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

Meanwhile, Streaming on Concert.Arte.TV

Natalie Dessay sings Michel Legrand; quite nicely, if you like this sort of thing (I do.)



Matthias Goerne's Winterreise rides again (till the end of February).



And, of course, there's Tito, Sesto, Vitellia, and the whole crazy gang.

ARTE pays tribute to Gerard Mortier with Brokeback, Alceste, and Cosi

In tribute to Gerard Mortier, who passed away just a few days ago, Arte Liveweb is featuring three operas from Teatro Real in Madrid. 

Brokeback Mountain and Alceste are brand new (February and March 2014, respectively). With the third opera, they have given us another opportunity to see Michael Hanke’s production of Cosi Fan Tutte. 

It’s not clear how long these recordings (particularly Cosi) will remain online, so check them out soon (After tonight’s broadcast of Theodora, of course!)

Another Brokeback Promo

I realize the story line/subject matter are of high interest. However, I wish the promo videos posted by Teatro Real shared more of the actual music of this new opera. That being said, it is nice to have this little preview. Video of the full opera will be available starting Friday, February 7, 2014 on Arte LiveWeb.

Charles Wuorinen: Brokeback Mountain

Related Posts

Brokeback Mountain – Part 2: Two Drafts and a Princess Phone

Brokeback Mountain – Part 1: A Missed Opportunity

Brokeback Online at Medici.TV

NPR Piece on Brokeback Mountain – The Opera

Charles Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain – Video Online Soon

Charles Wuorinen's Brokeback Mountain – Video Online Soon

Starting February 7, 2014 on Arte LiveWeb:

Charles Wuorinen: Brokeback Mountain

*Apparently the Arte stream is not available in the United States, 

but it is online at medici.tv.

Boo Who, Part Two (The Awkwardness of La Traviata at La Scala)

*Speaking of Act 2, Scene 2, DT seems unsure of what to do with the two (generally superfluous—these have got to be tough for any director to make sense of in a modern production) party choruses. In this performance, the chorus is not masked, and their performances are focused mockingly on Alfredo; they chase him around during the Gypsy and Toreador choruses. Then he exits quickly at the end of the second chorus; only to immediately reappear so the chorus can sing, “Alfredo! What are you doing here, and where’s Violetta?” If this was all meant to be symbolic, the symbolism flew right past me. (And I try pretty hard to “get” this stuff.)

Boo Who? – Awkward La Scala La Traviata (Part 1)

Piotr Beczala shouldn’t be cranky about his buuhs; he should be cranky about this whole new La Scala production of La Traviata. For me, this is the kind of show that gives Regieoper a bad name. It’s so freakin’ awkward. Does Tcherniakov have lousy ideas, is he just lousy at Personenregie, or what? I’ve already complained about his handling of the chorus, and presenting Alfredo as impetuous, immature, and petulant has worked in other productions, but it’s not working here. Diana Damrau and Mr. Beczala are not bad actors, and they’re pretty darned good singers! I hate to go over to the “other side,” but I have to say it: This production was a waste of nearly everyone’s time. (Although, a radio broadcast of it would be nice and mostly satisfying.)

La Scala La Traviata on La Arte La-ive Web

Now we can see for ourselves what all that kerfuffle was about at La Scala. (If you want to cut to the chase, Intermezzo posted part of the curtain call, where Mr.Beczala got three—count 'em, three—boos; the rest were reserved for the Regisseur, Mr. Tcherniakov.)

For those of us who want to find out why they were booing the director, we have about three weeks to see the entire opera at Arte Liveweb. So go see and listen for yourself. 

Did Piotr Beczala deserve boos ? I think not, and though it's hard to take rejection, I hope he puts it all aside and moves on. Did Dmitri Tcherniakov deserve boos? Maybe, but probably not. But the loggionisti do so love to hear themselves go "Booooooo!" 

Meanwhile, I think Diana Damrau is a divine Violetta. What do you think about the performance?

Science Fiction Double Feature: Stravinsky and Stockhausen – An Opera-ish Oratorio and an Instrumental Excerpt

Saturday afternoon, I was browsing around the web, mostly enjoying clicking all the links posted at Operacat.com, a great site that lists lots of opera (and vocal) performances available online, to see which ones I might actually be able to watch. I was excited to find out I can actually access many recordings on France TV’s Culturebox website. Another great feature is the Operapedia section, which carries links to synopses, articles, and even some libretti and scores.

Anyway, I eventually landed back at Arte LiveWeb, already a favorite site, for what turned out to be an odd double* feature. I noticed they were about to broadcast Helicopter Quartet  from Stockhausen’s Mittwoch aus Licht (Wednesday from Light). The Elysian Quartet was at that very moment preparing to take flight from the Nuit Blanche Festival in Paris.

