I'm a big opera nut from Spain. I have a strong interest in the History of Opera and Singing too: I'd even say I'm crazy about the art of singing and everything relating the delivery of the operatic voice. Hence my passion for books by such scholars as Steane, Celletti and Giudici.
I'm also a constant listener of symphonic music, but my main activity as a forum user concerns opera and singers. The debates are much, much funnier. As you might expect from my nick, I have firm views and am fond of discussing. I have been using Spanish forums for a good while.
I hope to get on well with everybody!
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 25, 2011, 03:02:30 PM
I'm a big opera nut from Spain. I have a strong interest in the History of Opera and Singing too: I'd even say I'm crazy about the art of singing and everything relating the delivery of the operatic voice. Hence my passion for books by such scholars as Steane, Celletti and Giudici.
I'm also a constant listener of symphonic music, but my main activity as a forum user concerns opera and singers. The debates are much, much funnier. As you might expect from my nick, I have firm views and am fond of discussing. I have been using Spanish forums for a good while.
I hope to get on well with everybody!
Welcome aboard, Harry Powell. You have a great last name. Powell, a Welsh surname, is a name that runs deep in my family's ancestry. Anyway, who are some of your favorite composers and what are some of your favorite operas?
I'm not a big opera fan myself, though I have discovered a few I enjoy, most notably Ravel's
L'Enfant et les sortileges, Debussy's
Pelleas et Melisande, and, finally, my absolute favorite, Bartok's
Bluebeard's Castle. Have you heard these operas?
Hello Harry - welcome to the GMG Forum - not an opera lover myself but enjoy all kinds of music and films (The Night of the Hunter w/ Mitchum is a chilling film - just watched him in a more light-hearted movie w/ Janet Leigh) - :D
However, there are plenty of opera lovers here and a separate forum for that topic, so I'm sure you will find many kindred souls to discuss your interests - hope that you enjoy - :)
Welcome, Harry! :)
Plenty of backgrounds here, inluding some Hispanophones. Hope you'll feel at home. :)
Q
Howdy Harry! Welcome to the forum. Greetings from Vienna, Austria. 8)
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 25, 2011, 06:32:00 PM
Welcome aboard, Harry Powell. You have a great last name. Powell, a Welsh surname, is a name that runs deep in my family's ancestry. Anyway, who are some of your favorite composers and what are some of your favorite operas?
I'm not a big opera fan myself, though I have discovered a few I enjoy, most notably Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortileges, Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande, and, finally, my absolute favorite, Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle. Have you heard these operas?
I'm not very attracted to Impressionism but "Bluebeard" was a real shock.
My personal favourite's italian melodrama and if I had to name four composers I'd say Beethoven, Verdi, Sibelius and Brahms. I keep changing the fifth among Mahler, Wagner, Mozart and Schumann.
Hi Harry, just wanted to add my welcome as well. Although my operatic taste is more for contemporary fare, I also love Verdi, among others. In a few weeks I'm hearing Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a concert version of Otello.
Anyway, welcome.
--Bruce
Thank you, Brewski. I envy you that chance to listen to Muti conduct Verdi! I guess it'll be far more difficult to get a suitable cast.
Here's the cast:
http://www.carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_13307.html?selecteddate=04152011
The only one I know is Eric Owens, whom I like very much. All the others are new to me.
--Bruce
Stoyanova's a well-schooled soprano. She was recently heard as Luisa Miller, a role of greater demands than Desdemona, and some Italian friends liked her. Antonenko's the typical tenor of the recent Soviet tradition, that's to say stentorian but coarse and bound to last a short time. I'm really schocked to see that Alaimo's seriously trying his hand as a baritone. This man used so much tricks that I never knew what kind of voice he had, but I'm sure he's no Verdi baritone.
You'll see I'm very pessimistic about current vocal standards.
All in all, you will listen to that orchestra and a great conductor.
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 26, 2011, 11:41:32 AMI'm not very attracted to Impressionism but "Bluebeard" was a real shock.
Actually Bartok's
Bluebeard's Castle is an Expressionistic work. It does have an occasional Impressionist overtone, but the work is quite agonizing and towards the end brutal. Definitely a favorite of mine. The opera is also unique in that it uses only two main characters, so the dialogue is much more psychological than overtly dramatic, which may be seen as anti-operatic. ;)
Quote from: Mirror Image on March 26, 2011, 06:55:20 PM
Actually Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle is an Expressionistic work. It does have an occasional Impressionist overtone, but the work is quite agonizing and towards the end brutal. Definitely a favorite of mine. The opera is also unique in that it uses only two main characters, so the dialogue is much more psychological than overtly dramatic, which may be seen as anti-operatic. ;)
I was referring to the operas by Debussy and Ravel you also mentioned.
