Opera is magic!

Sonnambula from the ROH with a surprise bonus from Celso Albelo :-)

2011-11-18T11:32:00.008Z

© Royal Opera House 2011 / Bill Cooper via bbc.co.uk/radio3 Opera on 3

If like me you are a belcanto fan, you might want to catch up with this BBC Radio 3/ Opera on 3 broadcast from the ROH while you still can, link to the programme is here.

Lisa ..... Elena Xanthoudakis (Soprano),
Amina ..... Eglise Gutierrez (Soprano),
Teresa ..... Elizabeth Sikora (Mezzo-soprano),
Elvino ..... Celso Albelo (Tenor),
Count Rodolfo ..... Michele Pertusi (Baritone),
Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus, Daniel Oren (conductor)

It's a strong cast, who can certainly deliver the goods the music promises, i just wish, having seen it in person, that the actual production would have worked with the singers and the music. I've rarely seen such a bland one and the cast and music certainly deserved a better one. It's frustrating to me that belcanto doesn't really get the attention it deserves at this house, better productions, more involved directors, etc. Quibbles aside, do listen to the broadcast while it is still available, because you will get the best of what this Sonnambula was, the voices and the music :-)

© Royal Opera House 2011 / Bill Cooper

I've heard most of the cast before, except for the tenor :-) And let's face it, i'm always listening out for young, beautiful tenor voices. I love this kind of music and there are not many voices out there which can do it truly justice. These are tough plots to bring alive while you concentrate on singing... beautifully :-) I think you have to love this music dearly and it has to show in your singing.

I'd heard of Celso Albelo before his Elvino at the ROH and it was a pleasant discovery to hear him live. He's very young and has had a brilliant career so far and looks to be on the right path to continue to do well. For me he had what i was looking for, the voice and the heart to carry this music. For those who want to know more of the roles, places, etc there is plenty on Celso Albelo's official web.

But i was lucky to get a little peek behind the curtain and get a bit of insight into Celso beyond stage and roles ;-) And here are a few of his "secrets" he shared and i can in turn share with you :-)

Celso Albelo © Joan Tomas para Fidelio Artist via www.celsoalbelo.com

1.- Tell me about some pieces and recordings of classical music which are of special interest to you.

I am very interested in opera in general and especially in Romantic bel canto. Obviously the admiration I have for some singers such as Alfredo Kraus and Carlo Bergonzi means that I treasure some of their records devotedly.

2.- Music which makes you cry- (whatever genre or style)

In fact I don´t cry at music, although I do feel moved by singers who give it their all on stage, like Leo Nucci, for example. I believe that the performer is there by virtue of the audience and I like to feel this when I go to the opera.

3.- Pieces which you believe are under-valued and pieces or composers that you think are over-valued.

Although this question is almost one to ask a musicologist, my opinion is limited to my tastes. I think that bel canto in general is underestimated (Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini), I have even heard people saying that singing this repertoire is easier than Mozart… It´s the same with Verismo, which I like but I know that it is almost looked down on by certain groups. I don´t agree with this, because each repertoire has its difficulties. ¿Over-valued composer? None.

4.- A performance you went to that you will never forget

My first Traviata, in Madrid: it was the first time I went to the opera and in fact it really moved me. Another unforgettable performance was a Tosca that I saw in Valencia, conducted by Zubin Mehta and with the tenor Jorge de León as Cavaradossi: he was simply immense, stratospheric, tear-jerking!

5.- Something (or some things ) you are really proud of

I suppose that you are referring to my singing... I think I control my phrasing and legato, always in the Italian style. I make an effort to always be expressive and moving.

6.- “My biggest “secret” pleasure is…”

It´s no secret, but I love good food, good wine, good bread and I have a special weakness for desserts...

7. -“When I want to get away from everything I…”

I go to my island to dive. It is a magnificent experience, which brings you into contact with nature and with yourself.

8.- The funniest thing they have asked you to do in a production

I haven´t been asked to do many amusing things, but singing with my back to the audience is something I don´t like and I have had to do it on occasion. It´s good if you can argue with the director and reach an agreement.

9. Places or theatres you dream about singing in and why

Covent Garden, La Scala and the Met are goals which any opera singer has, and that includes me, but in my case I always love to return home, to Tenerife and Las Palmas, or the Real de Madrid –the city where I live, to sing in the Liceu in Barcelona and in my ‘other home’, which is A Coruña, in Galicia. I had never dreamed about singing in Japan, but when I did it in the end it was like a dream because I have some wonderful memories…

10. Tell us something about tenors that you think people should know, but they don´t

We are normal people. People always say that tenors are especially demanding, obsessive, neurotic and compulsive. Some of them are (ha ha ha), but no more than in other professions. It is true that being a singer means having to be in good health, but, believe me, we live and suffer like all other mortals.

...........
( see, told you, tenors are really nice people ;-))))

Wishing him all the best for the future, i'm sure we'll hear him and of him again :-)

I hope he had a good time in London and that he will be back!

Placido

2011-10-28T12:06:00.004+01:00

Placido Domingo leaves the stage with his wife after the curtain call of Placido Domingo Celebration at the Royal Opera House after a special performance to celebrate his 40th anniversary with the Royal Opera in London October 27, 2011. REUTERS/Olivia Harris

Last night the ROH was a place of love :-) We celebrated Placido's 40 years relationship with the House in the presence of the man himself. And yest again he sang for us and gave himself to stage and audience. I've read the papers today and i have to agree: nobody dies like Placido!

It was a night filled with flowers and memories. I cannot speak for his performances at the ROH other than last year's Simon, which was also my first time hearing Placido live, but his voice has been with me for nearly 40 years. As far back as i can think of i hear his voice. I feel really luckily to have been able to experience last night live and to have seen and heard Placido live.

The night itself got more exciting as we went along and although i was sorry to kind of go cold straight into Otello, which deserves all the concentration and emotion we can give it, i felt in the end the sequence was perfect, the end was what anyone could dream of. I will always cherish that absolutely gorgeous image of Placido Domingo pretending to be dead beautifully in the arms of Marina Poplavskaya's Amelia/Maria. Opera at it's best! Just as he has been giving us for so many years.

There are plenty more details about the individual 3 acts in the press if you would like to know more :-) I just feel i have to say one thing, Pappano brought Verdi to shimmering beauty, that was one of the most beautiful renditions of Rigoletto's last act i have ever heard :-)

I'll end this with the thoughts of the man of the day, because he has a way of putting the essence of things into words like few do. Placido from the heart, speaking to all opera-nutters out there ( via Louise Jury's arts blog in the Evening standard):

Placido Domingo sings London's praises

There is no better advocate for opera than Placido Domingo - and not just because he was one of the Three Tenors who made Puccini such a hit at Italia ’90.
Of course, there is the voice which is still special even if he is some years past collecting a bus pass. But everyone who meets him adores him, too. Staff relish telling you how he knows the doorkeepers, remembers everyone’s names, looks at family photos and has his make-up done with everyone else and not alone in his own dressing room.

And he has a knack of making something sound like a compliment when it is questionable whether it really is – but with no sense of being snide.
"I think the public in London is amazing," he told me amidst the adoring crush on stage after he had brought the Royal Opera House to its feet last night at a special gala marking the 40th anniversary of his Covent Garden debut.
"In some theatres maybe you have anything between half an hour or 40 minutes of curtain calls but in London I think they kind of respect the artists and say, ‘The artists has been doing a lot, they have to go home.’ Ten minutes in London is equivalent to half an hour or 40
minutes elsewhere."
He certainly got that last night, sharing the stage with no fewer than four younger singers who were making their Covent Garden debut.
"It’s really the future when you see these people," he said, making clear he had no doubts about the future of his artform – unless we become robots or machines.

"I believe opera is forever, as long as there is sensibility in people. We are all a little bit out of our minds because of opera. Normally the artists [are] but there are a lot of people and they are a little bit out of their mind and many of them completely out of
their mind because they love opera."
Domingo looked around the Royal Opera House stage and reminisced with John Tooley who was the general administrator when he sang there for the first time 40 years ago, long before the improvements made by the Nineties re-development.

"This stage was little but this house has always been enormous - the warmth of the public the company like a family. I always miss being at Covent Garden. It’s unbeatable," he told me. He genuinely seems to love it – and for everyone there last night, the feeling was
definitely mutual.

And you can listen to the evening on BBC Radio 3 on the 5th of November at 6pm in Opera on 3.

The Big Bang

2011-10-12T00:52:00.001+01:00

OMG, is it already October?? When did we get here and how?

Then again I think I may know how… in… erm… 4 song recitals at Wigmore (plus one on the radio ;-) , 3 Trittico and 5 Faust at the ROH, 1 Rosenblatt recital and 1 Abbado at the RFH.. and the Met HD have not even started yet!

As you can see I am in danger of becoming London’s musical venues main sponsor. Just kidding ;-)))) Yes, I have done all of that and still managed to have cereal and yogurt for breakfast every day. You have to love London! In spite of credit crunch, rising bills and so on you can still have a rich and fulfilling cultural life.

Some may say a crazy and excessive one but hey, try resisting these temptations. And lucky for the above institutions, especially the Wigmore Hall and the ROH, I am not the only one on a musical binge :-)

If the rest of the season will match the big bang start we are in for a joyride.

At the Wigmore we have had in about 2 weeks, Chris Maltman, Christian Gerhaher ( 3 times) and Gerald Finley. With repertoires and styles as diverse as one could wish for and all have left me with some amazing memories and some cherishable moments of total bliss. The Wigmore has done amazing work these last seasons, and this one will be no exception. I am especially glad that their Wigmore live label won a Gramophone Award for label of the year, well done, Congratulation! They are one of my favourite places in the world :-)

What about the ROH?! Believe me I wasn’t planning on moving into the House just yet :-p But the Trittico has been something else. I have to say I was bored by Puccini before Tony Pappano, but he has made me listen anew and I have learned to appreciate and love this music again and discover bits I didn’t know, like this Trittico. Anyone who has seen and heard the Pappano&Jones version at the ROH must wonder why on earth these were ever separated as they are a perfect trio. They bring exciting and modern music and certainly an amazing evening at the theatre. Where and when else do you get to transition from horror and fear to compassion and redemption and finally to comedy, all in the space of 4h. I never believd in advance that so much emotion can be packed in a single evening or that one, as a spectator, could go through all these stages so naturally. And amazingly it wasn’t a one off experience, but it repeated itself every time I saw it, with the same intensity. I hope to come back to this and give credit in more detail to all the amazing singers who have brought the charters alive in such vivid colours, but also give recognition to the one-and-only amazing orchestra! To make a world of such musical complexity and contrast sound so light and natural is really special and I feel I have to say thank you to every single musician in that pit!

Mind you I didn’t feel that when the Faust run started, I have to tell the truth and say I was yawning profusely all throughout the Faust rehearsal, and I wasn’t tired! I think I had heard the Trittico the night before and it seemed like I had gone fromTechnicolor to no colour. It didn’t bode well and I really thought that my love of French music simply didn’t extend to Mr Gounod and this work in particular. After all, he is neither Massenet, nor Bizet or Belioz. But I am all about second, third and more chances. And I’m not willing to give up on a work just like that, especially if I feel I haven’t really heard it enough times. Try it for yourself, give things more than one listen before you make up your mind ( except for Rosenkavalier, you are allowed to make an exception there;-))) So it may not have been love at first sight this time, but relax I didn’t see 5 of them out of stubbornness. By number 3 I was hooked :-) Two words: Rene Pape. I find for me the recipe with French music tends to be the same: gorgeous smooth voices, perfect clear diction, flowing line- works wonder and the music is transformed! But if we add charisma to the mix … ah then l’amour ensues with this music! For me Gounod really needs all of these things to work it’s magic, but when it does, it is addictive.

But it wasn’t just Rene, it was the whole production and all the other singers too. For me McVicar has nailed this one, I can see this production gazillion times and still be shocked, touched, amused and entertained by it. I like how attractive and addictive it makes evil, how pervasive it is throughout the scenes, how people, and not only the main characters, fall in its trap time again and how, just when you are having too much fun, it becomes dark and menacing. I have to say today I woke up with Mephisto’s Hahahaha.. hihihihi in my head and the swagger of the dancers in rhythms of valse at Cabaret L’Infer ;-) But last night was great on sooo many levels, Grigolo convinced me for the first time, by being genuine and engaged on all levels, not being over the top and mainly by singing really well. So did Malin Bystrom , who’s ending aria was uplifting to say the least ( and this is one of my favourite images from the production, with Mephisto and Faust trying to hold her back on earth while she aspires for forgiveness from above, a simple but very compelling image which makes you feel the strength of this women).

But I have to say this was Mephisto’s game throughout the run. Charisma, humour, style and elegance, darkness and menace all reunited in those devilish brows and in that uniquely beautiful voice (and he is a big oxygen saver in that closed space as he never ever seems to breath ;-)) . I do hope the ROH will bring Rene Pape back to London soon.

I may come back to the Faust too, as 5 of them is too much to squeeze in this post and there was more great singing throughout :-) Like for example from that amazing chorus!

I narrowly escaped my 6th Faust by exercising restraint and going instead to St John’s for a Rosenblatt recital with Marius Brenciu, an evening of style, elegance and all things nice, he really is accomplished and I especially loved the encores ( songs by Enescu and Strauss). I love it when singers challenge their audience to think outside the box for recitals and take them down less expected routes, without forgetting all time favourites either ;-)

By the way, the next Rosenblatt recital is already tomorrow and if you fancy hearing Lucio Gallo again ( a perfect Gianni Scchicchi in the ROH’s Trittico just a few days ago) go to At John’s tomorrow, Wednesday, 12th October, 7,30 PM. Full details here .

As you can see a rare full Tosti evening :-)

And here is, borrowed from the Rosenblatt recitals site, the usual interview with the singer:

11 Oct 2011
Rosenblatt Recitals in conversation with... Lucio Gallo

Prior to his Rosenblatt Recital tomorrow at St John's, Smith Square, the Italian baritone kindly answered some of our questions telling us about his love for films and for London and also revealed an amusing story from his 27-year-long career:
For your Rosenblatt Recital you are singing songs exclusively by Tosti – what is it about that composer that is special to you? Why did you choose such a programme?
I have always liked the music of Tosti but in the past I always made a point of singing music by several composers in my recitals, apart from lieder cycles of course. Then after my Rosenblatt recital in 2009, I had a long talk with Ian Rosenblatt about doing another recital and when he expressed his passion for Tosti, I suggested doing an entire concert of his music.
In a past interview you stated that opera was the most beautiful and complete art form. After opera, what is your favourite art form?
I really love cinema and I always had a fondness for 50’s movies with their theatrical style. A lot of them have enriched my acting on stage.
You have sung with many of the world’s most renowned opera singers – is there an anecdote or a story with a particular artist that you would like to share with us?
I sang with great artists, directors and for world-renowned conductors, obviously in a 27-year career there have been a few amusing episodes. One in particular goes back many years ago when we brought the Le Nozze di Figaro to a tour in Tokyo with the Vienna State Opera. On a day off from rehearsals, we went around the city with Ruggero Raimondi and other artists of the cast. Suddenly caught in the rain, we started singing (and dancing to) the famous Singing in the Rain, cheerfully led by Raimondi. Some photographers who had followed the group immortalized the scene in a rather beautiful picture which ended up in several international newspapers!
Tell us your secret to singing?
The voice is the instrument closest to the human being. Singing is within each one of us and it is often a way to express different emotions ... joy, anger, pain. It takes us closer to the birds and the way they express themselves through song; it gives us a great sense of freedom.
What is the role you have most enjoyed singing to date?
Iago from Otello by Giuseppe Verdi; I think it's one of the most interesting roles written for a baritone.
Many performers have a pre-performance ritual to help them feel less nervous – do you have any tricks to help keep you calm?
As mentioned before I am a big movie fan, so on the afternoon before a performance I watch a good movie to relax.
When you are not listening to opera and jazz, what kind of music do you listen to?
Classical, Pop….
If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Always somewhere that makes me feel good. Apart from Italy it would be London; I think it's the most beautiful city in the world.
Do you play any musical instruments?
Before performing operas and song recitals, I played guitar and bass guitar in a band for many years. Unfortunately, the theatre commitments have become much more frequent and I have not had much time to continue to dabble with these instruments.

There are still a few tickets left to Lucio Gallo's Rosenblatt Recital on Wednesday 12 October. To book your tickets, please visit https://secure.sjss.org.uk/

Sorry to miss this…. Sounds like a lovely evening in a venue with acoustics that I really like… If any of you go, do come back and let me know how it was!

Oh and finally, Abbado :-))) If you haven’t been at the Southbank tonight you have missed an amazing evening. I have never heard any orchestra sound like the Lucerne one… and with Abbado at the lead, their sound is pure magic and the Bruckner tonight is not something you hear like that often in your life… The longest, most emotional standing ovation I have ever been part of at the RFH, ended sweetly , as is custom with the musicians of this orchestra with hugs on stage :-) Music from the heart :-)

Marius Brenciu kicks off Rosenblatt recital series

2011-09-27T16:43:00.008+01:00

And what a season this is!
Check out upcoming recitals this season with names such as Lucio Gallo, Fabio Armiliato, Giuseppe Filianoti and more, not least the cherry on the cake, ie JDF at RAH!

For tomorrow, 28th September 2011, at St John's , come to hear Marius Brenciu with Ingrid Surgenor on the piano sing songs and arias by composers including Gluck, Giordani, Bellini, Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Cilea, Respighi, Tosti, Tchaikovsky. ( Full programme in link)

Marius won First Prizes in both the “Lied” and “Singer of the World” Competitions at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2001. He made his debut at the Met in 2008 with an overwhelming success in La Rondine and also performed in renowned productions such as La Traviata, La Bohème, Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra and L’Elisir d’amore among others. Future engagements include concert performances of Lensky in Eugene Onegin with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bayerische Rundfunk.

And here is an little video from said Rondine at the Met where Marius Brenciu sang Prunier:

Thanks GrandTierBox for the videos!

And here is a little interview with Marius, where he talks among other things about his dream roles :-)( and it links back to more info on the Facebook site of the Rosenblatt recitals)

Upcoming season....

2011-09-07T11:07:00.005+01:00

I'm back :-)

Hm just a thought.... thank God i get a dosis of Puccini to start off with, because i then have 10 Mozart lined up ( no, it is not a mistake, it is 10 = 5(ie 4+1)+3+2) .

What do you think, am i in danger of overdosing???

Maybe i should get another sip of Puccini, can't have Mozart on an empty stomach....

By the way, i love the ROH, did you know?

I'm sooo excited, i just can't hiiideee it! :-)))

2011-07-14T10:33:00.002+01:00

I'm not dead! Well not yet anyway ;-) Almost tried death by work, but for the coming days i've got another "poison" of choice... MUSIC!!! And scrumptious loads of it!!

Tosca, Tosca, Tosca :-))))))) and then maybe Butterfly and Cendrillon and Tell and more Tosca!!! I'm absolutely giddy with excitement and reading this:

http://jessicamusic.blogspot.com/2011/07/theyre-queuing-overnight-at-covent.html

I almost wish i had been there to feel the atmosphere :-) I hope as many as possible got tickets!

I'm looking forward to Puccini with Pappano, because nobody does Tosca like him! To hearing everyone again ( the best Mario EVER! and Ange and Bryn live again) , to proming, to Rossini and Santa Cecilia (how cool is it that Pappano has both his orchestras in town?!) , to lunch on the run between venues, to boiling alive at the RAH, to freezing inside the ROH, to waking up and going to bed with music ringing in my head :-)

Let the fun begin!!!!!

Antonio Pappano via Rai

2011-06-16T18:38:00.002+01:00

Thanks ThePrestigiosoGaston for the videos!!!!

I admit, i am forever fascinated with Pappano's music and his talent for communication :-)

It's a marvellous season end at the ROH, Werther, Macbeth, Tosca, all of which he's made me listen to in new and always touching ways and i am very much looking forward to hearing him again with Santa Cecilia at the Proms with Rossini's Tell.

Listen to what the Maestro has to say :-)))

When singing comes from the heart....

2011-06-15T13:31:00.003+01:00

I don't like crossovers, i'm not really into musicals, but i dare you to say this has not touched every fibre of your heart! And he's got the most smooth and beautiful natural voice :-)

Simon Keenlyside & Malcolm Martineau

2011-06-07T08:24:00.003+01:00

Precious little pearls from an evening of song i was lucky enough to hear live :-)

Especially for a dear friend, looking forward to enjoying one of these evenings together in a few months time :-)

Standchen

Auf der Brucke

Der Knabe und das Immlein

An die Geliebte

And this was the last encore of the evening, gently sending us home :-)))

Hotel

Enjoy everyone!

Thanks very much theflossie100 for sharing!!

And not at all meaning to spoil the "spleen"... but if you haven't seen and heard it yet, RUN, RUN RUN!!! While it's still on, it's a gorgeous night at the opera!! I've seen it 3 times and could do with 3 more!

Macbeth Backstage

Happy birthday Roberto :-)

2011-06-07T08:00:00.000+01:00

Just because :-) And to wish Roberto Joyeux anniversaire!!! and In bocca al lupo with his upcoming debut in le Cid (there is never enough Massenet for me! :-))))

Ah Souverain, O Juge, O Père

sorry, you need to use the link to see this..

And, since i am very much in Verdi mood, due to the Macbeth at the ROH, here is one of those amazingly beautiful arias Verdi wrote for tenors like no other :-)

"La mia letizia infondere" I Lombardi

And there are a couple of belcanto operas that i love in their French version almost more than in their Italian, there seems to be an added lyricism, and added fluidity that comes through the language and of course through the singers voice...

Lucia...

Lacrymosa Don Carlos

Thanks myyellowlabfan, MUEZZAB, singercanela for the videos!

Walkure @ The Met

2011-04-20T15:55:00.013+01:00

Photo: Ken Howard @The Met

Well, it is almost here, only 1 day left! For all of us out here and not at the Met, we can listen to the Walkure on line over the internet on this Met link.

It starts at 6,30pm NY time, that is 11,30pm London time and 12,30am elsewhere in Europe.
And a little present from a dear friend in New York, to make us feel a little bit closer :-))) Thanks sooo much!!!

The cast is, in case you need a reminder ;-)

Conductor: James Levine
Brünnhilde: Deborah Voigt
Sieglinde: Eva Maria Westbroek
Fricka: Stephanie Blythe
Siegmund: Jonas Kaufmann
Wotan: Bryn Terfel
Hunding: Hans-Peter König

For the impatient ones, here are a few small videos from the general rehearsal, courtesy of the Met :-) No need to explain who is who i guess ;-)))

Enjoy!

Hm, for whatever reason the embedded links don't seem to work, so here is the direct link to the Met Videos of the Walkure:

http://metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/template.aspx?id=16210&utm_source=FB&utm_medium=FB&utm_content=vids&utm_campaign=Walkure

In bocca al lupo to everyone for tomorrow night!!

ROH 2011/12 season now out!

2011-04-13T23:20:00.001+01:00

Aeneas defeats Turnus, by Luca Giordano, 1634-1705.

Please see for details of the season the ROH announcement.

So let's see how we faired... It's a bit of a mixed bag to me , with good news and not so good news both for new productions and revivals.

As you can see the Troyens will be exciting :-) We still need to find out who else will be singing besides Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Caterina Antonacci as Cassandre and Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek as Didon, but it is good news all the way with Tony Pappano and David McVicar on the team as well. This will premiere on June 25th 2012.

More good news come with Il Trittico, to kick off the next season with the premiere on September 12th 2011. It will be continued by Richard Jones and conducted by Tony Pappano and will feature Anja Harteros and Eva-Maria Westbroek. Great news to have Anja Harteros finally back at the ROH!! And she will be back some more ;-)

Much less exciting is the presence of baritone Lucio Gallo and tenor Aleksandrs Antonenko. Both good singers certainly, but for me somehow missing the wow factor. My issue is however not so much related to the Trittico, but to the production which closes the season, a revival of Verdi’s Otello the season, from July 12th 2012. Antonio Pappano conducts the production by Elijah Moshinsky with Aleksandrs Antonenko, Anja Harteros and Lucio Gallo in the principal roles. Pappano is great news and for me together with Anja's Desdemona two very powerful reasons to go and see this! Also, because this for me is the Domingo-production and will have a nice flavour to see it live! But, and for me the buts are big.... this is not a soprano opera, or not only.. Unless all 3 leads are equally powerful it can never be all it can be..... However, to be honest no idea who could do Jago justice today..... But there must be more Otellos out there, who can not only sing the role decently, but truly inhabit it. This will still be a must see for me at least, but i have a feeling i will wish many times i was hearing something different. Honestly, i almost wish somebody would have tried to convince Domingo to do it one last time, i am pretty sure he would still be up to it in a way that would still be memorable. But, it is what it is.

Another piece of good news is the new (well, visiting from Salzburg) Rusalka, premiere February 27th 2012. Camilla Nylund, Bryan Hymel and bass-baritone Alan Held great reasons to go, but for me the main one is the debut at the ROH of conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Moving on, we get a new opera, Miss Fortune by Judith Weir, co-commissioned by The Royal Opera and the Bregenz Festival, where it premiere in July 2011. The cast will be lead by soprano Emma Bell and South African baritone Jacques Imbrailo, with former ENO Music Director Paul Daniel conducting. Crossing fingers for this to be a good one. The premiere at the ROH will be on March 12th, 2012.

The last new production in the main house will be ... Falstaff. Why this and not Forza, Ballo, Ernani, Luisa Miller, etc i don't know. But the production will be by Robert Carsen, which should hopefully make it interesting and Daniele Gatti is conducting, which i am very much looking forward to! The cast is: Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri, with Puerto Rican soprano Ana María Martínez as Alice Ford, Slovak baritone Dalibor Jenis as Ford, Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Mistress Quickly, and American soprano Amanda Forsythe and Spanish-born tenor Joel Prieto as the young lovers, Nannetta and Fenton. All nice and good, however can you think of a really good Falstaff to have in this new production???? Probably the same name will come to your mind as it does to mine, and so i will ask the question that i think more people than me will think about: Why no Bryn? Terfel of course....

Why isn't he doing Falstaff and more importantly.. . why on earth is he not doing Hans Sachs?????????? Yes, we are getting a revival of Meistersinger by Graham Vick (why not take the production from Cardiff last year, it was great!?!!), conducted by Antonio Pappano (the good news about this production!) and with baritone Wolfgang Koch in his Royal Opera debut as Hans Sachs, New Zealand tenor Simon O’Neill as Walther, Australian baritone Peter Coleman-Wright as Sixtus Beckmesser, and British artists soprano Emma Bell as Eva, tenor Toby Spence as David and bass John Tomlinson as Veit Pogner. Well... Simon O'Neill will probably be a very nice Walther, but i have many questions about the rest. Koch is again an ok singer, whom i've seen as Telramund and Pizzaro and i didn't find him special in either...Sachs????? hm.... And i still remember the warmth and sheer musicality of Brindley Sherratt as Pogner in Cardiff and at the Proms. With all due respect to Mr Tomlinson, if his recent Inquisitor is anything to go by, it's time to let younger singers do some roles and i think this is one of those. Why Sherratt did somethintg as small as the King in Aida and not Pogner honestly beats me. And i never ever counted on the Meistersinger at the ROH without Bryn! I loved the opera and i fell in love with it largely due to him living the role, why the ROH couldn't convince him to come and sing it here i'd like to know. His absence in both Falstaff and Sachs is definitely my biggest dissapointment of the season. Anyway, Meistersinger starts December 19th, 2011.

These gaps are almost annoyingly completed by exceptional casting of revivals none of us really wanted to see again so soon. Gotta give it to them, i don't think anyone of us ever missed Rigoletto or Traviata..and there will be indeed 3 of the latter!!! But i can just about see myself trodding not once, but several times to catch each of the casts! Quoting " La traviata by Richard Eyre returns with a series of exciting casts. The first cast (30 September) offers Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya, American tenor James Valenti and Italian baritone Leo Nucci in the central roles. The second (25 November) features American soprano Ailyn Pérez, Polish tenor Piotr Beczala and British baritone Simon Keenlyside in the lead roles. In the third (2 January) the soprano role of Violetta is shared between Albanian Ermonela Jaho and Russian Anna Netrebko; the tenor role of Alfredo between American Stephen Costello and Italian Vittorio Grigolo; Italian baritone Paolo Gavanelli sings Giorgio Germont."

