SUSAN GRAHAM STARS AS DIDO IN SPECTACULAR NEW DVD OF LES TROYENS FROM PARIS PRODUCTION CONDUCTED BY SIR JOHN ELIOT GARDINER A TOP EVENT IN THE INTERNATIONALLY CELEBRATED BERLIOZ BICENTENNIAL YEAR (2003), LES TROYENS FROM THE CHÂTELET CAN NOW BE EXPERIENCED IN HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO WITH ASTONISHING PRESENCE AND SOUND ON A BBC-OPUS ARTE DVD Graham also stars in a Chandos recording of Samuel Barber's Vanessa, for release on CD on November 23 New York - The Times of London captures it all: "As you'd expect, Gardiner's account [of Les Troyens on DVD] is dynamic throughout. Yet his baton would never stir such wonders without the right singers. Susan Graham is impressive as Didon, giving a tremendous outburst of rage as Aeneas abandons her. Berlioz's orchestrations may thrill in conventional performances, but the excitement is multiplied with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique's gut strings and the fruity timbres of authentic woodwind and brass." Susan Graham's 2003 performances as the Queen of Carthage, who wins Aeneas and has the sexiest music to sing in the entire Troyens, was praised on both sides of the Atlantic. The Philadelphia Inquirer stated, "Few Didos have been costumed as simply as Susan Graham was, establishing the character's essential womanhood in ways that justified her choice [to kill herself]. Susan Graham sings more easily than many people speak, and her rage over Aeneas's departure seemed all the more fierce - and it was so fierce as to be frightening - from being expressed by such an innately beautiful instrument." And "Susan Graham's Didon was sensual, elegant, and in fine voice," according to American Record Guide. "Susan Graham was a beautiful Dido, vocally and dramatically, for the scenes in Carthage, passionate as she succumbed to love for Aeneas, and powerful in her rage at his defection", wrote the Herald Tribune. The Times had commented earlier on the actual 2003 performance which is now captured on the new DVD: "In Paris, Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts a simply sensational account of the score with a hand-picked cast, his trans-Channel Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique (a period band founded some years ago with the express intention of revitalising Berlioz's orchestral sound) and the combined Monteverdi Choir and the Chorus of the Chatelet Theatre." The 3-DVD set [OA0900D] also features performances by Anna Caterina Antonacci (Cassandre) and Gregory Kunde (Aeneas), among others. Susan Graham in Vanessa - "Dark Yet Lacerating Eloquence" Susan Graham, under exclusive contract to Warner Classics for solo recordings, is featured in the pivotal role of Erika in a new Chandos recording of Samuel Barber's Vanessa (complete), conducted by Leonard Slatkin, with the BBC Singers and Symphony Orchestra. This remarkable American opera, for which Barber won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize in Music, includes a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, and was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958. (Vanessa is often rumored to be in line for a new production at the Met.) Conducted by Dmitri Mitropoulos, Barber's Vanessa marked the start of the international careers of Eleanor Steber, Rosalind Elias and Nicolai Gedda. Praise from the British press for this live performance focus on the individual singers: "What a cast of formidable American singers this was. There was Susan Graham, with an Erika of dark yet lacerating eloquence. Christine Brewer [gave] a performance of extraordinary emotional and vocal span, and an Anatol debonair yet always troubling in the excellent tenor William Burden. Even the cameo roles were larger than life," wrote The Times of London. Of the production as a whole the UK's Guardian exclaimed, "This is a considerable achievement that should restore Vanessa to the repertory." This Chandos 2-disc recording of Vanessa will be released in the United States on November 23. This recording of Vanessa is a dual layer, hybrid SACD (DSD surround sound), and playable on any CD player. Ms. Graham's most recent recording for Warner Classics was a best-selling Ives CD that was among the most acclaimed releases in the tribute to the composer 50 years after his death. Allan Kozinn, writing for The New York Times, called this CD "my newest favorite Ives recording... smartly chosen, elegantly sung." Gramophone magazine, which designated this CD an "Editor's Choice," wrote: "A splendid addition to the Ives discography and a fine tribute 50 years after his death from two superlative musicians. Aimard is a committed advocate, and his partnership with Susan Graham in the songs is a winner." top of page