Lots of folks with lots to say this week:
JSU and Sieglinde give the rundown on Thursday's season premiere of the Idomeneo revival. Sounds like Jepson was a little more solid last night than at the prima.
Maury bemoans the scrim at Stadt. We are in agreement on pretty much all aspects of his assessment of this production.
Alex Ross on the Met's opening night pizazzerie. Thankfully, A. Ross took a moment, with his characteristic graciousness, to note the vocal shortcomings of one Cristina Gallardo-Domas.
Chalkenteros, a long time Wellsung friend and commenter, has started his own blog. Make sure to drop by!
More Sieglinde: Sieglinde is trying SO hard to like Cristina, though I think the lady is slowly coming around to the fact that C G-D...well...sucks kinda.
La Cieca has been an incredible resource and sort of clearing house for all the new procedures and offerings at Gelb's Met.
Steve Smith remains awesome.
I am not totally certain what this post was about---more a way to say hello to everyone and get the juices flowing nice and early in the season.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Idomeneo and Friends
Interesting note about the Met's 24 year old production of Idomeneo--it seems that someone forgot to paint the set. Oops!It is the most drab, lifeless, stilted production of all time. Ever.
There isn't much more to say about that, but I do have one other big concern:
WHAT is going on with the Met curtain?? Where is it? There was this hideous, velour-like mustard yellow crap hanging there in its place. Is it being cleaned? I am really attached to that curtain. So, if anyone has any insight as to where the hell it may be, do let me know. It did lead to the enjoyable theory, though, that the mouth of the massive head of Neptune, which hovers for 4 hours over the blandness of this production, was sitting agape at its ugliness (see photo above).
This incarnation of Mozart's underappreciated opera seria thoroughly overcomes the confines of its craptastic production. Mozart with Levine is always an ear-opening experience. In fact, I think I can safely say Levine is teaching me, one opera at a time, to love Mozart. Idomeneo, an opera often slighted as being a bit dry and inaccessible, is instead here filled with emotion and lyricism. Sitting in the house last night, I felt a little bummed out it has taken me so long to spend any serious time with this piece (with that in mind, recording recommendations are hugely appreciated).
Hep B (Ben Heppner, for the uninitiated), was actually one of the weaker links. His voice had its characteristic moments of brilliance and strength, but is no longer fluid enough--14 years after his met debut in this role--to deliver the consistent accuracy and clean lines that are imperative to successful Mozart-singin'.
Totally disappointing was Olga Makarina's Elettra. Her more lyrical moments came off well--truly beautifully, in fact, in a couple of cases. But the real meat of this role is in her fury-driven Act I and Act III arias (a bit more the Ele(k)tra we know and love...) These, sadly, came off timid and musically uncertain. Unfortunately, these moments were really palatable anti-climaxes.
Now that I have my griping out the way...
Mezzo Kristine Jepson, as Idamante, balanced emotional vocal freedom with total Mozartean accuracy. Her first entrance was not her strongest, but it didn't take much time for her to warm right up into mezzo-tastic greatness. Oddly enough, I think the fact that her interpretation of the role really made me fall in love with it led to me spend much of the evening looking forward to Kozena singing it later in the run. Considering my love for Kozena, we'll call this distraction a compliment.
I am going to wait before I declare this officially--but I am thinking Dorothea Röschmann may be one of my new favorite singers (I know, SUCH a distinction). Her Ilia was flawless from the moment she took the stage. Her performance was marked by ease and clarity, backed up with consistent power and solidity. I think I need to start a wish list of roles I want to hear her sing.
Ideas?
Monday, October 02, 2006
DTS
So a quick note on NYCO's revival of Die Tote Stadt:
It's a bit like that one day in film class where they make you watch Maya Deren movies and a Stan Brakhage reel.
Meaning, it's interesting to look at and consider how it was probably relevant and provocative in the 70's.
Anyway, the impressionistic film images were fun for a good chuckle, even though it necessitated the ever-aggravating scenario in which an entire opera takes place behind a scrim.
More importantly, I guess, is that this opera is being performed at all. Listening to it live, I find it curious as to why more houses don't take advantage of its two major vehicles for soprano and tenor (sung here by Susan B. Anthony and Dan Chamandy, who I will only mention brielfy because their performances were adequate but for the most part underwhelming), and one of the more accessible and heartbreaking scores in the rep.
In the interest of brevity, I only have one more observation. The highlight of the evening, without a doubt, was opera hot baritone Keith Phares' gorgeous reading of "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wahnen" in the middle of the second act. Truly, the evening weas worth it for him. I guess he is best described as Nathan Gunn with a bit more vocal heft.
I am off to Idomeneo, Re of Sunshine. And I am running late.
It's a bit like that one day in film class where they make you watch Maya Deren movies and a Stan Brakhage reel.
Meaning, it's interesting to look at and consider how it was probably relevant and provocative in the 70's.
Anyway, the impressionistic film images were fun for a good chuckle, even though it necessitated the ever-aggravating scenario in which an entire opera takes place behind a scrim.
More importantly, I guess, is that this opera is being performed at all. Listening to it live, I find it curious as to why more houses don't take advantage of its two major vehicles for soprano and tenor (sung here by Susan B. Anthony and Dan Chamandy, who I will only mention brielfy because their performances were adequate but for the most part underwhelming), and one of the more accessible and heartbreaking scores in the rep.
In the interest of brevity, I only have one more observation. The highlight of the evening, without a doubt, was opera hot baritone Keith Phares' gorgeous reading of "Mein Sehnen, Mein Wahnen" in the middle of the second act. Truly, the evening weas worth it for him. I guess he is best described as Nathan Gunn with a bit more vocal heft.
I am off to Idomeneo, Re of Sunshine. And I am running late.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
First night in the new house
Revised a bit from last night on account of sobriety.
Good times at the Lyric Opera last night, for its new staging of Iphigenie en Tauride. The main attraction? One Ms. Susan Graham, of course. Her harrowing, damaged, exquisitie Iphiginie is trademark Graham through and through: the unerring instincts, the consummate musicianship, etc. One just can't get over what a unique talent it is (nor can the Lyric, apparently, who saw fit to give her her own curtain call, replete with special spotlight...I mean, it's not like she's Elvis, people).
But last night really demonstrated a new side of SG for me--I've only seen her live three times, and one of those in concert, but she has always struck me as a very 'still' presence onstage. That's not to say stilted by any means, but simply that her physical presence plays second fiddle to the vocal drama. Or maybe it's just that she's like, 6'5'', and that conjurs up less mobile adjectives like towering and statuesque. In any event, this was not the case last night. Barefoot, clad in a black shroud, and sporting long unkempt hair (instead of that kicky highlighted business we usually associate with her), her Ipheginie stumbles about, curls up in the corner, lunges impetuously, and beats the walls with all the bravado of an inmate in an asylum. It's a dynamite performance and a persuasive reading.
But if I were to make one small quibble, and I were, it would be that she seemed guarded in her upper register. It didn't come up that often, but there was notable cautiousness in several big flourishes up top. Question for people that know more about Iphigenie than I: is that because the role has some sections decidedly at the fringes of modern mezzo range? It's nominally sung by full fledged sopranos, no?
As to the rest of the cast: very high marks to Paul Groves' Pylade--a thrilling clarion tone and deep commitment, although the admittedly very hard big aria in Act III seemed to get the better of him in a few places. Lucas Meachem, in the role of his, um, "special friend" Oreste brings a very agreeable light baritone to the part, but had some notable intermittent shortfalls in the power and pitch departments. Mark Delavan turned in a solid Thoas, but I didn't enjoy him as much here as I have on other occasions.
The staging, which plays out on a simple box of slate walls, is on its face a standard minimalist angle, but definitely effective, and in parts very inventive. The lighting design is spare and on target--harsh spots down stage are used to throw the singers' shadows against the slate walls and a devious orange wash crops up to denote points of madness, a haunting blue for Iphigenie's sorrow. Shadows are used cleverly throughout to create a murky, foreboding atmosphere and imbue the simple set with a remarkable range of textures. In a nod to the source material, the chorus is deployed here in the Greek sense, as an abiding presence shaping the action, though with a good deal more writhing around, to be sure.
