tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91893782024-02-19T04:34:05.157-05:00Sieglinde's Diaries"Im Bach erblickt' ich mein eigen Bild, und jetzt gewahr' ich es wieder: wie einst dem Teich es enttaucht, bietest mein Bild mir nun du!" Act I, <i>Die Walküre</i>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comBlogger696125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-3511119413878897812022-11-26T14:02:00.000-05:002022-11-26T14:02:06.061-05:00Unwarranted condescension<b>Zachary Woolfe</b>'s account of the premiere night of <i>The Hours</i> for the <i>New York Times</i> is ungenerous and petty. It opens with an unsubtle swipe at soprano <b>Renée Fleming</b>:<blockquote><div class="text_border">
“The Hours” — a new opera based on the 1998 novel and the 2002 film it inspired — features a redoubtable trio of prima donnas. And it was conceived as a vehicle for one of them, the soprano Renée Fleming, who is using it as her return to the Metropolitan Opera after five years. <br> <br>
But on Tuesday, when the Met gave “The Hours” its staged premiere, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/23/arts/music/the-hours-opera-review.html" target="_blank">only one of this trio of stars really shone</a>: the mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, sounding as confident and fresh, as sonorous and subtle, as she ever has in this theater.
</div></blockquote>
If his application of the word "using" suggests a whiff of desperation on Fleming's part, his direct comparison with <b>Joyce DiDonato</b>, who is currently relishing the height of her career, makes sure you get the message. You'd have to read through a lot of twaddle to understand what was wrong with Renée's performance:
<blockquote><div class="text_border">
The poignancy of the plot is amplified by Fleming, who has returned to the Met’s stage sounding pale: not frail or ugly, but at first almost inaudible and by the end underpowered, a pencil sketch of her former plushness. Having bid farewell to the standard repertory, this diva never wanted to age into opera’s supporting mother characters, and she has the influence to commission works like this, in which she can still be cast as the lead.
<br> <br>
But just as Clarissa Vaughan throbs with nostalgia for her life a few decades before, so we listen to Fleming at this point in her career and hear, deep in our ears, her supreme nights in this theater in the 1990s and early 2000s: as Mozart’s Countess, Verdi’s Desdemona, Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, Tchaikovsky’s Tatyana.
</div></blockquote>
It is curious that Woolfe, who only this year became the <i>New York Times</i>'s chief classical music critic, and who, prior to 2009 had not written anything of substance about music performance in New York, would talk about "supreme nights" in the 1990s and early 2000s, as if (a) he had been to all those performances, and (b) any other Fleming nights after the early 2000s were somehow less than supreme, hinting at a noticeable decline. Was he really there in the auditorium for her farewell to the Met stage as the Marchallin just five years ago? <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/14/arts/music/rosenkavalier-renee-fleming-met.html" target="_blank">Someone else was sent to review it for the paper</a>--<b>Anthony Tommasini</b>, a gentleman who approached artists with respect and measured his words with a long perspective. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/arts/music/renee-fleming-final-bow-der-rosenkavalier.html" target="_blank">And someone else was sent to cover her final performance and thunderous, confetti-laden ovation that ensued.</a> For Woolfe to highlight those years, which were a quarter century ago, as prescribed markers from which to judge a lyric soprano voice in 2022 is cruel and unkind. We all know this year's Fleming ain't the 1995 or the 2000 vintage; does it add anything to then conclude from this a failing, even a defeat, in the guise of borrowed nostalgia? Appraising Fleming to be "a pencil sketch of her former plushness" dismisses any value older vocal artists can contribute to the art form. And it's also not true--I can say this after seeing two consecutive evenings of the <i>The Hours</i>, from the same seat I've occupied throughout the two decades she's sung for me. (She is back in opulent resplendence, if you ask me.) We should mention as well that Fleming's contribution to this stage continued to flourish after the mid-2000's, with a spate of thrilling Rodelinda's (do you remember those magical evenings, Dear Zach?), sumptuous Rusalka's and Thaïs's, and ravishing Violetta's, not to mention the daring Armida's and the truly magnificent Gräfin's (in <i>Capriccio</i>). I'd be very impressed if Woolfe was there for even a handful of those evenings.
<br><br>
How many new operas come to the Met stage these days? When its not talking trash about Fleming, Woolfe's review amounts to a pile of catty commentary about the music and the production like he's griping about a repertory piece, with barely an acknowledgement of the sheer constellation of effort and genius to put together such a complex new work and launch it from opera's grandest stage. I guess he feels compelled to say something smart about the music, but the pettiness surfaces when proportions miss. If I may, I'd suggest Woolfe get a blog instead, where he can whine like Sieglinde, rot at a more appropriate level, while assembling a safe space for fellow DiDonato groupies. Who knows, we may yet join and revel in that trivial hobby.
<br><br>
<i>Note: we shall issue our personal take on these proceedings in a few days, after attending another performance or two.</i>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-90650431354376043832022-11-23T10:30:00.003-05:002022-11-23T10:30:31.214-05:00Opera high<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83wV2UujSNf2uanfY4z47y-cS-hpjELO_CkKPf04VQpGrN5-05xEJ0okPa1vsN5oc3ChbGwKLWGc5KuAVPPCEQ9zcY3tZcDI0SCA-cFMS2D_j3hZSgcr_Q__GFYNul7sJ4O1cIZkyceNZuw910teF2w2Oi5qijypowfYku7MJGyZj4ZCLNQ/s4032/IMG_2362.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83wV2UujSNf2uanfY4z47y-cS-hpjELO_CkKPf04VQpGrN5-05xEJ0okPa1vsN5oc3ChbGwKLWGc5KuAVPPCEQ9zcY3tZcDI0SCA-cFMS2D_j3hZSgcr_Q__GFYNul7sJ4O1cIZkyceNZuw910teF2w2Oi5qijypowfYku7MJGyZj4ZCLNQ/s400/IMG_2362.jpg"/></a></div>And you thought we would miss this? Jesus yes, we were all there last night to say "hello" and "where the f* you been" to Sieglinde's old friend Renéééééée. In a word, orgasmic. Full details later when we are able to talk beyond hyperbole.
<br><br>
In the meantime, we leave you with this blind item, from none other than our venerable rag, that may explain a few things:
<blockquote><div class="text_border">
Smoke shops are not the only places that have popped up selling cannabis. State regulators have also cited <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/23/nyregion/illegal-weed-dispensaries-shops-nyc.html" target="_blank">a tattoo parlor, an opera house and a beauty salon</a>.
</div></blockquote>
Anyone know which beauty salon they're referring to? DMs will be much appreciated.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-6837846071379716192022-11-11T18:30:00.002-05:002022-11-14T07:25:56.066-05:00Callas-lite<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrmwa3YQ1pT6i3DgG3w9hesUhOtWic_jGoXGmVoiF_l3Fb50VQcHMNd9FVSlzgV_WfJTbBYdPkpVRKzwoaJ1xJzroKXUumF1IpXfqBv33eHNOL3DinS4DmVuICclEtWSd3BBGJKUb7FmLF7hA6T6F0MKP6go3uGX8FChHIjIJTn_GSe-npw/s759/sondra-medea-opening.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrmwa3YQ1pT6i3DgG3w9hesUhOtWic_jGoXGmVoiF_l3Fb50VQcHMNd9FVSlzgV_WfJTbBYdPkpVRKzwoaJ1xJzroKXUumF1IpXfqBv33eHNOL3DinS4DmVuICclEtWSd3BBGJKUb7FmLF7hA6T6F0MKP6go3uGX8FChHIjIJTn_GSe-npw/s400/sondra-medea-opening.jpg"/></a></div>But of course we were at this season's opening night at the Met. Sieglinde has been a stalwart of our diva <b>Sondra Radvanovsky</b> since we've heard her as Serving Woman in <i>Elektra</i> in the late 1990s, back in the day when <b>Gabriele Schnaut</b>, in the title role, molested our eardrums with daggers while <b>Deborah Voigt</b>, a hefty Chrysothemis, soothed the pain with cream. (Oh those were the days of yore ...) OK, we jest: you don't care about Serving Women, and neither do we. Anyway, Sondra quietly rose through other minor roles, through Musetta, and then to <i>Luisa Miller</i>, her first serious top bill which we scarcely remember because the opera itself is (don't hate us!) a snoozefest.
