Incredibly moving performance of this part of Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" by Diana Damrau as Sophie and Joyce DiDonato as Octavian. At the beginning, Joyce DiDonato tells us about the circumstances of the performance... ^^
I seriously will never get enough of both of these women singing together...they are so perfect. This and Le Comte Ory have got to be my favorites with them together.
Oh wow...that was just spectacular. I've always loved Judith Blegen's Sophie, but Damrau takes it to another place entirely. And DiDonato knows exactly what she's doing with that role...they were both breathtaking.
@rlee1976 Joyce was called to fill in this performance with 24 hours notice, so combine jet lag with the fact that Octavian was a very new role in her rep at the time and I think she was magnificent, as usual!!
read above: she was called in from Europe on less than 24 hrs notice, and had to borrow the clothes to sing in. ALSO, she had not sung the role of Octavian very often by this time in her career. Joyce, hope you'll sing it again SOON!
wow lovely. they were both brilliant. one of the most touching scenes in all of opera. and the black suit ! haha...loved the commentary on that...fit her perfectly and went lovely with the red! :-)
I love the way Damrau goes extremely quiet for "Wie himmlische, nicht irdische..." (from 3:36) before a hushed orchestra. That really I had never heard, it's a refreshing idea that makes things much more lively. Superb.
The interpretation allows for a bit of leeway with the tempi- remember, both characters are supposed to be very young and all is new and confusing to them. I love the fact that although this is a "park and bark" performance, both ladies "act" their way through it which adds to the charm and makes it so much nicer to watch than some of the older Met gala evenings.
ASOMBROSA ( Como x otra parte ya empieza a ser habitual cuando se habla de Diana...) Se me han saltado las lagrimas......otra vez......me rindo a los pies de la mejor soprano del Mundo...lo dije en otro comment.....su voz evoluciona hacia el intimismo sin perder un ápice de espectacularidad.....BRAVA DIANA ! ...Voy a dar un brazo para verla estas Navidades en Madrid.....
I have seen this Baden Baden production in Paris (Concert version).... Don't worry, Sophie Koch is reallly a GREAT Octavian!!! She was a revelation for parisian people and had a standing ovation.....
Very beautiful but is Damrau rushing a few of the verses?. She has exquisite high notes and is totally different to the Sophie of a generation- Barbara Bonney but still effective. DiDonato is superb!
Of course I have :) Oh, good news for you, btw. As Dennis won't be able to post the Hänsel video, he lets me do it, but I just want to upload the first scene and the prayer, so you can upload whatever you want from the rest of the opera ^^ Let's hope Carlos won't hate you if you do xDDDDDDD
Nena, no faltaba el "que se besen" al final? Por cierto, quiero darte una gran noticia: a la Soprano le gusta la Divina Damrau!!!1 :D Muajajja. Musuak, lastana!
Sí faltaba, sí ... Bueno, Joyce llevaba puesta la ropa de Diana. Hm, sospechoso xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Me alegro de que tenga TAN buen gusto. Pero claro, es tu novia xD
