Met Operas at Theaters This Summer

[Karl-G]

As usual, the Met Opera is offering four "encore presentations" of operas this summer, which is nice for us.  Two of them are my favorites, and I would like to recommend them.  No murders, deaths, violence, vindictiveness, adultery, or lies.  Just some good old fashioned sex and lots of fun with toe tapping music.  And the singers look believable as their characters, not overweight divas and divos trying to act.

 

On July 13, "The Merry Widow" will be shown with Renee Fleming, Nathan Gunn, and Kelli O'Hara, all of whom are slender and attractive.  The production was staged and choreographed by Susan Stroman, who is tops.  Renee is totally believable as a middle-aged widow who has learned much about life and her voice is radiant.  Nathan Gunn is a great actor/singer from Broadway who brings his gifts to the Met.  Kelli O'Hara, also from Broadway, is the best Valenciennes you can find.  A gorgeous lyric soprano, excellent actress and dancer.  The final scene at Chez Maxim's is so delightful and well done, I would like to see it over and over.  Stroman's choreography for the grisettes is the best I have ever seen.  I want to follow the girls as they dance down the street.

 

Then on August 10, they are doing Donizetti's  "Le Fille du Regiment," in what must be the best production ever.  I can remember seeing Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti try to do it years ago, and being very disappointed.   I cannot suspend my disbelief that much.  Joan stood center stage, looking like the Statue of Liberty, raised her arm (in her only concession to acting) and warbled beautifully and incoherently.  Luciano was already overindulging in pasta.  But to believe they were young lovers who fell for each other was too much.  In this production, the incredible French soprano Natalie Dessay sings Marie and Juan Diego Flores sings her boyfriend.  They are totally believable.  Natalie, unlike Joan, believes in articulation, and in the theater you can understand clearly every French syllable she sings.  She called herself an actress who sang, and in amazing feats she sings incredibly while vertical, horizontal, or upside down.  Her physical acting and comedy are better than Lucille Ball.  (Here the diva wears  a sleeveless undershirt on stage.  I tried to imagine Joan trying that.)  And Juan Diego is handsome and charming, and when he sings the 10 high C's, you just want to call out "ENCORE!"  It looks and sounds so easy, you would think any singer could do it. The other characters are also excellent and enunciate clearly, whether the Duchess or the Sergeant.  It's a wonderful production.

 

If you want to find a list of all four productions and theaters near you, look up "Fathom Events."

[Kevin Slater]

Though I've been to the Met many times, I've never done the theater experience.  Looking forward to giving it a try!

Kevin Slater

[Karl-G]

For me, the movie theater experience is superior, because everything is enlarged and very close for you  (there are constant close-ups of faces), and the sound on the surround speakers is much clearer and louder than in the opera house.  I can understand every word in German or French or Italian, because I can see the lips of the singers close-up and hear the high quality acoustic sound.  For example, twice I went to see Renee Fleming live in opera houses, and both times I had seats to the sides, rather than in the center.  In both cases I could not hear Renee singing, because she was often facing other directions.  I left at the first intermission, terribly disappointed.  That is not true in the HD presentation.

July 17  Cabaret - 50th Anniversary

July 20  Cabaret - 50th Anniversary

July 27 Madama Butterfly - Met Opera

Aug. 3 La Boheme - Met Opera

Beware of the "Cabaret" movie.  It is one of my favorites ever, but these days, in order to show it "wide screen," they cut off 16% of the image at the bottom and 16% at the top.  You will not see 33% of the images you thought you knew.  I tried their anniversary showing of "The King and I," and it was so horrible visually, I left.

[SirBillybob]

…. Summer and beyond …

I have been to many cinema live stream or ‘encore’ ballets but had always passed on The Met. The dance offerings have dried up. I have also rarely been to live opera and know very little about it. That will change, in terms of streaming, as I went to The Hours yesterday. It was very moving and I was stunned by the sounds coming out of the mouths of Fleming, DiDonato, and O’Hara. An encore is scheduled for January. Must be a recording. Christine Baranski hosts. O’Hara plays her niece by marriage in Gilded Age S2. 

The libretto was a few times a little difficult to follow … I tend to watch all films in streaming mode, as well as TV, with subtitles now anyway as I often find the diction unclear. The Hours was subtitled in another language where I am due to my location, so a bit of distraction with the back and forth in my mind, but I had of course read Cunningham’s novel years ago and seen the movie. I could not find the libretto on line but I suggest reading or reviewing the book if you want to better catch all the language, as also much of the dialogue is interior, unsurprisingly, compared to the movie. Unless it is subtitled in English where most of you are; probably is. 

Edited December 11, 2022 by SirBillybob

[Marc in Calif]

On 12/11/2022 at 5:47 AM, SirBillybob said:

I have been to many cinema live stream or ‘encore’ ballets but had always passed on The Met.

I wasn't much of an opera fan before the pandemic. I'd seen a bunch of productions (even at The Met) when I was younger and then went to SF Opera often in the 1990s. But for most performances I was happy to leave after the first (or second) intermission. Sometimes it was the dreariness of the plot, lackluster singers, the distance from the action, the too-high placement of the supertitles, or the behavior of fellow operagoers that left me dissatisfied. (N.B. - I have degrees in music.)