<br><br>
Her Leonora in <i>Il Trovatore</i> in 2000 (more than two decades ago!) marked a turn towards stardom. Those performances predate these Diaries so we can't provide blow-by-blow details, but what we remember was a house-filling lachrymose voice, veiled grey if a bit monochromatic, but oozing with mournful distress that was resolutely devastating in those "Ah! Le pene" wails in Act IV. We marvelled at how a thick sound could scale those high notes with bel canto precision; and oh, we were thrilled to have heard, dare we even say, the sonic shadow of <b>La Divina</b> herself.<br><br>
Next was <i>I Vespri Siciliani</i> in 2004, right around when these Diaries were born. We blogged those performances heavily. After one particular performance in November, 2004, we thus declared:
<blockquote><div class="text_border">
One isn't being unreasonable to suggest (gasp) Callas in describing the over-all affect of Sondra Radvanovsky's voice; indeed, both voices bear the dark veil of quiet suffering whatever the aria or context. Radvanovsky's instrument has grown a shade darker since her Trovatore Leonoras a couple of years ago, and has become significantly more flexible, but has thankfully lost none of its staggering volume. Last night she used the default emotion intrinsic to her instrument to produce a most heartrending "Arrigo! ah parli ad un core," and with such talent she is assured to be remembered by this generation of fans.<br>
...<br>
Anyway, she's a young soprano with a young career, and the vocal development I have noticed the past couple of years signifies to me that she's headed in the right direction. <a href="https://balconybox.blogspot.com/2004/11/sondra-in-vostra-man.html" target="_blank">To be compared to our favorite divas at this point in her life is true testament to her enormous talent and potential.</a> Already she has defied the American curse by nurturing a distinct voice with personality and edge; now in order to succeed in this kind of repertory, she has only to delve deeper into the Latin aspect of her soul: i.e., show emotion beyond the dark veil, and please apply the chest!
</div></blockquote>
What came next were the <i>Don Carlo</i>'s in 2005. We cannot tell you why these Diaries were mostly silent about those performances. We surely attended at least a couple of evenings, but are surprised to retrieve only naked <a href="https://balconybox.blogspot.com/2005/03/sondra-tonight.html" target="_blank">passing</a> <a href="https://balconybox.blogspot.com/2005/03/luciana-dintino.html" target="_blank">references</a> to what appeared to be tumultuous evenings. WTF, right? (We do remember that around the same time, <b>Maria Guleghina</b> (oceanliner, skyscraper, continent) was <a href="https://balconybox.blogspot.com/2005/03/sieglindes-nabucco-scorecard.html" target="_blank">defying physics as Abigaille</a>, so that could have possibly diverted our <a href="https://balconybox.blogspot.com/2005/03/maria-full-of-grace.html" target="_blank">attention</a>.)
<br><br>
Sondra then went through a spate of Verdi's in the late aughts, which these Diaries somehow skipped. Only when her Tosca's were presented did the Diaries take note, as in this post from January, 2011:
<blockquote><div class="text_border">
The throbbing, relentlessly lachrymose and sonically gifted soprano of Sondra Radvanovsky enters a new dimension. <a href="https://balconybox.blogspot.com/2011/01/puccini-tosca-10.html" target="_blank">She probably vaporized many in-house recordings and shattered hidden microphones tonight, with the sheer gigabigness of her top notes and that characteristic, mechanical vibrato.</a> But the good news is that she's finally using some chest tones! Not a lot, not as big, and not consistently, but they were there when it mattered ...
</div></blockquote>
The mid-2010's was a difficult period for Sieglinde so much so that (gasp!) she missed Sondra's historic Three Donizetti Queens entirely. (Sieglinde also stopped blogging around that time.) If we could get a hold of a time machine, this may be one temporal destination. Sieglinde shall speak about these dark years when the time is right. However, neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep her from seeing any <i>Norma</i>, especially one which promises to rearrange the Pantheon. If these Diaries were still active around that time, it would have exploded in excessive worship. Sondra reached a pinnacle, her voice a physical force, a sure contrast to a series of flawed Norma's, beginning in 2001 (<b>Jane Eaglen</b>, <b>Hasmik Papian</b>, Maria Guleghina) after being absent from the repertory for a generation. And we must mention that <b>Joyce DiDonato</b>, as Adalgisa, exceeded all expectations and demonstrated supreme virtuosity despite an unmemorable sound.
<br><br>
Which brings us to this season's <i>Medea</i>. Even if you're not paying attention till now, you can't deny that this stunt automatically invites direct comparison to Callas (the true reason <i>Medea</i> hasn't been performed at the Met till this year). Regardless, our girl can do the role with the kind of pathos and fury that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIlOWpZrgYA" target="_blank">stirs opera queens out of their seats and throw confetti</a>. Maestro <b>Carlo Rizzi</b> knows how to drive an Italian work on overdrive, and he surely maneuvered a vibrant evening of intense melodramatic singing from all the principals, including tenor <b>Matthew Polenzani</b>, a fellow American old-timer at the Met.
