Intermezzo

Don Giovanni from Verbier with Terfel and Pape - FREE streaming

 

The 20 July Verbier Festival concert performance of Don Giovanni is available in full online FREE for one month (thanks to reader Dolcevita for the tip). It's luxuriously-cast and beautifully-sung top to bottom, and marks the last opportunity to catch Bryn Terfel in the title role before he switches permanently to Leporello.

Manfred Honeck conducted the Verbier Festival Orchestra, and the full cast is René Pape (Leporello) Anna Samuil (Donna Anna), Bryn Terfel (Don Giovanni), Thomas Quasthoff (Commendatore), Michael Schade (Don Ottavio), Annette Dasch (Donna Elvira), Sylvia Schwartz (Zerlina) and Robert Gleadow(Masetto).

There are two sources - arte.tv and medici.tv. I found the Medici streaming was slightly better quality - but you need to sign up for a (free) account to watch beyond a brief preview. 

The festival runs from 17 July to 2 August, and as last year, both channels are are also streaming other festival performances - in some cases live. The full programme is here.

 

 

Verbier Festival videos online

I wish I'd spotted this one sooner. This year's Verbier Festival was recorded and all the concerts can be viewed in very high quality here together with a load of interviews and features (but only until 31 August).

Artistes include Martha Argerich, Thomas Quasthoff, Evgeny Kissin, Joshua Bell, Anne-Sofie von Otter, Hilary Hahn, Lang Lang, Hélène Grimaud....the list goes on. Well worth checking out, especially for pianophiles.