I took some issue with the major gimmick of the first and second acts, which has everyone writing "Iphigenie" and other character names "REDRUM" style on the walls, then washing it off in various ways. Now, I like it when actors draw on the stage as much as the next guy, but this may have gone a bit over the top--by the fourth cycle of drawing/erasing I kind of wanted someone to take their chalk away. All in all though, file this under thoughtful minimalist productions of the sort you think City Opera should be able to do in its sleep, but for some reason just can't.
In the pit, Louis Langree led the Lyric Orchestra in a swinging, carefree reading and drew a really lovely delicate texture from the players. I wondered, though, how responsible he was for a not insignificant handful of moments where singer and orchestra got out of sync. (Private to Met Orchestra: don't worry, you're still my best girl.)
Some pics of the new house forthcoming...
Good times at the Lyric Opera last night, for its new staging of Iphigenie en Tauride. The main attraction? One Ms. Susan Graham, of course. Her harrowing, damaged, exquisitie Iphiginie is trademark Graham through and through: the unerring instincts, the consummate musicianship, etc. One just can't get over what a unique talent it is (nor can the Lyric, apparently, who saw fit to give her her own curtain call, replete with special spotlight...I mean, it's not like she's Elvis, people).
But last night really demonstrated a new side of SG for me--I've only seen her live three times, and one of those in concert, but she has always struck me as a very 'still' presence onstage. That's not to say stilted by any means, but simply that her physical presence plays second fiddle to the vocal drama. Or maybe it's just that she's like, 6'5'', and that conjurs up less mobile adjectives like towering and statuesque. In any event, this was not the case last night. Barefoot, clad in a black shroud, and sporting long unkempt hair (instead of that kicky highlighted business we usually associate with her), her Ipheginie stumbles about, curls up in the corner, lunges impetuously, and beats the walls with all the bravado of an inmate in an asylum. It's a dynamite performance and a persuasive reading.
But if I were to make one small quibble, and I were, it would be that she seemed guarded in her upper register. It didn't come up that often, but there was notable cautiousness in several big flourishes up top. Question for people that know more about Iphigenie than I: is that because the role has some sections decidedly at the fringes of modern mezzo range? It's nominally sung by full fledged sopranos, no?
As to the rest of the cast: very high marks to Paul Groves' Pylade--a thrilling clarion tone and deep commitment, although the admittedly very hard big aria in Act III seemed to get the better of him in a few places. Lucas Meachem, in the role of his, um, "special friend" Oreste brings a very agreeable light baritone to the part, but had some notable intermittent shortfalls in the power and pitch departments. Mark Delavan turned in a solid Thoas, but I didn't enjoy him as much here as I have on other occasions.
The staging, which plays out on a simple box of slate walls, is on its face a standard minimalist angle, but definitely effective, and in parts very inventive. The lighting design is spare and on target--harsh spots down stage are used to throw the singers' shadows against the slate walls and a devious orange wash crops up to denote points of madness, a haunting blue for Iphigenie's sorrow. Shadows are used cleverly throughout to create a murky, foreboding atmosphere and imbue the simple set with a remarkable range of textures. In a nod to the source material, the chorus is deployed here in the Greek sense, as an abiding presence shaping the action, though with a good deal more writhing around, to be sure.
I took some issue with the major gimmick of the first and second acts, which has everyone writing "Iphigenie" and other character names "REDRUM" style on the walls, then washing it off in various ways. Now, I like it when actors draw on the stage as much as the next guy, but this may have gone a bit over the top--by the fourth cycle of drawing/erasing I kind of wanted someone to take their chalk away. All in all though, file this under thoughtful minimalist productions of the sort you think City Opera should be able to do in its sleep, but for some reason just can't.
In the pit, Louis Langree led the Lyric Orchestra in a swinging, carefree reading and drew a really lovely delicate texture from the players. I wondered, though, how responsible he was for a not insignificant handful of moments where singer and orchestra got out of sync. (Private to Met Orchestra: don't worry, you're still my best girl.)
Some pics of the new house forthcoming...
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Greetings from Chicagoland
First off, I'd like to register my seething envy for everyone who was at the Met on Monday. Spotty Cio-Cio San or not it sounds like a simply delightful evening, and should, I think, be taken as a sort of recognition for everyone out there laboring in opera-loving obscurity. Maybe it's one man's pipe-dream. Maybe it's the start of something big. Either way, it's nice to be validated by jumbotrons once in a while.
As for me, I'm still jonesing for that first sweet fix...couldn't quite bring myself to endure Turandot feat. Andrea "Suckola" Gruber. But no need for pity, the Lyric's first ever Iphigenie staging bows Friday with Susan "Hook em' Horns" Graham at the helm and I expect to be there. And that, of course, is mere pregame to the christening of the all-live, all-____ Voigt Salome in October.
Must go back to the books, but I would like to throw in my two cents about the brewing child v. puppet debate engulfing critics and bloggers alike. (Question: where would Shari Lewis come down here?) No opinions about the case in question of course, but it got me thinking about other children's parts ripe for takeover--I mean, freaky puppet child Sound of Music, anyone? Please?
As for me, I'm still jonesing for that first sweet fix...couldn't quite bring myself to endure Turandot feat. Andrea "Suckola" Gruber. But no need for pity, the Lyric's first ever Iphigenie staging bows Friday with Susan "Hook em' Horns" Graham at the helm and I expect to be there. And that, of course, is mere pregame to the christening of the all-live, all-____ Voigt Salome in October.
Must go back to the books, but I would like to throw in my two cents about the brewing child v. puppet debate engulfing critics and bloggers alike. (Question: where would Shari Lewis come down here?) No opinions about the case in question of course, but it got me thinking about other children's parts ripe for takeover--I mean, freaky puppet child Sound of Music, anyone? Please?
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Peter Threw a Party. Everybody Came.
The Wellsung blog aspires, in the new season, to crawl out of our deep hole of obsolescence. We will attempt to post with our former regularity and provide frank, unfiltered, and on occasion, thoughtful comments on the season's offerings.One major shake-up: My dear friend and blogging buddy Alex has moved to Chicago. Yes, it's as depressing as it sounds; thank goodness for those $39 each way fares on Southwest. Alex will now officially head up the Chicago office of Wellsung, while I keep the home fires burning in New York. Between him and me, and regular offerings from my parents in San Francisco, we should be able to cover a lot of territory between now and June.
And of course, we will still IM with a frequence and level of sophistication approaching that of middle school girls. So, um, stay tuned for that.
LASTLY, WE WILL BE INVITING MEG RYAN AND SIMULCASTING OUR BLOG ON JUMBOTRONS IN BOTH TIMES SQAURE AND LINCOLN CENTER PLAZA!!
HOLY CRAP. Last night was insane!!
Me likey the Gelb.
A quick note on the event--the parade of celebrities, video screen simulcasts, tacky rich ladies in f-ing ugly kimonos (yes, the Upper East Side dusted off their finest KIMONOS (Kimoni?)), Melissa Rivers interviewing Licia...well, maybe she was there. This was spectacle at its finest. The whole thing had me giggling from the moment we emerged from the 1 train. The best part of this whole circus was that everyone truly seemed to be having a total blast. It made me really happy. It truly felt like a massive celebration of a massive rethinking of the way opera is marketed and perceived by the general consuming public. I am hoping the message I took away from the frenzy is in fact the intention of the new administration:
We're not going to mess with the product. We ARE going to make sure people know it's here and accessible.
I hope I'm right--fingers nervously crossed on this one. I am 100% in support of building audiences, as long as the quality of the work remains at the highest possible level. We shall see. I am optimistic.
As for Madama Butterfly (oh right, that.)...
I have no criticisms of this heartbreakingly beautiful, perfectly conceived production by Anthony Minghella. Every design element is in perfect harmony with the others, and the performers' movements within these elements result in some of the most sublime theatrical moments I have seen on any stage in this city. It is truly breathtaking, and a massive, massive accomplishment. Mr. Minghella and his team of designers were unquestionably the stars of the evening.
James Levine, in his one-performance-only appearance as the conductor of this production, lead the orchestra in an energized, intelligent reading of one of Puccini's most emotionally wrought scores. It was Mr. Levine's first outing conducting this particular piece in its entirety. He has certainlhy faced many a more daunting challenge, but met this one with elegance and apparent ease.
On a slightly more troubling note, the singing was on par with neither the production's artistry, nor the event's bombast. Marcello Giordani's Pinkerton had some lovely moments, as did Dwayne Croft's Sharpless and Maria Zifchak's particularly robust reading of Suzuki. They all turned in very solid, reliable, and unremarkable performances. But on to the lady of the evening...
