What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Currently streaming Hamlet from Glyndebourne. Up to the interval right now. So far the sets and costumes don't interest me so much except for some cool transitions where the walls break away or characters gesture to one another through windows, but the music is remarkable. Even if the opera quite fast paced, I feel that single moods are sustained for a fairly long time. The conflict between dark and light in the tone of the story was very prominent in his first opera (the cynical/dark-humoured 'Bliss') and its music I felt really matched this perfectly, although changes of mood were quite abrupt. Hamlet, to me, seems a little more seamless in its storytelling, everything is a lot more conversational, even the 'to be or not to be' is hardly a monologue in this opera, but an inner conflict that is referenced throughout the action.

Barbara Hannigan is no less than amazing, as usual.

It would have been great to see this live. Dean was very particular about the placement of musicians, not only in the pit, but in small groups around the auditorium as well. It is a slight shame that only the people in the stalls will have the best experience of this. I do believe that the way opera house auditoriums are traditionally designed does no real favour to the music and drama being presented........perhaps if a composer really wishes to create the theatrical effects of spatialised sound it would be far better to do away with opera houses altogether (and instead opt for an opera theatre which is 'transformable' depending on the requirements of whatever opera is being performed). I would like to see this live, but preferably in a theatre that will serve the music and the drama best.

I look forward to watching the rest of this very soon.

Brett Dean's new opera  Hamlet will be available to stream from the 6th of July: http://www.glyndebourne.com/tickets-and-whats-on/events/2017/watch-hamlet/

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Finished it. Wow. I really hope there will be a release of it on DVD/BD. I don't know whether I prefer Hamlet or Bliss; both operas are excellent and both are quite different yet sharing similar characteristics. There seems to be a particular way Dean's operas work now that there are two of them. One can hear similarities in the music during a scene where an important character dies/almost dies amidst a large crowd, similarities in the melodies and orchestration of slow arias, comic relief characters and the funnier scenes in his operas really have some kind of underlying consistency in the music between both operas, but also when it comes to his treatment of humour in other works. There are things now which are recognisably his own when it comes to opera and I hope there are more to come as I would love to see how these elements evolve as his career continues.

Oh, and if anyone is interested (and I can't imagine why any fan of opera wouldn't be drawn in by this), here is a trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/v/Sg1osUcNP_s

[marvinbrown]

  I was going to post this on the Purchases thread but I believe it would be better appreciated here, so here goes:

  Yes! Yes! Yes! I FINALLY got my hands on this little gem:

  [asin]B00000E42X[/asin]

  Currently Listening to CD1,  Tebalidi, Del Monaco and Bastianini.....OH MY! Can it get better than this?

  marvin
 

[ritter]

  ...Tebalidi, Del Monaco and Bastianini.....OH MY! Can it get better than this?

And don't forget Gianandrea Gavazzeni! A gran signore of Italian opera, a man of immense culture (his writings are all very interesting, in particular his diaries collected under the title Il sipario rosso--unfortunately never translated AFAIK), and a conductor who excelled in this repertoire...

THREAD DUTY:

In my CD player right now (hat tip to Spineur):



Salomé is an opera I've known since my teens, seen several times on stage, and know practically by heart. On the other hand, I read Oscar Wilde's play in French many years ago (after getting to know the opera); to have both worlds, so to speak, now combined is rather fascinating. Yes, you can notice the difference in the vocal lines between the standard German version and this "back-adaptation", but also the whole sound of the opera changes form one language to the other. Less "expressionsitic" and ultimately more decadent (cliché as this may sound). An excellent performance as well in my IMHO, with Karen Huffstodt a fragile and vulnerable lead (no "steel princess" here, thank God), José van Dam repeating his superb Jochanaan (after recording it in German for Karajan's justly famous EMI set), and Nagano handling the orchestra masterfully. Great stuff!

[Spineur]

Glad that you liked it.  For me the change of language and melodic line leads to a smoother flowing work, were Salomé agressivity has been filed away.  I am not sure it translates in decadence.  Van Dam in french is indeed fantastic.  He is OK in german but here his expressivity just gets me.

[Tsaraslondon]

No other singer has quite got to the heart of Violetta as Callas did, and this shatteringly moving live performance from Covent Garden in 1958 represents the very best of her art. She is wonderfully supported by Nicola Rescigno in the pit and Cesare Valletti and Mario Zanasi as the Germonts.

I intend to write a full review on my blog very soon.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

I tried some Donizetti, but after watching Brett Dean's new work 'Lucrezia Borgia' from Valencia (via Opera Platform) seemed about as appealing as food from McDonald's.

So instead I have opted for a production of Mussorgsky's Sorochintsy Fair from Komische Oper Berlin. It is fun and the music is wonderful. The stage is mostly quite bare but the costumes are great and this only draws more attention to the hilarious acting in a very good way.

Here's a rather busy image from the production:

[kishnevi]

TD
From my cheapo hotchpotch Ring
The Rheingold from this cycle (but not that issue, I assume)


I have one installment to go, the Gotterdammerung from that cycle. For a cheap edition of (mostly) live early1950s recordings taken from unnamed sources, this has surprisingly good quality.
[asin]B009P4LVUK[/asin]

This afternoon, doing the Gotterdammerung.
SQ is not quite as good as on the other installments, at least so far (the Prologue just ended and Siggy has just started his Fahrt im Rhein) and the tenor may be a bit stretched in the high notes but still satisfying.  (No cast listing so I am not sure who the tenor is.)

[Todd]

Gonna kill the rest of the afternoon.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Gonna kill the rest of the afternoon.

