No reason to miss out on vocal delights if you prefer staying at home today

There's a staggering amount of live music and opera on in Toronto today. But, in case you'd rather spend the day within sight of your familiar walls, here are two great options featuring some truly fine singing:

*I've heard soprano Karina Gauvin in concert at least a dozen times by now, and, besides her voice and craft, I am always struck by how warm and giving she is, even on a large stage such as Roy Thomson Hall's. She gave a wonderful recital there on Valentine's Day with accompanist Michael McMahon, now available on the CBC Radio's free concert-on-demand service here.

Here is Gauvin singing the sweet aria from Vivaldi opera Juditha Triumphans in a live performance with the Venice Baroque Orchestra last year. The conductor is Andrea Marcon:

*Earlier this season, the Metropolitan Opera presented a remount of its lavish, traditional production of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier with a dream duo of vocal leads: Renée Fleming as the Marschallin and Susan Graham as Octavian. Edo De Waart did a fantastic job with the lush, ever-shifting score. This is the operatic equivalent of a three-hour champagne bath. 

PBS broadcaster WNET is airing the original high-definition live transmission at 12:30 p.m. today. Unfortunately, Toronto-area counterpart WNED doesn't pick up most of the Great Performances at the Met series, but you may be able to find another PBS station if you are a fully paid member of the 500-channel club.

Comments

[JR Jake]

Wow, that was truly beautiful. The equivalent of a operatic lullaby, not in a sleepy way, but yet serene and comfortable. Thank you for sharing on a sleepy C. Florida day.