Flute player and conductor of Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko, demonstrates some favorite flutes from his collection. He takes us from the modern flute through the renaissance, baroque, classical and romantic periods. Some are copies of historical instruments made by modern instrument makers, and some are original instruments from the period.

He tells the stories of these very special instruments, how he found them, about each of their specific idiosyncrasies, and which period and type of music they would be played for.

Alexis has a collection of 65 flutes, representing each period of the history of the flute. Take this special opportunity to hear about some of the instruments from his collection!

This episode is about the newly released recording of Mozart's opera, Cosi fan tutte, by Russian orchestra MusicAeterna and conductor, Teodor Currentzis. This recording was made over two weeks in January in Perm, a Russian provincial city close to the Ural Mountains.

Marie talks about her experience making this recording in Perm and what it was like to play in a Russian orchestra. Playing musical clips from the recording, she recounts stories and anecdotes from the making of these CDs, and talks about the history of the orchestra, and how their philosophy is so different from other classical music ensembles today.

     To buy the new Cosi fan tutte with MusicAeterna and Teodor Currentzis, please check out these links:

CD: http://smarturl.it/tc-cosifantutte-del

iTunes: http://smarturl.it/tc-cosifantutte

Vinyl: http://smarturl.it/tc-cosifantutte-vin

Flutist and conductor, Alexis Kossenko, joins the program to discuss the melding of his two passions. He chats about his early life and how he got started on the flute at an unusually early age. Although he had an early and precocious interest in conducting, he explains how that came later after he had already established himself as a performer and soloist.

Alexis takes us behind the scenes and describes the process he had to go through to create a successful orchestra from the ground up. He talks about some of his favorite music and some upcoming projects that he is working on for the future.

During this podcast, Alexis shares with us 6 musical clips from performing the Nielsen Flute Concerto at age 19 to the latest CD that he has made with his new orchestra, Les Ambassadeurs.

Goth-chic fashion designers and baroque violinists, Vivien and Olivia Steindler, join the podcast to talk about how they think about fashion as an art form and how they started their clothing and jewelry brand, Voriagh. They are sisters, and discuss their early lives, influences, and their early passions for fashion, music - and all things gothic.

Vivien and Olivia have a fashion boutique called Voriagh in the center of the Bastille in Paris, where they sell their original designs. Begun in 2007, Voriagh is the first ever Parisian brand of gothic prêt-à-porter, hand-making all of its creations with high quality materials. They discuss the inspirations for their line, where they get their materials, and how the materials become an integral part of the design and expression of their pieces.

It is an experience to play 4 different Rossini operas in one season. Marie talks about the four different productions that Ensemble Matheus played this season throughout Europe on historical instruments - and what the culture of theater life was like in Rossini's 19th century Italy when these works were first performed.

She talks about how Rossini was the first superstar composer and how he was at the center of the chaos and excitement of 19th century theater life. That adrenaline rush is still quite prevalent in his works, and easily becomes part of the lives of performers of his music even today, 200 years later.

With Cecilia Bartoli and casts of today's best opera stars, Ensemble Matheus and conductor, Jean-Christophe Spinosi played Rossini in the Théâtre du Châtelet and Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, in Dortmund, Beaune, and the Haus für Mozart and Grossesfestspielhaus in Salzburg.

In part 2 of the conversation with opera star, Barry Banks, he talks openly about the issues that all performers and artists deal with: confidence, nerves, the dedication it takes to be a musician, and how important it is for him to have a life outside of singing. He talks about the balance that he has struggled to achieve in his life and how he's learned how to not be too effected when things do not go as perfectly as he would like in a performance.

Barry and Marie compare notes and discuss music from the different perspectives of a singer and an instrumentalist. They talk about the barriers between singers and instrumentalists and how Barry has learned to approach colleagues, instrumentalists and conductors alike.

To hear some videos of Barry Banks' singing in various opera productions, visit The Fidelio Podcast's facebook page.

International opera star, tenor, Barry Banks, talks with Marie in Salzburg, Austria, during their production of Rossini's Otello at the Pfingstfestspiele in June. Barry chats about his early life as a trumpet player, and how his experience as an instrumentalist and love for the trumpet and brass bands have influenced him as a singer.

Barry discusses his favorite operatic roles, how he creates them on stage, and what it's like to play the villain. He reminisces about his past productions in Salzburg, and the few isolated moments that have built his career and how they have defined him as a singer.

