What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

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

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Mirror Image

Quote from: ritter on April 09, 2021, 12:44:03 AM
Wonderful! Glad you enjoy this masterpiece. A great, noble work, beautifully served in this recording.

+ 1 A masterpiece, indeed.

bhodges

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on April 09, 2021, 12:30:22 AM


A recent purchase for me and my first listen to this opera.

What an extraordinary piece this is, thrillingly and intensely dramatic and this is a terrific performance. I can't imagine it being done better than it is here. Van Dam is at the height of his powers and is absolutely superb in an incredibly taxing role. The rest of the cast, with big names brought in to sing quite small roles, could hardly be bettered and the Monte Carlo orchestra play superbly under Lawrence Foster.

This is the most exciting discovery I've made in a long time. I can only assume that the difficulty of finding a bass-baritone to fulfil the role of Oedipe is the only reason it is not performed more often, because the opera truly is a twentieth century masterpiece.

I double-checked the Met's website just to be sure, but of course, it has never been staged there. ("Hello, Met Opera? Any interest in— Oh, never mind.") But I'm adding this recording to the queue.

--Bruce

Tsaraslondon



Lakmé was no doubt Mady Mesplé's greatest role and this recording, made in 1970, is a superb tribute to her art. I haven't heard the recording with Dessay, but this one is much better than the rather lifeless Sutherland recording. It benefits from a totally French cast, orchestra, chorus and conductor and therefore feels much more authentically French.

Burles has a lighter voice than Vanzo on the Sutherland recording, but I don't mind that at all and he is an engaging presence, whilst Soyer makes a superb Nilakantha. As for Mesplé, well her slightly astringent, bright tone might not be to everyone's tastes, but she does sound authentically French. In the right role she is superb, and this is certainly the right role for her. Whilst I love her in Offenbach operettas, I think this is probaby the best thing she ever did for the gramophone.

All in all, this set makes a great case for the piece. I note that it was a top recommendation on BBC's Building a Library in 2019.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Brewski on April 09, 2021, 10:29:46 AM
I double-checked the Met's website just to be sure, but of course, it has never been staged there. ("Hello, Met Opera? Any interest in— Oh, never mind.") But I'm adding this recording to the queue.

--Bruce

It's been shamefully neglected almost everywhere. Very few performances since its premiere in 1936.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

pjme

#2424
A rarity I found in a second hand shop - alas, booklet missing - years ago: Kodaly's "Spinning room".

The sound is sometimes a bit boomy, some voices very "creamy", others (the soprano) a bit shrill.
The Spinning Room is a short one-act stage work (ca 80 mins.), more a collection of 21 folksongs than a taut dramatic structure based on a libretto.  It is almost a large scale "folksong symphony" with soloists and chorus.
The story line is thin:  an old man is dying and three women are mourning. Various characters flow in and out, singing of their dreams and memories, tell stories, make jokes, and join in communal dancing.
Kodaly's mastery of the orchestra however binds it together and makes for musical and dramatic sense.
It is full of Hungarian schwung & charm, swirling dances, outdoor echoes, church bells, sobs and cries....



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sz%C3%A9kelyfon%C3%B3

https://www.youtube.com/v/lpU4s1BvcjQ
In 1982
https://www.youtube.com/v/-a24LT7mxms
In 2016


André

#2425

Catching up on some operatic releases I've watched/heard in the past weeks:







Berg: Lulu. I've known the Lulu-Suite for some 40 years now. It was concocted by Berg in 1934 as a preview to his latest opus, which he wouldn't live to complete. IMO it's still the best there is in this work. The music of course is fascinating, but as a dramatic work Lulu suffers from the fatal flaw of not having a single likeable character. In Wozzeck one cannot but root for Wozzeck and Marie. It's hard to find the 'human interest' in Lulu. In Pabst's movie (1929) the luminous acting of Louise Brooks made her character infinitely more complex and fetching. Of course singers are not actors, but I still cannot reconcile a score that is truly fascinating with a story and characters that are mostly unpleasant. My loss, I know.

Zimmermann: Die Soldaten. This, too, is a production from the Salzburg Festival from the huge stage of the Felsenreitschule - exploited to the hilt here, much to the benefit of Zimmermann's complex interplay of scenes. It just so happens that the main character, Marie, is another femme fatale turned prostitute. The story does not revolve exactly around her, but she is the pivot from which relationships develop - mostly a series of dead ends. The real 'star' is Zimmermann's gigantic orchestral score (stunningly played by the Wiener Philharmoniker). Vocally Zimmermann deploys a dizzying array of singing, shouting, vocalizing - sometimes all at once from various parts of the stage, involving different scenes played simultaneously. It is an absolute hoot. Among the performers (it's a huge cast) the singing of Gabriela Benackova as the old Countess is astounding. She was about 65 at the time and displays amazing security through a huge range. The whole cast is excellent, but it's really the orchestral score and the scenic production that take the breath away.


