What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Papy Oli]

A first listen to Madama Butterfly Act II (with Libretto).

[Papy Oli]

oh my...     

[Papy Oli]

Just starting:

Puccini - Madama Butterfly
Karajan, Freni
Act II



Maybe a glutton for punishment after the "heartbreak" of yesterday. I had just about recovered from Mimi's death some weeks ago that Butterfly dragged me through an hour and a half of vain hope and despair and death   

I found myself letting quite a loud gasp yesterday when Callas broke down into a heartbreaking  "Ah! m'ha scordata? / Ah! Has he forgotten me?".

That one line just wrecked me.

[Tsaraslondon]

Just starting:

Puccini - Madama Butterfly
Karajan, Freni
Act II



Maybe a glutton for punishment after the "heartbreak" of yesterday. I had just about recovered from Mimi's death some weeks ago that Butterfly dragged me through an hour and a half of vain hope and despair and death   

I found myself letting quite a loud gasp yesterday when Callas broke down into a heartbreaking  "Ah! m'ha scordata? / Ah! Has he forgotten me?".

That one line just wrecked me.

For all the sumptuousness of Karajan's second take on the opera, I do prefer his earlier take with Callas. It's moments such as the one you descibe that somehow encapsualate the whole of poor Butterfly's tragedy. Another moment that gets me every time, is when she sings to Kate in the last act, Sotto il gran ponte del cielo non v'è donna di voi più felice. (Under the great dome of heaven, there isn't a happier woman than you.)

But her portrayal is full of little details like that. I think the Callas/Karajan recording brings you closer to the stark tragedy of Butterfly than any of the other recordings I've heard, though I also have a soft spot for De Los Angeles under Gavazzeni (her first recording) and Scotto with Barbirolli.

[JBS]

Two one act comedies (although Larmes de couteau is a very dark comedy) that lean into theater of the absurd.

Performed in the original languages--French and English--with excellent liner notes by @SurprisedByBeauty

[VonStupp]

Karol Szymanowski
Król Roger

Thomas Hampson, baritone
Elzbieta Szmytka, soprano
Philip Langridge, tenor
Ryszard Minkiewicz, tenor

City of Birmingham SO, Chorus, & Youth Chorus
Simon Rattle

From the WAYL2N thread:
The last of Szymanowski for a while. I will spend today on and off with King Roger.
VS


From this set:

[Roasted Swan]

A rhetorical question - was a recording of a 'slighter' opera ever so starrily cast......?!



I do like Hansel & Gretel - it really is Wagner for youngsters with some folksy tunes thrown in for good measure.  The casting of this famous version is so stellar - only "mother" by Charlotte Berthold (did she ever record anything else - how come she was cast?) is anything but a vocal superstar in prime singing shape.  I like the fact that Christa Ludwig actually sings the part of the witch as opposed to hamming it up.  Moffo and Donath are just gorgeous and Popp and Auger in the tiny roles are luxury casting.  Eichorn's conducting is perfectly good and the Munich RSO play with energy and enthusiasm.  The recording is a bit harsh and 'glassy' but I find myself returning to this version more than any other other (for me Schwarkopf etc is just too 'arch')

[Tsaraslondon]

A rhetorical question - was a recording of a 'slighter' opera ever so starrily cast......?!



I do like Hansel & Gretel - it really is Wagner for youngsters with some folksy tunes thrown in for good measure.  The casting of this famous version is so stellar - only "mother" by Charlotte Berthold (did she ever record anything else - how come she was cast?) is anything but a vocal superstar in prime singing shape.  I like the fact that Christa Ludwig actually sings the part of the witch as opposed to hamming it up.  Moffo and Donath are just gorgeous and Popp and Auger in the tiny roles are luxury casting.  Eichorn's conducting is perfectly good and the Munich RSO play with energy and enthusiasm.  The recording is a bit harsh and 'glassy' but I find myself returning to this version more than any other other (for me Schwarkopf etc is just too 'arch')

Personally, I love the Karajan with Schwarzkopf and Grümmer and it would still be my top choice. (I've never quite understood the criticism of 'too arch'. I think it's delightful.)

Over the years, mind you, it has attracted quite a few starry casts on record. I haven't heard them all, so I can't tell you how successful they are.

Rothenberger and Seefried, with Grace Hoffman and Walter Berry as their parents, and Elizabeth Höngen as the Witch for Cluytens.
Popp and Fassbaender, with Julia Hamari and Walter Berry as the parents and Anny Schlemm as the Witch under Solti. This also has Norma Burrowes and Edita Gruberova as Sandman and Dew Fairy.
Cotrubas and Von Stade, with Christa Ludwig and Siegmund Nimsgern as the parents and Elisabeth Söderström as the Witch under John Pritchard. This one has no less than Kiri Te Kanawa and Ruth Welting as Sandman and Dew Fairy.
Bonney and Von Otter, with Hanna Schwarz and Andreas Schmidt as the parents under Jeffrey Tate, with Marjana Lipovsek as the Witch and Barbara Hendricks and Eva Lind as Sandman and dew Fairy.

