Opera Chic

The Pianist with Opera (and Fashion) in his Heart: Jean-Yves Thibaudet Exclusive Interview

It's the eve of an American, two-city program with Austrian mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager that brings him back to the periphery of the opera world that he loves so much. French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet offers NYC and Boston the rarer works of Liszt Lieder and (normally-known Brahms Lieder), an antidote to Liszt's ~Greatest Hits~ that everyone's been churning out during the Hungarian composer's 200th birth year. The two peerless performers are well-matched -- we were hypnotized by Kirchschlager's killer kurves in a Milan Mahler recital a couple years ago, and aside from her bulletproof technique and the rousing Kurt Weill cabaret encores, she was an on-stage tractor beam in a figure-hugging, very rock'n'roll dress.

Versatile, lively, and unwavering, Thibaudet swings from composer to composer with big ideas as easily as he swings between genre. His Liszt Opera Transcriptions CD from almost a decade ago ignited a curious crossover of Liszt into the works of Wagner, Mozart, Donizetti, etc., while showcasing his clarity, brilliance, and energy. Even his concert garb pushes the boundaries – the pianist’s stylist is the British doyenne of lux-punk rock, Vivienne Westwood. 

The two-city tour runs this weekend, with the first show tonight in Boston and the second one tomorrow night at Carnegie's Zankel Hall.

Click the link below to read the full interview...

Angelika Kirschlager Helps Keep Mahler in Vogue

Austrian mezzo Angelika Kirschlager sings on a disc commissioned by the Austrian National Tourist Office to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahler. Mahler's enduring legacy will always make him the sensitive bada$$ of composition. Xenakis = flash in the pan. Mahler = forever cool.

We saw Kirschlager in Milan last Spring at Conservatorio di Milano, where the mezzo blew away the audiences with a Kurt Weill full-loaded, semi-automatic Uzi of vocal power.

Embedding is disabled -- go here for the Youtube.

Angie The Plumber: La Kirchschlager, Woman Of The People

Angelika Kirchschlager reveals her secret aspirations to The Times:

“I could have opened a stationery shop and wrapped gifts. I would love to be a bookbinder. If I were starting all over again, I’d be a carpenter. My carpenter makes so much money, and, hey, he’s an artist too.”

Anything to Make Pelléas et Mélisande More Interesting.

Austrian mezzo Angelika Kirchschlager speaks about her current performance as Mélisande (with Simon Keenlyside as Pelléas) in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande at the Royal Opera House. The article delves into her vampy-red costume, her necessary hair extensions, and how Stanislas Nordey’s staging (taken from the 2006 Salzburg Festival) is reminiscent of phone sex. Yes, she said “phone sex”. fone sax. 

Kirchschlager addresses the symbolic structure of unwinding her (not exactly) 20-foot hairs to Pelléas during Act II’s tower window scene:

"In our production, I'm standing high above the stage. I fling my arms open instead of letting my hair down, and Simon Keenlyside (as Pelléas) is bathed in light, and dances in it. It's so much more sensual than seeing actual 20-feet hair. In fact, it's incredibly erotic. We're apart, but connected. It's like phone sex!"

Q: Has Angelika Kirchschlager really ever had teh phone sex?
A: Quite possibly so. But Angelika, dear, "phone sex" is so very y2k. it's called cybering, as in 'wanna cyber'?

Angelika Kirchschlager on Wearing Trousers, Dropping Them, And Mèlisande.

"At this point of my life, doing this role is like a meditation for me".

Opera Chic's buddy Jessica "U Lucky Duchen" Duchen talks to Angelika Kirchschlager about Pélléas Et Mélisande and so much more.