What opera have you been watching lately?

**Hoffmann** · August 31st, 2015, 03:20 PM

I used to be a night owl - going to bed at 3:00 or 4:00 am then getting up and going to work and gulping coffee all day to keep me fueled.

However, like it or not, "Geezer Time" starts to catch up. First, the coffee stopped working, so to at least be lucid at work I had to go to bed right after David Letterman.

Then, I retired. Now, bedtime is 11:30 - Midnight. A year from now, who knows?

**Hoffmann** · August 31st, 2015, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by Festat

Gluck's Orfeu ed Euridice, with Bejun Mehta, Eva Liebau and Regula Mühlemann. I watched it on bluray but it is also on Youtube:

This is not a recording of a live performance, but a feature film. My feelings are a bit mixed. I thought it somewhat channels Bergman's Trollflöjten, as the operas are so related, in both the affirmation of the stage and the gradual expansion and eventual disappearance of its boundaries. Unfortunately, Bergman is not an easy chap to channel. Camera work ranges from adequate to uninspired, but the film's true problem for me is its montage. It isn't a live stream, but it is largely edited as if it was. The shadows scene in the third act strikes me as the worst editing intervention of all. What could a have been a delicate, long, wide shot in which their separated bodies and their touching shadows coexist is all chopped with inserts of a rather plain, rather ugly frontal-ish shot of the shadows projected on the wall. Very typical of the usual master/shot/reverse shot arrangement of a live performance, where the cameras cannot cross the stage axis, and in that case I completely understand, but this movie spent weeks in the editing room! I was screaming to the screen WHYYY EDITOR WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT WITH SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SHOT

Props to the Furies scene in the second act, though, I wish the whole thing was edited with that attention.

On the other hand, musically it is wonderful. Bejun Mehta is probably the best Orfeo I have seen. He is very expressive and really makes something out of his close-ups. Eva Liebau is also a good choice, beautiful tone. The silent almost-embrace just before the last scene is really heartfelt. Regula Mühlemann is a cute Amore, if a bit overly cheeky. The chorus is very good and so is most of the dance. On that sense it is really a hit.

Anyway, it's good. Could have been great, but still thoroughly enjoyable.

Festat, your reviews are too good. I don't typically watch opera DVDs or films. However, never having seen a production of Orfeo ed Euridice, I decided to watch this last night. I'm not that aware or alert to camera shots, so wasn't disappointed by the scene you highlighted at all, and was overall delighted with the traditional production.

My lone recording of the opera is from 1957 and features Risë Stevens, Lisa Della Casa and Roberta Peters, conducted by Pierre Monteux. This recording ends with what I assume is an extended ballet based upon Orfeo's famous aria. So, I had never heard Orfeo ed Euridice with a counter tenor singing the lead. No question that in viewing the film, having a male lead makes a big difference. Bejun Mehta does a terrific job both in his singing and conveying his sense of loss.

I am unhappy, though, that Apple went into a snit and dropped YouTube from Apple TV after Google bought it a while back. Although I am able to flip the image from my computer screen to my TV ok, I have a terrible time reclaiming the TV programming after I've done that (requiring Apple tech support), so had to quit. I would love to have watched Orfeo and Krol Roger the other night on a much larger screen.

**Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)** · September 1st, 2015, 12:00 AM

Originally Posted by Hoffmann

I am unhappy, though, that Apple went into a snit and dropped YouTube from Apple TV after Google bought it a while back. Although I am able to flip the image from my computer screen to my TV ok, I have a terrible time reclaiming the TV programming after I've done that (requiring Apple tech support), so had to quit. I would love to have watched Orfeo and Krol Roger the other night on a much larger screen.

Get a Roku device. They are cheap (you just buy the device, no subscription required), and they can access and play YouTube on your TV. They are also easy to set up (they hook up to your TV via HDMI cable - just one cable, and that's it), since they access the Internet directly (no need for bridges or other wiring), tapping into your wireless home network (I assume you have one). You just have to enter the key for your router just like you do for any computer, and you're good to go. They also give you access to Netflix, Pandora, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc., etc. plus a huge number of other channels and content (some by subscription but most are free).

PS - No, I don't own stock from the Roku company. Just a happy customer.

**Festat** · September 1st, 2015, 02:21 AM

Originally Posted by Hoffmann

I don't typically watch opera DVDs or films.

Two in a week! You are almost a convert!

**Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)** · September 2nd, 2015, 03:53 AM

@ Hoffmann: I mentioned Roku, and it was timely: they just contracted with Met Opera on Demand, and now they offer it as one of their channels.

**Vlad** · September 2nd, 2015, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)

@ Hoffmann: I mentioned Roku, and it was timely: they just contracted with Met Opera on Demand, and now they offer it as one of their channels.

Just ordered a Roku thingy.

**Vlad** · September 5th, 2015, 09:03 PM

**Festat** · September 6th, 2015, 03:55 AM

Verdi's Macbeth with Anna Netrebko and Željko Lučić on Met on Demand. (Better late than never, right? Do we have it out on DVD already?)

Wow. I have read all the raving reviews about Netrebko's Lady Macbeth and she managed to surpass my already very high expectations. The woman is brilliant. And stunning! She has really reached new heights with this. I'm anxiously waiting for her Norma next year!

And very good production by Adrian Noble, nice to see it from someone so close to Shakespear — the other Macbeth I have is Tcherniakov's from Paris, which I kind of like despite the trashy reviews.

**Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)** · September 6th, 2015, 04:27 AM

Originally Posted by Festat

Verdi's Macbeth with Anna Netrebko and Željko Lučić on Met on Demand. (Better late than never, right? Do we have it out on DVD already?)

Wow. I have read all the raving reviews about Netrebko's Lady Macbeth and she managed to surpass my already very high expectations. The woman is brilliant. And stunning! She has really reached new heights with this. I'm anxiously waiting for her Norma next year!

And very good production by Adrian Noble, nice to see it from someone so close to Shakespear — the other Macbeth I have is Tcherniakov's from Paris, which I kind of like despite the trashy reviews.

Yay, another one recognizing Anna's greatness!