General Opera News

[Brünnhilde forever]

Please, Anne! Don't jump to wrong conclusions; just because I said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is not in the business of paying for opera recordings, does not mean the couple does not like opera. 

[Anne]

Please, Anne! Don't jump to wrong conclusions; just because I said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is not in the business of paying for opera recordings, does not mean the couple does not like opera. 

I understand what you are saying.  However, on a different web site several years ago I heard that he was not a classical music lover.  At the time we all commiserated.

[knight66]

Mussorgsky is not, I think, an apt candidate to have his operas translated into English. English National Opera is in the middle of a run of performances of Boris Godunov. Somehow the language sounded prissy when I want dark Russian vowel sounds. But then, I booked the tickets and ought to have known what I was in for.

This was the original seven scene version. Boris hardly appears in the first half of the opera and it ended with his death. The production was as fluid as could be, allowing the piece to be played seamlessly, without an interval. Two hours and 10 minutes; one long act from a Wagner opera. This version provides focus and concentration. The piece does remind me of Wagner in the feeling of epic scale, the blend of public and private events and the way in which the soloist vocal writing is laid out as a long series of monologues with next to no duetting or ensemble stretches.

We get the by now anticipated approaches to production: namely, one set throughout and updating of the timeframe. Here we seem to be in late pre-revolutionary Russia, it works perfectly well, the set seemed sometimes to be a barn, sometimes a courtyard or perhaps a chamber. The uncluttered stage allowed effective blocking of the large lustrous chorus who together with the orchestra provided the thrills of the evening. The production brought out the mordant humour of the peasants who complain in sly terms about their betters and become the embodiment of suffering, dictator-hungry Russia that I believe Mussorgsky intended.

Pimen held the stage in a way Boris could not. The stagecraft of Piman was evident even when he stood stock still, whilst Boris was diminished.Though the production did not help; where the feared, evil tyrant gave up his throne to accommodate the aged Pimen who had arrived to unsettle him even more than he unsettled himself. Boris was emollient towards the double dealing Prince Shuisky. More a domestic scale tyrant really. But the real problem was that the singer was unequal to the task; as though Dr Falke had strayed in from Fledermaus. The death scene was mainly in parlando, not because the singer had no voice, but seemed to think this was the appropriate approach! This was all a world away from such as Christoff who made a stupendous impression, with the majesty and pathos which were entirely missing from the singer confronting us.

But what a symphony, the orchestral writing is still startling. The memorable elements, the players and the massed chorus, the lighting, the fluid approach. But next time, I will make sure I see it in Russian.


Mike

[Brünnhilde forever]

We hear that . . .

From this month issue of Opera we hear that Philip Glass has been commissioned to write The Perfect American, on the life of Walt Disney, for New York City opera in 2012-13.

[springrite]

We hear that . . .

From this month issue of Opera we hear that Philip Glass has been commissioned to write The Perfect American, on the life of Walt Disney, for New York City opera in 2012-13.

Interesting. I do hope eventually he will compose an autobiographical (again, plots optional) opera about himself, titled "More Than Half Full".

[Brünnhilde forever]

Just for fun and entertainment, mainly for the female members of this astute forum: On the cover of my favourite magazine is this charmer, probably the best singing and also best looking lyric tenor alive!

I have mentioned him before - s. my review of Carmen - and just ordered the DVD of Fidelio with him as Floristan.  

[Brünnhilde forever]

Good financial news. Yes, even in this time of deficits and reductions and cancellations at other opera houses, the news from Seattle's Opera Speight Jenkins in his latest letter are positive. I quote a few remarks:

"At the close of 2008, Seattle Opera's financial status is in a solid position. We have no accumulated deficit. We have a moderate but recently increased endowment, and we have some funds upon which we can draw if needed. Our upcoming 2009 The Ring is selling steadily. It is at close to 90% of our expected sales, and we anticipate its being as successful as The Ring has been before."

"Seattle Opera has the greatest grass roots support of any opera company...

I am not bragging, only sharing good news with you!     

[Wendell_E]

On the bad financial news front, from the New York Times:

Metropolitan Opera Faces Cuts, Its Leader Says

Mr. Gelb said that he and senior staff members have taken a 10 percent pay cut and that the rest of the staff would do so at the end of the fiscal year, which concludes after the season. He said at least four expensive productions have been canceled or replaced next season as well.

