Program Mezzo

Otello 'Dramma lirico' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi 1813 - 1901 Libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare's play 'Othello, or The Moor of Venice' (1603) Milan, Teatro alla Scala, February 5, 1887 Coro y Orquesta Titulares del Teatro Real, Pequeños Cantores de la ORCAM Nicola Luisotti (Musical Direction) José Luis Basso (Chorus Master), Ana González (Children's Choir Conductor) David Alden (Stage Director) Jon Morrell (Set and Costume Design), Adam Silverman (Lighting), Maxime Braham (Choreography) Brian Jagde (Otello) Asmik Grigorian (Desdemona) Igor Golovatenko (Iago) Airam Hernández (Cassio) Albert Casals (Roderigo) Insung Sim (Lodovico) Fernando Radó (Montano | Un heraldo) Enkelejda Shkoza (Emilia) Madrid, Teatro Real, September 25, 2025

Rivalry in Music – Callas vs. Tebaldi Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi were the two most famous sopranos of the second half of the last century. Turned into hostile enemies by their admirers, the two became untouchable goddesses of opera. For their fans, Callas was known as "the tigress", Tebaldi as "the voice of an angel": the two singers could hardly have been more different, whether in their professional or private lives. To this day, Callas remains perhaps the greatest soprano of all time. Her rival, Tebaldi, is best known to opera lovers. Why is the posthumous fame of the two prima donnas so different? Directed by Andreas Morell 2020

John Scofield’s Long Days Quartet John Scofield (guitar) John Medeski (Piano) Vicente Archer (double bass) Ted Poor (drums) Rome, Parco della Casa del Jazz, 23 July 2025

Mel Lewis Orchestra Jazz Estival Mel Lewis (drums) Simo Salminen (trumpet) Ted Nash (saxophone) Kenny Werner (piano) John Marshall (trumpet) Joe Mosello (trumpet) Joe Lovano (saxophone) Jerry Dodgion (saxophone) Earl Gardner (trumpet) Dennis Irwin (doublebass) Recorded in 1985, Lugano, Swiss Tv director, Sandro Pedrazzetti

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Last Words The great German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was greatly admired for his interpretive insight, note-perfect control of the tonal qualities, and shadings of color in his voice, for exceptional rhythmic sense and impeccable diction. His reputation as a lieder singer is so high – he had a repertoire of more than 3.000 songs – that it is easy to forget his extensive list of operatic roles. In this conversation Fischer-Dieskau reveals for the last time on camera the secrets of his outstanding career. His ‘Last Words’ provide a deep insight into the extraordinary artistic life of one of the most famous and prolific lieder singers of our time. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau died in May 2012 at the age of 86. Directed by Bruno Monsaingeon 2013

Arielle Beck (piano) Robert Schumann 1810 - 1856 Sonata No. 1 op. 11 Franz Schubert 1797 - 1828 Sonata No. 14 D. 784 Felix Mendelssohn 1809 - 1947 Variations sérieuses op. 54 Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, 12 October 2025

Concours de Genève international Music Competition, Viola Competition 2025 Final Round with orchestra Orchestre de la Suisse Romande Compulsory concerto: Léo Albisetti Nouvel Élan One concerto at choice from the following list: Krzysztof Penderecki Viola Concerto Sally Beamish Viola Concerto No. 2 "The Seafarer" Béla Bartók Viola Concerto (Bartók/Dellamaggiore) Paul Hindemith Viola concerto "Der Schwanendreher" Geneva, Victoria Hall, 12 November 2025

Wiener Streichsextett Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, op. 18 1995 Directed by Janos Darvas

Wiener Streichsextett Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 String Sextet No. 2 in G major, op. 36 1995 Directed by Janos Darvas

Roméo et Juliette ‘Drame lyrique’ in 5 acts by Charles Gounod (1818-1893) Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré after the tragedy by William Shakespeare First performance in Paris, Théâtre-Lyrique du Châtelet, 27 April 1867 Philharmonia Zürich, Roberto Forés Veses (Music Direction) Chor der Oper Zürich, Ernst Raffelsberger (Chorus Master) Ted Huffman (Stage director) Andrew Lieberman (Stage design), Annemarie Woods (Costumes), Franck Evin (Lighting), Pim Veulings (Choreography) Benjamin Bernheim (Roméo Montaigu) Julie Fuchs (Juliette Capulet) Svetlina Stoyanova (Stéphano) Yuriy Hadzetskyy (Mercutio) Maximilian Lawrie (Benvolio) David Soar (Le Comte Capulet) Katia Ledoux (Gertrude) Omer Kobiljak (Tybalt) Andrew Moore (Le Comte Paris) Jungrae Noah Kim (Gregorio) Brent Michael Smith (Frère Laurent) Valeriy Murga (Le Duc de Vérone) Zurich, Opernhaus, 10 April 2023

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Jonathan Nott (conductor) Nelson Goerner (piano) Roxanna Panufnik 1968 - Modlitwa, for string orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 - 1791 Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major KV 488 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840 - 1893 Symphony No. 3 in D major, 'Polish' Geneva, Victoria Hall, 26 November 2025

Wiener Philharmoniker, Daniele Gatti (conductor) Igor Stravinsky 1882 - 1971 Apollon Musagète, ballet suite Dmitri Shostakovich 1906 - 1975 Symphonie No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93 Directed by Christoph Engel Vienna, Musikverein, 29 September 2024

Bruno Walter: Portrait Directed by Janos Darvas The film portrays Bruno Walter (1876-1962), one of the most important conductors of the 20th century. The Italian biographer Michele Selvini speaks about the musician Bruno Walter who formed the musical life of the capitals of Europe and the United States over a period of 60 years. But so far not published film material also shows a different, not so known Bruno Walter as a private man.

Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (conductor) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 - 1791 Symphony in D Major, K. 385, ‘Haffner’ Directed by Brian Large Prague, Smetana Hall, 1 May 1991

Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano & conductor) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 – 1791 Piano Concerto no. 12 in A Major K 414 1990 Directed by Janos Darvas

Richter, the Enigma Prokofiev's 9th Sonata was dedicated to him, he played at Stalin's funeral with Oistrakh and Rostropovitch and accompanied Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau: Sviatoslav Richter was THE Soviet pianist par excellence. This portrait, illustrated with rare and unpublished archival documents from the 1950s to the artist's death, gives a view of life in Soviet Russia from the perspective of one of the greatest and yet most enigmatic world pianists. Directed by Bruno Monsaingeon 1997

After the Last Sky Anouar Brahem, oud Django Bates, piano Dave Holland double bass Anja Lechner, cello Paris, Philharmonie, 25 April 2025

Rolando Luna y El Comité - ¡Cuba Libre! Rolando Luna (keyboards, piano) Harold López-Nussa (piano) Carlos Sarduy (trumpet) Rafael Aguila (saxophone) Yandy Martinez (bass, double bass) Rodney Barreto (drums) Yaroldy Abreu (percussions) Vincent Lauja (trombone) Toulouse, Théâtre de la Cité, 28 June 2025

Werther 'Drame lyrique' in four acts and five tableaux by Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912) Libretto by Edouard Blau, Paul Millet and Georges Hartmann after Goethe First performance in Viena, Hofoper, 16 February 1892 Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris Michel Plasson (Conductor) Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine / Choeur d’enfants de l’Opéra National de Paris Benoit Jacquot (Stage direction) Charles Edwards, André Diot (sets, lighting), Christian Gasc (Costumes) Jonas Kaufmann (Werther) Sophie Koch (Charlotte) Ludovic Tézier (Albert) Anne-Catherine Gillet (Sophie) Alain Vernhes (Le Bailli) Andreas Jaggi (Jean Schmidt) Christian Tréguier (Johann) Directed by Benoit Jacquot and Louise Narboni Paris, Opéra National de Paris, (Opéra-Bastille), 2010

Wiener Philharmoniker, Yannick-Nézet Séguin (direction) Yefim Bronfman (piano) Ludwig van Beethoven 1770 - 1827 Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 Claude Debussy 1862 - 1918 Images, Book II | Poissons d'or Richard Strauss 1864 - 1949 Ein Heldenleben, op. cit. 40 Directed by Elisabeth Malzer Vienne, Musikverein, 15 March 2025

Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset (Conductor) Ambroisine Bré (mezzo-soprano), Cyrille Dubois (tenor), Florian Sempey (baritone) Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764) Les Fêtes d’Hébé (1739), highlights Dardanus (1739 and 1744), highlights Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet, 22 January 2022 Directed by Olivier Simonnnet

Enrico Caruso – The Eternal Voice Enrico Caruso's life was as melodramatic as the plots of many of the operas he sang. His phenomenal tenor voice made him famous worldwide and he became the first superstar. The background to a hitherto little-known assassination attempt in Cuba sheds new light on the legendary voice of the century, which is now part of humanity's cultural heritage. Enrico Caruso is a phenomenon, produced by Italian opera at the end of the 19th century. And to this day it remains its greatest mystery. How was a child from a poor background able to celebrate such great successes at the Metropolitan Opera in New York? What is the basis of his myth? Directed by Norbert Buse

Orchestre de Paris, Klaus Mäkelä (conductor) Vincent Lucas (flute) Aaron Copland 1900 - 1990 Fanfare for the Common Man Guillaume Connesson 1970 - Flute Concerto No. 2 George Gershwin 1898 - 1937 An American in Paris Joan Tower 1938 - Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman N° 1 Edgard Varèse 1883 - 1965 Amériques Paris, Philharmonie, 11 September 2025

Monty Alexander: D Day Monty Alexander (piano) Luke Sellick (double bass), Jason Brown (drums) Directed by Marc Khanne Toulouse, Halle aux Grains, 1 December 2025

Milt Jackson / Ray Brown 4tet Jazz Estival Milt Jackson (vibraphone) Stanley Turrentine (saxophone) Ray Brown (doublebass) Cedar Walton (piano) Mickey Roker (drums) Recorded in 1986, Lugano, Swiss Tv director, Sandro Pedrazzetti

Tyreek McDole Tyreek McDole (vocals) Caelan Cardello (piano) Dylan Band (saxophone) Daniel Finn (bass) Gary Jones (battery) Guyancourt, La Batterie, 13 October 2025

Keller Quartet Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, op. 51/1 1994 Directed by Janos Darvas

Keller Quartet Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, op. 67 1994 Directed by Janos Darvas

Keller Quartet Johannes Brahms 1833 – 1897 String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, op. 51/2 1994 Directed by Janos Darvas