What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[StLukesGuildOhio]

Now this was absolutely delicious... and oh so fun!



An absolutely irreverent retelling of the Orpheus and Euridice tale complete with parodies of Gluck's famous opera, an absurd "seduction" scene in which Zeus takes the form of a fly. As Jules Noriac wrote in the review in Le Figaro, the day after the premier:

"Unheard of,
Splendid,
Outrageous,
Graceful,
Charming,
Witty,
Amusing,
Successful,
Perfect,
Melodius.

If despite all that you are not entranced by Orphée, you have only yourself to blame..."

All I might add to Noriac's list is the word "naughty"... for the work is surely a bit "naughty"... sexy... is the manner of fin de siecle Paris. I will most certainly be picking up Minkowski's other performances of Offenbach's operettas:





You gotta love Offenbach as the man without whom there would be no Strauss... or Lehar... And the man who absolutely ticked off Wagner.

[StLukesGuildOhio]

I've long had Maria Callas' Lucia di Lammermoor but have come to admire the opera to such an extent recently that I wished to explore a few alternative performances. I ended up picking up Joan Sutherland's youthful recording with Robert Merill and Cesare Siepi...



and Natalie Dessay's performances of Verdi's French version of the opera, Lucie de Lammermoor...



I am really coming around to a greater admiration for both of these singers. I've long been aware of Sutherland's reputation... and even owned this classic recital:



... but she never really clicked with me. I have been far more enamored of Maria Callas.

Nevertheless... I sat down today and listened to Sutherland's Lucia... and it is certainly a damn fine performance. If I had any complaint... it would be with the use (quite standard) of the flute as opposed to the glass harmonica for the great "mad scene". The glass harmonica, it seems to me, simply lends such an air of the the unearthly to the scene that is perfectly suited to it.[/QUOTE]

[StLukesGuildOhio]

Currently listening to this collection of Natalie Dessay performances:

[Aksel]

Now this was absolutely delicious... and oh so fun!


An absolutely irreverent retelling of the Orpheus and Euridice tale complete with parodies of Gluck's famous opera, an absurd "seduction" scene in which Zeus takes the form of a fly. As Jules Noriac wrote in the review in Le Figaro, the day after the premier:

"Unheard of,
Splendid,
Outrageous,
Graceful,
Charming,
Witty,
Amusing,
Successful,
Perfect,
Melodius.

If despite all that you are not entranced by Orphée, you have only yourself to blame..."

All I might add to Noriac's list is the word "naughty"... for the work is surely a bit "naughty"... sexy... is the manner of fin de siecle Paris. I will most certainly be picking up Minkowski's other performances of Offenbach's operettas:


You gotta love Offenbach as the man without whom there would be no Strauss... or Lehar... And the man who absolutely ticked off Wagner.

Have you seen the DVDs to which these recordings belong? I can assure you that fun will be had. Highlights include:

From Orphée:


From La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein:



From La Belle Hélène (I think this is the correct one):

[Festat]

[Festat]

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Rameau, Hippolyte et Aricie, here on Youtube, with Sarah Connolly, Anne-Catherine Gillet and Topi Lehtipuu, what a treat. Stunningly beautiful traditional-but-entrancing production (please let it come out on DVD) and some of my favourite singers.

I think musically that this is my favourite Rameau opera. It's the first one he wrote, aged 50, and he must have been just bubbling with ideas that all burst forth into this wonderful piece.

[Aksel]

Rameau, Hippolyte et Aricie, here on Youtube, with Sarah Connolly, Anne-Catherine Gillet and Topi Lehtipuu, what a treat. Stunningly beautiful traditional-but-entrancing production (please let it come out on DVD) and some of my favourite singers.

I think musically that this is my favourite Rameau opera. It's the first one he wrote, aged 50, and he must have been just bubbling with ideas that all burst forth into this wonderful piece.

This was taped? YESSSS! I had to choose between this and the Renèe Fleming Arabella when I was in Paris.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

This was taped? YESSSS! I had to choose between this and the Renèe Fleming Arabella when I was in Paris.

Well that would have been a no brainer for me. Get it while it's still there!

[Aramis]

Splendid as other Jacobs/Mozart opera stuff. But where did they find that tenor aria preceding Ah, ben bio, perdono in act II? I've never heard it on other Cosi recordings.

[Aksel]

Splendid as other Jacobs/Mozart opera stuff. But where did they find that tenor aria preceding Ah, ben bio, perdono in act II? I've never heard it on other Cosi recordings.

I suspect he pulled it out of thin air.

[What was written here made sense in my head, but alas, not on screen.]

[Festat]

Splendid as other Jacobs/Mozart opera stuff. But where did they find that tenor aria preceding Ah, ben bio, perdono in act II? I've never heard it on other Cosi recordings.

It is present in that 1935 Busch version I posted above, but it seems to have vanished from record until 68, when it appears again in Leinsdorf's with Price and Troyanos.
It began to be included more often ~recently~, from the 80's on, like in the recordings by Levine, Marriner and Solti.

[Schigolch]

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Stepping out of the baroque for a while:

[Schigolch]