More Must-See Medici.TV (Mozart and Beethoven)

Tristan and Luca

Luca Pisaroni as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro. Do I really need to say more? 

The performances are quite good, and I really dig the Upstairs/
Downstairs theme (and set.) Having the Count, Countess, Figaro and Susanna all about the same age also makes sense. I am not sure I like seeing Luca as a bad guy. I mean he does it well, playing a textbook abusive husband, alternately loving and threatening. But, well...Luca's such a nice guy, I think he should always be the hero! The whole cast is pretty impressive*, including Zurich stalwart Martina Janková as Susanna, and Anett Fritsch (a cool Donna Elvira last season), and Adam Plachetka as Figaro. ...and the rest! Anyway, watch it while you can. 

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro – Dan Ettinger, Sven-Eric Bechtolf – Salzburg Festival on medici.tv.

*including a furry cameo by Luca's doxy Tristan as, appropriately, the Count's Dog. I am still waiting to see Lenny get a juicy opera role. 

While you're hanging out at medici.tv, be sure to watch the new Claus Guth production of Fidelio with Jonas Kaufmann and Adrianne Pieczonka. I’ve seen only a brief excerpt so far. But it looks pretty good. I mean, it's Claus Guth...and of course, there's JK and AP! (It also has dancer Paul Lorenger, and sign language artist Nadia Kichler who both appeared in Guth’s amazing staging of Handel’s Messiah.)

Fidelio: Beethoven – Claus Guth, Franz Welser­-Möst – Salzburg Festival – With Jonas Kaufmann on medici.tv.

Having missed all but Act 1 of Carmen, and barely catching the Bayerische Staatsoper Lulu** before it went off the web***, I am pledging to myself to re-watch Nozze and watch Fidelio from beginning to end before they disappear!!

**Marlis Peterson is amazing as Lulu. I thought Tcherniakov’s production was illuminating—in Acts 1 and 2. Act 3 seems to be a stumbling block for many directors. But MP is amazing—really the whole cast is impressive. If it turns up—ahem—elsewhere, do take time to watch it. I am looking forward to hearing MP in the new Met production. Speaking of Lulu at the Met, there is a really good article/appreciation of this opera in the latest issue of Opera News. Lulu (like Wozzeck, I guess, but I am not as big a fan) provides new insights (to the music and to the characters) with multiple hearings. 

***I left the browser window open for the past few days, and still was able to watch Act 3 today, even though technically it was no longer available.

Verdi: Simon Boccanegra – Radio Broadcast from Sweden

While we are waiting for the Vienna concert to be released commercially... (I was going to say on CD, then I remembered I really don't buy very many CDs any more; and I'm more likely to download it. This makes me wonder how my readers are consuming commercially recorded music these days. Should we take a poll?)

Maybe it WAS all a Dream – Elsa, Ortrud, and Gottfried

Before I enter my 12-step Lohengrin detox program, I have one (or two) more thought(s) and a theory to share about the La Scala Lohengrin.

Some productions of this opera are about Lohengrin; some are about Elsa; and some are about the people of Brabant. But, like the Bayreuth rat version, Guth’s Lohengrin for La Scala is mostly about Ortrud’s quest for power.

The first characters we see on stage are Ortrud, Elsa, and Gottfried (represented by his boot and jacket.) Ortrud appears near the end of the Prelude, carrying the boot and jacket. She turns over the boot and pours water out of it. She hands Elsa the jacket, and Elsa, believing her brother has drowned, collapses in a silent scream.

Lohengrin at La Scala – Impressions from the Cinema

Not surprisingly, one picks up a lot more of an opera performance when sitting attentively in the theater and paying attention to the screen; not checking email; not looking up odd words in the subtitles; not googling the baritone to see what else he’s done, etc. There was a post not long ago over at operaramblings about this phenomenon. 

This production is way more powerful than it was on YT. Guth’s ideas about this story are predictably dark, but not necessarily as weird as some of his other productions.

Kaufmann is Lohengrin at La Scala: The Video (Another Pre-Review)

Well, I finally found it! I am probably a bit late to the party. I've only viewed bits on my iPhone, and the quality there was not great, but given the other comments at YT, I would guess that's a connection issue on my end.

I don't think I've ever heard JK sing better. Annette Dasch sounds better to me than in the Bayreuth recording; and she stepped in more or less at the last minute here. Evelyn Herlitzius may just be the best current Ortrud (sorry, Petra Lang, I still love you, too.) René Pape is suitably regal. 

More Lohengrin, More on Regie, and More Blog Posts I Wish I had Written

Today's Operaramblings pointed me in the direction of a post here at barczablog. Well, actually it directed me to a different post, but I'm linking this post because today's post makes more sense if you read yesterday's first. 

