Classical News and Views

Here's another famous Mozart aria from Le Nozze di Figaro: "Voi che sapete che cosa e amor."  Learn the Italian lyrics and English translation to this beautiful song.  Follow along with this YouTube video of Federica Von Stade.

"Voi che sapete che cosa e amor" Lyrics and Text Translation originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 23:21:46.

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Four years ago, the classical music publishing giant, Gramophone, created a list ranking twenty of the world's best orchestras.  That list has garnered many reactions, both positive and negative, from classical music fans from around the world.  Many orchestras were missing from the list, while others were ranked incorrectly - or at least that's how many people felt.  I'm curious to know what you think.  After you read the list of the world's best symphony orchestras, share your opinions or your ideal rankings.

World's Best Symphony Orchestras originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, February 5th, 2012 at 22:43:45.

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You know how much I love a great film score.  And I'm sure many of you do too.   Here are the five 2012 Academy Award nominated original film scores.  This year's awards will be presented on February 26th at 7 PM eastern, on ABC.

2012 Oscar Nominees for Best Film Score originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 23:14:08.

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Jacques Offenbach's famous opera, Le Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) is one of my favorite operas due to its unique story.  Based on several of E.T.A. Hoffmann's short stories, the opera focuses on a poet who tells three stories of his past loves.   It also has one of my favorite arias "Les oiseaux dans la charmilla."  Read the synopsis of Le Contes d'Hoffmann today!

Les Contes d'Hoffmann Synopsis originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 23:08:57.

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Carmen wasn't the only opera written by Georges Bizet.  Djamileh tells the story of a "playboy's" monthly slave, Djamileh.  She falls in love with him, but he trades in his mistresses every month for a "new model."  The playboy's servant loves Djamileh and the two make a deal that if she can't make the playboy love her, she will marry him instead.  Learn how the story ends in this synopsis of Bizet's Djamileh.

A Synopsis of Bizet's Djamileh originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 01:56:08.

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After watching ABC's hit television show, Once Upon a Time, I fell in love with the fairy tales of my childhood all over again.  Not only that, I remembered that the famous story of Hansel and Gretel was adapted for an opera composed by Englebert Humperdinck.  It's a fantastic opera that premiered on December 23, 1893.  To this day, it is traditionally performed during Christmastime.  Read the full synopsis of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.  Then watch the opening scene to the final act of the opera on YouTube.

A Synopsis of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at 23:42:32.

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Normally, I have trouble predicting the winner of an an award, whether it's an Oscar, Golden Globe, or Grammy. This year's winner for the Golden Globe for best film score, however, was a no-brainer. The moment I heard the music, I instantly fell in love, and I knew others would too. I didn't even need to hear the other 2012 Golden Globe nominees. If you haven't had a chance to listen to Ludovic Bource's The Artist, you simply must. You can preview, purchase and download tracks at Amazon, or you can listen to one of my favorite tracks on Youtube.

2012 Golden Globe Winner for Best Score originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 23:41:46.

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Mozart's famous opera, Cosi fan tutte, or "Women are like that" tells the story of two men and the faithfulness or "supposed faithfulness" of their fiancées.  After making a bet with a bitter old man, the two men craft a plan to dupe their fiancées into quickly exchanging their steadfast love for other men when the two officers claim to have been sent off to war.  Despite the opera's not-so-perfect view of women, it's one of Mozart's most beloved operas, and has been since its creation in 1790.  Read the entire Cosi fan tutte synopsis.

Cosi fan tutte Synopsis originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Sunday, January 15th, 2012 at 01:15:27.

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Last week, during a moving performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9 with the New York Philharmonic, the New York Times reported a strange incident of a ringing cellphone.  Sadly, these kinds of interruptions are all too common, not only during a classical music performance, but even at the movie theater.  (Perhaps, it's time to move "not turning off your cellphone" to the top of the list of ways to ruin a classical music concert.)  What makes this incident so unique, is that the phone began ringing during the final passages of the symphony - one's that are calm, quiet, reflective, and cathartic (the release the entire symphony builds up to), AND it came from the front row directly behind the conductor, Alan Gilbert.  Normally, the phone is silenced within the first few seconds of ringing, but this phone rang and rang and rang and rang, causing the conductor to stop the entire performance until the matter was resolved.  Audience members were shouting and becoming angrier by the minute.  Finally, after the phone was silenced, Gilbert lead the orchestra to finish the piece.  The culprit was later interviewed anonymously, giving his apologizes directly to Gilbert.  After reading his statement, we should give him a pass.  But next time, as my friend stated, "Turn the phone off. Better yet, leave it at home - it's not difficult. Why spend the money on a concert ticket if you can't disconnect for two hours..."

The Ringing Cellphone at the NY Phil's Performance of Mahler 9 originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 at 17:51:03.

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Even though its first performance fell flat on its face, thanks to an audience loyal to rival composer, Giovanni Paisiello, Rossini's Barber of Seville has become one of the most famous comic operas.  Its farcical story, full of disguises and deceptions and based on the play Le Barbier de Séville by Pierre Beaumarchais, tells the story of a two men wanting to marry the same woman.  What makes this opera comical is that Count Almaviva, with the help of Figaro, disguises himself at least 3 or 4 times in order to win the lady's hand in marriage.  Learn how the story ends by reading the Barber of Seville synopsis.

Rossini's Barber of Seville Synopsis originally appeared on About.com Classical Music on Monday, January 9th, 2012 at 00:03:20.

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