A short month is long on opera.
Bringing stuffed animals, flowers and a stiletto in the night. Happy Valentine's Day.
Image altered from V for Vendetta originally © 2005 Warner Brothers Pictures.
This is a month full of singing, with a full schedule of operas at the Met and elsewhere. February is marked by the return of the New York City Opera, the absence of the New York Philharmonic, and the return of Angela Meade to the Met stage. The month ends with the the arrival of the Berlin Philharmonic for a three night stand at Carnegie Hall.
On February 1, mezzo estremo Susan Graham gives a recital at Carnegie Hall, focusing on Shakespearean heroines Ophelia and Lady Macbeth, along with songs by Wolf and Liszt and a major work by François Poulenc. Malcom Martineau is her accompanist and accomplice.
The Juilliard Opera offers a double bill of one-act Rossini comedies (opening Feb. 3), and Gluck's Armide, this season's co-production with the Metropolitan Opera. This is a hot ticket, and it opens Feb. 8.
Also on Feb. 3, the Collegiate Chorale presents a double bill at Carnegie Hall, with Sir Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time paired with Anton Bruckner's Te Deum.
On February 10, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center unveils Immortal Investments. No it's not a hedge fund, but a five-concert series focusing on the history of music patronage and commissions. This allows the CMS musicians to explore a wide range of composers, from Haydn and Beethoven to 20th century music by Aaron Copland.
At the Metropolitan Opera, the company rolls out a busy schedule:
- Aida (Feb. 9) and Ernani (Feb. 6) are Verdi favorites. The latter features Angela Meade's return to the Met stage.
- Did you miss last fall's productions of Anna Bolena and Il Barbiere di Siviglia? Both operas return to the repertory for short runs.
- Feb. 11 is your chance to see the Live in HD broadcast of Götterdämmerung in movie theaters around the globe. Bring a sandwich--it's six hours long.
- Don Giovanni returns on Feb. 21 with Gerald Finley taking over the title role.
- Finally, there's a rare revival of Khovanshchina, Mussorgsky's grim political drama about the rise of Tsar Peter the Great, opening Feb. 27.
Speaking of political drama, the New York City Opera unveils its new run-n-gun business model with the Jonathan Miller production of La Traviata. It opens at BAM on Feb. 12. A week later, Rufus Wainwright's first opera Prima Donna has its U.S. premiere. Each opera gets four performances. All remaining seats are $25.
We're not sure how romantic this is, but conductor Charles Dutoit and the Philadelphia Orchestra play a non-themed Valentine's Day concert at Carnegie Hall. The program features the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. By the way, on Feb. 14 the Met is offering Ernani, which is an improvement on the year they celebrated Valentine's Day with Wozzeck.
Now that he's tried and failed to take over the world (as Alberich in the Met's new Ring Cycle) bass Eric Owens gives a recital at Zankel Hall on Feb. 21.
The Berlin Philharmonic returns to New York on Feb. 23 after a two-year absence. This three-concert stand at Carnegie Hall features the New York premiere of a new completed version of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony (Feb. 24) and Mahler's mighty Resurrection Symphony on the 25th.
Also on Feb. 23, the New York Philharmonic returns from a three-week European tour, with a program featuring mezzo Joyce DiDonato singing Berlioz and Mussorgsky's ever-popular Pictures at an Exhibition. Further concerts are on the 24th, 25th and 28th.
Got an item for the Short List? E-mail Superconductor editor Paul Pelkonen here.
