Ach ich fuhl s diana damrau biography

Darkness falls, the Overture’s threefold chord unfurls, releasing the scampering string lines of the Allegro, and suddenly the gloomy aisles and balconies of the Royal Opera are punctured with lights – glowing orbs clutched with awed care. Even on a third viewing, McVicar’s opening still bewitches, not least for the elegant precision with which it dramatises the musical text. In the pit once again, Colin Davis set a pace of control rather than release, risking just a flicker of subversion in the emphatic dissent of the brass’s closing offbeat flourishes.

Uncharacteristically however this pace was not to last, giving way to an Act One that felt perpetually on the back foot, with singers hauled from episode to episode by some rather officious hustling from the orchestra. Act Two did settle, arriving thankfully at “Ach, ich fühl's” in an altogether more accommodating spirit and enabling the evening’s finest moment from Kate Royal, shadow of Margaret Price hovering close by. With such a point of comparison it becomes harder to accept the seeming inevitability of first-night fisticuffs between stage and pit elsewhere; ensembles (the trio of Ladies and Christopher Maltman’s Papageno being repeat offenders) lost a full beat on several occasions, clambering back on board at cadences with ungainly rhythmic contortions.

Fortunately with John McFarlane’s designs and Paule Constable’s painterly lighting there was plenty to delight the eye when the ear failed. Vertical pillars provide not only the Enlightenment absolutes of Sarastro’s temple, but also cast the shadows and frame the dark corners where Monostatos and his fellows lurk. Exposed to his greedy gaze in Act Two, we saw Royal’s

Diana Damrau - Mozart Donna. Opera and concert arias. Jérémie Rhorer conducts Le Cercle de l'Harmonie. Released 2008. Further information here.

German soprano Diana Damrau (born 1971) has specialized in coloratura parts. As she hits the notes on picth, with impeccably technique and (contrary to most competitors within this field) also has some weight in her middle voice, she is currently embarking on a major career.
Admittedly being able to negotiate the coloratura counts for a lot, especially when singing coloratura parts, which Diana Damrau also demonstrates on this CD. In "Marter aller arten" from the Abduction from Seraillet. The rest of this Mozart disc is, for the major parts, not particularly coloratura-dependent and this is why it never rises above the ordinary.

First of all, Diana Damrau´s timbre is on the dry side with relatively few colours. Secondly, I find her interpretations mannered and distinctly un-charming. As well as short of style. Especially needed in such parts as Pamina (Ach, ich fühl´s) and the Figaro-Countess (Dove sono), but also as Susanna (Deh, vieni). And both Donna Anna (Non mi dir) and especially Donna Elvira (Mi tradi) simply need more punch. And individuality, which I generally find Diana Damrau lacks as a singer, though doubtless plenty will disagree with me.

In short, I do not find that Diana Damrau rises above the ordinary on this disc and much more satisfying Mozart singing by contemporary artists as well, is available in this repertoire (such as Dorothea Röschmann, Miah Persson, Genia Kühmeier, Annette Dasch, Anja Harteros etc.). Though, I predict that admirers of Diana Damrau´s style and timbre may not be disappointed with this release.

Diana Damrau with Non mi dir (Donna Anna):

How two American sopranos founded the Berlin Opera Group and made a splash with their first opera production.

It took a few months after Lyric Coloratura Soprano Atalia Malin and Dramatic Soprano Kelsey Boesche arrived in Berlin to stage a full-blown opera production. In this interview the two Californians talk about their Berlin Opera Group of singers and musicians from around the world, the challenges of the German language, and producing an opera in a foreign city where they knew little of traditions, mentality, and the taste of the local audience.

AIF: You put together an ambitious opera production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, having lived in Berlin just a few months. How did it start?

Atalia:It started in a living room in the Berlin neighborhood of Schöneberg after we came back from one of the many auditions, but it did not start with the grand plan to produce and perform the opera in a theater. We wanted to perform and get roles on our resume, and therefore we thought renting a church, hiring a pianist and giving a little concert would be a nice beginning. We posted our plans on the crowdfunding sites Indiegogo and Kickstarter and ended up raising much more money than we had anticipated. It turned out that in Berlin other venues like small theaters are not that much more expensive than a church. We found the Ehemaliges Stummfilmkino Delphi where our colleagues of Opera on Tap had presented “Les Contes de Hoffmann” just a few weeks earlier. We said, “Let’s go for it”, for a real production with a cast, costumes and an orchestra.

AIF:What were the challenges?

Kelsey:The first challenge was putting together a cast. I had only been in Berlin for five months and I did not know a lot of singers. However, we were able to assemble an international and a fantastic cast through colleagues we met at concerts and through word of mouth. In Berlin you have tremendous opportunities for collaborations with fellow artists.

Atalia:Aft

CD Review

This is a follow-up to Damrau's debut CD, "Arie di bravura" (Virgin Classics 395250-2), which I also reviewed for Classical Net. It makes sense for Mozart to be the center of attention this time around, because the Metropolitan Opera featured the German singer both as Pamina and as the Queen of the Night (not on the same nights!) in their 2007-08 run of Die Zauberflöte. Also, she made her professional operatic debut in 1995 as Figaro's Barbarina.

Damrau, a lyric coloratura, might be compared to Austrian singer Rita Streich (1920-1987). Damrau's repertory (so far) is similar to Streich's, and their voices are similar. (I find Streich's sound to be richer, however.) She is an intelligent singer, and her voice seems more than capable of reliably doing her bidding. Her coloratura is more accomplished than exciting, but it doesn't let her (or Mozart) down.

As in Die Zauberflöte, Damrau here is given the opportunity to sing two roles from the same opera … actually, eight roles from four operas! From Figaro, we have both her Countess and Susanna, and from Die Entführung aus dem Serail, both Blonde and Konstanze. Alth