What opera have you been watching lately?

**Soave_Fanciulla** · August 6th, 2016, 10:27 AM

Dull and a bit depressing. Falstaff should be fun, and this is not.

**Ann Lander (sospiro)** · August 6th, 2016, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by Soave_Fanciulla

Dull and a bit depressing. Falstaff should be fun, and this is not.

Oh what a shame.

Have you seen this one?

**Soave_Fanciulla** · August 6th, 2016, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by sospiro

Oh what a shame.

Have you seen this one?

Yes, and it's very good. And funny.

**Soave_Fanciulla** · August 8th, 2016, 10:16 AM

That cheered me up after the dull Falstaff

**MAuer** · August 8th, 2016, 12:49 PM

I'm guessing this production dates from the time when Alexander Pereira was Zürich's Intendant -- the house had such an impressive ensemble of singers then, and this cast includes many of them.

**Soave_Fanciulla** · August 8th, 2016, 06:47 PM

I have to add that you can only enjoy La Finta Giardiniera if you steadfastly ignore the theme of acute domestic violence in the backstory.

**MAuer** · August 9th, 2016, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by Soave_Fanciulla

I have to add that you can only enjoy La Finta Giardiniera if you steadfastly ignore the theme of acute domestic violence in the backstory.

True -- rather like ignoring all of the sexist and racist comments in Die Zauberflöte.

**Povero Buoso** · August 10th, 2016, 11:20 PM

Well instead of choosing one of the more famous Verdi works to watch I instead ventured for a more obscure work by Verdi but which have seen mentioned elsewhere before and though interesting as it immediately preceded Rigoletto. The 1993 met Version was apparently one of the first performances of the original score undertaken. As it happened I enjoyed the opera well enough but in comparison to the Joys of Macbeth it was comparatively muted with nice melody's and good enough performances but nothing close to the music one finds in the other opera. Acting wise performances were very strong but Sharon Sweet probably convinced me the least in her acting of the role on the other hand I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Vladimir Chernov's performance as Stankar who seemed to me to be the most interesting character as well as possessing the most interesting music of the opera. I don't think I will be rushing to add Stiffelio to my collection after a first listen and I think it is weaker musically than Aida though its story clicked with me more. I would be intrigued to know if Aroldo is different enough to that also warrant a watch?

Mets Stiffelio 7.5 out of 10 a decent enough opera but not amazing acting and singing were strong enough for most of the cast but special praise goes to Chernov who for me stole the show. Worth a watch to see a work betwixt the glories that are Macbeth and Rigoletto.*

*I am going on a prolonged holiday (3 weeks) from this Sunday inwards so my contributions to the forum will be far less frequent during the first week. The following two may be more common in the listening forum but with sun,sand and sea as well as patchier Internet ruling out watching new operas I make no promises

**Soave_Fanciulla** · August 11th, 2016, 10:04 AM

Pelléas et Mélisande from Aix, with Barbara Hannigan, Laurent Naouri and Stéphane Degout.

**Ann Lander (sospiro)** · August 13th, 2016, 02:11 PM

Going to see Manon Lescaut in Amsterdam in October with Eva-Maria Westbroek as Manon. (Been a fan of hers since Les Troyens).

Watching this as part of my homework.

It's a traditional production, which I know won't be the case in Amsterdam, but I'm enjoying it very much.

**Soave_Fanciulla** · August 13th, 2016, 08:08 PM

Watched the Eritrean Così fan tutte from Aix, the one Luiz saw and reviewed. My, it brings out all the darkness and cruelty of the opera. It was good but I never want to put myself through that production again!

**Povero Buoso** · August 14th, 2016, 02:04 AM

Originally Posted by sospiro

Going to see Manon Lescaut in Amsterdam in October with Eva-Maria Westbroek as Manon. (Been a fan of hers since Les Troyens).

Watching this as part of my homework.

It's a traditional production, which I know won't be the case in Amsterdam, but I'm enjoying it very much.

Manon Lescaut for me is where Puccini really starts to find his footing after the comparative disaster that is Edgar (in my opinion the four act version being a step down from Le Villi). While it has some noticeable pacing problems Puccini is definitely developing nicely in Manon Lescaut and sounding better and better with some brilliant arias as well as the beautiful Intermezzo. I am intrigued as to what Amsterdam is going to attempt to do to modernize Manon Lescaut after the comparative mauling Eyre's production of the same got which I thought from the clips and trailers looked rather clever. Looks like it will be fun!

**Ann Lander (sospiro)** · August 14th, 2016, 07:10 AM

Originally Posted by Povero Buoso

Manon Lescaut for me is where Puccini really starts to find his footing after the comparative disaster that is Edgar (in my opinion the four act version being a step down from Le Villi). While it has some noticeable pacing problems Puccini is definitely developing nicely in Manon Lescaut and sounding better and better with some brilliant arias as well as the beautiful Intermezzo. I am intrigued as to what Amsterdam is going to attempt to do to modernize Manon Lescaut after the comparative mauling Eyre's production of the same got which I thought from the clips and trailers looked rather clever. Looks like it will be fun!

I saw the Eyre production at ROH and I really liked it.

The Amsterdam one is told in retrospect so it will be interesting to see if it works.