Anna Samuil joins violinist Tatiana Samouil and pianist Matthias Samuil to dedicate this Liederabend to honor María Malibrán’s 215th birthday. Please enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
Richard Strauss
Hello, everybody. I know I am seven months too late to share this with you, but I want to share with you my first and, so far, only participation in the audience’s first impressions of the premiere of Richard Strauss’s Arabella at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, which happened on March 18, 2023. You will find my appearance from 01:42 to 01:45 where I stated, in German, “The best performer for me was Elena Tsallagova as Zdenka” from an interview conducted by Anatoly Rudnev. That was just one of the many unapologetically genuine sentiments I had before creating my long-form vlog-style review on my channel of that same opera where I went into great detail as to why Ms. Tsallagova as Zdenka stood head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. There was no irony, let alone cynicism, to be found in those sentiments about Ms. Tsallagova’s vocally precise performance as Arabella’s tomboyish younger sister Zdenka. Therefore, I was grateful to have received the opportunity to be interviewed. I also want to dedicate this to my mother who is celebrating her birthday today. She has inspired me to observe my passion for opera and for good singing with a critically conscientious eye and ear. Additionally, my maternal grandmother was my rock in appreciating opera since my earliest childhood and helping me become the online reviewer that I am proud to be today, thanks to all of the vocal and instrumental concerts we attended together. Together, my mother and my maternal grandmother also gave me the boost I needed as a singer by recommending voice teachers who looked after my voice well during my adolescent years and also aided me in not only appreciating opera but also making me understand both the vocal demands of specific roles and the librettos put to life by the composers’ music. On behalf of everybody at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, I wish my mother the most prosperous birthday ever. And, to everybody at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, please provide my dear mother with the best wishes you can ever give to her with your fine artistic value and, of course, thank you so much for your undying support for me as an online reviewer. Lots of love and music to you all.
Waltraud Meier’s second to the last hurrah as Klytämnestra, the beautiful yet guilt-ridden Queen of Mycenae, was in full swing tonight. Enjoy my review, and please enjoy Frau Meier’s final hurrah to the operatic stage on October 20.
Combining classics by Richard Strauss and Max Reger as well as a fresh face in Philipp Maintz was a Liederabend that unites the musical prowess of John Parr, Flurina Stucki, Attilio Glaser, and Philipp Jekal. Enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
How did Gabriela Scherer tackle the title role of Strauss’s Arabella, as she ended up singing the subsequent performances after the premiere? Find out in my review and please let me know your opinions as well.
A bizarrely confusing Regietheater production of Strauss’s Arabella made its premiere at the Deutsche Oper Berlin three days ago with a cast of both veterans and fresh-faced singers. Enjoy my review and please let me know your opinions as well.
Jordan Shanahan, a dramatic baritone whose career has seen him rise from handsomely lyrical roles to more viscerally challenging roles, takes on Jochanaan the mysterious yet raving prophet. Enjoy my review and let me know your opinions as well.
How did Karita Mattila fare when she graduated from the virginal yet anxious princess Chrysothemis to the hysterically neurotic yet relatively stately queen Klytämnestra? Find out in my review and let me know your opinions as well.
I present to you all my rendition of one of my favorite Richard Strauss Lieder of all time Zueignung. Sit back, relax, and happy listening.
A former Chrysothemis and a youthful lyric soprano rise to the challenge to perform this high-octane sister act.