<br><br>
Sieglinde was deeply moved, for sure. Yet one question interrupts this predictable storyline--why did we only see the prima? Why didn't we go back for more? What was missing? Was there too much of Callas in this whole endeavor and in the face of Sondra's voice that she must inevitably be discarded as plastic imitation? Where was the delirium? Is Sieglinde's stupor just a sign of old age? Sondra is scheduled to <a href="https://futuremet.fandom.com/wiki/2023-2024" target="_blank">bulldoze New York with <i>Turandot</i> next season</a>. Let's see how those performances lay waste to these trivial, pointless musings.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbIBLQVYRYosI5lNcuF3BhcWi9bHH6Wn7dRTJFKeVXhexh31FAfUjZC-UPOy3MUeNeduF6Q4RBZavcIAKBY5QSIQXvdC0dxFZOVcp2hLtG_BEtuS8twBql4gFtVG7ckCAhuxVvg5LQ-OtaL0yqCqtnt773H0gmufyh3Ptv3PGRiNEBn-1bA/s1600/sondraleonora.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbIBLQVYRYosI5lNcuF3BhcWi9bHH6Wn7dRTJFKeVXhexh31FAfUjZC-UPOy3MUeNeduF6Q4RBZavcIAKBY5QSIQXvdC0dxFZOVcp2hLtG_BEtuS8twBql4gFtVG7ckCAhuxVvg5LQ-OtaL0yqCqtnt773H0gmufyh3Ptv3PGRiNEBn-1bA/s1600/sondraleonora.jpg"/><figcaption> Sondra Radvanovsky during <i>Il Trovatore</i> curtain calls in 2000.</figcaption></a></div>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-27647012167307743152022-11-04T18:02:00.001-04:002022-11-12T08:34:58.662-05:00This Don Carlo can fit in two CDs<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbXD8Fgl5MMLzsb3gF5w2K9-C2FUIdABKwAj_Dh_oQw3zYO1uWU9F8Vn4I4obnEhml2BXfq9LkhbAHcGvDKoaO1d2LSpCOTJakOJpUrgidy2d1kPAu0S1UCvmB4IRYEB0_3uemkkPqqyLOOqmwR2zX388yxrG2nZHgJQupdElOVjqlLCqdQ/s2016/IMG_2195.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="400" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="1512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgbXD8Fgl5MMLzsb3gF5w2K9-C2FUIdABKwAj_Dh_oQw3zYO1uWU9F8Vn4I4obnEhml2BXfq9LkhbAHcGvDKoaO1d2LSpCOTJakOJpUrgidy2d1kPAu0S1UCvmB4IRYEB0_3uemkkPqqyLOOqmwR2zX388yxrG2nZHgJQupdElOVjqlLCqdQ/s400/IMG_2195.jpg"/></a></div><span style="font-size:85%;">Verdi DON CARLO, 03.11.22; c. Rizzi; Thomas, Buratto, Matochkina, Mattei, Groissb<span>ö</span>ck, Relyea.</span>
<br><br>
I’ve gone to many, many evenings at the Met and elsewhere in the past decade (and we’ll get to those as winter approaches), but why not reignite these Diaries with last night’s relentlessly bombastic <i>Don Carlo</i>, featuring Maestro <b>Carlo Rizzi</b>, who doesn’t think this opera should be any longer than a Puccini evening. First question—as the four-act Italian version of Don Carlo is already a dark and gloomy affair without the Fontainebleau preface, do we really need <b>David McVicar</b> to lead us down to another one of his recycled crypts? Meanwhile, the stars of the evening were the boys! <b>G<span>ü</span>nther Groissb<span>ö</span>ck</b> as Filippo, dashing and unexpectedly sympathetic, and <b>Peter Mattei</b> as Posa, as bright and unblemished a best friend/secret lover as you’ll ever want in your Royal Court. <b>John Relyea</b>’s Il Grande Inquisitore is forever a thrill, his scene with Groissb<span>ö</span>ck a satisfying belch after three pints of Guinness. <b>Russell Thomas</b> as Don Carlo was pushed to the degree you’d want, tortured and anguished till the end. But how about the girls? First time I’m hearing <b>Eleonora Buratto</b>: as Elisabetta, I detected fleeting shades of <b>Barbara Frittoli</b>, but her sound is much too accomplished and studied, therefore faceless. What <b>Anna Netrebko</b> would have done with this thankless role, we New Yorkers may never know. <b>Yulia Matochkina</b> kinda understood the assignment, but, sorry for being that old fart, couldn’t her Eboli be more perverse and worrying? Of course, subbing for <b>Anita Rachvselishvili</b>, so reeking of “golden age”, is one hopeless errand.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-63832968823108436462022-11-03T16:39:00.007-04:002022-11-03T17:54:38.627-04:00The Empress Awakens<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC1kEwJ2CBa_dr8t4JuY_-aMF0tRBjLIqzlhaSp-c1iTMFapmCSyLLGka4NHcUOg-zP1oQjdBpMckUeskGSxkMYeIoKA9mwDHLeIDF-FUmcHdX90RXsDemd1RdrrB6KmzPfOR0u0Og8pzbsr7s6GwVHACqgijB4lggtFyuQlMhzL1uKo4Dw/s452/sondra-medea.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC1kEwJ2CBa_dr8t4JuY_-aMF0tRBjLIqzlhaSp-c1iTMFapmCSyLLGka4NHcUOg-zP1oQjdBpMckUeskGSxkMYeIoKA9mwDHLeIDF-FUmcHdX90RXsDemd1RdrrB6KmzPfOR0u0Og8pzbsr7s6GwVHACqgijB4lggtFyuQlMhzL1uKo4Dw/s400/sondra-medea.jpg"/></a></div>How does one reboot a love affair? Time moves on, passions no longer boil so corrosively, accumulated memories temper the heart’s natural inclinations, their surplus pieces gathered and reconsidered, with compassion; the senses practiced, knees and muscle folding discretely into a dormant equilibrium. Yet there is still that low hunger, no longer urgent but deeper, as the days grow shorter and more predictable. Where is this all taking us, and what is left for us to touch? You are at once familiar and indistinguishable: do I know what you will say next, or will there be another kind of revelation that will jolt my accounted bones?Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-79558092063559425892017-03-31T09:44:00.000-04:002017-03-31T09:44:15.109-04:00Ten years ago<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTbzjfngEAtxFcdW1C-1jpKXWzYi4kawZEq8Z8f3FVeknfQACkpK1DnnzrL0nRcJxVt_19yWQ_ocTTLnGcpwy1Yf3VDFsk4GuWgHyRZbe5I61xTAjTboN3Tsbf7ioSyNC57Yq/s1600/renee_onegin_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTbzjfngEAtxFcdW1C-1jpKXWzYi4kawZEq8Z8f3FVeknfQACkpK1DnnzrL0nRcJxVt_19yWQ_ocTTLnGcpwy1Yf3VDFsk4GuWgHyRZbe5I61xTAjTboN3Tsbf7ioSyNC57Yq/s400/renee_onegin_1.jpg" width="400" height="300" /></a></div><blockquote><div class="text_border">
Perhaps many years from now, I'll look back, <a href="http://balconybox.blogspot.com/2007/02/renee.html">as I did last night</a>, and say how wonderful it was to have been at countless Fleming performances because she always made me feel utterly happy and loved, and also reminded me of love. I'd say, at one point she was all I knew, and I've never been more content.
