General Opera News

Started by uffeviking, April 08, 2007, 06:49:51 PM

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ritter

#700
Quote from: Wendell_E on March 06, 2017, 12:40:25 PM
Kurt Moll has died.

http://slippedisc.com/2017/03/a-great-german-bass-has-died-at-78/
A great bass...one of the greatest portrayals of Gurnemanz preserved on record (under Kubelik and Karajan). RIP.  :(

Alberto Zedda has died today in (fittingly) Pesaro (the birthplace of Rossini). All Rossini fans are indebted to this conductor / musicologist.  :(

http://milano.corriere.it/notizie/cronaca/17_marzo_07/morto-maestro-alberto-zedda-rossini-opera-festival-pesaro-direttore-e3c03fca-031f-11e7-abb5-4486feee70af.shtml?refresh_ce-cp

king ubu

Zurich Opera has just announced their 17/18 season programme:
http://www.opernhaus.ch/en/calendar/opera/

Highlights include, I guess, include "Lunea" by Heinz Holliger, Anja Harteros doing "Tosca", a new "Incoronazione di Poppea" (with Julie Fuchs in the title role, as well as Stéphanie d'Oustrac and Valer Sabadus, and Ottavio Dantone conducting), a new "Forza del destino" and some more ... not an all round great programme for the savvy ones, but for me, who has not seen all that many operas on stage, I guess there's plenty of interesting things coming up (including "Fidelio", and plenty of Puccini with "Madama Butterfly", "La Fanciulla del West", "Turandot" and the aforementioned "Tosca").
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

GioCar

^^^
and a Parsifal, Simone Young conducting. Tempting. Did you/anyone see that Claus Guth production? My only exposure was a weird Lohengrin at La Scala.
Hmmm, I have to think about it... :)

king ubu

Quote from: GioCar on March 08, 2017, 11:12:01 PM
^^^
and a Parsifal, Simone Young conducting. Tempting. Did you/anyone see that Claus Guth production? My only exposure was a weird Lohengrin at La Scala.
Hmmm, I have to think about it... :)
Haven't opened up every item on the schedule yet, guess I'll wait for the more convenient paper edition ... but I did see "Parsifal" on the list of course, might be interested as well.

And I still have a mental note about the Sciarrino at La Scala ... but I would inquire with you which seats are proper ones that time  :)
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

king ubu

Not sure there's a better thread to ask about this ... anyone familiar with Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich? Planning a long weekend late in July and considering a visit to "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" there. What category do I have to buy at least to have a real seat, anything else I need to be aware of etc.?

https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productioninfo/les-contes-dhoffmann/2017-07-30-18-00.html
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

zamyrabyrd

Has anyone seen this article or the actual production?

http://www.artsjournal.com/condemned/2017/04/the-mets-new-rosenkavalier-hello-robert-carsen-goodbye-maybe-to-renee-fleming/

"The production's big picture was this: The original 18th-century Viennese setting was brought forward to World War I — a concept that raised the dramatic stakes effectively. Suddenly, the middle-aged Marschallin and the teen-aged Octavian weren't just hopping in and out of bed, but seeking love, as war is threatening to wipe out their Old World way of life. So why, in the middle of this, was a nouveau-riche family marrying off their daughter Sophie to the obnoxious Baron Ochs? In this production, Daddy was an arms manufacturer and is making loads of money that can raise his social status.

What perhaps divides audiences is how Carsen executed his concept. Even with the opera set in a later age, I can't imagine why designer Paul Steinberg made the boudoir of refined Marschallin a gaudy color that can only be described as Hello, Dolly! red. The low-class tavern of Act III became a house of ill repute, which made sense in this era of La Ronde, the 1897 Arthur Schnitzler play about Viennese sexual mores. But did the clients taking a tour of the place have to be grossed out by the smell?"
"Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one."

― Charles MacKay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Spineur

I only read what was said on the opera threads I follow on twitter.  Seems like Elina Garanca eclipses Renée Fleming.  As far as the reviewer comments on the staging, I would not take them so seriously.
I actually would like to see this modernized staging.  Time to get rid of the usual roccoco decors.

ritter

Quote from: artsjournal
The production's big picture was this: The original 18th-century Viennese setting was brought forward to World War I — a concept that raised the dramatic stakes effectively. ..."

