...vs. Life: But
the point of the question today is the inconvenience I created for myself, and
what kind of workaround I can make. I scheduled the big Lenten church choir
rehearsal for this Saturday 10 – 1. And guess what else is happening (starting
at noon) this Saturday? That’s right, JK in Parsifal.
It’s usually frowned upon when the choir director skips his own rehearsal. So I was thinking, well, the first half of Act 1 is basically Gurnemanz telling all the knight-lings what happened before the curtain went up. How much (besides Rene Pape’s gorgeous voice) am I really going to miss? And really, the Prelude alone is about a half-hour long (I know—I’m exaggerating a little.)
You
couldn’t be 45 minutes late to The Flying Dutchman, or Lohengrin, or any Mozart opera for that matter (except maybe La Finta Giardiniera) and be able to
catch up. But I’m thinking it might work with Parsifal.
On the other hand, I could just go home and collapse after rehearsal (as usual). Then I could get tickets for the Wednesday encore performance in a few weeks, rest up at work before the performance that day, and actually see the entire opera.
On the other hand, I could just go home and collapse after rehearsal (as usual). Then I could get tickets for the Wednesday encore performance in a few weeks, rest up at work before the performance that day, and actually see the entire opera.
The Met in HD: I've said it before, and I'll say it again: next year I'm putting the Met in HD dates on my calendar first! Speaking of which: Here is a link to the Metropolitan Opera's Online Brochure for 2013/2014 (courtesy of Thomas Hampson.)
And here is the Met in HD schedule for next season:
(Courtesy of Intermezzo. Now, where's my calendar?)
Tchaikovsky Eugene
Onegin
|
October 5, 2013
|
Shostakovich The
Nose
|
October 26, 2013
|
Puccini Tosca
|
November 9, 2013
|
Verdi Falstaff
|
December 14, 2013
|
Dvořák Rusalka
|
February 8, 2014
|
Borodin Prince Igor
|
March 1, 2014
|
Massenet Werther
|
March 15, 2014
|
Puccini La
Bohème
|
April 5, 2014
|
Mozart Così fan
tutte
|
April 26, 2014
|
Rossini La
Cenerentola
|
May 10, 2014
|
On the next season HD... Oh, for the sake of everything holy, seriously? Tosca and Boheme, but no Strauss, Two Boys or Britten?
ReplyDeleteThe rest (besides Così) looks fine to me though, but it's still pretty disappointing.
Really, I am surprised by both too. Of course the Boheme (opera and production both) is a classic and will sell sell sell! Tosca too, even though the production is ... um... less than optimal.
DeleteOne would think that Rosenkavalier would sell enough with such a cast, and this being the 100th anniversary of its premiere would earn it the HD instead of Tosca but oh well...
DeleteThey definitely seem to be playing it safe with these choices.
DeleteI admit I am more excited about the singers than the operas in many cases. OTOH I have not seen "live" performances of most of them, so while I'd like to see the Britten, Arabella, and Wozzeck on the list, I still will try to see most of the ones they ARE presenting. And maybe plan a field trip to NYC.
DeleteOn the plus side, personally, the lack of things I need to see at the Met next season means more brass available for events in the provinces this summer.
DeleteThe British saying "bums on seats" comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteHow true! Well, after all, it's a business as well as an art. *sigh*
DeleteThe more I look at this the more I think it's a change of strategy. Consider
ReplyDelete- 10 performances instead of 12
- 3 productions (4 titles) that have already been seen in HD
- Most boring line up ever
- Gelb's "cannibalization" comment
I think they have decided that this is the optimum package for the people who will never make the effort to go "live" and will have the least impact on their meatspace audience. What I can't quite fathom is why they don't just black out the Greater NYC area though I suppose that would be criticised as uncollegial by other companies.