ROH + BBC= more goodies!

There have been a number of successful broadcasts from the ROH this season on the BBC, both radio and TV, among which Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, the usual opera broadcasts and as we all remember the positively mouthwatering series of Opera Italia! All this, and i would also guess the considerable success Tony has had as a communicator of opera on TV (see the recent nomination from the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards for Creative Communication for the series) have lead to a new partnership with the BBC, which was announced today.

Quoting from the BBC press release on this:

"Alice's Adventures In Wonderland will be broadcast on BBC Two on Saturday 23 April at 2.30pm immediately preceded by a documentary exploring the making of the ballet at 2pm" "The Royal Opera House and the BBC will come together to co-produce new commissions for 2012 created especially for television prior to live performance on the stage ..."

More Tony! yay!!!! "The new deal includes a series on classical masterworks presented by Antonio Pappano, beginning with Pappano's Essential Tosca for BBC Two and also the development of a new five-part series about singing to be written and presented by Antonio Pappano"

And guess what????!!!! We will get THAT TOSCA on TV!! :-))) "Other presentations include The Royal Opera's production of Tosca Tosca with Angela Gheorghiu as the heroine, Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as the Chief of Police Scarpia, accompanied by Pappano's Essential Tosca, a documentary presented by Antonio Pappano in which he examines the dramatic importance of each location in the opera and illustrates what Puccini does musically to create a great theatrical experience."

By the way, the Tosca will also be on BBC Radio3 , as well as "Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon starring in Massenet's Werther, Nina Stemme as the heroine Leonora in Beethoven's Fidelio, and Simon Keenlyside singing the title role of Verdi's Macbeth for the first time in the UK. Radio 3 will also broadcast two operas live: Puccini's Madam Butterfly and a new production of Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella) with Joyce DiDonato in the title role. "

More details in the press release link above. Great news, isn't it? :-)

Wigmore 2011-2012

It's amazing what quantity (and quality!) of concerts and recitals are held at Wigmore every season. But if we talk only about recitals, looks like everybody who has a name (or wants to have one) as a recitalist is singing there, if not every year..almost.
Just in September list is impressive : the 10th Thomas Quasthoff, Christian Gerhaher the 20th (Müllerin), 22th (Winterreise) and 24th (Schwanengesang), the 21th Lawrence Zazzo, the 26th and 28th Ian Bostridge and the 29th Gerald Finley.



But this is just one month...there is much, much more : Christianne Stotijn, Mark Padmore, 5th November Simon Keenlyside, Elisabeth Watts, Anna Caterina Antonacci 6 December, Bernarda Fink, Anne Schwanewilms, Thomas Allen, Veronique Gens, Angelica Kirschlager, John Mark Ainsley, Christopher Maltman, Natalie Dessay, Magdalena Kozena, Miah Persson, Susan Graham, Juliane Banse,Christoph Pregardien, Joyce di Donato, 10th June Jonas Kaufmann, etc...
The complete info is not yet available on the website, but it will follow soon :)

Jonas Kaufmann comes back to Wigmore Hall

Now it's official. Jonas Kaufmann will give a new recital at Wigmore Hall on June 10th 2012 !with his faithful partner, Helmut Deutsch.

Copyright: LA Opera/Robert Millard

The programm is still not announced but whatever he sings it will be,for sure, the hottest ticket of the Wigmore season, especially after the announcement yesterday of his nomination for the Royal Philarmonic Society Music Awards "for his performance of Schubert’s Song Cycle Die Schöne Mullerin at Wigmore Hall".