I subscribed to Met Opera on Demand starting in 2020 while I was home during the pandemic. Suddenly the faces and voices were the focus, the titles were in the right place, and there was nobody in the audience but me. The large-screen HDTV didn't hurt. And with good headphones, the sound was more immediate and focused than in the opera house. 

I'm not sure why I'd always avoided warhorses like Lucia di Lammermoor and Norma. But I wound up watching multiple productions of each from the on-demand library. I also watched lots of other bel canto works, some of which I was already acquainted with. Plus lots of Mozart and Rossini and others. Still avoided Wagner though!

So, SirBillybob, when a Met opera comes to your local cinema, do go to the performances you're interested in. And also be sure to see the National Theatre Live productions from London. Its film of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is playing this month and next. The films probably appear at the same movie theaters that show the Met operas. 

[+ WilliamM]

The first opera I  saw at the Met was Death in   Venice when Ford was President . 

 Before opera in theaters

Would have saved a trip to NY

 

 

[SirBillybob]

Looks like we might see a little bit of skin on this one. Fortunately, it’s playing a few blocks from my home. 

 

[+ Charlie]

Although it is great to be able to see performances at home and listen to recordings, I really prefer the experience of opera and concerts live in a theater. The greatest disappointment of retirement from major cities to a beautiful resort town is that is that I can no longer walk to a first-rate live performance of Don Carlo or a Bruckner symphony.

Edited February 21, 2023 by Charlie

[+ WilliamM]

Hoping to see the Met's new productiion of Lohengrin which begins this Sunday afternoon.

The opera Wwas last seen at the Met 17 years ago. I liked the production of Parsifal a number of years ago.

Note I could use some California  sun right now (Catalina)

Edited February 22, 2023 by WilliamM

[Marc in Calif]

On 2/21/2023 at 9:53 AM, Charlie said:

... retirement from major cities to a beautiful resort town is that is that I can no longer walk to a first-rate live performance of Don Carlo or a Bruckner symphony.

For me, retiring to a resort town would be equivalent to listening to Bruckner 24/7. 😇

[+ newatthis]

14 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

For me, retiring to a resort town would be equivalent to listening to Bruckner 24/7. 😇

Sort of how I feel too...whenever there is Bruckner on my symphony subscription, I exchange for a different concert 😀. 

[Marc in Calif]

2 hours ago, newatthis said:

Sort of how I feel too...whenever there is Bruckner on my symphony subscription, I exchange for a different concert 😀. 

The occasional Bruckner symphony on a concert program is fine -- like once a season. I prefer Mahler, but Bruckner has some very nice moments. Between those moments, however, there's just lots of aimless wandering.

[+ Charlie]

I respectfully disagree. A professor of mine once explained that a Bruckner symphony is like a leisurely sexual experience: it keeps building to a climax, only to stop, take a breath, and start over doing something a little different, until it can't hold back from cumming any longer.

[+ WilliamM]

Sounds like the great Richard Rodgers 

[Marc in Calif]

2 hours ago, Charlie said:

I respectfully disagree. A professor of mine once explained that a Bruckner symphony is like a leisurely sexual experience: it keeps building to a climax, only to stop, take a breath, and start over doing something a little different, until it can't hold back from cumming any longer.

That professor was clearly not "attuned" to the actual music in the "something a little different" parts. And his idea of a sexual climax is kind of lame. 😇

Edited February 27, 2023 by Marc in Calif

[+ Charlie]

Well, it's the best sex I have nowadays.

[+ newatthis]

21 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

The occasional Bruckner symphony on a concert program is fine -- like once a season. I prefer Mahler

I am a big Mahler fan...if I'm really lucky, I can exchange a concert with Bruckner for one with Mahler.  I wonder if Bruckner/Mahler preference correlates with anything else? (use your imagination 😉)

[+ Charlie]

I am also a Mahler fan, but given a choice, I would usually go with Bruckner. I'm not sure what that says about me (do I enjoy edging and coitus interruptus?). I also prefer Nissan to Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz to BMW.

[+ WilliamM]

Good review for the new procurement of Lohengrin at the Met

"The tenor Piotr Beczala sings with uncanny serenity  and command in a work by Wagner"

[Marc in Calif]

23 hours ago, Charlie said:

Well, it's the best sex I have nowadays.

Have you tried listening to Don Carlo Gesualdo? In addition to his lurid life and lifestyle, there's lots of sexy stuff in his music:

Flamboyant stylization, formal shock tactics, technical virtuosity, intimations of the dark and the irrational, abrupt contrasts, outré harmonic progressions, and other disruptions of the smoothly churning surface of the high-Renaissance style

[+ Charlie]

I have heard the name, but I have not listened to anything.

[Marc in Calif]

6 hours ago, newatthis said:

I am a big Mahler fan...if I'm really lucky, I can exchange a concert with Bruckner for one with Mahler.  I wonder if Bruckner/Mahler preference correlates with anything else? (use your imagination 😉)

Do you mean a correlation with... maybe length? 😘