I need to write this before anything too mundane brings me back to earth with a bang!!
It was out of thisss worlddddd!!!! I expected it to be good, but it was even better! I was lucky to sit in a cinema and not in the actual house, and for once I am grateful (well, especially since I will be in the house later this week, I know, I am a veeeery lucky girl and believe me, it is not my intention to rub it in anyone’s face). You don’t get this closeness to the show in any house, not even from the first row and not even with binoculars. In this case, every single second of it was worth it!
I think I didn’t blink and didn’t swallow during the whole first part… i did some in the 2… (I allowed my senses to take a break during Anna& Ottavio duets, can’t be helped :-)) But overall it was a thrilling as I have ever seen a performance be.
I am sorry if I keep repeating myself these days, please bear with me and let me be in my happy cloud for just a little while longer. I’ve seen it all before and I knew what was up and still, it was a new a freshly made.composed/sung. I rediscovered every single character like I have never seen them before and I liked every single one of them.
Even Donna Anna and Ottavio redeemed themselves… they were not boring, just people who see love differently and live it out quietly and peacefully and with a loooot more patience then the rest of the mortals, which makes them funny. But they are nice and you can see them grow old together. Good job Marina Poplavskaya and Ramon Vargas! Just wish Marina would stop saying she has got some kind of achies… happens every time I have heard her, just hush, few will notice anyway and it just draws attention to flaws which might be due to bugs or could also be some technical weeknesses, which always make her tired vocally towards the end of arias/performances (same thing happened in Carlo earlier this year). Praise to Ramon for a lusciously blue Ottavio, the velvet gave him additional colour and life and he did the role justice and he was the manliest and most interesting Ottavio I have heard, he put as much spunk in the character as it could take, and it can’t take much as you all know, but well done!!!
Eric Halvarson’s commendatore was proper scary and imposing and he took the Don to hell with him with a vengeance, great last scene contribution!
Masetto – Robert Gleadow and Zerlina Miah Persson were very pleasant, funny, sweet, playful and very good singers indeed. I appreciated their acting, they made their characters value as much as all the others and really defined them…more so than Marina and Ramon did with theirs in terms of acting. Again they were a believable couple and they definitely made us laugh and feel love the playful way.
I just realised that this was a story of couples, all of them had a match, someone to hand on to, quarrel with and ultimately sympathise with them and care for them, and that includes the Don and Leporello. The only one alone is Elvira, maybe she is destined to be alone in the story because she is the strong one, the one who can survive it and is woman and human enough to go on and overcome all her misfortunes, none of the others truly are. The women in this opera, except for moments Zerlina have never before really stood out for me, maybe because they somehow are all victims. Well Elvira definitely stood out tonight!!! Joyce DiDonato was fantastic!!!!! Her singing was as great as it comes, but her greatest contribution was to make Elvira not only stand out but be in terms of weight in the story equal to the Don and Leporello and that is no small victory! Her character was so well defined, she was powerful and captured you every step of the way, from her first appearance to the last contribution to the final sextet. And she always stood out and never got drowned out or even covered by the rest. I wouldn’t have believed Elvira was such a woman, could feel so strong, could suffer so, could have such depth of feeling and humanity in her. Joyce made her strong and soft, humanly flawed but engagingly so. You feel for her, she is funny at times but deep down you know she will survive this Don and you just wish until the very end that he would open his eyes and really see her! Joyce has been saying the rehearsals were short but from the result I can only applaud her for her work and her dedication. It was not only worth it, it was a total success!! This is not an Elvira anyone will ever forget!
And now to the two men of the night, Leporello- Kyle Ketelsen and The Don- Simon Keenlyside. They are a perfect couple and they have this amazing chemistry!!!! You want to spank the Don whenever he treats Leporello badly, but there is something there whenever Leporello threatens to leave that tells you he would be so lost without him. He is only defiant, he is only so conceited because his back is always covered and his fully relies on that! The Don is great because Leporello is soo great himself. They were perfect in every imaginable way! Perfect actors, perfect singers, perfect showmen, perfect comedians, perfectly flawed and they had perfect interaction! I feel so lucky to have been able to see them up close, to watch the story and the relationship of the two unfold in every word, every gaze, every gesture and every tone. You could sit there for hours and just watch and hear they play… they must have the most incredible fun doing their roles, they obviously enjoy it so much! And boy are they athletic!!! How can they every sing while doing what they do?? And they made it seem effortless!
