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Lisztianwagner

Quote from: ritter on November 18, 2014, 02:28:28 PM
Well, rumour has it that the budget thing was more than anything an excuse in letting Meese go  ::) ...but we'll never know now. I as opposed (I think  ;)) to you Ilaria, like new approaches and radical stagings (I adored the Castorf Ring--inconsistencies and all--this summer  :) )...

You're not wrong, I'm not a fan of such modern, controversial productions; they completely distort Wagner's ideas and conception of Gesamtkunstwerk. For me, Castorf's Ring is heresy. Anyway, I respect your taste, Rafael. :)
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

ritter

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 19, 2014, 02:18:20 AM
You're not wrong, I'm not a fan of such modern, controversial productions; they completely distort Wagner's ideas and conception of Gesamtkunstwerk. For me, Castorf's Ring is heresy. Anyway, I respect your taste, Rafael. :)
And I respect yours, Ilaria :)  Where you say "distort", I say "enrichen"  :D. Except for that small word, we agree... ;)

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: ritter on November 19, 2014, 06:24:36 AM
And I respect yours, Ilaria :)  Where you say "distort", I say "enrichen"  :D. Except for that small word, we agree... ;)

Yeah, so it seems. ;)

How that could enrich Wagner's operas......Gesamtkunstwerk should be the synthesis of arts, where poetry, music, dramaturgy, figurative arts converge via the theatre; in productions like Castorf's music, libretto and staging don't match at all (e.g. Siegfried sings he's forging a sword while assembling a gun), they don't respect Wagner's conception of myth and total work of art, they seem to be created just to stimulate the audience's attention with something extavagant. If you want to stage Wagner's operas, you can't go too far from the composer's original ideas, otherwise it's not Wagner anymore.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

ritter

#623
Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 19, 2014, 08:56:21 AM
Yeah, so it seems. ;)

How that could enrich Wagner's operas......Gesamtkunstwerk should be the synthesis of arts, where poetry, music, dramaturgy, figurative arts converge via the theatre; in productions like Castorf's music, libretto and staging don't match at all (e.g. Siegfried sings he's forging a sword while assembling a gun), they don't respect Wagner's conception of myth and total work of art, they seem to be created just to stimulate the audience's attention with something extavagant. If you want to stage Wagner's operas, you can't go too far from the composer's original ideas, otherwise it's not Wagner anymore.
Hmmm....Wagner's operas (probably more so than any other composer's) say many things to many people, and have been doing so for generations now...I'd go as far as saying that exploiting the immense riches of these works, to shed new light on them, is almost a duty for any decent stage director, and is to a certain extent what Bayreuth has been all about (since 1951)...

Wagner's works are not museum pieces...they are one of the greatest achievements the human mind has produced in the arts, and as such are (should be) subject to constant reinterpretation...

Kinder, schafft Neues!  :)

If you if you can read Spanish, Ilaria, here are my comments on the Castorf Ring from this summer, in case they interest you  ;) : http://gustav-mahler.foroactivo.com.es/t402p340-richard-wagner



Coi più cari saluti,

kaergaard

Netrebko vs. Neuenfels

Those two stars of the opera world have a difference of opinion and now she is out, he is in. It has something to do with the different interpretation of Manon, of her dealing with the two men in her life. Netrebko insist Manon has no problem, Neuenfels believes Manon should express difficulties. Neuenfels relies on his male star Jonas Kaufmann, who presents his artistic creativity and manages to find a solution, and Kristine Opolais, who sang Manon with him in London, was available for the successful performance at the Münchner Staatsoper.

Btw: Netrebko is getting, ahem: hefty?


Lisztianwagner

Quote from: ritter on November 22, 2014, 07:47:51 AM
Hmmm....Wagner's operas (probably more so than any other composer's) say many things to many people, and have been doing so for generations now...I'd go as far as saying that exploiting the immense riches of these works, to shed new light on them, is almost a duty for any decent stage director, and is to a certain extent what Bayreuth has been all about (since 1951)...

Wagner's works are not museum pieces...they are one of the greatest achievements the human mind has produced in the arts, and as such are (should be) subject to constant reinterpretation...

Kinder, schafft Neues!  :)

If you if you can read Spanish, Ilaria, here are my comments on the Castorf Ring from this summer, in case they interest you  ;) : http://gustav-mahler.foroactivo.com.es/t402p340-richard-wagner



Coi più cari saluti,

Wagner also said by Wotan: "Stets Gewohntes nur magst du verstehn: doch was noch nie sich traf, danach trachtet mein Sinn"; but I don't think he meant precisely that kind of productions at all. I agree directors mustn't fossilize in the same staging (as Cosima did), they should explore the immense, rich wagnerian world to look for different keys of interpretation (those operas are so full of mysterious symbolism and meanings), but in my opinion, without forgetting and going too far from, as they stage Wagner's works, the elements of Wagner's ideology and musical conceptions.

