La Bella Musica di Monteverdi

La Bella Musica di Monteverdi is a digital artist-in-residence series created to support musicians and artists while simultaneously bringing a small measure of comfort and beauty to those confined to their homes.

From mini-operas to readings from New York Time's best selling books, each performance is recorded from the homes of internationally acclaimed, award-winning musicians and artists. New performances available weekly.

Performances

Evangelina Mascardi and Frédéric Zigante

Installment Twenty Three

Evangelina Mascardi and Frédéric Zigante join La Bella Musica di Monteverdi with a special program dedicated to Vincenzo Galilei. Vincenzo was one of the most important musicians of his era and most of the music recorded here comes from his opus Fronimo Dialogo.

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Maurizio Baglini, Silvia Chiesa and Federico Mondelci

Installment Twenty Two

Maurizio Baglini, Silvia Chiesa and Federico Mondelci join La Bella Musica di Monteverdi with performances of Playing Love, Oblivion, Phantasiestück op. 73 no.1, Etude op. 10 no. 1, and Chopin.

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Adriana Di Paola and Monica Leone

Installment Twenty One

Adriana Di Paola and Monica Leone join us to perform El Vito by Fernando Obradors, El Paño Moruno and Asturiana by Manuel de Falla, and Canción de cuna para dormir a un negrito by Xavier Montsalvatge.

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Trio Kanon

Installment Twenty

Lena Yokoyama, Alessandro Copia, and Diego Maccagnola of Trio Kanon join La Bella Musica di Monteverdi to perform Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Trio No.3, mov. No.2 Allegretto grazioso.

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Gwyneth Wentink

Installment Nineteen

Celebrated harpist Gwyneth Wentink returns to La Bella Musica di Monteverdi with another beautiful performance of Study by John Thomas.

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Giuseppina Bridelli

Installment Eighteen

Mezzo-soprano Giuseppina Bridelli, accompanied by Quartetto Vanvitelli, joins La Bella Musica di Monteverdi to perform Innocente cor mio by Antonio Caldara.

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Christine Goerke

Installment Seventeen

Soprano Christine Goerke returns to La Bella Musica di Monteverdi with two incredible performances of Nebbie by Ottorino Respighi and You’ll Never Walk Alone from Carousel.

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Stephanie Blythe

Installment Sixteen

Renowned opera singer and recitalist, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe joins La Bella Musica di Monteverdi to perform There is a Balm In Gilead by Tom Varner arr. Alan Louis Smith and Now Our Meeting’s Over by Alan Louis Smith.

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Venice Music Project

Installment Fifteen

Liesl Odenweller, Federico Toffano, and Marija Jovanic of Venice Music Project join La Bella Musica di Monteverdi to perform Dolci Miei Sospiri, Damigella, tutta bella, and Si Dolce e’il Tormento by our namesake, Claudio Monteverdi.

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Paul Appleby with Louis Langrée and Ilya Finkelshteyn

Installment Fourteen

This installment features Paul Appleby, Louis Langrée, and Ilya Finkelshteyn of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, with a special introduction by world-renowned conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. They perform Lensky’s Aria from Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky (arr. Langrée).

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Quartetto di Cremona

Installment Thirteen

Quartetto di Cremona joins with a performance of the 2nd movement, Lento, also nicknamed the American Quartet, from the String Quartet in F major, Op. 96 by Antonin Dvořák. This is an homage to the many American friends of Monteverdi Tuscany.

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David Benoit

Installment Twelve

Grammy-nominated jazz pianist, composer, and producer David Benoit joins La Bella Musica to perform two original pieces, Vernazza and Kei's Song.

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Gwyneth Wentink

Installment Eleven

Celebrated harpist Gwyneth Wentink joins La Bella Musica di Monteverdi with her performance of The Minstrel’s Adieu and David of the White Rock by John Thomas.

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Nicole Cabell

Installment Ten

Celebrated soprano Nicole Cabell joins La Bella Musica di Monteverdi with her performance of Summertime by George Gershwin from Porgy & Bess & Somewhere by Leonard Bernstein from West Side Story.

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Wendy Bryn Harmer

Installment Nine

Soprano Wendy Bryn Harmer performs Heimliche Aufforderung by Richard Strauss and Silent Noon by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Like Morgen, performed by Matthew Polenzani and Sylvia Danburg Volpe, Richard Strauss composed Heimliche Aufforderung as one of four pieces that he wrote as a wedding present to his wife Pauline.

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Matthew Polenzani & Sylvia Volpe

Installment Eight

Matthew Polenzani and Sylvia Danburg Volpe of the Metropolitan Opera make their second La Bella Musica appearance! They perform Morgen by Richard Strauss. The lyrics of this piece are from a German love poem by John Henry Mackay by the same title. 

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Barry Banks

Installment Seven

Celebrated Tenor Barry Banks performs Sally in our Alley by Henry Carey and Music for a While by Henry Purcell. Both of these pieces are realizations by Benjamin Britten, after their original composition.

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Sir John Eliot Gardiner

Installment Six

In honor of Claudio Monteverdi's birthday month, we are sharing a special installment of La Bella Musica featuring Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Grammy-award winning conductor and one of the world's most innovative and dynamic musicians.

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Steve Tyrell

Installment Five

Grammy winner Steve Tyrell comes to us from his backyard in Los Angeles, California. He and his band will perform Bella Notte by Peggy Lee and Stand By Me from Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Ben E. King, an appropriate anthem with a message of togetherness for these troubling times.

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Alessio Bax & Lucille Chung

Installment Four

This week, Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung perform three pieces, the first of which is Sheep May Safely Graze by Johann Sebastian Bach. The second is Warum from Schumann Fantasiesücke Op. 12. and the final is En Bateau by Claude Debussy.

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Frances Mayes & Ondine Cohane

Installment Three

This week, Frances Mayes and Ondine Cohane read from their new book, Always Italy, where they reveal the Italy that only the locals know. In this excerpt, Frances shares part of the book's introduction while Ondine reads "Muse, Star, Backdrop, Inspiration: Rome and Film" an essay about the iconic representations of the Eternal City in cinema. 

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Christine Goerke

Installment Two

Our second performance spotlights two incredible pieces performed by celebrated soprano Christine Goerke. The first piece is Strauss's Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1. The second is a lively, bright performance of Stornello by Giuseppe Verdi. Together, they create a beautiful juxtaposition of sound and feeling.

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Matthew Polenzani & Sylvia Volpe

Installment One

Our first performance features our friends tenor, Matthew Polenzani, and violinist, Sylvia Volpe of the Metropolitan Opera. Recorded separately from their homes, they share a beautiful rendition of Pur Ti Miro composed by Claudio Monteverdi over 400 years ago.

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