But I have to dedicate this to The Don- Simon is unique! There can’t be anyone like this out there and there isn’t a Don like his! I wish I could say a million thanks to him for his engagement as an artist, for his total dedication, for his incredible hard work, without which this Don would not be as special as it is. He was hanging from above, holding on to some cross with a hand a half a foot, lying on the floor sideways, backwards, forwards, he was carrying the ladies in his arms, he was running and dancing and all the time he was singing and acting with every cell in his body. Such elegance and grace in gestures, such glimmer in his eyes, such sweetness on his tongue, such self irony in his smiles, such carelessness and recklessness in each gesture, each new play. You couldn’t find a Don for which there are no limits, for which there is always another try, another play to be played, another women to be wood, another drink to be savoured J He is someone you cannot take your eyes off and who crawls through your ears straight into your heart!
It was musically a great performance. No first night jitters, no mishaps, no nerves. They made each aria count and each phrase beautiful, and every word had meaning. The biggest BRAVO to all, to the wonderful Charles Mackerras conducting, to the orchestra, to everyone who contributed to this production. A Bravo as well to Francesca Zambello for this lavish and decadent production. She managed to make it elegant and slick, but decadent in meaning and intent and I love her sense of colour and style. And she gave the ending a definite kick and an oohh so ironic and sensual touch, thank you indeed!!! Anyone watching this first time keep your eyes wide open so you don’t miss any of the moments in the show, but especially not the end, your will be pleasantly surprise, it definitely made me laugh, very very wicked indeed!! I was wondering where that picture came from, if it was just on the posters to lure audiences, but no, it is definitely in there and at the right moment! Beautifully done, great sense of humour! Let me know if you want to know more details or if you have all seen it before and I’ll spill all the beans….. but really it is so much fun to get the full impact when you don’t know it is there and you definitely don’t expect it! I never saw it coming ;-)
One more thing, there is a big injustice in this artistic world!!! Why do men never get flowers!!! Hellooooooo!!! The piece is called Don Giovanni!!! So why were there no flowers for the Don and Leporello? And all the other men in the show as a matter of fact, and the conductor! Very unfair!!!! I completely disagree with this practice, it is unjust and at least this evening the boys deserved not only bouquets but whole fields of flowers!! Somebody do something about it!!!
As to the broadcast itself…there definitely were first night jitters and stutters there!! What was up with the technicians??? Don’t they know the secret of perfection is rehearse, rehearse, rehearse? The hiccups and bad signal signs and image freezes were funny up to a point, but they gave us some panic moments and unnecessary thrills. Luckily, we were spared major accidents and no arias was truly affected, but I did expect a technical performance a bit better than this. Hopefully next time! Also a bad idea to make Pappano read from the prompter… the man is an amazing story teller, let him speak freely for God’s sake…this was at times a bit embarrassing. And we also got more of the background talks than necessary. It just annoys me because I wished for the ROH to be perfect in every way tonight.
They were brilliant at what they do best, and that is putting on a show that is unbeatable, world class!! But there is homework to be done on the broadcast part.
It would have also been nice to have some interviews with the cast during the interval, not only the conductor. I bet the people out there were dying to know more about the performers and there was nothing there on offer.
For me personally in the cinema the sound was too low. I don’t know if it was that particular theatre or the broadcast in general. I have seen the Carmen recently and was blown away by the quality of the sound and picture. Picture quality was great (the hiccups were the problem, not the pixels themselves :-)) but I would have wished the sound to be louder, so that it could feel more like the live thing and it didn’t in that respect. You could feel how good the music was, because it was flawless and you never got distracted by anything going amiss, but Pappano and Mackerras gave some wonderful insight into musical refinements in the interval, for which the cinema sound juts wasn’t loud and sensitive enough… but then again maybe it was just this particular theatre.
