Metropolitan Opera House

[adriano46]

For a long-standing afficiando of the world of opera, I have really enjoyed this thread. And the icing on the cake is the input from Lohengrin1979, but also the wonderful views of so many others here. Thanks guys for a very enjoyable read.

[Lohengrin1979]

Angela Meade is starting out, and her size doesn't seem to be holding her back-she has lots of engagements at the MET. Leah Crocetto is a young major talent who won the MET auditions and just sang Liu in San francisco to great acclaim and is certainly not sylph-like. Heidi Melton is a young Wagnerian soprano to watch out for, and again, not svelte, but a wonderful voice

 

I went to school with Angela and she is indeed a voice to be reckoned with. We have both talked about how hard it is to slim down for the business. She has lost quite a bit of weight from her starting point and still going. Her voice is top notch as well which doesn't hurt a thing.

 

As to Lee's comment on larger voices, yes we are getting weeded out. The Mozart and Rossini stuff sells better stateside and lyric tenors such as Alfredo Kraus are the way to go for now. Of course, Jonas Kaufmann is also ruining it for the rest of us by being gorgeous and having the most unique tenor sound of our age. I haven't heard him live t but I've heard it's a great sound and not one for me. I aim for Vickers and hope that'll be enough to get me through some Lohengrins and Walthers and Sigmunds. Great thread everybody. I'll shut up now because I could literally talk about my craft forever. Happy New Year.

[raulgmanzo]

Ok now that the opera loving New Yorkers have chimed in I'll post as a new york loving, opera loving Chicagoan.

 

I've not much experience at the Met but I'd choose dress circle or balcony over orchestra.

 

To me the overall experience is paramount and so ANY seat will suffice but generally I place more importance on sound. But not always and sometimes depending on the production or set designer I may really enjoy a birds eye view of the stage. Even at the expense of sound and illusion.

 

But if it was to see a singer I knew or was fascinated by then I could see just wanting as close a row as possible even at the expense of walking out with a stiff neck. Though as another poster mentions sometimes too low and front and the singers voice gets drowned or muddled by the orchestra.

 

Here in Chicago I've sat in most sections at the Lyric. Generally I would choose first balcony although sometimes I really like the sound from even higher up where it gets mixed or other times lower down where one feels the separation and reverberation.

 

Both the Lyric and Met have some serious "nosebleed" seats but the air must surely be thinner at the upper levels of the Met because never in my life have I seen (or heard) so many oxygen tanks outside of a hospital or high altitude climbing camp.

But it really is fantastic that people still go the opera even when it must take effort and planning.

 

Raul

[adriano46]

Ah, the Lyric Opera -- where I sat through my very first opera production a lifetime ago! (It was "MADAME BUTTERFLY", and the soprano was, well..... I suppose I should say "Rubenesque" and we were young (and a few of my group were high on weed), and so when she finally committed hari kari, we applauded, thinking, "Thank God this is over!" only to watch her drag herself back and forth across the stage for another 10 minutes or so.

 

Thankfully, my appreciation for the entire genre of opera developed as I was introduced to both the Met and the City Opera in NY -- ah, the City Opera with Beverly Sills was something to remember, and the productions at the Met -- absolutely seered in my memory. in prod

My taste grew and expanded in opera houses in Vienna, London, Paris, Moscow and St. Petersburg (to see the former Kirov theatre - now Marinskii Theatre, and the old Bolshoi Theature and their productions of Russian opera classics.)

 

Favorite moments, hearing the original recording of the Sutherland MET production of NORMA with Marilyn Horne -- perfect blending of voices.

 

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=joan+sutherland+singing+norma+at+the+met

 

My all time favorite tenor (duck friends) has to be anything by Benjamin Britten sung by Peter Pears (it is a unique voice, granted)

 

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A2KLqIL36ftO3DkAH1D7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBnc GdyMzQ0BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZAM-?p=Peter+Pears+sings+Peter+Grimes&ei=utf-8&n=21&tnr=20

 

Admittedly Jon Vickers is also terrific in the role as are some others.