"We've asked the unions to work together with us to meet this challenge," Mr. Gelb said. "If the word is concession, then say they're concessions. I think the unions and the larger family of the Met believes in the Met as an institution. My belief is they will want to do what is right to keep the Met a vibrant, thriving organization." Mr. Gelb said he would also ask principal singers to take a reduction in fees....

The money woes put a damper on his plans for next season. The planned revival of John Corigliano's "Ghosts of Versailles" has been canceled, to be replaced by "La Traviata." Another expensive revival, "Benvenuto Cellini" by Berlioz, has been sidelined. "It's a great sacrifice, frankly, because it's a great piece of repertory," Mr. Gelb said. Its loss was also a blow to James Levine, the music director, who holds Berlioz dear....

Revivals of "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" by Shostakovich and "Die Frau Ohne Schatten" by Richard Strauss are being replaced by two other Strauss operas: "Ariadne auf Naxos" and "Elektra," respectively.

Full story at the New York Times:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/arts/music/16opera.html?_r=2&hp

[knight66]

Not surprising; sponsorship will be an increasing problem for quite some time. I guess we can all assume more Traviatas and no Cellinis now.

Mike

"Its once-mighty endowment of more than $300 million has dropped by a third, to a point where it cannot be drawn from; donations are down by $10 million this season; and ticket sales are expected to be off by several million dollars from what was expected, Mr. Gelb said in an interview."

[Wanderer]

Renzo Piano revealed more details today of his designs for the new Athens Opera house.


(click to enlarge)

[Renfield]

Renzo Piano revealed more details today of his designs for the new Athens Opera house.

For the what?

I had no idea about this, much less that Renzo Piano was doing it!

[Brünnhilde forever]

I wish I'd know more about reading architectural drawings, but as I understand it, the designer has put all the activity for scene changes, like raising flys, underneath the house, whereas most other houses have it above. That would be an interesting innovation.

In any event, Athens can be proud of the new structure - now let's hear about the programs, instead of a steady flow of Carmens and Toscas maybe an Adés, Vivier and Rautavaara! 

Thank you, Wanderer, for keeping us informed about the progress!

[Brünnhilde forever]

T.C.: You always have the newest Opera releases, I ran into one this afternoon that still has me reeling from the impact and I need your help: It's a copy of a DVD a friend sent me and the opera is Rigoletto performed in 2008 at the Dresdner Semperoper; Lehnoff directing, Luisi conducting and singing stars are Florez, Damrau, and Lucic; can't get much better! Not too long ago we discussed the lack of a real great Rigoletto, T.C., this one is the best yet!

I know that copying DVDs is illegal, but there is no original DVD of this performance available, at least not as I know because I combed through every place selling DVDs, including the shop at the Semperoper itself! Not even an announcement of a past and future performance and subsequent commercially recording available. The quality of the DVD is flawless, sound and picture.

The only clue is the announcer, a charming lady speaking German, her introductions being simultaneously translated into French and the subtitles are in French.

T.C.: what can you tell me? - of course if anybody else here at GMG has an explanation, don't be shy, tell me all about it!

Lis

[T-C]

Lis,

I saw this production of Rigoletto on the ARTE-TV channel. I enjoyed it although, for my taste, Florez voice is too light to be a perfect Duke of Mantua. There isn't yet any news about a commercial DVD for this production, but maybe it will appear in the future.

I like Diana Damrau a lot. A few weeks ago, I watched the new Decca DVD for Lorin Maazel opera 1984 that was performed in 2005 at the ROH. In my opinion this is not a great opera, but Diana Damrau performs brilliantly in two minor roles and there is an excellent performance of the title role by one of yours favorite baritones, Simon Keenlyside...

Today evening, Diana Damrau is singing Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in the old Salzburg Wernicke production. Christian Thielemann is the conductor, Renée Fleming is the Marschallin, Sophie Koch is Octavian, Franz Hawlata is Baron Ochs. The Italian singer is sung by Jonas Kaufmann! This production was filmed and will appear on a commercial DVD.

In the last two weeks I have been watching the Copenhagen Ring that appeared a few months ago on the Decca label. Although not perfect from the musical point of view, I enjoyed it immensely. Some will call it 'Eurotrash', but I think it offers a fresh and interesting (if at times brutal) approach to Wagner's masterpiece.