Thank you, Rafael! I can speak a bit of Spanish, I'll read your comment with pleasure. ;)

They have chosen Meese's replacement, Uwe Laufenberg; I don't know this director, but I hope he'll do a good job: http://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/news/142/details_44.htm

Saludos grandísimos!
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

kaergaard

#626
This Wagner issue gets discussed, argued, at least once a year without any positive result. If you get tired of it, switch to another discussed, argued, issue: Contemporary directors, like Tscherniakov. Finally a different Il Trovatore. I am looking forward to Arkivmusic's mail on December first.

http://www.belairclassiques.com/blog/opera/il-trovatore/


ritter

Sadly, two prerstigious American mezzo-sopranos have passed away  :( :

- Janis Martin died on December 15, aged 75 in San Francisco. She tackeled both mezzo and soprano roles. I saw her as Kundry at the Vienna State Opera in the early 80s.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/music/article/Janis-Martin-operatic-mezzo-turned-soprano-is-5959088.php

- Irene Dalis died in Sacramento on December 14, aged 89. She is the Kundy in the legendary 1962 Knappertsbusch recording of Parsifal from Bayreuth.
http://www.sfgate.com/music/article/Opera-impresario-Irene-Dalis-is-dead-at-89-5956887.php

R.I.P.

Cato

The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach in a 1950's movie version is now touring the U.S. in a restored version.


Quote...Combining music, dance and cinema into a captivating whole in lush Technicolor, this gem of British cinema can now be seen in a new digital restoration that is the most complete version ever seen in the U.S. "The Tales of Hoffmann" was restored by the Film Foundation and the BFI National Archive in association with Studiocanal. The restoration was supervised by Powell's widow, the film editor Thelma Schoonmaker Powell; Martin Scorsese; and Ned Price of Warner Bros. It will have its U.S. theatrical premiere starting Friday at New York's Film Forum and the Cinefamily in Los Angeles, before traveling to cities including Boston, Chicago, Washington, Seattle, Santa Fe, N.M., San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif....

It was Sir Thomas Beecham, who had conducted music for "The Red Shoes," who first suggested that Powell and Pressburger film Jacques Offenbach's opera adapted from a play based on tales by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The score, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Beecham's baton using an English version of the libretto, was prerecorded, making it unnecessary to use a blimp to muffle the noise of the three-strip Technicolor camera. "The Tales of Hoffmann" was thus made with the freedom of a silent movie

See:

[url][/http://www.wsj.com/articles/three-lovers-lost-on-the-tales-of-hoffmann-1426023482url]
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

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

Wendell_E

"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

knight66

Sad news, and fingers crossed. Really as for anyone who is in treatment for this kind of illness.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

DavidA

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on November 19, 2014, 02:18:20 AM
You're not wrong, I'm not a fan of such modern, controversial productions; they completely distort Wagner's ideas and conception of Gesamtkunstwerk. For me, Castorf's Ring is heresy. Anyway, I respect your taste, Rafael. :)

Castorf's Ring is not heresy unless you're one of these people who believe Wagner is religion rather than an entertainment. Castoff is one of a growing number of theatrical rejects who have no talent and who can therefore only make an impression by being perverse. Kasparov Holton is another at ROH. I saw his Giovanni and it was a stinker. They are egotists to the extent that they believe it is there perogative to reinterpret the opera rather than serve the vision of the composer librettist. I hear the trash production at ROH was roundly booed the other night. I for one will not be wasting my money on such tripe. When I see an opera I want to see Mozart, verdi, Rossini, Wagner etc, without being distracted by an idiot's ego trip.

knight66

I also thought the Don Giovanni was dire and Holton' production of King Roger had severe problems. The critics substantially ignored them though.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

knight66

  http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,7253.msg249696/topicseen.html#msg249696 

Here is my review of the broadcast. I hoped that the production would be made available on DVD, but not so far appeared.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

knight66

I liked some aspects of it and disliked others, as I reported.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

king ubu

Quote from: DavidA on June 30, 2015, 10:00:21 PM
Castoff is one of a growing number of theatrical rejects who have no talent and who can therefore only make an impression by being perverse.

Huh? Really? More like: he's a fantastic (though controversely discussed - but shouldn't all art be?) director of plays - but why do opera houses always feel they need to get those people to stage old warhorses? If they want to hire such folks, have them do 20c/contemporary operas, would make more sense.
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/

Wendell_E

"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain


Lisztianwagner

Quote from: Wendell_E on July 11, 2015, 02:32:51 PM
Jon Vickers has died: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/canadian-born-tenor-jon-vickers-dies

I'm very sorry to read about that, he was one of my favourite tenors; I have always loved his performances with Karajan, for example in Tristan, Die Walkure and Fidelio. He could wonderfully portrayed the characters he sang with a passionate, dramatic voice. Rest in peace.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler