What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Florestan]

It's an unfortunate acronym, but I fear I'll always think of it in the future. 

Hah! I didn't even notice.

[ritter]

Cross-posted form the relevant composer thread:

Today we commemorate 100 years of the passing of Giacomo Puccini in Brussels, on November 29th, 1924.

Listening to Act I of this classic performance of Turandot , form La Scala in 1964, with Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli and Galina Vishnesvskaya, conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni.

Gavazzeni, apart from being an operatic conductor of the first rank, was also a very fine writer on musical matters. His essays on Puccini have been collected by his grandson Giovanni Gavazzeni in this book that has just been released in Italy:



Some of the essays were already available in previously published books, but others are occasional texts that had not been collected until now. I've already received my copy, and look forward to at least browse it this weekend.


 

[ritter]

Closing this commemorative day with a historic (1949) recording of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (a perfect little comedy), with Giuseppe Taddei in the title rôle and the forces of Italian Radio under Alfredo Simonetto.



The perfect ending to a long and exhausting but ultimately successful day of work...

[Tsaraslondon]

Another bargain from Discogs.

I've never much liked Elektra, but I actually enjoyed this. It seemed much less overwrought than the Solti and Marton, a singer I don't normally like, acquits herself really well. Great performances all round actually and the playing of the Bavarian orchestra under Sawallisch is excellent. Great sound too.

[Iota]

Caught a bit of a programme on the radio the other day, where the always engaging/informative Donald Macleod was reviewing Puccini's life and works, and I realised I'd never heard the whole of Madame Butterfly, not even close. To be honest I'm mainly familiar with highlights of Puccini's canon, although I got to know Tosca a bit and have seen it, Bohème and Il Trittico live. And although I always liked what I heard, I felt it was perhaps a bit too brow-mopping for sustained listening for me.
Anyway, I felt the time was right to dive into Butterfly properly to see what I might find, and to my surprise I was bowled over by it, not finding any of the mawkishness I thought I might. I felt like I was on a small boat at sea going up with every wave and down into every trough, carried along with it and absolutely enjoying every single moment of its wonderfully melodic and impassioned outpouring. Absolutely irresistible, I feel hooked.
I have no recording to compare it with, but Scotto, Bergonzi and Barbirolli all seemed truly sensational to me, and I'll be returning for a repeat listen soon. I know many on here will have known MB well for much their lives, but coming on it like this, even so late, has been one of the best moments of my recent listening experience.

[JBS]

Corigliano/Adamo's mashup of Euripides and Stoker. Currently on Act 1, Scene 2. The Prologue, dominated by Dionysius/Dracula and the "Odd Sisters",  is much more atonal and (I think) microtonal than usual with Corigliano, Scene 1 and (so far) Scene 2 less so.

ETA
Currently in the middle of Act 2. Although Anthony Roth Costanzo sings the title role, the main roles are actually Kathryn Henry as Lucy Westerna Harker (a combo of Stoker's Lucy and Minna) and Jarrett Ott as Seward (corresponding to Pentheus in Euripides). Euripides' ending is switched: Seward/Pentheus, made insane by Dionysius and the Odd Sisters, is the killer, not the killed; Lucy is his victim.

Overall this opera is worth hearing at least once.

[André]

Caught a bit of a programme on the radio the other day, where the always engaging/informative Donald Macleod was reviewing Puccini's life and works, and I realised I'd never heard the whole of Madame Butterfly, not even close. To be honest I'm mainly familiar with highlights of Puccini's canon, although I got to know Tosca a bit and have seen it, Bohème and Il Trittico live. And although I always liked what I heard, I felt it was perhaps a bit too brow-mopping for sustained listening for me.
Anyway, I felt the time was right to dive into Butterfly properly to see what I might find, and to my surprise I was bowled over by it, not finding any of the mawkishness I thought I might. I felt like I was on a small boat at sea going up with every wave and down into every trough, carried along with it and absolutely enjoying every single moment of its wonderfully melodic and impassioned outpouring. Absolutely irresistible, I feel hooked.
I have no recording to compare it with, but Scotto, Bergonzi and Barbirolli all seemed truly sensational to me, and I'll be returning for a repeat listen soon. I know many on here will have known MB well for much their lives, but coming on it like this, even so late, has been one of the best moments of my recent listening experience.

