Ben Heppner, Karita Mattila, Rene Pape, & James Morris - Fidelio Finale & Curtain Calls

As a gala finale, Karita Mattila, Ben Heppner, Rene Pape, James Morris, Matthew Polenzani, and Rachelle Durkin sing the Act II Finale from Ludwig von Beethoven's only opera Fidelio. The clip is from May 20, 2006.

At the end of the clip all the singers and conductors from the gala come out on stage for a final curtain call. Included among the many singers are Mirella Freni, Kiri Te Kanawa, Deborah Voigt, Thomas Hampson, Waltraud Meier, Samuel Ramey, Natalie Dessay, Frederica von Stade, Denyce Graves, and others. Some of the conductors include Valery Gergiev, Placido Domingo, and James Conlon.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Karita
• Mattila
• Ben
• Heppner
• Rene
• Pape
• James
• Morris
• Matthew
• Polenzani
• Gala
• Opera
• Fidelio
• Beethoven
• finale
• tenor
• soprano
• NYC

[NedRorem]

The soloists are good (and René Pape is god himself, as usual) but the choir is terrible, especially the drunken old sopranos.

[telephilia]

Go look at the Dermota-Modl performance from half a century ago on this site if you want to see how this finale should be performed. Despite all the big Met stars here on this gala night this rendition fails to move me - which considering the raptures that Beethoven brought to this piece is hard to do.

[lovingee1]

OH MY G-D..this is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING!~!! The best!!

Barb Todres/NYC

[cesare1906]

a very poor gala !!!!pitty

[UlfenDaddy]

@Chazz Several have commented regarding the excessive vibrato from the chorus, a closer listening reveals it is Highly exaggerated by the vagaries of electronic copying and reposting. While I don't notice it so much from the soloists I certainly can hear it in the strings and brass, and there's simply no way that wide a vibrato can happen (even intentionally!) on a horn, it's electronic. This isn't the best performance (it's a GALA!) but it's far from incompetent, to say nothing of "drunk."

[BravoLucero]

I attended this gala and it was amazing.

[BravoLucero]

So many of you like comming on here and tearing performances and singers apart. Can you do better?

[Chazzan805]

I'm no expert so someone tell me. Did the choruses years ago sing with much less vibrato? I don't know what it is about the women in the MET opera chorus.

[Chazzan805]

@telephilia

Listen to the Bruno Walter finale on youtube with the Metropolitan. You won't believe it.

[bonnisolli]

The MET chorus have to be the most hideous wobbley chorus in the solar system......yuck

[RVP57]

Patrick Summers is a cunt.

[ShawDAMAN]

Fidelio in bell-bottoms +_+ lol