What opera have you been watching lately?

[JohnGerald]

If need be, Clayton likely would be able to help you source tea cabinets. They seem to be particularly hardy when used to store CD/DVD collections....

It would be a wine rack here, if I needed more shelving ...

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

It's Monteverdi's 448th birthday. In his honour (and because I haven't had a Simon Fix for a while) I will be watching this tonight.




Happy birthday Claudio!

[Clayton]

Simon bops to the Monty beat! Jolly good show.

[Vlad]

Moby Dick, San Francisco Opera, courtesy of PBS.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Had a really busy week and when I get home tired, I can't give DVDs the attention they deserve so only just started to watch Act I of this. Disappointing. The Prologue was good but in Act I they've cut the whole of Scene V -- this is the Scene where Nettuno appears Superbo è l'huom -- and goes straight from Melanto and Eurimaco singing about their love [and wishing the old bat (Penelope) would get herself a new love instead of moping about and wanting to stay chaste for Ulisse's return, so they could have their wicked way with each other] to Ulisse waking up on the beach and asking where he is Dormo ancora o son desto?

Why? Why? Why?

[Clayton]

...Disappointing. The Prologue was good but in Act I they've cut the whole of Scene V -- this is the Scene where Nettuno appears Superbo è l'huom -- and goes straight from Melanto and Eurimaco singing about their love...
Why? Why? Why?

hm. I don't know why but I did not pick up on that point, maybe it was as I was concentrating too much on Anthony Rolfe-Johnson. (I only have seen it once whilst I was still on the La Verità in cimento hangover).
With a slight sense of guilt for pointing you in this direction, I went off in search of the DVD to see if I can find any answer but I can not find it (too many boxes of old magazines lying around at the moment) nor a good answer as to why this was cut.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

hm. I don't know why but I did not pick up on that point, maybe it was as I was concentrating too much on Anthony Rolfe-Johnson. (I only have seen it once whilst I was still on the La Verità in cimento hangover).
With a slight sense of guilt for pointing you in this direction, I went off in search of the DVD to see if I can find any answer but I can not find it (too many boxes of old magazines lying around at the moment) nor a good answer as to why this was cut.

Please don't feel guilty!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! Not your fault!! I only noticed because I concentrate (probably too much) on whatever the bass has to sing.

If there'd been bits of tenor or soprano parts missing I would never have noticed!

[Clayton]

Please don't feel guilty!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! Not your fault!! I only noticed because I concentrate (probably too much) on whatever the bass has to sing.

If there'd been bits of tenor or soprano parts missing I would never have noticed!

okay, no more guilty feeling

just a little confused as to where that dvd has got to



I need to get another emergency overflow system for the tea cabinet

and these stacks of magazines that I'm treating like they are sacred books from the Vatican don't help either

[MAuer]

I have this version:



Vesselina Kasarova (Pénélope), Dietrich Henschel (L’humanita Fragilita/ Ulisse), Malin Hartelius (Melanto), Jonas Kaufmann (Telemaco), Rudolf Schasching (Iro), Isabel Rey (Minerva/ Amorei), Martina Jankovà (Fortuna/ Giunone)
Orchestra La Scintilla of The Zurich Opera House, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor)
Klaus-Michael Grüber (stage director); set design by Gilles Aillaud

This version is complete and the cast is quite good, even if Gilles Aillaud's sets strike me as pretty "meh."

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

I have this version:



Vesselina Kasarova (Pénélope), Dietrich Henschel (L’humanita Fragilita/ Ulisse), Malin Hartelius (Melanto), Jonas Kaufmann (Telemaco), Rudolf Schasching (Iro), Isabel Rey (Minerva/ Amorei), Martina Jankovà (Fortuna/ Giunone)
Orchestra La Scintilla of The Zurich Opera House, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor)
Klaus-Michael Grüber (stage director); set design by Gilles Aillaud

This version is complete and the cast is quite good, even if Gilles Aillaud's sets strike me as pretty "meh."

Thanks - I've put that one on my wish list.

[Hoffmann]

okay, no more guilty feeling

just a little confused as to where that dvd has got to



I need to get another emergency overflow system for the tea cabinet

and these stacks of magazines that I'm treating like they are sacred books from the Vatican don't help either

Shhh! Don't joke about such things. The Vatican Library is not one to be tinkered with, and they have very big ears. They likely have been looking all over their stacks, wondering whatever happened to their valuable cache of Gramophone magazines. And now....

[Adrian]

One of my all time favourites.
Tosca.
Domingo / Kabaivanska / Milnes.
Stunning performance.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

One of my all time favourites.
Tosca.
Domingo / Kabaivanska / Milnes.
Stunning performance.

Raina is the most beautiful dignified Tosca ever.

[Floria]

Tutto Verdi: Otello

Aleksandrs Antonenko (Otello), Marina Poplavskaya (Desdemona), Carlos Àlvarez (Iago), Barbara Di Castri (Emilia), Stephen Costello (Cassio), Antonello Ceron (Roderigo), Mikhail Petrenko (Lodovico), Simone del Savio (Montano), Andrea Porta (Un araldo)

Wiener Philharmoniker & Wiener Staatsopernchor, Riccardo Muti

This is not my favorite Otello.

The vocals were good and I especially liked Marina Poplavskaya, but the staging was terrible. There was a platform in the middle of the stage that they stepped up on, then down. I thought it was kind of dumb. At one point this stage split open. Cool to look at but I am not into this symbolism.

With the excedption of Marina Poplavaskaya, the acting left a lot to be desired. The close ups showed Antonenko and Alvarez sweating so much you would think they were in Hades.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Tutto Verdi: Otello

Aleksandrs Antonenko (Otello), Marina Poplavskaya (Desdemona), Carlos Àlvarez (Iago), Barbara Di Castri (Emilia), Stephen Costello (Cassio), Antonello Ceron (Roderigo), Mikhail Petrenko (Lodovico), Simone del Savio (Montano), Andrea Porta (Un araldo)

Wiener Philharmoniker & Wiener Staatsopernchor, Riccardo Muti

This is not my favorite Otello.

The vocals were good and I especially liked Marina Poplavskaya, but the staging was terrible. There was a platform in the middle of the stage that they stepped up on, then down. I thought it was kind of dumb. At one point this stage split open. Cool to look at but I am not into this symbolism.

With the excedption of Marina Poplavaskaya, the acting left a lot to be desired. The close ups showed Antonenko and Alvarez sweating so much you would think they were in Hades.

I agree about Poplavaskaya. I thought she was stellar!