I am sorry to report that Cristina Gallardo-Domas is sort of a mess. She has nothing on top, and lacks the breath support to survive key phrases. Consequently, several of the piece's more iconic moments fell flat. REALLY flat. She was missing notes here and there by upwards of a whole step. When she DID reach them, she couldn't sustain them anywhere near their full value. This is supposedly her "signature" role. Considering that, I'd think she would at least be able to at least sing all the notes. Perhaps on a night with less pressure she will deliver something a bit more solid--all eyes were truly on her, and that can't be easy.
That said, this is one of those rare productions that is unquestionably worth experiencing regardless of the very real vocal shortcomings of the leading lady. And the crowd seemed to like her more than I did, anyhow.
Then again...wearing that costume, under that brilliant lighting plot, and descending Minghella's massive raked stage toward an audience more hungry for a thrilling evening that any I can remember...you could stick just about anyone up there and they'd be likely to get a standing ovation.
Any takers?
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
End of an Era -or- Remember To Turn the IM Off Before Going to Bed
1:35 AM
Reconnecting to arbaker340…
A: I don't know if this is THE most absurd move I have ever undertaken
A: but it is certainly competitive
1:55 AM
A: wnyc has a very nice rosenkavalier going, however
2:25 AM
A: I think maybe i would like to marry the first act of der rosenkavalier
Reconnecting to arbaker340…
A: I don't know if this is THE most absurd move I have ever undertaken
A: but it is certainly competitive
1:55 AM
A: wnyc has a very nice rosenkavalier going, however
2:25 AM
A: I think maybe i would like to marry the first act of der rosenkavalier
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Going to all of them...on purpose
J: so, you think cheap ass seats are fine for the Villaon/Trebs Boheme right?
A: oh yeah
J: like, who cares
J: it's Boheme
A: whoa
A: she's only doing the one?
J: yeah
J: weird right?
A: very
J: they are just slipping it in there
J: it is sort of amusing
J: so, fam circ row G for $15
J: I support this
A: yes
A: that is sweet
A: $5 more than a movie ticket strikes me as a really pretty sweet deal
J: seriously
J: it's awesome
J: hm, what about Don Carlo
A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ihJWPXV7s&search=
J:: I wonder if nice-ish seats are worth it
A: this is nice/silly
A: oh good...that is early December
A: that looks so hot
J: are you going to be around then?
A: we have pretty much all of december off, so I assume I'll do a trip
A: its the quarter system thing
J: oh sweet
A: that's great they are keeping the same cast for the whole thing
J: yeah that is great
J: did you see Drowsy Chaperone?
A: Ino
J: it is so fun
A: this was your second time, right?
J: yeah
J: I liked it even more I think
A: cool
A: it is on the short list for sure
J: History Boys was very different than I imagined
A: Trebs sounding nice here
A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtqPeeKhRVw&mode=related&search=
A: and making funny faces
A: how so?
J: have you read reviews?
A: no
J: well, it's very sexual
A: huh
J: I thought it was just like "oh so inspiring teacher and his pupils"
A: yeah...
A: Like stand and deliver with more cleverness and no mexicans
J: precisely
A: not so?
J: but instead it's like stand and deliver with more cleverness, no Mexicans, and the teacher touches their privates
J: and they sort of like it
J: and use it to their advantage
A: oh shnap
A: uh
A: didn't see that coming
J: yeah
J: and like, one of the students is gay and really sweet and open about it
J: and there are little interludes where he sings old standards
J: it's actually completely wonderful
J: but just very different than I thought
A: oh good
A: someone I talked to had been underwhelmed by it
J: oh that's too bad
A: good to know otherwise
J: I thought it was really awesome
J: I have a few gripes about the play I guess
J: but ultimately it's pretty awesome, and a wonderful cast
A: check this deconstructed Carmen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrEifPV7fHE&mode=related&search=
J: did you watch the Pearlfishers stuff after the trebs clip?
J: oh this looks awesome
J: I'd watch that Carmen
A: yeah
A: the grease on RV was out of control
J: Marina is one hot babe
J: I have only seen her play a man
A: fo'
A: reals
A: what did you see her in?
J: Fledermaus
A: I wonder if there is a full DVD of this somewhere
A: this looks great
A: Carmen can be pretty awesome sung well with no kitsch
J: you could do a December trip that included Don Carlo and the Netrebazonko Boheme
A: what is the date on the Trebs boheme?
J: Dec. 5th
A: nuts
A: I guess it doesn't actually end til the 9th
J: your semester?
A: yeah
J: total nuts
J: oh well
A: if you end up doing a DC after that, let me know though
J: ok. I will go to the first one, but there's nothing to stop me from going to another, if you are in town
A: bien sur
J: schweet
J: front row balcony for Jenufa
A: so awesome
A: I'm going to have to figure out how to get away for that
A: although it may of course cause permanent emotional damage
J: it's true
A: who is "begley"?
J: he is great
J: Kim Begley
J: he was the father in AmTrag
A: Not Ed Begley Jr.
J: or maybe Ed Begley Jr.
A: http://www.soystache.com/SoyStache-Frontpage/Ed_Begley_Jr_2.jpg
A: any word about the alternate Kostelnicka?
J: Judith Forst
J: Greg says she is good
J: I bet she will actually sing it at least
J: I am very excited for live Salome
J: with Voigtola
A: I feel like you might accidentally go to all of them
J: well I have thought about going to all of them on purpose
A: That woman doing that role is going to make people freak the fuck out
J: I know--she has done it before in this production
J: but now it is post-Salome so I feel like people want to go crazy for her. And I support that.
J: I may make myself watermelon margaritas tonight
J: um
J: Alelx
A: Joln?
J: have you looked at Parterre in the last few days?
J: http://parterre.com/2006/08/enzo-sees-future.html
J: scroll to the 2nd to last one
A: why yes, yes I did see that
J: now I just need to freeze myself
J: for two years
A: ha
A: That may affect my post-graduate school decisions
J: as well it should
A: "I was going to do the peace corps, but Mattilla is back in Salome, so..."
J: haha
J: I would protest so hard if you did the peace corps
A: yeah, I'm thinking that's not going to be such a danger
J: hah
A: digging ditches in Botswana doesn't so much pay down the graduate school debt
J: less so
A: some nice gheorghiu here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdanla9Qn8&mode=related&search=
J: that is lovely
J: tho f-ing you tube keeps crashing my browser
A: huh
A: weird
A: oh yeah
J: like, who cares
J: it's Boheme
A: whoa
A: she's only doing the one?
J: yeah
J: weird right?
A: very
J: they are just slipping it in there
J: it is sort of amusing
J: so, fam circ row G for $15
J: I support this
A: yes
A: that is sweet
A: $5 more than a movie ticket strikes me as a really pretty sweet deal
J: seriously
J: it's awesome
J: hm, what about Don Carlo
A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ihJWPXV7s&search=
J:: I wonder if nice-ish seats are worth it
A: this is nice/silly
A: oh good...that is early December
A: that looks so hot
J: are you going to be around then?
A: we have pretty much all of december off, so I assume I'll do a trip
A: its the quarter system thing
J: oh sweet
A: that's great they are keeping the same cast for the whole thing
J: yeah that is great
J: did you see Drowsy Chaperone?
A: Ino
J: it is so fun
A: this was your second time, right?
J: yeah
J: I liked it even more I think
A: cool
A: it is on the short list for sure
J: History Boys was very different than I imagined
A: Trebs sounding nice here
A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtqPeeKhRVw&mode=related&search=
A: and making funny faces
A: how so?
J: have you read reviews?
A: no
J: well, it's very sexual
A: huh
J: I thought it was just like "oh so inspiring teacher and his pupils"
A: yeah...
A: Like stand and deliver with more cleverness and no mexicans
J: precisely
A: not so?
J: but instead it's like stand and deliver with more cleverness, no Mexicans, and the teacher touches their privates
J: and they sort of like it
J: and use it to their advantage
A: oh shnap
A: uh
A: didn't see that coming
J: yeah
J: and like, one of the students is gay and really sweet and open about it
J: and there are little interludes where he sings old standards
J: it's actually completely wonderful
J: but just very different than I thought
A: oh good
A: someone I talked to had been underwhelmed by it
J: oh that's too bad
A: good to know otherwise
J: I thought it was really awesome
J: I have a few gripes about the play I guess
J: but ultimately it's pretty awesome, and a wonderful cast
A: check this deconstructed Carmen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrEifPV7fHE&mode=related&search=
J: did you watch the Pearlfishers stuff after the trebs clip?
