Sir John Eliot Gardiner turns 69 today.

The founder of the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists, and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, Gardiner has led some riveting performances of Verdi in recent years. I am especially fond of his recording of the Manzoni Requiem, which was released (along with the Quattro pezzi sacri) in 1995. It is based on David Rosen’s critical edition of the score, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1990.

We listeners are blessed to have many fine recordings of this masterwork from which to choose, but none to my mind tops Gardiner’s for clarity and sizzle.

Bon week-end à tous !

George Gordon, Lord Byron, died on 19 April 1824 at the age of 36. He had contracted a fever in Missolonghi fighting in the Greek War of Independence (Ελληνική Επανάσταση) against the Ottoman Empire.

Two of Verdi’s operas, Il corsaro and I due Foscari, are based on works by Byron. (By the way, Donizetti also wrote two Byronic operas.)

Today’s selection is an excerpt from Act II of I due Foscari, “Nel tuo paterno amplesso.” This 1980 or 1981 performance is untidy but features some splendid singing by Carlo Bergonzi as Jacopo Foscari and Renato Bruson as his father Francesco. Margarita Castro-Alberty portrays Lucrezia, and Eve Queler conducts.

P.S. Regular blog posts should resume now, though there are server problems and I sometimes cannot upload or save files. Also, I covered New York City Opera’s 2012–2013 season announcement for The Classical Review.

Dear hearts, I expect to be back from vacation around 17 April.

In the meantime, my latest article for Capital New York concerns a performance of the Manzoni Requiem by a wonderful New York group, the Choral Society.

Back at you soon!

VIVA VERDI!

Darlings, I am on vacation, and I wish you all Chag Pesach Sameach, Happy Easter, or just “Have a nice day” if you celebrate neither of the above.

I did, however, head uptown to review the Metropolitan Opera’s revival of La traviata for The Classical Review.

Hei-Kyung Hong was a marvelous Violetta, and Dmitri Hvorostovsky was in sensational form.

Back at you soon!