#Kristina Hammarström

[fuckyeahphilippejaroussky]

Alcina Salzburg 2019

Philippe Jaroussky, Ruggiero Kristina Hammarström, Bradamante

[operaweekly]

Kristina Hammarström singing “Vorrei vendicarmi” from Händel’s Alcina.

Today’s #WomanCrushWednesday goes to Bradamante! This incredible warrior woman boasts some of the most virtuosic music in the opera. Usually cast as a contralto, this role demands a fuller, darker sound that still has the agility to execute the long coloratura passages written in Bradamante’s arias.

Bradamante experiences many emotions throughout the aria. She comes to Alcina’s island disguised as her brother in order to rescue her beloved Ruggiero. Through the process, Bradamante manages to steal the heart of Alcina’s sister while inciting jealousy in Ruggiero--who believes “Ricciardo” is there to steal Alcina away from him.

In the end--after a couple of extremely difficult arias--Bradamante prevails and escapes the island with her beloved.

[verdiprati]

Medea’s incantation “Dell'antro magico” is apparently the best-known bit of Il Giasone and it is decidedly my favorite part of the opera, too. Here it is performed by Kristina Hammarström (plus I think that’s Migran Agadzhanyan as Volano under all the hair at the end of the clip) at the Grand Théâtre de Genève earlier this year. 

I wanted to extract this clip from the full opera available on Arte so I could share it with you, but conveniently enough, the YouTuber known as Cappella Mediterranea beat me to it.

No subtitles, alas, but I’ll put the words after the jump.

MEDEA

Dell'antro magico stridenti cardini, il varco apritemi, e fra le tenebre del negro ospizio lassate me. Su l'ara orribile del lago stigio i fochi splendino, e su ne mandino fumi che turbino la luce al sol.

Dall'abbruciate glebe gran monarca dell'ombre intento ascoltami, e se i dardi d'Amor già mai ti punsero, adempi, o re dei sotterranei popoli, l'amoroso desio che 'l cor mi stimola, e tutto Averno alla bell'opra uniscasi: i mostri formidabili, del bel vello di Frisso sentinelle feroci infaticabili, per potenza d'abisso si rendono a Giasone oggi domabili.

Dall'arsa Dite   quante portate serpi alla fronte, furie, venite, e di Pluto gli imperii a me svelate. Già questa verga io scoto, già percoto il suol col piè; orridi demoni, spiriti d'Erebo, volate a me.

VOLANO

Del gran duce tartareo le tue preci, o Medea, gl'arbitrii legano, e i numi inferni a i cenni tuoi si piegano; Pluto le tue voci udì; in questo cerchio d'or si racchiude valor che di Giasone il cor armerà questo dì.

MEDEA

Sì, sì, sì, vincerà il mio re, a suo pro deità di la giù pugnerà; sì, sì, sì, vincerà, vincerà.

[source]

[lmarodrigues]

Sandrine Piau, Kristina Hammarström, "Mira adesso questo seno", Arianna ...

[cose-piu-notabili]

Mira adesso questo seno Sandrine Piau, Kristina Hammarström Arianna in Creta Handel

[operarox]

Countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and Alto Kristina Hammarström sing Ruggiero and Bradamante in Vivaldi's Orlando Furioso

What beautiful singing and what a pretty production!  These two are absolutely stunning, both in singing and acting.  Poor Bradamante! <3

[verdiprati]

It has not taken me long to conclude that by far the best things about this Cavalli opera from the Grand Théâtre de Genève are 1) Kristina Hammarström’s Medea and 2) Dominique Visse hamming it up in trademark travesty style. But you can judge for yourself—the video is available on demand on the Arte website. 

[lmarodrigues]

Kristina Hammarström - Alcina - "All'alma fedel"

[verdiprati]

Mostly Mezzo Mondays: Cavalli, Handel (x3), and Mozart operas with Gauvin, Lemieux, Röschmann, et al.

Mostly Mezzo Mondays: a recurring (though not weekly) feature where, on Monday nights, I blog a list of the upcoming broadcasts that have caught my eye on World Concert Hall. My interests: baroque vocal music, art song recitals, and a list of favorite singers.

First off: the aforeblogged broadcast of Handel’s opera Lucio Cornelio Silla was quite a good listen, in my opinion, so I think it’s worth mentioning that it is still available online (warning: autoplay audio). I believe the listen on demand period for Ö1 is seven days, so this should stay up at least until Saturday. Very satisfying performances from Sonia Prina, Vivica Genaux, Roberta Invernizzi, Sunhae Im, et al.

Next up: a video livestream of Cavalli’s opera Il Giasone from the Grand Théâtre de Genève. The large cast is led by Valer Sabadus as Giasone (Jason) and Kristina Hammarström as Medea. Friday, February 3 on Arte. 

We’ve now missed the Wiener Staatsoper livestream of Mozart’s Don Giovanni (sorry!) but you can catch a deferred audio broadcast and since it’ll be on Ö1, I expect it’ll remain available on demand for a week. The cast includes Simon Keenleyside in the title role, Erwin Schrott as Leporello, and Dorothea Röschmann as Donna Elvira. Saturday, February 4 on Ö1. 

Also up for deferred broadcast on the 4th: Handel’s Orlando with Iestyn Davies, Erin Morley, Sophie Junker, Diana Moore, and Matthew Brook. Harry Bicket conducts the English Concert. Saturday, February 4 on Rai Radio 3. 

Finally, to round out a star-studded Handelian week on the radio: a concert performance of Rodelinda from the Théâtre des Champs Elysées with Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Romina Basso, David DQ Lee, Konstantin Wolf, and Juan Sancho. Maxim Emelyanychev conducts Il Pomo d’Oro. Sunday, February 5 on France Musique.