J: oh this looks awesome
J: I'd watch that Carmen
A: yeah
A: the grease on RV was out of control
J: Marina is one hot babe
J: I have only seen her play a man
A: fo'
A: reals
A: what did you see her in?
J: Fledermaus
A: I wonder if there is a full DVD of this somewhere
A: this looks great
A: Carmen can be pretty awesome sung well with no kitsch
J: you could do a December trip that included Don Carlo and the Netrebazonko Boheme
A: what is the date on the Trebs boheme?
J: Dec. 5th
A: nuts
A: I guess it doesn't actually end til the 9th
J: your semester?
A: yeah
J: total nuts
J: oh well
A: if you end up doing a DC after that, let me know though
J: ok. I will go to the first one, but there's nothing to stop me from going to another, if you are in town
A: bien sur
J: schweet
J: front row balcony for Jenufa
A: so awesome
A: I'm going to have to figure out how to get away for that
A: although it may of course cause permanent emotional damage
J: it's true
A: who is "begley"?
J: he is great
J: Kim Begley
J: he was the father in AmTrag
A: Not Ed Begley Jr.
J: or maybe Ed Begley Jr.
A: http://www.soystache.com/SoyStache-Frontpage/Ed_Begley_Jr_2.jpg
A: any word about the alternate Kostelnicka?
J: Judith Forst
J: Greg says she is good
J: I bet she will actually sing it at least
J: I am very excited for live Salome
J: with Voigtola
A: I feel like you might accidentally go to all of them
J: well I have thought about going to all of them on purpose
A: That woman doing that role is going to make people freak the fuck out
J: I know--she has done it before in this production
J: but now it is post-Salome so I feel like people want to go crazy for her. And I support that.
J: I may make myself watermelon margaritas tonight
J: um
J: Alelx
A: Joln?
J: have you looked at Parterre in the last few days?
J: http://parterre.com/2006/08/enzo-sees-future.html
J: scroll to the 2nd to last one
A: why yes, yes I did see that
J: now I just need to freeze myself
J: for two years
A: ha
A: That may affect my post-graduate school decisions
J: as well it should
A: "I was going to do the peace corps, but Mattilla is back in Salome, so..."
J: haha
J: I would protest so hard if you did the peace corps
A: yeah, I'm thinking that's not going to be such a danger
J: hah
A: digging ditches in Botswana doesn't so much pay down the graduate school debt
J: less so
A: some nice gheorghiu here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdanla9Qn8&mode=related&search=
J: that is lovely
J: tho f-ing you tube keeps crashing my browser
A: huh
A: weird
Friday, August 11, 2006
Fröliche Geburtstag!
Warm birthday wishes to a very dear Wellsung friend: Maury. Please be sure to stop by and send this dashing opera buff your best.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Change of scenery
Well, as I've told most everyone else, I suppose I should tell the blog. Come the end of the month, Wellsung is going mid-coastal. J will be maintaining the flagship presence in New York, while I shall be covering the great middle-western territories, i.e. Chicago, while pursuing further schooling by day. Not that I could stomach missing the entire Met season, of course. You tell me how I should sleep at night having missed the upcoming Agyptische Helene, Don Carlo, Meistersinger, and ***Mattila Jenufa***??? Not to mention the Gheorghiu Boccanegra. And the Trebs Puritani. And the Hvorostovsky Onegin (despite Flem-ball's presence). Fuck. This is going to be difficult.
But the upcoming Lyric season is hardly chopped liver, of course. And threatened naked Voigt Salome is already on the docket. So it shoud make for some interesting new experiences.
Hello, Chicago opera blogosphere, and thanks, New York, for the memories.
But the upcoming Lyric season is hardly chopped liver, of course. And threatened naked Voigt Salome is already on the docket. So it shoud make for some interesting new experiences.
Hello, Chicago opera blogosphere, and thanks, New York, for the memories.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
The Manatees of Summer
A: whatup
J: wassup
J: I got our tix
A: oh yay
J: woo!
A: I am sehr stoked
J: it will be totally fun
A: did you see about the manatee?
J: ?
J: no...
J: neat!
J: I wanna see it
A: I know!
A: let's take off work and hang out at the pier tomorrow
J: I got a neat Parsifal on the most random label
A: calling "manatee..."
J: "here manatee tee tee tee tee"
A: "prrrrow Manatee...chik chik chik chicken"
J: hahah
J: "Andrew!! I mean....Manatee..."
J: dude the 'tee was in my neighborhood
A: it's everywhere!!
A: I guess not the east river so much
A: altho I would not wish that on the 'tee
J: seriously
J: he's totally a west side 'tee
J: anyway this Parsifal
A: yes
J: is from Bayreuth 1951
J: Knappertsbusch
J: w/Windgassen, Martha Moll, George London (Amfortas), Ludwig Weber
J: and for a live 1951 recording is in awesome sound
J: especially on a label with Korean writing on it
A: ha
A: sweet
A: how is the w-gassen?
J: he has not come on yet. I just got it today and am still in the big Gurnemanz monologue
J: I feel like 1951 W-gas will be good
A: I feel I may be too down on him just cuz I associate him with doing some croaking Siegfried
J: right
J: we'll see how this is
J: it was like 2¢ on Amazon
A: dope
A: I am trying to choose a hotel in Berlin'
J: that is so rad
A: it is difficult
A: I have a general idea of what is a good place to be
A: but have to google map everything
J: right
J: but that is fun planning
A: no doubt
A: did you see my last IM today?
J: about Greg's Español message?
A: about going to the London Sunday
J: no!!!
J: you are going??!
J: ahhhhh!
A: I'm going to have a night or something there
J: you must go
A: consolation for Bayreuth
J: what night are you there?
A: I think it will just be the 23rd
A: I may stay with Lydia's mother on the 22nd
J: theater is so damn cheap there
J: the most expensive tix are 45 GBP
A: which actually is broadway comparable now that the dollar is such ass
A: but shouldn't be
J: hah right
A: there should be an advocacy group "Americans Against the Dollar Being Ass"
A: AADBA
J: Alex Allied with Delta Burke's Ass
A: hahaha
A: I'd sign that
J: "I'll drink that"
A: nast
A: I love that Delta Burke, even tho she is reportedly a crazy-ass Republican
J: shit
J: really?
A: wait
A: I'm thinking of the other Designing Woman I really love
J: are you thinking of Dixie Carter?
A: yes
A: why she gotta be like that?
J: yeah no kidding
J: oh Gurnemaz shut up
A: 'manz: I get it
J: I drink so much Seltzer
J: there are empty seltzer bottles everywhere in here
A: it goes fast
J: oh neat our Salami tickets came
A: aw
A: sum
A: are you set for the Minghella butterfly business?
J: all set
J: I am psyched
A: did you see there's a Robert Wilson Butterfly?
J: oh neat
A: Pat Racette did it in Los Angeles
J: I thought Pat Racette only "did it" in Park Slope
A: hehe
A: there was a review in that Opera News with 'trebs ta-tas on the cover
J: oh that like "barely legal" Trebs shot
A: The Trebs as Penthouse filler shoot, yes
Sunday, August 06, 2006
PSA
If you haven't been already, just thought I'd note that Vincent over at Wagneroperas.com is doing yeoman's work with podcasts offering the greatest hits from the new Bayreuth Ring b-casts. Check 'em here.
Should the universe conspire in my favor, there's some small chance I might get a swing at the Aug 23 Walkure. If anyone in the know about such things cares to comment, is there really any sense in trying to snag a return/scalped ticket day of?
Should the universe conspire in my favor, there's some small chance I might get a swing at the Aug 23 Walkure. If anyone in the know about such things cares to comment, is there really any sense in trying to snag a return/scalped ticket day of?
Saturday, August 05, 2006
Siegfried listenin'
A guest IM buddy. I have chosen green for him.
A: any chance you're listening to the Siegfried rebroadcast?
G: crud, no
G: should i be?
A: it's pretty good...Stephen Gould is doing pretty well
G: i may tune in
A: Act III is going to start soon
G: who's b'hild?
