Reply With QuoteA very odd story but wonderful music. Good production too.
Why is this opera not in the standard repertoire? I wish I'd seen it at Bard this year. It's wonderful! (Might be a bit biased because the CD features Barbara Hendricks on her best form).
That's the main reason I couldn't do much homework before I went.Originally Posted by Yashin
Well they filmed it so there should be a DVD eventually.
"Every theatre is an insane asylum, but an opera theatre is the ward for the incurables."
FRANZ SCHALK, attributed, Losing the Plot in Opera: Myths and Secrets of the World's Great Operas
A very odd story but wonderful music. Good production too.
Why is this opera not in the standard repertoire? I wish I'd seen it at Bard this year. It's wonderful! (Might be a bit biased because the CD features Barbara Hendricks on her best form).
Last edited by Soave_Fanciulla; January 5th, 2018 at 08:14 AM.
Natalie
A very decent production that I have not re-listened to for a little while. Manon has Massenet's light weight touch on the score, away from the decadent life of Manon Lescaut depending on how you look at it (I must say I do not like the plot though). Renee Fleming and Marcelo Alvarez did very well together. Semi-minimal traditional looking sets.
I really like this production of Idomeneo. John Mark Ainsley is perfect in the title role, sings like a angel and deeply moving in his despair at the consequences of the vow he has made, and most of the cast is of a high standard (Juliane Banse, Pavol Breslik, and Annette Dasch who seems to have an affinity for unhinged roles). This is the first time I've really believed in the story.
Natalie
That good? I just watched some clips here and there on youtube to sample. The singing and orchestra sounded good. Not sure about the staging. When I first saw that cover with a giant horse head, I thought R-e-g-i-e ...
Presto has it on sale at the moment (Blu-ray and DVD). You might tempt me well enough with this one.
Minor Regie in that there are moments of updating, but absolutely nothing that interferes with the thrust of the story, to the contrary in fact. I was a bit put off by the cover, but I got it anyway because I've never had a dud from Ainsley, the man is a wonder, had me in tears at his despair. I'm SO glad I did, and that Presto had it on their sale as I've been waiting for ages for it to be affordable.
But don't forget, HC, that I reckon I have a much higher threshold than you for updating.
Natalie
All Jacobs Mozart operas are great, but this one stands out among them. Apart from usual exciting Jacobs sound, you get singers that can compete with classics. To me every popular Nozze recording seem boring when compared to this, it's not my favourite opera of Mozart and I often yawned listening to it, even when singers I loved were richly in store. No such thing happens with this one, superb listening all along.
Wow! That's quite a rave. I don't recall being so swept away by the Jacobs Figaro, but it has been years since I heard it, and I cannot recall any details, which means I must not have been listening carefully. I will certainly go back and hear this one again.
All Jacobs Mozart operas are great, but this one stands out among them. Apart from usual exciting Jacobs sound, you get singers that can compete with classics. To me every popular Nozze recording seem boring when compared to this, it's not my favourite opera of Mozart and I often yawned listening to it, even when singers I loved were richly in store. No such thing happens with this one, superb listening all along.
To tell you the truth, I am not against Regie or very modern productions per se. Whatever the production and staging is like, it needs to make some sense without excessive symbolism leaving listeners bewildered or that it is just plain silly. The Mozart M22 Die Entführung aus dem Serail if you recall, was just plain silly and ridiculous - lead singers dressed up in tuxedo dancing and singing with clothes irons as microphones etc. But I did not mind the M22 Idomeneo with its pure white minimalism staging - lots of symbolism going on probably but at least it did not look outrageous, and one could have pretended it was a concert version of Idomeneo.
The production you are discussing about looked alright from the clips. John Mark Ainsley is a superb tenor, I have many of his recordings mostly on CDs singing a lot of Handel. And the conducting sounded very good from the clips. So, why not? Staging didn't look outrageous either.
I think you should like this then. Any "extra" touches serve the story - eg Arbace preparing to sacrifice himself, Elettra dragged to Hades by some rather chilling Furies after her last aria. At no point was I wondering"what is going on".
Last edited by Soave_Fanciulla; January 5th, 2013 at 03:52 AM.
Natalie
Pavol Breslik is great. Can't wait to hear more from him. Have you seen the Lucrezia Borgia DVD on the same label? It has a stunning Edita Gruberova in the title. The sets are minimal but totally wonderful. I really loved it. I have one or two recordings with Gruberova but generally passed her over-not sure why, maybe i prefer a different type of voice -more meaty! Pavol Breslik was also a revelation. He was very seductive in this.I really like this production of Idomeneo. John Mark Ainsley is perfect in the title role, sings like a angel and deeply moving in his despair at the consequences of the vow he has made, and most of the cast is of a high standard (Juliane Banse, Pavol Breslik, and Annette Dasch who seems to have an affinity for unhinged roles). This is the first time I've really believed in the story.
Sounds great! And those touches aren't really Regie, though they arent't mentioned in the stage directions of the libretto. Elettra's final aria is addressed to the Furies(her accompanied recit expresses the desire to join her brother in Hell), and Arbace in his final scene begs to be allowed to substitute himself for Idamante. I'd like to see this.
Yes he was the second factor that encouraged me to shell out for this. He was great in that Lucrezia Borgia. I wish I'd seen the "Brokeback Mountain" Onegin with him and Keenlyside!
Natalie
Sitting on the back porch in the lovely summer weather enjoying the latest Jasper Fforde (embarrassingly entitled Shades of Grey!) and listening to a couple of my favourite singers:
Natalie
That Vivaldi cantata recording is SO GOOD.
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