As to Rigoletto (30 March), conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, with Ekaterina Siurina, Vittorio Grigolo and Royal Opera debutant Greek baritone Dimitri Platanias. No, i didn't want to see any of these, but with these casts i'm bound to be drawn to hear them. Siurina is my favourite Gilda in the last years at the ROH, Platanias i am curious about and maybe Grigolo will be a good duca. If only they can convince David McVicar to come and pimp up his production before somebody else makes a big mess of it, again!

And there is more in the revivals to make your mouth water! Faust (18 September), with Angela Gheorghiu (sharing the role of Marguerite with Malin Byström), Vittorio Grigolo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and René Pape. Great to see Angela back and above all Pape is finally back!!!! I hope it will not be just a short visit, but that he will be back for much more in the future! It was long overdue.

And there is also this faboulous revival of La bohème (April 28), conducted by Semyon Bychkov, and with Anja Harteros sharing the role of Mimì with Barbara Frittoli opposite Joseph Calleja and Roberto Alagna respectively :-) Niceee one, too bad Angela doesn't want to sing with Roberto again, it would have been lovely to see them in Boheme, but i will be cueing up to see both casts :-) Also great that Andris Nelsons will be back conducting Salome (31 May), with Angela Denoke, Egils Silins, Stig Andersen and Rosalind Plowright.

There is even some belcanto with La sonnambula (2November), starring Eglise Gutiérrez and Royal Opera debutant Spanish tenor Celso Albelo, (which i love, but not with this soprano i'm sorry) and the Fille du régiment (19 April), with Patrizia Ciofi and Colin Lee in the leading roles. Still no Lucia, why on earth this is such a no-no in this House i have no idea.... No Elisir, although i was hoping for a revival, Rolando Villazon still ows us a run of this from a couple of yeas back ;-)

Thank God no Carmen or Tosca ;-)

Last but not least as they say the Mozart trio: Don, Nozze and Cosi. Now if only they had decided to skip Cosi the current season! I'm afraid it will be too soon for another revival of that, trio or no trio.... The casts are all worth hearing though and i can take a lot more Mozart from these ;-) Here's the detail: Don Giovanni (21 January), Così fan tutte (27 January) and Le nozze di Figaro (11 February). Don Giovanni conducted by Constantinos Carydis (one to look out for!), with 2 Don's - Gerald Finley and Erwin Schrott! Colin Davis will conduct Così fan tutte and the cast includes soprano Malin Byström, tenor Charles Castronovo, soprano Rosemary Joshua, baritone Thomas Allen, and debutant Nikolay Borchev. Le nozze di Figaro by is conducted by Antonio Pappano (another one to look our for ;-))))), with Simon Keenlyside (yepeee!!!), Aleksandra Kurzak (also yepee!) , Kate Royal and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo.

Upsy, almost missed this! Der fliegende Holländer(Jeffrey Tate; Anja Kampe, Falk Struckmann, Endrik Wottrich, Stephen Milling). A production i really liked, which i am glad is being revived and the singing should be quite good as well :-)

And next year in June i belive we have a special Placido celebration, where apprently i will get part of my wish as he is said to be doing Act 2 of Rigoletto, then also from Simon Boccanegra and act 3 of Otello, hurray :-) I might get to hear Placido as a tenor once in my life live after all! :-))))

And if i got it right the season will continue through the summer right into the next with probably the Ring. Details on all of that to follow on the ROH site.

Generally satisfying season, with many great things to look forward to, even if some casts probably didn't end up as they were planned or are not really what i would have expected at the ROH. But, definitely looking forward to the season, there is something in everything to draw me into the House and in all but one case i think it is also more than just the music itself :-)

Aeneas leaving Dido - Pompeo Batoni 1747

Bayerische Staatsoper Munich 2011/12 season out now!

2011-04-12T17:21:00.005+01:00

The new season is on line here:

http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de/731--~spielplan~kalender_2008.html?l=de

And you gotta give it to them, a total singer's fest. The Ring is back, there are Carlos, Traviatas, Bohemes, a new Hoffmann, Cenerentolas, Rosenkavaliers, a new Turandot as well as many many more.

And they have secured: Angela Gheorghiu, Edita Gruberova, Diana Damrau (doing all ladies in the Hoffmann!!!!), Anja Harteros, Rene Fleming, Sophie Koch, Martina Serafin, Anna Netrebko, Joyce DiDonato, Roman Vargas, Jonas Kaufmann, Joseph Calleja, Simon Keenlyside, Pavol Breslik, John Rylea, Bryn Terfel, Alan Held ( the new Hollender), Lawrence Brownlee, Klaus Florian Vogt, Rolando Villazon (Hoffmann!!!), Mariusz Kwiecien (Posa!), Rene Pape (Filippo!), Lance Ryan, etc etc

However much i hate their "schriftliches Bestellungssystem" which this year again has treated me to a refusal you have to give it to them, a season to be very happy about if you live in Munich and dream about if you don't :-) Congratulations are in order i believe!

Check it out!

Elizabeth Llewellyn Rosenblatt recital St John's 13th April

2011-04-12T01:41:00.007+01:00

13 Apr 2011 » 7:30PM » St John's, Smith Square ELIZABETH LLEWELLYN Soprano, Simon LepperPianist Songs and arias by composers including Handel, Mozart, Walton, Strauss, Puccini, Verdi and Gounod. Fo the full program information see the related Rosenblatt recital site. She has sung at the WNO and Opera North and her roles have included Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Fiorilla in Il Turco in Italia and Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro. Most recent engagements included covering Donna Elvira for Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s production of Don Giovanni and her spectacular debut as Mimì for ENO’s revival production of La Bohème. To find out more check out this interview:

And this wonderful one with Edward Seckerson in the Independent .

And also this more recent interview done in preparation for tomorrow's recital:
What one thing that has happened in your life has made the biggest impact on who you are today as a singer and made you realise you wanted a career in music?

There are two answers to that question. The thing which had the biggest impact on my life as a singer was having to stop singing. When I started singing again in October 2007, it made me realise what a privilege it is to be able to make a career creating other worlds with just your voice, body and imagination. I do feel quite keenly that this is my privilege and not my right, and so not to be squandered. What made me realise that I wanted to become a singer was a recording given to me of Jessye Norman singing spirituals, "Es gibt ein Reich" from Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss, and "Dove sono" from Le Nozze di Figaro (which is included in my recital). I was utterly transfixed by the power and expressiveness of her voice. I had only just started having singing lessons myself, and longed to develop even a fraction of her ability to 'transport' an audience.

You stopped singing for 10 years due to illness and when you returned to singing, you triumphed as Mimì in ENO’s production of La Bohème. Could you please tell us what this was like for you?

It was surreal and very exciting. Most nights I would giggle at my reflection in the mirror before going on stage, as I could not quite believe that I had such a golden opportunity to sing such a beautiful role. Every night I was encouraged by the warm reception from the audience at my curtain-call, but most of all it was very humbling to think that they had really enjoyed and appreciated what I brought to the production.

What advice would you give to a young aspiring singer?

Spend as much time and take as much care developping yourself as a person as you do honing your skills as an artist - travel, work a normal 9-5 job for a little while, be a keen observer of people, and be realistic with yourself... I have found that technical/vocal ability is only half the job. Our audiences want to be moved and changed by what we do, not simply impressed.

What is the most satisfying thing in your life as an opera singer? On the other hand what have you sacrificed for your art?

I love the fact that am an eternal student. There is always more to read/translate/learn/listen to, always a myriad of ways to deliver a line in an opera or a song, and you can never predict how a responsive audience (or colleague) will react. Even after thirteen performances of La Bohème, I came off stage thinking, "Next time, I'll play that scene differently" or, "I'd like to try to improve that section or build upon what I started there"... I am very fortunate that my work is so stimulating. The downside of my life as a singer has been that, especially since things have moved on so quickly for me and I have had to work hard to make the most of these opportunities, sadly I have spent less time with family and dear friends over the past three years.

What one song would work as the soundtrack to your life?

"Wayfaring Stranger" as recorded by Eva Cassidy. I am a committed Christian and this song reminds me that, even though I have the very best job in the world, my real home is with Jesus Christ.

Do you cook? If so, what dish is your speciality?

I'm ashamed to admit that most of the time food is about taking on fuel! So when I do cook, it is a wonderful form of relaxation even if the result leaves much to be desired. My latest passion is making soups, and I have an interesting repertoire of them now, as they are a great way to get my "5-a-day". If I have lots of time, I can make an amazing bolognese, which takes at least three hours to cook.

If you weren’t an opera singer what would you be?

I had aspirations of becoming a journalist when I was in my mid-teens. If music had not broken at that point in my life, I am fairly certain I would have pursued that career.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

Tricky one, as I love living in London very much (which is why I have included the Walton songs in my programme). But there is a part of my genetic make-up which craves feeling the sun on my skin for at least half of the year. Whenever I can, I enjoy going to Italy on holiday as Italians seem to have the balance right between work and life, and style and substance... So I guess my answer would be somewhere in middle/south of Italy near a large town, and within striking distance of the beach.

Looking beyond your Rosenblatt Recital, could you please give us an outline of your forthcoming projects?

There are still a number of things to be confirmed, but a wonderful composer - Jean-Philippe Calvin - is writing a song-cycle for me which I hope to start working on soon. I will be singing the role of La Contessa in Opera Holland Park's production of Le Nozze di Figaro in the first two weeks of July this year, and then singing Governess (The Turn of the Screw) for an exciting new opera company in London. Early 2012 will see my first performance of Strauss' Vier Letze Lieder in Canterbury Cathedral, followed by a return to Holland Park in the summer to sing Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte). All of the details will appear on my website www.elizabethllewellyn.com, and you can follow my "blog" on my News page.

Celebrate Mahler with Claudio Abbado, Jonas Kaufmann and Anne Sofie von Otter

2011-04-09T15:26:00.010+01:00

Gustav Mahler (1892) from Hofphotograph Leonhard Berlin-Bieber (1841–1931)
--------------------------------------

UPDATE (21 April) unfortunately, the listed cinemas will no longer have the live broadcast :-(((( The only alternative available for most of us in the UK is the Digital concert hall live relay. Check the links from the Berliner Philharmoniker below for details, it is not free, but the cost is minimal.

http://www.digitalconcerthall.com/

http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/berliner-philharmoniker/

-----------------------------------

It's exactly 100 years from the day of his death on May 18th this year. And on this occasion, Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker are dedicating him a special concert. They present Mahler’s last symphony which remained unfinished at his death in 1911 and Das Lied von der Erde, considered by him as “probably the most personal composition I ever created”.

For the LvdE the soloists will be Anne Sofie von Otter and Jonas Kaufmann. And i think this is the first time maestro Abbado will conduct LvdE (but do correct me if i am wrong).

Photo Claudio Abbado © Priska Ketterer

And you can see it too!!!!!! Here is how :

It will be live on arte according to this EUROARTS site and the ARD TV guide. I think it is also very likely to be released on DVD afterwards.

Or in London it will be shown live in cinemas at:
Picturehouse Greenwich

Picturehouse Stratford

For other cinemas around the UK, you can contact the distributor Myscreenevent or just do a google search, there are several locations in the Uk where one can already book, including the two cinema's in London mentioned.

Enjoy!!!!

ROH + BBC= more goodies!

2011-04-08T20:57:00.008+01:00

There have been a number of successful broadcasts from the ROH this season on the BBC, both radio and TV, among which Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, the usual opera broadcasts and as we all remember the positively mouthwatering series of Opera Italia! All this, and i would also guess the considerable success Tony has had as a communicator of opera on TV (see the recent nomination from the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards for Creative Communication for the series) have lead to a new partnership with the BBC, which was announced today.

Quoting from the BBC press release on this:

"Alice's Adventures In Wonderland will be broadcast on BBC Two on Saturday 23 April at 2.30pm immediately preceded by a documentary exploring the making of the ballet at 2pm" "The Royal Opera House and the BBC will come together to co-produce new commissions for 2012 created especially for television prior to live performance on the stage ..."

More Tony! yay!!!! "The new deal includes a series on classical masterworks presented by Antonio Pappano, beginning with Pappano's Essential Tosca for BBC Two and also the development of a new five-part series about singing to be written and presented by Antonio Pappano"

And guess what????!!!! We will get THAT TOSCA on TV!! :-))) "Other presentations include The Royal Opera's production of Tosca Tosca with Angela Gheorghiu as the heroine, Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Cavaradossi and Bryn Terfel as the Chief of Police Scarpia, accompanied by Pappano's Essential Tosca, a documentary presented by Antonio Pappano in which he examines the dramatic importance of each location in the opera and illustrates what Puccini does musically to create a great theatrical experience."

By the way, the Tosca will also be on BBC Radio3 , as well as "Mexican tenor Rolando Villazon starring in Massenet's Werther, Nina Stemme as the heroine Leonora in Beethoven's Fidelio, and Simon Keenlyside singing the title role of Verdi's Macbeth for the first time in the UK. Radio 3 will also broadcast two operas live: Puccini's Madam Butterfly and a new production of Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella) with Joyce DiDonato in the title role. "

More details in the press release link above. Great news, isn't it? :-)

Wigmore 2011-2012

2011-04-08T17:07:00.004+01:00

It's amazing what quantity (and quality!) of concerts and recitals are held at Wigmore every season. But if we talk only about recitals, looks like everybody who has a name (or wants to have one) as a recitalist is singing there, if not every year..almost.
Just in September list is impressive : the 10th Thomas Quasthoff, Christian Gerhaher the 20th (Müllerin), 22th (Winterreise) and 24th (Schwanengesang), the 21th Lawrence Zazzo, the 26th and 28th Ian Bostridge and the 29th Gerald Finley.

But this is just one month...there is much, much more : Christianne Stotijn, Mark Padmore, 5th November Simon Keenlyside, Elisabeth Watts, Anna Caterina Antonacci 6 December, Bernarda Fink, Anne Schwanewilms, Thomas Allen, Veronique Gens, Angelica Kirschlager, John Mark Ainsley, Christopher Maltman, Natalie Dessay, Magdalena Kozena, Miah Persson, Susan Graham, Juliane Banse,Christoph Pregardien, Joyce di Donato, 10th June Jonas Kaufmann, etc...
The complete info is not yet available on the website, but it will follow soon :)

Jonas Kaufmann comes back to Wigmore Hall

2011-04-08T15:01:00.005+01:00

Now it's official. Jonas Kaufmann will give a new recital at Wigmore Hall on June 10th 2012 !with his faithful partner, Helmut Deutsch.

The programm is still not announced but whatever he sings it will be,for sure, the hottest ticket of the Wigmore season, especially after the announcement yesterday of his nomination for the Royal Philarmonic Society Music Awards "for his performance of Schubert’s Song Cycle Die Schöne Mullerin at Wigmore Hall".

The Jonas Kaufmann Phenomenon : San Francisco Classical Voice

2011-03-15T08:23:00.000Z

The Jonas Kaufmann Phenomenon : San Francisco Classical Voice

More from Tony....

2011-03-13T14:42:00.004Z

photo "borrowed" from the Accademia Nazionale website :-)

..... Smith ;-)))) Or better know as the lovely Tony Pappano ;-)
On an otherwise grey and dull Sunday , with nothing to look forward to than suitcase packing for yet more work travel at inhumanly early hours of the morning I luckily stumbled upon this wonderful interview with Tony Pappano in the Guardian which made me feel the warm Italian sun and think of a rich and fragrant glass of wine with a background of glorious and heart lifting music (maybe not Va pensiero, but definitely some Verdi ;-))

Click here to enjoy the interview for yourself.

It’s filled with wonderful sweet and sad childhood memories, with Pappano’s search of roots and identity between America, the UK and Italy, with a sense of healthy competitiveness between his two orchestras and various stories of music and life. You get some unexpected insights into the everyday life on an Italian orchestra, between the funny and the passionate.
And you can also find out interesting things about future plans for both the Santa Cecilia and the ROH. Among the latter a promise very dear to me of more Italian repertoire at the ROH, among which an Otello (which ,if information from other interviews is correct, may be with Anja Harteros and possibly Marcelo Alvarez), more Rossini and hopefully even a new production of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci.

But going back to the main focus of the interview, Pappano’s work with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, here is the link to their website:

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

If like me you rush to have a glimpse of that Guillaume Tell poster, alas it is not on line ;-) But there is plently of interesting stuff, including a possibility to listen to the concerts on line via PappanoinWeb!

You can also find the UK tour dates of the ANSC and buy tickets on line:

Thursday 17 March at 19.45 Tournée - Basingstoke, The Anvil
Antonio Pappano direttore
Boris Berezovsky pianoforte
Verdi ..... Aida: Sinfonia
Liszt ..... Concerto per pianoforte n. 1
Mahler ..... Sinfonia n. 1 "Il Titano"

Friday 18 March at 19.30 Tournée - Manchester, Bridgewater Hall
Antonio Pappano direttore
Boris Berezovsky pianoforte
Verdi ..... Aida: Sinfonia
Liszt ..... Concerto per pianoforte n. 1
Respighi ..... Pini e Fontane di Roma"

Saturday 19 March at 19.30 Tournée - Birmingham, Symphony Hall
Antonio Pappano direttore
Boris Berezovsky pianoforte
Verdi ..... Aida: Sinfonia
Liszt ..... Concerto per pianoforte n. 1
Mahler ..... Sinfonia n. 1 "Il Titano"

Go see! :-)

Wish i could too, but since i can’t i’ll give at least the PappanoinWeb live streaming a try :-))

Grazie Tony for brightening up my Sunday and In bocca al lupo! to the ANSC for their UK tour!

Bogdan Mihai Rosenblatt Recital today!

2011-03-01T09:02:00.007Z

Check out this recital today at St John's, Smith Square:

BOGDAN MIHAI Tenor
Iain Burnside Pianist

Songs and arias by composers including Vinci, Caccini, Carissimi, Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti.
For further details on the programme look here at the dedicated Rosenblatt recital site for today's event.

Tenor Bogdan Mihai studied in Bucharest and has appeared with great success as Leicester in Maria Stuarda and Roberto in Roberto Devereux, both by Donizetti. He also triumphed as Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at both the Stuttgart Staatsoper and Dresden Semperoper and received extraordinary reviews in the international press singing the role of the Italian tenor in the premiere of Der Rosenkavalier.
Future commitments include the roles of Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Municipal Santiago de Chile, and as Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival.

For those lucky ones who can be there you are in for a treat! Check this out:

And here one more and wishing that Bogdan will be back soon to London so that i can hear him live as well!

And here is some more insight into Bogdan:

Rosenblatt Recitals in conversation with Bogdan Mihai:

When did you realise you wanted a career in music?

I began my career in music at 6 when I started to study violin, that was very helpful to my current career as an opera singer. It was my first singing teacher, Cristina Magureanu, who encouraged me to pursue a career in opera. She taught me about the voice, made me listen to music, see opera performances and never settle for less. I believe that the basis of a solid vocal technique is entirely up to the training provided by your first singing coach. The quality of the learning you get at this stage is decisive.

You began your musical career studying as a baritone at the University of Music in Bucharest , but whilst studying in Italy with soprano Mirella Freni, you decided to sing as a tenor. Could you tell us more about this important event in your career? What did you learn from Mirella Freni?

It’s true, I started as a baritone. My high school teacher and then maestro Nicolae Constantinescu from the Academy of Music , did not want to risk anything by pushing me to pursue a different tessitura and repertoire that might have damaged my voice at that time. They protected me and I am grateful for that.
Changing the tessitura was quite unexpected and it was a very difficult decision to make. I had been singing as baritone for 8 years by then.
After graduating from the Academy of Music in Bucharest I auditioned for a masterclass with Mirella Freni in Italy . Presenting myself as baritone, I got the most surprising reply: – “Per me non sei baritono, sei tenore...se vuoi entrare nellá mia accademia, devi cambiare la tessitura vocale…” (“You look like a tenor to me, not a baritone… if you wish to attend my academy you must change your tessitura…”).
I learnt a lot from soprano Mirella Freni. One of the most important things was repositioning the voice to the tenor range, acquiring the luminosity in a voice that had been trained as a different tessitura (baritone). I am truly grateful to Mirella Freni for working with me, for her patience and, most of all, for believing in me: she used to say: “Vedrai che con il tempo canterai tutto, dei avere pazienzia...” (“You’ll see, as time goes by, you will be able to sing everything, you need to be patient…”).

What is the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Any time I’m looking for a bit of advice, I look to Joseph Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”.

Could you tell us, according to you, what is the biggest myth about singing?

I have heard a lot of myths in all the theatres I have sung in, mostly related to things that bring bad luck to artists: do not wear lavender coloured clothes when you enter a theatre, do not cross the stage wearing your everyday clothes and there are many more… I never pay attention to such things, I don’t really believe in them. It’s the body and mind’s strength that keeps us going and supports us in doing what we want to do.

What has been your most challenging role to date?
It was Count Almaviva from “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini, there is no doubt about it. I sang the role in almost 50 performances and there was always something new to add to it, to discover and improve. I like to believe that we never stop studying, no matter how experienced we are.

What three items would you take to a desert island?
Well, it’s difficult to choose but I’ll try: my iPod with lots of music (all kinds of music, not only opera), family photos and a lot of Romanian traditional food cooked by my mother.

If you weren’t an opera singer what would you be?
A film actor, definitely.
　
You performed in many different countries in the last years. Do you have a favourite city in the world and/or a favourite building?
Stuttgart Staatsoper is very dear to me. I made my international debut here and it’s where I first met and worked with the great English conductor David Parry for “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” by Rossini. Later on I made my debut in “Der Rosenkavalier” by Strauss. This theatre represents great memories and important moments of my career. I am honoured that they invite me to sing there every year.

Do you visit London often? How long will you stay in London next month and what will you do there?
I do not visit London very often, I was here for the first time last summer to sing in the British premiere of “Armida” by Rossini conducted by maestro David Parry. It was a two-month stay. I am now coming back to London to sing a recital at St. John’s Smith Square , a wonderful occasion to meet the British public again. I wish I came back more often so let’s wait and see what the future has to offer…
My future engagements include “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” at Riga Opera House, Mozart’s Requiem in Bucharest, then a revival of “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” with maestro Parry conducting in Stuttgart. I will be singing at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro this summer (“Petite Messe Solennelle” and “Adelaide di Borgona”), ”Le Comte Ory” by Rossini at Grand Theatre du Geneve, “Aureliano in Palmira” by Rossini at Martina Franca Festival and it goes on… All my future engagements are listed on my official website: www.bogdanmihai.com

ROH future seasons rumours

2011-02-12T01:19:00.020Z

From the press, the Internet, friends and family, the crystal ball made in Swarovski and other unreliable sources....

Check back from time to time for changes and updates!

Season 2012-2013

September, October THE RING (Wagner) with Antonio Pappano

November-December L'ELISIR D'AMORE (Donizetti) with Roberto Alagna

December ROBERT LE DIABLE (Meyerbeer) with Daniel Oren cond, Laurent Pelly dir., Diana Damrau

January-February EUGENE ONEGIN (Tchaikovsky) with Krassimira Stoyanova

May LA DONNA DEL LAGO (Rossini), Colin Lee, Joyce DiDonato

MANON (Massenet) with Natalie Dessay

I VESPRI SICILIANI (Verdi) with Stephan Herheim dir., Erwin Schrott

NABUcCO (Verdi) with Pappano, Nucci, Monastyrska

DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES (Poulenc) with Rattle, Kozena, Emma Bell.

GLORIANA ( Britten) with Richard Jones dir, Paul Daniels cond.

DON CARLO (Verdi) with Kwiecien ?, Pape?

Season 2013-2014

December-January CARMEN (Bizet) with Roberto Alagna

PARSIFAL (Wagner) with Simon Oneill , Gerald Finley

MANON LESCAUT (Puccini) with Tony Pappano, Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros

May- June TOSCA (Puccini) with Roberto Alagna

DONNA DEL LAGO (Rossini), Joyce diDonato, JDF ?

Season 2014-2015

ANDREA CHENIER (Giordano) with Antonio Pappano cond, David McVicar dir, Jonas Kaufmann.

FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN (Strauss) with Semyon Bychkov cond.

GUILLAUME TELL (Rossini) with Antonio Pappano cond., John Osborn

Feel free to comment, oppose, hope, confirm and add !!!

PS This post will have a permanent link on the right hand side menu for future reference :-)

Around London, things you may want to see..

2011-02-07T23:08:00.008Z

There are a couple of things in London to check out, which seem to be less know of :-)

If you wonder what the ROH orchestra is doing when they are not playing in the House, well:

As you can see, they are playing with Tony Pappano at the Cardogan Hall:

Sunday 27 February, 2011, 7pm

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Zurich International Concert Series 2010-11

Antonio Pappano Conductor/Piano

Thomas Hampson Baritone

Klaus Florian Vogt Tenor

Programme:Mahler: Piano Quartet Movement in A minor

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (chamber version, arranged Schoenberg completed Rainer Riehn)

Tickets are still available at the above link :-)

And -

On Thursday 10th February 2011 Italian baritone Massimo Cavalletti will make his Rosenblatt Recitals debut in London and will perform songs and arias by composers including Rossini, Mozart, Tosti, Denza, Toselli, Bizet, Donizetti, Bellini, Cipriano and Verdi ( full recital program in the link).

Thursday 10 February, 7:30pm
St John’s, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA
Tickets £20 £15 £10 (concessions £10)
Box office: 020 7222 1061
Online booking: www.sjss.org.uk

You can read more about his repertoire in the recital link as well. The Lucca-born baritone received praising reviews for his different roles in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Puccini’s La Bohème: Massimo Cavalletti has a “perfect diction and captivating presence on stage” (Musical Criticism), “full of life and fun” (Opera Britannia), “his singing is robust and lively” (New York Times).

If you are a student you can get the following discount - Rosenblatt Recitals offer £15 tickets for £5 when students come to St John’s box office and show their student card, quoting ‘Student Rosenblatt’.

Furthermore if you sign up to the Rosenblatt Recitals mailing list you will receive 50% off your first ticket purchase.

A small amuse bouche:( as i miss listening to Lucia...)

Thanks unmaxfan for the videos!

And another

Things that make my heart melt....

2011-02-07T14:00:00.000Z

Thanks twistty100 for the video!

Thanks coloraturafan for the video!

I can't explain how much i love this opera and miss hearing it live!!! I just stumbled upon this in youtube and i literally melted. And these two are gorgeous in one of the scenes i love most in this opera....

And it sounds just es gorgeous in French as in Italian.

Listen, watch.. enjoy :-)

Werther in Wien with Sophie Koch and Jonas Kaufmann

2011-01-30T20:20:00.015Z

Jonas Kaufmann Photo by Michael Pöhn Staatsoper Wien (**)

Massenet: Werther
Wiener Staatsoper, 28 January 2011
Frédéric Chaslin/Dirigent
Jonas Kaufmann/Werther
Adrian Eröd/Albert
Sophie Koch/Charlotte
Ileana Tonca/Sophie
Janusz Monarcha/Le Bailli
Benedikt Kobel/Schmidt
Clemens Unterreiner/Johann

Tell you what, dropping off the tube on a chilly London night, dragging your suitcase through the bus station among a bunch of drunks, running to catch the bus home (almost seeing the fluffy bed you are going to drop into any minute now!) only to have the little machine tell you that your Oyster card has : not enough money on it! puts a totally new perspective on minor nuisances such as a Carmen-ish tambourine rattling away in Werther act 1.

But let’s leave reality behind and talk about Werther...

