Reply With QuoteHaving just finished this, all I can say is AWESOME, totally AWESOME! This is a wonderful performance, and here is a very lovely aria from Cleopatra:Originally Posted by Florestan
I KNOW!!!!!! I just want to scream "Get on with it!!!!!"
Having just finished this, all I can say is AWESOME, totally AWESOME! This is a wonderful performance, and here is a very lovely aria from Cleopatra:
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
It's the most sublime thing in the world. Soprano's *are* opera. And mezzos, sure. OK, countertenors are nice too.
Tenors, baritones, basses? Hm... sure, they are needed so that the sopranos and mezzos don't sing alone. But they don't look as good.
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
Jonas Kaufmann...yes they can look pretty darn good!It's the most sublime thing in the world. Soprano's *are* opera. And mezzos, sure. OK, countertenors are nice too.
Tenors, baritones, basses? Hm... sure, they are needed so that the sopranos and mezzos don't sing alone. But they don't look as good.
As for me:
Loving it!
Just got about half an hour in on this today and it is wonderful:
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
And sound pretty darn good, too!Jonas Kaufmann...yes they can look pretty darn good!
Inspired by the UWP discussion in the Mariella Devia thread, I counted up my unwatched DVDs - 52! You know how it is: buy 6 DVDs and watch 2, buy 3 box sets and watch none of them.
Trying to make some progress before the next (inevitable) order happens, I watched the first 2 acts of this last night. It was purchased for Artur Rucinski and Gunter Groissbock, but I've wound up really liking Kristine Opolais and (to my surprise) Dmitry Korchak! So far, the production isn't nearly as weird as I expected from the pictures; other than the framing device of the Ghost of Onegin Future (made sentimental by the scent of an apple) reliving scenes from his youth, it's a straightforward telling of the story.
In my UWP list, I didn't even take into account the various DVDs I own of operas I know very well but got some other version for some reason and never watched it. I only listed operas I don't know, which is what I consider my true UWP.Inspired by the UWP discussion in the Mariella Devia thread, I counted up my unwatched DVDs - 52! You know how it is: buy 6 DVDs and watch 2, buy 3 box sets and watch none of them.
Trying to make some progress before the next (inevitable) order happens, I watched the first 2 acts of this last night. It was purchased for Artur Rucinski and Gunter Groissbock, but I've wound up really liking Kristine Opolais and (to my surprise) Dmitry Korchak! So far, the production isn't nearly as weird as I expected from the pictures; other than the framing device of the Ghost of Onegin Future (made sentimental by the scent of an apple) reliving scenes from his youth, it's a straightforward telling of the story.
For example, I took my wife to see a lousy production of Otello at the Met. She didn't like it. I wanted to show her that the opera is indeed very good when it's well performed, and purchased a good DVD of it, but never found the time to show it to her, so that DVD is still under plastic wrap. I'm not counting those in my UWP.
Another example: I've seen all 22 Mozart operas, and the box set with all 22 from Salzburg allowed me to see some that I didn't know. But then I did not watch everything there - the repeat of other Mozart operas I know very well. I didn't count those either.
I think if I were to count everything that I own but never watched, it would be closer to 100.
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
That's a good way of rationalising your UWP so it sounds better!
Natalie
I finished up the Onegin last night and act 3 was much weirder than acts 1 or 2! The Polonaise was staged as a sort of broken-doll fashion show. Gremin escorted Tatyana in with a very proprietary manner and she held the same stilted pose throughout the ball (in this production, theirs is not a happy marriage? They sit far apart at a large table and do some stylized soup eating). As expected, Groissbock did a fantastic job with Gremin's aria.
Tuesday was the NY Phil's Das Rheingold. Briefly: Loved Christopher Purves as Alberich (best!), Stephen Milling as Fafner, Jamie Barton as Fricka, and the tenor who sang Mime. Never been a fan of Eric Owens' work, but although he sounded better to me in this than he has all season, I thought he couldn't really sustain the line. Morris Robinson sang his longer notes really loudly, way more loudly than the bits with changing pitch. This led to an uncomfortable ringing in the ears; had to cover them whenever he sang, though not sure how much is attributable to him vs Avery Fisher
Texted my friends to ask which DVD I should watch next, and they picked the Liceu Norma, which is what I am watching now. I was actually pretty disappointed that they didn't pick the L'Africaine, so that will be next!
Cedolins or Radvanovsky?
Just finished the I Capuleti e i Montecchi I posted above (post 1717). A very wonderful production. I am not keen on the ending but it does make for some extremely dramatic singing. Romeo and Juliet both with wonderful voices. In fact her father and his choice of her spouse also both have very good voices.
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
Radvanovsky! Which do you prefer?
You didn't ask me but I say indubitably Radvanovsky!
Natalie
Acis and Galatea on Opera Platform. Interesting production and some lovely young singers.
Last edited by Soave_Fanciulla; January 5th, 2018 at 01:28 AM.
Natalie
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