Met in HD Encores – Three Left this Summer

Three Met in HD summer encores are left this year. I  missed the gorgeous Butterfly last week because I was out of town. 

I am not sure I need to see this Trovatore again, but I’ll probably go anyway. 

I used to have the Onegin on DVD (I cannot find it...who did I loan it to? Sorry; to whom did I loan it?); and I think it's a "don't miss" performance and production (all those leaves!). I reviewed this one, and here is the first part. My Uncle (my Dad's brother) had some thoughts about this production of his favorite opera. 

And I simply must see Nina Stemme as Turandot.

Here are the dates the encores playing in my neighborhood (all Wednesdays):

• 06/27 – Trovatore 7:00 PM
• 07/11 – Eugene Onegin 7:00 PM
• 07/18 – Turandot 7:00 PM

Too Many Leaves; Not Enough Sex

Kwiecien and Breslik in Munich- More (implied) sex; fewer leaves.

So, I just chatted with My Uncle (now that Dad has passed on, we'll be hearing more about My Uncle, who is My Dad's younger brother). My Uncle loves opera, choral music, and music in general. He has a beautiful voice, plays piano wonderfully by ear (doesn't read a note of music), and has a rather surreal sense of humor.

He and my cousins saw Eugene Onegin at the Lyric Opera of Chicago last week. Lyric has a pretty stellar cast (Mariusz Kwiecien, Charles Castronovo, Anna Maria Martinez), and the old Met version: Robert Carsen's production with the leaves. My Chicago relatives are not fond of the "new" productions. They prefer rich costuming and scenery to look at as they take in the lovely singing. 

My Uncle's neighbor (a retired music professor) asked how they enjoyed the performance (she happened to attend the same one). 
My Uncle said, "I'd like to see more sets." 
"More sex?!?!" she asked. 
"Well, that too," he added. 
I guess it just depends on which production you see. Hopefully they'll see more sex in Carmen.

Met in HD and Dinner Chat

Holy Moly! Was my last post really in December? Well a few things have happened since then, so I really do need to catch up. 

1. I was really drawn in by L'amour de Loin. I do have a few things to say about it, so I will try to get together and post about that soon.

2.  Nabucco was boring as unbuttered toast from a staging standpoint. But rather well sung. I enjoyed it in spite of myself. And in spite of the obligatory encore [insert eye roll] of the famous chorus. It's pretty but…ditto about posting.

3. I am now a superfan of Diana Damrau, Vittorio Grigolo, and Gounod's Romeo et Juliette...and Elliot Madore. Ahem. (Spoiler alert: they all die.) This is one I will probably have to spring for if/when it appears on DVD.  It's the same production seen in Salzburg a few years ago (the unit set is not as convincing to me in the Feldreisenschule as on the Met stage.) I will try to get around to saying more on that soon, too.  

Meanwhile, tonight at dinner...
My cousin: We saw a Met Eugene Onegin, but I'm not sure who was in it. 
Me: Were there a lot of leaves?
My cousin's wife: Yes!! I remember the leaves!
I guess most of us (whether fans of Robert Carsen (or not)) could name the leads in that performance!

P S. I hope this iPhone-created post looks ok. I tried to add a photo. Safari and Google simply do not play well together! I just didn't want to wait till I get home to put this up. My "fans" (?) already have waited too long to hear from me. 

Dmitri Hvorostovsky – no opera "for the foreseeable future"

Sad news noted by fellow bloggers Parterre Box and Kinderkuchen for the FBI: Dmitri Hvorostovsky will not be participating in any opera performances in the near future. The good news is that, in spite of complications associated with his illness, he'll still be recitalizing and recording. However, this means he will not be singing in the Met's Eugene Onegin this season. 

The consolation prize (for many of us) is that Peter Mattei is slated to cover for DH in the April 22 Live in HD broadcast of EG. 

Meanwhile, best well wishes to Maestro Hvorostovsky for skilled doctors, effective treatments, and a speedy recovery.

Gratuitous Friday – Pavol Breslik is Lensky

Keenlyside, Stoyanova, Breslik in Eugene Onegin on BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 broadcasts the Royal Opera House production of Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin today at 1:00 PM New York time; 6 PM London time. If, like me, you're not able to listen today, the recording should be available for replay for about a week.

Tatyana ..... Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano)

Eugene Onegin ..... Simon Keenlyside (baritone)

Madame Larina ..... Diana Montague (mezzo-soprano)

Filipyevna ..... Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano)

Olga ..... Elena Maximova (mezzo-soprano)

A Peasant Singer ..... Elliot Goldie (tenor)

Lensky ..... Pavol Breslik (tenor)

Monsieur Triquet ..... Christoph Mortagne (tenor)

A Captain ..... Michel de Souza (baritone)

Zaretsky ..... Jihoon Kim (bass)

Prince Gremin ..... Peter Rose (bass)

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Robin Ticciati, conductor

Gratuitous Friday – Joseph Kaiser is Lenksy: Kuda, Kuda

I commented a while back on Canadian tenor Joseph Kaiser’s excellent performance in a musically wonderful, but dramatically strange (and to me, annoying) performance of Handel's Theodora. Just recently, it has come to my attention that he’ll be singing Tamino next season with the Washington National Opera (the other WNO).  Of course, I needed to find out more about him.