An epiphany...🤩.

I've seen MB live at the Met, but it was an okay performance, whereas most good recorded performances allow the listener to take in a maximum of music and emotion (thanks to side/cd breaks and pauses).

Mirella Freni used to say that MB was a killer, not because of the music, but because the singer was likely to choke emotionally while singing it. She recorded it twice (magnificently), but never performed it on stage.

[Tsaraslondon]

Caught a bit of a programme on the radio the other day, where the always engaging/informative Donald Macleod was reviewing Puccini's life and works, and I realised I'd never heard the whole of Madame Butterfly, not even close. To be honest I'm mainly familiar with highlights of Puccini's canon, although I got to know Tosca a bit and have seen it, Bohème and Il Trittico live. And although I always liked what I heard, I felt it was perhaps a bit too brow-mopping for sustained listening for me.
Anyway, I felt the time was right to dive into Butterfly properly to see what I might find, and to my surprise I was bowled over by it, not finding any of the mawkishness I thought I might. I felt like I was on a small boat at sea going up with every wave and down into every trough, carried along with it and absolutely enjoying every single moment of its wonderfully melodic and impassioned outpouring. Absolutely irresistible, I feel hooked.
I have no recording to compare it with, but Scotto, Bergonzi and Barbirolli all seemed truly sensational to me, and I'll be returning for a repeat listen soon. I know many on here will have known MB well for much their lives, but coming on it like this, even so late, has been one of the best moments of my recent listening experience.

That's one of my three favourite recordings of Butterfly, the others being Callas/Karajan and De Los Angeles/Gavazzeni, though they are both in mono sound. It seems to me that they capture more of the tragedy in the piece than the admittedly more lush sounding Freni/Karajan.

[Iota]

An epiphany...🤩.

It indeed was. And fwiw, also a tiny personal contribution to proof that celebrating artist anniversaries/deaths etc are worthwhile, as if it hadn't been for this Puccini centennial, the radio programme I listened to probably wouldn't have been on, and I wouldn't have been inspired to take a listen, etc, etc.

Mirella Freni used to say that MB was a killer, not because of the music, but because the singer was likely to choke emotionally while singing it. She recorded it twice (magnificently), but never performed it on stage.

I can believe that. When I got to Butterfly's final scene, I felt I was moved mostly by the 'dramatic' intensity of the moment, more so than by the music, which Puccini seems to strip bare of the richness which has been its lifeforce until this point, and had been by far its biggest pull (along with the gorgeous singing!). Of course both work in tandem, but in terms of recordings (as opposed to live performance) the balance between the two seemed weighted towards the acting more than I'd experienced before (with the possible exception of Teresa Stratas' Jack the Ripper scream in the Lulu recording .. )

[André]

It indeed was. And fwiw, also a tiny personal contribution to proof that celebrating artist anniversaries/deaths etc are worthwhile, as if it hadn't been for this Puccini centennial, the radio programme I listened to probably wouldn't have been on, and I wouldn't have been inspired to take a listen, etc, etc.

I can believe that. When I got to Butterfly's final scene, I felt I was moved mostly by the 'dramatic' intensity of the moment, more so than by the music, which Puccini seems to strip bare of the richness which has been its lifeforce until this point, and had been by far its biggest pull (along with the gorgeous singing!). Of course both work in tandem, but in terms of recordings (as opposed to live performance) the balance between the two seemed weighted towards the acting more than I'd experienced before (with the possible exception of Teresa Stratas' Jack the Ripper scream in the Lulu recording .. )

+1 to this very perceptive comment.

[André]

That's one of my three favourite recordings of Butterfly, the others being Callas/Karajan and De Los Angeles/Gavazzeni, though they are both in mono sound. It seems to me that they capture more of the tragedy in the piece than the admittedly more lush sounding Freni/Karajan.

I prefer Freni's second recording on DGG to the plush Decca effort from earlier in her career. Her voice may have lost some freshness, but she concentrates more on the drama than on the sound. And Sinopoli's handling of the score is quite stunning.

I'm contemplating buying a 1961 live performance with Sena Jurinac on Orfeo. The excerpts I listened to were really enticing (and in very good sound to boot).