tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post2388124315193992081..comments2024-01-04T13:56:52.127-05:00Comments on Regie, or Not Regie?: La Clemenza di Tito @ L'Opera National du RhinRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16322512607114908183noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-45761893980277844502015-02-17T00:28:46.559-05:002015-02-17T00:28:46.559-05:00So how does this double casting actually work? Wha...So how does this double casting actually work? What does each singer do?<br /><br />(Titites, I like that, though I first read it as Tities...)<br /><br />I think the "hurt little girl Vitellia" could work. Hurt little girls in love sometimes turn to "worshiping young men" who want to save damsels in distress. Maybe it's more how many singers who look like that can also sing Vitellia...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-72906723155946328282015-02-16T22:32:19.503-05:002015-02-16T22:32:19.503-05:00I had an interesting twitter exchange with Anna Bo...I had an interesting twitter exchange with Anna Bonitatibus about the possibilities of having more than one mezzo play Cherubino. (I love the interwebz!) It started me tweeting my random thought about seeing Christian Gerhaher and Matthias Goerne as Count and Figaro together in Nozze.. possibly in the Guth or a similar production (they are both so good at being angsty). <br /><br />Michelle (PauaGirl) and I were tweeting out our fantasy cast and Anna came up, along with Rinat Shaham as a possible alternative. That's when Anna popped in and suggested the double-casting. <br /><br />All of that's to say, yes, they need us, a small group of loyal fanatical Titites to submit new ideas. Hey,Joyce DiDonato crowd-sourced her "best-of" album. Maybe we can get her (or another tech-savvy diva) to get on board. <br /><br />I may have said this before, but I think just once I'd like to see a "confused hurt little girl" version of Vitellia. Not a mean, vengeful, scheming bitch, but woman who genuinely doesn't get why Tito ignores her. Come to think of it, that could make the rest of the plot implausible and/or make the production boring...<br /><br />Parenthetically, I'd like to see Anna B. and Rinat S. in a Dorabella-off! Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16322512607114908183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-19742845119460748922015-02-16T22:19:48.010-05:002015-02-16T22:19:48.010-05:00I remember some sensual interplay in the interroga...I remember some sensual interplay in the interrogation scene, that made it clear (to me) there was something between them, but I wasn't sure (and maybe it doesn't matter) what the gender relationship was. I think Andrew Owens is a convincingly earnest Tito. But a lesbian Sesto...talk about thinking outside the box!!<br /><br />(just to add confusion, I just made a new comment on your review of that production)Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16322512607114908183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-33560195657712768842015-02-16T18:30:02.124-05:002015-02-16T18:30:02.124-05:00I think theatres around the world programming Tito...I think theatres around the world programming Tito productions should get their act together and hire us for fresh ideas ;-) I think more grown-up Sesti paired with apparently delicate Vitelliae are a good idea (like in the Aix production, McVicar was onto something, pity it didn't quite work).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-48785667395857894332015-02-16T18:24:39.334-05:002015-02-16T18:24:39.334-05:00Yes, the Theater-an-der-Wien Sesto from last year ...Yes, the Theater-an-der-Wien Sesto from last year looked like a baby butch! Too cute. I think maybe a more knowing/anything-goes Vitellia is the ideal pair for that kind of thing - Gauvin's (or the Neblett's vintage one) for instance. The way I remember it Tito and Sesto looked convincing together in a way that might just stretch gender a bit more.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-16925434577690406542015-02-14T21:44:02.566-05:002015-02-14T21:44:02.566-05:00Go figure! I do appreciate at least a little hint ...Go figure! I do appreciate at least a little hint of facial hair in my travesti (Cherubino and possibly a few juvenile roles aside...though come to think of it, Cherubino is old enough to... oh well. ahem. ) <br /><br />I prefer my Sesto, Idamente, and some of Rossini's "men" to look more grown up. <br /><br />There was one Clemenza where I got a distinctly punk lesbian vibe from Sesto (Vienna?). That could be another interesting interpretive angle, but I don't think that's where the director was heading...or was it?Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16322512607114908183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-37357879106135882342015-02-14T21:38:29.987-05:002015-02-14T21:38:29.987-05:00Personally I am a bit tired of the big hulking (ta...Personally I am a bit tired of the big hulking (tall or otherwise) Vitellia and slight diminutive Sesto. Although it does make an intersting plot point. Actually come to think of it, a smaller more boyish Sesto makes sense if you go the Titos "special friend" route, too. <br /><br />Fingers crossed on recording or broadcast or canny combination of both. Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16322512607114908183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-53739030630246361542015-02-13T10:32:09.497-05:002015-02-13T10:32:09.497-05:00I love d'Oustrac but I've never imagined h...I love d'Oustrac but I've never imagined her with a moustache!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3245314665139759027.post-19696479953994503682015-02-10T19:47:33.950-05:002015-02-10T19:47:33.950-05:00Sd'O looks like she'd make a great stage s...Sd'O looks like she'd make a great stage samurai! Actually, samurai Sesto sounds about right. I really liked Kat Thoma's Ariadne production but everybody seems to have hated her Ballo, so this could be interesting or shit ;-) but it does look like it rather works. Also, physically larger Vitelliae paired with slim Sesti make a strong praying mantis point. If they don't broadcast it, let's hope someone goes through the trouble of recording it...<br /><br />I like the point the advert makes in the end - loyalty, but to whom or to what? indeed so. I think ultimately Sesto is loyal to himself, to what he feels. Anyway, don't let me go on and on... But still: "La clemence de Titus remains one of the most beautiful musical tributes to the complexity of the human spirit". Which is precisely why we love it ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com