~ Baroque Opera ~

Started by Harry, June 23, 2007, 08:46:08 AM

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DarkAngel

#80
Quote from: mamascarlatti on April 01, 2010, 02:30:28 PM
Yes thank you, I have Les Indes Galantes and love it to bits. I've lent it out to a ballet enthusiast friend and am looking forward to its return so I can watch it again.

I see you recommend Les Paladins. I'd love to know what you like about it.



This Comedy/Ballet was a complete failure for Rameau and went right over the heads of French audience of the time 1760 and languished in complete obsurity ever since.......anarchy and parody rule the day in this work. The modern creative staging using multi-level back projected backdrops allows the genius to finally emerge, the many styles of dance including modern skillfully blend with baroque music/vocals to make this a thrilling surprising experience, how did they come up with all this cool stuff?

When I first saw this I was very surprised at its sophistication, almost like a drug trip so creative and dramatic in its presentation and skillfully blending of opera and dance elements......

The youtube video link above sets the stage of what to expect  :) 



mamascarlatti

I looked at the clip - Les Paladins looks really fascinating, rich and colourful, and is going in my Amazon cart. Thanks DarkAngel

The new erato

Quote from: Elgarian on April 01, 2010, 01:36:53 PM
Ah, well that's encouraging. Thanks Erato. I'm past their original estimated dispatch date, but I notice that they're now giving an estimated  2 to 4 weeks for delivery, so it sounds as if things will happen if I just sit tight.

Does it have the necessary texts and so on, as we hoped? Or is it just a box of discs?
Full texts, despite a compact box. Isis were very good.

Elgarian

Quote from: erato on April 01, 2010, 09:15:10 PM
Full texts, despite a compact box. Isis were very good.

Excellent! Thanks.

Update from Amazon this morning, apologising for the delay in getting stock, and giving me a new arrival estimate (13-20 April).

Drasko

#84
Quote from: mamascarlatti on April 01, 2010, 01:18:14 PM
Or Zoroastre.


Any advice gratefully received. I don't mind modern productions, or even Regie, as long as it makes sense. (possibly the latter is an oxymoron... )

