What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Cross-posted from the 'Listening' thread:

An anti-operatic double-bill!

Schoenberg
Erwartung, Op. 17
Jessye Norman, soprano
MET Opera
Levine



Feldman
Neither
Sarah Leonard, soprano
Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt
Zoltán Peskó

Some criticism for this performance of Feldman's Neither: I'm not fond of Sarah Leonard's voice which is too shrill (and not in an eerie, good Feldman-like way), but I love the orchestral performance a lot. The other recording on Col Legno is more to my own taste and the soprano in this recording Petra Hoffmann has a better timbre and blends with the orchestra more naturally to my ears. YMMV of course.

The Col Legno recording in question:



The main issue with this Col Legno recording is its a live performance and there some audible noises from the audience. I remember reading some review (it might've been from David Hurwitz) where he complained that it broke the spell this work is supposed to weave, but the reality is you have to take the good with the bad sometimes and the audience noises aren't that bad. I mean it's not like some Soviet Era recording or something where there's someone in the audience who sounds like they're losing a lung.

Anyway, 2.5 stars for the Neither on the Hat Hut label (w/ Sarah Leonard and Peskó).

[Der lächelnde Schatten]

Now playing Act I from Weill's Aufstieg Und Fall Der Stadt Mahagonny from this recording:



I bought all of the Weill recordings on Capriccio several years ago and it was a pain in the neck to find them all, but I'm glad I did because there were two box sets released called the Kurt Weill Edition, Vols. 1 & 2 and none of the contained the libretti. I also prefer having the original cover art, too. Anyway, if you're into Weill's music, then the Capriccio recordings are well worth hunting down.

[KevinP]

I wonder how many composers have seen the release of multiple recordings of their operas. Davis, Glass and Adams at least.

[Wendell_E]

I wonder how many composers have seen the release of multiple recordings of their operas. Davis, Glass and Adams at least.

There have been two CD releases of Heggie's Dead Man Walking, and since streaming-only recordings now qualify for Grammys, I suppose the Met's on-demand video counts as a third.

[JBS]

Qualified by the question of availability of physical media for all three

[San Antone]

Verdi : Aida
Met Opera on Demand

Aida:: Angel Blue
Amneris: Judit Kutasi
Radamès: Piotr Beczała
Amonasro: Quinn Kelsey
Ramfis: Morris Robinson
Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin



For the first time in nearly 40 years, the Met unveiled a grand new production of Aida during the 2024–25 season. Directed by Tony Award–winner Michael Mayer, the spectacular staging imagined the story of Verdi's Egyptian drama unfolding through the eyes of a team of archaeologists, who discover an ancient tomb and watch as the hieroglyph-covered walls burst to life. In this Live in HD transmission, soprano Angel Blue gives a powerful performance in the title role, going head-to-head with mezzo-soprano Judit Kutasi as her royal rival, Amneris. Tenor Piotr Beczała is the warrior Radamès, with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leading a cast that also features baritone Quinn Kelsey as the Ethiopian king Amonasro and bass Morris Robinson as the high priest Ramfis. (The Met)

I am enjoying this new production of an opera which I have avoided in the past because some of the well-known pieces which have never thrilled me. But this time around, I am finding Aida to be very enjoyable.

[ritter]

An early burletta by Rossini, L'Occasione fa il ladro, in a 1987 live recording from Pesaro, with distinguished soloists of the time (Luciana Serra, Raúl Giménez, Claudio Desderi), under the baton of Salvatore Accardo.

[Florestan]

An early burletta by Rossini, L'Occasione fa il ladro, in a 1987 live recording from Pesaro, with distinguished soloists of the time (Luciana Serra, Raúl Giménez, Claudio Desderi), under the baton of Salvatore Accardo.

Delightful!   

[ritter]

Delightful!   

No, no...not delightful, delizioso! 

Buena sera, caro amico.

[Florestan]

Celeste Aida, forma divina

In this particular case it depends on one's taste... 

[Florestan]

No, no...not delightful, delizioso! 

Buena sera, caro amico.

Servitor vostro, Vossignoria ilustrissima.

[JBS]

First listen to this, which might be called an opera semiserie.


The cover art is somewhat misleading, because the setting is rural Bohemia and, although the hero and his wife are accused of being Jacobins, no actual Jacobins ever come close to appearing in the story.  There are three acts; total time is about two hours forty minutes.

Time is during the French Revolution. The local nobleman's son is much too liberal in his father's eyes, goes off to Paris, joins the Girondins, gets married, is forced to return home incognito when the Jacobins purged the Girondins, just in time to face being disinherited and replaced by the nobleman's scheming villianous nephew*.  There's a parallel storyline involving the local music master,  the latter's daughter, the man (the nobleman's steward) the music master wants her to marry, and the man she wants to marry. Everyone except the nephew and the steward (who had been helping the nephew, so no need to feel sorry for him)ends up happily ever after.

*Who is named Adolf. The resonance of the name obviously did not exist in Dvorak's time.

[JBS]

This afternoon:


To clarify the cast:
Gerharer is Prince Ottokar, Zeppenfeld is Kaspar, Pregardien is Max, Schnitzer is Agathe, and Stojkovic is Annchen. Kuno the Forester is sung by Friedemann Röhlig, and Samiel by Markus John. The additional text seems to consist of lines spoken by Samiel.

[Wendell_E]

Celeste Aida, forma divina

In this particular case it depends on one's taste... 

Doesn't it always? 

From Angel Blue's Wikipedia page:

Blue is a former model and beauty queen. She was the first African-American to hold the title of Miss Apple Valley, California. She was crowned Miss Hollywood in 2005, and she was 2nd runner up at the Miss California contest that same year. Blue was the 1st runner up to both Miss California in 2006 and Miss Nevada in 2007.

[Florestan]

This afternoon:


To clarify the cast:
Gerharer is Prince Ottokar, Zeppenfeld is Kaspar, Pregardien is Max, Schnitzer is Agathe, and Stojkovic is Annchen. Kuno the Forester is sung by Friedemann Röhlig, and Samiel by Markus John. The additional text seems to consist of lines spoken by Samiel.

Don't know this particular recording but Freischuetz is one of my favorite operas.

[Florestan]

Doesn't it always? 

It does, it does. 

[foxandpeng]

Richard Wagner
Das Rheingold
Wiener Philharmoniker
Sir Georg Solti
Decca

Opening music, at least. Listening as far as I feel able 🙂

[Lisztianwagner]

Richard Wagner
Das Rheingold
Wiener Philharmoniker
Sir Georg Solti
Decca

Opening music, at least. Listening as far as I feel able 🙂

That's great! Hold on, Das Rheingold is absolutely worth listening!