Donizetti: La Favorite, live from Munich tonight, 23 October

[Wheesht]

Live from Munich tonight: Donizetti's La Favorite
https://www.br-klassik.de/programm/radio/ausstrahlung-832286.htmlz

[Alan Howe]

Thanks. But not really unsung?

[Wheesht]

Well, no, but not exactly a staple of the repertoire either.

[BerlinExpat]

Perhaps not, but is becoming so. I've seen two different ones in the last few years and more theatres, in mainland Europe at least, are mounting productions. Munich is joining the bandwaggon that others have championed.

[adriano]

... and there is still an excellent recording with Vesselina Kasarova and Ramon Vargas (Marcello Viotti conducting!) - which, as far as I remember, was (in 2000) the first commercial recording of the French version. We had this version (also with Kasarova, staged by Philippe Sireuil) in 2006 at the Zurich Opera, conducted by Marc Minkowski - but that's another story 

[Aragion]

We had this version (also with Kasarova, staged by Philippe Sireuil) in 2006 at the Zurich Opera, conducted by Marc Minkowski

Minkowski? Very curious... Whether there is some recording of this performance?

[adriano]

That was at the time Minkowski tried to get into the Romantic repertoire. Vesselina was furious and there were many fights, already during rehearsals.
Later on something worse happened in Zurich: Minkowski conducting Fidelio - and this with a long black stick with a white pompon at the end, like a magician's stick. When I asked him why on earth he was using this, he answered that this was a stick once onwed by Offenbach! I could not sleep that night; but this for worse things which happened at that occasion - which I cannot describe in the forum, but I am willing to do so via private messages (no problem if they are going to be spread around).