A: Linda Watson
A: it's fun...they play the fanfares too
G: ok i'm tuned in now
G: my recollection is that linda watson has some troubles up top
A: I listened to an excerpt from Act II of the Walkure but wasn't paying much attention
G: oh wait this is the erda scene. who's erda?
A: Mihoko Fujimura
A: Erda-san
G: ha
A: Struckmann was ok in the Walkure ending I listened to, but definitely had some stamina issues and bailed on a couple big notes
G: it will all be better when pape is singing wotan
A: what do you think the ETA on that will be?
G: hm, I find I'm not the very most savvy abbout the "size" of roles...he sounds like he could sing it now, to me, but I"m sure I've heard him say it's not inthe near future.
A: http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4797.html
G: wow, you're good
A: that is going to be some hot, hot stuff
G: 2010 isn't so veeery far i guess
G: this is a very meh erda
A: seriously
A: any chance you're listening to the Siegfried rebroadcast?
G: crud, no
G: should i be?
A: it's pretty good...Stephen Gould is doing pretty well
G: i may tune in
A: Act III is going to start soon
G: who's b'hild?
A: Linda Watson
A: it's fun...they play the fanfares too
G: ok i'm tuned in now
G: my recollection is that linda watson has some troubles up top
A: I listened to an excerpt from Act II of the Walkure but wasn't paying much attention
G: oh wait this is the erda scene. who's erda?
A: Mihoko Fujimura
A: Erda-san
G: ha
A: Struckmann was ok in the Walkure ending I listened to, but definitely had some stamina issues and bailed on a couple big notes
G: it will all be better when pape is singing wotan
A: what do you think the ETA on that will be?
G: hm, I find I'm not the very most savvy abbout the "size" of roles...he sounds like he could sing it now, to me, but I"m sure I've heard him say it's not inthe near future.
A: http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/4797.html
G: wow, you're good
A: that is going to be some hot, hot stuff
G: 2010 isn't so veeery far i guess
G: this is a very meh erda
A: seriously
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Bavaria Dreamin'
A: someone is holding my phone hostage!
J: wait what??
A: I realized that I didn't have it
J: sorry for the delay I am in the midst of a big apartment clean-up, but you have my full attention
A: s'ok
A: and I im'd greg asking him to call it
A: thinking it was just under some laundry or something
J: and what happened?
A: and this guy totally picked up
J: and?
A: but was completely incoherent and then hung up
J: !
A: and then I called on KR's phone and got the same thing
J: whoa
A: now he's not picking up my calls at all
J: i am calling now
J: right
J: it seems to be off
A: oh damn
J: I think it is your phone-dämmerung
J: ok but you can go online and see which numbers were called
A: they aren't showing up
J: hrm
A: Greg left a message in Spanish offereing money
A: which I just listened to
A: it was great
J: haha
A: Sieglinde is going to the Salome premiere too
J: oh awesome
J: that will be so fun
J: I hope our seats are decent
A: Alan Held will be an interesting Jokana-an
A: I feel like he leans a bit more to the low end of the baritone spectrum than standard Jokanaaaaaans
J: yeah tho Wozzeck has some high stuff
J: ok I sent a text to your phone
J: the from will say "We Located You"
J: and the text says:
J: We have spoken to our attorney who will be contacting you shortly. To avoid legal action, we suggest you call 917-302-2515.
A: ooh
A: good stuff
J: that was all the characters it would allow
A: hopefully they can read English
J: I sent another that the from will say "Stop Using Phone" and the text
J: This is an official
warning. Stop using this phone immediately and call 917-302-2515. We are pursuing legal action.
A: sweet
J: and another
J: Police Contacted
J: We are contacting the New York City Police Department. To avoid further legal action, call 917-302-2515.
J: I am hoping it will just freak them out
A: I don't think they've actually turned it off yet
J: they are probably madly reading texts
J: are you going to try Bayreuth?
J: I was listening to a Parsifal broadcast today
J: and it made me want to go so bad
J: not that it was even so wonderful
A: shnap
A:I was going to do that JFerrantel: but the whole thing seemed so neat
A: we missed all the ring b-casts
J: yeah but they are rebroadcasting them all
A: oh really?
J: yeah
J: http://www.operacast.com/bayreuth06.htm
J: scroll to the bottom
J: I went ahead and started the 76 year process of applying for tickets
A: natch
J: and mailed in a request for a booking form
A: bayreuth is a 4-5 hr drive from berlin
A: but Lydia has a flight from Heathrow two days before me
J: is Berlin the closest big city?
J: ohhh
J: so like you could stick around
A: so I'm actually trying to figure out what to do with about 48 hrs
J: um
J: clearly
A: I could go back to London and crash at her mother's house
A: and see London, which I never have
J: yeah London is wonderful
J: if they start selling
single tickets for the Canada ring I thought about going up on a Friday and doing Siegfried and G-Dams
A: nice
A: toronto, right?
J: yeah it is usually real cheap to get there
A: well, keep me apprised
J: will do
A: in Bayreuth there is a "Lohengrin thermal spa"
A: hopefully adjacent to the "Gotterdammerung massage parlor"
J: Lohengrin Thermal Spa??
J: haha
A: "Ask about our ambiguous happy endings"
J: Rienzi Coffee Shack
A: haha
A: Parsifal Stop n' Shop
J: I was thinking today what a bummer it would be to wait 9 years for Bayreuth tickets and then get Fliegende Höllander
A: yeah
J: not to talk shit about DFH
A: that would be weak
J: but...y'know
J: weak
J: I never had dinner
J: I had a heavy lunch
J: I sort of want Mac and Cheese
J: and Sangria
A: ooh
A: that sounds so good
J: I mean
J: I could make that happen in under 20 mins
J: I have red wine and rum
A: you and your talents
J: I could go downstairs and get fruit juices
J: and Mac and Cheese
J: and ice
A: huh...I guess you have to change trains in Nuremburg
A: do it
J: I wonder if accomodations are a fortune
J: you can stay at "Das Liebesverbot Motor Inn" but you might get scabies
A: hahaha
J: that would be a great adventure
J: I mean
A: the hotels don't seems so bad
J: Bayreuth!
J: like
J: you will be so close
J: and if you just devoted one day to getting up at dawn and waiting in line
J: what are the days you are there?
J: potentially?
A: it would be 21 to possibly 23 if I could figure out how to get back to London by the next morning
A: it's a parsifal, a DHF and a Walkure
A: not parsifal
A: tristan
A: uh, and not DHF
A: but Rheingold
A: the tristan has Nina Stemme
A: I mean, here's a hotel that looks perfectly respectable for $88
A: the "Meister Bär Hotel Bayreuth"
J: perfect
J: this is not my finest Sangria effort. But it is drinkable.
A: "I'll drink that"
J: wait what??
A: I realized that I didn't have it
J: sorry for the delay I am in the midst of a big apartment clean-up, but you have my full attention
A: s'ok
A: and I im'd greg asking him to call it
A: thinking it was just under some laundry or something
J: and what happened?
A: and this guy totally picked up
J: and?
A: but was completely incoherent and then hung up
J: !
A: and then I called on KR's phone and got the same thing
J: whoa
A: now he's not picking up my calls at all
J: i am calling now
J: right
J: it seems to be off
A: oh damn
J: I think it is your phone-dämmerung
J: ok but you can go online and see which numbers were called
A: they aren't showing up
J: hrm
A: Greg left a message in Spanish offereing money
A: which I just listened to
A: it was great
J: haha
A: Sieglinde is going to the Salome premiere too
J: oh awesome
J: that will be so fun
J: I hope our seats are decent
A: Alan Held will be an interesting Jokana-an
A: I feel like he leans a bit more to the low end of the baritone spectrum than standard Jokanaaaaaans
J: yeah tho Wozzeck has some high stuff
J: ok I sent a text to your phone
J: the from will say "We Located You"
J: and the text says:
J: We have spoken to our attorney who will be contacting you shortly. To avoid legal action, we suggest you call 917-302-2515.
A: ooh
A: good stuff
J: that was all the characters it would allow
A: hopefully they can read English
J: I sent another that the from will say "Stop Using Phone" and the text
J: This is an official
warning. Stop using this phone immediately and call 917-302-2515. We are pursuing legal action.
A: sweet
J: and another
J: Police Contacted
J: We are contacting the New York City Police Department. To avoid further legal action, call 917-302-2515.
