Reply With QuoteLast night I started watching Rossini's Armida, I got an hour in. It stars two of my favorite modern opera singers, Fleming and Brownlee. I'm really enjoying seeing the two of them share the stage
Yep, Pelly is a great director, and this Orphée is hilarious. I interviewed Pelly, read it [here].
And, the famous fly scene:
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
Last night I started watching Rossini's Armida, I got an hour in. It stars two of my favorite modern opera singers, Fleming and Brownlee. I'm really enjoying seeing the two of them share the stage
A Laurent Pelly Christmas, Part 2 of 3. I’m a big fan of Prokofiev’s music, but this was only the 2nd opera of his I’ve seen, so this was definitely a nice Christmas treat to myself. Really fun production, and the design of the oranges is just perfect. This disc has one of the more candid behind-the-scenes videos I’ve seen.
It's wonderful isn't it?! I went to Amsterdam to see it (revival) and was not disappointed!Originally Posted by Nemorino
A Laurent Pelly Christmas, Part 2 of 3. I’m a big fan of Prokofiev’s music, but this was only the 2nd opera of his I’ve seen, so this was definitely a nice Christmas treat to myself. Really fun production, and the design of the oranges is just perfect. This disc has one of the more candid behind-the-scenes videos I’ve seen.
"Every theatre is an insane asylum, but an opera theatre is the ward for the incurables."
FRANZ SCHALK, attributed, Losing the Plot in Opera: Myths and Secrets of the World's Great Operas
Gotterdammerung, Sawallisch, part two. Complete Ring should be on You Tube in 7 videos. Easy search. Goes with the live recording available on CD.
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
A Laurent Pelly Christmas, Part 3 of 3. I'm sure you all know this well-travelled production (soon to be at the Met), so I don't need to say much about it. So I'll comment on Massenet. I don't think he's respected enough; French opera as a whole isn't represented very well in the States. But I'm always surprised by how beautiful and special Massenet's music is. (It's true that I usually don't care so much about the stories/libretto, and maybe that's M's curse). Anyway, I'm not the only one: there's a really good interview with Bertrand de Billy on this DVD where he goes into some detail about what Massenet has done in this score. Highly recommended.
Merry Christmas, everyone! May you all have a satisfying, opera-filled 2018!
While I agree that Massenet is great, Cendrillon is not one of my favorites, and this production left me cold. From Massenet, I like better Thaïs, Manon, and Don Quichotte; find Cendrillon so-so, and don't much like Werther, Cléopâtre, and especially Le Roi de Lahore, which I call Le Roi de LaBore. I don't know the others; I do have Esclarmonde and Herodiade at home but never found the time to check them out. I have a copy of Le Cid too. Apparently Sapho is good but rarely performed. Roberto Alagna has recorded Le Jongleur de Notre Dame, I should try it too. Anyway, I love French opera. The scores are often delicate and elegant, and very melodious.
A Laurent Pelly Christmas, Part 3 of 3. I'm sure you all know this well-travelled production (soon to be at the Met), so I don't need to say much about it. So I'll comment on Massenet. I don't think he's respected enough; French opera as a whole isn't represented very well in the States. But I'm always surprised by how beautiful and special Massenet's music is. (It's true that I usually don't care so much about the stories/libretto, and maybe that's M's curse). Anyway, I'm not the only one: there's a really good interview with Bertrand de Billy on this DVD where he goes into some detail about what Massenet has done in this score. Highly recommended.
Merry Christmas, everyone! May you all have a satisfying, opera-filled 2018!
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
Soave_Fanciulla liked this post
Based on the above, I decided to finally watch my copy of Le Cid. I'll review it, but oh boy, so far I don't like it at all. Unreasonable tessitura. Very heavy.
I finished watching it. Dreadful. Not recommended. The opera itself is not good, and the singers are horrible, except for Roberto Alagna who paradoxically had one of the best performances of his career. I placed a full review in the Opera House reviews thread (since it was a broadcast of a live performance).
Last edited by Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva); December 26th, 2017 at 08:18 PM.
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
Hoffmann liked this post
Received the ROH Tales of Hoffman for Christmas and watched it last night. It is a fabulous production, marred only by the coarse (spread tone) singing of Grigolo, but not enough to reduce the overall excellence of the performance.
Pleased you like it. I saw that live with an opera virgin and she was entranced! I love it too.
"Every theatre is an insane asylum, but an opera theatre is the ward for the incurables."
FRANZ SCHALK, attributed, Losing the Plot in Opera: Myths and Secrets of the World's Great Operas
An opera virgin? Sounds like a Wagner character or something.
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
Again, stimulated by the previous discussion on Massenet, I'm watching another one of his operas that I didn't know, Hérodiade. This one, I'm liking a lot, although so far I just watched the first 25 minutes (3 hours total). I'll go to sleep now and continue later.
"J'ai dit qu'il ne suffisait pas d'entendre la musique, mais qu'il fallait encore la voir" (Stravinsky)
Hoffmann liked this post
Which production are you watching? I'm not seeing a DVD version on Amazon.
I’m sorry to hear that, as the idea of a grand opera about El Cid gets me unreasonably excited.
Of course, my fond but distant memories of the Charlton Heston Cinemascope Spectacular are likely rose-tinted by my teen-aged self’s love of 70mm film and appreciation of watching rip-roaring battle scenes with hundreds of live people instead of a computer-generated muddle… : )
Hoffmann liked this post
I enjoyed the Heston El Cid movie very much. Here is the Le Cid opera I watched on You Tube with English subtitles. I liked it. Features Placido Domingo!
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
Nemorino liked this post
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