Mozart
: La Clemenza di Tito. Honestly I find it hard to muster much enthusiasm for the work composed by Mozart in  the waning genre of opera seria. The music is good but not great Mozart. I can't help finding that the best is the Overture, played here with gusto and almost manic energy by Harnoncourt and the excellent Zurich orchestra (natural horns and trumpets). Of course there is Sesto's big scena with obbligato clarinet. It could be one of his many concert arias, a genre in which excelled. Take that away and the musical quotient becomes of a much lower level. The singing is mostly excellent. The female voices are sometimes hard to distinguish from one another. Fortunately the important role of Vitellia is taken by Lucia Popp, and easy to pick from the others.

Mirror Image

Quote from: André on April 10, 2021, 05:03:50 PM

Berg: Lulu. I've known the Lulu-Suite for some 40 years now. It was concocted by Berg in 1934 as a preview to his latest opus, which he wouldn't live to complete. IMO it's still the best there is in this work. The music of course is fascinating, but as a dramatic work Lulu suffers from the fatal flaw of not having a single likeable character. In Wozzeck one cannot but root for Wozzeck and Marie. It's hard to find the 'human interest' in Lulu. In Pabst's movie (1929) the luminous acting of Louise Brooks made her character infinitely more complex and fetching. Of course singers are not actors, but I still cannot reconcile a score that is truly fascinating with a story and characters that are mostly unpleasant. My loss, I know.

I think Wozzeck is one of the pinnacles of 20th Century opera, but I feel a bit differently about Lulu. Like you, I find the music fascinating, but I don't find it as a memorable as Wozzeck. I do love that Lulu-Suite however. Berg is one of my favorite composers, but really do feel that Lulu would've been given a bit more time to develop compositionally if he lived long enough to see it through. I am thankful for the music he has left behind as he was such a perfectionist and it seemed to talk him a long time to be fully satisfied with a work for it to finally get a performance.

Tsaraslondon



Fauré's opera suffers from a lack of real drama, though the second act improves on the first. It does however make good at home listening and this is a very fine performance with Jessye Norman at the height of her powers.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Mirror Image

#2428
Cross-posted from the 'Listening' thread -

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 13, 2021, 04:09:34 PM
NP:

Strauss
Daphne
Hilde Gueden (soprano), Vera Little (mezzo-soprano), Rita Streich (soprano), Paul Schöffler (bass), Hans Braun (baritone), James King (tenor), Fritz Wunderlich (tenor), Erika Mechera (mezzo-soprano), Kurt Equiluz (tenor), Ludwig Welter (bass), Harald Pröglhöf (bass), Norbert Scherlich (chorus master), Hans Braun (bass)
Wiener Staatsopernorchester
Chor der Wiener Staatsoper
Karl Böhm




What a stunning opera this is! This was Strauss' next to last opera (his final one being Capriccio) and just when you think someone has said all there is to say in this medium, he composes Daphne (but also Capriccio). This is a late work and there's a string of late works that show a burst of creativity and a newfound enthusiasm with works such as Metamorphosen, Oboe Concerto, Horn Concerto No. 2, the Sonatas for Winds and Vier letzte Lieder. I'm sure I'm leaving out some other works, but as you can see he still had that spark in his later years. This particular recording with Böhm is a live recording, but the stage noise is kept to a minimum. Böhm is completely in his element in Strauss' operas. I have most of his recordings that he did of Strauss' operas. Tomorrow, I might end up giving a listen to Capriccio since it's been quite some time since I've listened to it. I still need to get around to finishing Die Frau ohne Schatten. As for my own Strauss opera collection, it's a mix of Solti and Böhm. Do any of you have any opinions of Sinopoli's recordings of the Strauss operas? I know he didn't conduct all of them, he's done quite a few. I should get the rest of the Solti recordings as I'm missing Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten from him.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 13, 2021, 08:51:41 PM
As for my own Strauss opera collection, it's a mix of Solti and Böhm. .

Funnily enough mine is all Karajan and Sawallisch.  Karajan for Der Rosenkavalier, Salome and Ariadne auf Naxos. Sawallisch for Capriccio, Arabella, Elektra and Die Frau ohne Schatten. I don't have a recording of Daphne but I do like Fleming in Strauss, so I'd probably lean towards her recording, though Bõhm does have Wunderlich, one of the only tenors who manages to make Strauss's tenor writing sound beautiful.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Mirror Image

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on April 14, 2021, 01:04:32 AM
Funnily enough mine is all Karajan and Sawallisch.  Karajan for Der Rosenkavalier, Salome and Ariadne auf Naxos. Sawallisch for Capriccio, Arabella, Elektra and Die Frau ohne Schatten. I don't have a recording of Daphne but I do like Fleming in Strauss, so I'd probably lean towards her recording, though Bõhm does have Wunderlich, one of the only tenors who manages to make Strauss's tenor writing sound beautiful.

