My "not so secret" passion :D

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Comment by sylvie boisvert on March 3, 2016 at 5:25pm

Hi everyone, nothing really new today, but I do want to share an officially released video for the Marie-Josée Lord "Femmes" recital I've mentioned before, so here it is:

6 726 views

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6YEEtLZ1uE

Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Comment by sylvia doughty on February 2, 2016 at 9:12pm

That was super that you met her again for love the pic you have on here of both you and glad Marcel enjoyed !!! :)

Sylvia   Your wee Scottish friend

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Comment by sylvie boisvert on February 2, 2016 at 1:52pm

Wow Sylvia, I didn't know you were still following this blog, thank you! I went with hubby and he said he enjoyed it too. Frankly, the only negative thing I can say about her recitals is that they're not long enough... :D I was truly amazed at how much stronger her voice is becoming and she's very entertaining. The cherry on the sundae was that I met her again, she recognized me and sounded genuinely thrilled to see me. :D My pleasure talking about it and again, thanks for reading. Take care. Big hugs, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Comment by sylvia doughty on February 2, 2016 at 12:08pm

Thanks for sharing Sylvie and so glad you enjoyed....lovely to go to something that you thoroughly enjoy from start to finish !!! :)  Thanks again for share !! :)

Sylvia   Your wee Scottish friend

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Comment by sylvie boisvert on February 2, 2016 at 2:07am

Hi everyone, today, I want to report about a great opera recital I’ve attended last Friday: soprano Marie-Josée Lord’s.  Her recital was entitled “Femmes” (Women)  and I just loved it. Her musical choices were varied, starting from “Concerto pour une voix” by St-Preux, sung without words, to a lyrical rendition of “La vie en rose” by Edith Piaf, passing by the drama of Puccini’s works  and the sensibility of Mozart etc. She weaves a beautiful string of stories, teasing and touching moments. She’s playful and charming, with a superb voice that’s rich and sustained, from her lower to her higher register which only gets better with time. I’ve attended several of Marie-Josée’s  different programs, also attended several operatic performances and have nothing but good things to say about her performance and her adorable personality.  I recommend all her shows  and I’m always eager to hear her again. Here is her setlist:

 

Concerto pour une voix  / Saint-Preux

La vie en Rose  / Edith Piaf music of Louiguy

E susanna non vien...dove sono  / W.A. Mozart excerpt from « Le Nozze di Figaro »

Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix  / Camille Saint-Saëns  excerpt from « Samson et Dalila »

Piangi perchè... Un bel di vedremo  G. Puccini excerpt from « Madama Butterfly”

«  Entracte

Ave maria  C. Gounod/ J.S. Bach

Quando m’en vo  G. Puccini excerpt from « La Bohème »

Senza mamma  G. Puccini excerpt from « Suor Angelica »

Dieu quel frisson...  Amour ranime mon courage  / C. Gounod excerpt from « Roméo et Juliette »

Me voilà seule...  Dis-moi que je suis belle  Jules Massenet excerpt from « Thaïs »

I go to as many of her recitals as I can. Last Friday’s performance was stronger than ever and she was delightful as always, so that should keep me content for a while. :D Thanks for reading, sincerely, Sylvie <3

P.S.: Re-reading my previous entry, I realize I put the wrong link, which is now useless since the one I intended to post has been removed. XP

Comment by sylvie boisvert on November 5, 2015 at 4:13pm

Hi everyone, well here I am today with yet another YouTube find. This video was uploaded back in June, I believe following the world premiere of my dear Marie-Josée Lord’s new program called “Femmes” which means “Women”. Here are a couple of excerpts:

extraits de “Femmes” premiere mondiale 2015 Marie-Josée Lord:

http://clipconverter.cc/

In this program, from what I understand, she explores her musical journey throughout the women who have played a key role in her vocal awakening and development. The program sounds amazing and I will witness it first hand in a couple of months: got my tickets! I’ll keep you posted when I hear more. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Comment by sylvie boisvert on June 15, 2015 at 5:27pm

Hi everyone, “late” seems to be the operative word today: late in continuity for this blog and late in the news for something I’d been wishing for. Given the fact that I can’t find an official site for my favourite young Canadian baritone, I have, once again, stumbled upon something while perusing YouTube. Good thing I periodically check, or I wouldn’t have found out that said favorite Canadian baritone Étienne Dupuis, has finally released a solo CD on Atma-Classique! Here’s the first excerpt, with the string quartet Quatuor Claudel-Canimex, the song   “On the way to Kew”  by English composer George Butterworth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2iHEbdEsQc

This CD called “Love blows as the wind blows” released March 10 2015, according to the track listing, offers 3 song cycles including one from a French Quebec composer, plus the bonus of the only classic I know: “Danny boy”. You can listen to excerpts here:

http://www.archambault.ca/-love-blows-as-the-wind-blows-ACH00365479...

