Upcoming season....

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?

Mozart, Nozze and more

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.

Cosi fan tutte ROH

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 ;-)

Immer grossere Sehnsucht.....

Foto Decca/scholtzshootspeople at http://www.jonas-kaufmann.com/

For more on the album, you can now click on the link above and browse through the gallery and listen to the snippets from the tracks.

And here is also anothe full length track at Klassikakzente.de :

"Wer deutsche Operarien singt, kommt an der Zauberflöte nicht vorbei. Schließlich stellt dieses raffinierte Verwirrspiel um die Liebe und die Menschlichkeit eines der Höhepunkte der Musikkultur überhaupt dar. Deshalb musste Mozarts Meisterwerk unbedingt seinen Platz neben Wagner, Schubert und Beethoven haben, wenn sich Jonas Kaufmann dem Reiz dieser Pretiosen der Vokalwelt annimmt.Und wie er diese Arie gestaltet, feinsinnig und sinnlich zugleich, versunken und ehrfürchtig, ganz so, wie man sich den vom Pfeile Amors getroffenen Tamino vorstellt. Es ist eine von zehn herausragenden Arien, die ab kommender Woche als vollständiges Album unter dem Titel „Jonas Kaufmann: Sehnsucht.“ veröffentlicht wird. Als dritten Teil des besonderen Vorab-Services, der KlassikAkzente.de präsentiert, kann man den Startenor aus München mit der Bildnisarie als Online-Stream genießen.Hier geht's lang zum schönen Klang:"

Tamino - Bildnisarie

So far I am unable to chose a favourite... but this is something special indeed.... how can one go from powerful and passionate (I'm thinking Wintersturme) to this..... Totally tender and sensitive...

Adelanto de ..babas (Simon Keenlyside IS Don Giovanni)

Anoche tuve el placer de escuchar el Don Giovanni desde el Liceu ( un teatro que tengo enormes deseos de visitar en el futuro espero no muy lejano!) Y aunque miles ya hayan dado su opinion pues voy a anadir yo tambien mi salsa aunque en mi caso es solo tirar una flor a los pies de este Don Giovanni y pedirle que me cante a mi..."La ci darem la mano...la mi dirai di si!!" Que siii, que siiii!!!







Habia leido bastante sobre la funccion y no negare que de alguna manera estaba mas contenta de disfrutar de ella solo oyendo y no viendo ;-) La cantidad de reuidos que acompano la funccion fue increible y a veces bastante molesto! Perooo, la radio me permitio cerrar los ojos y imaginarme una imagen como la de arriba ;-) Es lo que me transmitio cantando Simon Keenlyside, un DG elegante, seductor, versatil, extremadamente musical! Como podeis leer en un post mas viejo en Don Carlo fui que le oi por primera vez y sabia que me gusta su manera de cantar, lo bien que lo puede hacer y el gusto que es escuchar a este baritono cantando Mozart, eso si que fue una sorpresa agradable!



Lo demas del reparto tambien me gusto: Kyle Ketelsen un Le"o"porello (segun el senor de la radio LOL) excelente y me alegre de nuevo del adelanto sorpresa que recibi a la funccion de ROH que vere dentro de poco; una Ángeles Blancas de Donna Anna con mas caracter que de costumbre, algunas inseguirdades pero mas a mi gusto (las sopranas mozartinas muy clasicas me acaban durmiendo siempre!), Véronique Gens (Elvira), Juanita Lascarro, como Zerlina, y David Menéndez, como Masetto, han estado bastante bien aunque haya oido mejores Zerlinas y Masettos, pero han destacado con sus voces lo bonito de la musica y eso no es poco :-). Christoph Strehl hizo lo que pudo con Don Ottavio, la voz hasta me agrado mas de lo que suelen hacer los tenores que suelen cantar este papel, desde luego poco agradecido ( estoy por pensar que Mozart odiaba los tenores porque hay q ver que papeles mas tontos les toca, pobres! Hasta el Don de Bieito me seduce mas que el Ottavio!!;-) El commendatore de Günther Groissböck me ha gustado, lastima que los ruidos de fondo le hayan quitado lo impresionante que deberia de ser su entrada en el final.

Pero con el permiso de todos yo me quedo con esto :




thanks for the video lionelpower



Y ire contando los dias hasta poder ir a ROH a escucharlo en directo y disfrutar de una de las obras mas divertidas, fascinantes, sensuales y entretenidas de toda la historia de la opera! Que por cierto tantas ganas le tuve que me compre entrada para ambos repartos porque el segundo lo conduce Pappano jajaja


Y no os vais a molestar conmigo si prefiero esto al chandal de Barca, o si??? :-p





PPS Para divertirse un rato aqui la guia del SUN sobre la historia del "Dirty DON":
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1487575.ece