MET Opera Opening Night L'Elisir d'Amore

[+ WilliamM]

Earlier in her career, I would have said that Netrebko makes up for her vocal issues with excellent acting ("Don Pasquale" w/ Florez and Juliette both at the Met are two examples). I still like her acting as much as anyone else in her league, but am no longer such an outspoken Netrebko fan.

[operalover21]

I have always wondered "what if" regarding Sutherland working with different conductors. Bonynge had certain talents...and that included taking a more 19th Century approach to the performance of many operas... and especially regarding embellishments. Plus, heck he wrote the embellishments for her Semiramide performances as far as I know... and while they have nothing to do with what Rossini wrote at many places in the score... he was able to create the illusion that Rossini personally wrote the role for Sutherland... as opposed to his own wife Isabella Colbran who was more of a mezzo or low soprano at that stage of her career. Furthermore, he was an important link in the Bel Canto revival so for that I am grateful... He also had a love for Massenet and the French rep... but I doubt that he would be on the short list great of operatic conductors of the last or current century.

 

Since I hate Massenet (he simply wrote the same tune over and over again) that doesn't count for much. I think Bonynge was a monster, and that's putting it mildly. He wouldn't make a long list of great operatic conductors. It is a crying shame that one of the great singers of the 20th century spent most of her career working with a third rate hack and not with the finest musicians who were available. There simply isn't a comparable situation.

[operalover21]

Also operalover-Sutherland is pretty amazing as Donna Anna under Guilini-and with clearer text than she had later when she (artificially, to my ear) thickened and darkened her middle voice.

 

 

Of course, that was early, and it wasn't with her husband. Although to be honest, I think her voice is all wrong -- and too big -- for Donna Anna. But it is a beautiful sound.

[operalover21]

Sadly, Netrebko's acting has become basically one note: watch me roll around on the floor. It does nothing for me.

[adriano46]

DO NOT, DO NOT go to see Turandot with Guleghina. I saw it and it is a fright show. She screeches and screams her way through it and Marco Berti, the tenor, is awful. Go see anything else.

 

As for Onegin, that new production is being re-scheduled for opening night of the 2013-2014 season with Nebs as Tatiana. It's a shame really because the old Robert Carsen production may be the best production the MET currently has on the boards. But at least there is a DVD preserving it forever but I will be sorry to see it go.

 

Whipped: your standards for singers are high. But I must tell you that physically Sutherland couldn't pull of this role. I saw her do Fille at the MET some 40 years ago and she was awful. Couldn't act. When I saw the new Pelly production with Dessay (who was still in good vocal estate) all I could think of was how Sutherland couldn't have done it in a million years. Great singer, bad actress.

 

Thanks very much for the warning. I will heed your advice and save my $$$

[+ WilliamM]

Sadly' date=' Netrebko's acting has become basically one note: watch me roll around on the floor. It does nothing for me.[/quote']

 

Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion here, no matter how stupid.

[+ Italiano]

My copy of the Queen of the Night's second aria was "corrected" so as to be in the "correct" key... Also, if the pitch of my recording is correct... Sutherland sang "Bel Raggio" in A at La Scala in 1962... but in later performances in A-flat. Again only for high note fanciers... and those into transposition trivia.

 

Even Callas transposed "Caro nome" down half a step the only time she sang Gilda live....

[operalover21]

Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion here, no matter how stupid.

 

Well, what is your opinion? Or are you only capable of making snarky -- and irrelevant -- remarks about the opinions of others? Netrebko is a one note actress. That's my opinion backed up by seeing her dozens of times over the past 15 years. What's yours?

[+ WilliamM]

Well' date=' what is your opinion? Or are you only capable of making snarky -- and irrelevant -- remarks about the opinions of others? Netrebko is a one note actress. That's my opinion backed up by seeing her dozens of times over the past 15 years. What's yours?[/quote']

 

I posted my opinion two days ago on her acting. It's post #26 in this thread.

[whipped guy]

Even Callas transposed "Caro nome" down half a step the only time she sang Gilda live....

That was in 1952 in Mexico City when Callas had high notes to burn... as she also sang Lucia and Puritani there that season. She performed the then "traditional" high ending to the aria... instead of Verdi's original ending with the long trill... a tradition that has long fallen by the wayside. It's nice to hear things like that which are not done anymore... Like "Una voce poco fa" ending on a high F!

[hornytwells]

She transposed the aria down a half step so she could end it on a sustained unwritten high notes, something the old coloraturas used to do, and which has largely been discarded as bad taste. I have to say I think it is in bad taste, but confess to also find it thrilling when done well> Laura Claycomb does it beautifully (on youtube) and others I recall interpolating it (without transposing down) were Roberta Peters, Hilde Guden, Elizabeth Harwood, Mady Mesple, Zdislawa Donat, Deborah Cook -in other word the coloratura Gildas whose voices are considered too light for the role nowadays.