Zoroastre has rather straightforward plot. King of Bactria (ancient Persia) had died and two factions fight for the throne. Forces of light/good led by Zoroastre and forces of dark/evil led by Abramane. They are backing two female pretenders to the throne: Amelite, rightful hair (goodie) and Erinice, second in succession (badie). That's about it.
Zoroastre is excellent haute-contre Anders J. Dahlin. Perhaps more lyrical than heroic, but beautiful voice, very agile and flexible. His acting is rudimentary with basically constant Ethan Hawkeish kind of dreamy posture, but then again Zoroastre is not that complicated character: he loves Amelite and fights for the good, period.
Amelite is sung by soprano Sine Bundgaard and in my opinion she is probably weakest link in leading quartet. Her start is bit shaky but gets fine onwards, though sounding pretty bland to me. It's a bitch of a role dramatically, must be said. She has acreages of excellent music to sing but the character is completely passive one, Amelite loves Zoroastre and suffers from everybody else, but doesn't really do anything, everything happens to her (gets kidnapped by Erinice in act I, then gets tortured by her in act II, Abramane nearly kills her in act III, nothing happens to her in act IV only because she's not in it, and gets again kidnapped in act V, this time by Abramane). Bundgaard's acting is mostly a complete enigma to me, I couldn't really tell from her facial expressions and body language what is she trying to convey at many given moments. Could be my fault.
Bass-baritone Evgueniy Alexiev is Abramane, impressive voice but somewhat unwieldy in faster ornamented passages, acting overdone at moments too much eye-rolling, twitching and sneering for my taste, Gary Oldman on acid came to mind for some reason. Have to say he brings out his big aria, Osons achiever de grands crimes in quite impressive fashion, it is aria similar in tone to Iago's Credo from Verdi's Otello and Alexiev manages to come across as truly menacing and sinister. That is actually the only moment where I prefer this production to Christie's Erato recording (audio only) where Nathan Berg singing Abramane adds touch of caricature to his character which I didn't like, Abramane for me should be straight down the road bad guy: Scarpia, not Iznogoud.
Anna-Maria Panzarella as Erinice steals the show completely, though it mostly is her show. The character of Erinice is the most complex, psychologically and dramatically. She is a woman scorned, madly in love with Zoroastre, who doesn't give a damn about her. Swinging between extreme feelings of hate and desire for vengeance, and love and being unable to act on her vengeance when moment appears. Making pacts with Abramane and then remorse kicks in and she can't deliver, and then Abramane kicks her ... Panzarella is spot on both vocally and dramatically, simply fantastic. Her final soliloquy in front of closed curtain at the beginning of act V is wonderfully poignant. She is perhaps even better in this production than she was some 5-6 years ago for Christie, where she was excellent as well.     
Rousset's conducting is brisk, forward moving, very well shaped. He uses the same 1756 revised version of score as Christie but drops very last, epilogue like, solo aria for Amelite and ends on show-stopping duet with chorus: Qu'il l' enchaine a jamais which strikes me as perfectly right thing to do theatrically. Although it is the same version Rousset's orchestra sounds sparser than Christie's to me, for instance I couldn't spot any clarinets in the pit. Could be wrong though. Sound mix (stereo at least) favors the singers over orchestra to the extent that slightly makes me uncomfortable and strain to hear it. Maybe it's the acoustics of Drottningholm, maybe I'm imagining but I wasn't perfectly happy with the balance.
It is filmed in Drottningholm Theatre which is original baroque theatre: wooden planks, canvas backdrops, machinery operated by ropes, whole lot. One can google for pictures.
Costumes look period to me, though more casual period than haute-couture period, very nice without seeking too much attention.
Direction is not regietheater. My guess director Pierre Audi was in the first place limited by use of period theatre so he chose to go with original story and to make his points along the way through directing singers, lighting and camera. I'm not sure many of his points really work but did not find them too much obtrusive either. For instance he uses from time to time shots from unusual angles: from above and from deep within a stage, to which end flies over me. That kind of shots could be used in naturalistic settings to break away the 'theatre magic' and show the viewer that it is artifice after all, but with setting where artifice is obvious from moment one I fail to see the point. Another instance could be in act IV, which takes place in this secret temple of Ariman, supreme evil god, where Abramane takes his henchmen in attempt to regroup after initially being whopped by Zoroastre's forces. There all kind of incantation happens and finally they invoke Ariman, whose thundering voice from beyond tells them to get their grip and go kick some ass. Now Audi chooses that Ariman's lines be sung by singer on stage and he uses the same singer which in Act II sung Oromases, high priest of the goodies who gives some mojo to Zoroastre and so forth. I'm guessing director is making point that ultimate good and ultimate evil are just different sides of ultimate one, or whatnot, which might be fine but he ruins the climax of Act IV because just another singer on stage is not the same as thundering voix souterraine (act IV anyhow comes of bit lame, doesn't really convey the right mood for me).
Dancing is the robotic kind, it was supposed to comment on the plot but for the most time I don't get the message, perhaps someone more perceptive would. Choreography on its own is actually quite interesting to watch and I found it enjoyable.
Basic line, I quite enjoyed the production for the most part, there is nothing very wrong with it but not everything is perfect and wouldn't consider it a reference version (that would be Christie on CD). I wouldn't pay the full price for it, but if you can find it cheaper do pick it up, it's not like we are spoiled for choices.

edit: poor grammar, as usual

Quote from: Elgarian on April 02, 2010, 12:13:49 AM
Update from Amazon this morning, apologising for the delay in getting stock, and giving me a new arrival estimate (13-20 April).
Same here.

mamascarlatti

Quote from: Drasko on April 02, 2010, 10:26:27 AM

Basic line, I quite enjoyed the production for the most part, there is nothing very wrong with it but not everything is perfect and wouldn't consider it a reference version (that would be Christie on CD). I wouldn't pay the full price for it, but if you can find it cheaper do pick it up, it's not like we are spoiled for choices.


Thank you for the full and informative review, Drasko. Zoroastre sounds like one to put on the wait and see list. As you say there is not a lot of choice, but more is coming out every year as the interest in baroque opera grows.

DarkAngel

Quote from: mamascarlatti on April 02, 2010, 05:08:02 PM
Thank you for the full and informative review, Drasko. Zoroastre sounds like one to put on the wait and see list. As you say there is not a lot of choice, but more is coming out every year as the interest in baroque opera grows.

Youtube is an incredible resource to preview DVDs you are thinking of purchase, amazing what you can find there.....even Zoroastre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p3z7q10DAU

mamascarlatti

Quote from: DarkAngel on April 02, 2010, 05:43:52 PM

Youtube is an incredible resource to preview DVDs you are thinking of purchase, amazing what you can find there.....even Zoroastre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p3z7q10DAU

You are of course quite right, and I am possibly guilty of not doing enough youtube watching before I buy. I think somehow I don't want to spoil the surprise for myself?!

