What opera have you been listening to, lately?

**Festat** · November 23rd, 2013, 10:10 PM

This has FINALLY arrived this morning after more than two months stuck somewhere in the shipping process.

**Festat** · November 23rd, 2013, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by Hoffmann

I'm generally not crazy about live recordings because I don't like all of their idiosyncrasies - poor mike placement, some recordings haven't edited out audience noises (some are really bad with coughing and sneezing included), etc. .

That's exactly what I like in live recordings! haha I mean, not the bad mikes, but to listen to the audience laugh if it's a comedy, or the emotional bravo shoutings before the whole house burst clapping. I actually would love to see some audience close-ups on opera DVDs, but I think I'm not ever getting that.

I do understand your preference for studio, though. It's hard to record live. Was listening to some of the 1965 Gencer-Simionato Norma recording from La Scala and it sounds the opposite from that I Capuleti, singers are mostly clear, on axis, full-sounding, while the orchestra sounds like it's playing from inside the closet. :/

**Clayton** · November 23rd, 2013, 10:58 PM

Such a beautiful opera! Gruberova, Aliberti or Sutherland, all wonderful. In fact I bet if someone was to compile a list of favourite operas it would be somewhere near the top.
I hope that after a two month wait this makes you "weep, shudder and die"...

**Festat** · November 23rd, 2013, 11:05 PM

It doesn't take much to make me weep, shudder and die. I'm quite easy on that, I've already wept over butter commercials.

**Festat** · November 24th, 2013, 06:56 AM

Just finished it. I wanna hug Gruberova so badly. She does splendid work considering she was 58, and she looks very cute.

Staging is occasionally nonsensical (like, rotating shell chairs) but has a lot of stairs and I love stairs. And it is finely lit most of the time, so I think it's ok.

**Festat** · November 25th, 2013, 12:11 AM

Halfway through the Böhm-Gruberova-Araiza Die Entführung aus dem Serail, which is also on youtube. So far enjoying it very much. Stage direction is very traditional and very simple, yet it seems to work well.

And such a threatening Osmin!

**Soave_Fanciulla** · November 25th, 2013, 09:22 AM

I'm not usually an operetta fan, but man, this is so funny and entertaining and lively, makes me wish my German was better because I think I missed a lot of jokes.

**Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)** · November 25th, 2013, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by Soave_Fanciulla

I'm not usually an operetta fan, but man, this is so funny and entertaining and lively, makes me wish my German was better because I think I missed a lot of jokes.

Die Fledermaus *is* funny and entertaining and lively in any version. This other one has updated jokes that work pretty well:

**Hoffmann** · November 26th, 2013, 04:13 AM

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I listened to my new purchase this evening and have to say that I really like the opera. Callas is terrific (goes without saying), but the recording is only ok. The Arkivmusic reviewer says that this recording is, by far, the best of the versions available and is a seriously marked improvement over those other versions, which is kind of scary to think about.

However, it seems that La Vestale is yet another opera that falls into the category of wonderful, but rarely performed operas - but it's hard to know why.

**Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)** · November 26th, 2013, 04:42 AM

Originally Posted by Hoffmann

However, it seems that La Vestale is yet another opera that falls into the category of wonderful, but rarely performed operas - but it's hard to know why.

Nice. I don't know this one, so I'll place it on my wish list.

Oh, wait. I do have it. It's on my "unlistened to" pile. I only have an audio file, though, minus the libretto. Do you have a source for it?

**Festat** · November 26th, 2013, 06:11 AM

I only have an audio file, though, minus the libretto. Do you have a source for it?

Original French libretto and German translation on opera-guide.ch.

Listening to this right now because I saw Die Fledermaus mentioned above and felt I haven't listened to it in ages.

**Soave_Fanciulla** · November 26th, 2013, 06:33 AM

Originally Posted by Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)

Nice. I don't know this one, so I'll place it on my wish list.

Oh, wait. I do have it. It's on my "unlistened to" pile. I only have an audio file, though, minus the libretto. Do you have a source for it?

According to Andrew Richards the recent Vestale from Paris, in which he co-starred with Ermonela Jaho, will be released on DVD. I enjoyed it when it showed on Medici.

**Hoffmann** · November 26th, 2013, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)

Nice. I don't know this one, so I'll place it on my wish list.

Oh, wait. I do have it. It's on my "unlistened to" pile. I only have an audio file, though, minus the libretto. Do you have a source for it?

I seem to default to Arkivmusic.com for most of my purchases:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/...lbum_id=722967

Btw, I discovered the opera when listening to Callas' La Sonnambula, which has 3 of Callas' La Vestale arias tacked on at the end - all from a much clearer recording she did with Giuseppe Di Stefano, which appears no longer to be available (not on Arkiv or Divina Records, for example).

**Luiz Gazzola (Almaviva)** · November 26th, 2013, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by Hoffmann

I seem to default to Arkivmusic.com for most of my purchases:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/...lbum_id=722967

No, what I mean is, do you have a source for the libretto, online? I do have the audio file so I won't buy the CD, but I'd like to read the libretto while I listen to the audio.