I now know that what definitely was love at first sight (or listen live) last year in Paris is for life. (Remember Paris ? Feel free to go back to it, even I felt I had to pay another visit to my own thoughts ;-) I love this opera and I know I always will, no matter what conductors do to it and through all possible productions. I have the most wonderful memories of the Paris Werther and I am even more grateful to realise that what that cast, that orchestra and Michel Plasson have created there will last me much more than just a beautiful memory. They have shown me how complex, intricate, delicate and perfect from the first to the last note it can be and I was both surprised and happy to hear and feel that the pattern they have engraved guides me through the score again and again, no matter where I hear it.

It’s not like I went to Wien in search of the same Werther. I knew that would be unrealistic and really who wants to relive the exact same operatic evening again and again and again , identically in every detail? I guess nobody, at least not live in an opera house. But I did wonder if the emotions in the Paris Werther were a one off event. Incredibly, they are not :-) I didn’t hear the Paris Werther inside the one from Wien, neither did I log off my ears and played what I really wanted to hear in my head ;-) What happened was that I did hear, recognise and most of all feel it in odd lines here and there and most of all in the singing, not the Werther from a year ago, but Massenet’s Werther, if that makes sense.

I’ve had that luck once before, with the Lohengrin, when the first experience live of the opera was so extraordinary that it really helps you discover the secrets (which is why what Tony Pappano said in the video I have posted before stroke a cord). Something as powerful as that connects you to a piece forever, hopefully not in the sense that you will always want to go back to that one experience, but in the sense that you will identify it whenever you hear it again and strive for a repeat encounter with some or a lot of that beauty :-)

As I was saying, to me Massenet’s Werther is incredibly beautiful!

Even when it comes in such an uneven and often chaotic mix as the one in Wien. I’ve tried all possible seating in the house and the acoustics stay weird and this time I had a better view of the pit which partly explained why this must be. I think it has about as much seating as the ROH but is built much tighter, it’s a much more closed space and probably higher. The pit comes far deeper into the circle, giving from almost all seats unobstructed view into it. I know it can be sunk and elevated as most pits these days, but it basically is built totally in front of the stage and has a full wooden wall at the back, which is also the line where the stage starts. I’ve seen a similar set up in Zurich and a similar sound impact is created there, but on a much smaller scale and obviously lesser impact. I think basically from the line at the end of the pit and the hall you probably have a full circle, which makes the sound on stage basically come from behind this circle. And this is how it sounds like. With a considerably elevated pit like we had in Werther you have the sound of the orchestra flowing straight up, not exactly in a wall of sound, as the pit is very wide and deep, but a kind of fuzzy forest of sound and through the trees you hear the singers. The two sounds never intertwine or at least much more rehearsal and work on coordination is needed than time allowed for these 4 performances. I thought sitting higher up would help get closer to where the two sounds meet, but it doesn’t. Whatever you do, the singers will always be outside this sound circle, even perfectly audible, but kind of acoustically far away.

It’s surely a tricky thing to master in any opera, and in French opera all the more so.

From my limited experience, French opera and Massenet all the more so is most beautiful when it becomes a kind of flow, where individual instruments can hardly be distinguished from each other, in an indissoluble harmony which beds the singers voices, embracing them. I always imagine them when I hear something like that like a swimmer floating in the water, not really above the wave, not diving in, but merged into the surface. And that is not really what we got. It was more like stormy weather, clashing uncontrollably around the singers, sometimes in unison, sometimes threatening, sometimes leaving exposed. There were some real moments of beauty, the less the orchestration the better the harmony but the speed changes were sometimes unsettling.

It’s also my personal preference for a more intimate version of the interpretation that made me duck a few time from the crashing sound. With the drama in Werther I always felt that the music carried enormous emotion, tension, passion but in undercurrent, not exposed. It’s like a bubbling volcano, threatening nearby. The tension is sometimes unbearable, takes your breath away but in a quiet kind of way, which makes the outbreak in act 3 that much more frightening, because it destroys everything and it is final. For me this suits the story much better and makes it more credible, it’s about longing and despairing with it, but not daring.

In this case, both the production and the musical interpretation were much more out there. The plot transposed to the 50’s with a large linden tree dominating the stage. I liked the way the tree want through the seasons and it’s bareness in the end was definitely atmospheric. I didn’t care much about the rest, it neither disturbed nor did it add a lot I felt. I am generally not sure if stripping the drama of its intimacy and shyness improves it. For me it doesn’t really. For Werther and Charlotte it doesn’t really seem to be love at first sight, there is already an obvious connection, Sophie is much more than a teenager feeling shy pangs of first love and not really knowing what to with it, she is more of the annoying clingy type and Albert’s love rather than strong and deep and steady seems or of the violent, cold hearted type. Tonca and Erod both sing well and Erod has admirable French pronunciation, but it somehow stays on the surface and there was one thing I did miss from Paris, the way Tezier knew how to enrich every line with feeling and meaning. It’s the same story, but nothing is hidden, nothing is implied, it is all out there in the open. It feels mundane, sometimes bordering on stale, or it would threaten to become so, were it not for the lead singers :-)

Sophie Koch Photo by Patrick Nin at imgartists

I am thankful in this case for little rehearsal time, which allowed Sophie Koch and Jonas Kaufmann to be less fused into this concept and for some of the romanticism of the story to be retained. There is a delicacy and sensibility intrinsic to Sophie, which make her my favourite in this role. Because she always seems to tremble somehow, to care, to feel and worry. She never becomes the disappointed housewife, reality never numbs this Charlotte, which is why in the 3rd act she sings with all that feeling that already in Paris brought tears to my eyes. Her Charlotte is caring, human, involved, which is how I like her :-)

Jonas also managed to make his Werther a bit wilder, more unstable, more dangerous almost if you will, while at the same time retaining his pensativeness and melancholy. His Werther is less resigned , less remorseful, more unhinged but equally driven or attracted to death both in release as in desire for peace. His “Lorsque l'enfant” had all the melancholy and mysticism that so touched me the first time I heard it. The only instance in the whole evening where the production really annoyed me, was when it ruined the poetry of that wonderful “Je ne sais si je veille ou si je rêve encore!” by having him grab a bottle of beer and take a refreshing sip on “Cette source limpide et la fraîcheur de l'ombre”. Ok, it may be funny, but it had me thinking: what on earth????? Luckily most people will not connect the text to the gesture because that irony was cheap and uncalled for and why ruin Werther’s dream? I love that aria! The way the music mirrors the words and images is soo beautiful…

The personalities they created for the characters matched extremely well and musically it’s where Massenet found that harmony one could wish for. Theirs was the element that managed to ground the music in a French sound, that essentially provided the line and flow of the opera and it was most beautiful, harmonic and filled with emotion! I could only regret that only sometimes did some solos from the orchestra find their way to this harmony while mostly giving a much bigger, rasher sound, which meshed Wagnerian with Verismo in a way that ,instead of slowly building the tension, threatened to overwhelm it. In the softest piani passages which both Jonas and Sophie almost caressed with their voices you also shuddered sometimes with suddenly intruding instrument solos gone overboard. Painstakingly spun nets of tension and emotion coming from the stage were often under threat….

I just wish the conductor and the orchestra would have worked equally as hard at showing the audience how incredibly beautiful and rich the soft and tender parts are, more so in the hands of artist like Sophie and Jonas. In opera such moments are rare and few can cherish and shine in them like these two and it is such a pity to not give people a chance to get to know and admire this as much as they do big and bold. Just because the latter is more obvious and more recognisable does not mean it is the only beauty worth admiring :-)

Which is maybe the right moment to explain about the two production photos you see.

You may have noticed, or not, that I am making an exception and not bringing you photos from published reviews or the page of the Staatsoper itself. Consider this is a special treat ;-) These are two only 2 production photos that i actually own.

(The only other printed production material i own is a poster of a ROH production, the Don Giovanni, bought to cheer up the empty walls between moving boxes into my London apartment as this was the first opera I saw when new in town :-))

You may wonder, why if I don’t even particularly like this production? I could say, well, I bought them before seeing it ;-))) Which is true, but I did know more or less how the production looked like when I did. I actually never meant to buy them either. I like to browse around opera shops and Arcadia (the one at the Wien Staatsoper) is full of treasures of old times, with gazillions of CDs and signed pictures of almost any singer you have heard of, it’s more like a mini-museum than a shop. So in i went with a friend of mine and we had a breeze around and gave some “serious” consideration to the business the opera houses are making with photos, calendars and such ;-) I still believe the ROH could make more money out of this, if they sold the right pictures and posters. As the lady at the counter informed us, such pictures and posters sell very well. Yep, the margin on something that must cost pennies to make and sells at 10 times that is considerable ;-) In any case we looked at their current year calendar (check out here if curious) but I think it is overpriced, I don’t like all of the 12 images, I can’t have a calendar and keep it on January the whole year and even less if all the other pictures are better taken than that one! So after commenting about the calendar (ok, a particular picture in the calendar which we both agreed was a particularly good one! But can’t have that month up for a whole year either!)we moved on to the Werther pictures and there were loads of them!

So I went: no, no, no,no, no… can I see that one please? So the lady wants to go inside to get some and I go: No, no, I don’t want to buy them I just want to look at them please. She: looks at me (“this is the craziest one yet!”), sighs deeply and proceeds to take out the pins of the postcard size photo I was pointing to. I study that one and go : “can I see the other one too please?” She : pointing to the board: “which one?” Me: “the other bloody one please”. So there I stand twisting and turning them. I already know I am in trouble when looking at them I hear Jonas voice singing… The one where he lies on the bed goes : “Là-bas au fond du cimetière,/il est deux grands tilleuls!” and the other “Père! Père! Père, que je ne connais pas, /en qui pourtant j'ai foi, parle à mon coeur, appelle-moi!Appelle-moi!” (i know it’s still the 4th act i am looking act, give me some credit! But it is that what I am hearing that the picture suggests to me).

Ok, damn Massenet! I am gonna give in and buy one, but which? It’s about choosing what I like to hear most… and I can’t. It’s like deciding what Jonas does best… what do I prefer in his singing? The soft, sensitive, touching piani? The power and strength, the force of rage and desperation? My turn to sigh and grunt in frustration, purse out, here you go, I am taking both! I was still mumbling about what on earth I was going to do with them, now that I had bought them?

And I’d rather not be thinking about the saleswomen doubling over with laughter as soon as the door closed behind us…

Jonas Kaufmann Photo by Michael Pöhn Staatsoper Wien

Back to the performance a few hours later. There had been clapping at the end of act 1 and 2 and the singing was gorgeous, so it was obviously going well. And I was looking forward to the Letter aria from Sophie, to those dark threatening accords when Werther appears “Oui! c'est moi! je reviens” and well, to all the rest of it. While the audience as it turned out had been waiting all night for their chance of giving some enthusiasm they were feeling back.

Does any moment in this opera strike you as rewindable and repeatable in an instant? Probably not, me neither :-) The drama builds in such a tight way and spirals out musically into such tension… But that would be forgetting that one aria in this opera is known much more than the rest and is recognisable for everyone in the audience. And in certain circumstances it becomes about the aria more than the opera itself or the drama. And if perfectly delivered it will bring the audience to such a state of euphoria that it creates the opportunity for a naturally very enthusiastic public to stop the show with Bravo shouts and clapping and well, requests of encore. And stop it they did, for about 3 full minutes.

I’ve witnessed encores before, I’ve even asked for them before :-) But I have to say it was for Verdi or Rossini or Donizetti pyrotechnics. I don’t think somebody can spontaneously pour their heart out…twice in a Flower song… or look death in the eye and back at life for the last time... twice… in E lucevan, nor did I believe Werther could recite Ossian twice in the same night. I did believe the audience would ask for it :-) There is something the audience in Wien share with the one at the Met, their incredible enthusiasm and the fervent way they express it and I believe there is no greater compliment that an audience can pay an artist than telling them their rendition of an aria was so beautiful they must hear it again!

In Paris I would have hit anyone who would have dared to interrupt the music until the end with either clapping, shouting or even ... breathing ;-) Only quiet sobbing was allowed :-)

But this wasn’t Paris and after 3 min of cheers, a pause, more clapping and generalised laughing when the orchestra got signals wrong and tried to continue, there really wasn’t any drama being interrupted. The audience needed to express how much they admire Jonas and the only way to actually get the show rolling again was, well, to give generously what was asked for so fervently :-) That is what I thought afterwards, but when I heard the music and heard him start to sing “Pourquoi me réveiller, ô souffle du printemps” I think I literally stopped breathing. I thought he sang it even more emotionally the second time around, which is what I said when I asked for the autograph much later(*) but honestly I don’t know if it was just the emotion from the singing or my own emotion and my mind flashing : OMG Jonas is doing an encore! It’s his first encore….

Took me way more to process that than it took Sophie and Jonas to get things going and I snapped back when an absolutely too real looking pistol was handed over.

The interlude to act 4 could have been more sensitive and I did miss the shot itself… it was weird not hear it, especially since Werther had a more than real injury… I don’t know if the shot is actually written in the score, but the music suggests a peaceful, although very sad passing, and end, but somehow a release and I felt the shot rightly jolting us back to a very real reminder that this is not a natural passing, but a self-inflicted death of someone who is so terribly desperate. I guess I am more shocked by the sound than the visuals, although gallons of blood work very well too. Except for me it was another one of those instances where the production went from strong emotional suggestion to all too literal display. As I mentioned before it was the intensity in the artistic expression and the suggestion in the music that made me want to hold on to a physical memory of the piece than the actual bloody image of the dying Werther.

In this production Albert darkly lingers about in the death scene, but it neither intruded nor distracted, as one could focus on nothing else but the last moments Charlotte and Werther spent together.

And the curtain fell and more applause came from a satisfied and touched audience. And it is when I will always feel like shouting Bis! I can’t pick out a single thing I want to have repeated on the night, I couldn’t make myself stop at any point in time , I feel driven to the end and I always feel that it has gone by way to quickly. And I am always left wanting more and encore… from the beginning to the end, all over again…

(*)Well I had bought those things and I still had them! So it occurred to me to make some good use of at least one, rather than standing there fidgeting and trying to say something like: uhhh, it was nice! Believe me, your brain would be frozen as well had you stood outside in -7C for more than half an hour trying to process the evening :-)
(**) As you can imagine now I am glad I am the owner of these photos ;-) Please notice the way the signature embellishes the photo! It’s placed exactly right to not destroy any of the expression and now instead of looking at the blood your eyes are drawn to the signature :-) Thanks ever so much Jonas! This might just go up my wall ;-))))

Update - Ok, here you go! You know you want it and i can't stand the envious glares anymore ;-))))

Tony Pappano on Mahler and passing on knowledge

2011-01-30T13:13:00.004Z

On this beautiful sunny afternoon, spend some time listening to Tony Pappano talk about Mahler and many other things...

Click on the pictures to be taken to the Euronews website where you can watch the videos.

Opening minds, telling the secrets... a beautiful thing :-)

Juan Diego Flórez at the RFH this week!

2011-01-17T01:13:00.005Z

It'll be a short couple of week before i have opera on my calendar again, but before that JDF is in town :-)
Royal Festival Hall - Juan Diego Flórez
Thursday 20 January 2011
If you click on the link above it will take you to the Southbank centre link of the recital, where you can still buy some tickets. Program is mostly Mozart and Rossini, but the Prado and Verdi are less usual treats :-)
Well, that is except for this "little known piece"... . ;-))))

By the way, the Southbank website features this cute Q&A with Juandi where among more serious things ;-))) you also find out where he likes eating in London (giggle... giggle, giggle..)

By the way, this is part of the Rosenblatt recital series (more on the upcoming recitals and artists by clicking on the photo below)

Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-17T00:29:00.005Z

Neujahrskonzert 2011-Liszt - Mephisto Walzer

Thank you guenter011141 for the video

A new year, more music !! At least i hope so :-)

As i have said a year ago i can't imagine beginning the year anywhere else than in Wien ( well, virtually at least ;-) and in rhythms of valse.

It may be old world tunes, but they are as beautiful as on they day the were first played and they make my heart sing and my feet want to dance. Because this is the Liszt year a wicked bit of valse from him to begin with and then some more "usual suspects" from this wonderful concert of the Wiener Philamoniker. This year under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst (an Austrian himself), who must have been more than thrilled to do this, on TV they mentioned he says this was kind of a Nobelprize in the music world :-)

By the way, if you ever fancy seeing the concert in Wien, they actually raffle the tickets! Here is how. The pdf links at the bottom of the article will guide you to the instructions in the appropriate language, Good luck!!! I might just try this out myself ;-)

And here is two more bits to slide you off dancing into the new year, may it be a good one for everyone!

Joseph Hellmesberger - Zigeunertanz aus Die Perle von Iberien (Vienna 2011 New Year Concert)

Thanks rudolfo6666 for the video

Edward Strauss - Ohne Aufenthalt, Polka schnell (Vienna 2011 New Year Concert)

Thanks rudolfo6666 for the video

If you want more, just utube Neujahrskonzert 2011 ;-)

Tralalalalalaaaaa.......

Jonas Kaufmann & Helmut Deutsch Wigmore Mullerin on BBC Radio3

2010-11-10T15:34:00.011Z

You can listen to the gorgeous, wonderful, heart wrenching, romantic, etc , etc rendition of Schubert’s Mullerin Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch gave on the 31st of October at the Wigmore Hall tonight on Radio 3 – Performance on 3.

You can just click at 7pm Uk time on the BBC iplayer icon for Radio3 on the right hand side.

Here are some more reasons why:

Edward Seckerson in the Independent

Jessica Duchen in Standpoint

Hilary Finch in the Times

Rupert Christiansen in the Telegraph

Erica Jeal in the Guardian

Stephen Pritchard in the Observer

Anna Picard in Sunday's Independent

Hugh Canning in the Sunday Times

Richard Fairman in the FT

Make yourelf a cup of tea, grab a glass of wine and above all don't forget the tissues! You'll need them :-)

Watch this space, i will hopefully be able to gather my own thoughts about it here.

Enjoy!

PS the Times is subscription only

Mozart, Nozze and more

2010-11-07T19:36:00.003Z

Photo Clive Barda from Opera Britannia

I’ve had a very slow start into the new season, more miss than hit, and since it is going to be quiet for a little while longer I decided it is never too late to talk about the old season after all. And don’t fret too much about the new one, it is not like I am in a state of abstinence from music ;-) But I have had a busy summer and am not going to be much around London unfortunately all the way until Christmas, so I catch what I can. Or remember what I saw and heard.

Because I probably have some organisation and categorisation complex ( too much report writing! P*ke!) I feel the need to assign categories to memories as well. I mean I think back of the last season and I feel I have done 10 in one. I’ve experienced, learned, heard and felt more in the last season than ever before in my life in such a short period of time. I am enjoying a bit of temporary peace because I actually feel like sitting back and smiling with a weird sense of accomplishment.. I have done all that and been there!! I did feel at times almost like I was being bulldozered over. And I was afraid of forgetting things, of not taking them in fully, or overloading senses and breaking some kind of barriers in experience which would never allow me to go on and enjoy normal things. I mean this was my musical season 2009-2010 in no particular order of importance:

- My first ever Tristan and Isolde live with Stemme, Heppener and Pappano ( I’ve had one more of that since…);
- My first ever Werther live (yes, the Paris one with Plasson and the bunch) and I still feel I’ve had far too little of that one!
- My first time seeing and hearing Abbado conduct live – Fidelio in Luzern .. really O namenlose Freude!
- My first time ever (I know, I know….) seeing and hearing Placido Domingo live!!!!!!! and sounding just like on the shelves of CDs back home…
- Don Carlo at the ROH!! Yes, that one, every single bit of it!
- Meistersinger- the longest love at first sight in history! And it was Bryn’s first Sachs :-) and this was also my first time at the Proms;
- My first time hearing Matthias Goerne live :-) surprisingly, I can like Schubert after all;
- Jonas sang his first and my first Wintersturme live in Dusseldorf and I was there;
- Simon Keenlyside sung his first Rigoletto in Cardiff ( I love the WMC!);
- Celebrating b-day with Requiem at la Scala, weird, still love and hate the place, but Verdi would love how they play his music :-);
- My first Konigskinder/Humperdinck live and please please please don’t let these be the last!!!!
- Pappano does Boccanegra ( I know it’s kind of twice on the list but believe me this score never sounded so good!) and THIS IS VERDI!
- The Weimar Voices LA at King’s place – I adored those Lieder!
- Fille du regiment at ROH with Natalie and Juandi – he is JDF!! And she is even more fantastic than I imagined!
- Mozart rocks!!!!! Cosi, Turco and Nozze with Schrott and Kwiecien at ROH!
- I want to be a kid in school in music class and Pappano to be the teacher.. Operaitalia!!! Or just one more reason to love Tony :-)
- My first Salzburg festival and it turns out I like it, hope to do this again some time :-)
- Mariss Jansons and Shostakovich 4th at the RFH, what a buzz!
- Jonas sings Kindertotenlieder in Munich (you can cherish and connect even with things that scare you profoundly….. )
- Lohengrin love story still going strong, it’s something different when it is from Bayreuth;
- Old tales in new frocks, Aida and Manon get a make over at the ROH and not surprisingly I disagree with most people on both by liking the Aida production and most of the musical bits of it as well and not being that bowled over like most with the Manon;
- And in all this confusion of new things the comfort of oldies, but goldies! More Carmen and Tosca! I’ve lost count of how many, but every time I think “ok, enough of these” I end up sitting and listening at 3am to some radio broadcast ;-)

But It’s not all been glory, I missed the Requiem at Pleyel, which I always wanted to go to because Dinu Lipatti played there, I missed Abbado in Berlin with the Rinaldo, I missed the Carmen at la Scala and most of all I missed Lohengrin in Bayreuth…
Maybe one is just not meant to be indulging quite so much :-)

In any case, closing the season with Mozart was wonderful. His work is full of conflicts, but human ones, every day life stuff, good and bad and loads of humour, irony. Coupled with his music it always gives me peace and balance and also a positive feeling about music and life in general :-)

So, although months have passed, I still want to remember this Nozze I saw at the ROH, two performances of it, and I would have loved to see more! I was lucky to catch both conductors and both countesses.

I can’t imagine a better match between Mozart’s domestic tangles story and David McVicar’s production! It’s not a big secret that I quite a fan of his work. I really think he can make a good actor out of any singer. And he managed to make the productions modern without taking the illusion away. I mean I like to connect with the stories and the people, I don’t necessarily look for fairy-tale pretty on stage, but I’d rather not have CNN/policy report on stage if you know what I mean :-) You can be real without being necessarily and purposefully depressive or ugly. With McVicar I never have the feeling of looking into a fake world or where things are on display on a stage, on the contrary, you have a feeling of intimacy, of actually observing a slice of real life, with real people going about their business. Of course this implies work of extreme detail, but it is not the kind of stage-crowding detail, but rather the character detail you otherwise rarely get to experience in an opera.

And he couldn’t have found better singers /actors to fit into the production. It has been already written several times what kind of a great pairing of voices and characters Schrott and Kwiecien made! Vocally and in stage presence they commended attention as soon as one of them was in front of you and they made for strong and quirky Figaro and count. Each so in character and at the same time negotiating the score with such easy it makes one envious! Had I not heard them live I would have probably not believed had anyone told me what a good fit Mozart is vocally for both! Mariusz elegance and agility is formidable and I hope he will continue singing Mozart for a while! Schrott has a full and distinctive voice and one would not think Mozart would be his thing, but it so is! And the way he drops from singing into speech and back is amazing indeed. He made not be as convincing musically with other composers, or not yet, but he is very very good in Mozart!

And I am so looking forward to both of them coming back to the ROH to do Don Giovanni :-)

Eri Nakamura held her own as Susanna and it was funny how her petite self managed as much charisma on stage as to convincingly wind Figaro around her little finger as appropriate :-)
On the countesses I was more split, those extra long arias Mozart tends to write for sopranos usually grind down my patience… that is until you discover somebody who tells the story and is a good enough singer to make you forget about the thrills and ups and downs. And Soile Isokoski is one such wonderful lady! I’ve not heard a countess live to charm me like she did and to make “Dove sono” into something soooo beautiful! I really hope I get to hear her again sometime soon.
Annette Dasch probably was coming down with a cold or something while she sang at the ROH and I was very pleasantly surprised at her Elsa from Bayreuth. I am glad she sounded better and sang better than I heard her in the Nozze :-)

The entire cast in fact made the evenings complete and musically it was on both evenings a well rounded experience, with my personal preference in terms of conducting tending towards David Syrus more alert and perky version. I’m afraid I don’t like my Mozart quite as placid as Colin Davis did it the evening I went to ;-)

Nozze ROH 2010
Conductor Colin Davis/David Syrus
Figaro Erwin Schrott
Susanna Eri Nakamura
Count Almaviva Mariusz Kwiecien
Countess Almaviva Annette Dasch/Soile Isokoski
Cherubino Jurgita Adamonyte
Bartolo Robert Lloyd
Basilio Peter Hoare
Don Curzio Christopher Gillett
Marcellina Marie McLaughlin
Barbarina Amanda Forsythe
Antonio Nicholas Folwell

The start of the new season with Mozart was not quite as good as the Nozze which ended it. Probably in part because we just had Cosi not many months ago,. But also because with good singing alone this opera can become easily boring of the characters don’t have their own personalities to entertain us with. And I couldn’t help sitting though it and thinking how much more fun the cast in the previous season had been… Maybe sometimes revivals shouldn’t follow each other that closely.
But lucky for me I have some more Nozze to enjoy, thanks to the wonderful production in Paris just a few days ago broadcasted on F3:
Mozart's LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
Filmed at the Opera national de Paris (Bastille)
Philippe Jordan (Cond.)
Giorgio Strehler (Stage & lights)
Ludovic Tezier : Il Conte di Almaviva
Barbara Frittoli : La Contessa di Almaviva
Ekaterina Siurina : Susanna
Luca Pisaroni : Figaro
Karine Deshayes : Cherubino
Ann Murray : Marcellina
Robert Lloyd : Bartolo
Robin Leggate : Don Basilio
Antoine Normand : Don Curzio
Maria Virginia Savastano : Barbarina
Christian Treguier : Antonio

So I am looking forward to sitting down and watching this during the coming days, I have a feeling it is going to be quite the treat ;-), which I have every reason to enjoy, especially this week.

Liceu Carmen with Alagna, Uria-Monzon, Poplavskaya and Schrott

2010-10-12T20:46:00.005+01:00

Photo via http://www.musicweb-international.com/ Liceu, Antoni Bofill

Most importantly and before i say anything else :
Muchisisismas gracias a todos los amigos de Barcelona! Por la cálida acogida, por la ayuda con las entradas, por los cafés y las charlas, por la riquísima comida, por la agradable compañía. Por hacerme sentir como en casa, solo que a temperaturas más agradables ;-) Por hacer que la visita a Barcelona me sepa a demasiado corto, por dejarme con tantas ganas de volver lo más pronto posible.
Cruzo dedos y espero de todo corazón que la ocasión que todos deseamos venga rapidoooooo para poder compartirla con vosotros en el Liceu.
Molts petonets!!!!!! *

Y ahora con la Carmen….

I started this opera season a bit later and somewhere else tan expected. Turns out the first full opera production I got to see this season was the Carmen at the Liceu in Barcelona. Terrific choice as it turned out! And definitely more than just another Carmen.

It was an evening full of good surprises. Starting with the fact that the Liceu is likely to become one of my favourite venues. Based on recent experiences I didn’t expect a theatre that looked old to be so comfortable. Fact is of course the Liceu has been recently rebuilt from scratch after a fire destroyed the theatre. So it looks lush but is full of modern comfort and service. From the many elevators, the back-hugging seats, the pleasant temperature ( no boiling or freezing!!! Didn’t think that existed in an opera house…) , the modern café, the un-crowded and elegant toilets (yes, no mile-long cue at the ladies, fancy that! You actually have time for a chat in the interval!! ), the spacious shop (1+ on the ROH on that one) this place makes you feel welcome every step of the way. And so does the cheery and pleasant staff (equally as nice as the ROH one and it is the only place I have been able to say that so far) . And let me tell you about the acoustics!!!!!! Gorgeous!!!!!! No ceilings too low to cover the sound and in spite of being a 2300 seats house it is quite tightly packed around the stage so that the sound feels like almost coming from the centre of it.

Old world charm with today’s comfort, I felt spoiled!!! And I’ll look forward to treat myself again :-) By the way, the Liceu also sports a nice “choose your own place” internet selling system. Disadvantage is however that the whole season comes on sale at once; but it is one of those places where as a foreign traveller you have good access to, a sales system you can handle and where you can chose you rapport price-seat. Definitely a place to visit. Literally as well, apparently the tours are good and very interesting, it’s on my to-do list for next time. Among others I’d like to see if backstage or rather behind the curtain it is as well organised as in the hall :-)

This Carmen was different in more ways than one. For example, it is definitely something different to see a Carmen in Spain, directed by a Spanish director. So many Carmens dish up some kind of fake Spain that just feels kitschy. This wasn’t it, although it was as full of toreros and bulls as you could want it ;-) But not all bulls and toreros are the same. It’s an updated, profoundly authentic Spanish Carmen, just that it is sung in French :-) There are slight changes which might bother some, like for example they swiped almost all recitatives out and there is “a dos cuartos” in the chorus in the last act. But what it had lost in potentially badly spoken French dialogues it gained in fluency and tension. Don’t get me wrong, there are full extended versions I love, but in this case it worked better with the cuts.

There were cars on stage, big wooden bulls dominating dusty planes (loved the way light swathes of smoke blown on stage suggested the dust being kicked up by the singers’ steps ), chalk circles delimiting the arena , a flag pole, a telephone box and little else. Physically at least, but there was so much more added through lighting! It is one of the shows that I have seen where lighting stands out by a mile, effective, clear, highly natural and very creative. Shadows and light filled the space in amazing ways, reducing or expanding it according to the scene. It really can’t be described, it has to be seen (only one of the many reasons to buy a ticket for tomorrow’s cinema broadcast if you can go) .

It is also one of the few times I can remember sitting for 3 hours in an opera and feeling as if I am watching a movie. I keep coming back to the word natural, but that is how it was. No stop and go, seamless transition and most of all, development. Of course the director got lucky with this cast as well, as they are all willing and able to step into their characters. But there is great acting from the chorus as well! The fight of the cigarette factory workers was choreographed but real. There was enough violence to transmit the conflict and kudos for the chorus members carrying away their colleagues on their backs, in their arms, while being kicked and pulled at :-) I had to remember the similar scene in the Scala Carmen last December and the effect couldn’t be more different, one over-doing it and taking the scene practically out of the opera, the other adding the natural touch effectively.

I might not fully agree with all character portrayal choices, but some I thought were spot on. Most of all I liked Micaela! This one finally gets a personality, or is allowed to show one, from the fun-loving, camera carrying visitor to Jose’s regiment to the gutsy young women definitely pushing Jose out of the smuggler camp, rather than begging him to go. Just because Jose is not on love with her, doesn’t mean Micaela can’t be a women in her own right :-) And the youthful fun of her first encounter with Jose also worked well in the context and became an up to date, modern version of a relationship of childhood friends (she steals his cap and they take funny pictures of themselves:-)).

What I didn’t quite get was the second act where the tavern scene is replaced by a scene with just the 5 smugglers around a car at night in the fields. It works in context, but the absence mostly during the scene of larger groups of people made the intimacy of Carmen and Jose’s encounter a bit less poignant. You just don’t get that hard sudden shift from euphoria and loud noise to the heightened tension of the scene between just the two of them. Instead you get a kind of continuity of behaviour, with Jose and Carmen frolicking around just like the smuggler group right before. Which kind of makes their relationship less different from the others, as he already behaves just like them. Even when the smugglers come back to stop the fight with Zuniga, the girls calm Jose’s anger as if he were one of them. There is also much less hesitation in Jose’s action, he is neither as reluctant to fall in Carmen’s arms nor as reluctant to push her away twice. Generally it’s a case where the relationship with Carmen forms with more ease and less inner turmoil, as if they would belong together. This however makes the conclusion of the story more dangerous, violent, because as differences are not as obvious in the beginning you build a false sense of possible reconciliation and you never get a sense of real danger until it is too late. It’s made a slightly different take, but it works very well. You basically get lulled in watching the movie of the smuggler life unfold, almost like a documentary and then it literally accelerates into the precipice.

Other scenes were also altered from the usual context with striking impact. Escamillo and Carmen’s short last dialogue is not carried out amongst the masses but in a darkened arena, with a spot light on just the two of them, Escamillo down on one knee preparing for the fight. A moment taken from display to intimacy in a very simple way, but which conveys the intensity of the relationship perfectly.

Then there is the use of the cars! In getting rid of Zuniga (will not give details, don’t want to ruin the fun for people watching in the cinemas ;-)), in jumping up, down and around them during the fight between Jose and Escamillo ( Erwin and Roberto get definite brownie points for the enthusiastic workout!), in having Carmen slither along it to entertain Jose, etc :-)

There are the props that you don’t find in any libretto, like the phone booth or the flag pole, the wooden bull advert, etc. All not indispensable, but definitely entertaining and making the story more real visually. From the factory workers fighting over the first phone call to the soldier practicing to become a torero in the empty night field, they all add colour to the story.

Luckily, this was by far not all!!! With the story came the music and the singing!

What a great night for the chorus, including the girls chorus who represented the kids on stage. The slightly crescendo chorus before the exit of the factory workers into the square was one of the most beautiful I have heard in a while. The have good voices and were spot on and alive all throughout, at no point did they let the tension slip or slow and quite a pleasure to hear the chorus kick up some volume without sounding screechy at all, on the contrary, they sounded warm and full all the way, bravi!!! And bravi also for the committed acting from every single one of them.

Erwin Schrott was announced with laryngitis ( oh yes, we did have that “can we have your attention please – moment, where I couldn’t help but thinking, oh, no, what nooooooowww???!!!!”) but decided to soldier on. Hope he didn’t fall flat tired afterwards, he definitely threw himself into it. Good thing is after the aria, which comes first the rest is as much about acting as about singing. He sounded more comfortable with it than I heard him on TV from Scala, good for him! It’s not the same as the way he absolutely dominates his Mozart roles, but it works. And he is probably unbeatable at suggesting quite the right amount of assuredness, macho air, charm and irony to attract a Carmen and enrage Jose. With the dark suit and hat I couldn’t help but think of his upcoming tango CD. But then again, there is so much about torero movements that comes close to the elegance of tango dancing, so the comparison and similarity works when played out in Escamillo. The French probably needs some more work though :-)

Photo Liceu, Antoni Boffil

And finally in Marina Poplavskaya I found a Micaela to stand up for herself and from the crowd. Yes the character had personality, but so does she. Really refreshing, a Micaela who acted differently from what you expected and which drew your attention to her. And sung gorgeously! It just is the right package, the personality is reflected in the voice and vice versa. The duet with Alagna in the first act which I had been looking forward to proved to be all I expected and more. They both have very characteristic and individual colours of voice and her darker and his lighter version produced a really unique sounding duo, which they matched with perfectly intertwined piani. It definitely is one of the most interesting and beautiful versions of this duet I ever heard. And atypical in many ways, less remote and lost in thought, more emotional and engaged with each other, perfectly mirrored in their voices. Probably my favourite musical moment of the night.

Same kind of more urgent tone in their interaction and in her aria in the 3rd act. Fearless and decided (de armas tomar la Micaela esta ;-))). Well done Marina for giving power to Micaela. The public reaction also showed that she made her character much more likeable, including vocally.
I had heard quite a bit of quibbles about Uria Monzon’s Carmen, but I found she warmed up nicely after the Habanera. She is no longer as even and as in control of her instrument as she might have been maybe some year ago, but her Carmen is still a good option. She gives a convincing portrayal, although for some reason not really engaging enough for you to sympathise with her. She doesn’t quite build the necessary tension in her relationship with Alagna’s Jose and this unfortunately fails to make her his equal in this Carmen. It’s a pity because this is called Carmen after all and she should be more of a centre of attention. With everyone else around bringing an extra something to the role, musically and in character, her otherwise good Carmen doesn’t quite shine as bright, as much as I wish I could say otherwise.

And yet again I bumped into a Carmen where the Jose outshines his Carmen (ladies, you need to start standing up to these guys! ;-)) Whatever Roberto has been doing lately or not doing, he should keep at it :-) I’ve liked him for many years now, but I have to join the chorus and say: Roberto, you sound gorgeous! And I mean it in an absolutely positive way when I say like 10 years ago! In comparison to his ROH Jose this was from a different place. He was comfortable all the way and stayed away from the dramatic edge up until the end, where it came with force and energy, and for that all the more effective. And this way we got to enjoy that which Roberto does best, sing sing sing, which ease, warmth, lyricism and in those mezza voce tones which are his alone. And they are now as brilliant and as fresh as one can almost not hope to hear them again after quite a few number of years of career, but there they were. (Honestly, if I could have, I would have begged him to sing one more Romeo now, for all of us who would love to hear it again from him… ) In any case, considering that I have heard his Jose a number of times this year, this was by far, far the best of them and centred in that place where he is best and where we all love him to be. And he was jumping on cars, and fighting with Schrott and pulling Carmen around and slashing her throat… chilling. I though the idea of Jose slowly pulling Carmen’s inert body towards him in the centre of the area was the most beautiful picture for the ending.

There is no doubt about the fact that he was the star of the show, as we all in the public agreed and took pleasure in showing :-) I’ ve never seen him do anything else then give it his all on stage and when it works out this well, all the more reason to celebrate, as he is truly amazing.
All would have not been as well rounded without a great night from the orchestra and all other members of the cast. And a conductor that stayed away from kitsch in the pit as well and drove proceedings with conviction and energy. The cellist alone could have made my day with his solo! I know locals have complained about their orchestra sometimes, but they were in great form the other night!

And by the way, the undoubtedly talented and knowledgeable director is a guy who goes by the name of Calixto Bieito. Someone who as far as I was able to see, in spite of general opinion, is not at all out for gratuitous provocation, who I am sure doesn’t always produce things that one can relate to or agree with, but who obviously knows a lot about storytelling and also knows how to inspire others to become storytellers themselves. We shall see about other productions, but for this Carmen, very well done indeed! And special thanks to his team for creating costumes that fit the story and complimented the singers and for that impressive light work!

If you can, go to see this at the cinema on the 13th!

9 October 2010 - Carmen Liceu

Conductor Marc Piollet
Stage direction Calixto Bieito
Scenography Alfons Flores
Costumes Mercè Paloma
Lighting Xavier Clot
New co-productionGran Teatre del Liceu / Teatro Massimo (Palermo) / Teatro Reggio (Torí)
Cast
Carmen Béatrice Uria-Monzon
Don José Roberto Alagna
Micaela Marina Poplavskaya
Escamillo Erwin Schrott
Frasquita Eliana Bayón
Mercédès Itxaro Mentxaka
Le Dancaire Marc Canturri
Le Remendado Francisco Vas
Moralès Alex Sanmartí
Zuñiga Josep Ribot
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Cor Vivaldi-Petits Cantors de Catalunya

Ludovic Tézier, Chevalier des Art et Lettres

2010-09-18T13:02:00.005+01:00

I found out today that Ludovic Tezier has been awarded the title of Chevalier des Art et Lettres, which is, as far as i am aware of, the highest distinction the French state can bestow upon one of its artists. Congratulations!!!!!

Find out more and see some pictures of the ceremony, which took place yesterday before the Oneghin premiere at Opera Bastille from this fan blog.

And because i believe this is not only very well deserved, but that Ludovic Tezier is a wonderful artist, not sufficiently well known to the public, i've decided to have a little celebration of my own on this occasion, and share with you some of the reasons why i admire his language skills and diction, his style, his voice, his elegant and rich musicality. In no particular order of preference.....
Enjoy!

"Ah, no lasciarti in pace!" Nozze

Thanks ComteAnckarstrom for the video

"Pourquoi me réveiller" Werther

Thanks ComteAnckarstrom for the video

"Votre toast" Carmen

Thanks antmusique for the video

"Romance à l'étoile"

Thanks ComteAnckarstrom for the video

Air du Prince Yeletsky Pique Dame

Thanks ComteAnckarstrom for the video

"Eri Tu" Ballo in maschera

Thanks tenore23 for the video

"A moi viens, ouvre tes aîles" Lucie de Lammermoor

Thanks babyfairy for the video

The only thing left for me to say is actually a big question: Why, oh why does he not sing at the ROH????????? And i mean now, today, not x years ago or in concert performances... I'll keep hoping that he will be back in London singing sometimes soon.

Toute chose est encore à la place connue......

2010-09-08T21:42:00.002+01:00

To have and to hold, to listen and watch, to remember and indulge, to cherish...

You can preorder for example from here (thanks a lot HM for this tip!)

O, namenlose Freude! (Fidelio, Luzern)

2010-08-17T13:12:00.019+01:00

Photo from Giornale della Musica, Georg Anderhub

(before reading this you might want to give the Verismo video a break, just press on pause ;-) As there is more music to be had in this post)

There have been so many extraordinary things that I have been able to experience musically over this past season that it gets almost too overwhelming to capture in words. I almost wish I was able to stretch time and create a gap around each of these to fully enjoy them. And basically when it is this good I just want to linger and hold on to the feeling for a while longer…

This Fidelio has certainly been one of those moments. I will forever remember it as the first time I saw and heard Abbado conduct live! It is something I wished for a long time and until I actually got on the train from the airport to Luzern I didn’t even allow myself to think about it. Sitting there and looking at the mountains surrounded by dark grey clouds it suddenly hit me! It was happening and I was only a few hours away :-)

Thank God I had heard the opera before, because I don’t think I would have been able to enjoy it quite as much otherwise. Because it certainly wasn’t like any Fidelio I had ever heard before! It in this case it made all the difference to be familiar with the general flow of things to let go of the same and just enjoy every single detail that came at you.

I’m glad there was nobody there to catch my face after the first few bars of music!!
I only ever had a somewhat similar experience, many years ago, when for the first time I heard a different orchestra in a different house than the one I grew up with. It was the first time I sat in the ROH and heard the orchestra play live. It’s a feeling you can’t explain, as if you had been deaf and suddenly were blessed with hearing! (*)

Except this in Luzern was on a much bigger and deeper level! I can’t put the word perfect to it, because it is cold and it would mean comparing it with things imperfect.. it was just sheer joy, happiness .. the one word that comes to my mind is the French “ivresse”! The sound that came from this orchestra was of such heavenly beauty that it cannot be described! It was so over whelming that I just would have wanted to time to stand still and just be able to let the sound in my ear sink in somehow…
And of course it has everything to do with Beethoven’s music!

This is not the perfect opera by any means. For one, there are those dialogues, which seem to induce directors to constantly play around with and try to improve upon. Ok, they are not that brilliant and sometimes may feel out of date. But I feel it’s not the words and phrases itself which are the problem, but the start and stop effect they create, especially during the first act. It probably creates a problem for the singers, to constantly have to switch between speech and singing, and it constantly interrupts the flow of music for the audience. You hardly get going, excited, you’re into it and then it stops. However, without them the plot is incomplete, so we do need them to fully follow the story. But the issue of the tension ebbing down and racking up with the stop and start of music comes also from the fact that singers generally don’t speak on stage or are no trained to do some with equal intensity. Usually as soon as they speak the volume drops significantly and since the music is gone you have to also fine-tune your own ear to catch what feels almost like whispers after the musical outbreaks.

In the Fidelio I saw two years ago in Paris, they overcame this by amplifying and prerecording some of the dialogues (which also were brand new and excessively long!). But it helped keep the tension up.

This was a semi-staged last minute staging in which the dialogue where lightly rewritten. But as these were just two performances it was not expected that singers would know them by heart, not would this be necessary for the libretto and score itself. This was always scheduled as a concert version performance of Fidelio and nobody was really expecting anything else. So the dialogues were read from script and were not really that audible (no worries this will not be a problem for the final recording as there were of course recoding microphones). Neither would they be delivered in any particularly emotional or effective way, but again this was not a staged performance. And to be perfectly honest I didn’t catch much of them, nor did I make a particular effort to since I was basically lingering in the music through them, like a breath of oxygen taking me through to the next bits of music.

I don’t mean to criticise in any way, or diminish their value of the completeness of the piece, but I kind of knew what they were saying and it’s not those bits that I went all the way there to listen :-) (I do hope though that when next I see Fidelio whoever directs the staging will find a way to keep the audience interested throughout them, as that is really necessary I think or could add even further to the experience).

But, as everyone there we came to heard the orchestra play, the chorus and singers sing and see Abbado conduct! I don’t thing generally the bits of staging added anything important, but I did appreciate some touches.

The lighting I found particularly sensitive and enjoyable. There were candles strewn around the stage among the musicians (which creates a major fire hazard, but looks sooo beautiful!). And there was a big while balloon anchored on the ground which lit up with light of warm shades of white and pale yellow, helping create a wonderfully intimate atmosphere. This allowed for the hall itself to be hidden away in darkness and there were moments when the orchestra played under the mysterious shades created by just the candles and the tiny lights on their scores… beautiful! I wish somebody had captured that on a photo! Candles and an image of the globe and a blinking eye were alternatively projected onto the balloon.

I also liked the choreography around the prisoners’ chorus a lot! They moved around the stage slowly when singing and hunched or lay down around , allowing for a real connection to the actual actions in the libretto to emerge naturally. Very very well done! Which is also a good place to say how unbelievable good they sang!!!! Rarely have a heard such beautiful voices and such heartfelt singing! (**) I remember saying with friends in the interval just that, that for the prisoners chorus alone it would have been worth making the trip!

Photo Georg Anderhub

And we still have the singers!!! An absolutely brilliant cast with a pairing of Leonore and Florestan I sooo longed to hear. No secret I looooove Nina Stemme since hearing her Isolde at the ROH and there is nobody today who sings Florestan like Jonas! Who knows what Beethoven thought when he wrote the score for the singers??? It feels almost as if he wrote it just like for any other instrument, you go from A to B to C and it will create these harmonies and it will sound like this. If only it were that easy ;-))))) But then again sometimes it seems to be, or at least that is how it largely sounded on Sunday in Luzern. As natural as any instrument, as elegant and fine tuned.

The placing of the singers behind the orchestra was not ideal for the hall, as it es a wonderful concert hall, but not appropriate for any staging. This put some of the singers sometimes at a bit of a disadvantage, like Christof Strehl who’s sweet lyrical voice packs somewhat less of a punch. And Falk Struckmann was also better audible on the more energetic outbursts , where he was truly menacing ( not quite as impressive though as I found Alan Held in Paris!) It was nice to hear Christof Fischesser again (after the Lohengrin in Munich) and to hear that he not only has beautiful diction and is such an accomplished singer, but also has a totally dark and warm speaking voice! And he also seems to know what to do with it not only while singing! Rachle Harnisch was a lively Marzeline and she made a very well received effort to act as well as sing her role :-)

Peter Mattei honestly had way to little time on stage!!!! His is a beautiful instrument and I have always admired his agility and warmth. A luxury cast for Don Ferrando indeed! (Can we please invite him to sing at the ROH?? Please? :-)

And then there were Leonore.. Florestan :-) If everyone was excellent, these two were something more! I suspect for Nina Stemma and Jonas Kaufmann it wouldn’t matter if they sang from outside or while doing a hand stand or something ;-) I’m exaggerating of course, but the way those two rode the sound from the orchestra, immersed themselves into it and emerged at the same time from amongst it is incredible! I don’t remember a Fidelio where the harmonies in the orchestra were so perfectly mirrored in the voices. This must truly by what Beethoven has wished for! The way they effortlessly spiralled into agile and ringing heights within the chorus towards the very end was something exquisite! (***)

Theirs is the O, namenlose Freude which I truly believed! They made every word sound true and indeed full of joy!

Before they started the duet Leonore and Florestan looked at each other and smiled and then held hands and when they sang I really heard for the first time what “namenlose Freude!”, “ubergrosse Lust” and “himmlisches Entzucken!” can mean! There was a radio broadcast of the Fidelio on the 12 and I simply can’t stop listening to their O, namenlose Freude!

I’ve always loved this duet, but this time it gave you a feeling of total total unlimted happiness which was only picked up and continued by the final chorus.

And what a finale that was! It fitted with the whole in as it didn’t crash down on your ear to squash you as is the case in most interpretations. Abbado’s Fidelio as from beginning to end intimate and delicate, intricate and detailed, with every single note lovingly spun by each instrument into a dizzying concoction. I loved the fact that it didn’t weigh down on you to crush you with its might and force. More than once it reminded me of that hearty joy once feels with Mozart, very human, offered to be absorbed and shared. Abbado made the music approcheable and so was the final chorus, a celebreation of love and hope and freedom, heartfelt and very very intense, but not forceful.

I remember feeling crushed almost in Paris at the end, as if it was almost a declaration of war on something. Here it felt like the celebration of enlightment.

And now I know why everyone loves Abbado so, while these musicians travel to Luzern every year for the chance to make music, together! He’s a quite charmer, but a very powerful one :-)

And all this was topped with waves of applause, a rain of flowers that came gently down on orchestra, chorus, singers and conductor and by one of the most beautiful images I have seen at the end of a concert, ever! On the final applause, as this was their last performance together I guess for this year members of the chorus and orchestra literally fell in each others arms and we witnessed the most wonderful symphony of hugs! What can be more fitting to an ending of Fidelio? :-)

Beethoven: Fidelio (Finale) - Abbado, Kaufmann, Stemme 12 August 2010

Thanks TheHumperdinck for the video!

So this was:
Beethovens „Fidelio op. 72“, in einer halbszenischen Aufführung
Textbuch von Joseph Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning und Georg
Friedrich Treitschke nach dem Libretto Léonore ou L’Amour conjugal
von Jean-Nicolas Bouilly
Gesprochene Dialoge neu eingerichtet von Tatjana Gürbaca

Mahler Chamber Orchestra
LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
Arnold Schoenberg Chor Wien (Einstudierung Erwin Ortner)
Claudio Abbado, Dirigent
Peter Mattei: Don Fernando
Falk Struckmann: Don Pizarro
Jonas Kaufmann: Florestan
Nina Stemme: Leonore
Christof Fischesser: Rocco
Rachel Harnisch: Marzelline
Christoph Strehl: Jaquino
Juan Sebastian Acosta: Erster Gefangener
Levente Pall: Zweiter Gefangener

15. August 2010
Konzertsaal des KKL, Luzern

Don’t be to bothered about the awful pics from my ageing and exceedingly crappy camera and enjoy the music!!

(*) There is actually one more of these… in Edinburgh a few years ago I heard Tatjana Vassiljeva play the Prokofiev cello sonata on a Stradivarius cello.. I still get blurry eyed just when I think of it … I have been looking for a recording of hers of it ever since, but with no luck :-(

(**) Which reminds me that I still have to share mu thoughts about the Meistersinger in Cardiff and the absolutely amazing chorus of the WNO!

(***) I am still amazed at how Jonas' full and rich voice travels so easily above such orchestration and its capacity to sort of expand and fill space like this has increased tremendously these years, how he does it I have no idea but it certainly is an almost physical phenomenon. I sometimes almost wish I had some kind of x ray vision to see the particles start vibrating away from him , touching the next and setting the wave in motion :-) And it’s a darn pity I can’t bottle those high notes at the end of Fidelio and roll them into a tight foil and smack them over the head of some of the absolutely daft critics I have read! I’d love them to feel those bright, shiny notes ringing in their ears!

Jonas Kaufmann: Verismo

2010-08-12T14:52:00.007+01:00

Click below for the Decca page for the Verismo Album, Jonas, Pappano and MUSIC, MUSIC MUSIC!!!!!
Enjoy!!!

Jonas Kaufmann: Verismo

Jonas Kaufmann Verismo Arias

2010-08-09T17:53:00.006+01:00

Photo © Regina Recht
In case you didn't know Jonas and the wonderful Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under the magic wand of Tony Pappano recorded earlier this year an album of Verismo arias which is coming soon! In like very very soon :-))

If you can't wait from today you can preorder:
in Germany from amazon.de , scheduled issue date 17 September!
and in France from fnac.com , schedules issue date in France 27 September
UPDATE! (thanks HM:-) and on amazon.co.uk now listed as well, with no details on date yet ....

Nothing so far in the UK, but there is nothing to stop you from ordering from the above (check international sending costs before you do though to avoid surprises).

So, Verismo! But what is on it???? One thing is sure, it ain't Puccini! So who is up for a bit of a guessing game? ;-)))

From information available publicly, mostly things Jonas himself mentioned throughout the year in interviews, here is a potential list in no particular order:

Francesco Cilea:
..because he is going to sing Maurizio soon :-)))
Adriana Lecouvreur - L´anima ho stanca
Adriana Lecouvreur - La dolcissima effigie

and because he's put a personal stamp on the next one...
L'Arlesiana -Il Lamento di Federico

Pietro Mascagni:
..also because he said he would like to sing this..
Cavalleria Rusticana - Mamma, quel vino e generoso

and this is also less known:
Iris - Apri la tua finestra

Umberto Giordano:
..well, can't have him without this gorgeous opera! twice if possible :-)
Andrea Chenier - Un di all'azzurro spazio
Andrea Chenier - Come un bel dì di maggio
Andrea Chenier - Vicino a te (this is certain!!! thanks Kende! of course ,the beautiful duet with Eva-Maria Westbroek!!)

Ruggero Leoncavallo:
This is certain! :-)
Pagliacci - Vesti la giubba

but there could also be this much lesser known
La Boheme - Testa adorata

Amilcare Ponchielli:
If he is up than it must be this..
La Gioconda - Cielo e mar

but there has also been talk of this opera
I lituani - which i have never heard yet and of which i don't know the tenor aria...

Riccardo Zandonai:
...with this beauuuutiful aria! also certain i would say :-)
Giulietta e Romeo - Giulietta! son io!

Licinio Refice - Ombra di nube
This is certain as well ;-)

That is as far as my crystal ball would go :-)

Suggestions, ideas, comments? Anything to add or take away? Any favourites? Versions?
Feel free too add your thoughts :-)

I am not the biggest fan of Versimo myself, but some of these i really like and others i expect to get to know :-) Let's put it this way.. if these two can't make me rethink Verismo for myself then i am a lost cause, which i am hoping will not be the case :-)

Jonas Kaufmann is Lohengrin fom Bayreuth on your internet radio

2010-07-25T11:06:00.007+01:00

Photogallery act 1 here thanks to Bayern Klassik!

And i am looving it! wonderful chorus and orchestra sound! magic and emotional :-)

Foto: Lammel from the http://www.nordbayerischer-kurier.de/

This afternoon Lohengrin from Bayreuth!!

Sunday , 25. July 2010 CET time : 15.57 bis 22.00 Uhr // UK time 14:57 to 21:00

Lohengrin
Besetzung 2010
Musikalische Leitung Andris Nelsons
Regie Hans Neuenfels
Bühnenbild Reinhard von der Thannen
Kostüme Reinhard von der Thannen
Licht Franck Evin
Video Björn Verloh
Dramaturgie Henry Arnold
Mitarbeit Konzeption Susanne Øglænd
Chorleitung Eberhard Friedrich

Lohengrin Jonas Kaufmann
Heinrich der Vogler Georg Zeppenfeld
Elsa von Brabant Annette Dasch
Friedrich von Telramund Hans-Joachim Ketelsen
Ortrud Evelyn Herlitzius
Der Heerrufer des Königs Samuel Youn
1. Edler Stefan Heibach
2. Edler Willem Van der Heyden
3. Edler Rainer Zaun
4. Edler Christian Tschelebiew

And there are plenty of images of the production in the Festspiele videoguides :

http://videoguide.bayreuther-festspiele.de/startvideoguide.html

Radio details of various German stations here :

MDR live here

hr2 Kultur live here

SWR live here

WDR 3 live here

Bayern2 plus live here

BR-Klassik live here

Enjoy the afternoon :-)

Carmen, à la recherche du temps perdu…..

2010-06-08T03:28:00.006+01:00

Suffering from an acute « Carmenitis » this weekend I have been in search of a fix :-)

All the way to Munich on a beautiful sunny day, the first true summer day and the first time this year I have been able to sit down in the sun and have a cold beer… the little pleasures in life! And there was some revisitation of Kaiserschmarn and other local “Leckerbissen”. It’s an absolutely enjoyable town, bursting with green from every corner after a long period of rain and I find myself falling under its almost Mediterranean charm again and again. Which is lucky I guess because it is also the place which gives me white hairs every single booking period and is the cause of endless frustration. But once I am there it’s all too easy to forget all that and just relax and enjoy! And by the time I leave I always look forward to the next visit, which is something I will try to keep in mind... for the next booking period ;-)))

And this time I had a Carmen to look forward to as well. Funnily enough I have listened to loads of them this year, especially from the Met and I missed seeing it live.
It’s not easy to write about it and I have been trying to gain some distance from last night to put things into perspective for myself as well and filter out any elements that really had nothing to do with the show itself, even if they influenced my experience of it.

After all it had nothing to do with the music or the show that the place is a baking oven in the summer where oxygen is at scarce supply. Sitting around here at 16-18 degrees in the house with all your senses wide awake is how I am used to do things, not fighting for air on every breath and having to consider if I can physically sit through the 2nd part without having to disturb my neighbours because I have to go in search of air before I pass out… Silly as it might seem, being able to breath properly does influence your enjoyment of music :-( And having an evening I have been literally dreaming about for months and months jeopardised like that is not what I had been expecting.

Anyhow, nothing I can or could do about that, so I have been chewing down my frustration to find my way back to the music and what I would like to hold on to from last night.

The biggest draw was the singing and it was definitely the highlight of the evening!

There was even a surprise change of cast as Kyle Ketelsen made an early debut at the BSO as Escamillo replacing the ill Ildebrando. I’d say he made quite a splash ;-) The role seems to suit him very well, not only acting wise but also vocally, as he had those smooth warm lows that many miss in Votre toast. And he definitely had the personality to go with it! Finally a self-assured Escamillo, who managed to credibly be a people’s person as well. He has charisma and he worked it very well. And the French diction was really good. He deservedly received applause after his aria and an even more enthusiastic reception at the curtain calls. Congratulations to Kyle for his BSO debut! :-) (Maybe when he comes back to the BSO in February for his planned run of Escamillo he will even bring his own toreador costume with him, from an Amsterdam production I think he participated in. I would have loved to see that instead of what he wore last night ;-))))

Micaela is a bit of an ungrateful role but not when the singing is as skilled as Genia Kühmeier’s. Her tone is well crafted and even if sometimes the high notes can be on the hard side, her duet with Jose in the 1 act was one of the most beautiful moments in the entire evening! In fact of all the Carmen’s I have seen in the last year this is by far my very favourite! The way her and Jonas voice melded in the softest of piani was a joy! I wasn’t that blown away by her aria in the 3rd act, but the extra watered down music there made it feel unusually long and trying, by not fault of Mrs Kuhmeier whatsoever. She too would have deserved a nicer look, something more young and girlish, what they made her wear looked a tad too motherly… But I am quite taken with the way she sings and very curious of how her voice will suit lieder (she has a recital at Wigmore coming up) It’s likely to sound warmer on the smaller scale of lieder so I am quite looking forward to that and hoping I will be able to go listen.

Elina Garanca has been hailed as the best Carmen. I think it is a matter of taste, and it's not necessarily mine, however, she sings absolutely beautifully! And that is sooo much more than what you get from most Carmen’s today. And it all starts with singing the part well :-) I don’t think one has to have the deepest darkest voice ever to sing the role, in fact my own absolute favourite in the role is a soprano :-) Elina is a very good Carmen, there is no doubt about that, but I did like her more in the Met broadcast and definitely at the ROH than in Munich. Carmen is almost as much about personality and character than it is about singing. And as said I have seen her pull it off quite successfully at the ROH recently. Some details I had doubts about back then, but it was a question of direction at the time. This at the BSO I think was the same case, or rather lack of direction. The dancing was inexistent and she was on her own much more successful at mockery than at seduction. However having said that, I feel they didn’t make the best out of her skills in this production, not even musically. Her amazing singing skills are elegant and smooth and in this particular role the music needs to shape the contrasts and moods more, not smooth it out even more. Even if we know Elina is a wonderful belcanto singer, I know she can be a good Carmen and she can sound like Carmen! It felt unfair that her Habanera didn’t get any applause and that her card aria could have gotten much more. Especially the Habanera! This is THE showstopper, it is created as such, Carmen’s entrance is a big moment and her aria should make everyone fall under her spell… For me the conductor has no excuse for not making that happen! She had the goods, he prevented her from selling them :-( I mean he lingered it down to the point where the audience didn’t even wake up on time to clap. And no, the fact that he continued with the music is no excuse, it just makes it worse. A said, I am convinced this is supposed to stop the show, Bizet must have wanted it! Besides the public reacts to sparks, they certainly did after the toreador song and the flower song. I understand that this was not the only evening the Habanera didn’t really ignite and this should have been fixed. It is so import in setting the scene for Carmen, who she is, how she is, her charm, the fascination she breaths into people. Because it doesn’t really happen here, she has to work that much harder at it and it shouldn’t be necessary. Simply because she really is better than that and deserved her starry moment, just like all the other protagonists. Luckily, she is one determined women and she really drives Jose mad convincingly in the 3rd act and holds her own as well in the last one and the public appreciate her :-)

I’m not even going to bother commenting too much about how such a beautiful women can be made to wear what are surely one of the most awful and unattractive dresses I have seen in Carmen. And why she has to wear that stupid wig… there are naturally blond women in Seville! And gypsies have all kinds of colours of hair. But if she decides she would like to be dark for Carmen I think she should get a nice wig made especially for her to show off her beauty and prevent people from putting some of these monstrous things on her head:-S As I was saying, she deserves better.
Photos from http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de/

By the way, there was chemistry on stage between this Carmen and her Jose, maybe not of the intensely sensual kind, but there were good vibes. They were comfortable around each other and I kind off liked that she didn’t do some of the things that bothered me at the ROH and felt too exaggerated ; instead she gave Carmen a sometimes tender angle. During the seguedille and also in the scene with Jose in act two she touched his face in a tender gesture, almost caressing his cheeks. Now that felt 100% natural from her. And why shouldn’t she? She is in love with him, at least for some time. Carmen can after all be many things in many different ways. Maybe this more tender, fun loving type of Carmen works better for Elina. Set against a particular violent Jose, as was the case here it works well, as her mockery can easily be understood as a defence mechanism. After all it is not always clear who is the victim among the two, they actually both are to various degrees.
Anyways, I thought this natural tenderness suited her more than what I have seen in her Carmens before and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of that, maybe it is the way to finding HER Carmen, rather than what people would expect her to be.

I for one am learning to really appreciate her singing and I am sure I will see her as Carmen again, I’ll be looking forward to it :-)

So, Jose…. I have seen Jonas' Jose only once before and it’s no secret it is why I went to Munich in the first place- to hear it again. The downside is it feels like having a spoon of water when you have been thirsty for the whole day! Not nearly enough! To be fair I have seen the Scala Carmen on TV and listened to the one from the Met on the radio, so technically I heard him sing it more often than I have seen it. What I find so fascinating about it (besides the singing ;-) is that each Jose was almost completely different from the others. The one from the ROH DVD was somehow the most balanced, the Zurich one was on a totally insecure extreme , the one at the Scala moved again towards the centre, but definitely had a more dangerous edge to him, the one at the Met sounded like a rougher character and this last one I have seen was likely the most unstable and volatile of all. The ending is not as extreme as at the ROH, but none were, however the build up here was scarier. This Jose has a screw loose and it is obvious. When Carmen first mocks him in the 2nd act he already brutally throws her on the floor in rage (I would have headed for the mountains at high speed right then and there if I was her!). When Zuniga appears, he nearly kills him, there is no sign of the scared solider anywhere and jealousy obviously transforms this Jose in an instant into a very dangerous man. During the fights in the 3rd act he repeatedly tries to throttle Carmen and draws his knife against defending gypsies. He managed to do it safely for Elina but so realistically that I positively felt uncomfortable watching it. That really is how domestic violence looks like and it actually is quite credible to think that Jose would be such a despicable character.

Copyright BSO Photo

Lucky I have also the sweet duet with Micalea to think about, so as not be to completed scared by this Jose. Impeccable singing aside, it absolutely fascinating how well he projects his voice speaking. He was the only one who was equally audible and clear when speaking and singing, who sounded like he was really talking not struggling to remember some lines and rattling down like the rest. (really, I couldn’t hear most of what the rest had been mumbling in dialogues, much less understand the French).

One detail I liked very very much! And of course it would be one of the tender things rather than the pushing around-skillz ;-) You know when Jose and Carmen have their first fight in act 2 and she mocks him? It totally enrages him and he shuts her up and tells her to listen! He is totally out of control there and in fury, now how does he then mellow down in an instant to start the flower song so introspectively? Hard to believe he had a plan of what he would say when he was shouting at her. Now here he takes a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his forehead presumably and the rests of the flower fall out. And it is an instant, almost surprising in his rage, reminder of how enthralled he is with this women, how captive of her charms. And it is that instant realisation and introspection that triggers him into the flowersong. It was perfectly done and it now made total sense to me as well. (there is a similar gesture in the ROH DVD but there it feels more like he seeks out the flower to remind himself of what took him to prison in the first place, the promise of love from the women who now cruelly mocks him; here the gesture had a slightly different impact).

I also liked the fact that his first je t’adore I the 2nd act is said jokingly, as a reply to her question about being sorry to have been in prison for her beautiful eyes. It makes sense for it to be in this light tone, because actually until the flower song he doesn’t admit his love for her. And there are a million other details which make you look up and listen and show you how his moods swing and how he slides closer and closer to the precipice.

Vocally it’s divine! I mean there is no reason not to say he is indeed in absolute gorgeous vocal form and the best Jose around. And I couldn’t urge people enough who haven’t heard him sing it yet to do so. If there is a chance to have somebody sing this part with such engagement and such feeling you have to grab it with both hands and all ten fingers if you can! He can tell you how beautiful this opera can really be and what sheer depth of feeling lives within it. His Jose is special (as are many of the things he sings) and it is something you have to experience for yourself to understand.

At least I’ve not heard anyone before to make my cry when he sings:
"Ah! il est temps encore.../oui, il est temps encore.../ O ma Carmen, laisse-moi/ te sauver, toi que j'adore!/ ah! laisse-moi te sauver/ et me sauver avec toi.../ O ma Carmen, il est temps encore... "

Each time when i think i’ve figured out what my favourite bit of his part of the score is, he puts some twist on some other bit and I get all confused again!

While the singing was amazing the other bits weren’t at the same level… Yes the production is old, but that is not the problem. The problem is it probably was bad when it first came on stage. I mean there is huge hill on stage, covering all of it and leaving about 2,max 3 meters free at the stage front for the action to develop… that is unless we count the stumbling down the hill and climbing uphill as action as well. Which of course doesn’t make all that much sense for people who have to sing, so most of the time somebody is sitting on that hill. And since the hill is a fixture, and it is perched behind the table in the 2nd act, dancing is limited to very close space. By the way it was the first Carmen I saw where one could not hear almost any footsteps at Lilas Pastia when people are dancing! Of course it is because they are perched on the hill busy holding on and singing. Bottom hill space is covered by some ballet number, totally out of place here in this supposedly earthy and low down place. Of course there is a lot of more of less involuntary front stage singing going on… but there is no place to go but front stage! While I understand that in an old production you may have ladies' dresses look like made out of curtains, or that flowers are made of plastic to last for years for throwing or considerations of proportions will have a plaza de torros at the back look like a playhouse whenever somebody stands next to it, people waving little Spanish paper flags at the fiesta in the end, etc there are contemporary details which are less understandable or easy to ignore. Is the crisis that bad that we can’t have in a whole production 1 natural flower for Carmen to throw at Jose? I mean those things will survive the atomic bomb, judging by how Jose kept trampling on them and playing football in rage with the ones on the floor without doing any visible damage to any.. now that is high quality plastic! But I doubt that any of those would have kept him warm in prison...I am not asking for bunches, just 1, please!

Then there was the infamous tent! Bottom hill in act 2 we have the table and on the hill several shabby tents. Now I was sat at the right and unless I twisted my head backwards the tents were inevitably in my visual field. Which I don’t mind, fair enough.. if only! If only somebody hadn’t decided that it was a good idea to have somebody make movements in the tent while Jose was singing his flowersong!!!! There is nothing as distracting as stupid movement on one side of the stage during the most sensitive of arias, which goes on at the other end of the stage! There is no way in hell I will be able to forgive this stupid distraction that couldn’t wait for 2 more min! Who had that idea????? Because I for one could have certainly done without it, it was pretty obvious why the tents were there anyway.

And somebody else also thought it was a good idea to perch a flower right on top of Elina’s head, which invariably looked funny at the worst time, in the end scene! Jose pulls her veil off and the indestructible flower stays stuck on the top of her head, like those silly adornments some use for babies. Why can’t we put the flower somewhere where Carmen will look nice with it, not silly? And poor women, why make her wear that dress that my great great grand mother might have worn and faded in time (mind you they also put the toreros socks in the washer with the dress because the dress only had a memory of colour while the socks had a suspicious pale pink colour…).

Anyways, old clothes and even big hills I may not like but I can live with it.. moving tents need to go!!!!

There were also some strange traffic light effects in the lighting, bam, bright, bam, dark, sudden flashes to suggest mood changes, but it was way too rough and it really didn’t do much to fill the empty space above the hill which was huge…. It was only towards the end that it struck me that I was missing a moon , some stars, anything in that empty space to suggest the sky.

I don’t know how the old Tosca at the BSO was, but I was talking with a friend and really they could have done with a new Carmen production in Munich instead, there can’t be that much wrong with an old Tosca as is wrong in this Carmen…

In retrospective I liked this Carmen because of the singers very much, but I much preferred the production in Zurich, even with all its peculiarities.

Another detail I absolutely loved and want to mention was the children’s chorus in the first act! It is the children’s chorus of the BSO; they have beauuuuuutiful voices and they sang absolutely perfectly and in an impeccable French (while at the same time hanging from those high metal gates). I was totally impressed and they deserve a HUUUUUGGEE Bravo!!, every single one of those little wonderful stars and their chorus master as well! :-)

The conducting was some said French. It wasn’t the marchy Carmen that some produce throughout, but it did have quite a few weaknesses as far as I am concerned, some of which I have mentioned. Bizet is not Gounod, nor does it need to be slowed down and lyricised to that degree, it doesn’t fit the story nor the place. And some bits where taken way too loud. Just because a singer like Jonas is capable of piercing through considerable orchestration doesn’t mind one should run totally wild with the incisive strokes at the end of act3 and make it extra difficult to get your voice into the noise! The whole point there is for us to feel how out of control he is, but we still need to hear what he is saying to feel the threat. We absolutely need to hear that he tells her she is his and that they will see each other again. Otherwise, with that noise drowning all out, he could be telling her to go to hell for all we know…. Never mind the introduction to the last scene which was not stylish, just loud. I really missed more shades, colours, moods, tensions in the music.

But I feel with Carmen that I am in a search of the proverbial lost time… Silly me I haven’t seen the ROH Carmen live when it was premiered and the DVD with Pappano’s conducting is there to haunt me again and again, as is the lively production, full of movement and colour, which may be over the top, but at least it can’t be accused of not making the most of every single note, every single second of the opera. Never mind that the more Carmens I see, the more fascinated I become with Anna Caterina Antonacci and the more i regret every single time, not having had the chance to see her and Jonas live with Pappano’s Bizet bathing my ears….

But I do have a bit of that heaven every single time I hear Jonas sing Jose and for that I am happy to have been cooking my soul out last night in Munich :-)

Carmen

Georges Bizet
Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy

Nationaltheater Munich
Sunday, 6 June 2010

Conductor Karel Mark Chichon
Based on a production by Lina Wertmüller
Set and Costumes Enrico Job
Lighting Franco Marri
Chorus Andrés Máspero
Children Chorus Kinderchor der Bayerischen Staatsoper

Zuniga Christian Van Horn
Moralès Nikolay Borchev
Don José Jonas Kaufmann
Escamillo Kyle Ketelsen
Dancairo Christian Rieger
Remendado Kevin Conners
Frasquita Lana Kos
Mercédès Anaïk Morel
Carmen Elīna Garanča
Micaela Genia Kühmeier

The Bavarian State Orchestra
The Chorus and the children Chorus of the Bavarian State Opera

Claudia Muzio "Ombra di nube" Refice

2010-05-27T01:56:00.005+01:00

Thanks A7sogno for the video :-)

Era il ciel un arco azzurro di fulgor
chiara luce si versava nel mio cuor.
Ombra di nube, non mi offuscare,
della vita non velarmi la beltà.
Vola o nube, vola via da me lontan;
sia disperso questo mio tormento arcan.
Ancora luce, ancora azzurro!
Il sereno vegga per leternità!

If you are wondering who Claudia Muzio was check out more videos from A7sogno above. Do not be surprised if her piani will move you to tears :-) Her Casta Diva i find more touching than even Callas and her Addio del passato is one of a kind! Don't think you will be able to stop at one aria because you won't :-)

Jonas Kaufmann concert Munich live on internet radio

2010-05-24T22:05:00.000+01:00

For all of those who would like to listen to a live rendition of your favourites from Jonas' Sehnsucht CD, check this out tomorrow evening:

Date
Tuesday 25. May 2010 20.00 UhrMünchen, Philharmonie im Gasteig (7pm London time)
Live-Übertragung auf BR-KLASSIK . Details here

Live radio BR-Klassik

The timeslot allocated is 3h, so it should cover the interval interview with JK as well as any encores ;-)

Program
Ludwig van Beethoven
Leonoren-Ouvertüre Nr. 3 C-dur, op. 72a
aus "Fidelio": "Gott, welch' Dunkel hier" – "In des Lebens Frühlingstagen"; Introduktion und Arie des Florestan, 2. Akt
Wofgang Amadeus Mozart aus "Die Zauberflöte":Ouvertüre
"Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön"; Arie des Tamino, 1. Akt Nr. 3
Carl Maria von Weber aus "Oberon": Ouvertüre
aus "Der Freischütz": "Nein, länger trag ich nicht die Qualen"; Rezitativ und Arie des Max, 1. Akt (Nr. 3)
Richard Wagner aus "Lohengrin": Vorspiel, 3. Akt (mit Konzertschluss)
aus "Parsifal": "Amfortas! Die Wunde! Sie brennt mir hier zur Seite"; Szene des Parsifal, 2. Aufzug
Franz Schubert aus "Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern": Entr'acte nach dem 2. Aufzug, B-Dur
Richard Wagner aus "Die Walküre": "Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond"; Szene des Siegmund, 1. Aufzug
aus "Lohengrin": Vorspiel, 1. Akt
"In fernem Land unnahbar euren Schritten"; Gralserzählung des Lohengrin, 3. Akt

Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor
Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Leitung: Michael Güttler

Remembering the Dusseldorf concert, which i saw live i am soooooo looking forward to hearing Wintersturme again :-)

Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------------------

By the way, for anyone wanting to watch the video recording of the concert in Berlin on the 16 May 2010:
Berliner Philharmoniker
Claudio Abbado Conductor
Christianne Stotijn Mezzo-Soprano
Jonas Kaufmann Tenor
Herren des Rundfunkchors Berlin
Simon Halsey Chorus Master
Herren des Chors des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Michael Alber Chorus Master
Franz Schubert Gretchen am Spinnrade D 118
Franz Schubert Nacht und Träume D 827
Franz Schubert Erlkönig D 328
Arnold Schoenberg From Gurrelieder: Part 1 No. 11: Orchestral Prelude and Lied der Waldtaube
Johannes Brahms Rinaldo Cantata

Here is your link to the digital concert hall of the Philarmonie, where you can enjoy it in very good sound and video quality for 10 euro.

A bit of beauty....

2010-05-13T14:09:00.002+01:00

"Ave Verum Corpus" by Karl Jenkins. Sung by Bryn Terfel and Simon Keenlyside

No words, nothing else, just enjoy!

Operaplot Winners 2010

2010-05-10T22:15:00.003+01:00

So here they are! Congratulations :-)

http://theomniscientmussel.com/2010/05/operaplot-2010-winners/

Name: Sam Neuman NYC Tweet: Father is less than enthusiastic about son’s love affair with aging, bankrupt, terminally ill prostitute. Can you believe it? [La Traviata]

Name: Micaela Baranello Princeton, NJ Tweet: Married girl in search of a good time accidentally causes moral collapse of Rome, influx of campy tenor nurses. [Coronation of Poppea]

Name: Daniel John Kelley NYC Tweet: So I wrote this guy this EPIC love letter & he’s like “No thanks”, but now I’m married & rich & he’s all “OMG I LURV U!!” WTF? [Eugene Onegin]

Name: Bryan Johnson NYC Tweet: You’d think after so many years of planning double murders she’d remember the axe. Instead, she dances with it and drops dead. [Elektra]

Name: James Harrington Nashville, Tennessee Tweet: Idealistic poets take note: apparently “I wish to end economic injustice” sounds a lot like “just go ahead and kill me” in french [Andrea Chenier]

:-)

For the runners up and more, check the link above :-)

And for all of us who didn't win the big prizes there is a little something for participating:

Click on this link from Miss Mussel's site and get a download of Mein! from Jonas Kaufmann's Mullerin Cd :-)))

Great choice! and thanks very much :-)))

Aida ROH

2010-05-08T20:00:00.003+01:00

(Photo pinched via Mrs MC :-) as i will readily admit! If the author recognises it please let me know and i will happily acknowledge the copyright! I tried in vain to find one in the papers but everybody focused on the blood and gore and i wanted to start this with what I liked MOST and this is it :-)

I found it interesting how well the contrast was perceptible between the first and second part. In the first two acts you get overwhelmed by the “paganism” of the society, the sheer brutality and violence of war and the power ingrained within its hierarchy. Even in the scene between Amneris and Aida this is evident and rightly so, because it is a display of power.

I liked it at a second viewing even more and I guess I will settle in with it the more I see of it. It gains when seen from above and at a distance. From close up the turning back wall is ugly, there is no confusion about it. Real, piece of scrap-ugly. From above things change in an interesting way. The floor becomes an interesting and much better visible combination of sandstone like edges and steel blue stone in the centre area. I also realised from above why/how the temples gets created by lifting the back edge of the sandstone floor and the tomb in the end by lifting the front edge. Yes, visually it’s not that striking and works from close up front stage only appreciatively. From above the support structure of the floor pieces is less visible and the whole geometry works better. Somebody should really box up the skeleton beneath the floor pieces and it would become more like a building block and less like pieces of wood ripped out of the construction. I understand from interviews and comments that budget as tighter than initially planned and some cuts had to be made, but it should have been obvious that in parts the sets are just too rudimentary and don’t really meld all that well with the costumes sometimes. However, while I have issues with the grey wall and the lifting floor, which while cleverly engineered, could have been better executed visually there are bits that I do like, for example the shades in Amneris’ chamber and the interesting table with a large basin with inlays in the same, the backdrop to the Nile scene suggesting some kind of dark water, the stone floor, which I wouldn’t have minded seeing continued in the walls, the light pitches in the prayer scene, etc.

The lighting is fabulous, gloomy dark in the fist part and intimate in the second. And the costumes are beautiful. Although it is true that you can’t really distinguish visually between Aida’s people and Radames’, the former are there for such a short period of time that the lack of contrast doesn’t bother me all that much. One thing I always appreciated about McVicar and his costume designer colleagues is that they obviously care about the singers, in that they want them looking the best they can and feeling as comfortable as possible. Cast members have said publicly how comfortable they feel in the costumes and there is no doubt that the look beautiful. Ok, so Amneris might not be a good example for comfortable ;-))) But buy does she look fantastic and regal! The make up and hairpiece are amazing and I’d love to be her for one day and wear all of that! And one night I’m going to break in and steal that Aida costume! I’m in love with it! Yes, I know they are OTT, but this is theatre! And since at least in Radames society it is implied women have real power, it fits that they should be overly adorned, while the men are dressed in natural and neutral colours of grey and shades of brown. I like Radames’ costumes very much and I think they work very well for Mr Alvarez who looks like the warrior he is supposed to be. And in the love duets with Aida, their contrasting looks work well visually, suggesting a nice touch of romantic fantasy.

I also found the red cloth Radames carries to be a clever idea. It is a token of wars fought, drenched in dried blood and passed on to the next army leader as a sign of good luck in battle. In the triumphal scene Radames returns with it displaying it, drenched anew in enemy blood. Brutal yes, but interesting :-)

On the brutal cue, the ballet&sacrifice scenes, that some found so shocking, I’d say they are only mildly so and again on repeat viewing what lasts is the brutality rather than the more than usual amount of flesh on display. And so it should as the clear intention is to display a society preparing for war in a almost frenzied way. I too had the impression the dance scenes were somehow “unfinished”, raw. It seems unlikely that they should have been rushed and really work in progress. My impression is that the impact is intentional, bringing it into reality and away from a staged effect. For example in the triumphal scene the movement is very well coordinated with the music but the dancers look more like men coming back from battle and displaying their skills than dancers performing a choreography. Yes, there is a lot of flesh on display but the feeling of so much muscle covered in blood is indeed rather scary.

Where I think this whole concept of keeping it rather real and not “prettying it up” has not worked so well is in the scene in Amneris chambers. It’s pretty in your face sensual all right … but it made me giggle because it looked rather more like clumsy amateurs giving Kamasutra a try and not really succeeding much. I think a tiny bit more of artsy ballet skillz would have gone a long way in making this more convincing and um…. flexible ;-)

But all in all, this is a long way of being boo-worthy! It might not be the grandest and greatest Aida and it is worth tweaking a bit more on the future maybe, but it is a valid concept. And if you look away from some of the imperfect details the big picture that emerges works around some clear ideas. I never felt the brutality and cruelty that riddles the score so poignantly before, it becomes much more evident under McVicars dark light.

On to the actual show and more importantly, the music.. (I’ve send the second and third performance)

On both nights the whole show took a while to get going and it continued building up to the 3rd act. Probably also because the pouring rain outside triggered more coughing than usual. I could have strangled them that is how persistent some were in the piani passages…
Once it had ignited it was really good. I want to say straight away how sorry I am to not have had the chorus bow on either of the nights, They deserve applause and praise! Wonderful diction and the piano beginning to the prayer scene is amazing!!! I do have a bit of the quibble in the judgement scene though… It is one of my favourites and I like the priests to sound a bit more powerful, the sound here was slightly obscured by the grey ugly wall. It also is the single scene in the whole show where I also would have liked the music to be a bit more incisive. I missed a bit more of the ring of doom in the music and a heavier, slightly longer silence in between questions to weigh the atmosphere down even more. It is the only moment when I wished for a slightly slower pace, but again this is just personal taste. All in all I enjoyed, nay, savoured Luisotti’s conducting!!! I really love Verdi, but because it is so tuneful, few get the music right and take it seriously. It spite of somebody telling me Verdi must have enjoyed his cheese writing this I definitely think it should not sound cheesy :-)

(Besides, just because you remember Verdi after hearing it once does not take away any of it’s genius, quite the contrary; too many look down all too often on this particular talent he had of creating “operatic hits”. If it’s so light and easy, why didn’t others do it as well as he did time and time again? Maybe because nobody else could do it quite as spectacularly and naturally :-) Which is not to say the stuff you can’t sing in the show is not as nice, of course it is, there are many shades of beauty, many ways to take out breath away with music. But make you feel like this music belongs to you from the first time you hear it is also a thing of extraordinary beauty! Verdi’s gift to us :-)

So Aida should be grand and crushing and exciting and uplifting and touching and tender and intimate, and so good that you stop to listen, not sing along in your mind :-) For me Luisotti got it absolutely right! It was wonderful glorious Verdi. And he drove those ensemble moments with decision and passion reminding me once more that nobody really could create ensembles like Verdi.

