Revival of The King and I

Kelli O'Hara as Anna Leonowens
Ken Watanabe as King of Siam
Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang

Directed by Bartlett Sher

From the perspective of 2019 Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I seems very different.  Is this cultural appropriation?  We have cute oriental children, a king that goes barefoot, bowing while curling up on the floor, etc. etc. and so forth.  Who knows what the true reality is? The English conquered the world and never reconsidered their own values. 

The musical is based on the memoirs of Anna Harriette Leonowens which were published after the American civil war, while Uncle Ton's Cabin was still well known.  This novel is a topic in Anna's lessons with the children.  They notice that this contradicts what their father has taught.

Anna does not come as a conqueror.  She is hired to teach the children and receives a salary.  She teaches English ideas.  But that is why the king has hired her.  He wants to find a place in this world filled with European conquerors.  He wants to appear to them to be civilized, perhaps realizing that they are filled with cultural prejudices.  It's best to just go with it.

Kelli O'Hara projects the classy but not too classy tone of Anna.  She sings sweetly and does a nice waltz [oops--polka].  I wasn't too sure about Ken Watanabe at first, but he won me over.  Tuptim's lover was a beautiful young man who was not that great as a singer.  Ken sang the king's songs resulting in melodies I don't think I've ever really heard before. 

It ran on television.  It's worth a look.

Orphée et Eurydice from Chicago

 Orphée, Amour

Harry Bicket Conductor
John Neumeier* Director, Choreographer, Set, Costume & Lighting Designer

Dmitry Korchak, tenor Orphée
Andriana Chuchman, soprano Eurydice
Lauren Snouffer, soprano Amour

PBS has brought us Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice from Lyric Opera of Chicago with the Joffrey Ballet.  It's rather more like a ballet with three singers. If you are annoyed by the presence of ballet in opera, this is not the version for you.  In the French version of 1774 which we are seeing here Orphée is sung by a high tenor, called a haute-contre. Each time you see this opera it's different, apparently.

The outfits should tell you it's regie.  We are at a rehearsal, and Eurydice is late.  When she finally comes in dressed as a dancer, Orphée berates her for wanting to show off her stills, and she slaps his face and goes off in a huff.  Then she dies in an auto crash.  After lamentation, Amour explains the bargain he must make with the gods.  Eurydice will return with him from hell as long as Orphée does not turn and look at her.  He rejoices in a really quite spectacular coloratura aria.

Hell is a ballet with chorus. The entire opera is in a way a solo for the tenor.  I wish I liked him better.  I think I like the production.  It is an excellent idea for the Joffrey.  During a long ballet our tenor is holding a score to the Italian version Orfeo ed Euridice.  About 54 minutes in, after a long ballet, the soprano has her first singing.  She tells us how peaceful it is in hell.  The singers are sometimes choreographed into the dances. 

I feel this opera requires a great star to pull it off.  The music is rather monotonous.  The resurrected Eurydice stays under her veil, and when he tries to remove it, she disappears.

Bel Canto on PBS

 
Conductor: Sir Andrew Davis
Production: Kevin Newbury

Prisoners:
Roxane Coss, American opera singer (soprano): Danielle de Niese
Katsumi Hosokawa, Japanese businessman, party honoree (bass-baritone): Jeongcheol Cha
Gen Watanabe, Hosokawa's translator (tenor): Andrew Stenson
Ruben Iglesias, vice president (tenor): William Burden
Father Arguedas (baritone): Takaoki Onishi
Victor Fyodorov (bass): Rúni Brattaberg
Joachim Messner, red cross messenger (baritone): Jacques Imbrailo

Captors:
Carmen (mezzo-soprano): J'Nai Bridges
César (countertenor): Anthony Roth Costanzo
General Alfredo (tenor): Rafael Dávila
General Benjamín (bass): Bradley Smoak

Jimmy López's opera Bel Canto premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago in Dec 2015 and was filmed for the Great Performances television series the following month.  My tv is on the fritz, so I am viewing it from an online source.  It is based on Ann Patchett's novel which is in turn a fictionalized version of an historical event which took place in Lima, Peru, in 1996-97.  See here where I suggested this novel would make a good opera.

