O namenlose Freude

Posted on February 23, 2014 by operaramblings

Katharina Thalbach sets her Fidelio, filmed at Zürich in 2008, somewhere in the early 20th century. Most of the costuming suggests very early but Don Pizzaro’s suit suggests 20s/30s gangster. Maybe he’s just fashion forward. The story telling is fairly straightforward and there’s no big concept. There are a few, smallish, touches. For example, the prisoners seem to be playing basketball with Don Pizarro’s head in the conclusion. The sets are literal but evocatively lit and rather effective.

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Another COC podcast

Posted on February 21, 2014 by operaramblings

The latest COC podcast is out featuring Alia Rosenstock, Wayne Gooding, Gianmarco Segato and myself. Topics include the crisis in the Italian opera industry, best operas of recent decades and much more. It’s available on iTunes and on the COC websire.

Kupfer/Barenboim Ring – 3. Siegfried

Posted on February 17, 2014 by operaramblings

We seem to be in some kind of post apocalyptic wasteland. Mime’s hut looks like a re-purposed storage tank but the bear and the forest are more or less realistic. It’s all very dark and there’s quite a lot of use of pyrotechnics. This is also our first look at Siegfried Jerusalem’s Siegfried and he is very good indeed. He captures the hero’s youthful vigour and arrogance extremely well. There is a strong performance too from a rather manic Graham Clark as Mime and John Tomlinson continues as a reckless and wild Wanderer.

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Don Giovanni at the cinema

Posted on February 16, 2014 by operaramblings

We got to see Kasper Holten’s new Don Giovanni from the Royal Opera House in Toronto yesterday. It wasn’t live but I really don’t think that matters. I’m not going to dwell too much on production or performance because it’s already been extensively reviewed elsewhere. I concur with the general tenor of the reviews that the singing and acting is extremely strong. Certainly Holten got a more intense performance out of Mariusz Kwiecien than Michael Grandage did at the Met and Veronique Gens was a very fine Donna Elvira. There really weren’t any weak links.

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Long weekend discounts at COC

Posted on February 14, 2014 by operaramblings

It’s a long weekend in Ontario and COC is discounting Saturday evening’s Così fan tutte and Sunday’s matinee of Un ballo in maschera. There are two deals. The first allows you to buy at rush prices without queuing up at the box office. Tickets start at $25 and Orchestra seats (regularly $224) are $70. Go here and use the promo code WINTERRUSH. The second deal is box office, in person, only. Starting at 11 a.m. on the day of each performance, Orchestra level Rush seats are priced at $40.

More opera in cinemas

Posted on February 13, 2014 by operaramblings

The latest entrant to the live HD cinema broadcast market is ENO. The first broadcast, on 23rd February, will be the current David Alden production of Britten’s Peter Grimes which will, current lurgy permitting, feature Stuart Skelton in the title role. As his is a Grimes I haven’t seen and particularly want to, I am not best pleased that no cinemas in Greater Robfordia seem to be carrying this program. You can check out the details here. May the tidal force be with you!

A reet canny lad

Posted on February 13, 2014 by operaramblings

There was no doubt that the Four Seasons Centre was the place to be at noon today. Few opera fans would willingly miss a free recital by Sir Thomas Allen and I doubt that anyone who attended was disappointed. Perhaps the voice doesn’t have the bloom it had twenty years ago but it’s still exceptionally fine and the craftsmanship and sheer stage presence was little short of amazing. Above all, perhaps, it’s the humanity of the man that shone through for the hour and a bit he entertained us.

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MetHD line up for 2014/15

Posted on February 13, 2014 by operaramblings

The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2014/15 season both in-house and the HD broadcasts. The HD line up seems to continue this season’s approach of mainstream works with big name casts. That said, John Adams’ Death of Klinghoffer and the double bill of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle in a production by Polish director both get a cinecast. Three of the ten productions have previously been seen in the HD series and a fourth is available on DVD. All five new productions this season get a broadcast which is to be welcomed.

Here’s the full line up with comments.

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That passionate monosyllable

Posted on February 11, 2014 by operaramblings

Young American tenor Paul Appleby has been delighting audiences in the current COC production of Così fan tutte where he sings Ferrando. Today he got to show us what he could do as a lieder singer in a lunchtime concert in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre. He started off with a stylish, if occasionally tentative, set of five Schubert songs. It was a promising start with some very stylish and controlled singing and unhistrionic acting with the voice. Hitting his stride, he gave us seven songs from Schumann’s Myrten cycle. These covered a wide range of moods from tender passion to drunken ecstasy. Again great skill and artistry and lovely accompaniment from Anne Larlee at the piano.

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Intense, if a bit weird, Onegin

Posted on February 9, 2014 by operaramblings

Mariusz Treliński’s Eugene Onegin originated in Warsaw but was filmed in Valencia. It’s distinctly on the Regietheater end of the spectrum but it’s intense and oddly compelling. The sets are spare and almost abstract. A silent character, O***, is interpolated. He’s a sort of Commendatore’s ghost who comments on the action and interacts with characters at key moments; with Tatiana during the letter scene and with Lensky before the duel for example. A lot of action takes place in front of the pit, usually simultaneously with action further back on stage making for quite complex (and hard to film) visuals.

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