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 27, 2011, 04:14:56 AM
I was referring to the operas by Debussy and Ravel you also mentioned.
Oh, okay. Sorry for my misunderstanding.
Never mind! I agree about Bluebeard's fascination. The music depicting the lake of tears is unbelievable!
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 27, 2011, 02:18:54 PMI agree about Bluebeard's fascination. The music depicting the lake of tears is unbelievable!
Well I own several recordings of
Bluebeard's Castle: Gergiev, Boulez (both on Sony and DG), Kertesz, Eotvos, and Fischer. As I may have mentioned, I generally dislike opera and everything it stands for, but with the exception of the operas I mentioned, I find the genre a little more tolerable.
The man in your avatar was a great opera nut! ;)
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 27, 2011, 02:47:17 PM
The man in your avatar was a great opera nut! ;)
Yes, he was with works like
The Rake's Progress, which I still haven't heard! I'm less enthusiastic about
Oedipus Rex. Opera wasn't Stravinsky's strong point.
Welcome aboard, Harry, from another Opera fan!
Besides the obvious names and works, my interest goes to lesser-known, even obscure, operas from all eras save the 20th century, which is still virgin territory to me. For instance, my three most interesting discoveries of the last year were:
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I also like the "symphonic" names you mentioned.
Hope you'll enjoy your time here.
Welcome! We could use more opera enthusiasts here! I absolutely love opera and operettas. I recently acquired several Lehar, Strauss, and Suppe operettas, not to mention my standing quest to collect at least one version of all recorded Offenbach operettas (a difficult task to say the least). But on the opera side, I have been listening more to undiscovered Donizetti, Massenet, Bizet, and a few other French composers recently. There is something about second half or the 19th century French opera that just grabs me. I just ordered a Mercadante opera (forgot the name, but it's got Domingo as a lead) that looks interesting. I've been eyeing Leoncavallo's La Boheme, but it's just so darned expensive. Anyway, there I go - on and on, when this is to welcome you!! Have fun!
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 25, 2011, 03:02:30 PM
I'm a big opera nut from Spain. I have a strong interest in the History of Opera and Singing too: I'd even say I'm crazy about the art of singing and everything relating the delivery of the operatic voice. Hence my passion for books by such scholars as Steane, Celletti and Giudici.
I'm also a constant listener of symphonic music, but my main activity as a forum user concerns opera and singers. The debates are much, much funnier. As you might expect from my nick, I have firm views and am fond of discussing. I have been using Spanish forums for a good while.
I hope to get on well with everybody!
Wecome, Harry!
Quote from: Il Conte Rodolfo on March 28, 2011, 05:15:11 AM
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I also like the "symphonic" names you mentioned.
Hope you'll enjoy your time here.
Hello Rodolfo
I didn't know that recording of "La Dame blanche". This opera includes a tenor aria which was very well known during the early days of recorded sound. Belgian André d'Arkor left an exquisite recording.
By the way, I see you chose a picture of Ezio Pinza as your avatar. Pinza's one of my favourite singers. A superlative voice of incomparable natural beauty but also supported by a first-rank technique.
Thanks again to everybody for your welcome.
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 28, 2011, 06:32:59 AM
I didn't know that recording of "La Dame blanche". This opera includes a tenor aria which was very well known during the early days of recorded sound. Belgian André d'Arkor left an exquisite recording.
Found it on Youtube. It is indeed excellent, thanks for pointing it.
Quote
By the way, I see you chose a picture of Ezio Pinza as your avatar. Pinza's one of my favourite singers. A superlative voice of incomparable natural beauty but also supported by a first-rank technique.
Agreed on all accounts --- and the fact that he could not sight-read scores but sang "by ear" instead makes him all the more remarkable.
I didn't know that about Pinza but it was a common lack between singers in those years. It's a point to reflect on when we listen to current singers who have a complete musical training but not an acceptable technique.
Quote from: Harry Powell on March 28, 2011, 06:32:59 AM
I didn't know that recording of "La Dame blanche". This opera includes a tenor aria which was very well known during the early days of recorded sound. Belgian André d'Arkor left an exquisite recording.
It's excellent and not too expensive if you like this sort of thing.