One of the fun things about this opera is that people sing in a lot of different languages — English, Spanish, Japanese, Latin, Russian, French, German and the native Peruvian tongue of Quechua.  The voice lessons are in Italian.  The characters drift toward people who speak their language.  We are at a birthday party for a rich Japanese businessman who loves the opera singer Roxane Coss.

My first reaction is that the role is too heavy for Danielle de Niese, a wonderful lyric soprano.  We need some more spinto.  The terrorists think the Japanese businessman is the president.  Good to remember here that the president of Peru at the time of the attack was Alfredo Fujimori, a Peruvian of Japanese descent.  They say "Tupac Amaru" for no apparent reason.  This is the name of the last Inca ruler.

My second reaction is that the piece is over orchestrated.  Opera is about the singing.  Think about how your opera would sound with only the singing.  I feel it's over orchestrated even in comparison with something like Tristan.  For such a loud orchestra we need Sondra Radvanovsky, not Danielle de Niese.  How happy I felt when I heard a bit of "Laschia chio pianga."  The composer seems only interested in the orchestra.  Since I am not in the hall, I could just be describing the recording.

Past the middle is a lyrical section which I like very much.  J'Nai Bridges has a beautiful solo.  So does Anthony Roth Constanzo.  It's consistently too loud in the orchestra compared to the singers, but the lyrical parts are attractive.  Less heavy on the brass and percussion.

In the real world of opera singing Roxane would speak more languages than anyone else.

There is a lot to like about this opera.  I'm adding a small post script.  When one is sitting in the opera house, one cannot lookup in Wikipedia that the president of Peru was of Japanese descent or other details of this type.

Mama Rose

This of course refers to Jonathan Kent’s production of Gypsy, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, filmed from the West End in London and shown recently on  Great Performances on PBS.

Above are Imelda Staunton as Rose and Lara Pulver as Louise, or Gypsy Rose Lee.  The show brings a lot of memories for me.  I vividly recall fantasizing myself in the role of Mama Rose, the star of the show in spite of the title.  She waited until it was too late to have a career herself.  As of course did I.  I also remember Gypsy Rose Lee on her television talk show. She would flirt with the camera.  I have also read Gypsy's murder mystery called The G-String Murders.

A number of famous women have done Mama Rose:  Ethyl Merman, who is very easy to imagine in the role, Angela Lansbury, and Tyne Daly to name 3.  Imelda Staunton is intensely bitchy in the part, intensely angry and completely believable.  It is a far different experience from the "nice" movie.  The show has only a few hit tunes which are repeated.  If you missed it on TV, watch it on the PBS website.

Richard Tucker Gala 2016

I'm a little slow on this one, but I want to write about this year's wonderful Richard Tucker.  Here is a link.  It should be up for a year.  We start off with the current award holder Jamie Barton who sings "Acerba Volluta" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur.  This is a barn burner and she does an excellent job.  She is very talented.

Each singer has to talk after they exit.  Then Piotr Beczala sings Puccini's "Nessun Dorma."  There is chorus with this.  If you want to know how it's going, just look at the faces of the singers in the chorus.  His voice is showing some stress.

Renée Fleming is shown briefly singing with Luciano Pavarotti.  Then she comes out and sings "Io son l'umile ancella" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur.  The Renée, she always sounds so good.  She recommends that you know your own voice.  Can't argue with that.  I complain constantly about people selecting repertoire outside their physical gifts, but Renée knows what is best for her.  She was gorgeous here.

Then Nadine Sierra comes out and performs a duet with Andrea Bocelli, the special guest of the evening.  They sing the "Sulla tomba, Verrano a te sull'aure" duet from Lucia di Lammermoor.  They actually look well together.  He is beginning to both look and sound old.  Sorry.  There was a lot of complaining on line about him.  Nadine genuinely seems to like him and they do well together.

Cilea is having a big night.  Stephen Costello then sings "E la storia solita del pastore" from Cilea's L'Arlesiana.  This is very beautiful.  Stephen's voice is developing nicely.

"In quelle trine morbide" from Manon Lescaut is sung by Angela Gheorghiu.  It's always nice to see Angela.