Quote from: Spineur on April 20, 2017, 10:14:37 AM
...I actually would like to see this modernized staging.  Time to get rid of the usual roccoco decors.
Actually, stagings of Der Rosenkavalier with the action brought forward from the mid-18th century to the early 20th have become quite common. Prior to Carsen's, there's been--that I know of--Jonathan Miller's for the ENO in 1994 (which came to Madrid in 2000, with an outstanding Felicity Lott as the Marschallin) and Harry Kupfer's for Salzburg some years ago (available on DVD). I really don't understand the reporter's from the artsjournal apparent surprise...

ritter

#708
Quote from: GioCar on March 08, 2017, 11:12:01 PM
...
and a Parsifal, Simone Young conducting. Tempting. Did you/anyone see that Claus Guth production? My only exposure was a weird Lohengrin at La Scala.
Hmmm, I have to think about it... :)
I apologize for the delayed reply, as I had missed king ubu's post and your subsequent question, GioCar.

Claus Guth's production of Parsifal was given in Madrid about a year ago, superbly conducted by Semyon Bychov. My comments in a Spanish-language forum (here) at the time were the following:

"Guth's production is intelligent, and manages to be quite faithful to Wagner's libretto, while simultaneously also exposing a Konzept (which to me seems the notion that Parsifal is a work which prophesies the events in Germany after WW1). Very meticulous Personenregie (even if having Parsifal acting in flashback the events retold by Kundry in Ich sah das Kind... was an unnecessary distraction). The lighting was also outstanding. Christian Schmidt's revolving set is quite impressive at first, but after a while becomes monotonous. And that was this production's weakness IMO: Parsifal is a work that can be interpreted at many levels, but I think a director should take advantage of all the riches provided by the words and the music. Guth's production appeared "one-dimensional" to me, the contrast between nature and the world of the Grail (so important in Act 3) is not exploited, and the Good Friday Spell was particularly devoid of poetry. Also, Klingsor's garden is no garden at all, and not seductive in the least (but the decadent "party" ambience provided is quite accomplished). In any event, the production is certainly not devoid of interest, and expertly executed."

kishnevi

Quote from: ritter on April 20, 2017, 10:43:32 AM
Actually, stagings of Der Rosenkavalier with the action brought forward from the mid-18th century to the early 20th have become quite common. Prior to Carsen's, there's been--that I know of--Jonathan Miller's for the ENO in 1994 (which came to Madrid in 2000, with an outstanding Felicity Lott as the Marschallin) and Harry Kupfer's for Salzburg some years ago (available on DVD). I really don't understand the reporter's from the artsjournal apparent surprise...

This Carsen production from Salzburg 2004 is probably similar to the Met one
[asin]B003E113IK[/asin]
A quick Amazon search shows at least three others, two conducted by Welser-Most, and this one which I have and recommend (have not seen the others).  The setting is a mix of Europe between the wars, but the clisest approach to regietheater is having Kaufmann distracted from his singing by a bowl of spaghetti.
[asin]B002HWBS96[/asin]

GioCar

Quote from: ritter on April 20, 2017, 11:32:06 AM
I apologize for the delayed reply, as I had missed king ubu's post and your subsequent question, GioCar.

Claus Guth's production of Parsifal was given in Madrid about a year ago, superbly conducted by Semyon Bychov. My comments in a Spanish-language forum (here) at the time were the following:

"Guth's production is intelligent, and manages to be quite faithful to Wagner's libretto, while simultaneously also exposing a Konzept (which to me seems the notion that Parsifal is a work which prophesies the events in Germany after WW1). Very meticulous Personenregie (even if having Parsifal acting in flashback the events retold by Kundry in Ich sah das Kind... was an unnecessary distraction). The lighting was also outstanding. Christian Schmidt's revolving set is quite impressive at first, but after a while becomes monotonous. And that was this production's weakness IMO: Parsifal is a work that can be interpreted at many levels, but I think a director should take advantage of all the riches provided by the words and the music. Guth's production appeared "one-dimensional" to me, the contrast between nature and the world of the Grail (so important in Act 3) is not exploited, and the Good Friday Spell was particularly devoid of poetry. Also, Klingsor's garden is no garden at all, and not seductive in the least (but the decadent "party" ambience provided is quite accomplished). In any event, the production is certainly not devoid of interest, and expertly executed."

