What opera have you been watching lately?

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

I'm supposed to be back watching/listening to stuff at random. That didn't last long.

Have tickets for this.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

The production didn't add that much but the cast were fantastic.

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

The production didn't add that much but the cast were fantastic.

I saw it at ROH and didn't like the production at all. Singing was rather good.

[Amfortas]

I saw it at ROH and didn't like the production at all. Singing was rather good.

If we change the production, can Kristine Opolais still wear that same outfit?

[Povero Buoso]

If we change the production, can Kristine Opolais still wear that same outfit?

For any of our lucky members who live in the U.S.A same two leads with an interesting looking production set in the 1940s under the German Occupation with post apocalyptic themes in the fourth act. At the Met and looks interesting! I don't like Manon Lescaut enough to watch the same production as before but this new concept intrigue means as well as the two leads. Should be one to watch for on the Met on Demand in June or July for me!

[Soave_Fanciulla]

For any of our lucky members who live in the U.S.A same two leads with an interesting looking production set in the 1940s under the German Occupation with post apocalyptic themes in the fourth act. At the Met and looks interesting! I don't like Manon Lescaut enough to watch the same production as before but this new concept intrigue means as well as the two leads. Should be one to watch for on the Met on Demand in June or July for me!

Well that will explain why Louisiana has suddenly become a desert.

[Povero Buoso]

Well that will explain why Louisiana has suddenly become a desert.

Yeah this should fix the problem. The two lovers begin caught in an irradiated wasteland makes more sense than dying in desert plains in Louisiana admittedly I am no geographical whizkid but he could have chosen so many other states that did have desert instead he chose Louisiana that has no desert. A post apocalyptic wasteland in which the chevalier and Manon are searching for water or any semblance of civilization actually makes more sense and I expect good things from this staging when I see it on demand or when its reviewed here.

[MAuer]

I'm going to order that video pronto, though I must admit I wish stage directors these days would just once leave an opera's action set in the time period chosen by the librettist . . .

[Soave_Fanciulla]

I'm going to order that video pronto, though I must admit I wish stage directors these days would just once leave an opera's action set in the time period chosen by the librettist . . .

Der Jonas totally shines, Kristine is not far behind AND you get Christopher Maltman as a really slimy Lescaut.

[MAuer]

Presto Classical, here I come!

[Povero Buoso]

Again through the wonders of a British student resource (at this stage I am very thankful it exists )I managed to watch a new opera that has been mentioned occasionally here on Opera Lively called Written on skin (ROH 2013 version). Short answer WOW! Long answer: Its text/libretto is excellent. Its score is excellent in perfect marriage with the text despite what some may consider a lack of melody (personally I really don't get how one can criticize this work on those grounds but I am no expert).Its story a tad macabre but one I consider exemplary (reminded me a bit of Il Tabarro in differences as well as similarities but i'm not spoiling the story here!) The staging was excellent and fully conveyed the plot in a good dramatic way. Finally the singing was great! I personally was not a massive fan of counter tenor singing before this having found myself somewhat strained by the sound at the start of Handel's Giulio Cesare (will get back to it eventually maybe) here however it works wonderfully. The cast I found top notch. All in all while it may be an opera I may not be humming (that may turn out to be untrue) it's well worth a watch.

10/10 All in all it is a must see new (in opera terms!) experience and one which I hope the Composer and Text author can replicate if not exceed with their new commissioned work for the ROH in 2018!

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Again through the wonders of a British student resource (at this stage I am very thankful it exists )I managed to watch a new opera that has been mentioned occasionally here on Opera Lively called Written on skin (ROH 2013 version). Short answer WOW! Long answer: Its text/libretto is excellent. Its score is excellent in perfect marriage with the text despite what some may consider a lack of melody (personally I really don't get how one can criticize this work on those grounds but I am no expert).Its story a tad macabre but one I consider exemplary (reminded me a bit of Il Tabarro in differences as well as similarities but i'm not spoiling the story here!) The staging was excellent and fully conveyed the plot in a good dramatic way. Finally the singing was great! I personally was not a massive fan of counter tenor singing before this having found myself somewhat strained by the sound at the start of Handel's Giulio Cesare (will get back to it eventually maybe) here however it works wonderfully. The cast I found top notch. All in all while it may be an opera I may not be humming (that may turn out to be untrue) it's well worth a watch.

10/10 All in all it is a must see new (in opera terms!) experience and one which I hope the Composer and Text author can replicate if not exceed with their new commissioned work for the ROH in 2018!

So glad you like it. It blew me away a few years ago when I saw the Aix production on Medici TV and it's gone to the top of my contemporary opera favourites list.

I always wonder, though, how it would fare with a different production and cast. Particularly without Barbara Hannigan.

[Povero Buoso]

I always wonder, though, how it would fare with a different production and cast. Particularly without Barbara Hannigan.

With a different production I believe there are some ways to look at the opera that would still work depending on your interpretation of it. As for a different cast its one of those cases that is fascinating in historical terms. The first viewers of La Traviata and The barber of Seville (Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo! Fortunatissimo per verità!:That aria is too catchy) probably thought on similar lines. Truly "blank" as "blank" will be impossible to replicate thus "blank" will fade in quick time. I truly hope written on skin doesn't fade as I feel it would be a sad loss to all opera lovers of the future if it fades away. We are fortunate however in our technological age that the opera can now never be as lost as those in decades gone by as it has dvd recordings that will likely never disappear entirely!

[Soave_Fanciulla]

With a different production I believe there are some ways to look at the opera that would still work depending on your interpretation of it. As for a different cast its one of those cases that is fascinating in historical terms. The first viewers of La Traviata and The barber of Seville (Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo! Fortunatissimo per verità!:That aria is too catchy) probably thought on similar lines. Truly "blank" as "blank" will be impossible to replicate thus "blank" will fade in quick time. I truly hope written on skin doesn't fade as I feel it would be a sad loss to all opera lovers of the future if it fades away. We are fortunate however in our technological age that the opera can now never be as lost as those in decades gone by as it has dvd recordings that will likely never disappear entirely!

Well of course for the first two hundred year opera was not designed to last. The search was always for the new sensation and little attention was paid to preserving the scores. I suppose the dissemination of the piano into middle class homes, where you could play arranged airs from the opera. might have changed that (not up to there in the history of opera I am reading.)

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

Again through the wonders of a British student resource (at this stage I am very thankful it exists )I managed to watch a new opera that has been mentioned occasionally here on Opera Lively called Written on skin (ROH 2013 version). Short answer WOW! Long answer: Its text/libretto is excellent. Its score is excellent in perfect marriage with the text despite what some may consider a lack of melody (personally I really don't get how one can criticize this work on those grounds but I am no expert).Its story a tad macabre but one I consider exemplary (reminded me a bit of Il Tabarro in differences as well as similarities but i'm not spoiling the story here!) The staging was excellent and fully conveyed the plot in a good dramatic way. Finally the singing was great! I personally was not a massive fan of counter tenor singing before this having found myself somewhat strained by the sound at the start of Handel's Giulio Cesare (will get back to it eventually maybe) here however it works wonderfully. The cast I found top notch. All in all while it may be an opera I may not be humming (that may turn out to be untrue) it's well worth a watch.

10/10 All in all it is a must see new (in opera terms!) experience and one which I hope the Composer and Text author can replicate if not exceed with their new commissioned work for the ROH in 2018!

Are you aware that Opera Lively Press has published the first guidebook to Written on Skin, authored by yours truly?

Also on Kindle.

Interviews with all principal singers, the composer, the librettist, the stage director, full libretto, musical analysis, the works.

Check it out!