[Brünnhilde forever]

So that's where my Rigoletto comes from: Owner of a TV set, subscribed to the Arte channel and very apt at downloading the performance on to a DVD disc. Thank you, T.C., I just knew you'd satisfy my curiosity. 

I agree about Florez. There is something about his voice making me want to scrub his vocal chords to have him sing without the constant tremors; he is a perfect Rossini tenor!

The Thielemann Rosenkavalier definitely is something to look forward to - in spite of Fleming! - Kaufmann as the Singer, truly generous casting!

T.C., you really have an open mind, awesomely wide open, to enjoy the Copenhagen Ring. Of course I don't have it and so far had no intention to watch it; reading the reviews of it saved me money. Of course reviews are the views of other people, maybe I should form my own opinion, if only I could accept the idea of Brünnhilde surviving with a baby girl in her arms! I never demand strict adherence to the original subject, but . . . ! Convince me, T.C.!

[T-C]

Convince me, T.C.!

Lis,

I have no intentions to convince you to acquire the Copenhagen Ring.
This is a 7- DVD box set, and if you will not like it, I will truly feel bad about it...   

I think that from the directing point of view, this is a brilliant Ring, but definitely not a conventional one. Brunhilde is the main character here (it was called by some – the feministic Ring...). She appears onstage at the beginning of Das Rhiengold, in a huge library reading about how the story had begun... there are some bold ideas like the Rhiengold is a naked swimmer swimming in a big aquarium, and Alberich is tearing his heart while stealing the gold...

Most of the singers are good. Some are very good like James Johnson, which is an outstanding Wotan or Stephen Milling, which is exceptional as Hunding and Fasolt. The one exception is the singer that is singing Hagen. He is very weak. All of the singers are excellent actors. This is the most dramatic Ring I know: very different from the Ring oratorio – the Met production with Levine – very beautiful and lavish, but lacks real fire and drama. 

You can read an excellent review here: THE COPENHAGEN RING



the Gods may finally move into Valhalla:




Siegmund and Sieglinde:




Fafner with Siegfried:




Finale of Gotterdammerung:

[Brünnhilde forever]

After careful consideration, reading of reviews, calculating balance in bank checking account, I decided to add my bit to stimulating the international economy and ordered the Copenhagen Ring! 

T.C.: would you faint if I were to tell you that also ordered the Puccini Tosca, the one with Bryn Terfel? The fact that it's a Nikolaus Lehnhoff production aided my decision. No doubt you already have this one! 

Lis

[T-C]

Ok, I'll wait for your review about the Ring, and if you will hate it, I'll probably cancel my account here on GMG and then I'll open a new one using another name...

In the meantime, here is another review : The Copenhagen Ring


Congratulations for the Lehnhoff – Chailly Tosca from Amsterdam. Yes, this is a surprise...

This is another controversial production. Singing is good, and the playing of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is outstanding. I liked Nikolaus Lehnhoff staging, and if I am not wrong, so did Mike (our moderator)...

In the picture: Baron Scarpia (Terfel) with the cat...

[Brünnhilde forever]

T.C.: No need to contemplate resigning and returning at GMG: Amazon has that Ring for $45. off the regular price!

While I was in the economy-stimulating mood I ordered D'Albert's Tiefland with Matthias Goerne. I had been trying to get this opera for some time and whenever I ordered it from a retailer I got the message it's unavailable, even though they all list it. This time I tried H&B and hope for better luck.

Do you have Tiefland and what do you think of it? It's rarely performed, yet was very popular in Europe and it is one of the operas I saw in my early teens!

[T-C]

45$ ? This is a real bargain. I've paid for this Ring 110$... 
Never mind, it was worthwhile, even though, my first choice for a Ring DVD is still the Barenboim - Kupfer Ring from Bayreuth.

I have a 1983 CD recording for d'Albert Tiefland. Marek Janowski conducts the Munchner Rundfunkorchester, and the singers are Eva Marton, Rene Kollo, Bernd Weikl and Kurt Moll. As far as I remember, this is not an operatic masterpiece, but a very enjoyable opera with beautiful and tuneful music. I have already ordered the new EMI DVD, but haven't received it yet.