J: I am hoping it will just freak them out
A: I don't think they've actually turned it off yet
J: they are probably madly reading texts
J: are you going to try Bayreuth?
J: I was listening to a Parsifal broadcast today
J: and it made me want to go so bad
J: not that it was even so wonderful
A: shnap
A:I was going to do that JFerrantel: but the whole thing seemed so neat
A: we missed all the ring b-casts
J: yeah but they are rebroadcasting them all
A: oh really?
J: yeah
J: http://www.operacast.com/bayreuth06.htm
J: scroll to the bottom
J: I went ahead and started the 76 year process of applying for tickets
A: natch
J: and mailed in a request for a booking form
A: bayreuth is a 4-5 hr drive from berlin
A: but Lydia has a flight from Heathrow two days before me
J: is Berlin the closest big city?
J: ohhh
J: so like you could stick around
A: so I'm actually trying to figure out what to do with about 48 hrs
J: um
J: clearly
A: I could go back to London and crash at her mother's house
A: and see London, which I never have
J: yeah London is wonderful
J: if they start selling
single tickets for the Canada ring I thought about going up on a Friday and doing Siegfried and G-Dams
A: nice
A: toronto, right?
J: yeah it is usually real cheap to get there
A: well, keep me apprised
J: will do
A: in Bayreuth there is a "Lohengrin thermal spa"
A: hopefully adjacent to the "Gotterdammerung massage parlor"
J: Lohengrin Thermal Spa??
J: haha
A: "Ask about our ambiguous happy endings"
J: Rienzi Coffee Shack
A: haha
A: Parsifal Stop n' Shop
J: I was thinking today what a bummer it would be to wait 9 years for Bayreuth tickets and then get Fliegende Höllander
A: yeah
J: not to talk shit about DFH
A: that would be weak
J: but...y'know
J: weak
J: I never had dinner
J: I had a heavy lunch
J: I sort of want Mac and Cheese
J: and Sangria
A: ooh
A: that sounds so good
J: I mean
J: I could make that happen in under 20 mins
J: I have red wine and rum
A: you and your talents
J: I could go downstairs and get fruit juices
J: and Mac and Cheese
J: and ice
A: huh...I guess you have to change trains in Nuremburg
A: do it
J: I wonder if accomodations are a fortune
J: you can stay at "Das Liebesverbot Motor Inn" but you might get scabies
A: hahaha
J: that would be a great adventure
J: I mean
A: the hotels don't seems so bad
J: Bayreuth!
J: like
J: you will be so close
J: and if you just devoted one day to getting up at dawn and waiting in line
J: what are the days you are there?
J: potentially?
A: it would be 21 to possibly 23 if I could figure out how to get back to London by the next morning
A: it's a parsifal, a DHF and a Walkure
A: not parsifal
A: tristan
A: uh, and not DHF
A: but Rheingold
A: the tristan has Nina Stemme
A: I mean, here's a hotel that looks perfectly respectable for $88
A: the "Meister Bär Hotel Bayreuth"
J: perfect
J: this is not my finest Sangria effort. But it is drinkable.
A: "I'll drink that"
Monday, July 31, 2006
Look Guys, They Named a Boat for Us
I sort of expected our Glimmerglass weekend to be a sort of mid-afternoon snack; something low carb and possibly bland to appease the operappetite between Tanglewood/Caramoor and the start of the new Met season. It was not so.
I am going to let Alex's assessment of The Greater Good be the Wellsung party line. I will throw in that even in the less-horribly-conceived-than-the-rest first 30 minutes or so, I still found it basically lame and cutesy (vocal lines such as: "I'm c-c-c-cooooold. N-never been so c-c-c-coooold", etc).
The pinnacle of this opera's depserate pandering for some connection with its audience comes near the end, when, in an oh so selfless act of sexual martyrdom, Boule de Suif, the afternoon's "Whore With a Heart of Gold" has sex with a hot German soldier. The poor darling.What happens is this:
While they have sex, the violin section mimics the sound of a mattress squeaking. This goes on for three full scenes. The lights go down, the lights come up. Someone comments on how long they have been having sex. Everyone giggles. The lights go down. The lights come on. Someone ELSE comments on how long ty have been having sex...etc etc. All the while, the poor violin section is making the stupid bed squeak sound.
Ok, no more to say about that--on to the real centerpiece of the weekend.
Don't ask me what my top five favorite operas are, it will make me panic. I will tell you, that as that sort of list changes and fluctuates, Jenufa always remains damn close to the top. So, as Alex pointed out--in any successful production of this piece, the biggesst accolades really must go to Janacek. This idea is helpful to me as I really try to zoom in on what makes me love opera--for me it is always going to be more about the piece itself, with the hopes that a given execution of the piece will bring it to life in a way that does it justice. I guess this speaks to why I can't really roll with the Bel Canto. It's music that, to my ears, has little reason to exist without a vocal acrobat to dazzle us with runs and high notes. I find myself, at times, listening to Bellini or Rossini and wanting to scream: "Just sing some fucking scales and be done with it!!"
I guess this is why, as my tastes slowly develop, I find myself leaving heavily toward the Germans--specifically Wagner and Strauss (big surprise, I know). I can listen to a dozen Salomes at this point and discover something new about the piece every time. And with every listen, I feel more strongly that the music and text are perfectly wed and truly inform each other--as opposed to listening to a dozen recordings of, say, I Puritani, where there is some fun in listening to how a given singer can survive a given passage, but little to be gleaned from the piece itself.
All of these are broad generalizations and are really truly only about my personal tastes. Alex and I just listened to so damn much Strauss and Wagner in the car to Glimmerglass, that after two Caramoor Bel Canto extravaganzas, I have this sort of thing on the brain.
br> There is a point here: Jenufa, to me, falls firmly in the category of pieces that stands on their own merits--and that when it is brought to life with artists who understand its sublimity, we are fortunate to be there to witness it. As one of my truly favorite operas, and as it was my first time hearing it live, I was beyond thrilled with what I heard aznd saw Saturday night.
Jonathan Miller's understated new production basically leaves the opera alone. It plucks it from a rural Czech village and sets it in the rural U.S.--tho the precise time period was unclear. As Alex said brilliantly: "It was basically a way for them not to do the whole thing in Czeck peasant outfits". Exactly. The production was unobtrusive and nice to look at.
Maria Kanyova sings a sensitive, vocally confident Jenufa. I heard her earlier this year in Chicago Opera Theater's Nixon in China. Her Pat Nixon was perhaps even a bit more brushed up at that point than her Jenufa--but in Chicago we saw the final performance, and here we saw the first. Kanyova's voice has the power it needs for a small, acoustically helpful house like Glimmerglass--but I imagine it could get lost in a bigger setting. She made legitimate acting choices which completed the package.
Roger Honeywell and Scott Piper, as Laca and Steva, respectively, both gave vocally strong performaznces. Honeywell was the more impressive of the two. Once he it his stride somewhere around mid-act one, he brought real guts and drama right up until the end. Laca, in the end, is the meatier of th two roles.
The real star of the evening was Elizabeth Byrne and her impeccably sung, totally terrifying Kostelnicka. It was pretty intense in that little house hearing a woman who still sings Brunnhildes (yes, that's her) sing Kostelnicka. She struck the balance between being totally over the top and intense and actually SINGING the role, which was refreshing. Maybe I will cover my ears and imagine her ballsy voice this winter while trying to listen to Anja Silja bark her way through it.
The orchestra, under the seemingly capable baton of Stewart Robinson, held it together for the most part but was never wildly impressive. I get the sense the Glimmerglass orchestra is not the company's strongest feature--but perfectly adequate. No complaints.
In the end, it is Janacek who takes the evening. We were a lucky audience to hear this brilliant piece with an ensemble of intelligent artists. Hopefully the Jenufa momentum will keep trucking. If the audiences in New York and DC in the coming season respond in kind with the audience up in Cooperstown Saturday night...I imagine its place in the rep will only become more prominent.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Glimmerglass report
Perhaps I will say more later, but as I'm sure J is going to have words to spare about the Jenufa which opened Satruday at Glimmerglass, I will leave it at this. This Jenufa goes on the very short list of most exciting time spent in an opera house all year. Screaming, giddy, clapping til your hands hurt bravas go to Elizabeth Byrne's Kostelnicka--if there's a more thrilling Kostelnicka to be had dramatically or vocally out there, please let me know, because anything more intense than Byrne's searing reading might well induce seizures. Cheers for the rest of this committed, exemplary cast as well, and cheers above all for Janacek. Note to the opera universe--people given Janacek done properly will flip the f out. You might be able to reel them in with yet another Boheme, but give them a soul bruising Janacek and they'll go home wondering where opera has been all their lives.
