General Opera News

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

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ritter

Sad news indeed. I was lucky enough to see him onstage towards the end of his distinguished career as Parsifal in Chicago (1987?)...I must admit he was never a favourite of mine, but this in no way means I do not acknowledge his stature as one of the most distinguished tenors of the 60s and 70s.

RIP Jon Vickers...

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/

Cato

From the July 21, 2015 Wall Street Journal:

Richard Strauss's seldom-staged late opera "Daphne" (1938), a one-act retelling of the Greek myth of the reluctant nymph pursued by Apollo, is a long way from the clangorous ferocity of his popular one-acters, "Elektra" and "Salome." Yet for all its pastoral beauties, the opera poses plenty of challenges for the orchestra and the principal singers, which were handily surmounted in the Cleveland Orchestra's concert performance at Avery Fisher Hall as part of the Lincoln Center Festival last week.

Under the sensitive leadership of Franz Welser-Möst, who allowed it to erupt only when the moment demanded, the ensemble excelled in flexibility and transparency. In an opera that relies on evocative scene-painting, the performers used a full palette and brushes of many sizes. Segueing effortlessly from the delicacy of the woodwind opening, to the Dionysian dances that recall the catchy Viennese waltzes of "Der Rosenkavalier," to the raucous violence of the livestock stampede near the end, Mr. Welser-Möst also underlined the explicit Freudian theme of the opera, which is, effectively, about a young girl who is terrified of adulthood and sex.


See:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/daphne-and-la-favorite-reviews-1437429718
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

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

king ubu

Welser-Möst's lauded "Rosenkavalier" will be on tv tonight on German 3sat:
http://www.3sat.de/page/?source=/musik/182236/index.html
For those who read German, here's a review of it:
http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/buehne/vor-dem-grossen-einschnitt-1.18355785

Already watched the broadcast of "Turandot" from Bregenz last night (also on 3sat - first act was live, after that they had to move inside and thus 3sat offered the recording of the premiere on Wednesday). Good, not great, I found - but worth watching it surely was.
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/

jlaurson

Quote from: king ubu on July 25, 2015, 02:24:05 AM
Welser-Möst's lauded "Rosenkavalier" will be on tv tonight on German 3sat:
http://www.3sat.de/page/?source=/musik/182236/index.html
For those who read German, here's a review of it:
http://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/buehne/vor-dem-grossen-einschnitt-1.18355785

Already watched the broadcast of "Turandot" from Bregenz last night (also on 3sat - first act was live, after that they had to move inside and thus 3sat offered the recording of the premiere on Wednesday). Good, not great, I found - but worth watching it surely was.

I'll see Turandot in Bregenz tomorrow... I'm so glad it's my least-unliked opera by Puccini. :-)

Here's a review of said Rosenkavalier in English, btw: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2014/08/notes-from-2014-salzburg-festival-13.html

king ubu

So, what did you think Lars?

The "Rosenkavalier" was amazing, I found! Truly outstanding in every respect. And having the entire slippery account of the Baron and his affairs in act 1 was hilarious indeed - they should switch to only play the unshortened opera now and forever!
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

A somewhat lukewarm review of Appomattox by P. Glass.

Quote...For the new version, the creators compressed the Civil War story into Act I, taking out some of the vivid 20th-century events that depicted the continuing struggle and moving others into Act II. Act I now seems flat without them, its overwhelming musical environment one of exhaustion after years of war...

...a handful of such lyrical set pieces; another is Julia Grant's poignant aria about how her husband is not really a butcher. ( Melody Moore, a luxuriantly voiced soprano, was imposing; as Gen. Grant, Richard Paul Fink sounded strained and harsh.) Otherwise, the vocal writing is set for maximum intelligibility, more recitative than aria, leaning on Mr. Hampton's compelling text without musically illuminating individual characters. ...

Composer and librettist tried to suggest (Martin Luther) King's distinctive preacherly eloquence, but the smooth surface of their creation, even with the original setting of lines from the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," doesn't evoke the rhythm of his speech or transmit its full weight and power....



See:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/appomattox-review-the-war-were-still-fighting-1447799780?alg=y
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

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


Cato

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on November 18, 2015, 06:29:38 PM
Equally lukewarm is Jens's blogmate
http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2015/11/glasss-new-appomattox-long-battle.html

Ironic that a composer known for Minimalism is accused of being long and tedious.   0:)
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

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

Karl Henning

Quote from: Cato on November 19, 2015, 03:19:36 AM
Ironic that a composer known for Minimalism is accused of being long and tedious.   0:)

(* bites his tongue, only not terribly hard *)
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

listener

A production of GINASTERA'S Beatrix Cenci is scheduled in the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires this March.
details  http://www.boosey.com/cr/news/Ginastera-s-Beatrix-Cenci-in-Buenos-Aires/100775
"Keep your hand on the throttle and your eye on the rail as you walk through life's pathway."

Wendell_E

MODO reframes 'Carmen' against 'Orange Is the New Black'
Quote
Carmen is an inmate; Don Jose is a guard. All of the defining music is here, but there are other wrinkles that add layers of gender-bending metaphor. Carmen will be portrayed as transgender. Jennifer Trombley will sing the title role at two of the performances, but at the other two, countertenor Bryan DeSilva will take over the role. In addition, at two of the performances, Don Jose will be sung by soprano Melissa Crosby appearing as a woman (not as a man in a so-called trouser role) — a nod to the numerous lesbian relationships in "Orange Is the New Black."

Carmen is an inmate; Don Jose is a guard. All of the defining music is here, but there are other wrinkles that add layers of gender-bending metaphor. Carmen will be portrayed as transgender. Jennifer Trombley will sing the title role at two of the performances, but at the other two, countertenor Bryan DeSilva will take over the role. In addition, at two of the performances, Don Jose will be sung by soprano Melissa Crosby appearing as a woman (not as a man in a so-called trouser role) — a nod to the numerous lesbian relationships in "Orange Is the New Black."
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain

knight66

In which case, is it really Bizet's Carmen?

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

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

kishnevi

If naught else, Bizarre Carmen....

What is MODO? For future reference, so if I encounter them, I can run away in time.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: karlhenning on February 19, 2016, 05:56:39 AM
Baz Luhrmann's Carmen?...

Is Baz Luhrmann involved? I loved his La Boheme for Australian Opera back in the 1990s, which, though set in the 1950s, was completely true to the work.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Karl Henning

Quote from: Greg Mitchell on February 19, 2016, 10:21:23 AM
Is Baz Luhrmann involved? I loved his La Boheme for Australian Opera back in the 1990s, which, though set in the 1950s, was completely true to the work.
Not that I know, I was being facetious. (I love Strictly Ballroom but cannot help feeling that Moulin Rouge was severely overhyped.)
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

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: karlhenning on February 19, 2016, 11:59:24 AM
Not that I know, I was being facetious. (I love Strictly Ballroom but cannot help feeling that Moulin Rouge was severely overhyped.)

I LOVED Moulin Rouge  :) It's one of my favourite movies!
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

knight66

Greg, I could not get through it. I managed about half of it.

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

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: knight66 on February 19, 2016, 01:59:23 PM
Greg, I could not get through it. I managed about half of it.

Mike

It is rather a Marmite movie, it would seem  ;D
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas