Reply With QuoteOh it is magnificent. I do hope that recent production from Aix-en-provence is out on DVD. It is a remarkable staging...very much taking inspiration from the homoerotic interpretation of the story.Originally Posted by Hoffmann
I just finished listening to this. Rather high, no? Google says this was recorded in the "original keys", but with modern tuning it almost sounds transposed up. I'm not a big fan of E flats, even though Sutherland pulls them off with little effort. Her diction is a little better than usual, I thought, but still very uneven. It is ~almost~ clear in the beginning of the first act and in fact the Dormono entrambi was quite moving — although I'm not really the right person to judge because once she goes Son miei figli! it could be Iggy Azalea singing that I'd be weeping. The voice is indeed impressive, but I don't get the strength and intensity I expect from Norma as a woman and as a political and religious leader. I know this vision of the role comes mostly from Callas' Norma and I try (I swear I try) not to compare, but it's difficult. I don't expect every Norma to put the fear of God in me like Callas does when she sings Tremi tu, but I expect SOME level of threat in her intonation.
Marilyn Horne sounds beautiful and it's a pity they sing this so high (sky-high for Adalgisa!) because her lower register is the part of her voice I appreciate the most, even if her top is round and shiny. The duets blend splendidly and one can tell that she and Sutherland really worked well together. John Alexander, very average. Oroveso doesn't bother me that much.
Yes! In the end that prevails, no matter which recording, when Norma tells Oroveso that she's a mother and begs for him to look after her children I am
Thanks - very nice assessment. My ear isn't good enough to detect the upward transposition. I didn't say so - and, I should have, but it really is the duets that left me quite breathless. Sutherland's and Horne's voices are a terrific pairing.
You're right, of course, about Callas. No question that when she sang something, she meant it. Nothing wishy-washy about her approach. It's too easy, though, to listen to Callas' Norma, and every once in a while like a change of scenery.
I'm about ready to give up and buy the Charpentier David & Jonathas. I don't know it at all, but you guys have talked about it so much I have to find out what the excitement is all about.
Oh it is magnificent. I do hope that recent production from Aix-en-provence is out on DVD. It is a remarkable staging...very much taking inspiration from the homoerotic interpretation of the story.
If you would seek salvation, remember this:
a life in Hell can still aspire to BLISS.
Last edited by Soave_Fanciulla; January 5th, 2018 at 11:10 PM.
Natalie
Once this is over I am definitely going to sleep. I have a massive day tomorrow......
If you would seek salvation, remember this:
a life in Hell can still aspire to BLISS.
Good that it's nice and short then.
Once this is over I am definitely going to sleep. I have a massive day tomorrow......
Natalie
Otto Gerdes, Conductor, with Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Theo Adam, et al.
I love Tannhäuser. I know some expressed a sense of longeuers (langweilig in German) but really, between the Shepherd's song (especially haunting on this recording), the sublime Pilgrims' Chorus, Wolfram's "O du, mein holder Abendstern" and the compelling theme of redemption through love, what's not to like? Windgassen is a superb Tannhäuser - one of Wagner's more difficult roles. Did I mention the sublime Pilgrims' Chorus?
Brilliant
Natalie
This recording is one of the best for long walks - it finished very close to my building, having kept me company with energetic music for the other 8.5 miles:
The thing with Vivaldi that has been making me decide against listening to him these days is the sheer amount of energy, which isn't especially what I want at 11pm at night at this time of the year.This recording is one of the best for long walks - it finished very close to my building, having kept me company with energetic music for the other 8.5 miles:
If you would seek salvation, remember this:
a life in Hell can still aspire to BLISS.
This afternoon I listened to the Jacobs Don Giovanni.
And now I am listening to this for the first time:
Last edited by Soave_Fanciulla; January 5th, 2018 at 11:10 PM.
If you would seek salvation, remember this:
a life in Hell can still aspire to BLISS.
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
I realized I hadn't listened to this in a while, so, also inspired by this week's voting:
"Music is enought for a whole lifetime--but a lifetime is not enough for music." --Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff
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