What opera have you been watching lately?

[Adrian]

We had a nice evening watching this performance of J.Strauss : Die Fledermauss.
The appearance of the guest at Orlofsky ball is wonderful.(Sutherland- Horne- Pavarotti )
And off cause at the end where Dame Joan Sutherland had a standing ovation and for the very last time was singing in public .
Tears to the eye.

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

Clayton will need a lot of trial period to revisit everything he is planning to revisit, LOL

[JohnGerald]

We watched the new i Capuleti e i Montecchi last night. Exquisite singing from MMes DiDonato and Cabell, which was not diminished by the odd (but not offensively so) staging.

[Clayton]

Clayton will need a lot of trial period to revisit everything he is planning to revisit, LOL

No problem; four more days but only 17 operas left on priority list.



retract from above sentance: "No"
retract from above sentance: "but only" and substitute: "and still"


no time to chat

Verdi: Ernani
Luciano Pavarotti (Ernani), Leona Mitchell (Elvira), Sherrill Milnes (Don Carlo) & Ruggero Raimondi (De Silva)
Chorus & Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, New York, James Levine



Excellence.

Nothing more to say.

Except it was the 80's, decade of wealth and in New York, the heaving bosom of the financial world

And we had the heaving bosom of Leona Mitchell in the ridiculously tight and exaggerating dress that makes you feel slightly sea sick

but excellent apart from that.

Now I've nothing more to say.

Except note to self: must investigate Leona Mitchell more. Superb.

I'm not so sure of my operas-to-revisit schedule any more...

but if time permits

I will definitely revisit this before the trial period expires.

[Clayton]

NO! No, no!



You can't just give me stable interweb connection,

then take it away!



I HATE CIRCLES ON MY SCREEN!

pleeeaaase some one tell me it happens to all (men)

[Amfortas]

Circles on my screen? I find it happening more and more as I get older.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

NO! No, no!



You can't just give me stable interweb connection,

then take it away!



I HATE CIRCLES ON MY SCREEN!

pleeeaaase some one tell me it happens to all (men)

Ooh that's horrible!

[Clayton]

Normal service resumed ()
and continuing my 7 day free trial of MET opera on Demand


Metropolitan Opera Broadcast (8 February 2014)
Dvořák: Rusalka



Wood Nymphs sop., DÍSELLA LÀRUSDÓTTIR, mezzo, RENÉE TATUM, mezzo, MAYA LAHYANI
Water Gnome bass-baritone, JOHN RELYEA
Rusalka soprano, RENÉE FLEMING
Ježibaba mezzo, DOLORA ZAJICK
Huntsman baritone, ALEXEY LAVROV
Prince tenor, PIOTR BECZALA
Gamekeeper bar., VLADIMIR CHMELO
Kitchen Boy mezzo, JULIE BOULIANNE
Foreign Princess soprano, EMILY MAGEE

Conducted by YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN


Production: Otto Schenk
Set designer: Günther Schneider-Siemssen
Costume designer: Sylvia Strahammer
Lighting designer: Gil Wechsler
Choreographer: Carmen De Lavallade
Stage director: Laurie Feldman


Wonderful, pure delight.
The cast and production team show why this is one of the most popular fairy-tale operas.

[Clayton]

Borodin: Prince Igor
Ildar Abdrazakov (Prince Igor), Mikhail Petrenko (Prince Galitsky), Sergey Semishkur (Vladimir Igorevich), Vladimir Ognovenko (Skula), Andrey Popov (Yeroshka), Oksana Dyka (Yaroslavna), Kiri Deonarine (Polovtsian Maiden), Anita Rachvelishvili (Konchakovna), Mikhail Vekua (Ovlur), Štefan Kocán (Khan Koncha), Barbara Dever (Yaroslavna’s Nurse)
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet, Gianandrea Noseda



I do not like the rather violent and gratuitous images of explosions and fallen soldiers at the start. However that is small change.
The singing by all the cast is superb and the choruses and great. The ballet is fantastic and I am not much of a ballet person (unless it's zombie nuns tempting you to the dark side).
This is a contempory twist in the story telling with the second act taking part in the mind of a wounded Prince Igor but it is not overly complicated and it works.

I don't think I will revisit this during the trial period.

I think I will buy the DVD.

[Clayton]

Donizetti: Maria Stuarda
Live at the Metropolitan Opera, 2013
Joyce DiDonato (Maria Stuarda), Elza van den Heever (Elisabetta), Matthew Rose (Talbot), Joshua Hopkins (Cecil), Matthew Polenzani (Leicester), Maria Zifchak (Anna Kennedy)
The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Maurizio Benini



What a show! Total package.

It would melt the heart of a concrete elephant.

I'm buying it.

[Clayton]

...It would melt the heart of a concrete elephant...

Okay, I think I've calmed down enough to say something intelligent about the performance.

Joyce DiDonato's performance is the dog's bo

...maybe I haven't

I'll come back on this one.

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

Clayton, the way this is going, I think you can afford (and should purchase) a full membership. This trial period is driving you crazy, man!

[Festat]

Boulez and Berenboim Ring and a couple of Der Freischütz, as I'm writing about Weber and Wagner in Nazi propaganda cinema. I don't think I can cope with so much Germanness much longer.

Next:

[Clayton]

Clayton, the way this is going, I think you can afford (and should purchase) a full membership. This trial period is driving you crazy, man!

This is a very good service that the MET are offering with an excellent library.

I would happily recommend this service to anyone, more so as they offer access to the library on monthly contracts for only USD 15 (there is also a annual contract that is the price of 10 months). It is a modernized rental service.

To anyone reading these posts, it does sound like I am a yes-man, saying "I love it" to anything and all operas. You wouldn't be far wrong but I am quite selective. There has been a few misfires (3 to date) during this trial period where I have started to watch something but stopped, deciding it was not my cup of tea. It is library; there are oviously going to be likes and dislikes but I think it has a wide choice with some excellent performances.

Met Opera on Demand service is very good and highly recommended for an introduction to opera or for seasoned opera buffs with monthly or annual contracts available. I am sure I will use the monthly contract in the future.

http://www.metopera.org/ondemand

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

This is a very good service that the MET are offering with an excellent library.

I would happily recommend this service to anyone, more so as they offer access to the library on monthly contracts for only USD 15 (there is also a annual contract that is the price of 10 months). It is a modernized rental service.

To anyone reading these posts, it does sound like I am a yes-man, saying "I love it" to anything and all operas. You wouldn't be far wrong but I am quite selective. There has been a few misfires (3 to date) during this trial period where I have started to watch something but stopped, deciding it was not my cup of tea. It is library; there are oviously going to be likes and dislikes but I think it has a wide choice with some excellent performances.

Met Opera on Demand service is very good and highly recommended for an introduction to opera or for seasoned opera buffs with monthly or annual contracts available. I am sure I will use the monthly contract in the future.

http://www.metopera.org/ondemand

I would subscribe but my internet speed is too slow