 

 

That was in 1952 in Mexico City when Callas had high notes to burn... as she also sang Lucia and Puritani there that season. She performed the then "traditional" high ending to the aria... instead of Verdi's original ending with the long trill... a tradition that has long fallen by the wayside. It's nice to hear things like that which are not done anymore... Like "Una voce poco fa" ending on a high F!

[whipped guy]

Like so many things in this world operatic traditions are constantly in transition... I really used to enjoy hearing the graceful cadenza that no longer sems to be interpolated at the end of "Ecco ridente in cielo" from Barbiere... as per Landi, Valetti, Alva, Benelli, etc. Now we usually get a stentorian and un-Rossinan high C... thrilling, but too Can-Belto to my ears given the dramatic and musical context... and especially since the aria ends softly and dovetails with the recitative-like passage that follows. Perhaps if the note were caressed and embraced gently with a mixed or head voice it wold work better.

[hornytwells]

Barbiere was written for Garcia who was about 50 at the time, so the tessitura reflects that. I think a high C can be added before the last bar in a cadenza, (similar to what Nicolai Gedda essays on the recording with Levine) but a final high C is not at all in Rossini style, but was added much later by certain singers. Adding one as the last note is not considered good taste by Rossini scholars, but alas became expected, as did the awful practice of missing out the last few bars of numbers to add some interpolation. For those interested in such things, Philip Gossett's book "Divas and Scholars is an excellent read.

[whipped guy]

Interpolated high notes are a guilty pleasure... and often work in Bel Canto operas even though they were probably not done as such at the time the pieces were written. However, one must consider the context... and even in Rossini (he hated full voiced high notes from his tenors) a high note at the end of an heroic tenor aria such as "Cessa di piu' resistere" from Barbiere often works... as does the final high C in Arnold's aria from Tell... the precursor to "Di quella pira" which can be considered the outer limit of the Bel Canto era. Incidentally, the often blasted high note conclusion of "Celeste Aida" bothers me... and given the quiet ending of the piece it sounds totally wrong to my ears... plus the aria is not exactly expressing an heroic sentiment... and indeed Verdi wrote a seldom heard alternative ending to avoid such bombast. I guess I have old-fashioned ears...

[whipped guy]

My take on the MET's new L'Elisir d'Amore

Donizetti: L’Elisir d’Amore Metropolitan Opera October 13, 2012

As seen in the house (the performance was also simulcast to theaters world-wide) Bartlett Sher’s production of Donizetti’s perennial comedy was quite attractive… It was fundamentally conventional with the only major deviation being that the solders were depicted not as the usual bunch of keystone cops, but rather as a somewhat oppressive regiment of Austrians in occupied Northern Italy. A program note explained Sher’s reasoning and it did add a rather serious twist to the proceedings that somehow fit into the framework of the opera’s structure… in that it added a stern component into a comic opera that already had a somewhat poignant and thought-provoking side to it.

As for the logistics of the production the only drawback was the rather lengthy time it took to change the scenery to the village square in the first act just prior to Dulcamara’s entrance. In the second act the scenery was changed without any interruption so that the musical flow was not interrupted. At any rate, the sets were traditional, effectual, and pleasing… as were the costumes. Nevertheless, having Adina and Nemorino almost literally having a roll in the hay before the final ensemble did add a contemporary twist to the proceedings…

As for the cast… the singing was on a generally high level. Mariusz Kwiecien sang and acted Belcore effectively, if not exceptionally. Ambrogio Maestri’s Dulcamara proved to be quite adept in his patter warbling if with a touch of harshness and a slight tendency to be over-the-top on occasion. Anna Netrebko used her plush voice to good effect… and more effectively than in other Bel Canto operas… Of course Adina is a junior cousin to Lucia and Anna Bolena… and consequently suited her voice and technical abilities much better than those more difficult and complex roles. The surprise of the afternoon was Matthew Polenzani with his bright and well-placed lucid tenor. He was not afraid to use a mixed-voice or even falsetto where appropriate and also peppered his efforts with some thoughtful phrasing… and that included a nice messa di voce toward the conclusion of his focal aria “Una furtive lagrima”… an effect that was not unnoticed by many members of the audience. The voice may not be overly distinctive… but it is healthy sounding and well suited to the Bel Canto repertory. Regarding the two main roles, the parts have been sung with more flash in the past… as in last years version with Damreau and Flòrez… but at times a bit of understatement can certainly be a good thing… and this pair of principals added a certain stylishness to the proceedings that worked equally as well.

Maurizio Benini rushed a few tempos and has a habit of indulging in a piú mosso at the conclusion of many of the set pieces in an attempt to whip up excitement… excitement that is already written into the music. In addition, a few less cuts would have been appreciated and especially the one at the conclusion of Adina’s second act aria which ended all too abruptly… Otherwise he was not overly intrusive. One nice touch occurred at the beginning of the second act where the banda sul palco (stage band) was actually on stage and in costume.

In summary, it was a pleasant and fruitful afternoon at the MET and the production should serve the house well for years to come.

[operalover21]

I posted my opinion two days ago on her acting. It's post #26 in this thread.

 

"I like her acting" is a detailed opinion? Really? It's like saying "I like catsup." Duh.