Nice! I like this except for Peter Seiffert actually

No one does Lohengrin better than...................

https://www.youtube.com/v/gcSq3R6PzOg

Probably one of the best Heldentenors alive. Quite excited to watch a new production of Tannhäuser that he is in from Bayerische Staatsoper on their live stream.

https://www.youtube.com/v/0D5hByvNlvc

[Spineur]

Vasco de Gama
Giacomo Meyerbeer

[asin]B00JH53O0C[/asin]

This is a very clean CPO release.  The orchestra sound is gorgeous. The opera could have used some of Puccini concision (4 CD close to 5 hours).  Lots of very theatrical moments with choruses, quartets and quintet.  Some lovely music.  It must be great fun to see live.

[ritter]

Vasco de Gama
Giacomo Meyerbeer

[asin]B00JH53O0C[/asin]

This is a very clean CPO release.  The orchestra sound is gorgeous. The opera could have used some of Puccini concision (4 CD close to 5 hours).  Lots of very theatrical moments with choruses, quartets and quintet.  Some lovely music.  It must be great fun to see live.

I've never much cared for Meyerbeer (after listening to Il Crociato..., Les Huguenots, Le Prophète and Robert le diable--the latter I found particularly revolting  );  but, I  did find things to enjoy in this Ur-L'Africaine... I remember Sélika's farewell in Act V to be rather touching.

[mc ukrneal]

Vasco de Gama
Giacomo Meyerbeer

[asin]B00JH53O0C[/asin]

This is a very clean CPO release.  The orchestra sound is gorgeous. The opera could have used some of Puccini concision (4 CD close to 5 hours).  Lots of very theatrical moments with choruses, quartets and quintet.  Some lovely music.  It must be great fun to see live.

I've had my eye on this for a while. I enjoy Meyerbeer and the excerpts sounded great. What do you think of the singers?

[Spineur]

I am only half way through (I had to go to work today and got back at 9PM).  I will give you a full recension at the end, i.e. probably mid-week

The quality of Meyerbeer productions are quite uneven .  All the DVD released so far are particularly disappointing.  I am waiting for decent productions of Le prophete & Robert le Diable.

[ComposerOfAvantGarde]

Just watched Tannhäuser from Bayerische Staatsoper. More traditional than I expected somehow. There was a real medieval feel to it throughout, which was perfect.

[timh1]

Messiaen Saint François d'Assise part of the complete edition.

[anothername]

Solti conducting Strauss.

[ritter]

I've had my eye on this for a while. I enjoy Meyerbeer and the excerpts sounded great. What do you think of the singers?

In expectation of Spineur's comments, I venture to say (after revisiting parts of the recording of Vasco de Gama today) that this is splendid production. The singing in general is excellent (even if at some--very few--moments, some strain can be heard on the tenor and the soprano incarnating Sélika). Also, from the international cast, only the baritone singing Nelusko has a French name, but the Chemnitz opera company must have one hell of a language coach, because the text is pronounced very clearly.

If you're interested in this opera, I wouldn't hesitate: IMHO, a producton that does all artists involved, the Chemnitz Opera House and Meyerbeer proud. You wouldn't guess it comes from the (deep) German provinces if you did not know beforehand.

[Mahlerian]

Finished it. Wow. I really hope there will be a release of it on DVD/BD. I don't know whether I prefer Hamlet or Bliss; both operas are excellent and both are quite different yet sharing similar characteristics. There seems to be a particular way Dean's operas work now that there are two of them. One can hear similarities in the music during a scene where an important character dies/almost dies amidst a large crowd, similarities in the melodies and orchestration of slow arias, comic relief characters and the funnier scenes in his operas really have some kind of underlying consistency in the music between both operas, but also when it comes to his treatment of humour in other works. There are things now which are recognisably his own when it comes to opera and I hope there are more to come as I would love to see how these elements evolve as his career continues.

I just finished it myself, and I fully agree with your review.  An altogether engrossing work.

[Spineur]

In expectation of Spineur's comments, I venture to say (after revisiting parts of the recording of Vasco de Gama today) that this is splendid production. The singing in general is excellent (even if at some--very few--moments, some strain can be heard on the tenor and the soprano incarnating Sélika). Also, from the international cast, only the baritone singing Nelusko has a French name, but the Chemnitz opera company must have one hell of a language coach, because the text is pronounced very clearly.

If you're interested in this opera, I wouldn't hesitate: IMHO, a production that makes all artists involved, the Chemnitz Opera House and Meyerbeer proud. You wouldn't guess it comes from the (deep) German provinces if you did not know beforehand.

Here are a few additions to Raphael excellent comments.  Prior to the production, there has been some musicological work done by Frank Beermann, the musical director and conductor: this is the complete score of Meyerbeer last opera as he left it.  Because of its length, it is often cut, most of the time not very wisely.  The background of this opera is colonialization, and confrontation between portugese civilization with other cultures and traditions.  It was a relevant theme then and it is also today.  So it is best taken seriously and literally as this production does.  As noted by Raphael, the Chemnitz chorus is top level as is the orchestra which does full justice to Meyerbeer orchestral writing.  The singers are good, and more importantly totally committed to their role and Meyerbeer music.  The barytone/bass singing Nelusko (one of the slave) Pierre-Yves Pruvost has a dark almost satanic voice that suits his role perfectly.  Claudia Sorokina who sings Selika (the other slave) is dramatic in her duo with Nelusko as they are condemned to death in act III.  I also liked Guibee Yang who sings Inès, Don Diego daughter.
As in most Meyerbeer opera things really pick up at act III and culminate at the last act (V).  But in this opera, the music is quite nice right from the beginning.

The book has picture from the Chemnitz production and the text in french/german/english. The market price is high but fluctuate widely in time and space (44 on amazon.it, over 60 on amazon.de right now).  I got my copy for 40€ a  few months back.