The repertoire is all of a piece here, like something from the 30's.  "Ebben, nel andro lontano" from Catalani's La Wally comes next, also sung by Angela.  Perhaps she is the other guest star.  This is just her stuff and she is in form.

And now for something completely different.  Isabel Leonard sings"Nacqui all' affano...Non piu mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola.  Instead of sweetness, we have some spectacular vocal gymnastics with wonderful, original fiorature.  I think this concert is designed to warm up as it goes along.  Her ornaments are very original.  I've seen her in Griselda so I know what she can do.  This is excellent.

Jamie, "You got all my friends.  Thank you for that."  Tucker person, "We tried to get your enemies,  but you don't have any."

Back to the concert.  Jamie and Christine Goerke appear for a duet from Ponchielli's La Gioconda, "E un anatemal."  We are back to singing big which is what the Tucker is all about.  Goerke is the queen of big singing, and Gioconda isn't done nearly enough.  Their voices are well matched.  You won't hear it better than this.

They come off the stage and do this incredible chest bump, as it they were the Bryan brothers (tennis).

Lawrence Brownlee talks about lifelong learning.  Gee I love him.  That's why I can't really ever be a critic because I love them all too much.  He sings "Terra amica" from Rossini's Zelmira.  I don't understand the public's desire to trash people in places like YouTube comments.  I'm only good for love.  This one also has chorus.  Larry tears into it.  Rossini tenors are one of the wonders of the world.

Nadine Sierra sings another duet, this time with Stephen Costello, this time "Va, je t'ai pardonee" from Gounod's Romeo et Juliette.  She's singing 3 different roles at the Paris Opera next season.  She knows her Gounod from her Donizetti.

The great Christine Goerke sings Eboli's aria "O don fatale" from Verdi's Don Carlo.  I don't know what she's doing singing something I used to sing.  Perhaps a Verdi dramatic mezzo is coming.  She completely aces this and has a much easier time with it than the average mezzo.  The drama and the notes all come easily.

Boccelli returns to sing "M'appari tutt' amor" from Flowtow's Martha.  This song plays in my head in German, but in concerts it always appears in Italian.  Perhaps that's why he is here.  He sees the Richard Tucker foundation as a promoter of Italian music.  I see it like that, too.  We're almost finished and there has been only Italian and French singing.

Renée Fleming and Piotr Beczala sing the love duet from Gounod's Faust, "Il so fait tard."  Renée is outstanding in this, too.  The audience is amazing and cheers for everything.

The concert closes with Jamie Barton, she is really showcased here, singing "Adieu fiere cite" from Berlioz' Les Troyens.  Is this something we should thank Susan Graham for?  Perhaps.  I am so glad to see the growth of interest in Berlioz' vocal music.  Jamie is a singer to love.  IMHO.

All Italian and French, nothing before Rossini, nothing after Puccini.  This is all classic Richard Tucker.  A wonderful concert with several former winners and guests.  It will be available on the PBS website for 3 years.

The Wiz

Witches from The Wiz

The Wiz live on NBC played Friday night.  This was at the same time new and not new.  It's the same story only not.  Everyone was fabulous, especially her "Queenness" Queen Latifah.

The Queen is the Wizard.  "Ease on down the road" was the only song I recognized.  This is a lot of fun but Toto doesn't go to Oz.  It plays again on Dec 19.  I missed this when it starred Diana Ross, but don't miss the rerun.

Andris Nelsons in Boston

I watched the inaugural concert for Andris Nelsons at the Boston Symphony on the internet because I could not find it on my local PBS station.  He explained that he programmed what he loves.

The first half was all Wagner.

The prelude to Tannhäuser?
Gralserzählung from Lohengrin sung by Jonas Kaufmann
Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde sung by Nelsons wife, Kristine Opolais

The second half was all Italian (order?).

Un bel di from Butterfly sung by Kristine
Turidu's aria to his mother from Cavalleria rusticana sung by Jonas
Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana
Love duet from Manon Lescaut by Jonas and Kristine

Encore:  duet from La Boheme

In the Manon Lescaut there is kissing and other carrying on.  Jonas explains in the pauses that the curse of being an opera conductor is that you get to see some other guy making love to your wife.  He seems he's handling it pretty well.  Roberto Alagna and Angela are supposed to have broken up over precisely this issue.

