Your Opera recordings/Events of 2007

[MishaK]

O Mensch, a very thoughtful review, very beautifully written.  Makes me really wish I'd been there, not to mention musing about someone in New York staging it.  (Maybe it's on Mortier's radar for NY City Opera.)

I believe the production is set to come to the Met in 2008 or 09, actually.

[bhodges]

I believe the production is set to come to the Met in 2008 or 09, actually.

Oh [smacking forehead] now that you mention it, I'd heard that, too.  Thanks for the reminder...  It's going to be nice having both Gelb and Mortier vying for our attention.

--Bruce

[longears]

I'll second the nomination of Jacobs's Don Giovanni--I like it much better than the SFO production I saw earlier this year.  However, the SFO production of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress last month was thoroughly delightful!

[Wendell_E]

O Mensch, a very thoughtful review, very beautifully written.  Makes me really wish I'd been there, not to mention musing about someone in New York staging it.  (Maybe it's on Mortier's radar for NY City Opera.)

It's on Gelb's radar at the Met for next season (2008-9).  Actually, it's been in their plans for a while, from back when Volpe was in charge.  They'd originally planned on doing the Sellars production, but according to this Press Release at the Met website, they've decided to go with a new co-production with the English National Opera:

[Penny] Woolcock, who directed the 2002 movie version of John Adams's opera The Death of Klinghoffer, will make her opera directing debut with the new production of Doctor Atomic. Improbable theater's Julian Crouch, who makes his ENO and Met debut as associate director and designer of Philip Glass's Satyagraha, will design the sets. Tony Award-winning designer Catherine Zuber, who made her Met debut last season with the Met's new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, will design the costumes. Tony Award-winning artist Brian MacDevitt will be the lighting designer. Alan Gilbert, the newly appointed Music Director Designate of the New York Philharmonic, will make his Met debut conducting the new production. At ENO, the conductor will be Lawrence Renes in his UK opera debut. Gerald Finley will sing the role of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer in both New York and London, reprising his acclaimed portrayal of the title role.

[MishaK]

Wendell, thanks for that. I had seen conflicting reports that the Met production would be the same and that it wouldn't and I wasn't sure who to believe. This clears it up.

[some guy]

Usually these kinds of threads are too difficult for me--to difficult to whittle things down to a short(ish) post.

But 2007 had two really remarkable opera events for me, one live--Miguel Azguime's
Itinerário do Sal and one on DVD--Chaya Czernowin's Pnima...ins innere. (This DVD came out in 2006; I only found it this year. So new to me.)

Azguime's performance opened the Bourges festival this year. It was a tough act to follow, but somehow they managed: it was a spectacularly good festival this year.

Czernowin is one of those people, like Helmut Lachenmann, who continues to get new and interesting sounds out of acoustic instruments. Her maim zarim, maim gnuvim on a three CD compilation of Donaueshcinger Musiktage 2002 pieces, hardly strays from my CD player. Helmut Oehring's ER.eine She (aus: 5ÜNF/ Haare-Opfer), also on the set, is also pretty cool.