</div></blockquote>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-80709187737156565532011-01-25T10:49:00.000-05:002011-01-25T10:49:11.607-05:00Last full breath before diving into another semester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXCnOraRX1N97B9tA26v1WeJLi9tcB1zoVnhoVr-vBQgRm4ZYMYGhOUw4H0EJWeCRN-lCSznW0f4_qxCWvUaZnZxfwG9tKoW6H1DL3iASZ5Cts59MM2p_P_z0QF5H4XaEk5kK/s1600/stpete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXCnOraRX1N97B9tA26v1WeJLi9tcB1zoVnhoVr-vBQgRm4ZYMYGhOUw4H0EJWeCRN-lCSznW0f4_qxCWvUaZnZxfwG9tKoW6H1DL3iASZ5Cts59MM2p_P_z0QF5H4XaEk5kK/s400/stpete.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-20828980323276957362011-01-21T10:18:00.004-05:002011-01-21T10:54:00.169-05:00Listless ListThe List is out. Here's how our boys fared:<br />
<blockquote><div class="text_border">But the dynamic duo of 19th-century opera, Verdi and Wagner, aimed high. As I already let slip, they both make my list. That a new production of a Verdi opera, like Willy Decker’s spare, boldly reimagined staging of “La Traviata” at the Metropolitan Opera, can provoke such heated passions among audiences is testimony to the enduring richness of Verdi’s works. A production of Wagner’s “Ring” cycle has become the entry card for any opera company that wants to be considered big time. The last 20 minutes of “Die Walküre” may be the most sadly beautiful music ever written.<br />
<br />
But who ranks higher? They may be tied as composers but not as people. Though Verdi had an ornery side, he was a decent man, an Italian patriot and the founder of a retirement home for musicians still in operation in Milan. Wagner was an anti-Semitic, egomaniacal jerk who transcended himself in his art. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/arts/music/23composers.html">So Verdi is No. 8 and Wagner No. 9</a>. </div></blockquote>Mozart was listed, of course, but only at No. 3? The other opera composers who made it are Beethoven and Debussy. It's actually an amusing read, full of funny apologies and excuses. The exercise of putting together such lists is not unlike choosing a favorite child, if you're too serious about it. But it can also be a "gun-to-your-head" or desert island game, if you're on your second bottle of wine.<br />
<br />
I wish a blog like <a href="http://parterre.com/">Parterre Box</a> would host a similar challenge to readers, for our very own Top 10 List of Opera's Greatest Composers. I'm sure it's been done here and there, more times than I can imagine, but to have perhaps the greatest collection of queens bitch it out for days and days would be a true highlight of operablogging in a while. (Sorry, it can't be hosted here, since (a) I have a readership of about a dozen, and (b) I don't allow comments in the blog.) Mascagni, anyone?Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-86783714375961265012011-01-19T11:21:00.001-05:002011-01-19T11:22:38.098-05:00La Travesty<blockquote><div class="text_border">The limitations of her performance were particularly glaring in Act II, when Germont, Alfredo's father, arrived like a death knell to separate her from her last chance at happiness. Here, she was paired with Andrzej Dobber, whose dour, monochromatic baritone emphasized Germont's cruelty and self-righteousness, with no hint of his growing respect for Violetta's integrity and his sympathy for her, and the long duet pitted two equally stiff characters against each other. Ms. Poplavskaya simply flailed against Mr. Dobber's implacability, and this sequence, one of the richest in the opera, missed the intense development that Verdi wrote into both these people. <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059681897095912.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">It became part of the production's scheme without persuading us of its emotional truth. </a></div></blockquote>Well said.<br />
<br />
My lingering thought now is Holy Crap, I have to see this modern Decker monstrosity every time I go to the Met for <i>Traviata</i>. It's one of my faves! How can this happen. My next thought, somehow comforting, is, well, who will agree to sing this Violetta here anyway. Only youngish and semi-athletic sopranos can do that riding the couch shit with any credibility. Seriously, of the Violettas that graced the Zeffirelli extravaganza in the past decade, only Cristina Galladro-Domas, the young Patricia Racette (but no more), Krassimira Stoyanova, maybe Anja Harteros, maybe Hei-Kyung Hong, maybe Mary Dunleavy can do this production to some degree (but will they agree to do it is another question). The list leaves out really good interpreters such as Ruth Ann Swenson, June Anderson, Renee Fleming, and Angela Gheorghiu. That blows, don't you think?Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-16069714621303552992011-01-17T08:43:00.002-05:002011-01-17T08:46:41.695-05:00Breaking news: Verdi and Wagner Make it to History's Most Pompous Top 10 ListThe <i>New York</i> <i>Times</i>' Anthony Tommasini <a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/top-10-composers-hailing-operas-shakespeare-and-its-proust/">argues for their inclusion</a> in his own most exclusive list of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/arts/music/09composers.html">"The 10 Greatest Composers of Classical Music"</a>, otherwise known as "The Most Predictable Top 10 List Out There, Really".Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-73204067110900697922011-01-15T09:02:00.002-05:002011-01-15T09:05:34.597-05:00Real Housewife of UWS<blockquote><div class="text_border">We have something spontaneous (for lunch), something small. Dinner is the big meal. I love to eat, but no way am I going to do a diet; forget it! I just am careful about how much I eat. Sure, I would like to lose a few kilos, but I don’t want to be skinny. You see these skinny, starving women always with the unhappy faces! In my profession, you need the big lungs; <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/nyregion/16routine.html">my upper body is one or two sizes bigger than my bottom half</a>.</div></blockquote>Elsewhere, Anna Netrebko professes her devotion to TJ Maxx, Century 21, Starbucks, "The Tudors", and "popcorn, a Coke, and a movie". Don't yawn, it's rude.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-57393158455365331152011-01-13T00:17:00.006-05:002011-01-13T08:43:53.563-05:00Traviata Epic Fail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGIJheJc7DSiO8IKqgkwl6Ic2bwGGVI8suxDoOpEi7URh1boEgPBOucBMvZmN1sZ_gMj2WhsSFmMHurEngAsgSQmVy9awW3R9gALeN1ApXLZhK1FryjfLlSW389JBvglaylLr/s1600/decker_traviata_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpGIJheJc7DSiO8IKqgkwl6Ic2bwGGVI8suxDoOpEi7URh1boEgPBOucBMvZmN1sZ_gMj2WhsSFmMHurEngAsgSQmVy9awW3R9gALeN1ApXLZhK1FryjfLlSW389JBvglaylLr/s400/decker_traviata_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561533410135800114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Verdi LA TRAVIATA, 12.01.11; c. Noseda; Poplavskaya, Polenzani, Dobber.</span><br /><br />The sets, supposedly new, squeaked and creaked a number of times throughout the evening, which was distracting, to say the least. But what I really minded was the way Willy Decker managed to strip off the human intimacy in key scenes, all for the sake of "interpretation". The disjuncture between Verdi's era-specific story and Decker's dislocated reimagination is jarring. If his Violetta is this modernish hooker and her parties have many transvestites and their couches are from Ikea, then why the hell does the Germont family even care if the son is cavorting quite happily with some Lindsay Lohan? Surely in this imagined modern plane, morality and shame don't bear as much force as in, say, the socially rigid Zeffirelli universe.<br /><br />Because of this dissonance, Decker's first scene of Act II, which is the opera's breaking heart, where Verdi wrote his most wrenchingly personal music, was a total failure. I do recall that in the traditional Zeffirelli, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Ruth Ann Swenson, and Hei-Kyung Hong (to name a few) managed to induce a melodrama that left me shamelessly misty-eyed. In the new production, Marina Poplavskaya, during this scene, wanders here and there and up and down and left and right, attempting to fill an otherwise big, empty, brightly-lit sterile void. (Paradoxically, the "big" Zeffirelli production was actually cozier and warmer in Act II, Scene I, than this "spare" Decker; the singers in this current run have been inadvertently miniaturized.)