The Return of Regie, or not Regie

  The 2025 Revival

      or Why I Decided Someone Else Might Care.

I stopped blogging a few years back when I started working full time again (go figure!).I had less time
to watch opera and less time to ponder the points of less traditional opera productions. The original inspiration for this blog was all the annoying negative posts on YouTube about any production that varied from the "norm". 

I am fascinated by rethinking operas from a staging standpoint, and I love how (most) rethought productions focus not only on the singing (that's why we're here, after all) but also on the acting, the drama, the meaning. I feel this way especially when seeing an opera that's been done so many times before. I feel this way when we've seen too many hoop skirts, sausage curls, chandeliers, horns & breastplates, and bathrobes (the Nabucco productions!) 

For a few years I watched "controversies" on various Facebook groups, other blogs, and yes, still on YouTube comments. Every time I thought I'd restart the blog, I thought, "I don't really care what everyone else thinks. Why should they care what I think?" I also thought about the fact that blogs are kind of passe here in the 2020s. But my urge to share finally won out. So here we are. 

The name of this blog is a (weak) pun. The question really is are we watching a thoughtful restaging, a well-directed rethink, or just someone working out their own difficult childhood (or all three and more)? Just because Rigoletto is set in Las Vegas or Aida in Kiev or Boheme on the moon or Cosi in the 1960s doesn't necessarily make the drama less dramatic, the singing less wonderful (or awful), or the plot less moving. 

So, here we are. Welcome back. Please enjoy, and feel free to comment. I love the interaction!

Not Your Father's Traviata

Although My Dad would have liked it.

I just saw a gripping La Traviata on YouTube. The title for the post included "Poor Verdi" so you know I just had to see/hear it!!

It's not at ALL traditional—a little grimy, but very moving, I thought. There was a total of four Violettas on stage (five if you count Germont’s daughter, who was kind of another Violetta). Two singing, one dancing, and one as a child. Was Giorgio Germont really Violetta's dad or was it just symbolism of how badly well-heeled men treated lesser-born women?

It’s also slightly out of score order. It should not be one’s first exposure to the opera! But, that said, I highly recommend it to anyone who is open to new interpretations of well-known classics.

Upcoming Opera Online from Belgium (Especially Mozart!)

Here's my semi-annual blog post. I am putting it here mostly for me, because I really want to be sure to see these three Mozart/Daponte operas!

I just experienced the Tales of Hoffmann from La Monnaie as well. I was a bit disappointed in the concept with most numbers sung in front of a microphone (I get why they did it, but I found it annoying after the fifth or sixth time), and by Patricia Pettibon, who seemed very stressed. 

Love, like, or hate them, I am always glad to experience productions from La Monnaie. And, as I said, I am looking forward to these Mozarts (and Pique Dame and Rosenkavalier.) Their video streams usually are up for about six weeks, starting right after closing night. Some are available on other platforms. Hoffmann is on arte.tv, and it's geoblocked in the United States; but you can access it with a VPN.

Here's the trailer for the upcoming Figaro.

Thanks to anyone who's still reading me. I will try to update my little blog a little more often!

Gratuitous Wednesday – Jakub Józef Orliński at the Eiffel Tower

...and because I need to get a post in before the end of July. This is exquisite, especially considering he is: (1) singing outdoors; (2) miked to death; (3) in a huge, open space; (4) with a giant symphony orchestra (why is there even a harpsichord there?); (5) to an audience who may not have heard of Vivaldi; (6) beneath the Eiffel Tower (I'm not distracted, you're distracted!) The man is charming to watch as well as to listen to. No breakdancing this time, but, oh, what singing!

Thanks to the YT poster who shared this.  

Operas Online (Arte Concert Edition) – Some Last Chance Opportunities

Arte Concert has some goodies for us online this summer; and some are going away very soon or sooner. Take some time to enjoy these while they last. In order of disappearance: 

06/21/2019 – Benjamin: Lessons in Love and Violence

07/10/2019 – Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos

07/10/2019 – Stravinsky: The Rake’s Progress

08/20/2019 – Leoncavello: I Pagliacci

08/20/2019 – Montemezzi: L’incante Simo

08/30/2019 – Gluck: Alceste (not available in U.S. but can be viewed using VPN)

10/26/2019 – Mercadante: Il Bravo

12/13/2020 – Mozart: Thamos