Godunov Going Fast – Only 7 More Days to Watch

Calixto Bieito's production of Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Gudonov for the Bayerische Staatsoper is on view at Arte live, but only for a few more days. The musical values are high and the production is strange, as  expected; but it's much lower on the gross-out meter than we've come to expect from Bieito. Watch it before it disappears.

Meanwhile, La Sonnambula is still online for about another month. 

And if you live in Europe, you have 14 days to see the Bregenz Festival Die Zauberflöte (not available in the U.S.)

This Magic Moment – Mozart at the Bregenzer Festspielen 2013

© Bregenzer Festspiele/Karl Forster 

David Pountney’s fantastical, gigantical Zauberflöte is on display this summer (and next) on the stage in the lake at the Bregenzer Festpielen. There is a video on Arte Live Web, but apparently it’s only available to European viewers. It keeps telling me, very politely of course, “Sie haben keine Rechte...”

However, there’s always hope that someone will make it available to all via that video-sharing website or other pirate-y sources. But in the meantime, there are a handful of video clips to tease, titillate, or tick us off. Among the fine (double and triple) cast of singers is Rainer Trost as Tamino. The lovely and talented Ana Durlovski reprises her Queen of the Night, last seen in Baden Baden; she also appeared recently as our damaged sleepwalker im Stuttgart.

What do Victor Hugo and Arte LiveWeb Have in Common?

This summer you can see two Victor Hugo-based operas at Arte LiveWeb:

Robert Carsen's production of Verdi's Rigoletto from the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence

Guy Joosten's production of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia from La Monnaie

M. Hugo was such a cheerful fellow, n'est pas?

The Plot is Thicker than Water – La Sonnambula at Staatsoper Stuttgart

Act 1

We’ve already discussed the lack of drama inherent in this opera libretto (isn’t that nicer than calling it “stupid”?) and I think that any literal stage interpretation of La Sonnambula cannot be much more than a pretty evening of singing (provided the singers are good.)

It’s interesting how the directors have changed this from a fluffy plot to something quite tragic (though with comic elements) without changing or really being untrue to the text. In some scenes and arias, Amina’s happy lyrics come out as ironic, and in the end she is totally unhinged. Her wild coloratura makes a dramatic statement, with some of her brilliant outbursts coming out more as screams* (particularly at the end of the finale. It's a scream, but it's brilliant and musical.) 

Plácido Domingo (und Freundinnen) auf der Freilichtbühne Loreley

Last night at the Freilichtbühne Loreley in Germany, Plácido Domingo held forth for a pleasant evening concert of opera excerpts, mostly Verdi and Wagner (I wonder how they came up with that program idea?) 

With him were two young up-and-coming American sopranos, whose careers he has been championing lately. The program kicks off with a rough-n-ready Meistersinger Prelude. You can see it for a few months on Arte LiveWeb.

Ana Durlovski is La Sonnambula

Amina sings of her joy (?), while Mom
makes some final alterations to her party dress.

The other day I made a comment on Earworm Opera's blog about the silliness of the plot of La Sonnambula.  I went back to double-check the reference before I started on this post, and noticed that Earworm had been talking about I Puritani! She was kind enough to respond to me without commenting on my error. Really, it was a comment on Bellini plots in general. Many of Bellini's opera plots are far-fetched, silly, and/or undramatic. 

Then I found this Stuttgart Staatsoper performance of La Sonnambula on Arte LiveWeb. Widely acclaimed (in Germany, anyway), it took me a whole year to find out about this production. Directors Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito update the setting and probe the background of the story and the possible interrelationships of the characters, particularly complicating the dynamic of Annina and Elvino and their arranged marriage. They add a whole lot of interest and intrigue to the story line that complement and contrast with the beautiful music. They also manage to add humor and just a bit of obligatory ickiness.

Recognition, Magic, and Loneliness (A Stream of Consciousness Post)

ArteLiveWeb_de ‏@ArteLiveWeb_de17 Apr

"This Zauberflöte is a great way to spend an afternoon or evening" says @Rob_Mus - What do you think? http://regieornotregie.blogspot.de/2013/04/die-zauberflote-aus-baden-baden-2013_8.html … /cc @BerlinPhil

I won't quit my day job; but it is nice to know that they noticed.

La Traviata and The Perfect American – Still on View at Arte Live

This is a reminder that the La Monnaie La Traviata will be available on Arte Live for about 75 more days. And here it is:

Simona Šaturová thoroughly inhabits Violetta, and Sébastien Guèze is cute and impetuous as Alfredo. If you have any interest at all in Regieoper and you are not ultra-sensitive, I recommend you take a look and listen while it's still available. It's a somewhat disturbing production, but it's not boring. Here is my review of this Traviata.