What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

Started by Tsaraslondon, April 10, 2017, 04:29:04 AM

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Spineur

Live performance of Snegurochka / Snow flower / Opéra de Paris

Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov
Libretto Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov/Alexandre Ostrovski

Opera with prologue and 4 acts (1882)

Direction musicale
    Mikhail Tatarnikov
Mise en scène
    Dmitri Tcherniakov

Snegourotchka (La Fille de neige)
    Aida Garifullina
Lel
    Yuriy Mynenko
Kupava
    Martina Serafin
Le Tzar Berendeï
    Maxim Paster
Mizguir
    Thomas Johannes Mayer
La Fée Printemps
    Elena Manistina
Le Bonhomme Hiver
    Vladimir Ognovenko

I spent a wonderful evening attending this opera.  It is an allegoric tale, not unlike Miyasaki anime movies, of love and spring as "snow flower" the daughter of "Spring Dame" and "Mr Frost" lands in a community as spring is coming.  Every young man and girl fall in love except her as she is not a human.  So she begs her mother to give her the ability to fall in love which happens, but then she melts as a consequence.  Somewhat of a folkloric opera, but the transposition by Dimiti Tcherniakov with some unreal scenes such as the forest tree which start moving around on stage provide a nice adaptation for contemporary audiences.

Aida Garifullina, 28yo, who sung the title role was the star of the evening.  A very fine and delicate voice, the perfect girl physique and a diaphanous skin, she was the perfect singer for this  role
Yuriy Mynenko, a countertenor plays the role of the sheperd.  A football player frame with this alto voice, this is quite something
Dame Spring (alto) was really poor, Tsar Berendeï (tenor) was a bit better but not very impessive.

Here are a few photos




Spineur

And a couple more


ComposerOfAvantGarde

Spineur, that looks amazing! What a wonderful evening that must have been. :)

Spineur

Quote from: jessop on April 30, 2017, 11:29:26 PM
Spineur, that looks amazing! What a wonderful evening that must have been. :)
Next: La Cenerentola in june
Don Carlos with Kaufmann and Yoncheva in the Fall
Fastaff in November
La Clemenza di Tito in Jan 2018
Pelleas et Melisande in April 2018

Tsaraslondon



Abbado's recording of Macbeth came out round about the same time as Muti's, and I have always preferred it. As in the Abbado Simon Boccanegra Cappuccilli is inspired to give one of his best performances on disc, and Verrett, though vocally more fallible than Cossotto on the Muti, is a psychologically more complex and interesting Lady Macbeth. I also prefer Abbado's more symphonic approach to the score, his La Scala forces playing brilliantly for him.

Sonically, of course, it is in a different league from the De Sabata live performance with Callas, and this would be my studio choice, but Callas is unbeatable in the role of Lady Macbeth, so the De Sabata is still the one I listen to most often.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

ComposerOfAvantGarde

I listened to act 1 of this a couple of days ago so now I guess I'll do acts 2 and 3


Turner

Mozart - Idomeneo / Adam Fischer & soloists, Danish Radio Sinfonietta

First listen to this recording.
Haven´t paid much attention to the work before, but recently I got very fond of Lucio Silla/Harnoncourt.

Bought the Fischer recording second hand via a gift card, and I also have the Davis and Harnoncourt versions as LPs.

Once again, an attractive work & a fine recording.

king ubu

next up on stage:

Haydn - Orlando Paladino (Riccardo Minasi)
http://www.opernhaus.ch/en/activity/detail/orlando-paladino-16-05-2017-18724/

Verdi - Macbeth (Gianandrea Noseda)
http://www.opernhaus.ch/en/activity/detail/macbeth-05-05-2017-18702/

Prokofiev - The Fiery Angel (Gianandrea Noseda)
http://www.opernhaus.ch/en/activity/detail/der-feurige-engel-07-05-2017-18710/

So far have heard none of them, looking forward a lot!
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/

Tsaraslondon



Verdi's I Masnadieri was a commission for London's Her Majesty's Theatre, the leading soprano role, Amalia written specifically for the talents of the Swedish nightingale, Jenny Lind. Though written after Macbeth, it was conceived before and consequently lives more in the world of Attila, with few of the original touches we find in even the first version of Macbeth. You will look in vain for anything as startling as Lady Macbeth's Sleepwalking Scene. There are of course some wonderful moments, prefiguring what we will hear in the middle period masterpieces, but they are just moments, less bound into the whole than they are in Macbeth.

Another excellent performance in the Philips series, with Caballe perfectly fulfilling the gentle coloratura requirements of Lind's role. Bergonzi is as stylish as ever as Carlo, Cappuccilli a fine Francesco and Raimondi excellent in the Lablache role of Massimiliano. Gardelli conducts as ever with a fine appreciation of early Verdian style.

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

ComposerOfAvantGarde

The final stretch!



Also, my favourite of the four but just by a tiny little bit ;D

Spineur

Antonio Salieri "Les Danaides"



This is what Berlioz wrote after attending this opera
One evening I paid a visit to the Opéra. There I saw Les Danaïdes, by Salieri. The gorgeous splendor of the spectacle, the rich fullness of the orchestra and the chorus, the wonderful voice and pathetic charm of Madame Branchu, rugged power [] filled me with an excitement and enthusiasm that I cannot attempt to describe.

Les Talens Lyriques under Christophe Rousset give here a very convincing performance of this blody mythological tale.  Next step: a live performance ?

Spineur

Being ill these days I am cutting my listening program to not too demanding pieces.  I chose Rockwell Blake a very light tenor with an extremely agile voice perfectly suited to Rossini.  In this light french repertoire he is adorable.  His aria from "La Dame Blanche" will break the most harden hearts

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Spineur

La forza del destino

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Such a powerful Verdi !

Tsaraslondon



On balance this is still the best recording of Nabucco out there. Gobbi was nearing the end of his career, but is still superb, bringing the character alive like no other. Souliotis, at the beginning of her brief career, is stupendous as Abigaille, though the seeds of her demise can be heard in the thrilling recklessness of her singing. None of her later recordings is so successful.

None of the other singers is as interesting, but Gardelli's conducting is, as always, first rate, and the 1960s Decca recording wonderfully clear.

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

ritter

#134
Quote from: Tsaraslondon on May 10, 2017, 02:13:30 AM

...Souliotis, at the beginning of her brief career, is stupendous as Abigaille, though the seeds of her demise can be heard in the thrilling recklessness of her singing....
Very true! Her "Salgo già nel trono aurato...", in its sheer recklessness (as you rghtly point out), always sends shivers down my spine...  :)

I must say that Sinopoli's Berlin version on DG (with another fantastic Abigaille in Ghena Dimitrova , and with the recklessness--in a good way--coming from the conductor's handling of the orchestra) is also quite good IMHO.

Regards,





Tsaraslondon

#136


On balance, this is probably my favourite recording of Otello, though I don't much care for Leonie Rysanek's Desdemona. It was recorded before Vickers had stage experience of the role, but he is still a great Otello and Gobbi arguably the best Iago on disc. Serafin conducts in the central Italian tradition; no great surprises, but unfailingly and unobtrusively right.

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

Tsaraslondon

#137


There is little doubt in my mind that Vickers and Domingo were the two greatest Otellos of the latter part of the twentieth century, so it is only right that I should follow Vickers with Domingo. Though Domingo probes deeper in his later recordings (and in the many visual documents we have of his portrayal), I value this first one for the imaginative and musical singing of Scotto as Desdemona. Others (Tebaldi, for instance) may have sung the role with more beauty of tone, but few make the character come alive so well. Milnes is also in fine form, and, I think, better than any of the Iagos on Domingo's other recordings (Leiferkus is also interesting, but less vocally entitled). This is also one of Levine's best Verdi recordings, a lot less bombastic than he was apt to be in early Verdi.


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

kishnevi

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on May 14, 2017, 04:44:10 AM


There is little doubt in my mind that Vickers and Domingo were the two greatest Otellos of the latter part of the twentieth century, so it is only right that I should follow Vickers with Domingo. Though Domingo probes deeper in his later recordings (and in the many visual documents we have of his portrayal), I value this first one for the imaginative and musical singing of Scotto as Desdemona. Others (Tebaldi, for instance) may have sung the role with more beauty of tone, but few make the character come alive so well. Milnes is also in fine form, and, I think, better than any of the Iagos on Domingo's other recordings (Leiferkus is also interesting, but less vocally entitled). This is also one of Levine's best Verdi recordings, a lot less bombastic than he was apt to be in early Verdi.

Given how easy it is to be bombastic in early Verdi....

I saw Milnes do Iago live when the Met toured the Zeffirelli production in 1979.   Richard Cassilly sang Otello: a substitute for Vickers, who claimed illness (rumor said he did this so often that the announcement before the performance was no surprise to most of the audience), and Gilda Cruz-Romo sang Desdemona.  Levine conducted, but I don't remember anything beyond the general feeling the man knew what he was doing.

When I say Milnes did Iago, I mean that he did more than just sing it, he also acted it, and to get the full impact of his performance one would need the video record.

I think I have this recording in a set not yet listened to....

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on May 14, 2017, 06:59:53 AM
Given how easy it is to be bombastic in early Verdi....


Well that rather depends on the conductor. Gardelli mostly avoids it in his Philips series, whereas Levine, in Giovanna d'Arco for instance, which he recorded for EMI, doesn't.

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