On the eve of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Dusseldorf, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein has presented the world premiere of the "Grand Prix de l'Opera". Сlassical music fans from across Europe were able to vote for the most popular opera hits on www.grandprixopera.de or over the phone and top 12 most voted pieces have been performed at Düsseldorf's opera house by the International Soloist Ensemble of Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra, conducted by General Director of Music Axel Kober. Versatile entertainer Barbara Schöneberger has hosted the event.
Soloists: Sami Luttinen (Finland), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Germany), Ks.Stefan Heidemann (Germany), Laiumonas Pautienius (Lithuania), Adrian Sampertrean (Romania), Nataliya Kovalova (Ukraine), Stefan Pop (Romania), Jacklyn Bermudez (USA), Corby Welch (USA), Anett Fritsch (Germany), Michail Agafonov (Russia), Carmen Giannattasio (Italy)
Overall, this was very enjoyable evening, though of course I didn't understand any of jokes of the hostess, the arias have been performed extremely well and the show was almost sold out.
Watch WDR video report here
http://www.wdr.de/mediathek/html/regional/rueckschau/2011/05/09/lokalze…
And the top 3 are...
3. Giacomo Puccini: Gianni Schicchi
Arie der Lauretta "O mio babbino caro"
2. Giacomo Puccini: Turandot
Arie des Calaf "Nessun Dorma"
1. Vincenzo Bellini: Norma
Arie der Norma "Casta diva"
Full top 12
http://www.operamrhein.de/de_DE/voting/program