<br /><br />The other problem with "concept" productions is that you end up expecting to be dazzled and surprised at every turn, so that the opera seems engaging only during special effects moments or dynamic staging (like Robert Lepage's undulating <span style="font-style: italic;">Das Rheingold</span> platform spines) but can quickly become staid and dull when things stop moving or changing. Again, Act II's crucial scene with Violetta and Papa Germont was one casualty, the proverbial drying paint of the evening. Runner up was Act III, the other emotionally packed scene, where Violetta again wanders around, but this time in her bodacious camison, obsessed with Doctor Death. (Yawn.)<br /><br />More things to say about this; perhaps I'll get to them later this week. Also, a few words need to be added regarding Marina Poplavskaya's uneven but ultimately satisfying portayal and Matthew Polenzani's singular success. But the bottom line on the Decker: an annoying disappointment.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-31917808475639175992011-01-12T08:11:00.007-05:002011-01-12T08:58:06.357-05:00Critically short<blockquote><div class="text_border">Scary for other reasons was Sondra Radvanovsky’s first Met <span style="font-style: italic;">Tosca</span>, sung flat and <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/something_new_for_old_favorites_9xiUN7zk1Lx0mk0ExmedEK">evoking all the tragic grandeur of a Real Housewife of New Jersey</a>.</div></blockquote>Funny! (But only one line devoted to the headliner?)<br /><br />Radvanovsky did seem a bit suburban in her demeanor, but interpretation of interpretations is almost always about personal taste more than reality. What may be gauged a bit more objectively is flatness, and after reviewing one in-house recording from first note to last, I could not sense any consistent flatness in her rendition. (I should be fair to Alagna as well: his top notes weren't terribly flat either; but the way his face tensed up launching up to them was just a tad painful to watch in person.) Alternatively, I may need to take my ears in for a tune-up. (Get it??)<br /><br />But what has not been mentioned in any review that I've seen thus far is the rare kind of ovation that greeted Radvanovsky, for her exquisite Vissi d'arte and during her ecstatic curtain calls. After many years and hundreds of evenings at the Met, I could sense different degrees of ovations, and believe me, there was something special going on. The evening was buttressed with the kind of sustained energetic applause and bravas from all parts of the house (not just from one or two freaks) that the likes of Deborah Voigt may never get at the Met again. (Heck, even Renee Fleming hasn't gotten it recently.) The only other active soprano that garners the same feverish adulation is Anna Netrebko, but we know that Netrebko's is as much about the back story as the evening's performance. With no-name Radvanovsky, it seemed more a visceral response to what was actually occurring on stage. If this is a "work in progress", then we got ourselves the next major New York supernova.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-71509832564290577772011-01-12T00:20:00.002-05:002011-01-12T00:21:11.424-05:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW8lDireHURMwhEMkXuVt3agmuacU27yGGso3EOy4b77CyhmD9qAUXySJ2sbIVbLzKN6cFmw2dpQxjRMB7g71ZUcI5U045EhTw6C3fNuYnFrd8wSOPQi9ewLoejESGIF3Ld-h/s1600/snow_storm.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMW8lDireHURMwhEMkXuVt3agmuacU27yGGso3EOy4b77CyhmD9qAUXySJ2sbIVbLzKN6cFmw2dpQxjRMB7g71ZUcI5U045EhTw6C3fNuYnFrd8wSOPQi9ewLoejESGIF3Ld-h/s400/snow_storm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561165156618508482" border="0" /></a>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-52164396650414193522011-01-11T15:26:00.005-05:002011-01-11T15:52:29.963-05:00Flat review<blockquote><div class="text_border">For the soprano, mark it down as a work in progress. Give the tenor extra credit for a save-the-day substitution. But the highest grade goes to the baritone, for masterfully stealing the show. ...<br /><br />Most of the advance attention focused on Sondra Radvanovsky, an American soprano who has been impressive in Verdi roles and who was singing her first Tosca at the Met. <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12591171">She started off shakily, sounding flat in her offstage calls to her lover</a> ("Mario! Mario!"). And she remained tentative through much of Act 1.</div></blockquote>The only flatness audible from where I was sitting was emanating from the Mario. My only thought of the "Mario! Mario!" entrance was "Wow, she's offstage behind this Luc Bondy atrociousness, and she's as loud as Angelotti and Cavaradossi" who were front and center.<br /><br />Just to make sure, I reviewed a recording my friend made of last evening, and confirmed that indeed, there was no such offstage flatness. (She also overwhelmed the dB capacity of the mic in much of Act II, by the way.) I don't have Sirius, but I'm sure that the broadcast recording would also disprove this AP report.<br /><br />As for remaining tentative through much of Act 1, I would be too, if this new guy is singing with me, and he's tongue kissing and fondling my breasts and mounting me every chance he gets.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-71764243968679706572011-01-11T02:28:00.004-05:002011-01-11T03:28:23.450-05:00Ringing Tosca<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPg134SJWmwra4Mdyi2-2vHXGZBucsOshFAUe7qoKO9YsR1c1m1YBqnlopF_gzeV_sVmkH6wHQu3pRtfwu_l-YXrY-46s_qHQQXspT_lwRhUfsjkDkCCWbt6Ma3MOtN7A-N6gk/s1600/radvanovsky_tosca.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPg134SJWmwra4Mdyi2-2vHXGZBucsOshFAUe7qoKO9YsR1c1m1YBqnlopF_gzeV_sVmkH6wHQu3pRtfwu_l-YXrY-46s_qHQQXspT_lwRhUfsjkDkCCWbt6Ma3MOtN7A-N6gk/s400/radvanovsky_tosca.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560827029009050466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Puccini TOSCA, 10.01.11; c. Armiliato; Radvanovsky, Alagna, Struckmann.</span><br /><br />The throbbing, relentlessly lachrymose and sonically gifted soprano of Sondra Radvanovsky enters a new dimension. She probably vaporized many in-house recordings and shattered hidden microphones tonight, with the sheer gigabigness of her top notes and that characteristic, mechanical vibrato. But the good news is that she's finally using some chest tones! Not a lot, not as big, and not consistently, but they were there when it mattered. One quibble: too much ad-libbed sobbing and screaming and screeching. But a sonically thrilling performance nonetheless.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Roberto Alagna needs to download some porn and relieve himself before going out on stage, because he needs to stop molesting his co-stars. More than once, he interrupted Sondra's lines with creepy mouth-to-mouths. And then, there was actual missionary-style mounting of Sondra. It was a bit disturbing. And yes, Alagna's voice sounds like it's been put through the shredder a few times, but we still love him. The fear, shared by everyone in the house, was palpable every time he launched a sustained top note. The other guy, Falk Struckmann, did his best imitation of George Gagnidze's Scarpia.<br /><br />And lastly, enough of the Luc Bondy; bring back the Zeffirelli, please.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-90370190696564758472011-01-10T23:44:00.000-05:002011-01-11T02:15:51.645-05:00Met Futures, relocated(Late announcement, old news.) A few months ago, Brad Wilber's list moved from Sieglinde's pad to its own <a href="http://bradwilber.com/metfuture/">address</a>. With abundant gratitude, I wish Brad lots of luck.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-46472813265670586962010-09-29T06:45:00.004-04:002010-10-01T07:49:07.160-04:00The Future has been revised<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s1600-h/metchandelier1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s200/metchandelier1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301950763473052050" border="0" /></a>Who cares about the season just opened? Sieglinde announces gigantic updates to Brad Wilber's indispensable <a href="http://balconybox.blogspot.com/2008/06/met-futures-page.html">Met Futures Page</a> for the next four seasons. Check out the following:<br /><br />For Season 2011-12:<br />1. Ildar Abdrazakov replaces John Relyea as Enrico in <span style="font-style: italic;">Anna Bolena</span>.