Joyce at Carnegie Hall

This concert has a theme and it is Venice.  It is a theme that works well.

Antonio Vivaldi

   Ercole su'l Termodonte

• "Onde chiare che sussurrate"
• "Amato ben"

Gabriel Fauré 
   Cinq mélodies "de Venise", Op. 58

• 1. Mandoline 
• 2. En sourdine 
• 3. Green 
• 4. À Clymène 
• 5. C'est l'extase

Gioachino Rossini
    La regata veneziana

• 1. Anzoleta avanti la regata 
• 2. Anzoleta co passa la regata 
• 3. Anzoleta dopo la regata

Gioachino Rossini
   Otello ossia il Moro di Venezia

• III: "Assisa a piè d'un salice" - " Che dissi!" 

Michael Head
  Three Songs of Venice

• 1. The Gondolier 
• 2. St Mark's Square 
• 3. Rain storm

Reynaldo Hahn
  Venezia

• 1. Sopra l'acqua indormenzada 
• 2. La Barcheta 
• 3. L'avertimento 
• 5. Che peca! 
• 6. La Primavera 

Carnegie Hall chose Joyce DiDonato's recital with David Zobel as their first ever stream.  It's simply exquisite.  Believe it or not, almost all of this music is on my iPod, even the Vivaldi.

Joyce is moving to the very top of the heap.  Recently she sang for game 7 of the world series.  My favorite part of this event was when toward the end she extemporized a small ornament and the crowd roared.  It was an acknowledgment of who she really is.  It made me want to hear the ornamented version.

For me her gifts as an interpreter are at their peak.  This is a very well programmed and sung recital.  If you don't know La regata veneziana, it is sung by Momolo's girlfriend.  Momolo is a gondolier, and he wins the regata.

Writing this blog is for my soul, to teach me once again after years of abandonment that music is my first and always greatest love.  I love the big emotions of opera, but my deepest love is for songs.

Dear Carnegie Hall:  Good choice.

Dear Joyce:  Be always yourself.  You will have figured this out already.

2 encores
Canzonetta Spagnuola Rossini
No ti scordar di me De Curtis