What opera have you been watching lately?

[JohnGerald]

I think I've just seen my favourite Trovatore ever, the one on demand from the Met, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Yonghoon Lee, Trebs, Dolora Zajick and Štefan Kocán. Absolutely brilliant. I've never heard Dima in such good voice and with such power and expressiveness. Trebs was heartbreaking. I take it all back about Yonghoon Lee not being subtle, he did some wonderfully nuanced singing and acting. Wow, just wow.

Here's Lee in my favourite bit of the opera:



I also watched Iolanta the day before. This definitely deserves some more outings, what lovely music. Trebs completely dominated this performance.

This Trovatore is the closest thing to operatic perfection I have yet seen. As I have posted elsewhere, Netrebko's work in an uncut last act is a master class in Verdi singing. Hvorostovsky is the best DiLuna since Leonard Warren and the welcome he gets before his first sung note defines "heartwarming experience", as does the flower shower at the end. Armiliato has the score down perfectly. I cannot get enough of this one!

[Povero Buoso]

I think I've just seen my favourite Trovatore ever, the one on demand from the Met, with Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Yonghoon Lee, Trebs, Dolora Zajick and Štefan Kocán. Absolutely brilliant. I've never heard Dima in such good voice and with such power and expressiveness. Trebs was heartbreaking. I take it all back about Yonghoon Lee not being subtle, he did some wonderfully nuanced singing and acting. Wow, just wow.

Here's Lee in my favourite bit of the opera:



I also watched Iolanta the day before. This definitely deserves some more outings, what lovely music. Trebs completely dominated this performance.

By all accounts this performance is the closest thing to the Caruso requirement I've heard of.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

By all accounts this performance is the closest thing to the Caruso requirement I've heard of.

It will be a crime if they don't release it on DVD, even though the same production is already available with half the same cast, but in less exciting mode.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Time for all OL members to head over to Opera Platform for Eugene Onegin from Berlin, with Günter Papendell and Asmik Grigorian as the most convincing (and suitably young and callow) Eugene and Tatiana I have seen. Lovely production by Barry Kosky. Don't miss it.

[Amfortas]

Time for all OL members to head over to Opera Platform for Eugene Onegin from Berlin, with Günter Papendell and Asmik Grigorian as the most convincing (and suitably young and callow) Eugene and Tatiana I have seen. Lovely production by Barry Kosky. Don't miss it.

Cool. The teacher of my Staging Opera class, the musicologist Katherine Syers, recommended this production (and Opera Platform) just recently. Haven't gotten around to checking it out yet. But it's Onegin, so you know I have to.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Bit of a downer for Valentine Day. Georg Nigl was amazing. I enjoy a lot of what Tcherniakov does but I wish he would stop insisting that his characters laugh loudly and excessively during the singing. He does it in everything he directs.

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

To tell you the truth, this Onegin left me a bit cold. Maybe it's because I had just seen the one with La Bellissima on blu-ray and was still under the impact of it. The production is good, sure, but I'm not as fond of the singing. Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

To tell you the truth, this one left me a bit cold. Maybe it's because I had just seen the one with La Bellissima on blu-ray and was still under the impact of it. The production is good, sure, but I'm not as fond of the singing. Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

It was the first time I'd really felt that Tatiana was a moonstuck teenager and Onegin a callow young man who thinks he is cooler than he really is. And I thought Günter Papendell sounded wonderful. Not ny favourite Lensky or Olga though.

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

It was the first time I'd really felt that Tatiana was a moonstuck teenager and Onegin a callow young man who thinks he is cooler than he really is. And I thought Günter Papendell sounded wonderful. Not ny favourite Lensky or Olga though.

I agree with your assessment of the Eugene Onegin singer, and those who sang Lensky and Olga, but even more important at least for me (for obvious reasons) is that Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian is not bad, but she can't compete with Anna Netrebko, especially in a Russian opera. Anna in the production I had just seen hit the ball out of the park. Not to forget, the all Slavic cast was simply phenomenal with everybody earning A grades in my ratings. Here is what I said about it:

Anna Netrebko delivers in my opinion one of her best performances in all of her illustrious career. I'd say, top three, together with her poignant Lucia di Lammermoor and her fiery Lady Macbeth. Her letter scene is a thing of beauty with phenomenal acting and touching singing. She demonstrates perfect control of this very long sing, with no fatigue or lost pace - and oh so beautiful timbre. A++

Mariusz Kwiecen also displays excellent acting in his facial expressions and his singing is elegant and correct in all regards, except that he is a bit underwhelming in the vocal passion department (although this might be deliberate given the character's coldness in the first two acts, but even the last scene still gives me a bit of the same impression that the dramatic acting - largely successful - is a bit less matched by the dramatic singing). A+

Piotr Beczala, like Anna, gives one of his best showings, with a sublime and delicate "Kuda, kuda" and unlike his colder colleague, his passion says present. A++

The trio of other important female roles, Oksana Volkova, Elena Zaremba, and Larissa Diadkova are very good, especially the latter, who is an extremely solid Filippyevna, with a surprisingly powerful and well modulated voice for her age. Respectively, A+, A, and A++.

So, when one has just listened to such superb singing, it is tough for another show to be appreciated to the same degree.

But like I said, the production is neat. You know that I'm not too fond of the Met's new production. I never understood why they retired the previous one which was far superior, in my opinion, and still quite new, with no need to replace it.

I think most likely they replaced it just to be able to release a new DVD with Anna, Mariusz, and Piotr, because they had already released the previous one with Renée, Dmitri, and Piotr. It would be weird to release the exact same thing with three other star singers, so they got a new production as a vehicle for the new cast.

[Amfortas]

Bit of a downer for Valentine Day. Georg Nigl was amazing. I enjoy a lot of what Tcherniakov does but I wish he would stop insisting that his characters laugh loudly and excessively during the singing. He does it in everything he directs.

LOL (while singing).

[Povero Buoso]

But like I said, the production is neat. You know that I'm not too fond of the Met's new production. I never understood why they retired the previous one which was far superior, in my opinion, and still quite new, with no need to replace it.

I haven't seen the new Onegin production yet but I loved the one that had Fleming and Dimitri. If I had a dream production I would have taken the singers, orchestra and conductor from the one I saw at the ROH and have it with the timeless brilliant staging by Carsen

[Soave_Fanciulla]

I agree with your assessment of the Eugene Onegin singer, and those who sang Lensky and Olga, but even more important at least for me (for obvious reasons) is that Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian is not bad, but she can't compete with Anna Netrebko, especially in a Russian opera. Anna in the production I had just seen hit the ball out of the park. Not to forget, the all Slavic cast was simply phenomenal with everybody earning A grades in my ratings. Here is what I said about it:

Anna was of course excellent, but she was still Anna being Tatiana.

The thing about Asmik is I thought she WAS Tatiana.

But anyway, that's just the soprano, so who really cares?

[Soave_Fanciulla]

So I'd listened to the CD, and loved it, and thought I'd like to find out what was going on, but now I'm even more confused than when I started watching. Mind you, it's directed by David Pountney, who put on the only opera I ever walked out of, so I suppose no surprises there.

The music is still very good though. Amfortas, you might like this.

[Clayton]

...the only opera I ever walked out of...

was that a Philip Glass opera?

[Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)]

Anna was of course excellent, but she was still Anna being Tatiana.

The thing about Asmik is I thought she WAS Tatiana.

But anyway, that's just the soprano, so who really cares?

I hope a very voluminous soprano sits on this chair and brings it down on top of the blue person.