<br />2. Waltraud Meier will share Waltraute in <span style="font-style: italic;">Die Götterdämmerung</span>.<br />3. Marina Rebeka debuts as Donna Anna in <span style="font-style: italic;">Don Giovanni</span>.<br />4. For <span style="font-style: italic;">Faust</span>, Marina Poplavskaya will share the Marguerites with Angela Gheorghiu, Piotr Beczala will sing some Fausts, George Petean will sing some Valentins, and Ian McNeill will design instead of Robert Brill.<br />5. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Enchanted Island</span> has a cast: Danielle de Niese as Ariel, Lisette Oropesa as Miranda, Joyce DiDonato as Sycorax, David Daniels as Prospero, Anthony Roth Costanzo as Ferdinand in his Met debut, Placido Domingo as Neptune, and Luca Pisaroni as Caliban.<br />6. Maestro Michele Mariotti has been taken off <span style="font-style: italic;">Elisir d'amore</span>.<br />7. Sondra Radvanovsky has been taken off <span style="font-style: italic;">Aida</span>.<br />8. Tom Fox sings Doctor Kolenaty in <span style="font-style: italic;">Makropoulos Case</span>.<br />9. Marianne Cornelli will share the role of Abigaille with Maria Guleghina in <span style="font-style: italic;">Nabucco</span>.<br />10. Angela Meade joins the cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">Ernani </span>as Elvira.<br /><br />For Season 2012-13:<br />1. Elza van den Heever will make her Met debut as Elisabetta in <span style="font-style: italic;">Maria Stuarda</span>.<br />2. Matthew Polenzani will be Lensky in <span style="font-style: italic;">Eugene Onegin</span>, which will be directed by Deborah Warner.<br />3. Maija Kovalevska will sing Micaela, Yonghoon Lee will be Don Jose, and Maestro Michele Mariotti will make his Met debut in <span style="font-style: italic;">Carmen</span>.<br />4. Marcello Alvarez and Dmitri Hvorostovsky have been added to the cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">Un Ballo en Maschera</span>.<br />5. Katarina Dalayman will sing Kundry in <span style="font-style: italic;">Parsifal</span>.<br />6. For <span style="font-style: italic;">Il Trovatore</span>, Franco Vassallo will sing Di Luna and Maestro Daniele Callegari will conduct.<br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Norma </span>has been added to the repertory, starring Sondra Radvanovsky in the title role.<br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">Barber of Seville</span> has been added to the repertory, to be conducted by Yves Abel. Some performances will be in abridged family version.<br />9. <span style="font-style: italic;">Giulio Cesare</span> has been added, to feature a new (borrowed) production with a cast that includes David Daniels and Rachid Ben Abdeslam, debuting as Nireno.<br />10. Maestro Fabio Luisi will share conducting duties for <span style="font-style: italic;">Don Carlo</span>. Marambio and Smirnova have been taken off the cast list.<br />11. Jose Cura will be Otello.<br />12. Maija Kovalevska will sing the Countess in <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Nozze di Figaro</span>.<br /><br />For Season 2013-14:<br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">Falstaff </span>will be a new production, with a cast that includes Lisette Oropesa as Nannetta, Stephanie Blythe as Quickly, and Franco Vassallo as Ford. Jack O'Brien will direct.<br />2. For <span style="font-style: italic;">I Puritani</span>, Mariusz Kwiecien will be Riccardo, and Maestro Michele Mariotti will conduct.<br />3. Anne Schwanewilms will make her Met debut in <span style="font-style: italic;">Die Frau ohne Schatten</span> as Kaiserin, with Johan Reuter as Barak.<br />4. <span style="font-style: italic;">Fanciulla del West</span> has been added to the roster.<br />5. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Nose</span> has been added.<br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;">La Sonnambula</span> returns, with Diana Damrau and Javier Camarena.<br />7. A new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Prince Igor</span> has been added to the list, with Ildar Abdrazakov.<br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;">Werther </span>will be a new production, to be directed by Richard Eyre.<br /><br />Season 2014-2015:<br />1. Renée Fleming will star in a new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Merry Widow</span>, to be directed by Susan Stroman.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-75889429753759720992010-09-29T04:27:00.000-04:002010-09-29T04:29:29.922-04:00She said what<blockquote><div class="text_border">Some of the more boldface guests weren't necessarily well-versed with the story. "But I did my research," said fashion designer Rachel Roy. "A family member who's German <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575520202268843496.html">downloaded me before I came</a>."</div></blockquote>Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-37415948361772868342010-09-28T16:44:00.005-04:002010-09-29T04:31:27.188-04:00Valhalla failSo <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575520283829394428.html">this</a> is what the Met's new Das Rheingold ending was supposed to look like. On Monday, everyone pretty much exited to the sides soon after their music ended, leaving Loge alone onstage, which appeared weird. It's a good thing the production failed this way, rather than, say, crushing a singer to death or dropping a Rheinmaiden from four stories up. Though they ought to be very careful with the curtain calls: there is a sizeable gap between the downstage area (where the curtain calls occur) and the immense modular apparatus. James Levine was about three feet away from being the biggest tragedy of my opera life.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-26803172240141383462010-09-28T01:10:00.006-04:002010-09-28T02:18:44.286-04:00Met opening night, 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8Pw-v1PFtfhwwQ31wmI5POzC7X_Q-Oi-bKP-14xjZTo3x96a4VmmGkMYv6tv4ou2nHikrTEio8To1QZrLs9zx9CDjzLUJ_jZTYN3zcXIdHlkYY6ULHgXfB1hpmc5DUhtQ6FT/s1600/voigt_interviews_lepage.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8Pw-v1PFtfhwwQ31wmI5POzC7X_Q-Oi-bKP-14xjZTo3x96a4VmmGkMYv6tv4ou2nHikrTEio8To1QZrLs9zx9CDjzLUJ_jZTYN3zcXIdHlkYY6ULHgXfB1hpmc5DUhtQ6FT/s400/voigt_interviews_lepage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521840046823838114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Wagner DAS RHEINGOLD, Met Opening Night, 27.IX.2010; c. Levine; Terfel, Blythe, Owens, Selig, Koenig, R. Croft, Siegel, Oropesa, Johnson, Mumford, Harmer.</span><br /><br />Here's a pic of Deborah Voigt interviewing light a.k.a. Robert Lepage. There were celebrities in attendance, muttering "what, no intermission?". It was rainy too, which ruined more than a few entrances. Seating for the outdoor simulcast was hell.<br /><br />Inside the house, James Levine reasserted his place in the universe with a characteristically balanced reading of the piece-- vibrant but controlled. I never spend a thought on Bryn Terfel, but tonight he wasn't his typical self-indulgent self, which is to say, he was brilliant as Wotan. Shades of a young James Morris, minus the snarl; the voice was appropriately overbearing, forming a heavenly pair with Stephanie Blythe's lush fat Fricka. (Next to Levine, she got the loudest ovations.) The Freia, Wendy Bryn Harmer, was thrilling and visceral, as was Franz-Josef Selig's Fasolt and Eric Owens' Alberich. And the Rheinmaidens too. Everyone benefited from Lepage's modular steroid-raked stage, which reflected sound outward, and also pushed most of the singers downstage. Richard Croft's Loge was the sole failure: too earnest, too dainty-- but I think I caught him sneezing a couple of times, so he may have been under the weather. Regarding the Cirque du Soleil: I'm a big believer, and it didn't disappoint. There were moments of tension--like, will Freia fall from the net and break her neck, did Fasolt's slide down the stage break his neck, did any of the stunt doubles break their necks, will Woglinde's wire break and break Lisette Oropesa's neck, etc.--so that took attention off the music a bit. But still it was magical and enormous and multidimensional and correctly alive: a true 21st century production. Costumes and hair, on the other hand, were just awful.