What opera have you been listening to, lately?

[Clayton]

I needed another hit of

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
José van Dam (Hans Sachs), Ben Heppner (Walther von Stolzing), Karita Mattila (Eva), Alan Opie (Beckmesser), Iris Vermillion (Magdalena), Herbert Lippert (David), René Pape (Pogner), Albert Dohmen (Kothner), Kelly Anderson (Nachtwächter)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Georg Solti
Recorded during live performances 23-27 September 1995 Orchestra Hall, Chicago

[Hoffmann]

I needed another hit of

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
José van Dam (Hans Sachs), Ben Heppner (Walther von Stolzing), Karita Mattila (Eva), Alan Opie (Beckmesser), Iris Vermillion (Magdalena), Herbert Lippert (David), René Pape (Pogner), Albert Dohmen (Kothner), Kelly Anderson (Nachtwächter)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Georg Solti
Recorded during live performances 23-27 September 1995 Orchestra Hall, Chicago

Do you prefer one or the other of the Solti recordings?

[Clayton]

Do you prefer one or the other of the Solti recordings?

I perfer the earlier, for the characters

[Clayton]

Janacek: Káta Kabanová
Elisabeth Söderström (Katya), Peter Dvorsky (Boris), Nedezda Kniplová (Kabanicha), Vladimir Krejcik (Tichon), Libuse Márová (Varvara), Dalibor Jedlicka (Dikov), Jaroslav Soucek (Kuligin), Jitka Pavlová (Glasha), Gertrude Jahn (Feklusha)
Wiener Staatsopernchor & Wiener Philharmoniker
Sir Charles Mackerras
Recorded December 1976, Sofiensaal, Vienna



Now the end of this opera marks the time to get a drink but I could just as easily crawl in to a dark corner...

[Ann Lander (sospiro)]

Janacek: Káta Kabanová
Elisabeth Söderström (Katya), Peter Dvorsky (Boris), Nedezda Kniplová (Kabanicha), Vladimir Krejcik (Tichon), Libuse Márová (Varvara), Dalibor Jedlicka (Dikov), Jaroslav Soucek (Kuligin), Jitka Pavlová (Glasha), Gertrude Jahn (Feklusha)
Wiener Staatsopernchor & Wiener Philharmoniker
Sir Charles Mackerras
Recorded December 1976, Sofiensaal, Vienna



Now the end of this opera marks the time to get a drink but I could just as easily crawl in to a dark corner...

I've got that but it's in my ULP. Good?

[Soave_Fanciulla]

may be but I still want to know more

What's innit? Does it work?

It's a mid-17C work with a lot of fine laments, on its way to being a full Baroque opera with da capos n' everything, but also with some comic characters singing in Catania dialect. Enjoyable.

[Clayton]

I've got that but it's in my ULP. Good?

Yes, very good (or bad, depending how you look at it). Beautifuly scored music which is so evocative and a performance by Söderström that pains.

Please remove from ULP with a strong heart only...

[Clayton]

Yes, very good (or bad, depending how you look at it). Beautifuly scored music which is so evocative and a performance by Söderström that pains.

Please remove from ULP with a strong heart only...

With after thought, this comment does not really do this work justice

I know it's not a spoiler alert as Sospiro would have already done much research on the work

It's a really tragic tale that happens within a family of mis-suits. The romantic dreamer that is Káta who grew up as a free bird, the pathetic husband of Tichon son of Kabanicha, the hard ar$ed mother looking out for her son. Each of these characters are built so much in the first act and then we have Boris the lost puppy who has fallen in love with Káta, "the enabler" (excuse me JG whilst borrowing your phrase) of Varvara and Kudrjaš and the feeble opposite of Kabachina, Dikój.

Janacek builds the characters and their relationships strongly and quickly and there is identification or reflection I feel more with contemporary works rather than traditional Russian or Slavic works of that period (not that I am very well educated in those fields) but with romantic themes in the score that are traditional with the period (ditto education/knowledge).

I can't (back to edu/know) say importance of this piece for academics but drama and music very high scoring in Clayton charts.

[Clayton]

Oh c£ap

I just realized, Sospiro might have just been asking about the recording, already knowing about the opera.

Well in that case, Söderström is a beautiful Káta, a somehow damaged, religion infused girl next door. Perfect imagery.



Pint sized brain, with a mouth that shoots before the brain engages. I AM Clayton.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Oh c£ap

I just realized, Sospiro might have just been asking about the recording, already knowing about the opera.

Well in that case, Söderström is a beautiful Káta, a somehow damaged, religion infused girl next door. Perfect imagery.

Well I enjoyed what you wrote. Succinct and enlightening.

[Soave_Fanciulla]

Ok, so I made myself listen to this (only skipped a couple of Joanie arias). I see why Annie loves it - Ghiaurov and Cappuccilli were both stonking.

[Hoffmann]

I had to catch up to vote on Madama Butterfly, so listened to the Barbirolli/Scotto recording this morning:




Then, during a walk this afternoon:



Very nice recording - the guys are really good. Fiorenza Cossotto always is dependably good, but I think her Lady Macbeth is a little on the light side here for my taste.

[Floria]

Like Hoffman I listened to Madama Butterfly.
Maria Chiara


Also, Montserrat Caballe, Bernabe Marti, Beverly Wolff, Seymour Schwartzman, Norman Kelly. Philadelphia Lyric Opera - Richard Karp, conductor Philadelphia, live recording 1967 - the sound is not great but I love Caballe in this.

[Clayton]

Gounod: Roméo et Juliette
Roberto Alagna (Roméo), Angela Gheorghiu (Juliette), José van Dam (Friar), Simon Keenlyside (Mercutio)
Chœur et Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
Michel Plasson
Recorded October 1995, Halle aux grains, Toulouse



beautiful Angela...

[Clayton]

related to previous listening (not planned, just coincidence)

Ambroise Thomas: La Cour de Célimène
Laura Claycomb (La Comtesse), Joan Rodgers (La Baronne), Alastair Miles (Le Commandeur de Beaupré), Sébastien Droy (Le Chevalier de Mérac), Nicole Tibbels (Bretonne), Philharmonia Orchestra,
Andrew Litton
Recorded July 2007, Abbey Road Studios



Which one do I prefer? This one, this one and this one. This opera is classed (under the Clayton opera classification) as a A.HA.HA type. As in it makes me smile and laugh a ha ha in my heart.



Marie Miolan-Carvalho the legendary coloratura 1827-1895 created the role of the Countess in La Cour de Célimène. She also created the role of Juliette in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (as well as Marguerite in Faust).