Hildegard Behrens: in concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra

Boston Symphony's 1999-2000 Season Opening Gala

HILDEGARD BEHRENS
dramatic soprano

EMAIL THIS PAGE!

LISTEN!

Dich teure Halle
-Elisabeth's aria
from Tannhäuser

Immolation scene
-from Götterdämmerung

Allein, weh ganz allein
- from Elektra's Monologue

The Very Best of
HILDEGARD BEHRENS

Götterdämmerung

Elektra-Boston Symphony

ARCHIVE
of FanFaire GIVEAWAYS

VIDEO
AUDIOFILES
AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE
MUSICPLANNER
PRESS ROOM
NEW RELEASES
FOOD & MUSIC
SITE MAP

Buy sheet music

back to top

An evening of music reunited a great soprano with a great maestro and a great orchestra in a performance reminiscent of their triumphant collaborations through the years.

A joyous "Dich, teure Halle" from TANNHÄUSER
- a glorious and fitting welcome to Boston's cherished hall.

Listen to anexcerpt: Recording with Peter Schneider and the Munich Radio Orchestra - EMI label)

A blazing "Starke Scheite" from GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG

- amidst a brilliant orchestral conflagration that began with a majestic greeting of Dawn, followed by a splendid Journey through the Rhine,and an ominously dramatic Funeral March.

Listen to anexcerpt: recording with James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra - DGG label)

An intense, vengeful "Allein! ...allein"from ELEKTRA - that embodied the pathos, the nightmare, and the madness of this tragic figure of myth.

Listen to an excerpt: - recording with Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra - Philips label

It was a colorful gala celebration from beginning to end. There was excitement in the air as patrons and concert-goers, gowned and tuxedoed for the occasion, filled the foyer and the reception rooms of Symphony Hall early to participate in pre-concert festivities. Inside, the concert hall soon began to fill with the colors of joy - as Maestro Seiji Ozawa waved the first jubilant chords out of his orchestra and Ms. Behrens, elegant in rose-beflowered fabric gracefully draped over iridiscent indigo gown, sang the first rejoiceful words of Dich, teure Halle, celebrating Tannhäuser's hall of song.

A brief pause occasioned a change of palette to the more somber yet splendid colors of the Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) as the orchestra played with dazzling brilliance themusic of Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey, Siegfried's death and Funeral March, and the Immolation Scene - in which Ms. Behrens now frocked in solid magenta became a radiant Brünnhilde and set the hall ablaze as she delivered a powerhouse Starke Scheite...

Another brief pause, and the palette changed yet again, colors visibly darker as Maestro Ozawa and Ms. Behrens, now accented in black, took center stage and soon plunged into the macabre world of Elektra. They led the audience through the music and song of Elektra's Monologue, revealing the story of this Greek tragedy - Ozawa through the orchestral leitmotifs and Behrens-become-Elektra through her convincing recital of despair and vengeance, awash in dissonance but with an occasional wave of lyricism. A visually and musically gripping performance.

The maestro and the soprano: backstage after BSO Season Opening concert. Great artists both and friend s of long-standing. Among past collaborations is their acclaimed Elektra recording. In March 1999 they performed in an All-Wagner concert tour of Japan with the New Japan Philharmonic. (Photo:© FanFaire 1999)

It was an evening of music-drama that played to bravas! and generous applause. Ms. Behrens reciprocated with two beautiful encores - Strauss' Morgen (Morning) and Zueignung (Dedication). Indeed, Opening Night at Symphony Hall showcased a dramatic soprano in top form and signalled three more exciting BSO seasons under the baton of Maestro Seiji Ozawa, who in giving this gala audience a taste of opera hinted at his growing love affair with opera - in 2002 he leaves BSO to become music director of the Vienna State Opera.

The Boston Herald put it well:

"...judging by the breadth and depth of their season opening performance of music by Wagner and Strauss, these next three BSO seasons - Ozawa leaves in 2002 - could prove to be the kind you tell your grandchildren about.

And if you were at this particular concert, you'll also tell them about soprano Hildegard Behrens, who again showed why she's the most sought-after German dramatic soprano in the world for over two decades."

- GC/FanFaire2000

back to top

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HILDEGARD BEHRENS: she makes music worth seeing!

PROFILE     PORTRAITS     PERFORMANCES     DISCOGRAPHY     AWARDS     QUOTES
BRÜNNHILDE     ELEKTRA     SALOME      FIDELIO     ISOLDE     MARIE     SENTA
THE KOSTELNICKA     THE WOMAN 'R'       KUNDRY     DIE LUSTIGE WITWE

about FANFAIRE       AUDIOFILES     NEW RELEASES    FOOD & MUSIC       VIDEO