Photo from the Daily mail

Marianne Corentti is a fierce Amneris and she has vast experience with the role which of course is evident on stage and the public connects to her immediately. It’s also quite amazing that she pulls of the amazingly complicate costume as if she wore this every day :-) She looks and sounds impressive and the power in her voice is a good match for Amneris’ constant power display. On the 2nd night the energy was really flying between her and Alvarez’ Radames in the confrontation scene in the last act. And her torment in the judgment scene, when she realises where her own inability to deal with feelings in any other way than flinging her power about has lead to, is very real and touching.

And I really really liked Marcelo Alvarez’Radames. Ive heard him before, but never live :-) I did think the role could be taking him to the limits and sometimes it probably does, but he stays always on the safe side and the singing is never other than elegant. His voice is beautiful and he gives it his all on stage. I was really impressed how believable a character he made Radames and although maybe some of the dramatic passages in the role take more effort, the lyrical passages are made for him! I don’t care what people may have said, he suits the role very well and it suits him! There were also for him some wonderful details like when he kneels in front of Aida when she rejects him or his hurt when he realises she has tricked him. He sings with utmost passion and commitment and his voice carries the nobility and dignified rage as well as the romantic tones well, he convinces both as the soldier and the lover. The Nile scene was riveting and the scene between Radames and Amneris which follows was the best of the whole show in the first night I went! It left everyone literally breathless and even the coughers were stunned! At the end of it I felt like jumping up and shouting Bravi Bravi! That is how much I loved it! I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
His diction was always impeccable and it was thanks to him that the lyricism and the beauty of the final scene came across in the first performance.

By the next one he owned the role even more, as did everyone, which kind of proves that if you can it is always better to go to the show further in the run as things will have smoothed out:-) The Nile duet between Aida and Radames was really beautiful and on the Il ciel dei nostri amori come scordar potrem… I felt really breathless! Micaela Carosi as Aida also brought a warmer tone to her singing that in the first night and the O patria mia, non ti vedrò mai più! was really heartfelt and full of emotion. Compared to the first night the Nile scene was definitely the winner on the night, both duets Aida Amonasro and Aida Radames being really well done. Equally beautiful and more touching the final duel in the tomb; I this production I definitely prefer the intimate scenes in the second part, I think musically as well as visually.

Photograph: Neil Libbert for the Observer

I personally liked Marco Vratogna’s Amonasro. His ultradramatic voice works very well for the authoritarian figure and literally pierced through the orchestra in some of his incisive lines. He may feel a tad young to be Aida’s father, but he dominates with such authority that nobody would doubt is position as the warrior king. He is probably the best actor in the entire cast and he has real stage presence, the pressure he exercises over Aida is palpable.

Robert Lloyd still has the warmth and depth of voice for a King :-) It still and always is a pleasure to hear and see him again. Having heard his Philip in the Don Carlo from Paris I was slightly underwowed by Giacomo Prestia. He gives a solid performance, but I guess I expected him to have somewhat more authority and punch in his voice.

I enjoyed it the second time more than the first and am happily looking forward to seeing and above all hearing it again one more time before the run end. If you can get a ticket go and listen and watch and make up you own mind about it :-)

Aida
May 01, 04 2010 ROH
Giuseppe Verdi
Director David McVicar
Set designs Jean-Marc Puissant
Costume designs Moritz Junge
Lighting design Jennifer Tipton
Choreography Fin Walker
Martial Arts David Greeves

Performers
Conductor Nicola Luisotti
Aida Micaela Carosi
Radames Marcelo Álvarez
Amneris Marianne Cornetti
Amonasro Marco Vratogna
Ramfis Giacomo Prestia
King of Egypt Robert Lloyd
Priestess Elisabeth Meister§
Messenger Ji-Min Park

PPS To my “cheesy friend” ;-) Thanks for giving me the opportunity to get this particular beef off my chest, I have been wanting to declare my undying love for Verdi for quite some time now ;-))))) If Verdi liked his gorgonzola and mozzarella, yumm! So do I :-))))) Laaaa donna e moooobile, qual piiiumaaaa al ventooooo.... Actually, no! Cause that is still partially on my top 3 black list... Beeeella figliaa dell'aaaaaamore, schiiiiiavo son dei vezzi tuuuuooooooi......

Rant!

2010-05-08T18:53:00.001+01:00

And now the rant….
I’ve gritted my teeth because I really wanted at least to say my bit about Aida without further delay. I’ve slept about 5h last night but I felt I owe a considerable lot of overdue thoughts on various things I’ve seen and heard that I decided to forego the nap and do some writing this afternoon… I felt properly knackered after last night’s JDF concert and this morning’s Traviata rehearsals (both were gorgeous beyond words!) but in good spirits until I read this…

Anonymous said...
Is this a blog about Jonas Kaufmann or opera in general? I don't know. I enjoy articles here but there are many other great singers too that deserve recognition. Just my opinion.

I hope the Aida post reads half decent and is not full of …. Because not much inspiration was left :-(

I don’t like people being anonymous, because I prefer talking to somebody specific, but fair enough, readers are generally anonymous. So there goes the lengthy and unnecessary explanation.

First of all, thanks for reading. I am not sure from your comment which articles you mean… Obviously I wouldn’t be writing if I didn’t care at all if anyone reads or not. And I am happy if I’m remotely more entertaining than a sleeping pill ;-) From my side things were and are obvious, but since on the other side they may not be, as it appears, here are some answers to some questions you and others may or seem to have.

This is my blog. My, as in private female person. I am not a critic (thank God! ;-))) nor do I have the adequate studies or background to even remotely be one. I don’t get paid for writing ( I wish ;-) ) but I enjoy it ( I know very well it is not of any literary or other writing quality). It is just an expression of my passion for music. These posts can’t be called “articles” as they are nothing more than mere thoughts surrounding performances I have seen or heard.

I’ve always liked classical music and opera in particular (as the Wagner quote should have hinted to). For me music and opera are a lifetime joy (more than 30 years to be exact)! And I am lucky enough to live close to one of the best theatres in the world, the ROH (as again the blog clearly says). I don’t intend or pretend to either inform anyone about opera, or teach or God forbid preach about it! If you wish to know more about opera, get yourself a ticket and experience!! You’ll know more after 3 hours than I could ever tell anyone about it. Or buy Cds, or read a book, or check Wikipedia. I am not Encyclopaedia Britannica (or Germanica, or Hispanica or Operatica, or any other …ica). Sheesh, don’t put this kind of pressure on me or I’m gonna’ crawl right out from under that rock!

I’m a lover, not an expert :-) So this is not the view of the world or any judgment or qualification on opera, either in general, or in particular about one or the other performance or singer. It’s about my view, my taste, my skewed image of the opera world and my memories and impression of things I see and hear. It’s about what I like or dislike, what i adore and abhor. I realise everyone’s tastes are different and people will agree, disagree, hate or like what I say and I may like or disagree with their views. It’s about tastes, not absolute judgements and everyone is entitled to disagree with anything I say, just as I am entitled to my own taste :-)

I respect the views of others and expect others to respect mine. And I greatly enjoy discussing these views, others and mine, and to be honest even more if we contradict than if we agree. It makes things fun and interesting.

If you’re still reading and still wondering what this blog is about, well, let’s spell it out, shall we, because this is really what some of you want to know:

No, it is not a blog about Jonas Kaufmann…except it is, when I have seen a performance of his ;-))))

But really, with 10 or so he wasn’t such a great Manrico (beats me if he will ever be one..), so maybe I was listening to other people as well, hm?

Fact: my top 3 favourite operas (ok that changes as well, fickle as I am, but the ones which most frequently make the top) are not even stuff he sings.
Fact: I see many things (good for me! And lucky me!)
Fact: I work 12 and more hour workdays, so take a wild guess when do I write??? Only when:
- I still remotely feel like staring into a screen for 3-4 more hours;
- My fingers are not numb yet and I can go a couple more hours without sleep
- I feel inspired ( yes, even crappy blog scribblers get writer’s bock)
- Friends haven’t squeezed the hell out of me to share all impressions into the smallest details (which is when I don’t bloody feel like repeating it all over again in writing!)

So that is sadly how more than 50% of things never get written up…

Fact: I like listening to (beware I like tenor and baritone voices more than sopranos;-)): Corelli, Callas, Vargas, Schipa, Gigli, Bjorling, Tebaldi, Scotto, Simionato, Herlea, Milnes, Bastianini, Melchior, Schipa, Volpi, Zeani, Gheorghiu, Alagna, Cosotto, Cappuccilli, Domingo, Panerai, Pavarotti, Sutherland, Nilsson, Dessay, Villazon, Florez, Jaho, Keenlyside, Goerne (and I am getting bored here…)

Fact: I like Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Massenet, Bizet, Gounod, Berlioz, Berg, ok, some Puccini too… (it’s getting really boring…)

And do you really want me to start listing the operas??? … I thought not ;-)

Fact: I my own opinion ;-) Jonas Kaufmann is an extraordinary artist and I find his singing enjoyable and absolutely amazing most of the times. Currently, he is the live tenor voice that I most enjoy listening to and he is a mean actor, which makes the show fun to watch as well. Thus a more profound impression which inspires me to write :-) But i’ve seen more Jk’s performances than I write about (there are those 4 Lohengrins I saw and I still want to share my thoughts about…)

Other facts: there is a bunch of other opera related stuff that I wish I had time to write about, like a Bible thick with rants on bookings at opera houses around the world (promise, that one will come one of these days!)

Questions, comments, stones to throw? Feel free to do so :-) I might answer….

24th April TOSCA from the Met on your radio

2010-04-23T21:02:00.017+01:00

Update (thanks for the info little ghost!) :-) For all those who have missed it first time around here is another chance to hear the marvellous Tosca from the Met Broadcast):

Giacomo Puccini: "Tosca"Samstag, 08. Mai 2010,

19:30 WebRadio Ö1 (this would be 18,30 in UK)

http://oe1.orf.at/programm/tag/20100508

---------------------

Isn't it just amazing what the adrenaline rush of the 2nd act transformed itself into in act3? It was definitely one of the most beautiful renditions i have ever heard. Not even the applause at the end of Lucevan was able to cut through the emotional web of it. I cannot be thankful enough to Luisi, this amazing orchestra, Jonas and Ms Racette for making time almost stand still. I lingered on every single note, on every word and this last half and hour (as well as the entire show) will stay with me for a loooooong loooooooong looooooooong time. I am grateful not only for the music and the singing, but above all for feeling so deeply touched.

Dolci mani..... and now i can... live happily ever after!

ohhhh!! If you hear a BIG bang it's because i have just exploded with pride!! That was an exquisite Vittoria! and Carnefice!!!!. Soooo made in Jonas! It sounded incredibly easy breezy (not because it is, but because he knows how do it best :-) It was clear and powerful and may i say elegant???? It stopped when the music wanted it to stop and he sounded like he could have gone on for more, but didn't :-) And that was one of the clearest, smartest sung Carnefice i ever heard from him. Every single word was audible and understandable and it still packed a punch! I'm just going to keep gloating for a while.... So very very very well done JK!!!

More: Is it wrong to want to throw yourself at this Scarpia fellow? I can just feel myself floating towards him.... this is magnetism!!!

And the public, don't touch another bloody espresso in the intermission!!!! Sit on your hands if you must, but pleasseeee don't clap before JK stops singing!! Just enjoy those precious notes till the end and let me enjoy them too... God!

And Racette sounds just gorgeouusss!!! Hach!

Update right now: OMG.... OMG!!!!!! what a feast!!! and the voices feel like they are trickling down my spine... pure opera-heaven!!

Tosca divinaaaa......

Photo: Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera via BBC Radio3 page

So tomorrow almost everyone get's a chance to listen:

1pm NY time, 6pm London time, 7pm CET time (and for others check out here).

According to the NY Times: "‘TOSCA’ Luc Bondy’s production of “Tosca,” the much-debated staging that opened the Metropolitan Opera’s season and elicited vociferous boos for the creative team, is back. But the new cast is terrific, which makes a huge difference. The soprano Patricia Racette is a deeply expressive and impassioned Tosca; the dashing tenor Jonas Kaufmann triumphs as Cavaradossi, singing by turns with burnished power and plaintive pianissimos; and the towering bass-baritone Bryn Terfel is a menacing and mesmerizing Scarpia. There is only one more chance to hear this cast, conducted with sweep and intensity by Fabio Luisi. "

You can listen:

In the US search for your station on the Met page here

Bayern Klassik here (you can listen by clicking right where it says Live horen or here )

France Musique here (click left on écouter le direct)

BBC Radio 3 here (click above right on the Listen live iplayer or on the right on this blog the BBC3 widget) --> with pictures and details as always :-)

RTV Radio Classica here (click above right where it says Radio classica en directo, Haz click para escuchar)

Enjoy and in bocca al lupo to everyone on the Met stage and in the pit :-)

........

It seems my overdose of Tosca has somehow triggered my subconsciousness. Although because of its originality I kept mentioning the Carsen Tosca I saw in Zurich, what has been almost haunting me these last 2 weeks is the ROH Tosca I saw a few years ago. Until about an hour or so ago I wouldn’t even have been able to tell you if it was 2007 or 2008….

Reading the papers and various reviews these days I kept getting strangely nostalgic because I have heard Jonas Kaufkmann’s first Tosca a the ROH and tomorrow I will hear it from the Met. There have been various in between, but reading about the Met Tosca somehow brought me closer to the first one than any of the others…

I still lived in Edinburgh back then and I booked a Tosca at whim because I hadn’t seen any in a while. The cast was known except for Mario, who was tba when I booked. The shows were barely half sold when the run began and nobody liked the production much. Pappano was to conduct.

And conduct he did! There is a before an after for me with Tosca thanks to Pappano. He made Puccini sound beautiful, emotional, romantic and passionate and most of all real. All was done and he took us as deep or as high as one can imagine without ever overdoing it. He kept the beat of our hearts always louder than the music and for the first time in my life i hang on every single note of this score.

Then there was this newborn-Mario, who made us giggle and melt, who suddenly made not only two arias but all duets stand out, who sung Vittoria from all fours and grabbed Scarpia by his collar to shout him Carnefice in the face! And who together with Pappano created the most amazing 3rd act I have ever heard. For the first time in my life there was no applause after Lucevan! ( Not once, not twice, in none of the three performances I went to..) Because an audience of 2200 followed Mario’s every last breath, because the spell could and would not be broken ( a lady next to me stopped her husband from clapping with a begging gesture). Because this Mario hugged the wooden stump where he would be shot as if it was Tosca’s form, his tortured hands tremblingly caressing it as if his lover’s curves. Because this Mario knew he was going to die, because he sang the sweetest “dolci mani” and brought many in the audience to tears with his “parlami ancora come dianzi parlavi … ”. I’ve never seen people cry at the end of Tosca before, even before Mario is shot.

How is it done? No idea, ask JK! It just seams it is not about the piani, the high notes , the long notes or whatever.. It is about what Mario feels and how he feels it, about his life and death, about his love of art and freedom, and above all his love for Floria.

But there is such a thing like a Tosca where you are too touched to applaud; I know because I remember how it felt to be there.

The whole run sold out after the first performance and I remember going straight to the box office the morning after the first one and buying my next ticket. And the next.. And had I not been sternly advised that 3 were enough! I would have gladly trotted back down from Edinburgh for one more :-)

And guess what I just found out? It’s how this blog started! I’ve never remembered what I first wrote about… Seems my subconscious did ;-) And it wanted me to remember those Toscas these days… because it is almost exactly two years ago :-)
You are welcome to go searching and read it if you like :-) But, it’s in Spanish ( kind of pompous sounding some of it, what was I thinking???). turns out I always was a lazy/sloppy writer… I my first post ever about an opera I call JK.. well, JK:-) ( I am thereby demanding copyright!) I said he was “polifacetico” ( I know!! Pompous of me..) and I go on saying about Vittoria and Carnefice that they are a perfect pairing of freedom and despair, release and vengeance :-) ( hmm, still agree with some of that:-) Not surprisingly I was already waxing on and on and on about some “Quale occhio al mondo” and “dolci mani” (the latter still is my favourite bit of the entire score..).

Anyway, that Tosca was special, still is special so I want to remember and I wish to celebrate! So tomorrow’s is definitely much more than just one more Tosca! :-)

And no matter if anyone tells me how many are enough or too many, I will say : I’ll be the judge of that, and at the moment I am looking forward to many many many more (and hoping that one day I’ll relive the “too beautiful to applaud” one ).

I just wish I was sitting there live tomorrow to be able to copy paste my first post ending :

...Viendo la sonrisa traviesa de crío que le sale a JK en los bravos, gritos y aplausos me entro la risa acordándome de las palabras de Floria:Oh, come la sai benel'arte di farti amare!

Well, nothing here to stop me from having a giggle during curtain calls tomorrow :-)

Turns out i probably do like Tosca as an opera after all ;-))

#Operaplot - Squeeze it into 140 characters!

2010-04-21T12:14:00.006+01:00

#Operaplot is back!

Think operaplots are convoluted and librettos are naff? Try doing it better :-p and twitter it in 140 characters! It was hilarious fun last year around, so give it a try :-)

If you want to know what victory looks like, let's remember last year's winners, Jessica Duchen for one and here the full list :-)

Essential details via Miss Mussel:

#Operaplot 2010 Rules And FAQ

And this is what you could WIN #Operaplot 2010 Prize Pool

Have fun and good luck!

PS Oh, yes, what's HE got to do with it???? As you can see he's reading and judging the whole darn' thing! .... no pressure then....

Meet Jonas Kaufmann at the Met Opera Shop! 29 April

2010-04-19T22:57:00.002+01:00

For those of you in NY and with a bit of time on their hands :-) Go say hello!

http://www.metoperafamily.org//metopera/news/news_flash.aspx?id=11908

The star tenor, on the Met stage as Cavaradossi in Tosca and Don José in Carmen this month, will sign copies of his new CDs, a German aria recital and Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, on Thursday, April 29, beginning 12.30pm. For more information, please contact the Met Opera Shop at 212-580-4090.

I'll have my virus with some music on top please

2010-04-17T01:43:00.009+01:00

Stonehaven (near Aberdeen), the North Sea... a piece of heaven!

Warning : this is just a post-beginning, i'll write more tomorrow and hopefully get things up to date :-) And i'll get back on the comments re the Met Tosca, of course :-)

----------------------

Luck comes in strange ways…. I’m lucky to be back in London, sleeping in my own bed tonight! Oh, no I didn’t miss out on all the volcano fun, how could i? Given my track record volcano-cancellation was just what my weird travel log was missing… just one more involuntary adventure … (remember this?)

At least I was stuck on the island ( and not off the island), in Scotland and took the beautiful journey down south. But since lady luck seems to think I need some spice in my life the day started at 7am, work until 2pm, train at 3pm (after prayers and begging to find a seat … )…. For 8 hours! Five of which were spent in the charming company of a group of underage drunks 2 seats in front of me and a stag party, just as drunk, 3 seats behind me. The stag-boys were dressed up elegantly in fishnets, miniskirts and strappy tops, all dolled up with make up and stilettos… Not even the oomph of JK’s truly jaw-dropping “Vittoriaaaaaa!!!!!!” in my ears could drown out the rowdiness.. And I lost track after 6 bottles of booze each because I got too distracted by listening to ”Dolci maaaaniiii” . Lucky me they never suspected that I enjoyed myself by listening to Tosca over and over again… they might not have departed so “peacefully”…. At least I can’t complain that my 130GBP ticket (which was sold to me as first class, but turned out to be my usual cattle class..) didn’t come with entertainment for the journey.

Finally at the edge of London some 3 hours and a train-sandwich-dinner later another surprise… Fire alarm at King’s Cross! So we took a break in the darkness of the city, because after all we were in really no hurry to get home. …One hour later on the underground thinking that I may yet make it home I hear: This train is held at a red signal, please wait for further announcements…Wait we did, I wasn’t too keen on jogging home with suitcase and backpack in tow ;-)) Then there we go, miracle happens and we move again!! But miracles don’t last long, 2 more stops down the line: This train is held at a red signal… and you know the drill. The two other passengers in the wagon gave me the looks when I suddenly started giggling uncontrollably!

So you see, “things” always happen when I travel :-) I’ll never know why. The good thing is after a volcano nothing will phase me :-) And as they say, Ende gut, Alles gut!

This was just the end of a couple of months where various viruses found an unusually strong attraction to me and where I tried to duck them to still be able to enjoy some music. And enjoy I did!!! A Konigskinder in Zurich, 2x Goerne with Schubert at the Wigmore, Hamlet from the Met in HD, the amazing Mariss Jansons with SOBR and Shostakovich, the Gambler and the Turco at the ROH :-)

More on these and on Stonehaven once I wake up from the dead tomorrow morning….

One thing I can tell you, I think I finally found spring!! And it smells of the sea and has cold hands when it caresses your hair and face :-)

Crossing fingers for all the stranded travellers to find their way back to their homes as quickly as possible!

Good night!

Jonas Kaufmann And Bryn Terfel Turn Met's Much-booed 'Tosca' Into A Feast Of Great Singing

2010-04-15T09:15:00.013+01:00

update 20/04: Interview Magazine:

"Revenge of the Booed Opera
By Alex Gartenfeld 04/20/2010 03:20 PM

There is no redemption in the Napoleonic era in which Puccini's Tosca is set. None of the main characters, with the significant exception of the villainous tyrant Scarpia, could be said to have earned his or her murder by deceit or suicide. This is not the experience of the Greek hero and his insurmountable fatal flaw; the eponymous protagonist, a singer, indulges in a bit of hysterical jealousy when she realizes that her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, has painted the Madonna after the sister of an escaped rebel. Cavarodossi, for his part, plays the martyr, and the easy token victim to conservative repression of Scarpia's repressive regime.

But there was redemption Wednesday and Friday night in director Luc Bondy's production of Tosca, a piece that was booed when it premiered almost a year ago. The show was roundly compared it to the storied production by Italian director Franco Zeffirelli, with Maria Callas in the lead part. (Zeffrielli, for his part, called Bondy a "third-rate" director for turning Puccini's opera into a darker, more minimal affair).

On Wednesday, Bondy set out with a new cast: Patricia Racette, in the role opera buffs (and all they do is polish) remember as belonging to Maria Callas. Racette is irascible and inexplicable with jealousy, and then melodramatically appeased in the first act. She's tragic in the last, as her attempts to defend her lover's honor, her honor, and then his life, are in vain. Although the script calls for vast changes in temperament, Racette's style never feels episodic. She carries the lyrical arias in the second act, and her voice grows as the show goes on, pleading for Cavaradossi's release as he refuses to give up the location of the hidden rebel. Racette's a wise choice to supplement the public memory of Tosca because, like Callas, who could go dramatically flat, her's is an idiosyncratic voice. She's gravelly and her pacing is wild in the beginning, but unfolds and ultimately demonstrates control.

Jonas Kaufmann is rare for a German tenor–he’s smolderingly handsome. He's also remarkably fluid as the strong-willed bohemian who sticks to his guns but can't save himself–and maybe, just maybe will find vindication when Napoleon defeats Scarpia. His voice soaring over the orchestra in the first act was particularly remarkable. Bryn Terfel finds humor as the relentless Scarpia; he uses his strong baritone to overpower and seduce.

There are repeated complaints about the interpretation of staging, which are not, in fact, distracting. Cavaradossi's painting of the Madeleine with her breast exposed is onstage throughout; it's a sordid altarpiece in an opera with equally sordid motives. The booed production involved characters embracing this image; she's only cut, here, across the eyes by Tosa, her innocence already lost. Thankfully, the production lacked the rising and falling sets and mysterious nooks that the Met so often favors. The second act, set in Scarpia's chambers, the setting of the second act, was a wonderfully bizarre period room, which looked like an administrative post office designed by Frank Stella in the 1970s. It was as fully and obscurely realized, as an opera about unexplained wrath ought to be."

and there are more comments and reflections on Tosca here :-)
Update 16/04: NY Post review here.:

"A t'weaked 'Tosca' really sings
April 16, 2010 James Jorden
Oh, what a difference the details make -- and the right cast and conductor. This season's biggest bomb, Luc Bondy's production of "Tosca," has blossomed into one of the strongest stagings of this opera in decades.
Since the fall premiere, dozens of details have been tweaked in the critically lambasted staging of Puccini's thriller about a glamorous diva. Lights are brighter; the elegantly gowned Tosca no longer plops down on a filthy church floor -- and police chief Scarpia's Act 2 hooker four-way stops short of oral action.
An even happier improvement is the cast, especially Jonas Kaufmann as Tosca's lover, the artist Cavaradossi. His tenor is dark, even rough in places, but high notes are huge and meaty. In the love song "Recondita armonia," he faded the last note to a whisper, winning loud bravos.

Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera
Jonas Kaufmann's a welcome addition to the opera, in which Patricia Racette plays Tosca.
As the lustful Scarpia, Bryn Terfel commanded the stage with the suave brutality of a James Bond villain, openly mocking Tosca after her prayer "Vissi d'arte." The sinewy tone of his rich bass-baritone made the atmosphere even eerier.
Beside these two giants, Patricia Racette's Tosca seemed almost miniature. Her shimmering, true soprano easily projected over the heavy orchestration, but she underplayed the extravagance of her diva character.
Of all the night's marvels, the greatest was conductor Fabio Luisi, subbing on 10 days' notice when Met music director James Levine was sidelined by back surgery.
Shaving minutes off each act with quicksilver tempos and razor-precise transitions, he discovered haunting orchestral colors reminiscent of Debussy. He's alert to the singers, too, delicately following Kaufmann's dreamy opening of "E lucevan le stelle."
Luisi's reportedly on the short list of conductors to succeed Levine when the injury-plagued maestro chooses -- or is persuaded -- to step down. It's hard to imagine a more brilliant candidate."

Update: NY Times review here:

"Boos Become Bravos at the Met By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
Published: April 15, 2010 What a difference a cast can make.
Luc Bondy’s new production of Puccini’s “Tosca,” which opened the Metropolitan Opera’s season in September, returned on Wednesday night. Yes, that production, the one with the convoluted staging that elicited vociferous boos for the creative team when it was introduced; where the lecherous Scarpia straddles a statue of the Blessed Virgin and consorts with tawdry prostitutes; where, after stabbing Scarpia, Tosca muses on a couch in his rooms at the palazzo instead of enacting the ritual of expiation with the candles and the crucifix that Puccini devised.

Yet Wednesday’s “Tosca” was one of the most exciting performances of the Met season to date, thanks to three exceptional singers, all performing their roles for the first time at the Met. Patricia Racette, an inexplicably underrated soprano, brought a richly expressive voice and raw emotion to her wrenching portrayal of Tosca. Jonas Kaufmann, currently the hottest tenor in opera, was an impetuous and vocally smoldering Mario Cavaradossi, singing with vulnerable tenderness one moment and burnished power the next. And the bass-baritone Bryn Terfel commandeered the stage with his vocally chilling and shockingly lusty Scarpia.

The conductor Fabio Luisi, replacing James Levine, who has ongoing back problems, drew a taut, surging performance from the orchestra, chorus and cast — a wonder, since in the typical ways of repertory opera houses this “Tosca” was thrown together at the last minute. Wednesday night was the first time Mr. Luisi, the orchestra and all three of his principals were together. After Mr. Luisi agreed to cover for Mr. Levine, he flew into New York for one day last week to work with the cast in a rehearsal studio. Mr. Kaufmann, nursing a bad cold, was absent that day.

Despite the lack of rehearsal this “Tosca” was riveting. Mr. Kaufmann, Ms. Racette and Mr. Terfel are gifted, compelling and intuitive actors. Their interplay — the romantic banter between Tosca and Cavaradossi, the dangerous dance of wits between Scarpia and Tosca — was so nuanced you would have thought the singers had been rehearsing for weeks.

