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Jan
Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann, reigning stars of opera, are also consummate interpreters of song. In early 2018, with master pianist Helmut Deutsch, they performed Hugo Wolf’s multi-faceted Italienisches Liederbuch in 12 cities around Europe. “One couldn’t ask for more,” wrote the Telegraph after their London concert, which took place two days before this live recording was made in the German city of Essen.
This album is available for pre-order via Amazon.de and will be released in Germany on January 11, and on Amazon.com on January 25, 2019.
Label: C Major Entertainment/Naxos
Diana Damrau, Carlos Álvarez, Golda Schultz, Markus Werba
Franz Welser-Möst, conductor
Frederic Wake-Walker, director
For the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death, Teatro alla Scala presents a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, entrusted to the extraordinary director Frederic Wake-Walker. He focusses the action of the piece on the instability of love: Le nozze di Figaro presents us with the impossibility of a world where everyone is loving and forgiving. In charge of the musical direction is one of the finest Mozart conductors of our times, Franz Welser-Möst, who appears for the first time at La Scala. The main roles are played by Diana Damrau (Countess), Marianne Crebassa (Cherubino), Golda Schultz (Susanna), Markus Werba (Figaro) and Carlos Álvarez (Count).
Label: BelAir Classiques/Naxos
Diana Damrau, Javier Camarena, Ludovic Tézier, Nicolas Testé
Evelino Pidò, conductor
Emilio Sagi, director
Release date: November 3, 2017
A jewel of bel canto, and Bellini’s last masterpice, I Puritani encapsulates every major theme held dear by the Italian romantic generation: a love triangle, quid pro quos, a shattered love affair leading to madness, set in Cromwell’s England with its lot of political rivalries. It is also an ode to resistance and to freedom, echoing the political struggles that the Italian peninsula was facing in the 1830’s. But it is mainly a testament to Bellini’s unique musical brand, a genius combination of melodic brightness, post-rossinian ornaments, and a profound and melancolic lamento that owes much to traditional Neapolitan songs.
Dec 20, 2018
After her last performance of La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera on December 29, Diana Damrau returns to Europe to sing her first performance of the year at London’s Barbican Hall on January 16. Her frequent collaborator pianist Helmut Deutsch accompanies her in what promises to be a magical evening of Lieder, with a programme comprised of Liszt, Wolf and Strauss.
She then flies to Munich, where she joins the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons to perform Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) on January 24 and 25. They all travel back to London on January 26, where Ms. Damrau encores Strauss’ beloved song cycle at Barbican Hall.
Nov 30, 2018
In her latest album, Diana Damrau joins Jonas Kaufmann and master pianist Helmut Deutsch in Hugo Wolf’s multi-faceted Italienisches Liederbuch, which they toured in early 2018 across 12 cities around Europe. “One couldn’t ask for more,” wrote the Telegraph after their London concert, which took place two days before this live recording was made in the German city of Essen.
This album is available for pre-order via this link and will be available for purchase on January 11, 2019.
Nov 21, 2018
Aria Code debuts on December 4 with an episode dedicated to Verdi’s La Traviata – a new production of which also opens that night at the Met. Diana Damrau, who stars in the title role, discusses performing Violetta’s spectacular Act I finale, “È strano … Sempre libera,” and the deep inner conflicts around love, stability, and freedom that the music explores.
Aria Code will be available at AriaCode.org, Apple Podcasts, PocketCasts, and all other platforms where podcasts are available. New episodes will be released weekly through February 6.
“the leading coloratura soprano in the world”
– New York Sun
Soprano Diana Damrau has been performing on the world’s leading opera and concert stages for two decades. Her vast repertoire spans both lyric soprano and coloratura roles including the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor (La Scala, Bavarian State Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House), Manon (Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera) and La Traviata (La Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Opéra National de Paris and Bavarian State Opera) as well as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute (Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Vienna State Opera, Royal Opera House).
Invested as Kammersängerin of the Bavarian State Opera (2007) and holder of the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art (2010), Diana Damrau has forged close links with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich where she has been seen in new productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, Les contes d’Hoffmann (the four heroines), Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta), Die schweigsame Frau (Aminta), Die Zauberflöte (Queen of the Night) and Rigoletto (Gilda). Other high profile appearances have included La Traviata (Violetta Valéry), Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie) and Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze).