I also hope at least half the public was new to the opera tonight, like it was intended because then I have no doubts that they will have fallen in love with it and its magic, in a till death do us part kind of way! And there can never be enough fans of the opera in this world ;-)))
The only regrets that I have for tonight with not being in the House are for not being able to scream myself hoarse with Bravo, Bravi, Bravissimi!!!! I had all this amazing energy inside me that they transmitted from the stage and can only give so much back in writing, it just doesn’t do it! They deserve so much more!!! And somebody pleaaaasee tell Simon he needs to stay there in the centre of the stage at curtain calls not 3 seconds, but at least 10 or more! For God sakes!!! You work so hard Simon and give soooo much, please let us give some love back!! You deserve it and we need to do the giving :-))))
To everyone out there who hasn’t seen it, do what you must, cue, rob a bank, beg your friends or parents for sponsorship, but go catch yourself this DON!
So…
It was out of thisss worlddddd!!!! I expected it to be good, but it was even better! I was lucky to sit in a cinema and not in the actual house, and for once I am grateful (well, especially since I will be in the house later this week, I know, I am a veeeery lucky girl and believe me, it is not my intention to rub it in anyone’s face). You don’t get this closeness to the show in any house, not even from the first row and not even with binoculars. In this case, every single second of it was worth it!
I think I didn’t blink and didn’t swallow during the whole first part… i did some in the 2… (I allowed my senses to take a break during Anna& Ottavio duets, can’t be helped :-)) But overall it was a thrilling as I have ever seen a performance be.
I am sorry if I keep repeating myself these days, please bear with me and let me be in my happy cloud for just a little while longer. I’ve seen it all before and I knew what was up and still, it was a new a freshly made.composed/sung. I rediscovered every single character like I have never seen them before and I liked every single one of them.
Even Donna Anna and Ottavio redeemed themselves… they were not boring, just people who see love differently and live it out quietly and peacefully and with a loooot more patience then the rest of the mortals, which makes them funny. But they are nice and you can see them grow old together. Good job Marina Poplavskaya and Ramon Vargas! Just wish Marina would stop saying she has got some kind of achies… happens every time I have heard her, just hush, few will notice anyway and it just draws attention to flaws which might be due to bugs or could also be some technical weeknesses, which always make her tired vocally towards the end of arias/performances (same thing happened in Carlo earlier this year). Praise to Ramon for a lusciously blue Ottavio, the velvet gave him additional colour and life and he did the role justice and he was the manliest and most interesting Ottavio I have heard, he put as much spunk in the character as it could take, and it can’t take much as you all know, but well done!!!
Eric Halvarson’s commendatore was proper scary and imposing and he took the Don to hell with him with a vengeance, great last scene contribution!
Masetto – Robert Gleadow and Zerlina Miah Persson were very pleasant, funny, sweet, playful and very good singers indeed. I appreciated their acting, they made their characters value as much as all the others and really defined them…more so than Marina and Ramon did with theirs in terms of acting. Again they were a believable couple and they definitely made us laugh and feel love the playful way.
I just realised that this was a story of couples, all of them had a match, someone to hand on to, quarrel with and ultimately sympathise with them and care for them, and that includes the Don and Leporello. The only one alone is Elvira, maybe she is destined to be alone in the story because she is the strong one, the one who can survive it and is woman and human enough to go on and overcome all her misfortunes, none of the others truly are. The women in this opera, except for moments Zerlina have never before really stood out for me, maybe because they somehow are all victims. Well Elvira definitely stood out tonight!!! Joyce DiDonato was fantastic!!!!! Her singing was as great as it comes, but her greatest contribution was to make Elvira not only stand out but be in terms of weight in the story equal to the Don and Leporello and that is no small victory! Her character was so well defined, she was powerful and captured you every step of the way, from her first appearance to the last contribution to the final sextet. And she always stood out and never got drowned out or even covered by the rest. I wouldn’t have believed Elvira was such a woman, could feel so strong, could suffer so, could have such depth of feeling and humanity in her. Joyce made her strong and soft, humanly flawed but engagingly so. You feel for her, she is funny at times but deep down you know she will survive this Don and you just wish until the very end that he would open his eyes and really see her! Joyce has been saying the rehearsals were short but from the result I can only applaud her for her work and her dedication. It was not only worth it, it was a total success!! This is not an Elvira anyone will ever forget!