Gratuitous Peter Mattei Post: Eugene Onegin

He's won rave reviews for his performance as Amfortas at the Met. Not only because Peter Mattei doesn't usually sing Wagner, but also because he is a great singer/actor. The pain of his Amfortas is palpable. 

Peter Mattei doesn't always get to play the good guy, either. Well, I suppose Amfortas has his issues. But Eugene Onegin? It's hard to find anything really to like about Eugene Onegin. (He's right up–or down–there with B. F. Pinkerton in my book.) 

Eugene Onegin Rehearsal at the ROH

Mr. Breslik is in
the production
but does not
appear in this clip.

On Monday 7 January 2013, the Royal Opera House streamed live rehearsals, interviews and master classes. In addition to showing us behind the scenes at a Wagner performance, they shared rehearsals for the upcoming Eugene Onegin. In this clip, Kasper Holten directs Simon Keenlyside and Krassimira Stoyanova as they rehearse a scene for the first time. 

At the YT site, the ROH adds this warning: 

Guidance - please note this film contains strong language.

(Oh no!! Opera singers swearing!??!?)

Find out more about the production and the upcoming broadcast at the ROH website.

Sunday Brunch – Keenlyside & Breslik are Onegin & Lensky

Pavol and Simon
rehearsing at the ROH.

Simon Keenlyside is Onegin, and Pavol Breslik is Lensky. They will be performing together at the ROH this month, but it's not the first time they've sung Eugene Onegin together.  The clip below [removed per request of the Bayerische Staatsoper, but I'm sure it will turn up again somewhere!] is from their performance in Munich. The director had an interesting (and not unconvincing) take on the relationship between these two friends. Sadly, the production was rather unattractive. And if you're going to have cowboys two-stepping to the Polonaise, at least find cowboys who know how to two-step. But that's in a different clip.

I've a feeling their ROH friendship will be much more platonic! 

Meanwhile, here is the official ROH trailer:

See an ROH rehearsal clip here and find out more about the new production and the upcoming broadcast at the ROH website.

Also, see a clip of PB singing Kuda kuda in Vienna

Post updated 02/12/2013

Gratuitous Friday – Fritz Wunderlich is Lensky (More Opera in the Wrong Language)

Heartbreaking, smooth, beautiful… Wait…what? Is he singing in German??? Who cares? It's awesome singing. I’m not saying it doesn't sound better in Russian. Of course it does! But if we insisted in everything being sung only in the original language, we’d miss a lot of gorgeous—and in particular, vintage—singing. Thanks to many recordings like these, Fritz still lives!

"Kuda, kuda vy udalilis" from Eugene Onegin

(Wohin, wohin?)

Gratuitous Friday – Rolando Villazón Sings Tchaikovsky

Rolando Villazón sings Lensky's aria from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Back in 2009 he got stuck in a truly dreadful production in Berlin (though he claims to have liked being in it.) My readers know I’m all for new directorial interpretations. But from what I have seen and heard of this one, it’s a concept that has nothing to do with the opera; and it’s a concept that could easily be applied to virtually any opera. The Mostly Opera blog posted several photos, plus a review of that production.

Gratuitous Friday – Pavol Breslik is Lensky

Pavol Breslik has an absolutely beautiful voice and sings with artistry. He’s making his career primarily in Mozart and bel canto roles. True, he may not have a wide tonal range, and his vibrato is rather fast, but his intonation is true, he's easy on the ear and the eye, and he is a charming Lensky in Eugene Onegin.

This Tchaikovsky sounds like it's almost too much for him. Then again, it seems to be a mobile phone video; it's not bad for a phone video, but I don't trust the vocal/orchestral balances. It's clearly not Full Frequency Stereophonic Sound! 

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin – Metropolitan Opera, 2007 (Part 2: It's all Fun and Games till Someone Challenges You to a Duel)

Directed by Robert Carsen, one might be tempted to place this production of Eugene Onegin into the regie category, but other than the sparse sets (and all those chairs), there is nothing shocking happening here (no dancing cowboys!) 

It’s a beautiful, character-driven performance. Hvorostovsky is just Hvorostovsky—handsome, silver hair, silver voice—and isn’t that enough? I mean, who could ask for more? It’s hard to dislike him, but he does manage to make Onegin a condescending jerk. (Not to mention petulant, rude, and self-centered.) Lenski is pretty hot-headed too. He wears his low self-esteem on his sleeve, while Onegin tries to “bravado” his way past his own self-doubt. 

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin – Metropolitan Opera, 2007 (Part 1: Les Feuilles Mortes et Des Rangées de Chaises)

Hvorostovsky and Fleming do make magic together!

Tchaikovsky wrote lovely melodies. And that’s about it. Even conductor Valery Gavrilov points out in rehearsal that there’s not much development (a complaint I’ve always had about Tchaikovsky) and the orchestra needs to work on inflecting all those little motives, or it will get boring fast. But, they’re lovely melodies: and they come back now and then at appropriate times. All I knew of Eugene Onegin was the Letter Scene and (without realizing it) the Polonaise, and I’m happy to learn more of these tunes.