All these are pretty starry, I'd say.

[JBS]

I remember liking this a lot when I saw it on a PBS broadcast

[Roasted Swan]

Personally, I love the Karajan with Schwarzkopf and Grümmer and it would still be my top choice. (I've never quite understood the criticism of 'too arch'. I think it's delightful.)

Over the years, mind you, it has attracted quite a few starry casts on record. I haven't heard them all, so I can't tell you how successful they are.

Rothenberger and Seefried, with Grace Hoffman and Walter Berry as their parents, and Elizabeth Höngen as the Witch for Cluytens.
Popp and Fassbaender, with Julia Hamari and Walter Berry as the parents and Anny Schlemm as the Witch under Solti. This also has Norma Burrowes and Edita Gruberova as Sandman and Dew Fairy.
Cotrubas and Von Stade, with Christa Ludwig and Siegmund Nimsgern as the parents and Elisabeth Söderström as the Witch under John Pritchard. This one has no less than Kiri Te Kanawa and Ruth Welting as Sandman and Dew Fairy.
Bonney and Von Otter, with Hanna Schwarz and Andreas Schmidt as the parents under Jeffrey Tate, with Marjana Lipovsek as the Witch and Barbara Hendricks and Eva Lind as Sandman and dew Fairy.

All these are pretty starry, I'd say.

Well I said it was a rhetorical question! - Genuinely starry casts all.  As a performance the Tate is very good indeed I think.  For me Schwarzkopf does sound like she is too consciously being "childlike" but of course that is just an opinion.

[Lisztianwagner]

Crosspost from the WAYLTN thread:

On youtube, first listen to this opera:
Luigi Dallapiccola
Volo di Notte

Leon Botstein & American Symphony Orchestra

[Roasted Swan]

I didn't really want/need/consider another "Pearl-Fishers" but then this 2-disc mono set popped up in a Charity shop for £1;



Gosh am I glad I bought it!  I have no idea if the edition is authoritative or "complete" or whatever (probably not on both fronts) but wow the actual sound of the singing is just glorious.  Why don't people sing like this any more.  I'm not sure I've ever been so "involved" in this work before.

[Florestan]

I didn't really want/need/consider another "Pearl-Fishers" but then this 2-disc mono set popped up in a Charity shop for £1;



Gosh am I glad I bought it!  I have no idea if the edition is authoritative or "complete" or whatever (probably not on both fronts) but wow the actual sound of the singing is just glorious.  Why don't people sing like this any more.  I'm not sure I've ever been so "involved" in this work before.

Thanks for this, wishlisted.

[Tsaraslondon]

Why don't people sing like this any more.

 That's a very good question, to which nobody has any easy answers. Perhaps it deserves a thread all of its own.

[Lisztianwagner]

First listen to this opera:

Engelbert Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel

Herbert von Karajan & Philharmonia Orchestra

[Florestan]

First listen to this opera:

Engelbert Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel

Herbert von Karajan & Philharmonia Orchestra

Delightful opera, excellent performance.

[Lisztianwagner]

Delightful opera, excellent performance.

Absolutely, delightful to say the least! Such a brilliant, lively opera, I liked very much the combination of the simplicity of the folk songs with the harmonic richness and the great variety of colours of the textures (the wagnerian influence could be clearly perceived, especially in the purely orchestral passages, like the Traum-Pantomine and the Preludes), as well as the suggestive expression of the sounds of the nature, like in the second and third act. The fairy, evocative atmosphere created by the music was mesmerizing (how German composers could handle the supernatural element was wonderful) and there was also a very enchanting use of waltzes and marches.
About the performance, the Karajan was extremely compelling, but was there any doubt about that? 

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Thanks for this, wishlisted.

I love the duet--particularly as sung by Björling and Merrill and also by Fischer-Dieskau and Bergonzi. 

PD

[Roasted Swan]

I love the duet--particularly as sung by Björling and Merrill and also by Fischer-Dieskau and Bergonzi. 

PD

Two fine versions - but not at all idiomatic.  When you hear French singers singing this its far more lyrical/tender/touching. Here is the excerpt from this recording (ignore the Pantomime Villain still!);

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Two fine versions - but not at all idiomatic.  When you hear French singers singing this its far more lyrical/tender/touching. Here is the excerpt from this recording (ignore the Pantomime Villain still!);

Lovely!  I do enjoy Leopold Simoneau's singing (have heard recordings of his in the past).  Don't recall hearing René Bianco's name before now?

PD