After the singers had left, they played the Pines of Rome.  These are some of the pines of the Giardino Borghese:

His heart is in the late romantic, and he brings an enormous amount of sincere emotion to this repertoire.  He showed a light touch and great attention to detail, things that are not often heard in Wagner or Puccini.  He knows how to follow a singer.  To gauge him as an orchestral conductor I would need to hear maybe Beethoven or someone like that.

Richard Tucker Gala 2014

This year the gala appeared on my local PBS station. Perhaps this was due to my complaining, perhaps not. I'm showing the program that was on tv. Maestro Emmanuel Villaume conducting.

GIUSEPPE VERDI, “Tutto parea sorridere…Sì! de’ Corsari il fulmine” from Il corsaro, MICHAEL FABIANO, Tenor.  Michael is the current Richard Tucker Prize holder.

VINCENZO BELLINI, “Qui la voce…Vien diletto” from I puritani, PRETTY YENDE, Soprano.

GIUSEPPE VERDI, “Infelice!..e tuo credevi” from Ernani, ILDAR ABDRAZAKOV, Bass, NEW YORK CHORAL SOCIETY men.

GIACOMO PUCCINI, “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca, JOSEPH CALLEJA, Tenor.  This piece is very short.

JULES MASSENET, “Esprits de l’air” from Esclarmonde, ANGELA MEADE, Soprano; JENNIFER JOHNSON CANO, Mezzo-soprano, chorus.  Angela is the only former prize holder to appear on the program.

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, “Là ci darem la mano” from Don Giovanni, INGEBORG GILLEBO, Mezzo-soprano, ILDAR ABDRAZAKOV, Bass.

UMBERTO GIORDANO, “Nemico della patria” from Andrea Chénier, ŽELJKO LUČIĆ, Baritone.

JULES MASSENET, “Pourquoi me réveiller” from Werther, JOSEPH CALLEJA, Tenor.

JULES MASSENET, “Toi! Vous!…N’est-ce plus ma main” from Manon, JOYCE EL-KHOURY, Soprano, MICHAEL FABIANO, Tenor.

GIUSEPPE VERDI “Pace, pace” from La forza del destino ANGELA MEADE, Soprano.

PIETRO MASCAGNI, “Regina Coeli…Inneggiamo” from Cavalleria rusticana, ELENA BOCHEROVA, mezzo-soprano, NEW YORK CHORAL SOCIETY.  There needs to be some serious complaining on this item.  The large chorus covered the mezzo most of the time.  Normally the choir is offstage here, if I remember correctly, so you are going to have to tone them down.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN, “I Feel Pretty” from West Side Story/ PRETTY YENDE, Soprano.  Pretty singing a song about being pretty.  Very cute.  The conductor burst in with what sounded like prompting toward the end.  What was that about?

GAETANO DONIZETTI, Finale of Act II from Lucia di Lammermoor, ANGELA MEADE, Soprano, JENNIFER JOHNSON CANO, Mezzo-soprano, MICHAEL FABIANO, Tenor, ANDREW STENSON, Tenor, NICHOLAS PALLESEN, Baritone, ILDAR ABDRAZAKOV, Bass, NEW YORK CHORAL SOCIETY

Michael Fabiano put on an excellent showing here.  He held his own against big stars of the opera world and exceeded most of them in the passion department.  Michael isn't one of those American opera singers who put all their energy into correct singing.  He gets down.  Bravo.  I expect to see a lot more of him.

Kennedy Center Honors Ten Years Later

This blog is now 10 years old.  I began it with a post about the Kennedy Center Honors, and it is therefore suitable that I mark the anniversary with a new one.

The taping ran on CBS last night, and the honorees in order were:   singer Al Green, ballerina Patricia McBride, actor Tom Hanks, Lily Tomlin, and Sting.  Jessye Norman was in the audience.  I expected her to do something, but she didn't.

• Al Green.  Whoopie Goldberg did his intro, and Jennifer Hudson sang.  The audience sang along, including the president.  There was even a clip of Obama singing an Al Green song in a press conference.  This segment was fun and actually made Al seem significant.  I'll have to think this one over.

