Ave maria bach diana damrau biography

Among his most famous works is a setting of the "Ave Maria" based on a piece by J. S. Bach.

On Saturday 24 October , The Metropolitan Opera resumed its presentation of online concert performances staged in Europe. Sometimes opera is like a relay race. Soprano Diana Damrau and tenor Joseph Calleja, both long time Met Opera stars, performed a program of arias and duets live online from the Cappella Palatina of the Royal Palace of Caserta, less than an hour's drive north of Naples.

Since Act I of Puccini's Tosca is set in a church, this huge chapel with its 'live' sound provided a perfect setting for the 'Mario! Calleja strode across the marble church floor with a commanding presence. His voice is perfect for Cavaradossi and he sang with great attention to detail, working with the site's acoustics to spin glorious pianissimi.

Diana Damrau and Joseph Calleja. For Damrau, the choice of operas offered her a chance to sing new music since her lyric voice is developing a bit of heft. What she lacked in dramatic color she made up for in charm, gesture and attire. Her Tosca wore black and white, but the jacket was marabou.

No, she isn't.

From Act I, the program skipped to Act III for 'E lucevan le stelle' The stars were shining which showed off the cream in Calleja's voice to perfection as he sang the beauty in the life he would soon lose. Damrau countered with Tosca's climactic Act II aria 'Vissi d'arte' I have lived for art , telling of her pain and desperation, feelings many artists currently experience in this time of pandemic.

After the Tosca scenes, the artists got a rest while the online audience saw a snippet of Damrau's intermission interview with Anita Rachvelishvili before she sang a passionate 'Addio del passato' Goodbye to the Past from the final act of Verdi's La Traviata. The live concert continued with Damrau and Calleja's rendition of a duet about a girl who says she loves a different boy every day, 'Una parola, o Adina Chiedi all'aura lusinghiera' A word, Adina Here, Damrau was in her element and her Adina was a flesh and blood coquette who won the heart of Calleja's bumbling country boy.