[leigh.bess.toad]

Ah, the Lyric Opera -- where I sat through my very first opera production a lifetime ago! (It was "MADAME BUTTERFLY", and the soprano was, well..... I suppose I should say "Rubenesque" and we were young (and a few of my group were high on weed), and so when she finally committed hari kari, we applauded, thinking, "Thank God this is over!" only to watch her drag herself back and forth across the stage for another 10 minutes or so.

 

Thankfully, my appreciation for the entire genre of opera developed as I was introduced to both the Met and the City Opera in NY -- ah, the City Opera with Beverly Sills was something to remember, and the productions at the Met -- absolutely seered in my memory. in prod

My taste grew and expanded in opera houses in Vienna, London, Paris, Moscow and St. Petersburg (to see the former Kirov theatre - now Marinskii Theatre, and the old Bolshoi Theature and their productions of Russian opera classics.)

 

Favorite moments, hearing the original recording of the Sutherland MET production of NORMA with Marilyn Horne -- perfect blending of voices.

 

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=joan+sutherland+singing+norma+at+the+met

 

My all time favorite tenor (duck friends) has to be anything by Benjamin Britten sung by Peter Pears (it is a unique voice, granted)

 

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A2KLqIL36ftO3DkAH1D7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBnc GdyMzQ0BHNlYwNzZWFyY2gEdnRpZAM-?p=Peter+Pears+sings+Peter+Grimes&ei=utf-8&n=21&tnr=20

 

Admittedly Jon Vickers is also terrific in the role as are some others.

 

Adriano, my friend, then I hope you enjoy this. For me, Peter Pears will always be remembered for only 3 minutes of music. Because I am so emotionally tied to this piece of music -- have been since a senior in high school when I performed it at the Kennedy Center. 3 days after the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympics. This simple 3 minutes is one of the most amazing 3 minutes in all of music. I remember the liner notes. He had recorded this in one take. Britten loved it but Pears was not satisfied and asked to do it again. And this second take is the one that will live forever.

 

Peter Pears performing the Agnus Dei from, what is to me, Britten's magnum opus War Requiem.

 

[video=youtube;flEp_xxer88]

[+ Italiano]

I wonder what has happened to this handsome young bass-baritone, beautiful voice.

 

[video=youtube;WxXvGyAZH2k]

 

[video=youtube;ibGnNJvS5g4]

 

[video=youtube;oROcOZvACVY]

[hornytwells]

His career seems to have taken a downward trajectory. Looks like he will sing Sacristan in opera Memphis....

http://www.pinnaclearts.com/artist.php?id=807

[whipped guy]

His career seems to have taken a downward trajectory. Looks like he will sing Sacristan in opera Memphis....

http://www.pinnaclearts.com/artist.php?id=807

Yes, but he follows that with an upward trajectory with the title role in Don Pasquale in Memphis later in the season!

 

In any event, based on his career stats it looks like we have a modern day and much hunkier version of Fernando Corena in this handsome dude!

[raulgmanzo]

Una bomba in mezzo al ...

 

Questo è troppo!

Voi sola siete pazza!

 

I have a feeling that handsome young bass-baritone delivers a colpo al cuore

where ever he goes. Far or very near.

Like many opera singers I bet he is a great lover.

 

I wonder what has happened to this handsome young bass-baritone, beautiful voice.

[gallahadesquire]

Regarding Chicago's Lyric Opera:

 

My mother had season tickets from 1947 or whenever it opened after the war, to about 1982. She was always in the penultimate or ultimate row of the ultimate balcony. Listening to the spot light follower speaking stage directions was, to her, part of the excitment.

 

COMPLETELY off topic:

 

Has anyone [else] read MAWRDEX CZGOWCHWZ by Frank McCourt?

[+ Charlie]

Regarding Chicago's Lyric Opera:

 

My mother had season tickets from 1947 or whenever it opened after the war, to about 1982. She was always in the penultimate or ultimate row of the ultimate balcony. Listening to the spot light follower speaking stage directions was, to her, part of the excitment.