I’ve been waiting for Étienne’s solo effort probably ever since I first heard him, as I had for Marie-Josée Lord’s. They’ve sung a heart-melting rendition of the “I pagliacci” love duet together, which I hope they record someday. In the meantime, feast your ears on this stunning rendition by 2 of today’s most renowned Russian interpreters, soprano Anna Netrebko and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovski:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd350xxrvss

To me, pure bliss starts towards the end, around 8:30, when they start singing in unison, all in tenderness aiming for the finale… Back to Étienne, he’s also a singer/songwriter and I guess I’m glad he took his time to define his sound and assemble his first opus.

 He’s recorded 2 operas that I’m aware of, Gordon Getty's “Usher House” and Georges Bizet's “Thérèse”, plus a couple of tracks on the “Opéra de Montréal gala 30ième anniversaire” double CD, which were absolutely gorgeous: I was there! :D BTW, Étienne’s CD musically combines beauty and elegance, along with his constancy in tone and sensibility and I can’t say enough good things about him. All right, cutting this drool-fest short, I’ll thank you for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 19, 2015 at 3:53pm

Hi everyone, I want to take a minute to underline the passing of a very special lady, our moderator Gail’s mom. She had had declining health for at least 4 years and is now at peace. I didn’t know her, but Gail had shared once that she loved opera and had passed it on to her. So in honor of passing on the gift of music, here is Katia Richiarelli with Pergolesi‘s “Stabat Mater (Dolorosa)”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNt13Vw-K6Q

I remember once that Gail was very moved by Miss Richiarelli’s performance of “Nessun dorma” with our Michael, in a tribute performance that was sadly pulled from YouTube. Well anyway, hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely and respectfully, Sylvie :D

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 18, 2015 at 5:40pm

Hi everyone, I’m bringing 2 classical works  I’ve retained from my weekend listening. The first one is from Hector Berlioz, was apparently inspired by his muse and is very pretty, despite the context of being ballet music for the opera “La damnation de Faust”. It’s called “Dance of the sylphs”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMuxPdLA4tY

Pretty as it is, I think it’s meant to be music for some kind of demonic creatures, but since tradition in France always required to have a ballet in every opera, this is what fit his vision. The second piece I’ll share is a more peacefully spirited segment of a very nice piece called “Canada Mosaic” by composer Jean Coulthard and the title is “Contented house”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDCUFIUb-5w

It’s really sweet and does have some echoes of “À la Claire fontaine” that I can pick out. I’ll have to check Jean Coulthard  out because this is very pretty. For all I know, this is his best or only known piece, but I’ll let you know if I find out more. On that happy note, I hope you all have a contented Sunday! Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

Comment by sylvie boisvert on January 4, 2015 at 3:27am

Hi everyone, today, I have an old favourite and a new favourite to share. My old favourite, from my old friend Mozart, the fabulous adagio from his clarinet concerto in A major:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcIyTiKwDvU

Good old Wolfie had a knack for making the clarinet sing. I’m reminded of  one of the many descriptions from the movie “Amadeus”, when the character of Salieri describes a Mozart overture:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxgZcMGmkkI

Ahhhh, what else can one say? That passage, as in the adagio, is simple, fluid and every note counts as a work of beauty. The entire movie it seems, is dissected on YouTube and for a very good reason. Well anyway, now about my new favourite: it’s from composer Edvard Grieg. It’s a new favourite, but somehow, there’s something very familiar about it. According to Miss Duncan from CBC Radio 2, this was first composed for piano and didn’t get much attention, but was later transcribed for violin and orchestra and became this gorgeous piece called “Holberg suite op 40, from Holberg’s time”:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPfxfO4NG1E

It’s about 21 minutes long, but sweetly textured and well worth the listen: simply gorgeous! Well, hope you enjoy them. Thanks for reading and listening, sincerely, Sylvie <3

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