Before the memory dissipates though, I want to say a few things about "The Greater Good", the premeire by Stephen Hartke we saw earlier today. It is not a good opera, in fact it put me in a rather foul mood despite the sunshine and lake and general upstateness that followed it. But it was interesting in its badness. While J will not be as charitable, my interest was actually quite piqued for the first 45 minutes or so.
The opera is based on a Guy de Maupassant story about a party of bourgeois couples fleeing the Franco-Prussian war and the kindly but infamous whore among them who must decide whether she'll take one for the team. The bulk of the first act is dominated by an extended scene in the carriage trasnporting them to Le Havre. Both the vocal lines and the score are erratic, scattered, punctuated by short piercing moments of harmony and reckless percussion. The scene, staged cleverly in a carriage set which is broken apart and moved around to give the illusion of different perspectives, takes its time in this state, patiently forcing its audience to enter the piece's mood of isolation and bleakness. Yet, eventually, as the group grows hungry, and the whore Boule de Suif generously shares her stash of food, the musical components begin to take shape, in a chorus of surprising beauty as the couples sample the food, and in the opera's first aria--a captivating monologue in which Boule de Suif reveals some of the past which has brought her to this point.
If not so terribly distinctive, this long opening sequence is nonetheless a solid piece of writing.
How unfortunate then that the writers proceed to piss it all away. Once the carriage scene is completed we are dumped into a virtually meaningless, pleasureless, and countless succession of scenes which attempt to tell the balance of the story in cinematic detail. And herein lies the problem. With obvious exceptions, the successful opera hinges to a great extent on its ability to construct a series of extended musical and emotional arcs. Opera has the luxury to do this because the richness and complexity of the musical language available to it can command our attention for these unbroken spans.
This is a categorical difference from the musical theatre, in which (with obvious exceptions) the self-contained number is the organizing princple of the drama and the score. Here, one has the liberty to tell a story in as many scenes as one has numbers, or more. You can get closer to the strucutral freedom epitmoized by film, where the drama can be broken into small components which closely approximate the literal plot.
But apply this reasoning to opera, and you get something like the dismal spectacle we witnessed today, in which a composer tries to actually sustain complex music for the inanities required to set each new scene. Listening to people intoning good morning over and over to each other, relaying useless information, and all other sorts of filler does nothing but gradually impoverish both music and drama of any new ideas. "The Greater Good", which didn't necessarily have so many ideas to begin with, started flailing musically and dramatically in this manner shortly before the halfway mark and never looked back. By the end the torturous second act the greatest good was no doubt getting the hell out of there.
Before the memory dissipates though, I want to say a few things about "The Greater Good", the premeire by Stephen Hartke we saw earlier today. It is not a good opera, in fact it put me in a rather foul mood despite the sunshine and lake and general upstateness that followed it. But it was interesting in its badness. While J will not be as charitable, my interest was actually quite piqued for the first 45 minutes or so.
The opera is based on a Guy de Maupassant story about a party of bourgeois couples fleeing the Franco-Prussian war and the kindly but infamous whore among them who must decide whether she'll take one for the team. The bulk of the first act is dominated by an extended scene in the carriage trasnporting them to Le Havre. Both the vocal lines and the score are erratic, scattered, punctuated by short piercing moments of harmony and reckless percussion. The scene, staged cleverly in a carriage set which is broken apart and moved around to give the illusion of different perspectives, takes its time in this state, patiently forcing its audience to enter the piece's mood of isolation and bleakness. Yet, eventually, as the group grows hungry, and the whore Boule de Suif generously shares her stash of food, the musical components begin to take shape, in a chorus of surprising beauty as the couples sample the food, and in the opera's first aria--a captivating monologue in which Boule de Suif reveals some of the past which has brought her to this point.
If not so terribly distinctive, this long opening sequence is nonetheless a solid piece of writing.
How unfortunate then that the writers proceed to piss it all away. Once the carriage scene is completed we are dumped into a virtually meaningless, pleasureless, and countless succession of scenes which attempt to tell the balance of the story in cinematic detail. And herein lies the problem. With obvious exceptions, the successful opera hinges to a great extent on its ability to construct a series of extended musical and emotional arcs. Opera has the luxury to do this because the richness and complexity of the musical language available to it can command our attention for these unbroken spans.
This is a categorical difference from the musical theatre, in which (with obvious exceptions) the self-contained number is the organizing princple of the drama and the score. Here, one has the liberty to tell a story in as many scenes as one has numbers, or more. You can get closer to the strucutral freedom epitmoized by film, where the drama can be broken into small components which closely approximate the literal plot.
But apply this reasoning to opera, and you get something like the dismal spectacle we witnessed today, in which a composer tries to actually sustain complex music for the inanities required to set each new scene. Listening to people intoning good morning over and over to each other, relaying useless information, and all other sorts of filler does nothing but gradually impoverish both music and drama of any new ideas. "The Greater Good", which didn't necessarily have so many ideas to begin with, started flailing musically and dramatically in this manner shortly before the halfway mark and never looked back. By the end the torturous second act the greatest good was no doubt getting the hell out of there.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Tank: Ready.
By my calculation, I have to wait a full 271 days to hear what I anticipate will be the euphoric culmination of my last two weeks of concert-going:
Elektra--with Ewa Podleś as Klytamnestra.
I'm pretty hot for both right now--Madame P and Elektra have managed to get me all worked up on two consecutive weekends.
Most of you probably caught the broadcast of Elektra from Tanglewood on WQXR. They rebroadcast it last night. The only working radio in my apartment is a $29.99 boombox from Radio Shack. Considering my only other option was my tiny little iBook speakers, I went for the boombox. Even with the slightly oddly balanced recording (the voices were REALLY forward) and the crummy little radio, I was grinning for a straight 97 minutes. More than anything, I appreciated the memory jog to last weekend, when Maury and I were in fact there for this overall stunning performance. A couple observations:
Brewer's Chrysothemis came off better on the radio than it did in person. I think the subtler ways in which she was displaying her vocal committment and characterization got a little lost in the 5500 seat + lawn Music Shed at T-Wood. I think I'm into her. I hope the California audience at Festival del Sole this weekend realizes how lucky they are--she flew in as a last minute replacement to sing Strauss Four Last Songs for an ill Flem-ball.
The harsher edges of Lisa Gasteen's voice came through on the radio--somewhat less so in person. Regardless, thttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhe fact that she even gets through the role is damn impressive, and that she does so while conveying an alternating sense of vengeance and mourning is all the more remarkable. I look forward to her Brunnhilden.
Felicity Palmer stole the evening--both in person and on the broadcast. Her Klytamnestra was appropriately campy and...well she was fucking nuts. Yet she managed, at 62, to deliver a potent, accurate interpretation of the role. She was in as good a voice as any of the rest of them up there. And a hell of a lot more fun.
Levine and his orchestra squeezed every imaginable bit of fire out of this score--and as you well know, that is a lot. The whole thing could not possibly have been more exciting.
Unless of course it was staged, with Ewa Podleś as Klyt.
Clunky segue into Saturday evening at Caramoor.
Ditto to most of what Alex said. Though I am less sold on Manucharyan. I think I perhaps read his delicacy as a bit unenergized, though he pulled few surprising high notes out of his ass that were totally lovely and impressive.
Ewa P was obviously awesome. This sort of stuff is perfect for her, and she for it. Though as Alex pointed out, it will be even more of a treat to hear her sing a role in something slightly less lame. I am not a fan of the Bel Canto. There just isn't anything "Bel" about it. I can take something like Tancredi more than I can take, say, I Puritani, which I dutifully sat through two weeks prior. I guess it was sort of awesome to hear Sumi Jo sing scales and trills for 8 hours, but I'd rather listen to something with a bit more soul.
I digress for now. Point being--Spring '07, here we come. It'll be swell to hear Podles in a more fitting setting: in a bald cap, scaring the crap out of us while singing Strauss and cackling.
Sign me up.
