Weill / Peckova / Hajek - Wanted: Dagmar Peckova Alias Mackie Messer - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In contrast to Symphony No. 8, also known as the InchSymphony of a ThousandInch, another of Gustav Mahler's vocal-instrumental pieces, Das Lied von der Erde, speaks in a highly intimate language, full of tenderness and deep sorrow, mirroring the very essence of the artist's soul towards the end of his days. The grief, reflecting the painful events in the composer's life and expressed in a variety of shades in all the six songs, seems to dissolve at the end of the work in the repeated, atoned InchforeverInch, a word opening up the infinite space following the life on earth. The internationally renowned Czech mezzo-soprano Dagmar Peckova has always cherished Mahler's music, as evinced by the highly acclaimed recordings she has made with Jiri Belohlavek, conducting the Prague Philharmonia. Her partners on the album are the tenor Richard Samek, whose voice is known to audiences at Europe's prominent opera houses, and a chamber ensemble, instead of a large Romantic orchestra, for which Mahler scored the piece. In order to emphasise the work's intimacy, Peckova opted for Schoenberg's chamber arrangement of Das Lied von der Erde. The recording has made the soloist's dream come true, and thus added the final piece in the mosaic of her feted Mahler discography.

Jeji pastorkyna (Her Stepdaughter; commonly known as Jenufa) is an opera in three acts by Leos Janacek to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play Jeji pastorkyna by Gabriela Preissova. Jenufa is based on a play by the Czech writer Gabriela Preissova´. Set a Moravian village, it follows the travails of two half-brothers, steva and Laca, and the woman with whom they are both in love, Jenufa. Jenufa loves steva in return, and is secretly pregnant with his child. But, after the jealous Laca slashes her face, steva abandons her, repelled by the disfigurement. Things only get worse for Jenufa in the second act. Laca, who now hopes to marry her instead, finds out about the child and is furious. In a desperate attempt to help, Jenufa's stepmother kills the baby - but tells them both it died naturally. Her plan appears to work and the pair agree to marry, but the child's body is discovered, forcing Jenufa's stepmother to confess. The opera ends with a remarkable reconciliatory duet between Laca and Jenufa. Here Janacek's music gleams, luminous and hopeful after such sustained darkness.

Various - Blacher [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/29/2016