Duke Opera Theater: Flute & Figaro al Fresco

This video premiered on Friday, April 30 at 7:30 pm EDT.

“Flute & Figaro al Fresco” features staged scenes from Mozart’s Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro filmed outside the Biddle Music Building on Duke’s East Campus.

 

View the video trailer for The Magic Flute.

View the video trailer for The Marriage of Figaro.

Conceived by director David Heid and featuring pianist Daniel Seyfried, this homage to silent films is a creative, theatrical and comic response to the limitations placed on performances by the Covid-19 pandemic. The soundtrack, sung in English, was recorded one voice at a time in Baldwin Auditorium with the filming and editing of the video done by Rick Nelson, with additional footage shot by Ryan Harrison. This unique 35 minute film is fast-paced and engaging, demonstrating the creativity and resilience of Duke student vocalists and breaking new ground for creative opera presentations in the future. This video release includes a behind the scenes chat with Opera Theater director David Heid and pianist Dan Seyfried following the film.

Featuring Matthew Bao, Heather Berman, Charlie Bonetti, Alexa Burnston, Devon Carter, Francesca Herrera, Alex Kintzer, Bryn Lawson, Julia Leeman, Sophia Leeman, Elliott Loverin, Jia Jia Shen, Roy Thompson, Rebecca Williamson, Priya Zahrt, and Xuanyu Zhou.

Senior Distinction Concert 2021

This video premiered on Friday, April 23 at 7:30 pm EDT.

Join Duke Music as we bring you a virtual concert featuring our three seniors graduating with Distinction in Music Performance. View the program online (includes bios of the seniors and descriptions of their distinction projects).

We begin with Annalise Bracher, violinist, performing Mvt. 1 of Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor with pianist Debosir Ghosh; Mvt. 2 of Ravel’s Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano with pianist Andrew Nguyen; and the final movement of Franck’s Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano with pianist Blake Ray.

Our second senior graduating with distinction, pianist Alina Xiao, will then perform “Bluedream” by Duke graduate composer Brittany J. Green and three works by Rachmaninov: two Étude-Tableaus from Op. 39 and the Prelude Op. 32 No. 10 in B minor.

Charlie Todd, violinist, our third senior graduating with distinction, will finish the program with a Scottish Fiddling medley; a selection from Haydn’s “Scottish Songs” with soprano Julia Leeman, cellist Holly Kim, and pianist Bryan Tong; a selection from Beethoven’s “25 Scottish Songs” Op. 108 with soprano Sophia Leeman, Holly Kim, and Bryan Tong; Mvt. 2 of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 56 “Scottish” with Kim and Tong; and the final movement of Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy” Op. 46 with pianist Blake Ray.

Music of Nature and Nation: Jennifer Curtis, violin and Ieva Jokubaviciute, piano

This video premiered on Friday, April 9 at 7:30 pm EDT.

Ieva Jokubaviciute and Jennifer Curtis perform music by George Enescu (1881-1955) and Jean Sibelius (1865-1957).

View the complete program

Sonata No. 3 in A Minor “dans le caractère populaire roumain” for violin and piano, Op. 25, is a chamber-music composition written in 1926 by George Enescu. It is dedicated to Franz Kneisel.

Five Esquisses (Five Sketches), Op. 114 was written in 1929 by Jean Sibelius.