And now to the two men of the night, Leporello- Kyle Ketelsen and The Don- Simon Keenlyside. They are a perfect couple and they have this amazing chemistry!!!! You want to spank the Don whenever he treats Leporello badly, but there is something there whenever Leporello threatens to leave that tells you he would be so lost without him. He is only defiant, he is only so conceited because his back is always covered and his fully relies on that! The Don is great because Leporello is soo great himself. They were perfect in every imaginable way! Perfect actors, perfect singers, perfect showmen, perfect comedians, perfectly flawed and they had perfect interaction! I feel so lucky to have been able to see them up close, to watch the story and the relationship of the two unfold in every word, every gaze, every gesture and every tone. You could sit there for hours and just watch and hear they play… they must have the most incredible fun doing their roles, they obviously enjoy it so much! And boy are they athletic!!! How can they every sing while doing what they do?? And they made it seem effortless!
But I have to dedicate this to The Don- Simon is unique! There can’t be anyone like this out there and there isn’t a Don like his! I wish I could say a million thanks to him for his engagement as an artist, for his total dedication, for his incredible hard work, without which this Don would not be as special as it is. He was hanging from above, holding on to some cross with a hand a half a foot, lying on the floor sideways, backwards, forwards, he was carrying the ladies in his arms, he was running and dancing and all the time he was singing and acting with every cell in his body. Such elegance and grace in gestures, such glimmer in his eyes, such sweetness on his tongue, such self irony in his smiles, such carelessness and recklessness in each gesture, each new play. You couldn’t find a Don for which there are no limits, for which there is always another try, another play to be played, another women to be wood, another drink to be savoured J He is someone you cannot take your eyes off and who crawls through your ears straight into your heart!
It was musically a great performance. No first night jitters, no mishaps, no nerves. They made each aria count and each phrase beautiful, and every word had meaning. The biggest BRAVO to all, to the wonderful Charles Mackerras conducting, to the orchestra, to everyone who contributed to this production. A Bravo as well to Francesca Zambello for this lavish and decadent production. She managed to make it elegant and slick, but decadent in meaning and intent and I love her sense of colour and style. And she gave the ending a definite kick and an oohh so ironic and sensual touch, thank you indeed!!! Anyone watching this first time keep your eyes wide open so you don’t miss any of the moments in the show, but especially not the end, your will be pleasantly surprise, it definitely made me laugh, very very wicked indeed!! I was wondering where that picture came from, if it was just on the posters to lure audiences, but no, it is definitely in there and at the right moment! Beautifully done, great sense of humour! Let me know if you want to know more details or if you have all seen it before and I’ll spill all the beans….. but really it is so much fun to get the full impact when you don’t know it is there and you definitely don’t expect it! I never saw it coming ;-)
One more thing, there is a big injustice in this artistic world!!! Why do men never get flowers!!! Hellooooooo!!! The piece is called Don Giovanni!!! So why were there no flowers for the Don and Leporello? And all the other men in the show as a matter of fact, and the conductor! Very unfair!!!! I completely disagree with this practice, it is unjust and at least this evening the boys deserved not only bouquets but whole fields of flowers!! Somebody do something about it!!!
As to the broadcast itself…there definitely were first night jitters and stutters there!! What was up with the technicians??? Don’t they know the secret of perfection is rehearse, rehearse, rehearse? The hiccups and bad signal signs and image freezes were funny up to a point, but they gave us some panic moments and unnecessary thrills. Luckily, we were spared major accidents and no arias was truly affected, but I did expect a technical performance a bit better than this. Hopefully next time! Also a bad idea to make Pappano read from the prompter… the man is an amazing story teller, let him speak freely for God’s sake…this was at times a bit embarrassing. And we also got more of the background talks than necessary. It just annoys me because I wished for the ROH to be perfect in every way tonight.