Karita Mattila, who sang Tosca when the production was introduced, was to have returned, but she withdrew because of illness. Tosca is a recent addition to Ms. Racette’s repertory.

She does not have a glamorous voice. Her sound can have a grainy texture, and her sustained tones can be tremulous. Still, this role suits her beautifully. She sang with uncommon richness, expressivity and honesty. In the soaring phrases of “Vissi d’arte” she captured both the dignity and despair of the character: a great diva, yet a devout woman and fiercely jealous lover.

Mr. Kaufmann received frenzied bravos from the audience. His russet-colored voice has body and charisma. You could sense amazement throughout the house at his thrilling top notes during Cavaradossi’s defiant cries of “Vittoria!” Yet his plaintive pianissimo phrases were equally impressive. That the youthful, curly-haired Mr. Kaufmann is also heartthrob-handsome did not hurt.

Mr. Bondy’s production still seems drab, confused and full of gratuitous strokes geared to rattle “Tosca” devotees. But with Mr. Bondy not on the scene this cast made some crucial alterations. During the “Te Deum” Mr. Terfel’s Scarpia exuded lust and power as he fantasized about conquering Tosca. But he stopped short of the bump-and-grind routine with the Madonna. Even the idea of surrounding Scarpia briefly with three prostitutes in his chambers made somewhat more sense with this Scarpia, since the towering, robust Mr. Terfel so easily conveys bawdy physicality.

There are still no candles and crucifix. But Ms. Racette was better than Ms. Mattila at executing Mr. Bondy’s idea that for a few minutes Tosca, with Scarpia’s body nearby, is too stunned to do anything other than ponder her choices.

The individual performances were so strong I hardly noticed the elements of the production that prompted so much earlier controversy. There are seven more performances of “Tosca” this season but only three more chances to catch this outstanding cast."

Earlier : more opinions from viewers here

or so say CBS News quoting Associated Press:

"MIKE SILVERMAN (AP) – NEW YORK — The boos heard 'round the world on opening night were mostly gone as "Tosca" reappeared at the Metropolitan Opera with a new cast that turned Puccini's melodrama into a feast of great singing.

Credit for that goes chiefly to German tenor Jonas Kaufmann as the idealistic painter Mario Cavaradossi, and Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel as the evil police chief, Baron Scarpia.Both were making their first appearances at the Met in more than two years on Wednesday night, and both have been sorely missed.

Kaufmann has blossomed from a fine lyric tenor into something more. With his dark-hued voice and formidable technique he now apparently can sing Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and French opera with equal flair.As Cavaradossi, he displayed the heroic top notes required to turn his defiant cry of "Vittoria!" in Act 2 and his Act 3 aria, "E lucevan le stelle" ("And the stars were shining") into show-stoppers. Equally impressive was the ravishing tenderness he brought to many soft phrases, such as "O dolci mani" ("O sweet hands"), when he sings in wonderment that his beloved Tosca has stabbed Scarpia to death.

That murder takes place at the end of Act 2, and until his demise, Terfel etched a portrayal of tremendous power. The sheer amplitude of his sound has always been thrilling, riding easily over the orchestra during moments like the Act 1 "Te deum," where most bass-baritones struggle to be heard.But Terfel has so much more to offer. He can turn the merest whisper into a bloodcurdling threat, or casually create chills as when he invites Tosca to enjoy a sip of Spanish wine to calm her nerves before he plans to rape her.

If the title character herself has been left for last, it's not any fault of American soprano Patricia Racette. She delivered a fine, forthright performance, more down-to-earth and less the prima donna than many Toscas. Aside from a rushed high note and some pitch problems at the end of her aria, "Vissi d'arte" ("I lived for art"), she sang the part extremely well.

Still, her overall impact paled a bit next to the high-powered performances of the men.

The production by French director Luc Bondy has been modified since it opened the season to the loudest booing in Met memory — a reception that created headlines worldwide. Scarpia no longer lasciviously embraces the statue of the Madonna at the end of Act 1. Tosca no longer fans herself while casually reclining on a sofa after murdering Scarpia.A technical glitch made it appear another effect had been dropped. At the very end, Tosca is supposed to leap to her death off the prison battlements where her lover has just been executed. Bondy has a body double jump from a parapet and hang by wires over the stage. But the lights went out too soon, and she jumped in darkness.

There were still a few boos at the final curtain, but cheers for the singers drowned them out. The cheers were also loud for conductor Fabio Luisi, who led a sweeping, tense account of a score that can sound merely melodramatic."

PS i only wish i could have seen the confrontations between Mario and Scarpia in the 2nd act ;-))) Oh well, and heard them sing... sighhhh...

There will be a Met broadcast of the 24th April performances, details on the Met page here.

Cosi fan tutte ROH

2010-02-18T03:11:00.007Z

Photo credits: Richard H Smith at musicalcriticism.com

Così fan tutte
Friday, February 12, 2010
Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Librettist : Lorenzo da Ponte
Director Jonathan Miller

Performers
Conductor Julia Jones
Ferrando Charles Castronovo
Guglielmo Troy Cook
Don Alfonso William Shimell
Fiordiligi Sally Matthews
Dorabella Nino Surguladze
Despina Helene Schneiderman

I am indeed hopeless in providing some opinion about shows before the run is actually over, still as everyone who saw it realised, it was just what the doctor ordered against any “wintery” depression, wet-weather and all kinds of other types of frustration ;-)

I used to run away from this particular Mozart piece like the pest as it was invariably boringly staged and delivered in a way that did not allow for any true character distinction between the couples or the individuals as such. It felt to a certain point like a nondescript sequence of arias, duos, trios, more duos, more arias, all neatly and very predictably following each other. All peppered with unbelievable costuming and too much moralistic self-importance.

Ok, we still have OTT costuming ;-) but unlike it being the purpose of the transformation here it clearly is just the pretext for outrageous behaviour. Which seems to me what Mozart and of course, Mr da Ponte ;-) would have really intended, after all like many others of his works this one is profoundly human, deeply ironic and more contemporary in its subject than most operas. I don’t think his intension is ever to moralise and preach, on the contrary, he seems to relish in reminding us that beyond rules and in spite of conventions, humans are imperfect, flawed and that some of the fun, but also some suffering and learning in life comes from these very weaknesses. So his Fiordiligi and Dorabella, Guglielmo and Ferrando embark on a journey of discovery about themselves and their relationships.

Of course you may ask, do they really not recognise their lovers under the disguise? Maybe yes, maybe not, but I think the temptation here lies in the new, the unknown, the different. They are the same men, but behaving very differently, which actually makes the women chose in the “strangers” the exact opposite of their “real” lovers. And although a first glance it is the women who give into temptation and the work is called “cosi fan tutte”, at a second look at the libretto it becomes obvious the men are no saints either. After all they willingly and delightfully engage in the game and Guglielmo’s vivid complaint about women’s character also unveils his own :” Io vo' bene al sesso vostro, /Lo sapete, ognun lo sa: /Ogni giorno ve lo mostro, /Vi dò segno d'amistà;” yes, friendship… riiiiiiiight…..

Jonathan Mller’s production is a witty delight! It is incredibly natural and easy to relate to and he deserves extra credit for having Ferrando play “air-guitar” on Mozart and the 4 of them dance to the old tunes ;-) It is funny, but not at all out of place. There wasn’t a moment in the whole production where I wished something was made differently, or where I got distracted by anything in the staging or choreography. The character definition is very well managed and with a cast that is young, fun and handsome it glues you to the story. He seized the opportunity to show Mozart&daPonte’s talent for good theatre and gave it a modern twist by highlighting, rather than hiding the irony behind the music. The ambiguity is continued to the last bars where we are left wondering who will stay with whom and if at all. And I have rarely seen a production better married to the music; an excellent example of how modern opera productions can be done!

But the harmony works and the piece entertains without falling on the bitter side because of the music and the singing. It is the altogether harmonious and very good cast that keeps the light touch on the evening and makes the audience smile and laugh time and time again. Conducting, playing and singing are of such a quality that everything seems as natural as speech. You never stop to think about a breath badly placed, about a note that might go amiss, about a dangerous line, the flow of the music never ever gets interrupted. And continuity and pace are essential to good Mozart! Recitatives and arias meld naturally into each other , with particularly brilliant diction from Castronovo’s Ferrando and Helene Schneiderman’s Despina, which is one of the best I have ever heard live.

Photo credits: Richard H Smith at musicalcriticism.com

Shimell’s Alfonso is imposing, but never evil and his voice carries that extra weight showing who is in charge through music. Sally Matthews’ flexible and powerful voice carries the torment and antics naturally and gives us a “Come scoglio” to remember :-) Troy Cook and Nino Surguladze make a very credible second pairing, both finding in voice and acting a light playfulness that stays convincingly on the cheeky side. And it is Charles Castronovo’s mellifluous tenor who brings the necessary sweet romantic touch and reminder that “love does hurt” sometimes ;-))) Especially on the second night I saw he delivered an “aura amorosa” full of warmth and feeling and easily displayed the contrast in the cavatina between “Tradito, schernito” and the defeated “Quest'alma l'adora, /Io sento per essa /Le voci d'amor” (which deservedly earned him another round of applause). And there is something decidedly charming about his darker shaded voice pulling off Mozartian lines with agility and character.

I’ve seen it twice and really wish I could have seen it again! Good news for the ones who have missed it this time, they will get another chance in 2012 when we might get another revival.

I’ve searched a while to try and bring you “Un aura amorosa” with CC, but no such luck …. In lieu here is more about love and laughter from Castronovo and Siurina ;-)

Una Parola, o Adina (Castronovo & Siurina)

thanks for the video tenorgoodfella

And one more…..

Prendi l'anel ti dono (Castronovo & Siurina)

thanks for the video tenorgoodfella

An the last one, which has nothing to do with the above, but is from a more recent concert and shows that Mr Castronovo has some amazingly good Spanish pronunciation, a que si?

No puede ser (Castronovo)

thanks for the video tenorgoodfella

PS Oh, and thanks to everyone for bringing Cosi fan tutte back in my favours ;-))))

PPS My only regret is not finding out how they go about painting the guys with those tattoos???? Semi-permanent? Do they do it every evening anew… they are beautiful if such were the case, I really wished I could have seen them from closer up ;-)

Werther Jonas Kaufmann on France Musique tonight

2010-02-13T16:40:00.003Z

If you would like to listen again, there is tonight's radio broadcast on France Musique:

19:05 CET , 18:05 UK time

Listen by either clicking on the main page linked above where it says in the left hand side menu:
écouter le direct

or by clicking on this LINK (will play in your Windows Media Player)

Enjoy!

Soirée lyrique
par Jérémie Rousseau
Jules Massenet, Werther

Opéra en quatre actes et cinq tableaux, sur un livret d'Edouard Blau, Paul Milliet et Georges Hartmannd'après Johann Wolfgang von Goethe en langue française

Listening to lieder (ctnd from insomnia below ;-))

2010-02-11T08:40:00.001Z

King's Place Photo and here more details about the design :-)

I left things half way through the last week and now I am running behind again! (ie both Cosi fan tutte and Konigskinder have happened since then… but first things first as I am determined to try and capture everything in the right order! Besides, there is no chance I could forget any of these two anytime soon, so no worries there.

I mentioned that I had been to two evenings of song during the same week, years and years and years apart : from pieces written mostly between the two world wars to canzone written some 300 years ago.

In song in general I am on a very “hungry” discovery route, trying out many things that come my way. In a way if well done they are easier to relate to and allow instant focus and intimate connection at the same time. In an opera all your senses are called upon and you have to take in so many elements at the same time! It’s not exactly hard work to sit and listen, but it does require a lot of energy, which sometimes you physically just don’t have. In those cases I find it’s easier to seek refuge in song, it’s more delicate and in a way more generous, it gives more than it asks of you. In a way it creates that kind of a personal space and dialogue that you can find nowhere else in music. It is like reading a good book, like looking at a painting, or a photograph on your own, like speaking to a good friend.

In an opera you can choose what to listen to or what to look at or on which level to get involved. There is not much of a choice when only one person and one instrument are singing to you, you either listen or you go away. And I personally love to listen to stories, thoughts and feelings put to rime (or not) and music. I’ll always disagree with those who think this is an occasion to explore how exquisite a certain note can be sung , If that is all what it is, then I would rather watch and listen to a singer warm up their voice, its bound to reveal more interesting things about vocal technique.;-) Personally, I’d rather see the song as an occasion to discover a story , “hand in hand” with the singer. I’d like them to tell us what the poem means to them and see if I can follow along the same path. The times I liked it most, it was so vivid that i could almost see the images appearing in my mind.

Weimar VoicesDate: Wednesday 27 January
Time: 19:30

Part of From Vienna to Weimar

Christian Immler baritone
Helmut Deutsch piano

Programme

Schreker
Das feurige Männlein
Und wie mag die Liebe

Gál - Five Songs op.33
Vergängliches
Der Wiesenbach
Vöglein Schwermut
Drei Prinzessinen
Abend auf dem Fluss

Goldschmidt - Two Morgenstern Songs op.27
Ein Rosenzweig
Nebelweben

Eisler - from Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs)
Die zwei Wurzeln
Die beiden Trichter
Philanthropisch

Korngold - Songs of the Clown op.29
Come away death
O Mistress Mine
Adieu, Good Man Devil
Hey Robin
For the rain, it raineth every day

Krenek - from Reisebuch aus den oesterreichischen Alpen
(Travelbook from the Austrian Alps) op.62
Motiv
Regentag
Unser Wein

Zemlinsky - from Twelve Songs op.27
Der Wind des Herbstes
Regenzeit
Gib ein Lied mir wieder
Afrikanischer Tanz

Eisler - from Book of Ballades op.18
Ballade von der Krüppelgarde
Ballade vom Nigger Jim

Grosz - from Bänkel und Balladen op.31
Die Ballade vom Sammy Lee

http://www.auroraorchestra.com/

The evening with Christian Immler and Helmut Deutsch at King’s Place had a totally novelty effect. The hall, which I am guessing is one of the smaller ones in the centre, is beautiful and provided with its set up hat extra “pleasing” bit. It must be quite new and not too frequently used, for the wood that covers all surfaces still had that freshly cut smell. Not the chemical cover smell, but the natural one of logs that have just been split from the tree. Just like the perfume of new paper of an unopened book, it’s instantly recognisable and comforting. The lighting was almost seductive in a shady tone of violet and it obscured us the public almost completely while focusing the light on the stage. Probably a bit unusual for a liederabend as I guess it totally obscured us to the singer and pianist. Adding I guess an extra element of discomfort, above the fact that there were barely 20 of us in the hall, none of us having heard any of the pieces before and both artist and pianist never having performed any of the songs before. Add to that the fact that most texts were in German; we were provided with a nicely printed translation in quality paper, that unfortunately proved a pain to flick and made quite some noise. Looked like quite a challenge in terms of text, which I guess only made some members of the audience more suspicious about the musical “delights” on offer. I expect with all their curiosity, most expected their ears to be put through at least some discomfort ;-)

The evening started and things settled very quickly from weary attention to relaxed enjoyment! It became evident that the artists had done quite a bit of homework and were more than up to the challenge. From the very first piece the harmony between the two was natural and the interpretation refined enough to easily cross the language barrier. I have to say I haven’t read the translation and with Immler’s diction being very good I quickly put away the chunky papers myself. But it must have been a good translation, as smiles, puffs and other reactions came spot on at the right times during the whole evening. The songs themselves carried nothing of the suspected dangers of atonality or aggression in their notes. On the contrary, they were playful and flowed elegantly, texts were engaging and the dialogue between the lyrics and notes, more vivid than in classical repertoire. Where the music was recognisably romantic, the text broke down the known framework by mocking he notes and vice-versa. Throughout the program lyrics and score, singer and pianist engaged in ironic play and often very alert bickering.

Here are for you some highlights of the evening, showing in abundance I think why it was so worth experiencing!!
Eisler:

Korngold:

It just proved that songs can be enjoyed a bit less reverently and that we are allowed to have fun with it as well. And what pleasure to discover Helmut Deutsch accompanying not only with delicacy and empathy as always, but also with impressive pizhaz!

Dankeschon to both!! And when can we do this again????

..................

Two days later it was back to the more familiar grounds of the Wigmore Hall for an evening of canzone d’amore with an equally well matched musical “couple”. Joyce DiDonato and David Zobel gift us time and time again with wonderful recitals at he Wigmore and I hope they will keep coming to visit. Whether you are familiar with the repertory or not (more likely to be my case with Joyce’s picks ;-)) you will always leave there amazed at DiDonato’s and Zobel’s commitment to what they do. You just know beyond a shadow of a doubt that each note, each word has been thought of, worked on and will be delivered to the highest of their abilities.

Thursday 28 January 2010 - 7:30 PM
Performers

Joyce DiDonato mezzo-soprano
David Zobel piano

Programme

Durante Danza, danza, fanciulla gentile
Pergolesi Se tu m'ami
Caccini Amarilli mia bella
Rossi Mio ben, teco il tormento
Paisiello Nel cor piu non mi sento
Rontani Or ch'io non sequo più

Beethoven
Hoffnung Op. 82 No. 1
Liebes-Klage Op. 82 No. 2
L’amante impatiente Op. 82 No. 3
L’amante impatiente Op. 82 No. 4
La partenza WoO124

Rossini Willow Song from 'Otello'

Encore Rossini , Maometto Secondo, “Giusto ciel”

Santoliquido
L'assiolo canta
Alba di luna sul bosco
Tristezza crepuscolare
L'incontro

Pizzetti Ocsuro è il ciel
Toselli Serentata
Donaudy O del mio amato bene

Castelnuovo-Tedesco
La Pastorella
Ballatella

Buzzi-Peccia Lolita, Serenata Spagnola
Leoncavallo Serenata Francese
Giuranna Canto Arabo
Di Chiara La Spagnola

Encore:
Mozart, Nozze, “Voi che sapete”
Rossini, La donna del lago, “Tanti affetti”

Even if you will not become an big fan of the night’s songs you will always be awed by what she can do. Or at least I’d love to hear her, even if she was singing the phone book up and down! And even I will admit that “Amarilli mia bella” or the Beethoven are much better choices;-))) Actually, I really liked the little Beethoven cycle. But deep down I am more of an 18t- century-onwards kind of girl, so it is rather a good thing I didn’t live in the times these little pieces were used to serenade the ladies….. Few of these would have managed to wake me and entice me onto a balcony and further on I’m afraid ;-)) Overall I liked Furore more I think (God, I am actually saying I like Handel… somebody pinch me!! Fast!!!!)… or more accurately, I like Joyce’s Handel more. But Joyce is an amazingly generous artist! It will never be a 6-8 piece night with her and often her encores are even better than the rest of the program. And if I like her Handel, her Rossini and Mozart I am undyingly in love with!!! As you can see 3 altogether, one more beautiful than the other! Just listen to La donna del lago:

La donna del lago:

What I like about her encores is that they are always so characteristic of who she is as an artist and come alive like they do with few other singers singing the same pieces. So this night, like the last one when I heard her sing made me look forward to the next and the one after that and so on…. And also made me hope that one day I’ll be lucky enough to hear her sing again the one piece that will always remind me of the first time I heard her live , a song that was so “Joyce” .. “The man I love” :-)

I'll sleep when i'm dead!

2010-02-03T01:40:00.001Z

Merci beaucoup Esti pour cette extraordinaire video!!!

Reading the title you will either have a tune bouncing around your ears….or you’ll be clueless and then I guess you’ll just have to read this boring post till the end to find out what that is all about :-)

Last week ended last night and the title should be reversed, if I don’t get some proper sleep soon I might as well be dead!

I couldn’t resist temptation and I have started this post predictably with yet more Werther! No I don’t feel guilty about it and if you feel you’ve overdosed, then look away... I dare you! (But you should know that the above video is the “Pourquoi me reveiller” from the 29th, filmed from the side of the stage itself by Esti and it was so far the best performance of the run according to people present live :-)… )

Ok, so the reason why there wasn’t much going on around here this week is not because I have drowned my sorrow in absinth, whisky or tea (not even chocolate!) but… my venom of choice was .. music :-) Loads and loads of it. Seeing as I was unexpectedly bound to London this week, much more than initially planned as gaps were filled by the generosity of a friend who shifted onto me a number of Barenboim tickets. So proceedings went something like this:

Monday … my body craving sleep, my heart still in Paris, my mind hard at work, basically preparing for Tuesday;
Tuesday – battling with internet connection for smudges of sound of Werther broadcast (we shall not speak about the work bit from here on as the week only ended on a zero balance due to induction of high positive doses of music)
Wednesday – visit to new place – King’s Place in fact, Weimar Voices, Helmut Deutsch and Christian Immler- as I will explain in a bit more detail a most fulfilling, entertaining and puzzling evening of song, brilliant! Outside the Werther by far the best bit of the week!
Thursday – Wigmore, Joyce DiDonato, David Zobel and canzone d’amore – I’m finding myself more and more often drawn to the Wigmore for the gems they have on offer
Friday – Royal Festival Hall, Barenboim and Berlin Staatskapelle first take and the most amazing almost full moon over the Thames at Southbank!
Saturday – ROH, yay.. let the new year finally begin! I swear I had a trickle of emotion going for the first time this year through those revolving doors…. That was until I stopped in shock at the display window of the ROH shop! Ah by the way, the piece was Rake’s Progress.
Sunday- take two on Barenboim, Berlin Staatskapelle, Beethoven and Schoenberg. And an amazing full moon over the bridge which is becoming kind of a theme, it was full moon when I was there last and I keep having these moments on that bridge where I just have to stop, breath in the wind, wonder at the clear night and feel lucky because it isn’t raining and because I am in London!! Strange déjà vu, but of the very pleasant kind; I’ve promised myself that I will go back during the summer and just sit on the Southbank terrace with music and a book and enjoy the place properly rather than steeling a moment of the night.

Was it all worth it? Definitely and I would do it again. Because it is not often that I get to be in London to enjoy a lot of what is on offer. So, even if I have to catch up on sleep during weeks to come, there is a lot I learned this week and thus a lot to be thankful for:-)

Less and less surprisingly to myself I really like 20th century music. I know I can’t throw everything in a pot, but I like the structure in destructuring, the wittiness and irony that runs through much of it, the surprise element that keeps you on your toes and challenges you to listen carefully and unlock the riddles. A bit like solving math problems back in school, as crazy as this may sound. I’m not sure it is the kind of music I would listen to again and again and again in my own time, because it doesn’t really provide the escapist element one sometimes craves when delving into music, but live it can provide a much more inspiring evening than quite a few better known tunes. I think what I am trying to say is that I need and enjoy both, I need my Massenet, Verdi, Wagner, etc but I also need Stravinsky, Korngold, Messiaen, Schonberg, etc. I find they kind of make each others qualities and uniqueness stand out more and you return to the others with a refreshed ear and mind :-) Because I listen to all, each time I come back to one of them I fall in love all over again.

Let’s start by the end, the Barenboim concerts:

Royal Festival Hall
Daniel Barenboim with Berlin Staatskapelle
Friday 29 January 2010
Ludwig Van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.1
Arnold Schoenberg: Pelléas et Mélisande
Sunday 31 January 2010
Arnold Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5 (Emperor)

Hands down for me on both nights Schoenberg wins over Beethoven, at least in this interpretation. It’s where I think the true colours of the Staatskapelle shined though as well as Barenboim’s talents as a conductor. The two Schoenberg pieces could not more different, one powerful and overwhelming (Pelléas et Mélisande) and the other almost delicate. And still in both excellent and very effective play with dynamics was obvious. In fact the ebbs and explosions in Pelléas et Mélisande reminded very much of recent vocal performances I had heard…. It’s a pity on the second night they decided to install cameras in several places in the Hall and I had the unfortunate “pleasure” of sitting high up in the hall and having one fanning at my back, quite loudly. Probably this concert will figure on a future documentary, but I think they should have checked the noise level before installing them there. There were moments where the fans were literally louder than the orchestra sound!

The Beethoven concertos very enjoyable and quite original in interpretation, but I wouldn't really say they were memorable. It simply does work better in terms of harmony when conductor and pianist are not the same, especially because a conductor not busy playing the piano might have accommodated the inspiration of the pianist even better :-) I am really glad I went because the Schoenberg is a rare treat, especially treated with such care and attention. But I am left wondering about the general reaction of the public: how much reflected the impact of what was heard on the night and how much did the “fame” element come into play? Do people applaud the Beethoven concerto no5 because it is a well know, exquisite piece of music or because they like this particular version they have just heard? In some respect the reaction of the audience on Friday when Schoenberg ended the concert on a high seemed to be more tuned into the performance than the once on Sunday. It’s also true that the Beethoven played with a downsized orchestra would have been maybe more enjoyable from closer to the stage, whereas the Schoenberg , even the delicate pieces flowed freely and expanded into the hall :-)

In any case you will be able to enjoy them yourself and make up your own minds as BBC3 will air the concerts this week. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qxx51

Saturday, in between the Barenboim concerts I went to the ROH –
The Rake's Progress
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Composer Igor Stravinsky
Director Robert Lepage
Revival Director Sybille Wilson

Set Designer Carl Fillion
Costume designs Francois Barbeau
Lighting Designer Etienne Boucher
Video Boris Firquet
Choreography Michael Keegan Dolan
Performers
Conductor Ingo Metzmacher
Trulove Jeremy White
Anne Trulove Rosemary Joshua
Tom Rakewell Toby Spence
Nick Shadow Kyle Ketelsen
Mother Goose Frances McCafferty
Baba the Turk Patricia Bardon
Sellem Graham Clark

This is a wonderfully constructed opera, with perfectly timed tension and I am grateful as a first time listener to have had the Insight lend a hand in additional understanding :-) Best thing by far on the night the witty and lively sound that came from the pit by the hands of Ingo Metzmacher! The score is so interesting and catching that I think I could easily listen to it without the singing, or at least on this night it felt a bit like it. I wish I had heard the cast to years ago to have some kind of comparison… I was almost tempted to say that judging by the other night English is a particularly difficult language to sing opera in… BUT, I would be wrong, as I have heard opera in English before and never had this impression. And also during the Insight evening I heard the same arias delivered with panache, total security and spot on articulation! Whereas on the night I was forced to glance to the surtitles many more times that I would have wished. This sounds to me like a highly entertaining but also highly difficult piece vocally and this case some lack of power in the voices was not helped by the production. Fun to look at sometimes, whoever the gags were not the brightest I thought and placing the singers mostly in the second back half of a deep stage did not help a bit, but rather made singing and especially hearing in the hall a challenge at times. (If I compare to the Tristan and Isolde, with more powerful voices by far and they were always brought towards the front and never left with a gaping empty space behind them for long…)

I understand about the desire of director to create visually flashy productions and make a statement, but I don’t like the feeling I am getting with Lepage that no matter how ingenious and gimmicky the production, it doesn’t really mould well over the music. And it favours big picture over character definition in my opinion too much, It did in this case by caricaturising a bit too much and in the Damnation from the Met I saw in the cinema there was no character definition to speak about (loads of visual effects with singers being tied to a two dimensional balcony/grid). I’m not saying the public did not enjoy it, but how many times can you see this production and enjoy it as much and what will distinguish one viewing from another? I like to remember revivals of productions also by the impact individual singers and their personalities left on the whole and I am not sure this is happening here. Anyway, matter of taste I guess.

Having said that the cast themselves got better during the evening and in the second half singing really started to come together with a unusual high point in the moralising quartet at the end (déjà vu Mozart anyone? ;-))))

Basically I really really liked the music and Anne’s I go to him! Is among my very favourite bits! I’d loooove to listen t this again, preferably not in this production, but it will do as well if no choice.