• Patricia McBride danced with the New York City Ballet under Balanchine.  She was Edward Villella's partner and danced 60 roles, 30 of which were created for her.  Young people did bits from her repertoire.  How do you sandwich a ballerina between a pop artist and marching bands?

• Tom Hanks had military choirs and bands.  Not sure why.  What really does one say about Tom Hanks's career which began with a sitcom where he appeared in drag in every episode?  I felt this segment pretty much fizzled.

• Lily Tomlin had Jane Fonda and Reba McIntyre talk about her.  Lily Tomlin is an institution and could have been shown off better.

• Sting was introduced by Meryl Streep and had the Boss, Esperanza Spalding and Bruno Mars sing his stuff.  Have I ever seen Bruno Mars before?  Esperanza Spalding was my favorite thing on the program, but her kind of cool jazz doesn't have the wow of other people.  The only Sting in my iTunes is by Dowland.  He's known for his range and versatility.

Jessye was as close to classical music as we got.  I felt that the show started high and went downhill.  Nevertheless the honorees were all deserving.  There was a controversy in the live performance that was edited out of the broadcast.

Happy anniversary to me.

Sweeney Todd at Lincoln Center

This was my third Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim:  the first was a pirate DVD with Angela Lansbury; the second the movie with Johnny Depp, and the third this wonderful concoction from Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic.  I must say I much prefer this cast with the always charismatic Bryn Terfel as Todd, Emma Thompson as a completely daffy Mrs. Lovett, Philip Quast as Judge Turpin, Jeff Blumenkrantz as The Beadle, Christian Borle as Pirelli, Erin Mackey as Johanna and Audra (The Great One) McDonald as The Beggar Woman.  Audra also introduced the show for PBS.

If you look behind the performers you can see people playing instruments.  They wandered crazily along narrow paths between sections of the orchestra.  The performers carried the show.

If you missed it, perhaps you can find it on PBS.

Lots Happier

If you want to keep up with what's going on in American opera, the Richard Tucker Gala is a must.  I found it on the PBS website.

A lot of previous winners were on the program:

Isabel Leonard, 2013 Richard Tucker Award Winner 
2012 Ailyn Pérez
2011 Angela Meade
2009 Stephen Costello
2004 Matthew Polenzani
2002 Joyce DiDonato
1999 Stephanie Blythe 
1990 Renée Fleming

Other equally wonderful people on the program:
Susan Graham
Greer Grimsley
Eric Owens
Maestro Riccardo Frizza

Program

• Isabel Leonard "Gracia mia" by Granados.
• Stephen Costello and his wife Ailyn  Pérez did a scene from The Elixir of Love.  She gets more and more beautiful.
• Eric Owens sang "Te Deum" from Tosca.  I find his voice very beautiful but not very evil sounding.
• Renée and Susan sang the Flower duet from Lakme.   Gorgeous.

               Renée, "Olympics of Singing."
               Susan, "We are slowly morphing into each other."

• Matthew Polenzani "Kleinzach" from The Tales of Hoffmann.   He recently sang Hoffmann here and was marvalous.  I shouted for him.
• Angela Meade "No, mi lasciate... Tu al cui sguardo." I Due Foscari.  The audience loved her best.  Her vocal gifts are truly astounding.
• Isabel Leonard "Ombre vane" from Griselda.  She was spectacular in this at Santa Fe.  It's too bad she couldn't sing the whole role, but maybe that would be too much.  She was wonderful.
• Stephanie and Greer sang a scene from Samson and Dalilah, the heaviest item on the program.
• Susan sang "J'aime la militaire" from La Grand Duchesse de Girolstein by Offenbach with soldiers, uniform and everything.  I should have gone to Santa Fe last summer.
• Stephen Costello sang "Salut demeure chaste et pure" from Faust.  I hear weight coming into his voice.
• Renée "ombra di nube" by Refice.
• Joyce DiDonato "Tanti Affetti" from La Donna del Lago.  I guessed it from the first 2 chords.
• Finale from William Tell.

This was a wonderful concert with a lot of spectacular singing.  I would have liked more.  I flagged this as television even though it wasn't for me.  My favorites are Matthew, Joyce, Ailyn, Isabel, Renée and Susan, but truly I think I love them all.  These people with maybe here and there others are the cream of American singing now.  I don't know who picks them, but they have their shit together.

