classical music: Nikolaus Hillebrand

classical music: Nikolaus Hillebrand

classical music:

Nikolaus Hillebrand

Marschner: Der Vampyr / Auger, Tomova-Sintov, Herrmann, et al

Heinrich Marschner, Fritz Rieger, ...

Opera D'oro, 1998

Beautiful Music!!!
I'm always looking for operas that aren't performed very often. Mainly because my opera company (Lyric Opera of Los Angeles) has a goal of performing works that, inexplicably, have fallen out of the standard repertoire, or might not have made it into the standards to ...

Wagner: Rienzi

Richard Wagner, Heinrich Hollreiser, ...

EMI Classics, 1999

A wonderful discovery!
Coming from listening to practically all of Wagner's other known works---from Kempe's Lohengrin to Solti's Ring---I have to admit that Rienzi was a wonderful discovery, even a surprise. Upon first listening, I can understand why Wagner would not want to look back on ...

Pfitzner: Das Christelflein

Hans Pfitzner, Kurt Eichhorn, ...

Orfeo D'or, 2001

A delightful rarity available at last!
Hans Pfitzner is known mostly for his impressive early 20th century opera, PALESTRINA, his cantata Von Deutsche Seele, and his songs. The release by Orfeo d'Or of his lighter, "Christmas" opera, DAS CHRISTELFLEIN, reveals another, very lyrical and rustic side of this ...

Manfred Trojahn: Enrico
Hans Günther Nöcker, Jan Zinkler, ...

Cpo Records, 1994

Mozart: Idomeneo

Leo Nucci, Nikita Storojev, ...

Polygram Records, 1988

Pavarotti's "Mozart" Experiment Goes Horribly Wrong
This London/Decca recording is simultaneously wonderful and horrible. I don't mean to sound like I'm an Anti-Pavarotti detractor/basher but this role never suited him and is purely an experimental project for him as a tenor. He had already sung in this opera earlier in ...

Marschner: Der Vampyr / Rieger (1974)
Heinrich Marschner, Fritz Rieger, ...

Living Stage, 2002

Living Stage 4035141 (2002 reissue of 1974 recording)

Hans Pfitzner: Palestrina

Hans Pfitzner, Rafael Kubelik, ...

Deutsche Grammophon, 1989

Underrated opera: great performance
Palestrina was an opera that fascinated me long before I heard it. From all I'd read, it seemed to be one of a select group of operas, dealing with the actual process of artistic creation (Benvenuto Cellini, Die Meistersinger, Mathis der Mahler, Death in Venice to ...

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Sacred Music - Requiem; Offertorium; Litaniae Lauretanae

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Georg Ratzinger, ...

Ars Musici, 1996

Obviously Rococo
Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739 - 1799): Sacred Music. Requiem in C Minor; Offertory in Honor of Saint John of Nepomuk; Lauretanian Litany in D Major. Performed by Hanna Farinelli, soprano; Birgit Calm, alto; Heiner Hopfner, tenor; Nikolaus Hillebrand, bass; The ...

Marschner: Der Vampyr

Hermann, Auger, ...

Opera D'oro, 2005

Good gothic fun and some really effective moments
In truth, very little of this German early Romantc opera is really chilling, but it's a great piece of relatively rare entertainment featuring an array of impressive voices, some of whom became more famous later and some of whom, like Alexander Malta, were simply ...

Richard Wagner: Rienzi

Gunther Leib, Nikolaus Hillebrand, ...

Angel Records, 1991

Outstanding Performance of Dramatic Opera (Revised Review)
Revision of previously submitted review. I did not give proper credit to the key solo performers, wish to clarify my comments on this. A music fan from Northern Virginia , April 9, 1999 (Review revised from March 24 submission). Outstanding performance of great ...

Aida

Verdi, Sintow, ...

Orfeo D'or, 2002

Memorable night in Munich
Muti's studio recording of Aida is such a landmark recording that many may wonder why release a live tape with the same tenor and conductor, but this is SUCH a special performance, magnificently sung and conducted, that we must congratulate ORFEO for making it ...

Martin: In Terra Pax / Erasmi Monumentum

Rudolf Hillebrand, Nikolaus Hillebrand, ...

Motette Records, 1997

Excellent Performances of 2 Contrasted Works
Frank Martin composed his "short oratorio" In Terra Pax in 1944, on commission from Radio Geneva, to celebrate the anticipated cessation of wartime hostilities. But he didn't consider it merely an "occasional work," & more than a half century on it retains its power, ...

Beethoven: Fidelio

Ludwig van Beethoven, Karl Böhm, ...

Orfeo D'or, 2001

Really, four and a half stars
As the story goes, at age 5 Karl Boehm saw his first opera, Fidelio, and became obsessed. His parents gave him a score, he learned to read it, and the rest , as they say, is history. This was Boehm's last new production of the opera, and very near the end of his life. ...