Tamino and Pamina

First and foremost: happy Valentine's Day everyone! I am not the biggest fan, to be honest, because when you are single today, it is depressing and when you are in a couple, it is stressful. All the same, let's celebrate, with first  picture I took in Vienna. You may recognise Prince Tamino and Princess Pamina from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. AKA The Magic Flute. We stumbled upon this monument at complete random. I thought it captured beautifully their relationship. Of course, I could not celebrate today without Mozart's music. There's another reason why I wanted to share the picture: for me, their relationship perfectly embodies what true, lasting love should be. So here is their duet, or a part of their one duet in the opera, sung by my favourite Mozartian soprano Golda Schultz (don't tell the others) and tenor Ben Bliss. Mozart can be cynical about relationships, but not here. Yet he remains I think truthful: for love to work, it has to be teamwork.

Mariä Wiegenlied (sung by Golda Schultz)

It struck me recently that I don't put enough Christmas music in this blog since the beginning of December. So here is the (maybe) lesser known Mariä Wiegenlied, sung by South African soprano Golda Schultz. Hope you enjoy.

Mozart: Rise of a Genius

An annoucement for people, like me, who love Mozart: there is a documentary series on BBC 2, aptly titles Mozart: Rise of a Genius. It's in three parts and, while you might not learn anything new about his life, you will most definitely find some interesting analysis that will give you new perspectives on his work. Various people talk, musicians, actors, all Mozart lovers, among them South African soprano Golda Schultz. And Schultz just gets Mozart. These commentators are both instructive and moving. I don't know if it is accessible outside the UK, but do check it out if you can.

Listening to Cosi fan tutte

 You may remember that I blogged back in 2023 about South African soprano Golda Schultz (my favourite soprano and Mozartian opera singer) making her debut at Royal Opera House in the role of Fiordiligi in  Cosi fan tutte by Mozart. Sadly, I could not attend it in London. However, it is currently playing on BBC Radio 3. I cannot watch it, but I can listen to it. I am listening to it, in fact.I suggest you do the same.

'Mozart, You Drive Me Crazy!'

Here's some great musical news, at least for me: South African soprano Golda Schultz (maybe my favourite soprano) is releasing a new album, called Mozart, You Drive Me Crazy!. About Mozart's music from the three operas he composed in collaboration with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Now, there are many like this, but Schultz just gets Mozart, she is one of the most Mozartian opera singers we have now. Plus, she loves the composer so much, she is as much a fan as she is a singer. And it shows when she sings it. This album is a labour of love and I intend to either buy it, or put it on my birthday presents list. But maybe I will not be able to wait until my birthday, even though it is soon. In any case, check this video about it:

Golda Schultz as Fiordiligi

This should be a treat: I learned through social media that South African soprano Golda Schultz (maybe my favourite soprano) will be making her Royal Opera House debut as Fiordiligi in (well of course) Cosi fan tutte by Mozart. Now how cool is that? This is what she had to say about it when she made the announcement: 

"FINALLY this is a debut I never thought would come my way! Royal Opera Covent Garden- I’m on my way! Singing the glorious music of Mozart with a cast of brilliant singers. Grateful doesn’t even begin to describe what I feel.I sang an audition on that stage in December 2010 and I bombed. I cracked on notes, had to restart in front of their executive casting staff- your basic horror audition story for any young artist! But I picked myself up. Went back to the drawing board and promised myself that I would forgive myself my mistakes, forgive myself my anxiety and keep moving forward. I did and now because I took the steps to move through the “failure” I am getting an opportunity to share music I love with another audience. I get to make music with some great friends and hopefully make new ones. So come on London! Can’t wait to be there next June."

I admire her even more that she opened about a past failure and showed her vulnerability so openly. But with vulnerability comes resilience, discipline and an incredible commitment to her art. She proved time and again, in other productions, that she is a natural and accomplished Mozartian singer. So now I will need to find a way to watch this production. Probably not in London itself, but I think I can probably find a cinema that will show the live performance or I will stream it. Either way, I am so glad she is coming here.

"Meeting Mozart" for his birthday

Today is the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. My favourite composer and in my opinion the very best opera composer of all time. Which is why he is my favourite composer (and why I think he will always be the most accomplished classical musician of all time, sorry for the controversial opinion, but not sorry and take that Ludwig). Anyway, since today it is his birthday, I celebrate by listening to his music, but also reading about him. So this is the book I have been reading these last few days in preparation for the anniversary of his birth: Meeting Mozart: A Novel Drawn From the Secret Diaries of Lorenzo Da Ponte, by Howard Jay Smith. Grosso modo, it is a fictionalize account of his relationship and collaboration with librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. It's pretty nice so far. Both Mozart and Da Ponte's lives are the stuff of legend, so they work well as prime matter for fiction (even if it is often fanfiction). In any case, I encourage you to Mozart up your life today. And to celebrate on this blog, I am sharing a duet from Le Nozze di Figaro. Sung by legendary Diana Damrau and Golda Schultz (who is playing the role of the Countess at the Met at the moment). So anyway, happy birthday Maestro and happy Mozarting everyone!

Mozarting to fight melancholy

Well, when Christmas is over and January feels dreary, like it is now, I feel like it's time to bring more Mozart in my life. Okay, okay, I listen to him any time of the year anyway, but I find it a perfect remedy for melancholy. And I am terribly melancholic any time of year. Another way to find melancholy is a good dose of chocolates. And, luckily enough, the local sweet shop sells Mozartkugels. So I buy myself a box and I eat them listening to some of his operas. I call this Mozarting. My last box dated from November, so I need a new one. Mozartkugelns are not cheap, but the shopkeeper always gives me a reduce price on them. But anyway, I cannot write a post about Mozart withoutsharing a bit of his music, so here is an (abriedged) duet from The Magic Flute, sung by Golda Schultz (my favourite soprano at the moment) and Markus Werba, playing Pamina and Papageno, respectively.

"Pata Pata"

In the last few months, I have developed an obsession with South African soprano Golda Schultz. Because she has an incredible voiceand because my wife is half South African, so I like to know more things about this country. So anyway, thanks to her I discovered on YouTube this very famous and very catchy tune from Miriam Makeba (whom I knew for other works, but that is for another post). Golda Schultz sings it here in a duet wih Rolando Villazon, it's full of joyful energy and it's absolutely irresistible.

Mozart: The Man Revealed

Here is a bit of a reading suggestion for classical music lovers. Those who may not be artists or specialist themselves, but are not totally clueless. Anyway, my wife bought me last year for my birthday a biography of Mozart: Mozart: the Man Revealed, by John Suchet. I had asked her to get me a book about Mozart, not specifying which one in particular, just any biography of Mozart would do, providing it is a good one. She got me that one and I was not disappointed. In fact, of all the books I read last year, it is the one I read wih the most interest. I got through it really quickly and I wished I had taken more time to enjoy it. Suchet made the subject really accessible to anyone with even the slightest interest in classical music. Apart from one point of contention (he seems to think little of the brilliantly subversive plot of Cosi fan tutte), I thoroughly enjoyed it. Suchet also made me far more knowledgeable about Mozart, his time and his entourage, whether familial or professional. Anyway, I cannot end a post on Mozart without sharing a piece of his music. Here's the opening duet from Le Nozze di Figaro, with Markus Werba as Figaro and Golda Schultz as Susanna. At the moment, Schultz might actually be my favourite soprano, for many reasons, but this is for another post.