Delos Diary

My favorite time to listen to new Delos CDs is while driving. As well as providing beautiful music, they have therapeutic values. The new Stars of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, for example (DE 3327). If caught in a traffic jam, vent your road rage by punching track 3, the last movement of Boccherini's Symphony No. 6 "La Casa del Diavolo." Called "a chaconne representing hell," it will drain off your anger in minutes.

For calmer driving, try track 10, the 2nd movement of Bach’s Concerto for Violin, Oboe & Orchestra; it’s smooth sailing all the way.

Recent patrons of L.A. Opera were privileged to hear Russian bass Fyodor Kuznetsov sing the role of Leporello in a new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. His idiomatic Mozart would hardly prepare you for his intensely dramatic interpretations of six romances in Delos’s new release of Shostakovich Complete Songs, Vol. 3 (DE 3309).

Tom Stacy’s polkadotted shirt and tie ensemble used on the cover of his Delos English horn debut CD (DE 3318) definitely reveals a rebel spirit far different from the white tie and tail image he projects from his regular chair in the New York Philharmonic. Listen to his unorthodox coupling of English horn and harpsichord and you'll see that this rakishly attired artist does not hesitate to try new ways to present himself and his instrument.

Lay on an extra supply of handkerchiefs -- or at least kleenex -- to prepare for the release of stellar baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky's new Delos CD "Where are you, my brothers?" (DE 3315), scheduled for late August. The 17 songs he recorded with Constantine Orbelian and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra are almost all related to the World War II period, one of the most tumultuous in Russian history. The emotions of love and loss display range from deeply sentimental to highly tragic. Hvorostovsky's expressive baritone voice wraps itself around these songs in a way no other current concert singer can match. I was privileged to view a Russian video taped at a live Moscow gala concert at which Hvorostovsky previewed many of these songs before an elite Russian audience. What emotion! Many in the auditorium were in tears, others were mouthing the words, almost singing along. The electricity seemed to be shared by young and old alike. Our Delos recording may well affect you the same way. Be prepared for at least a lump in the throat.

Most Delos recording artists have extensive tour schedules. In any one month they may be found performing in venues as far apart as Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the US. While checking Russian mezzo-soprano Marina Domashenko's (Delos DE 3285) tour dates for 2003 - 2007, I was struck by the fact that many different opera houses want her interpretation of one very special role -- Carmen. It's easy to see and hear why. Marina's creamy mezzo voice, great physical beauty and abundant temperament make her a natural for the part. Even so, it's remarkable that in the next 3 to 4 years, she has been engaged to sing Carmen in Verona, Oslo, Prague, The Met in New York, Berlin, Vienna, San Diego, and London. During the recent past, she has already sung in several productions and suffered directorial caprices inflicted on many different stages. She has been abused and done in by knife, stiletto, gunfire, near-drowning, and strangulation. No wonder she may look ahead with relief toward taking on her first Amneris in "Aida." At least she survives until the end and can even watch the tenor lead gasp his last beneath her feet.