I'm going for Jamie this year.  Who do you pick?

Richard Tucker Gala

This television presentation is selected from the entire concert for the Richard Tucker Gala which took place on November 11, 2012.  We saw:


Gerald Finley, baritone, "Sibilar l'angui d'Aletto", Handel Rinaldo
Olga Borodina, mezzo-soprano, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix", Saint-Saëns Samson and Delilah
Ailyn Pérez, lyric soprano, Gavotte and Scene, Massenet Manon
Ildar Abdrazakov, bass, and Quinn Kelsey, baritone, Attila and Ezio's duet, Verdi Attila
Jamie Barton, mezzo-soprano, "O mon Fernand", Donizetti La Favorite.
Erwin Schrott, bass-baritone, "Ave, Signor", Boito Mefistofele
Giuseppe Filianoti and ensemble, Giuletta Act, Offenbach Tales of Hoffmann
Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello, tenor, cherry duet, Mascagni L'amico Fritz
Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone, "O du mein holder Abendstern", Wagner Tannhaeuser
Ildar Abdrazakov, "La calunnia", Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia
Liudmyla Monastyrska, dramatic soprano, "Nel di della vittoria... Vieni, t'affretta", Verdi Macbeth
Marcello Giordani, tenor, "Recitar! ... Vesti la giubba", Leoncavallo Pagliacci
Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello, tenor, Act II Finale, Verdi La Traviata
Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello, tenor, "Libbiamo", Verdi La Traviata
Chorus, "Va Pensiero", Verdi Nabucco

Some of the omitted numbers can be seen as shorts on this website. 

As is usual with the Richard Tucker Society, there was a strong emphasis on heavy repertoire and heavy singing.  To carry the flame of Richard Tucker is to carry the flame of the old style of opera of his era.  Borodina and Barton are very heavy for the modern mezzo Fach.  Barton gave a barn burning performance that received the first shouts of the evening.

Finley is the lightest of the basses and baritones, who are quite well represented.  And Liudmyla Monastyrska is about the heaviest soprano out there today.  She emphasizes Lady Macbeth and Abigaille, indeed sang the extremely heavy letter aria from Macbeth.

Ailyn Pérez is the lightest of the singers on the list above.  She overcomes all with her lovely tone and wonderful charm.  I wish her, indeed expect from her, good things.

Between the musical numbers are short interviews with Audra McDonald and clips of various types.  The clips with Ailyn Pérez are the most interesting.  Before her first aria she is shown marking in a rehearsal.  Marking involves singing very lightly in a kind of imitation of real singing in order to practice timing and pronunciation with the other participants in the rehearsal.  I'm trying to think when I have seen a film of someone marking.  My own voice was not very loud, so the conductors would ask, "Markieren Sie sich?"  Sigh.  It is common and normal to rehearse in this half voice style of singing which is easier on the voice.  It is unusual but not unknown for a singer to mark in a rehearsal that has an audience.  The audience usually gets annoyed.

The other clip shows Ailyn singing with her dog, not the same clip as the one I posted.  What makes this interesting is her husband Stephen Costello sitting patiently next to them waiting for this embarrassing moment to pass.

P.S. More things. It's over for Marcello Giordani.

Audra says "Someday you will say 'I first saw Ailyn Perez here.'" Sorry. I will say "I first saw Ailyn Perez at the Santa Fe Opera."  Ailyn was most impressive in the excerpt from La Traviata.  This opera will feature her next season in San Francisco.

Domingo's Favorite Roles

Part of the recent pledging activity on PBS included a film about Placido Domingo's favorite roles. There are some expected things and some surprises. I am posting some films, but they aren't necessarily the same ones as are in the film.  He was the opera singer of my generation.

Carmen by Bizet

Was there ever an opera singer like Don Placido?  I think it is the almost magical combination of manly beauty and emotional intensity that sets him apart, quite in addition to the voice that sings anything.  He sings all those roles because he can.  The intensity of his Don Jose is unsurpassed, not even by Alagna.

