Because of my late fascination with Twitter and using it at as a means to learn more about opera, I discovered an incredible find in a website called
Medici TV. Medici TV is an online subscription service that specializes in providing classical music and opera performances for their members to watch. Their catalogue includes quite an exhaustive amount of selections of performances from the
Verbier festival, and I watched
Renee Fleming's recital with the
Berlin Philharmoniker Orchestra, which was conducted by Maestro Ion Marin, and I was thoroughly impressed with the repertoire of the concert. Any devoted aficionado of Renee Fleming's will enjoy this performance, which can be streamed for free, because it displays so much of her recorded work. She sings the Final Scene from Richard Strauss's
Capriccio,
Marietta's Lied from Erich Korngold's
Die tote Stadt, all three of the
La Boheme selections by Puccini and Leoncavallo from her
Verismo album, and
O mio babbino, caro. The program is entitled
A Night of Love, and I enthusiastically enjoyed the performance. The venue for the performance was an outdoor ampithteatre, and it looked exceptionally inviting. Looking at the audience who experienced this performance personally, I was deeply envious because you could see that many patrons had brought picnic meals along with them to enjoy the evening, and most of them appeared to be having a marvelous time. One of the things which irked me, however, was that, when the camera focused on them, some people in the audience looked as if they would rather be anywhere else but there.
The vidoe stream is about two hours, but it is well worth it. Ion Marin does an admirable job of leading the Berlin Philharmoniker Orchestra, and Fleming sounds just as excellent as she usually does.
O mio babbino caro sounds almost exactly as it does on her self-titled album, and I thought she provided something for every audience member to enjoy in her selections. Her attire was also gorgeous.
Capriccio's final scene did not seem quite so long as I remembered it, and I found myself drifting into the music rather more easily this time than when I watched her DVD performance of the opera from Paris. I always anticipate the Korngold selection with elation, but I wish she would sing
Ich ging zu ihm more often, for that music is exceptionally beautiful.
Finally, one might wish to view other concerts from the Verbier Festival, and I know I am looking forward to seeing one by Angelika Kirschlager, so feel free to visit MediciTV's website to enjoy opera to its fullest extent. I thank all of you for reading my humble posts, and may God continue to bless us.
-Tyler.
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