Richard paul fink baritone sax
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Opera Today
April 30, 2018
La concordia de’ pianeti: Imperial flattery set to Baroque splendor in Amsterdam
La concordia de’ pianeti was commissioned to celebrate the name day of Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, mother of Empress Maria Theresa and grandmother of Queen Marie Antoinette of France. In November 1723 she and her husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, were returning to Vienna from Prague, where they had been crowned monarchs of Bohemia. During a stop in Znojmo, Moravia, Caldara, who was employed by the emperor, conducted the open-air premiere for the imperial couple. La concordia de’ pianeti is more of a secular cantata than a one-act opera. Its plot, such as it is, consists of the god Mercury persuading six other gods that “Elisa”, the empress, possesses qualities equal, or even superior, to theirs, thus deserving deification. Each of the seven gods and goddesses is associated with a heavenly body: Apollo
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When Air Force One landed on the Metropolitan Opera’s stage onsdag på engelska night, carrying Richard M. Nixon and his entourage, it marked the arrival of a modern classic. Twenty-four years after its creation, John Adams’ Nixon in China finally landed at the heart of the music establishment, and the reception it received was a lot less frosty and tense than the one granted the 37th president of the United States back in February of 1972.
As it reunites the creative team behind the original Houston Grand Opera premiere 24 years ago – director Peter Sellars, set designer Adrianne Lobel, choreographer Mark Morris and the composer, now conducting – it could have been an opportunity for a fresh take on a modern classic. The curious choice was, instead, to embalm the original vision and bathe it in a nostalgic glow. With each new production, Sellars cements the details of the hyper-realistic sets – elegantly arranged and with striking pops of color, it is true – to the point whe