Above: Antonio Di Matteo as Timur, Michael Fabiano as Calaf
This production of TURANDOT, from Rome 2022, is interesting in that it ends with the death of Liu, which was the last scene Puccini completed before he passed away.
Watch and listen here.
Note: the cast is listed at the very opening of the film.
Pilar Lorengar (above) and Fritz Wunderlich sing the Act I love duet from Puccini’s MADAMA BUTTERFLY….in German.
Listen here.
Camille Maurane sings Duparc’s L’invitation au voyage:
Arthur Endrèze sings “Eri tu? from Verdi’s BALLO IN MASCHERA in French. The recording dates from 1932.
Above: Myriam Marbé
I came upon this composer’s Requiem totally by chance, and am pretty intrigued by it.
Myriam Marbé (1931-1997) was a Romanian composer; she composed the oddly-titled Fra Angelico–Chagall –Voronet-Requiem in 1990.
Listen to the work, performed by the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra with Barbara Werner as soloist, conducted by Jan Schweiger, here.
I had fallen in love with Vincent Persichetti’s WINTER CANTATA which I had discovered quite by chance when I plucked a CD of the composer’s choral works off the shelf at the library many moons ago.
Composed in 1964, the work was inspired by a collection of haiku (‘A Net of Fireflies‘) which Persichetti’s daughter had given him as a gift. To the intriguingly spare accompaniment of flute and marimba, the chorus of women’s voices weave a magical tapestry of wintry images. Intricate harmonies and tapering sustained notes are particularly pleasing vocal elements; the flute and marimba evoke cool air and gently swirling flakes of snow. There are eleven brief movements, and an Epilogue which draws its text from one line of each of the previous eleven poems.
Listen to the cantata here:
I had a bit of free time yesterday and decided to watch again a film I have loved and watched many times: ANTONIA & JANE. It always surprises me when people tell me they never heard of some of my favorite movies, and this one in particular seems to have been almost totally overlooked.
Friends from childhood, Antonia (Saskia Reeves) and Jane (Imelda Staunton) have a relationship that falls into disrepair after Antonia steals Jane’s boyfriend. But they cannot let their bond go entirely so they meet once a year for dinner. Jane is frumpy, insecure and paranoid while Antonia is successful, classy and attractive. Unbeknownst to one another, they share a therapist. It also turns out that each envies the other.
In a series of hilarious coincidences and by-ways, each woman muddles through her own romantic and sexual relationships while their friendship, however strained, remains constant. One-liners and quirky turns of plot make this a film that will provoke quiet laughter but underneath it all we can feel a sense of recognition of our own longtime friendships – which, if you’re like me, can sometimes make you wonder “Why am I still friends with this person?” and then you remember things you’ve been thru together and the answer becomes obvious.
Oberon's Glade 