<br /><br />One alarming note: James Levine seemed to have unusual difficulty navigating the couple of shallow steps to get onto the stage for his curtain call. He didn't look healthy.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-89027547672847551592010-06-14T10:19:00.003-04:002010-06-14T10:50:53.615-04:00Met Futures: Summer updates<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s1600-h/metchandelier1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s200/metchandelier1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301950763473052050" border="0" /></a>Time again to update Brad Wilber's indispensable <a href="http://balconybox.blogspot.com/2008/06/met-futures-page.html">Met Futures Page</a>.<br /><br />For Season 2011-2012: Maestro Marco Armiliato is slated to conduct <span style="font-style: italic;">Anna Bolena</span> on opening night; Scottish mezzo Karen Cargill debuts as Waltraute in the new <span style="font-style: italic;">Götterdämmerung</span>, while Stephen Gould is taken out of the roster out as Siegfried; the new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Manon</span> (co-produced with Covent Garden) is by Laurent Pelly; the new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Faust </span>(co-produced with English National Opera) is by Des McAnuff, with designer Ian MacNeil; Maestro Edward Gardner will conduct some performances of the new <span style="font-style: italic;">Don Giovanni</span> alongside Maestro James Levine; Maestro Fabio Luisi will lead performances of <span style="font-style: italic;">Aida</span>, with Sondra Radvanovsky and Lado Ataneli joining the cast; For <span style="font-style: italic;">Ernani</span>, Maestro Armiliato is added, while Anja Harteros is taken out of the roster; Colin Lee returns as Almaviva in<span style="font-style: italic;"> Barbiere di Siviglia</span>; Zeljko Lucic has been added to the roster of <span style="font-style: italic;">Nabucco </span>to sing the title role; <span style="font-style: italic;">Satyagraha </span>has been added to the repertory; Nino Maichadze will sing Marie in <span style="font-style: italic;">Fille du Regiment</span>; and finally, Stefan Margita returns as Loge in the full Ring Cycles.<br /><br />For Season 2012-2013: <span style="font-style: italic;"> Falstaff </span>is removed from the repertory; Marco Berti is scheduled to sing Calaf in <span style="font-style: italic;">Turandot </span>and Radames in <span style="font-style: italic;">Aida</span>; Karen Cargill returns as Anna in <span style="font-style: italic;">Les Troyens</span>; <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Nozze di Figaro</span> has been added to the repertory, with Mojca Erdmann as Susanna and John Graham-Hall as Basilio, in his Met debut.<br /><br />For Season 2013-2014: <span style="font-style: italic;">Bartered Bride</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Roberto Devereux</span> has been removed from the repertory, while <span style="font-style: italic;">Falstaff </span>has been added; Nico Muhly's commission is no longer called "Two Boys"; <span style="font-style: italic;">Die Fledermaus</span> has been added to the repertory, and will see a new production, with new dialogue by playwright David Hirson.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-64256044837127828812010-01-28T11:19:00.000-05:002010-01-28T11:20:56.652-05:00Met Futures: Happy Spring Semester Edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s1600-h/metchandelier1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s200/metchandelier1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301950763473052050" border="0" /></a>First of all, I'm issuing a public apology to Brad Wilber, who's been infinitely patient with Sieglinde, who'd been buried in academic bs for a few months and so couldn't churn out roster updates in a more timely manner. I also want to apologize to the half-dozen readers who have hung around.<br /><br />But let's get on with the business, shall we. The following changes have been made to <a href="http://balconybox.blogspot.com/2008/06/met-futures-page.html">Brad's Met Futures page</a>:<br /><br />For the 2010-2011 season:<br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">Das Rheingold</span> will see Richard Croft as Loge, joining his brother in the cast.<br />2. The cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">Les Contes d’Hoffmann</span> has been revised. In place of Aleksandra Kurzak, Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Stefano Secco, and Isabel Leonard, we now have a cast that includes Olga Borodina (Giulietta), Giuseppe Filianoti (Hoffmann), and Kate Lindsey (Nicklausse). <br />3. For <span style="font-style: italic;">Rigoletto</span>, the role of the Duke will be shared by Francesco Meli (debut), Joseph Calleja, and Giuseppe Filianoti.<br />4. The <span style="font-style: italic;">Boris Godunov</span> will be conducted by Maestro Valery Gergiev, and Aleksanders Antonenko and Oleg Balashov have been added to the cast as The Pretender and Shuisky respectively.<br />5. <span style="font-style: italic;"> La Boheme </span>will not see Cristina Gallardo Domas and Luca Salsi. Instead, two gentlemen will make their Met debuts: Fabio Capitanucci as Marcello and Dimitris Tiliakos as Schaunard.<br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;">Il Trovatore</span>'s Leonoras will be shared by Patricia Racette and Sondra Radvanovsky (dropping Micaela Carosi). Stefan Kocan returns as Ferrando.<br />7. Barry Banks will do a number of Ernestos for <span style="font-style: italic;">Don Pasquale</span>.<br />8. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Don Carlo</span>'s Elisabetta will be Marina Poplavskaya, replacing Patricia Racette in the roster, while Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin has been tapped to lead.<br />9. The cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Magic Flute </span>will include Ying Huang as Pamina and Erika Miklosa as Queen.<br />10. <span style="font-style: italic;">La Traviata</span> will see Marina Poplavskaya as Violetta, Matthew Polenzani and Francesco Meli as Alfredo, and Marco Nistico as d’Obigny (in his Met debut). Rolando Villazon is out.<br />11. Tosca will be shared by Sondra Radvanovsky and Violeta Urmana (dropping Angela Gheorghiu).<br />12. John Adams will conduct his <span style="font-style: italic;">Nixon in China</span> in his Met debut. Richard Paul Fink will be Henry Kissinger.<br />13. For <span style="font-style: italic;">Iphigenie en Tauride</span>, Paul Groves has been added as Pylade (while Elizabeth Bishop has been dropped).<br />14. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Armida </span>will see Renee Fleming again. Lawrence Brownlee returns, but as Goffredo this time.<br />15. Ludovic Tezier returns as Enrico in <span style="font-style: italic;">Lucia di Lammermoor</span>.<br />16. <span style="font-style: italic;">Romeo et Juliette </span>will have Lucas Meachem as Mercutio.<br />17. For <span style="font-style: italic;">The Queen of Spades</span>, Peter Mattei will sing Tomsky.<br />18. Joyce DiDonato will be Isolier in <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Comte Ory</span>.<br />19. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Capriccio </span>will not see Anne Sofie von Otter, Matthew Polenzani, and Gerard Finley. Instead, we will have Sarah Connolly as Clairon, Joseph Kaiser as Flamand, and Russell Braun as Olivier.<br />20. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Wozzeck </span>will witness Waltraud Meier's Marie (in place of Katarina Dalayman). Philippe Castagner returns as The Fool; Stuart Skelton makes his Met debut as the Drum Major. <br />21. For<span style="font-style: italic;"> Orfeo ed Euridice</span>, Kate Royal will be Euridice in her Met debut.<br />22. Aleksandra Kurzak has been dropped from <span style="font-style: italic;">Ariadne auf Naxos</span>.<br /><br />For the 2011-2012 season:<br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Turandot </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">La Rondine</span> have been nixed.<br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">La Traviata </span>has been added to the list of operas, with Natalie Dessay as Violetta.<br />3. <span style="font-style: italic;">Madama Butterfly</span> has also been added, with Luca Salsi as Sharpless.<br />4. Stefan Kocan returns as Commendatore in <span style="font-style: italic;">Don Giovanni</span>.