I own Karajan in Der Rosenkavalier, but I've never listened to it. I should rectify that at some point. I'm not sure about Sawallisch. I think he's a fine conductor and has done some good work, but I'm not sure he could clear my mind of Solti and Böhm, especially since I don't think of him as a Straussian. But opinions can be change. What do you think of Sinopoli's Strauss opera recordings? Have you heard any? I'm reading mixed reviews on them --- some like him, some don't...the usual stuff you read.

Ganondorf

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 13, 2021, 08:51:41 PMThis was Strauss' next to last opera (his final one being Capriccio)

Actually, Strauss's penultimate opera is Die Liebe Der Danae.

JBS

My favorite Rosenkavalier is on DVD, but it was later released on CD

I have the set with all of Solti's Strauss operas, and they're all good. But my favorite FrOSch is Sawallisch.

I don't think I've ever heard Sinopoli in Strauss.

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

ritter

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 13, 2021, 08:51:41 PM
Cross-posted from the 'Listening' thread -

What a stunning opera this is! This was Strauss' next to last opera (his final one being Capriccio) and just when you think someone has said all there is to say in this medium, he composes Daphne (but also Capriccio). This is a late work and there's a string of late works that show a burst of creativity and a newfound enthusiasm with works such as Metamorphosen, Oboe Concerto, Horn Concerto No. 2, the Sonatas for Winds and Vier letzte Lieder. I'm sure I'm leaving out some other works, but as you can see he still had that spark in his later years. This particular recording with Böhm is a live recording, but the stage noise is kept to a minimum. Böhm is completely in his element in Strauss' operas. I have most of his recordings that he did of Strauss' operas. Tomorrow, I might end up giving a listen to Capriccio since it's been quite some time since I've listened to it. I still need to get around to finishing Die Frau ohne Schatten. As for my own Strauss opera collection, it's a mix of Solti and Böhm. Do any of you have any opinions of Sinopoli's recordings of the Strauss operas? I know he didn't conduct all of them, he's done quite a few. I should get the rest of the Solti recordings as I'm missing Arabella, Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten from him.
Daphne indeed is lovely, even if it has its longueurs. This Greco-autumnal Strauss is rather interesting IMHO, and the closing transformation scene of the title character is ravishing. Strauss at the top of his game (the way this man wrote for the soprano voice is unbelievable!).

I have all of Sinopoli's Strauss opera recordings, and they're all very good (usually with orchestras—Vienna and Dresden—with a strong affinity to the composer). Highlights for me are his Elektra (with a stunning Klytemnästra of Hanna Schwarz), and one of the best Ariadne auf Naxos ever recorded (Nathalie Dessay is a great Zerbinetta). His Die Frau ohne Schatten is sumptuous orchestrally, but it's a curious affair: recorded live in Dresden, with the tenor part was spliced in at the studio later (as Ben Heppner was not involved in the stage performances). It's also cut (à la Böhm). TBH, I've fallen out with FroSch—the work itself—over the years (after having strongly admired it when I first encountered it). Sinopoli also recorded Friedenstag (but I find little to enjoy in this bore of an opera).

Böhm is my go-to Strauss conductor (in opera and in the tone poems), with Sinopoli a close second. I've never cared for Solti in anything (well, almost anything), and my problem with the Karajan recordings of Strauss operas is the presence (in the famous Rosenkavalier and in Ariadne) of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, a soprano whose (admittedly widely acclaimed) artistry I've never warmed to.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 14, 2021, 06:30:43 AM
I own Karajan in Der Rosenkavalier, but I've never listened to it. I should rectify that at some point. I'm not sure about Sawallisch. I think he's a fine conductor and has done some good work, but I'm not sure he could clear my mind of Solti and Böhm, especially since I don't think of him as a Straussian. But opinions can be change. What do you think of Sinopoli's Strauss opera recordings? Have you heard any? I'm reading mixed reviews on them --- some like him, some don't...the usual stuff you read.

I've only heard bits of Sinopoli's Strauss recordings as his casts rarely appeal to me. I don't much like Solti's Strauss, to be honest, so we might have different views, but Sawaliisch was always well known for his Strauss recordings, right from the superb Capriccio, with a cast that could hardly be bettered (Schwarzkopf in one of her greatest roles, Fischer-Dieskau, Wächter, Gedda and Hotter). It's mono but the sound is excellent. He finds much more lyricism in a score like Elektra  than Solti does, which is possibly why I prefer his recording, even if Nilsson is arguably the best Elektra on disc. The first Karajan Rosenkavalier is a classic, with Schwarzkopf's definitive Marschallin. I don't think his second recording is anywhere near as good.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

Mirror Image

Quote from: ritter on April 14, 2021, 09:34:06 AM
Daphne indeed is lovely, even if it has its longueurs. This Greco-autumnal Strauss is rather interesting IMHO, and the closing transformation scene of the title character is ravishing. Strauss at the top of his game (the way this man wrote for the soprano voice is unbelievable!).

