Complete operas on youtube

[MAuer]

I thought of Florestan’s interest in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg when I came across this complete recording of the opera on YouTube. This appears to have been a guest appearance in Tokyo by the Berlin State Opera in 1987, with Otmar Suitner on the podium and some of the old East Germany’s leading singers in the cast – Reiner Goldberg, Peter Schreier, and Theo Adam, among others. It’s an excellent, traditional performance, though the only text translation is in Japanese.

[Florestan]

Well here is something different. Tannhauser sung in French.

[Nemorino]

While most of the university opera departments in my area seem to be skipping performance all together, Rice University’s opera department quickly made the decision to create video content. It’s a fantastic display of resourcefulness, finding ways to make art within a set of restraints, and those are poignant conditions in which to explore this particular opera.

They filmed the singers in front of a green screen in order to social distance and create virtual backgrounds, and they used a technology called Chromadepth to deliver an experimental 3D experience, which can also be viewed in 2D. The Chromadepth 3D process explains why the production is mostly in primary colors. “Warm” colors appear closer, while “Cool” colors appear far away, while wearing the glasses. I’ll be honest, their results were mixed; some scenes had really impressive depth effects, some did not work well and made my eyes hurt. But for most of the performance, I just took the glasses off. The color design still works brilliantly in 2D. The student singers give wonderful performances.

The video should be available for one year. It begins with a really good discussion of the opera's history.

[SenaJurinac]

Is there at YouTube available the East German (DEFA) filming of The Flying Dutchman from 1964?

"Herz’s successful staging of The Flying Dutchman at the Berlin Komische Oper in 1962 at the invitation of Walter Felsenstein, and subsequent productions at the Opernhaus Leipzig and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, prompted an invitation to make a cinematic adaptation.

The only East German film to include elements of horror and vampire genres, The Flying Dutchman was the first complete Wagner opera ever made on film. The script clearly separated the real from the imaginary; in the original 35mm format, this was reflected visually by changing the image size—from Academy ratio for reality, to wide-screen for fantasy. The film was produced with a groundbreaking 4-channel magnetic soundtrack."

https://ecommerce.umass.edu/defa/store/3637

[SenaJurinac]

One should not miss this Fidelio:

[Florestan]

Ok, Technically not an opera, but a very operatic oratorio (I consider it to be Beethoven's other opera). Really enjoyed this one, especially the soprano.

[Florestan]

Here is a free-to-watch ring cycle with English subtitles on You tube. They do suggest donations.

In 2016, Opera North’s extraordinary journey through Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen came full circle, in a series of six full Ring cycles. Comprising the four operas which make up Wagner’s epic masterpiece, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, more than 15 unforgettable hours of music and passion are now also available online, in full, for free.

[MAuer]

A late ‘90s Così fan tutte with the young Jonas Kaufmann as Ferrando.

[MAuer]

This Tosca from the Vienna State Opera has some of today's best interpreters of the three principal roles in Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, and Sir Bryn Terfel. The production is traditional, but the singers are actively engaged in the proceedings and there's none of the old stand-and-deliver performance style. What there is (and I didn't realize it until it actually occurred) is the incident in the third act where JK reprises "E lucevan le stelle," and his leading lady may not have liked the idea. She subsequently denied it was deliberate, but she definitely makes a delayed appearance after he completes the encore. But these two are a couple of pros, and they carry on from there as though nothing had happened.

[Florestan]

This Tosca from the Vienna State Opera has some of today's best interpreters of the three principal roles in Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann, and Sir Bryn Terfel. The production is traditional, but the singers are actively engaged in the proceedings and there's none of the old stand-and-deliver performance style. What there is (and I didn't realize it until it actually occurred) is the incident in the third act where JK reprises "E lucevan le stelle," and his leading lady may not have liked the idea. She subsequently denied it was deliberate, but she definitely makes a delayed appearance after he completes the encore. But these two are a couple of pros, and they carry on from there as though nothing had happened.

Wonderful! I always jump straight to the knifing scene. Wow, she pulled the knife out and gave it a second, full jab! Impressive!

[Florestan]

Both with English subtitles:

[Nemorino]

I'm watching the Birmingham one this week!

[Nemorino]

Britten – Curlew River – Barbican Centre (2013)
Curlew River was the first of Britten’s 3 “church parables” which were inspired by the stylization of Japanese Noh plays, and cleverly recasts these stylizations in a Western/Christian context. As in Noh, the cast is all-male, but here it is because they are playing monks acting out a mystery play. The prelude is a processional with plainchant, and this chant forms the basis of Britten’s score. Freed from the normal needs of operatic drama, Britten focuses on expressiveness to incredible effect. The only downside to this video is it was never going to be able to recreate the austere and solemn atmosphere which is a part of the performance. The singing and acting are great, but the acoustic of the church is a minus to recording. But since who knows if I’ll ever get to see this performed, I was very happy to see this. ****



Britten – Owen Wingrave – Grange Park Opera
This opera was made for television, and Grange Park Opera used their COVID year to produce it on video. Their mostly B&W production (with splashes of red) looks fantastic and is more or less an optimal performance of this opera (although it’s not the full orchestral score). It’s not as good as Britten’s other Henry James opera (The Turn of the Screw) but it’s still interesting and has it’s own haunting solo for boy treble. This production’s most jarring misstep is a scene where old Mrs. Wingrave is playing a violent war video game. Setting aside the ludicrousness of anyone over the age of 30 - let alone 50 - enjoying “Call of Duty” (which is juvenile, and also bad), Mrs. Wingrave does not want Owen to be a soldier because she likes war, but because by opting out he’s devaluing the sacrifice her husband and all the other Wingrave men made. The libretto is at fault for being too much on Owen’s side to make credible arguments, but this somewhat face-value production does not add any nuance. Another rarity, though, that was fantastic to see; great performances. ***1/2

[Florestan]

This is an amateur production, sung in English. Might be worth a watch. I haven't really had a chance to explore it yet.

[Florestan]