Embellish Your Winter Evenings

Here is what you can see/listen for free and heat up these last 10 days of December 2010:

• Le Nozze di Figaro from the Paris Opera: Full video is available on medici.tv, i.e. on this link. Details: "dir"- Giorgio Strehler (RIP), cnd- Philippe Jordan; Cast: Ludovic Tézier, Barbara Frittoli, Ekaterina Syurina, Luca Pisaroni, Karine Deshayes...  Keep in mind that it remains free until January 1st 2011!
• Last Friday, Dec 17, Chamber Orchestra of Europe conducted by Vladimir Jurowski performed the music by Glinka, Mendelssohn, and Schubert at Cité de la Musique in Paris (the best place in the world if you like to discover old and new music!) Joshua Bell played brilliantly his Stradivarius  in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (Op.64). Yes, you can see it on the newly set video-site of Cité de la Musique (click here)
• Aficionados of baroque may wish to see a concert also given last Friday (Dec 17) at small but beautiful Opéra Royal de Versailles, with Les Talens Lyriques lead by Christophe Rousset performing a rare opera by Lully called Bellérophon (it's about this.) Cast: Robert Getchell (Bacchus), Evgueniy Alexiev (Pan), Jean Teitgen (Apollon), Cyril Auvity (Bellérophon), Céline Scheen (Philonoé), Ingrid Perruche (Stenobée), Jennifer Borghi (Argie et Pallas), Evgueniy Alexiev (Jobate), Jean Teitgen (Amisodar), Robert Getchell (La Pythie). Arte Live Web link is here.
• Now if you understand French and like theater you may wish to see a new production of Wedekind's Lulu recently premiered at Théâtre de la Colline in Paris, directed by Stéphane Braunschweig. Video of this show will be available on Arte Live Web starting from tomorrow (Dec 20) - c.f. this link.
• Finally if you're Wagner-o-man(iac) you will certainly enjoy one of my absolute fave Wagner directors Jaap van Zweden who has that particular chemistry with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, in a concert performance of Parsifal at Concertgebouw in Amsterdam  10 days ago. This concert has been live broadcast by the Dutch Radio-4 and you can now fully listen and/or watch it on this link. Notice a fantastic cast including: Klaus Florian Vogt, Robert Holl, Katarina Dalayman, Krister St.Hill, Falk Struckmann, Ante Jerkunica...  
• For those who did not listen to the superb Walküre - La Scala opener this December, and/or those who would like to have it on iPod, check out this link on Radio France Musique website.  Details: cnd- Daniel Barenboim; Cast: Simon O’Neill, Vitalij Kowaljow, Waltraud Meier, Nina Stemme, Ekaterina Gubanova...