Barry Banks lives in New York and sings regularly in leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and the English National Opera amongst many other opera houses. He has recorded prolifically for Chandos Records. As well as being a recognized bel canto specialist, Barry Banks regularly sings a diverse repertoire ranging from Bach, Handel, and Mozart to Stravinsky, Britten, and Berg.

June 16th is Bloomsday, the only city-wide celebration of a day from a work of fiction! Bloomsday is a celebration of James Joyce's Ulysses, and it is the day that the events from the book took place in Dublin. In this special episode, Marie talks a bit about the book itself and delves into some of the stories and history behind the book.

She speaks with 3 guests in Dublin who are all associated with Bloomsday, but also have 3 different perspectives on the day and Joyce's work. The first guests are Maite Lopez and James Moore from the creative collective, At it Again!, a group of actors and artists who have written a guide to Ulysses, have made a Bloomsday Survival Kit, and will be performing this year in the celebration. She also speaks with Mark Traynor, a scholar of Irish literature and the director of the James Joyce Centre in Dublin. And finally she chats with Wendy Conroy, one of the head volunteers at Sweny's Pharmacy, one of the main surviving Ulysses landmarks.

Marie discovers not only what Bloomsday is about, but also about the relationship that everyday Dubliners have with Joyce.

(photo of Maite Lopez from At it Again!)

Michael Markwick is a Berlin based Dutch-American painter. In this episode, Marie joins him in his art studio in the Kreutzberg district of Berlin to talk with him about the inspirations, memories, and experiences behind his work. Michael's work is based in nature, and they talk about his process of creating a painting and his relationships with different natural and urban environments, while also discussing what it's like to be an artist today and the new life a painting takes on when it is displayed and viewed by others.

Michael Markwick's paintings have been recently published in a new catalog from the exhibition, Geist und Form: Ten Painters from Berlin, by the Indiana University Grunwald Gallery of Art.

To see the works discussed here, visit: The Fidelio Podcast facebook page

Marie talks about her experience being a historical performer in Europe, what her life is like, and also about what it means to be a performer today.

She explains how she got into the early music world from being a modern clarinetist in the United States, what motivated her, the process of learning a historical instrument, and how this made her a more complete musician. The lifestyle of an early music wind player is discussed - everything from travel, playing with musicians from other cultures, and the vast collection of instruments that are used regularly!

Take a look at what's inside this one early musician's backpack!

Michael Willens, conductor and founder of period-instrument orchestra, Die Kölner Akademie, talks about his experiences as a musician of many different genres, and explains his reasons for performing 20th century music with historical instruments. He also shares some samples of various recordings he's made with Die Kölner Akademie.

Michael is the definition of a well-rounded musician, from an early focus on jazz and rock, to studying the classical bass at Juilliard, and eventually moving to Europe to found and conduct his own period-instrument orchestra. He discusses his past and how it has effected him as a historical musician and conductor today in the early music scene.

Marie talks about her experience performing Rossini's opera, Otello, in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with Cecilia Bartoli, Ensemble Matheus, and Jean-Christophe Spinosi.

Recording the podcast from Paris on the night of the final performance, Marie discusses the production, Rossni's opera itself, and some of the atmosphere surrounding the controversial natures of the performances. This production marked Bartoli's return to the Paris opera scene in her first staged opera there for 20 years. Conducted by the "enfant terrible" of classical music, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, this was a production wrapped up with history, drama, and controversy.

Russian-American writer, Olga Zilberbourg, talks about coming of age during the fall of the Soviet Union, moving to the United States at the age of 17, and how these extraordinary experiences have shaped her identity as an artist.

Olga has been up until now mostly a short story writer, and is currently working on her first novel. She has been published in both English and Russian, and has been deeply impacted by both of her two countries. She discusses how she reconciles these two vastly different cultures in both her life and in her art, not to mention the challenges she's faced learning to write in a foreign language.

Alex Lefevre, musical theater composer, pianist, and director joins The Fidelio Podcast to talk about his life on Broadway! He also shares 4 of his original story-like songs with us.

Alex has worked in the musical theater world of New York City doing everything from working the lights to acting, conducting, directing, and writing the songs for his own show. He has combined all of his passions and talents to make a unique and successful career in the cut-throat world of musical theater.

Marie Ross, host of The Fidelio Podcast, and historical clarinetist introduces herself and talks about her ideas for making the podcast.

She talks about her musical life, how she came to historical performance, and her plans for The Fidelio Podcast.