Elektra--with Ewa Podleś as Klytamnestra.
I'm pretty hot for both right now--Madame P and Elektra have managed to get me all worked up on two consecutive weekends.
Most of you probably caught the broadcast of Elektra from Tanglewood on WQXR. They rebroadcast it last night. The only working radio in my apartment is a $29.99 boombox from Radio Shack. Considering my only other option was my tiny little iBook speakers, I went for the boombox. Even with the slightly oddly balanced recording (the voices were REALLY forward) and the crummy little radio, I was grinning for a straight 97 minutes. More than anything, I appreciated the memory jog to last weekend, when Maury and I were in fact there for this overall stunning performance. A couple observations:
Brewer's Chrysothemis came off better on the radio than it did in person. I think the subtler ways in which she was displaying her vocal committment and characterization got a little lost in the 5500 seat + lawn Music Shed at T-Wood. I think I'm into her. I hope the California audience at Festival del Sole this weekend realizes how lucky they are--she flew in as a last minute replacement to sing Strauss Four Last Songs for an ill Flem-ball.
The harsher edges of Lisa Gasteen's voice came through on the radio--somewhat less so in person. Regardless, thttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhe fact that she even gets through the role is damn impressive, and that she does so while conveying an alternating sense of vengeance and mourning is all the more remarkable. I look forward to her Brunnhilden.
Felicity Palmer stole the evening--both in person and on the broadcast. Her Klytamnestra was appropriately campy and...well she was fucking nuts. Yet she managed, at 62, to deliver a potent, accurate interpretation of the role. She was in as good a voice as any of the rest of them up there. And a hell of a lot more fun.
Levine and his orchestra squeezed every imaginable bit of fire out of this score--and as you well know, that is a lot. The whole thing could not possibly have been more exciting.
Unless of course it was staged, with Ewa Podleś as Klyt.
Clunky segue into Saturday evening at Caramoor.
Ditto to most of what Alex said. Though I am less sold on Manucharyan. I think I perhaps read his delicacy as a bit unenergized, though he pulled few surprising high notes out of his ass that were totally lovely and impressive.
Ewa P was obviously awesome. This sort of stuff is perfect for her, and she for it. Though as Alex pointed out, it will be even more of a treat to hear her sing a role in something slightly less lame. I am not a fan of the Bel Canto. There just isn't anything "Bel" about it. I can take something like Tancredi more than I can take, say, I Puritani, which I dutifully sat through two weeks prior. I guess it was sort of awesome to hear Sumi Jo sing scales and trills for 8 hours, but I'd rather listen to something with a bit more soul.
I digress for now. Point being--Spring '07, here we come. It'll be swell to hear Podles in a more fitting setting: in a bald cap, scaring the crap out of us while singing Strauss and cackling.
Sign me up.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Tan that creedi
Another delightful night at Caramoor for the Poodles Tancredi. I am glad to report my full conversion to the order of Podles. Diz-amn. Yes, there is the vocal agility and the freakish range and the ever enjoyable slav-tasticness. But oh mercy that bottomless tone...truly one of those handful of voices you feel you can just walk around in for a spell. Every moment is so committed--there is no just pretty, or just drama, just that sweet spot in between that really makes opera a joy.
Some mixed opinions from our section about tenor Yegishe Manucharyan, but I thought him a delight for the consistency of his delicate touch. Georgia Jarman's Amenaide, if not particularly distinctive was thouroughly professional and engaging. Daniel Mobbs continues to hook it up...his NYCO dates are definitely on the calendar for next season. Laura Vlasak Nolen, in the role of "other low voiced lady" on stage had her work cut out for her, but performed wonderfully. Last and unfortunately kind of least was Emily Sinclair, whose smaller by half soprano fulfilled the requirements but didn't really compete with the rest.
While I didn't not like this as much as other Rossini, I still disliked it a fair amount, so the musical experience ain't much to write home about. Some interesting program notes, though, about how the tragic ending was a late and fairly controversial addition, as italian opera of the period didn't really "do" tragic endings. It's fairly obvious in the opera when Rossini crosses out the original last three pages and writes in the "bummer" music, but it still ends up with a nice sense of class, fitfully abetted by Caramoor's error prone lighting effects.
Our compatriots in the cheap seats were, um, considerably more lively than the crowd for Puritani (Yes, I am looking at you Mr. black fan waving first-Brava compulsive in row AA), but good natured on the whole. Minus the older duo between J and I who always picked the moment of exquisite silence in unaccompanied passages to make comments to each other. Coming next weekend: A little thing called Glimmerglass Jenufa. Aw. Yeah.
Some mixed opinions from our section about tenor Yegishe Manucharyan, but I thought him a delight for the consistency of his delicate touch. Georgia Jarman's Amenaide, if not particularly distinctive was thouroughly professional and engaging. Daniel Mobbs continues to hook it up...his NYCO dates are definitely on the calendar for next season. Laura Vlasak Nolen, in the role of "other low voiced lady" on stage had her work cut out for her, but performed wonderfully. Last and unfortunately kind of least was Emily Sinclair, whose smaller by half soprano fulfilled the requirements but didn't really compete with the rest.
While I didn't not like this as much as other Rossini, I still disliked it a fair amount, so the musical experience ain't much to write home about. Some interesting program notes, though, about how the tragic ending was a late and fairly controversial addition, as italian opera of the period didn't really "do" tragic endings. It's fairly obvious in the opera when Rossini crosses out the original last three pages and writes in the "bummer" music, but it still ends up with a nice sense of class, fitfully abetted by Caramoor's error prone lighting effects.
Our compatriots in the cheap seats were, um, considerably more lively than the crowd for Puritani (Yes, I am looking at you Mr. black fan waving first-Brava compulsive in row AA), but good natured on the whole. Minus the older duo between J and I who always picked the moment of exquisite silence in unaccompanied passages to make comments to each other. Coming next weekend: A little thing called Glimmerglass Jenufa. Aw. Yeah.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Caramoor
Just a short note on the Caramoor Puritani earlier tonight...an enriching time had by all, save perhaps for the "classical music date" assholes in front of me who talked almost nonstop for the entire performance and were deaf to my polite shushes. Just so everyone's on the same page: if you're sitting on grass, light talking/other activities are tolerated. If you're in a chair and under a tent, even if you can hear crickets, standard concert hall etiquette prevails. This is understood, right?
Anyhow. Leading the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Will Crutchfeld at the podium set the tone for a finely detailed and quite thoughtful evening. Sumi Jo tore it up to satisfaction as Elvira, although for my money the real stand out was Barry Banks--I'm a bit regretful now I missed his big Pasquale stand in earlier in the year. He really gives the bel canto the full throttle treatment, which I think would have made up for parts of Ernesto where I'll admit I thought JDF a tad too precious. A substantial honorable mention goes to Daniel Mobbs' wonderfully sensitive Giorgio (or whatever the character that has the really nice aria at the beginning of the second act is called). Weston Hurt as Riccardo was ultimately a tad plain for my taste, but no denying a nice sound.
The rest were strong as well. Naturally, one has to be ok with that amount of bel canto to enjoy, but I am, and I did. And Caramoor is real purdy, if you haven't been. This is just the warm-up mind you...I hope to have my first Poodles experience there on the 22nd.
Anyhow. Leading the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Will Crutchfeld at the podium set the tone for a finely detailed and quite thoughtful evening. Sumi Jo tore it up to satisfaction as Elvira, although for my money the real stand out was Barry Banks--I'm a bit regretful now I missed his big Pasquale stand in earlier in the year. He really gives the bel canto the full throttle treatment, which I think would have made up for parts of Ernesto where I'll admit I thought JDF a tad too precious. A substantial honorable mention goes to Daniel Mobbs' wonderfully sensitive Giorgio (or whatever the character that has the really nice aria at the beginning of the second act is called). Weston Hurt as Riccardo was ultimately a tad plain for my taste, but no denying a nice sound.
The rest were strong as well. Naturally, one has to be ok with that amount of bel canto to enjoy, but I am, and I did. And Caramoor is real purdy, if you haven't been. This is just the warm-up mind you...I hope to have my first Poodles experience there on the 22nd.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
We must count ourselves among those who will forever wonder what experiencing this artist live might have changed in our perception of the world and ourselves. But we can glean some sense of our loss from those who have generously reported on the awe felt in her presence. Do read Maury's elegant tribute .
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