My return “home” to the ROH came with the obligatory detour by the shop and I did manage to come out empty-handed … but stopped dead at the sight of this in the display window!!! Now, I don’t care or mind which opera singers CD they display and definitely encourage the happy expectation of Rolando’s come back to the stage, hopefully to the ROH one as well.. BUT… what is the other thing doing there????? (and even with Rolando they could have displayed the latest CD…. Not that they are in the habit of doing that always… during the Don Carlo several of the singers had just had CD issued, but none where displayed there until much much later…. )

The issue I have is with singers being advertised there who have never sung on the ROH stage a whole role( or anywhere else as a matter of fact)…and with the combination having an air of publicity for a certain TV show which has nothing to do with this institution. I am disappointed to be honest… I may understand the monetary reasons, but one of the reasons why I myself support with my own money the ROH is because I admire and respect the high standards of the institution and it’s elegancy and style in public dealings with its own image. Having this in the display window is in my opinion not congruent with my expectations.

If that artist is worthy being advertised there I would expect to see the artist as part of future ROH schedules, and I have a suspicion this will not be the case anytime soon. And until this artist has an operatic career at the standards usually displayed by this institution I do not expect to see them advertised again within the building. As a friend of the ROH I do not support the decision to have this kind of publicity within it’s shop, money matters aside. Because at the ROH standards do matter, I still hope so.

So far for today, to be continued with more on the wonderful recitals (I’ve left the best for last :-))

Until then I will not keep the…”suspense” any longer about the title.. here they go:

Well, yes of course it is BON JOVI! And yes, i own almost all their CDs, it's not an isolated incident at all :-)

Werther Video Jonas Kaufmann & Sophie Koch

2010-01-31T18:03:00.003Z

Werther Video on the arte webiste HERE (beware, you need an updated version of Adope Flash Player to view it, and you can get it here )

And remember, for those who live in Paris, or the lucky ones who can arrange a trip there, 2 performances left: 1st and 4th of February! Details from the Opera de Paris site.

(i know it is a crappy picture, but so is my mobile ;-))

And there will also be a radio broadcast on France Musique (you will be able to listen live from the web of the radio):

DIFFUSION SUR FRANCE MUSIQUE LE 13 FEVRIER 2010 A 19H05 (CET ), Uk time 18,05!

Werther Jonas Kaufmann & Sophie Koch

2010-01-27T11:16:00.007Z

Update: there are yet more videos for the desperate ones ;-) at TenoreCorelli youtube channel HERE (Thanks!!!)

Sorry for not inserting them here but the blog page would die a pleasant but instant death :-) But please follow the link and you will find .. Werther :-))) Enojy!

.......

I didn't manage to "see" anything last night, but the connection was good enough to hear most of it and it sounded divine! The applause seems to be getting warmer (well, yes, crazier!) from performance to performance and they are getting better and better!

For all the ones who couldn't see it, here are some bonbons, all thanks to Macbett0 :-) (thanks very very much!!) More to follow as soon as available :-)

And now i am going to lock my credit card away just to make sure on Friday i don't give into temptation and run off to Paris!! You have no idea just how hard it is to resist at this point...

Enjoy!!

JONAS KAUFMANN, Je ne sais si je veille ... O Nature, pleine de grace, WERTHER, Paris, 26 Jan. 2010

Sophie Koch, Air des lettres (Letter scene), WERTHER, Paris, 26 Jan. 2010

JONAS KAUFMANN, Pourquoi me réveiller, WERTHER, Paris, 2010

Sophie Koch, "Va! Laisse Couler Mes Larmes", WERTHER, Paris, 26 Jan. 2010

Sophie Koch & Jonas Kaufmann, N' achevez pas! hèlas!, WERTHER, Paris, 26 Jan. 2010

Jonas Kaufmann & Sophie Koch, WERTHER, Finale, Paris, 26 Jan 2010

Encore Werther, toujours Jonas Kaufmann

2010-01-25T16:00:00.003Z

Werther, 23 January 2010

After the last one on this subject you might have thought all was said, or that I was going to quickly run out of adjectives. No, all is not said and not running out of adjectives, just yet :-)

But you will be relieved I’ve come back from seconds without emptying another box of Kleenex. That particular feeling of hearing this music live for the first time cannot possibly be repeated; whatever comes next is and will always be different. I The main shift I guess was that the focus for me moved last night from the story to the music. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t hear the music first time around, but things become clearer, shine through more intensely when a bit of times passes and when you actually know exactly what will happen next. I could basically take almost a mental step back and instead of hanging on every word, rather hang on every phrase, on every line, every wave of music. Which does by no means want to say that the experience was less touching, or that Werther rushing head on into death does not break your heart all over again.

It just means that the impact of the unexpected changed into the excitement of expectation.

I am not going to say I wouldn’t wish to see all the remaining performances, of course I do! As did half the hall each of the two times I have been. It is impossible to not want to relive something so amazing again and again. But, this is all about being really grateful for having been there! About joy, not about regrets :-)

And if nobody could have believed it could get any better, well the other night it did. Jonas Kaufmann was clearly feeling much better and to everyone’s amazement he managed to even outdo himself. It is an altogether different experience to hear him not only in control of body and voice, but actually free to let go of both and let the voice expand or float or trickle down without ever touching any limits. And in presence as well he won that extra touch of energy, of flexibility and drive, that glues your eyes and attention on him whenever he is on stage. His Werther became a touch more desperate, emotionally volatile while at the same time the voice was even more secure, warmer, sweeter in the piani and more brilliant and luminous at the top. The effect was truly mesmerising and it felt almost surreal to sit there and listen. Sophie Koch, Ludovic Tezier and Anne-Catherine Gillet also were even better than before. This performance was filmed, as you would expect as it is usual for broadcast and hopefully later DVD to be done from several recordings. I haven’t heard Tezier many times live but my jaw did drop slightly when he came on stage this time. Not only can he act. But he does it very very well! And that rich voice soars with amazing effect once he decides it should. It made me ask myself why he wouldn’t do that the first time around? He shaped Albert into an altogether different character, more engaged and yes, at the end more intent on his decision. He was intimidating menacing pushing the box of pistols with a decided gesture towards Charlotte. It was a pleasure to see him become so easily and naturally an equal part of this powerful trio. And the more I hear Sophie Koch the more I like her singing. Because she is one of those artists who makes you forget the notes she is singing, but makes you tremble with the intensity of her interpretation.

It’s such an obvious thing to say : ”Rêve! Extase! Bonheur!” But it truly was! And it could not have been bestowed on a more grateful and rapt audience. Very very few coughs and mostly breaths held, Nobody would have even dreamt of interrupting the flow of music with applause. It would have been almost out of place. But just imagine the explosion at the end! I’ve never ever heard such shouts at the end of a performance. The two men sitting behind and next to me left my ears ringing! But none of us could have stopped ourselves! It was a physical impossibility to express through shouts of Bravo and applause what we had received from all these wonderful artists on the night! I know what I must be sounding like (and all I had the whole day was water ;-))) but I swear if years and years of listening to music teach you something, it is to recognise a once in a lifetime evening when I happens. There are no words to describe the feeling, in spite of suicide and sad story, all I could feel was glory!

I can’t even begin to say how beautiful this music really is! I don’t think there is a note amiss, everything is carefully thought of, perfectly coordinated and tuned finely to obtain exactly the desired effect. There is a wonderful video of Mr Plasson on the Opera de Paris website who explains it just marvellously! I was indeed surprised at how easily I could remember almost the entire text and that is not something I tend to do easily, quite the contrary, but this comes absolutely naturally. Now this a composer and an opera which knows how to deliver punch lines! It is indeed all about accents and about lighting flames here and there, perfect musical spotlights on just the right word to make you smile, frown, hold your breath or sigh in pain.
And then there are the musical passages which introduce the scenes and set the mood, from the very beginning you feel the music changing from light, playful to melancholic and ethereal. Take for instance the introduction to Werther’s entrance in the 1act, you are still smiling at the children when the music suddenly becomes something quite different, a gentle tension, a “frisson” almost and then of course you see Werther. And before he even opens his lips to sing you know what he is all about, because the music tells it so clearly and convincingly! And this music accompanies him all the way through to the end. And Massenet liked to repeat words with different shading to great effect.

So Werther appears and there we go : o nature! And from the sweetness in his voice when he says it you know that is his heaven, his refuge. And then how the music soars every time on “soleil”, “rayon”, “lumière”…..

Then there is Charlotte’s music, starting off light and almost playful and becoming increasingly dramatic, just as Albert’s , while Werther’s gets increasingly passionate, grand, sweeping you away.

I have to say this time I was almost holding my breath for Werther’s first “Charlotte!!!” There is so much musicality in just that one name, as is indeed in “Werther” . You can’t just take the words very literally because they will become exaggerated. I mean just think of what comes out of Werther most of the time, he’s constant ecstasy, pain, it is all over the top… But, if you take the music step by step and just take each aria , even line, as it comes and listen and feel it rather than thinking about it , it speaks to you in a special way.

For instance, don’t you feel the caress when Werther sings softly : “Calmé par ses regards et bercé par sa voix! ”? And the way the music explodes in” Charlotte! je vous aime...
je vous aime... et je vous admire! ” It is so definitive, so absolute, you know there is no going back from there.

Then there is the calm, enveloping love that Albert expresses in: “Trois mois! Voici trois mois que nous somme unis! Ils ont passé bien vite... et pourtant il me semble que nous avons vécu toujours ensemble! » You really feel his inner peace in his toujours ensemble… ” and the” et j'ai l'âme ravie!” An the calmness of the music is such contrast to the explosions in Werther’s. And there is perfect connection between Werther’s “Un autre! son époux! ” ?(sung by JK in front of the curtain at the end of the first act) to Albert’s sombre “Il l'aime! ” And in this one word you feel Albert’s change of heart regarding Werther as well, there is no friendship left.

Strangely enough “Pourquoi me réveiller” is not my favourite part of the opera, I already like “Je ne sais si je veille..” better, but outside the last act, which is perfect in itself I think I like the 2nd act best in terms of Werther’s music. There is nothing quite like the exaltation of “J'aurais sur ma poitrine”, especially when you hear it sung in a way that makes you forget it’s difficulties. But my absolute favourite starts with Werther’s apparently resigned “..et ce sera ma part de bonheur sur la terre.”, interrupted by the joyous, bell like chant of happiness brought in by Sophie “Le bonheur est dans l'air! Tout le monde est heureux! ” There couldn’t be a more painful clash between her light and unpreoccupied joy and Werther’s dark despair, and later on Charlotte’s in the 3rd act.

Massenet gave Sophie the perfect music I think! And Gillet is the perfect voice for it, you hear laughter and birds chirping in her voice when she sings “Ah! le rire est béni, joyeux, léger, sonore! (léger) Il a des ailes, c'est un oiseau... ”

But the absolute highlight the other night was Werther/Jonas alone on stage singing :” Oui! ce qu'elle m'ordonne... ” From the softest imaginable beginning to the soul shattering “Père! Père! Père, que je ne connais pas, en qui pourtant j'ai foi, parle à mon coeur, appelle-moi! Appelle-moi! “ (Again the repeated words in different shading each time). It was mind-blowing!!! I don’t think anyone dared to breath until the end… It felt as if the words were literally slicing through his heart and yours as well…

And it was Sopie Koch’s time to dazzle! I find it amazing what she can achieve in 3 arias who follow each other closely. Her “...tu frémiras! tu frémiras! ” were incredibly dark and frightful! (Never mind that I find the idea of that particular letter unbelievably cruel from Werther! Who would ever write such a letter to someone they love????) And the intense way Sophie Koch sings it at that particular moment it leave almost no room to forgive Werther for writing it. The she gently follow with the teararia on a similar tone, just much sadder “le coeur se creuse... et s'affaiblit: il est trop grand, rien ne l'emplit; et trop fragile, tout le brise! Tout le brise! ” The desperate embrance with Gillete’s Sophie makes you fight back tears each time. And by the time Koch has reached the end of her «O Dieu bon! Dieu fort! ô Dieu bon! En toi seul j'espère! Seigneur Dieu! Seigneur Dieu! “ all I can do is wonder who does she do it??? I am all tied in knots after the first aria and she finds the force to increase the emotional engagement from one to another. Splendid!!

And then he is back! I find it rather touching that the composer and the librettist have made Charlotte into such a sweet and forgiving human being, which is capable of receiving him in such a tender way. He definitely does not start off on the right foot and I would have been anything else than sweet and warm like wonderful Charlotte. But of course her effort to sooth and pacify gives us musically another one of my very favourite moments: their intertwined: “Toute chose est encore à la place connue! ” Too bad there is no turning back to sweetness at this point. Werther’s desperate “Pourquoi me réveiller” brakes all barriers and their ensuing struggle was never more convincingly displayed. Their almost feverish “Je t'aime! Je t'aime! je t'aime! / Défendez-moi, Seigneur, défendez-moi contre moi-même!
Défendez-moi, Seigneur, contre lui... défendez-moi! ” sung with incredible force, never shouted, literally exploded with feeling. It was incredible !!! I get goosebumps by just remembering it! It was as if the music was carrying them both to the top, in spite of the sheer orchestral force behind that music they were always audible, above and beyond. If I hadn’t been there I would certainly think such a thing is impossible! I can’t assure I wasn’t sitting there mouth open just staring, not believing my own ears. I will cross al fingers and toes that tomorrow during the broadcast they manage to repeat that incredible moment! It is sure to lift us all from pout sofas, floating above in sheer ecstasy! I can’t stop gloating when I remember.

And again Massenet knew perfectly what he was doing writing the continuation and especially the introduction to the last act, because you have to actually gradually come back to reality and realise what is actually happening and to be able to enjoy the last shreds of tenderness between Charlotte and Werther and not exit with a bang after that high point you have just been pushed to. Mind you this time the introduction almost gave me a heart attack and not for the right reasons… remember the sliding room where Werther lies wounded? Well again something badly malfunctioned, the mechanisms were even noisier, there was a loud crack and the house wobble dangerously a few times, shaking Jonas on the ground to the point where I though they would end up throwing poor wounded Werther on the stage outside in the snow! Then the sliding suddenly was faster and I saw two technicians run up from behind to the back of the house. I honestly thought there was a danger of the thing coming off stage into the pit! They need to sort it out before the broadcast tomorrow because it is unfair to spoil the music with these mishaps! Thank God this is one cold blooded Werther who never even batted an eyelid and as soon as Charlotte was there one rapidly forgot about the silly house. The last act was different from the other time, differently sung and slightly differently played I would say. I can’t explain exactly how, but it sounded differently. Equally as good, if not better but the accents and dynamics varied. Koch was softer, rounder, her piani altogether better and well, you know Jonas his piani!! And if you don’t you better cancel all you have planned for tomorrow night, watch the broadcast and you’ll find out! A pity the orchestra, especially the solo instruments at times were a bit louder than last time around.

I had the strangest flash back here, as last time as well on Werther’s “Parle encore! parle je t'en conjure! ” Easy guess, from where? Of course: “Parlami ancora come dianzi parlavi, è così dolce il suon della tua voce!” (yes, Mario to Tosca, last act)

And that “Tout oublions tout! ”….

And you should hear Jonas sing:
“Mais, à la dérobée, quelque femme viendra visiter le banni...et d'une douce larme, en son ombre tombée le mort, le pauvre mort...se sentira béni... ” in the softest, most incredible piano i have ever heard ! There has to be a special name for what he does, because there is no other like it, I’m pretty sure he has invented it! So ... it is just the Jonas-caress :-)

Pretty strange thing having someone die so beautifully, singing so incredibly, with not a breath audible while still making death credible!. And every word intelligible! Heavenly!

I’m grateful for having been able to go, for having a wonderful and warm audience on the night, for a good orchestra and an amazing conductor, for the inspiration of Massenet, for incredible singers, for everyone and everything that made this such an unforgettable experience!

PS.
And merci beaucoup to Esti for being there to capture the impressions of a very special night! It’s equally as wonderful to be reminded through the intimate eye of her camera of the people, the feelings, the shades and traces which make such magical nights happen :-)

So tomorrow, the broadcast , details on the Opera de Paris web here or here where Intermezzo has kindly given all relevant details already :-)

So where do I pray for an unusually good internet connection???

To a much too beautiful start...

2010-01-22T16:50:00.003Z

What a wonderful beginning to my musical year!!!

After what I have seen and heard in the last weeks of the old year I would say it is exactly what the “soul” doctor ordered!

At my parents home we are lucky to get all things artsy/musical like 3sat, arte, mezzo, etc so I was all to happy to indulge in the “Operafest” 3sat and ZDF had prepared around the 10 most popular operas, according to viewers’ choice. A brilliant idea and I wouldn’t question the choice of productions that was broadcasted because if we all start saying what our favourite production of a certain opera is and try to decide on one it will all end up in blood and tears ;-) However, when you indulge in such a density of them over a short period of time you realise a lot of things about your own tastes and preferences in music and opera productions.

And you are allowed to frown and laugh at the fact that I scheduled my family and friends visits at holiday time around the opera-broadcast schedule. I basically ended up dragging people along to see these :-) or making sure I was back home to watch. Thank God most of them were pretty late at night due to time difference so everyone is still talking to me ;-) Although my parents did complain about the overdose of opera in German with no subtitles…

So there was: Lohengrin, Rosenkavalier, Don Giovanni, Tosca, Aida, Fidelio, Boheme and Zauberflote. Unfortunately I wasn’t home any more for the Carmen and Traviata. But I had seen both recently and we watched the Carmen from the Scala together. Of course I did vote as well and before you ask, yes I votes for the winner too, Traviata :-) My favourites change these days frequently, but because I was home and we were going down memory lane opera wise anyway, I just couldn’t deny all those 40 or more Traviatas seen :-) You can google all the details yourself, I’ll just resume which they were: Lohengrin Munich June 2009 (Jones, JK, Harteros, etc), Rosenkavalier (BadenBaden2009, Fleming, etc), Don Giovanni (Salzburg, Kusej 2006, Hampson, Schafer, etc), Tosca (Bregenz, Himmelmann2009, Michael, Saks, etc), Aida(Bregenz, Vick2009), Fidelio (Valencia, Valencia 2006 (Mehta,´Alli; Meier, Seiffert, Salminen), Boheme (2009 movie, Villazon Netrebko), Zauberflote (Zurich 2007, Kusej, Strehl, Mosuc, etc).

Tell you what, by the end of it I was sure I need I break from Regietheater for at least half a year! I don’t mind it, in fact I like to see modern twists on long known operas every now and then but I realised that I could not live in a world where that is all I would see of opera. Of the above Fidelio and Rosenkavalier were sort of traditional and Boheme was the movie. However the latter 2 operas are far from being any of my favourites, in fact they are the two I like least of the above list (and yes I mean Rosenkavalier and Boheme). Fidelio was an interesting set and well worked costumes, but other than that it was rather the reverse extreme, stand still singing all along. And I don’t like feeling like in a costume museum with back-round music being played. As for the others, however good the singing was, I ended up being slightly frustrated by the constant distraction from the music, the guessing game as to what was supposed to happen next and all the elements that had little to do with the story or what the text was saying at that particular moment in time. I knew all the operas and could in the end filter out the disturbing elements and try to find my way back to the music. But as the days went by I tried to think of somebody who had never seen opera before, didn’t know the pieces, but say had the curiosity to sit through all of these productions. I honestly wonder what they would have understood? It seemed like a video mix of a news channel with current images of crime and normal life tossed together with a back ground of classical music. The stories just blurred into each other, distinctions lost. Kusej’s Giovanni and Zauberflote stood out a bit , but they were in many ways similar as visual treatment, for two operas which are not. Also all of these productions seemed to favour harsh light, bizarre dressing taste (or lack thereof) and many also considerable stage mechanics. Of course I am exaggerating, as the experiment in itself is exaggerated. But compiled like this I felt struck by how much of the identity of the pieces was lost and how similar the visual interpretation became.

And it is particularly sad because some of them were absolutely brilliantly sung, like the Lohengrin and the Don Giovanni! Well, the Tosca and the Aida where double disappointments, not much to salvage besides Saks’ Scarpia. I love Aida, but the blue giant feet, the splashing about in the water and the Aida as a cleaning lady on top of the mediocre singing was too much to take. Never mind about Mario singing dolci mani with Tosca nowhere in sight (well she was somewhere on top of the eye, fluffing about with the pink frock..) The eye movements were interesting, but out of context I felt and I any case if I want to see really cool engineering tricks I go to the cinema and watch the Matrix… or James Bond ;-) Now those are tricks! And there is a place and time for everything, directors just have to get it right. And there are plenty opera directors out there who get it right and who find ways of interpreting and telling the same old story anew, without clashing with the music or disconnecting the visuals from the actual plot. Why many believe that “modern” directing in opera means inserting a completely new story into the old I don’t know. Some clearly believe that the old one can be chucked away easily, but they are wrong, it just cannot disappear, it is right there in the music and the text. Piling sets on top of it and alien gestures does not delete it, just hides it under the rubble, still visible, making it just an unsatisfying and confusing experience. But there are those like Carsen, McVicar, etc who love the music and the story and use their imagination in telli the story in a fresh way, basically bringing it alive in front of me, while maintaining its magic, the illusion of the show. It doesn’t need to become reality to feel real.

In any case, not all was bad, even these had their moments, like the beginning of Act 3 in Lohengrin which has much more intimacy than many traditional productions, who bring too much of the “hero from another world” into the relationship between Elsa and Lohengrin (if only building that house would not take 2 acts of .. well.. rubble!) (And I haven’t forgotten I still owe you all the story of “my” Lohengrin..) And the bikini-clad ladies in the Giovanni had something appropriately chilling to them, giving the performance a darker tone.

As to the singing and the music, well, there is the only reason why I watched all in the end, in spite of the productions. I could never get enough of hearing Anja’s Elsa and Jonas’ Lohengrin, I rediscovered Christine Schafer as Donna Anna and found as always, that she is one of the most touching singers I’ve ever seen, it was good to see Ildebrando as Leporello (something he is really good at, and to forget this stiff Escamillo), the Rosenkavalier had a great cast ( which I could listen to for hours (just not singing that particular opera…nice arias but to me it just doesn’t glue together and there are far too many ladies singing too much of the opera), Waltraud Meier is a wonderful Leonore, but Peter Seiffert is I’m afraid past his Florestans (and it is true what they say about Valencia opera – absolutely amazing orchestra and chorus!!). Boheme is a movie, so it all sounded good and looked good, I watched it, did the crying, but am still left with the same feeling as before: I never have the actual impulse to go and see it, I don’t long after it. I will trod along for a good reason, but somehow the end of it never leaves me wanting to book the next performance again. Which doesn’t stop me from really liking Musetta and having a favourite out of it: “vecchia zimarra”. I just don’t like it, that’s it. (or maybe I’m just waiting for Mr Tony Pappano to conduct it and do the “unlocking” for me.. after all it worked wonders with Tosca! )

On top of this we watched the Carmen from the Scala and listened on New Year’s Eve to the Met broadcast of the Carmen premiere… I know it’s hideous to compare, but at such short distance from each other impossible not to do :-) Obviously can’t compare the productions, but I can say some things about the on from Scala: I can’t understand all the uproar and the fuss. It wasn’t mindblowing in any way. not bad, not good, not too out there, not too anything if you ask me. I don’t think this is a production to stand out in any way. The was gratuitous flesh in a production that was supposed to be about feminine values, there were loads of priests and crosses which didn’t add, but luckily didn’t disturb much. Costumes were ok, but I have seen better pants and more flattering frocks for the ladies. The lighting was really good, but overall it felt as though the detailed work had gone into filling the space around the main singers, into putting movement, action around the set constantly. I liked Micaela transforming into Jose’s mother, but that is about it. I don’t know how it came across live, but to me the focus was everywhere else, but on the main characters. Such details on chorus and dancers, etc (how much this added is debatable) and such lack of it for Jose, Carmen, even Escamillo. That was a topical Escamillo if I’ve ever seen one (I’ll not go into details about the bull picture and all the rest, as this, for anyone who knows a bit about Spain had nothing much to do with what corridas are all about and all to do with preconceptions and stereotypes). The interaction between the characters lacked something and there were details which spoiled the atmosphere a couple of times (at least on close up via TV): Carmen wears lycra pantyhose all the time!! (Carmen, the gypsy.. lycra pantyhose.. who thought that was a good idea!) , Jose looks in the last act as if he just came from the tailors, nice suit jacket, pressed, crease-free shirt, make up all in place. And the big scare, the rape scene is … well, not scary enough and rather funny at times (one hand leaning on Carmen, one hand fumblig pants… at least they stopped there because imagine Jose singing the end of Carmen with his pants around his ankles… no giggles!). I’m not saying it couldn’t have been… possibly yes. Does it add anything to the end? No, the killing is quite enough violence. Or if you do go with the idea, it must be convincing, this wasn’t.

The singing was of course a different thing, as the French have said it these days as Jose, Jonas Kaufmann reigns supreme, and I would have loooved to hear him live in this role! Anita R has indeed a wonderful voice and she will be a very interesting singer to follow, but she has yet to go a while before becoming Carmen other than vocally :-) Barenboim made interesting choices for the music, but I have to say retrospectively I liked Pappano more and also Yannick Nézet-Séguin in the Carmen from the Met, maybe a more expressive, passionate Carmen is more my thing.

Talking about the one from the Met, I was curious to hear it as I saw the same Jose and Carmen (Algana and Garanca) sing it in ROH and wasn’t all that blow away. Live the production I hadn’t seen before was not as good as on DVD, it’s nice all right,and for me personally works better than the Scala one. Still I would definitely be a buyer of a more modern Carmen (eg the one in Zurich which had it’s moments and it’s interesting images). But at that point I wasn’t convinced Garanga is the thing. But hearing her now from the Met I liked her more and I think I will end up linking her as Carmen, that is if she puts the reigns on the overacting in ROH. I think she still slaps the men-eater a bit to thickly on. Vocally however she sounds like Carmen, at least from the Met she did and she can really sing! As far as Ecsamillo go…. My favourite is definitely… Kyle Ketelsen. Ildebrando is scared of the horse and can’t really scare Jose. Mariusz Kwiecien is not quite there vocally and I think Schrott didn’t have his best day at the Scala premiere when the video was made. But at least he looks and acts very convincingly like his character. I would like to hear him live with this as well. But I have seen Kyle Ketelsen sing it and he hits the right spot of vocal comfort with the score and convincing, underplayed self-assuredness. Algna I am sure is a wonderful Jose… on the day he doesn’t confuse it with Turridu. He can sing the role well, and it is audible, but at some point the acting, or rather overacting takes over and music goes out the window… and that happened at least when I heard from both the ROH and the Met, before the end of the last act, and I can’t say I like it.

So, once again, I end up hugging the ROH Carmen DVD close to my heart and brood over not having seen it live. It still is the one I think about whenever I think of listening to Carmen.

But, all of these more or less satisfying productions, and especially the 3sat Regietheaterfest left me longing for a bit of illusion, a bit of romanticism and to just find back to the simple, pure pleasure of music. Which is exactly what I got with Werther! And I am lucky enough to continue this mood with 3 lieder recitals, the first one being right his very evening:

Click on the joint picture for more details of the Simon Keenlyside recital at the Wigmore tonight. It will be repeated on Monday, for anyone wanting to go. I was hoping for Dichterliebe… but no such luck :-) Still I like the program and am greatly looking forward to hearing Simon again! Back in London after a highly praised Macbeth in Wien and a Posa in Munich, where he sang it even better than in London a few months ago! Which I thing is unfair of him!!! ;-))) But it is probably the consequence of careful voice development at the hands of Verdi :-) I’m happy for Mr Keenlyside and will continue to cross my fingers for his debut later in the year in his well loved Rigoletto :-)

The will me more lieder next week from Christian Immler and Helmut Deutsch (thanks Intermezzo for the tip!) and again click on HD’s picture for details. These will be more modern works that I have not heard before, so greatly looking forward to the encounter!

And then the week will end with Joyce DiDonato’s canzone d’amore :-) At the Wigmore again, details in the picture:

Oh, yes and there was this Werther in Paris during the weekend… the question being of course, to be or not to be across the channel … with the Eurostar.

Maybe all this will just be too much beauty to take in!