 

COMPLETELY off topic:

 

Has anyone [else] read MAWRDEX CZGOWCHWZ by Frank McCourt?

I read it when it was first published. It's a hilarious howl for any opera queen (which means it's not off the topic at all). By the way, I think you have the wrong author and spelling.

[+ Charlie]

I just checked. It's "Mawrdew Czgowchwz" by JAMES McCourt.

[whipped guy]

Tutti sono pazzi!

 

Raul titled his posting above Una bomba in mezzo al… Well I then expected him to finish the line with “come un colpo di cannone”… but I think he actually “ha colpito” the nail on the head by saying, “un colpo al cuore”!

[sydneyboy]

Another opera question for New Yorkers. I noticed that the New York City Opera is leaving the Lincoln Center to perform in other venues around the the city. Is this a permanent arrangement? I know the venue at the Lincoln Centre apparently had appalling acoustics. What is happening to their old venue at the Lincoln Centre?

[+ Charlie]

The more important question is probably whether NYCO will survive at all in its new form. A lot of tinkering with the State Theater's acoustics has been done over the years, and I don't think that was really relevant to their decision to leave, which seems to be based primarily on finances.

[gallahadesquire]

What happened to the Old Met? Was it torn down? I can't remember/

[sydneyboy]

If I am not mistaken the former Mayor Koch donated an absolute fortune to the NCO to help keep it alive.

[whipped guy]

The Old MET at 39th and Broadway was torn down in 1967 and replaced with an office building.

 

The NYCO is indeed in trouble... and their theater was just renovated... not sure if the acoustics were improved, but a lot else was supposedly done. At any rate, their finances are in a shambles and their season seems out of sorts as well... too bad. They always did some interesting rep... Gluck, Rossini, Handel that the other house was reluctant to touch at the time... Fortunately the MET is getting more adventurous these days.

[whipped guy]

Philanthropist David H. Koch (not former mayor Ed) renovated the NY State Theater which was subsequently renamed in his honor... The NYCO then left due to do its financial situation even though they had complained for years that the theater needed to be revamped...

[+ Charlie]

One of the best things I ever saw in NY was NYCO's production of Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria with von Stade. And then there were the oddities like Coq d'Or and Prince Igor, which I never saw anywhere else. But the house was too big to support choices like those, so the Met was smarter about protecting its bottom line than NYCO. After Sills and Treigle left, they had no names to drag more casual audiences in for non-standard repertoire, except for the occasional star turn like Bumbry in Nabucco, and their standard rep was pretty bland.

[leigh.bess.toad]

Philanthropist David H. Koch

 

No comment

[adriano46]

I just checked. It's "Mawrdew Czgowchwz" by JAMES McCourt.

 

For those who use KINDLE, it will be out in a few months in that genre, so thanks to the comments here, I ordered it.

[sydneyboy]

Judging by their website the NCO seem to specialise in these updated maniacal productions. I must nail my colours to the mast and say I am a traditionalist when it comes to production styles. Opera Australia is not beyond the odd tilt at madness. This years "Marriage of Figaro" is set in 21st century gated community (a co production with Houston). I forsee the murder of a masterpiece. Mind you in Germany this appears to be the rule not the exception. The Australian critic Clive James once quipped that Germany no longer sends its army to invade Poland but its producers to invade the world's Opera Houses.

[+ Charlie]

One of the most enjoyable Rigolettos I ever saw was a production set in the 1950s (Rigoletto and Gilda arrived at Sparafucile's in a Fiat 500), and it was at....Australian Opera in Melbourne!

[leigh.bess.toad]

One of the most enjoyable Rigolettos I ever saw was a production set in the 1950s (Rigoletto and Gilda arrived at Sparafucile's in a Fiat 500), and it was at....Australian Opera in Melbourne!

 

Well that would take up less stage room than a horse. Or a Great Dane for that matter. You need lube to be able to get into something that small.