Ottensamer shared the stage at Wigmore Hall with pianist José Gallardo and together they took it by storm with the erupting scalar passages in the first movement of Weber’s Grand Duo concertant.
This was less a concert of two halves than one of two tenors: able to dramatise the music of Puccini and Verdi far more effectively than his earlier Mozart, Flórez came alive.
Young singers, musicians and designers in this Matrimonio segreto co-produced by the three main opera companies in the Netherlands show that, on the stage and in the pit at least, the future of opera is bright.
An imaginatively programmed and deftly executed concert from William Christie's Arts Florissants and Jardin des Voix offers many delights in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
Sir James Galway supported by the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, performs flawless Mozart flute concerto in D. Sir James Galway and Lady Jeanne Galway also delivers delightful Cimarosa in a historic performance.
The Secret Marriage has been a hit from its earliest days. At its 1792 première in Vienna, King Leopold II was so delighted by the performance that he ordered the whole company to repair to his mansion, be treated to a magnificent dinner, “and then play the entire opera through again, immediately”. Later, Verdi called The Secret Marriage “a perfect comedy, which contains everything that an opera buffa should”.