<br />5. Piotr Beczala replaces Rolando Villazon in the roster of the new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Manon</span>.<br />6. Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin will lead the Met's new <span style="font-style: italic;">Faust</span>; Alexei Markov will return as Valentin (Rene Pape has been dropped from the list).<br />7. The William Christie endeavor has a new and improved title of <span style="font-style: italic;">Enchanted Island</span>. Director Jeremy Sams and choreographer Christopher Wheeldon will join the creative team. Stars will include Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels, and Placido Domingo.<br />8. Alessandro Corbelli returns as Dulcamara in<span style="font-style: italic;"> l'Elisir d'amore</span>.<br />9. Nathan Gunn joins the cast of <span style="font-style: italic;">Billy Budd</span>.<br />10 <span style="font-style: italic;"> Khovanshchina </span>will see Olga Borodina as Marfa and Ildar Abdrazakov as Ivan.<br /><br />For the 2012-2013 season.<br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">Francesca da Rimini </span>will be led by Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and will feature Eva-Maria Westbroek and Marcello Giordani.<br />2. A revival of <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Comte Ory</span> has been added to the roster.<br />3. A new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Un Ballo in Maschera</span> will have Karita Mattila and Maestro Fabio Luisi.<br />4. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Carmen </span>enters the repertory in the fall, with Maestro Michele Mariotti. Ekaterina Shcherbachenko will make her Met debut as Micaela. Vesselina Kasarova will sing a number of Carmens in the latter part of the run (in the spring).<br />5. <span style="font-style: italic;">Dialogues des Carmelites</span> will see Kristine Jepson as Mere Marie and Felicity Palmer as Mme. de Croissy.<br />6. <span style="font-style: italic;"> Otello </span>will have Krassimira Stoyanova as Desdemona.<br />7. Simon O'Neill will share some of the Parsifals. <br /><br />For the 2013-2014 season:<br />1. The complete <span style="font-style: italic;">Ring </span>has been removed from the list.<br />2. The season will see the Metropolitan Opera premiere of <span style="font-style: italic;">Roberto Devereux</span>, with Sondra Radvanovsky.<br />3. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Bartered Bride </span>will be featured as the season's Family Program, with a new English translation by J.D. McClatchy.<br /><br />For the 2014-2015 season (just added to the Futures Page!!):<br />A new production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Cavalleria Rusticana</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Pagliacci</span> double bill, with Marcello Alvarez and Maestro Fabio Luisi.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-49002440504342534092009-10-16T10:34:00.005-04:002009-10-16T15:41:36.459-04:00Fall flurries<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s1600-h/metchandelier1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHimOW1hdWR2pixW17S9Lly3TmOE5QGdhlbQJ58t558FfSpyW6ZlhozEqJyMxiv3DRQraHDAe6vGRZyBW7MYpo9Z8_UTo3pxlcIHvYiiVdg1Ob_2hdN6cZNqYyUaALszLMTQp_/s200/metchandelier1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301950763473052050" border="0" /></a>Ladies, I announce lots of juicy additions and changes to <a href="http://balconybox.blogspot.com/2008/06/met-futures-page.html">Brad's Met Futures page</a>:<br /><br />For the 2010-11 season: <span style="font-style: italic;">Orfeo ed Euridice</span> has been added to the repertory, and will feature David Daniels and Lisette Oropesa (as Amor); the Danish contralto Susanne Resmark will make her Met debut as Ragonde in <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Comte Ory</span>; Marina Poplavskaya takes over Violetta from Anna Netrebko; Kathleen Kim sings Madame Mao in <span style="font-style: italic;">Nixon in China</span>; Anne Sofie von Otter will be Clairon in <span style="font-style: italic;">Capriccio </span>(instead of Susan Graham); Susan Graham will sing Iphigenie; Canadian mezzo Julie Boulianne debuts as Stephano in <span style="font-style: italic;">Romeo et Juliette</span> and then moves on to sing Diana in <span style="font-style: italic;">Iphigenie</span>; Sondra Radvanovsky will sing Leonora in <span style="font-style: italic;">Trovatore</span> instead of Tosca; and finally, Deborah Voigt is the Minnie in <span style="font-style: italic;">Fanciulla del West</span>.<br /><br />For the 2011-12 season: Gustavo Dudamel is no longer slated to conduct <span style="font-style: italic;">L'elisir d'amore</span>; Maestro Michele Mariotti will debut in his place; <span style="font-style: italic;">Daedalus </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Les Troyens</span> have been dropped, while <span style="font-style: italic;">Fille du Regiment</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Turandot </span>have been added to the roster; Angela Meade will share the role of Anna Bolena with Anna Netrebko; German soprano Mojca Erdmann makes her Met debut as Zerlina, at the premiere of the new Grandage <span style="font-style: italic;">Don Giovanni</span>; Mikhail Petrenko will be Basilio in <span style="font-style: italic;">Barbiere di Siviglia</span>.<br /><br />For the 2012-13 season: <span style="font-style: italic;">Die Frau Ohne Schatten</span> has been dropped from the planned list, while <span style="font-style: italic;">Carmen </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Falstaff </span>have been added; the season will see the return of <span style="font-style: italic;">Les Troyens</span>, with Susan Graham and Marcello Giordani; <span style="font-style: italic;">Rigoletto </span>will be a new production, with Diana Damrau and Lisette Oropesa sharing the role of Gilda, Piotr Beczala as the Duke, and Zeljko Lucic and George Gagnidze sharing the title role.<br /><br /><br />For the 2013-14 season, <span style="font-style: italic;">Die Frau Ohne Schatten</span> will return, with Maestro Vladimir Jurowski conducting.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189378.post-22956896532735785352009-10-14T09:19:00.000-04:002009-10-14T09:20:43.418-04:00She's back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-iDlW_7qfdmEqGstdKFAHz6ikkDuGl0l4ySFVN1qt5_VPwwiCQCAxwjADL5Id2p91F1JxoPUUS0ul0SMz8fz09cYwK1N-xzJtnrfU816eMJ7LRqUDO24Y40N2pfCclExLwJv/s1600-h/met-rosenkavalier.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-iDlW_7qfdmEqGstdKFAHz6ikkDuGl0l4ySFVN1qt5_VPwwiCQCAxwjADL5Id2p91F1JxoPUUS0ul0SMz8fz09cYwK1N-xzJtnrfU816eMJ7LRqUDO24Y40N2pfCclExLwJv/s400/met-rosenkavalier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392433531531307298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier, Met 13 October 2009; c. de Waart, Fleming, Graham, Persson, Sigmundsson, White, Ketelsen, Vargas</span>.<br /><br />Curtain up: things have settled enough for Sieglinde to reboot. I'm seeing an equilibrium based on (really) short posts, but it's still being calibrated, so patience please. Last night, the return of Renee Fleming's Feldmarschallin and Susan Graham's Octavian, and a debut of a promising soprano, Miah Persson as Sophie, ethereal in a Judith Blegen hue. I'm dreading the day when I can detect the inevitable pulling back in Renee's voice. My current (conservative) diagnosis: it'll be sometime after April of 2017. Plus, you know how whatever Renee is singing currently becomes just THAT role divinely written for her: I'd say it, but that would be boring. One minor quibble: she is taking more time to warm up. Susan Graham's voice has grown tremendously in size in recent years, and the colors are thrilling. The chemistry between these ladies' voices is akin to baseball's Rodriguez-Teixeira tandem (BTW, Go Yankees.). Kristinn Sigmundsson is one of the evening's weak links. I'm not particularly aroused by Ochs' frequent interruptions, so to have a bland bass for the evening is torture times two. Meanwhile, Ramon Vargas probably had his worst outing on the Met stage as the Italian Singer. The unadorned oasis that the aria was to be didn't be. Really, it was physically painful to hear. Finally, all together now: Jimmy get well soon. Maestro Edo de Waart was either conducting or mowing the lawn, I couldn't tell.Leon Dominguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16990723521997941525noreply@blogger.com