I have all of Sinopoli's Strauss opera recordings, and they're all very good (usually with orchestras—Vienna and Dresden—with a strong affinity to the composer). Highlights for me are his Elektra (with a stunning Klytemnästra of Hanna Schwarz), and one of the best Ariadne auf Naxos ever recorded (Nathalie Dessay is a great Zerbinetta). His Die Frau ohne Schatten is sumptuous orchestrally, but it's a curious affair: recorded live in Dresden, with the tenor part was spliced in at the studio later (as Ben Heppner was not involved in the stage performances). It's also cut (à la Böhm). TBH, I've fallen out with FroSch—the work itself—over the years (after having strongly admired it when I first encountered it). Sinopoli also recorded Friedenstag (but I find little to enjoy in this bore of an opera).

Böhm is my go-to Strauss conductor (in opera and in the tone poems), with Sinopoli a close second. I've never cared for Solti in anything (well, almost anything), and my problem with the Karajan recordings of Strauss operas is the presence (in the famous Rosenkavalier and in Ariadne) of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, a soprano whose (admittedly widely acclaimed) artistry I've never warmed to.

Thanks for the detailed write-up, Rafael. You've certainly helped me tip the table in Sinopoli's favor for sure. Interesting opinion on Schwarzkopf. She's certainly won me over in her Vier letzte Lieder, which curiously I only got around to buying the other day. I'll see what I can grab of Sinopoli's Strauss. I already own his performances of many of the tone poems.

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: ritter on April 14, 2021, 09:34:06 AM
and my problem with the Karajan recordings of Strauss operas is the presence (in the famous Rosenkavalier and in Ariadne) of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, a soprano whose (admittedly widely acclaimed) artistry I've never warmed to.

Whereas, for me, Schwarzkopf is the main reason why I love those recordings. I've never understood the charges of mannerism and over artfulness, especially in Der Rosenkavalier. Hofmannsthal's text is so good that it could almost be performed as a straight play. It really needs singers with experience in Lieder, which is one of the reasons Schwarzkopf, and Lotte Lehmann before her, are so successful. With Schwarzkopf I feel as if I can see every fleeting change of expression. I hear some other little detail every time I hear the recording.

On the other hand, I agree with you about Solti. Not a fan at all.

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

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: Mirror Image on April 14, 2021, 10:08:38 AM
Thanks for the detailed write-up, Rafael. You've certainly helped me tip the table in Sinopoli's favor for sure. Interesting opinion on Schwarzkopf. She's certainly won me over in her Vier letzte Lieder, which curiously I only got around to buying the other day. I'll see what I can grab of Sinopoli's Strauss. I already own his performances of many of the tone poems.

If you like Schwarzkopf in the VLL, then you will love her Marschallin, I have no doubt at all.
\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

ritter

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on April 14, 2021, 10:13:48 AM
Whereas, for me, Schwarzkopf is the main reason why I love those recordings. I've never understood the charges of mannerism and over artfulness, especially in Der Rosenkavalier. Hofmannsthal's text is so good that it could almost be performed as a straight play. It really needs singers with experience in Lieder, which is one of the reasons Schwarzkopf, and Lotte Lehmann before her, are so successful. With Schwarzkopf I feel as if I can see every fleeting change of expression. I hear some other little detail every time I hear the recording.

On the other hand, I agree with you about Solti. Not a fan at all.
Yes, I'm firmly in the camp of those who find Schwarzkopf mannered and overtly artful, and her extremely detailed (or some would say, over-studied) portrayals come through as cold and detached to my ears. But I know I'm in a minority here (and some people I knew who experienced her live onstage say she really was something).

Fortunately, there's a live Karajan Rosenkavalier with the great Lisa della Casa (available in the DG Salzburg Festival boxes). It was the opening performance of the Grosses Festspielhaus (della Casa got to sing the Marschallin in the theatre, and Schwarzkopf in the film production).


Mirror Image

Quote from: Tsaraslondon on April 14, 2021, 10:15:14 AM
If you like Schwarzkopf in the VLL, then you will love her Marschallin, I have no doubt at all.

Cool, but I have already bought four of Sinopoli's recordings of Strauss operas (plus, I have already a bunch of Strauss on the way prior to these purchases), but I'll definitely keep it mind.