La Gioconda by Ponchielli

Luisa Miller by Verdi

At this point in the program came an interview with Deborah Voigt who sang Sieglinda to his Siegmund.  "He lives in the moment."

La Fanciulla del West by Puccini

I have a copy of his Fanciulla in my video collection.  I liked very much Licitra in this role, but he could not compare to Domingo who raised this opera to greatness.

Andrea Chenier by Giordano


 I think this recording is a fragment.  See here for the whole thing.

For his Tosca by Puccini we include two recordings.  First is "Recondita Armonia."



This is "E Lucevan le Stelle."

This glorious film made in Rome in the real places of the opera's setting is also in my video collection.  It is pleasing to see him talking about the filming.  The orchestra was in another part of town.

After Tosca came an  interview with Erwin Schrott.

Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach

You'd have to show the whole opera, which I'm not prepared to do.  I always understood Hoffmann to be Domingo's favorite.

Samson et Dalila by Saint-Saens


This film is just a fragment, but it gives you the idea.

I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo
This is a film by Franco Zeffirelli, also in my collection. With the YouTube film comes this comment, "When I really want to hear an especially great voice (as I often do) perhaps I won't choose his. But... if I want to have a complete theatrical experience — with tears and laughter — perhaps how the composers themselves would have like to see, I have not yet found another tenor that puts everything together to breath life into an opera like Placido Domingo. Without him, I dare say operatic standards would not be where they are, today." This comment is also how I feel about him. I wouldn't sit and listen to him on my iPod, but for the full operatic experience, no one tops him.

After this was an interview with Anna Netrebko.  She talks about sneaking in to see him sing Otello in St Petersberg.

Otello Verdi


The best comments from Domingo come here.  "Better too early than too late."  :-)

He talks at length about his voice in this role.  "You have to live so intensely; you have to have the stamina; you have to be convincing as a Shakespeare actor; you have to have the high notes; you have to have the low part; you have to have the metal to pass over the orchestra; you have to have the velvet to sing the love duet."  He, of course, had it all.

He has led us to know that more is possible. Perhaps opera today is what he has made it.

#ad

il Postino

Completely unexpectedly, Il Postino (the postman), the opera by Daniel Catán, produced last fall in LA, was on television last night.

And how beautifully it fits into our currently developing tenor theme.  The two main roles are both tenors. The poet Pablo Neruda, sung by tenor Placido Domingo (called Don Placido in Linda Ronstadt's introduction), is a character in the drama, and Mario Ruoppolo, sung by tenor Charles Castronovo is the title character.  Getting the rest of the cast out of the way:

Beatrice Russo (pronounced Italian), Mario's love, Amanda Squitieri
Neruda's wife, Cristina Gallardo-Domâs
Giorgio, communist postmaster, Vladimir Chernov
Donna Rosa, Beatrice’s aunt, Nancy Fabiola Herrera
Grant Gershon conducted.

There are a number of positive things about this opera.  The composer, Daniel Catán, who has since died, actually seems to like to compose for singers.  His style is neo-Romantic, possibly even neo-verismo.  The plot is not only about love, it's about poetry, a marvelous subject to sing about.  I don't know if it is a problem that the opera is in Spanish.  Does this present casting difficulties?

The plot is handled in a manner reminiscent of Hector Berlioz:  I compose the parts I like and skip the parts I don't like.  This left the story presented in a choppy, disjointed way.  Perhaps librettist is a skill that has not lasted into the 21st century.

It was enjoyable. I especially enjoyed the romantic portrayal of Charles Castronovo as the young man learning to love the metaphor and how to seduce a young woman with words. He was charming.
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South Pacific

The New York revival of South Pacific was on television last night.  This is still the best American musical, and it's in an excellent version.  It was interesting to hear that this is the first revival since the original production.
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Manon Lescaut

While I was in Ohio for Thanksgiving, I watched the first half of the Met version of Puccini's Manon Lescaut on television. I had missed the HD simulcast when it played in theaters last year. Unfortunately for them, this opera is also my favorite recording of Luciano Pavarotti and Mirela Freni. Karita Matilla and Marcello Giordani simply did not hold up by comparison. The Metropolitan Opera production was boring. Matilla punched her high notes in a style that might be fine for Salome but is all wrong for Puccini.