They were brilliant at what they do best, and that is putting on a show that is unbeatable, world class!! But there is homework to be done on the broadcast part.
It would have also been nice to have some interviews with the cast during the interval, not only the conductor. I bet the people out there were dying to know more about the performers and there was nothing there on offer.
For me personally in the cinema the sound was too low. I don’t know if it was that particular theatre or the broadcast in general. I have seen the Carmen recently and was blown away by the quality of the sound and picture. Picture quality was great (the hiccups were the problem, not the pixels themselves :-)) but I would have wished the sound to be louder, so that it could feel more like the live thing and it didn’t in that respect. You could feel how good the music was, because it was flawless and you never got distracted by anything going amiss, but Pappano and Mackerras gave some wonderful insight into musical refinements in the interval, for which the cinema sound juts wasn’t loud and sensitive enough… but then again maybe it was just this particular theatre.
I also hope at least half the public was new to the opera tonight, like it was intended because then I have no doubts that they will have fallen in love with it and its magic, in a till death do us part kind of way! And there can never be enough fans of the opera in this world ;-)))
The only regrets that I have for tonight with not being in the House are for not being able to scream myself hoarse with Bravo, Bravi, Bravissimi!!!! I had all this amazing energy inside me that they transmitted from the stage and can only give so much back in writing, it just doesn’t do it! They deserve so much more!!! And somebody pleaaaasee tell Simon he needs to stay there in the centre of the stage at curtain calls not 3 seconds, but at least 10 or more! For God sakes!!! You work so hard Simon and give soooo much, please let us give some love back!! You deserve it and we need to do the giving :-))))
To everyone out there who hasn’t seen it, do what you must, cue, rob a bank, beg your friends or parents for sponsorship, but go catch yourself this DON!
So…
Here’s me, still floating, still deliriously happy, hoping I’ll still be wearing this goofy smile from now tomorrow morning when I wake up :-)
PS Pics curtesy of http://www.simonkeenlyside.info/
PPS And yes, we did get to see what you see in the pictures, and it is as good as ever YUM! ;-))))
And today morning, what do others say about it:
Bloomberg LOL, now i know why i didn't get any tickets ;-) But i am truely glad so many people did, that have never been in the House before :-)))
The Sun .. I'm hoping they'll say more or at least some of the people who were there last nigth will comment
The BBC --> there is a little video there :-)
TheTeenageTheatreCritic --> someone who I always enjoy reading and who has a very good point there! I have always felt not out of place but slightly frustrated for always being in minority in the audience and not really seeing new faces and especially new generations, does make you fear for the future when you are normally 20 years younger than 80% of the audience. I hope somebody reads his suggestions and gives the general idea some thought.
Times onLine well, everyone expects something different...it is all about expectations ;-)
TV3 Catalan telvision --> short video from the cinema, whatch it till the end, you'll see why! I absolutely loovedd that scene! That is the Don, this tells you how the character is build and what will come :-)
El Mundo Spanish -this gentlemen saw it at the same cinema I did... pitty i din't know to say hi, that would have made the interval much more interesting :-)
The Guardian blog --- again expectations, expectations.... i hope the first time viewers had a more open mind to things, at least there weren't comparing in their minds with other stuff they had seen before...
The Stage I am glad somebody else loved the la ci darem la mano
update 10 September :
the Sun again Do read the review by Jon Gaunt!!! now that is what I am talking about!!!!
Musical Criticism i do thin g there were more first timers that is implied but so with them on the musical parts :-)
Independent this one liked it as well, and i will stop myself from commenting on the envy of men about the best ones of their bunch!
The Guardian another likie
Metro - girl power indeed!
Scenta on fresh love for opera :-)
Music OMH on why this was as good as it gets
Mozartforum bubbly and DG!
Rumbau blog in spanish
Stephantasy German, very nice and balances review :-)
