Oscar Hidalgo Lopez

Composed for the coronation of Charles X in Rheims Cathedral, this pièce de circonstance was to remain Rossini's last Italian opera. It contains some of the most inspired and brilliant vocal writing the composer ever produced. Most experts and analysts agree that this is an unconventinal opera, light and ironic, festive and exuberant, with a plot as simple as it is extrvagant, a work full of musical references which almost turn it, very subtly, into a "metaopera," or an "opera about opera."

Seeking to exorcise the failure of his current love affair, the poet Hoffmann tells the tales of his three past loves - the doll-like Olympia, the high-class courtesan Giulietta, and the ambitious but delicate Antonia - and recalls how each was thwarted by the evil influence of his rival. Jacques Offenbach's opera is performed at the Paris National Opera, directed by Robert Carsen, and the cast includes Neil Shicoff (as Hoffmann) and Bryn Terfel.

Verdi’s Requiem is a work of white-hot dramatic intensity, infused with his lifetime of composing opera. His approach to religion is explosive, emotional, and full of temperament and fear, the latter being wonderfully conveyed by López-Cobos in this concert performance.