My wallet does not thank you, DarkAngel, now i want to buy it again. :) Aaargh, save me from myself!

Que

Quote from: mamascarlatti on April 02, 2010, 07:11:42 PM
My wallet does not thank you, DarkAngel, now i want to buy it again. :) Aaargh, save me from myself!

A familiar phenomenon around here - welcome to GMG! ;D

Q

knight66

DarkAngel, Thanks for drawing my attention to Les Paladins. I already have the life enhancing Christie version of Les Indes Galantes. I have placed the order for Paladines having had a look at YouTube. Excellent.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

DarkAngel

#90
Quote from: knight on April 02, 2010, 11:52:29 PM
DarkAngel, Thanks for drawing my attention to Les Paladins. I already have the life enhancing Christie version of Les Indes Galantes. I have placed the order for Paladines having had a look at YouTube. Excellent.

Mike

Les Paladins has even more dance numbers than Indes Galantes, a mixture of all types of classical and modern dance including hybrid break dancing......sounds like a recipe for disaster but it succeeds brilliantly!

You will be impressed how creative they use the back projected screens, you will see two people dancing together and then realize only 1 is casting a shadow.....the other is an illusion

Also refreshing to see the lead singers also do some basic dance routines along with the professional dancers

Elgarian



I finally got a message from Amazon yesterday telling me that this amazing bargain box had been dispatched to me.

DarkAngel

Quote from: Elgarian on April 10, 2010, 12:28:48 PM


I finally got a message from Amazon yesterday telling me that this amazing bargain box had been dispatched to me.

The music of the Sun King shall soon be yours.............

knight66

Les Paladins has arrived and has been watched. What superb entertainment. At last I am starting to get my ear into this music and watching the very full documentary that is on disc two allowed me to re-listen to the highlights and I was surprised how much of the music had lodged after only one listen.

Sometimes there is perhaps a bit too much going on, but there is certainly never a boring moment. A very imaginative production that manages to hold the attention. Wonderful singing, dancing and playing.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

DarkAngel

Quote from: knight on April 10, 2010, 02:41:30 PM
Les Paladins has arrived and has been watched. What superb entertainment. At last I am starting to get my ear into this music and watching the very full documentary that is on disc two allowed me to re-listen to the highlights and I was surprised how much of the music had lodged after only one listen.

Sometimes there is perhaps a bit too much going on, but there is certainly never a boring moment. A very imaginative production that manages to hold the attention. Wonderful singing, dancing and playing.

Mike

I forgot about the nice featurettes included for background info........always welcome

It is interesting how this baroque music can work so well with modern creative stage techniques, perhaps the old is the new again......the blending of music and dance is a wonderful thing to behold

Elgarian



At last this box arrived today. At under £30 for 10 CDs it is a bargain indeed, but, a warning to anyone out there who may be considering this set: although the texts of the operas are indeed given in the accompanying booklet, they're only in French. There are no translations.

Soooo... does anyone know where I can get translations of Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Isis, etc?

Franco

Quote from: Elgarian on April 14, 2010, 04:59:25 AM


At last this box arrived today. At under £30 for 10 CDs it is a bargain indeed, but, a warning to anyone out there who may be considering this set: although the texts of the operas are indeed given in the accompanying booklet, they're only in French. There are no translations.

Soooo... does anyone know where I can get translations of Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Isis, etc?

I had ordered that set, but cancelled it yesterday after the second message (and after two months) from Amazon.uk informing me of its continued backordered status.

Drasko

Quote from: Elgarian on April 14, 2010, 04:59:25 AM
Soooo... does anyone know where I can get translations of Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Isis, etc?

Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme shouldn't be too difficult, for the rest learning French might prove easier and quicker. But if you do manage to find Quinault in English let me know, my set is in mail.

mamascarlatti

Quote from: Elgarian on April 14, 2010, 04:59:25 AM


Soooo... does anyone know where I can get translations of Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Isis, etc?

A couple of the Bourgeois gentilhomme:

Literal but very dull

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2992/2992-h/2992-h.htm

Freer but closer to the spirit of the original:

http://www.rippon.net/bourgeois/sact1.htm

Elgarian

Quote from: mamascarlatti on April 14, 2010, 01:25:27 PM
A couple of the Bourgeois gentilhomme:

Literal but very dull

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2992/2992-h/2992-h.htm

Freer but closer to the spirit of the original:

http://www.rippon.net/bourgeois/sact1.htm
Marvellous! Thanks, Natalie.