The one redeeming feature is the interview by Renée Fleming, the one where she gets Karita to perform the splits. Amazingly silly!

We switched to watching kiddie cartoons. There were kiddies.


If you want to own a Manon Lescaut, choose this one.

Pavarotti, A life in Seven Arias

The seven arias are:

1. “Che gelida manina” from Puccini’s La Boheme. I was present in the audience when this particular clip was being filmed. Pavarotti's first big splash at the Royal Opera was in this opera.



2. “Pour Mon Ame” from Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment. This section shows both Pavarotti and Juan Diego Florez singing the aria with the 9 high C's. Both are awesome. This section of the film is about his relationship with Joan Sutherland. He credits her with teaching him how to support properly. The sound comes from God and from his fabulous resonance.




3. "Panis Angelicus" by Franck. This is a religious song and not an opera aria. In this section his youth with his father is explored. The aria is sung in canon with his father taking the lead. In this clip he sings with Sting. Watch it if you can.


4. "Questa o quella" from Verdi's Rigoletto. This section includes film of Florez discussing Pavarotti's technique. Great stuff.



5. "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's Turandot. I like this version from 1980. Featured on the program was the version from the first three tenors concert, generally the subject of the segment. It began the Pavarotti as pop star portion of his life.



6. "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini's Tosca. This aria was part of his last performance on any opera stage which took place at the Metropolitan. The film shows him walking with men on both sides to support him.


7. "Ingemisco" from the Verdi Requiem. It's as though he were singing for his own funeral. This clip, with Karajan, is the one shown in the film.



I fast forwarded through the Sting stuff. I have no interest in the Pavarotti as pop star phase, though I hesitate to criticize because lots of people first heard of opera there. I prefer the serious part of his career.

Florez says, "His technique was based on the vowels." I agree. If you can have a low larynx, open pharynx and bright, open vowels like Pavarotti, you might sound pretty good.

He started at the top--above the top. There are Caruso and Pavarotti.

Food Fight

Hänsel..................Alice Coote
Gretel..................Christine Schäfer
Gertrud.................Rosalind Plowright
Peter...................Alan Held
Witch...................Philip Langridge
Sandman.................Sasha Cooke
Dew Fairy...............Lisette Oropesa

Conductor...............Vladimir Jurowski
Production..............Richard Jones

The Metropolitan Opera's New Years Day simulcast version of Hansel and Gretel, which I missed at the time, was on local TV last night. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be Pamela Rosenberg's food fight production. Unfortunately I slept during the entire Witch's role and awoke for the rescue scene at the end.

There was a rerun this afternoon. It was much messier in San Francisco with the witch spewing food all over the set. This version seemed messy enough. It's Hansel and Gretel for the modern child. Is it too late to point out that this is Regietheater at its finest?

Christine Schaefer as Gretel and Alice Coote as Hansel were perfect.

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Oscar

That has to be the worst Oscar show ever. The jokes were bad and the movies were worse. This is the second year in a row they have awarded the Oscar to one of those men's movies where they kill everyone off. The impression I am getting is that they are trying to kill the Oscar awards completely. Everything was rushed. Nothing really embarrassing happened. What a dud.

The only other explanation I can think of is that they are trying to kill the movies. I am so old I can remember when movies like "The Greatest Show on Earth" won. What a concept! A movie is good because people like it.

I was glad to see the woman from "La vie en rose" win. She is nothing like Piaf, so she must be a great actress.

There was one good bit when Daniel Day-Lewis receiving his Oscar from Helen Mirren, last year's winner for The Queen, knelt down in front of her and was knighted with his Oscar.

But that's it. I guess it's a man's industry now, and men can have it.

Shock and Awe

It is more fun to watch ARTS without seeing the credits at the start and then trying to guess what you are seeing. So who is this woman in the medieval hood singing "Sei mir gegruesst" from Tannhaeuser? I was completely mystified until I caught a glimpse of the famous gap teeth. Ach! So the rumor is true: Victoria de los Angeles did sing Wagner. The style isn't exactly right--there's just a tad too much sliding. She doesn't boom it out like Deborah Voigt, so I guess there is no cause for concern. But why?