Well, thank you Rafael for your interesting review (just call me Gio - not to be confused with Amazon's Gio  ;))
Re. the Zurich performance I'll make a thought on it - I'm quite interested on Simone Young's rendering.

king ubu

Yup, thanks from my side as well @ritter. Got the printed programme and I guess I'll try and see about half of all the productions (I might wait for some reviews here and there).

@GioCar, if you make it to Zurich, do let me know and we'll at least have lunch or dinner together!
Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

Cato

From the May 3, 2017 Wall Street Journal:

Quote 'Voir Dire," Fort Worth Opera's latest world premiere, had an unusual genesis: Jason Zencka, who wrote the smart libretto with Matthew Peterson, the composer, was a crime reporter in a small Wisconsin city, and its vignettes are adapted from real trials that he covered. The 90-minute opera is startlingly immediate and journalistic, as gripping as a great feature story, and made memorable by the depth and texture of the music. The opera drills unsentimentally into the tragedies of ordinary people, some of whom have committed terrible crimes; its power lies in how believable their emotions are.

The piece is deftly structured in 14 scenes, all in the courtroom or the mind of Judge Dodsworth (bass-baritone Nate Mattingly )...

...Mr. Peterson's arresting and varied music ensures that the text can be understood, not just in the arias but in the sophisticated ensemble writing, of which there is a great deal. In a preliminary hearing on the matricide, it is fast, rhythmic and contrapuntal, as courtroom voices—the judge, the prosecutor, the psychiatrist, the defense attorney—overlap to form the teenage defendant's sensory overload...

...The nine-member orchestra, ably led by Viswa Subbaraman, is sparely deployed and plays a major color role, particularly with percussion...

See:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/voir-dire-review-true-crime-in-the-opera-house-1493672306
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Cato

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on May 03, 2017, 10:12:11 AM
Cool!

The Fort Worth Opera could be interested in a future Henning opera! ;) 0:)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Spineur

Politics meets Opera
Sylvain Fort is the coeditor of forumopera.com a french online opera magazine.  He has also been the communication manager of Emmanuel Macron, now french president.  At his initiative, an opera singer has helped Macron coach his voice.
I cant wait until he start "La donna Mobile" at one of the G20 meeting.  ;D

André

Quote from: Spineur on May 08, 2017, 12:33:06 PM
Politics meets Opera
Sylvain Fort is the coeditor of forumopera.com a french online opera magazine.  He has also been the communication manager of Emmanuel Macron, now french president.  At his initiative, an opera singer has helped Macron coach his voice.
I cant wait until he start "La donna Mobile" at one of the G20 meeting.  ;D

Nahhh. It will be 'Cortigiani, vil razza !!'  >:D

king ubu

Es wollt ein meydlein grasen gan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Und do die roten röslein stan:
Fick mich, lieber Peter!
Fick mich mehr, du hast dein ehr.
Kannstu nit, ich wills dich lern.
Fick mich, lieber Peter!

http://ubus-notizen.blogspot.ch/

kishnevi

Quote from: king ubu on May 18, 2017, 07:17:15 AM
I may be the last to find out, but WHHHHHHOOOOOOOOAH!

https://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/maria-callas-live-box-set-of-remastered-live-recordings-to-be-released

8)  8)  8)

You found out before me, so you're not the last.  ::)

Bear in mind that the quality of the original tapes sets an upper boundary on how much can be done with remastering.  Some of them no doubt can be upgraded only from bad to not as bad.  Also some of these are available from Myto, so comparison of remastering would be in order, and some of the releases from Myto and other sources are not included at all.  And unlike the Remastered Studio set, the recitals are not included in regular CD format. (The reference to BluRay: that could be BluRay audio or BluRay video, I suppose.)


Spineur

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on May 18, 2017, 07:54:04 AM
You found out before me, so you're not the last.  ::)

Bear in mind that the quality of the original tapes sets an upper boundary on how much can be done with remastering.  Some of them no doubt can be upgraded only from bad to not as bad.  Also some of these are available from Myto, so comparison of remastering would be in order, and some of the releases from Myto and other sources are not included at all.  And unlike the Remastered Studio set, the recitals are not included in regular CD format. (The reference to BluRay: that could be BluRay audio or BluRay video, I suppose.)
I have seen quite a few takes from the DVDs.  They are not worth it.  On the other hand several live tapes are very much worth while.  I wonder if some of the remastered operas will be released seperately.