. According to deckhand Gene Douglas, “You really had to have your head on a swivel as we were attaching the wire. The swells were the biggest I had ever encountered. The winds were gusting up to 60 mph and the deck was really slick from the constant wash. Captain Warren Fossett did a great job holding the tug steady in those conditions. Because the DINTELBORG had lost power, the crew had to haul the lines up by hand. What normally takes about 2 minutes took 20 and 7 or so of their crew members to get the wire up onto the ship.” By 1000 that morning, the M/V DINTELBORG was safely underway and the tug and tow were making 4 knots toward Providence, about 160 NM away.

On This page you can view some interesting pictures of the rescue operation.

The largest Swedish research vessel R/V Skagerak in the Sound

R/V Skagerak approaching Helsingborg/Helsingør today.

Research vessel, R/V Skagerak, owned and operated by the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, was going southwards in Øresund.

The 38.16 m x 9.10 m Skagerak - the largest Swedish research vessel - is fully equipped for marine research in water depth down to 1000 metres. Its maximal endurance at sea is two weeks. During longer expeditions the Skagerak can take 10 scientists or students with its crew of six.

The Skagerak is a very nice looking ship, but due to its age (built in Germany in 1968) the operating and repair costs are very high, which is why the Sven Lovén Centre for Marine Sciences would like to have it replaced by a more modern vessel.

Cargo ship Mosvik in Øresund

The small general cargo ship Mosvik (82 m x 12  m), here shown close to Helsingborg/ Helsingør, was this afternoon on its way to Creeksea: