What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

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

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Jaakko Keskinen



One of my favorite Tchaikovsky operas! Next summer I'm probably going to Savonlinna to watch this, along with Gounod's Faust. Never seen either one before live.
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Alberich on September 02, 2017, 07:41:47 AM


One of my favorite Tchaikovsky operas! Next summer I'm probably going to Savonlinna to watch this, along with Gounod's Faust. Never seen either one before live.

I love this opera, though I'd probably go with this recording.



I also like this Glyndebourne video a lot too.



Marusin's voice is no doubt an acquired taste, but dramatically he's superb. It's a fantastic production too.


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

kishnevi

On now
[asin]B006W7SVNI[/asin]

Recorded in 1994, so the leads are listed as Lorraine Hunt, soprano and Mark Padmore counter-tenor

Tsaraslondon



I only previously knew this opera from the live Callas recording, which, even in its Divina incarnation, is in pretty dire sound. That said, Callas was at her vocal peak, tossing off intricate coloratura with spectacular ease, her voice huge and freewheeling. She had a spectacular success in the role, and, you can hear why even through the dim sound.

Gasdia may be no Callas, but she nonetheless acquits herself really well, and of course this set is in much better sound. I don't know if Scimone makes cuts, but it's safe to assume his edition is more scholarly than that used by Serafin, whose cuts were no doubt to some extent necessitated by the mediocrity of his tenors, none of whom were particularly adept at florid music. Chris Merritt, Bruce Ford and William Mateuzzi are in a completely different class.

Very enjoyable, if not quite as thrilling as the Callas, for all the vagaries of the sound.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas


Jaakko Keskinen



Just listened to this recording of I lombardi, rather a new Verdi opera to me. I enjoyed it a lot, far more actually than I enjoyed Nabucco.
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Alberich on September 04, 2017, 09:08:27 AM


Just listened to this recording of I lombardi, rather a new Verdi opera to me. I enjoyed it a lot, far more actually than I enjoyed Nabucco.

I like it quite a bit too, though there are other early Verdi operas I prefer. I just wish that they had cast another soprano. Deutekom is a bit shallow and colourless. This was, I think, the first in Philips early Verdi series. Deutekom sang in one other opera (Attila), but none of the others. Later we got Caballé, Norman, Cossotto, Ricciarelli and Sass.

There is a live recording from Covent Garden, also under Gardelli, with Carreras and Sylvia Sass, who is much to be preferred in the role of Griselda.



It was these Covent Garden performances that made Sass into a star, though her success was somewhat short lived, and she never quite lived up to the potential she showed here.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Ghost Sonata

Les urnes ne sont plus taciturnes :  "On December 24, 1907, 48 gramophone records of the greatest singers of the day were buried in the basement of the Paris Opéra, with instructions to leave them there for 100 years. In 2007, the records were unearthed and restored with painstaking care with the help of EMI Classics technicians. Now the contents of the so-called "Urnes de l'Opéra" are being released by EMI Classics in partnership with the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Opéra National de Paris, and the Association pour le Rayonnement de l'Opéra de Paris.  These recordings feature performances of mythic proportions, including Enrico Caruso in Bohème, Rigoletto, and Lucia; Nellie Melba singing Mozart's Figaro; Reynaldo Hahn singing his own composition and another by Chabrier; Pol Plançon as Méphistophélès; Adelina Patti in Don Giovanni; and more! The set also includes legendary instrumental soloists such as Fritz Kreisler, Raoul Pugno, Jan Kubelik, and Ignacy Paderewski."



I like Conor71's "I  like old Music" signature.

Spineur

Looks quite enticing.  Some opera time capsule..  How can one miss this.

Ghost Sonata

Quote from: Spineur on September 07, 2017, 10:05:36 AM
Looks quite enticing.  Some opera time capsule..  How can one miss this.

They're fun and interesting in and of themselves but I esp. enjoy the way they seem to tweak their noses at death, which I suppose all recordings do.  Reynaldo Hahn has a lovely baritone and seems as if born on the piano bench.   
I like Conor71's "I  like old Music" signature.

Spineur

#630
I will be attending a performance of Pelleas in 3 weeks time at Paris opera so it time to revisit the work.  I am listening this afternoon to Abbado's version with Le Roux, Maria Ewing, Van Dam and Christa Ludwig.  Slight reservation about Christa Ludwig who was 62 at the time of the recording.



I also have the historical 1962 recording directed by Engelbrecht, but I havent listened to it in a very.long time.

Todd





I decided to finally try La fanciulla del West.  The plot is beyond standard opera silly, and some of the libretto is cringey (Whiskey per tutti!), but the music is magnificent.  Beautiful, lush, refined, it might just be Puccini's most attractive score.  The end of Act I is mesmerizing, and pretty much all of Act II is sublime.  Typically, when I first listen to a new opera, I read the synopsis and libretto before listening, and follow along with the libretto again while listening.  I skipped this last step so I could focus on the music and singing.  The principals all do superb work.  Maazel's set is in the queue. 
The universe is change; life is opinion. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

People would rather believe than know - E.O. Wilson

Propaganda death ensemble - Tom Araya

kishnevi

Silly and cringey, but it's got one of the most dramatic poker games ever devised for stage or screen.
I do tend to cringe at all the stereotypical characters that get trotted out in Act I.

Mirror Image

Quote from: Spineur on September 09, 2017, 05:49:46 AM
I will be attending a performance of Pelleas in 3 weeks time at Paris opera so it time to revisit the work.  I am listening this afternoon to Abbado's version with Le Roux, Maria Ewing, Van Dam and Christa Ludwig.  Slight reservation about Christa Ludwig who was 62 at the time of the recording.



I also have the historical 1962 recording directed by Engelbrecht, but I havent listened to it in a very.long time.

Abbado's is fair, but do checkout Boulez's earlier account on Columbia. Also, Boulez has a great staged performance on DVD that's worth looking into.

Some links:

[asin]B000026I45[/asin]

[asin] B000068UXI[/asin]


Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Todd on September 09, 2017, 03:28:09 PM




I decided to finally try La fanciulla del West.  The plot is beyond standard opera silly, and some of the libretto is cringey (Whiskey per tutti!), but the music is magnificent.  Beautiful, lush, refined, it might just be Puccini's most attractive score.  The end of Act I is mesmerizing, and pretty much all of Act II is sublime.  Typically, when I first listen to a new opera, I read the synopsis and libretto before listening, and follow along with the libretto again while listening.  I skipped this last step so I could focus on the music and singing.  The principals all do superb work.  Maazel's set is in the queue.

This is the set to have. Neblett may not be as big a name as Nilsson or Tebaldi (she burned herself out quite quickly) but she has exactly the right voice for the role, less steely than Nilsson, more secure on high than Tebaldi. What's more, she was totally believable in the theatre too. Domingo is superb as Rance, and Milnes (who didn't sing Rance at Covent Garden) much more than the villain Rance is often portrayed. The recording was made at around the same time Neblett and Domingo were singing the roles at Covent Garden, and many of the male roles are taken by those who had been singing them on stage. From that point of view, it feels like a performance, not just a cast cobbled together for a recording.

It deservedly won a Gramophone Award and remains one of the best Puccini sets in the catalogue.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Mirror Image on September 09, 2017, 07:32:27 PM
Abbado's is fair, but do checkout Boulez's earlier account on Columbia. Also, Boulez has a great staged performance on DVD that's worth looking into.

Some links:

[asin]B000026I45[/asin]

[asin] B000068UXI[/asin]

I have the earlier Boulez account. He does bring out details in the orchestration that you might not have heard before, but, for me, it has always lacked atmosphere. The dry, analytical recording doesn't help either.

I'm not sure I have a favourite. Ingelbrecht is rightly revered, but the opera really cries out for modern recording. I don't know the Abbado, but it has had a good press.

Karajan is controversial. People tend to love or hate it. I rather like it, to be honest. The singing is generally excellent, and the orchestra play superbly.

A friend of mine, who had a lifelong passion for the opera, swore by Ansermet, who recorded it twice. The earlier mono version is more cohesive, but the later one enjoys wonderfully atmospheric Decca stereo sound.

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

Jaakko Keskinen

That Fanciulla recording is magnificent, for sure. As for Pelléas, I have special fondness for the Karajan recording.
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo

Spineur

At 18:30 (in 15 min) a documentary on the 1964 performance at Coven Garden of Callas in Tosca will be broadcasted on Arte TV.  Probably available on their web site later

Spineur

Quote from: Spineur on September 10, 2017, 08:19:01 AM
At 18:30 (in 15 min) a documentary on the 1964 performance at Coven Garden of Callas in Tosca will be broadcasted on Arte TV.  Probably available on their web site later
Only the act II has been filmed with Tito Gobbi as a saddistic Scarpia and  Callas as a fierce but wounded woman.  It will be broadcasted without the talking again at midnight.  The video quality is unfortunatelry poor.  This is part of the live warner box.  The Coven Garden live CD has the complete opera.

I would like to see a modern top quality recording of this opera.  I have a Caballé/Pavarotti recording, and even though I like it I always thought it was possible to do a bit better.  This Gobbi/Callas confrontation gives a possible path to follow. 

Spineur

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on September 10, 2017, 01:47:49 AM
I have the earlier Boulez account. He does bring out details in the orchestration that you might not have heard before, but, for me, it has always lacked atmosphere. The dry, analytical recording doesn't help either.

I'm not sure I have a favourite. Ingelbrecht is rightly revered, but the opera really cries out for modern recording. I don't know the Abbado, but it has had a good press.

Karajan is controversial...
Boulez wagnerize Debussy.  He justify his approach by the influence Wagner had on Debussy, which is not untrue.  Yet, Debussy is also the heir of an entrenched french tradition which he also considered as his.  Boulez was very interested in Wagner at the time as he was immersing himself in the ring for his Bayreuth project.  This is also a possible source of his choices.

The problem with Karajan, of the same nature, is compounded by an imperfect diction of some of the singers.

There is an even older quality version of Pelleas (sung by Camille Maurane as in the Inghelbrecht version) is Camille Desormiere who revived this opera after WWII.

I agree with most of you: a new high quality version of this opera would be most welcome, and I am really looking forward the live performance at the end of the month.