If you have any interest at all in the new La Scala Lohengrin, the work of Claus Guth, Jonas Kaufmann, or Annette Dasch, or Regieoper in general, you need to read this. In this post, Mr. Barcza said, in part:

Regietheater is simply a response to who we are. While texts seem to be etched in stone, humanity (thank goodness) is not. 

Schubert's Fierrabras – Father Knows Best?

Don’t get this disc for Jonas Kaufmann. Yes he’s in it, and yes he’s good, and yes he plays the title character. But don’t get this disc for Jonas Kaufmann.  Fierrabras’ minor role in his own opera is noted by director Claus Guth throughout the production. Fierrabras makes sure Schubert knows he feels about the size of his part, and the quality or at least tone of the music he is given to sing. (Check his non-verbal feedback to the composer in his—one—aria.) Fierrabras is not very happy about having to be so noble. He clearly would rather do away with Eginhard so he could marry Emma himself.

Sunday Brunch – Schubert: Fierrabras (Finale)

And speaking of Fierrabras (well, I was speaking about Fierrabras in yesterday's post), here, to round out our JK weekend, is the finale of Act 2. The choral, solo, and orchestral writing is lovely. It's too bad it never goes anywhere dramatically. 

(Do I need a) Nom de Blog? (also Fierrabras' Aria)

So, I have noticed that very few people use their real names on their blogs. I find this interesting, and feel slightly naive that I have never come up with a cute, clever, or fanciful pseudonym under which to air my lofty opinions. Also naive because it didn't occur to me that it might be safer, yea even necessary, to remain more anonymous.*  

Gratuitous Friday – Kaufmann, Strehl, & Banse in Fierrabras

Eginhard, King Karl, Fierrabras,
Schubert, and Roland

The passion isn't very passionate, the drama isn't very dramatic, and the conflicts aren't very conflicted. Sadly, this opera doesn't have much going for it beyond the typically lovely song stylings of Schubert. And the music is indeed quite lovely.

Director Claus Guth addresses this lack of dramatic interest by inserting the composer into the action. It seems Schubert is still writing this opera as it's being performed, and in doing so, he is working out some of his own issues with his father. Note that four of the male characters (Eginhard, Roland, Fierrabras, and Brutamonte) are dressed just like Schubert – in case you weren't confused already.

Messiah – Theater an der Wien, 2009 (Part 3: Not Your Mother’s Messiah, Either)

Claus Guth's staging of Handel's Messiah is strange and wonderful; weird and exquisite; disturbing and comforting. 

O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion

Wonderful, exquisite, and comforting all describe the musical performance; and all six adjectives describe the staging. His alienating gray and institutional set is on a turntable, making scene changes swift. This plus the stark contrasts of light and shadow give the production a cinematic feeling. 

Messiah – Theater an der Wien, 2009 (Part 2: Strange and Wonderful)

I noted in the previous post that Claus Guth has chosen to add a new layer of narrative to Messiah. He builds on the emotions and images from Handel's text, but doesn't stage the oratorio in a literal way.

The action begins at a funeral. People are sad, some are angry. In Every valley the minister (tenor Richard Croft) preaches comfort, but is uneasy, and seems to know more than he is telling. An angry man, perhaps the deceased’s brother (bass Florian Boesch) opens the casket to reveal that the deceased slashed his wrists. Another brother (?) (countertenor Bejun Mehta) freaks out, exhibiting remorse, fear, grief, and anger. Meanwhile, the chorus seem to be the people that are walking in darkness. Asking, questioning, reassuring, usually clustering together or moving close to walls, and almost always moving as a unit.

Messiah – Theater an der Wien, 2009 (Part 1: Not Your Father’s Messiah)

If you want a traditional concert performance of this hallowed oratorio or if your entire idea of Messiah is the Christmas section plus the Halleluiah chorus, this DVD is not for you. On the other hand, if you have heard Handel’s Messiah at least once a year for the past (mumblemumble) years, have sung it many times, know it well and/or have many recordings of it, and you wonder what new light could be shed on this work, this version staged by Claus Guth just might be the thing for you. 

Sunday Brunch – Jonas Kaufmann & Michael Volle are Fierrabras und Roland

Schubert's Fierrabras is a strange little opera. Well, not so little, really. There is a lot of music and most of it is lyrical and lovely, but the plot of the opera is convoluted and fairly static. And with character names like Roland and Boland, Eginhard and Brutamonte, it's hard to keep track of everyone. (One of our heroines is named Emma, but I'm sure that was an oversight. Her real name probably was supposed to be Emmamentandina or something.) 

Stupid Reviewer Comments

Amazon reviews can be the source of thoughtful insights. If undecided about purchasing a particular recording, I will often consult the customer reviews. Frequently I find the negative reviews, if not helpful, at least infinitely entertaining.  

Usually they tell us a lot more about the reviewer than about the music. What they sometimes tell us is that the reviewer is kind of stupid. 

This type of comment is one of the reasons I started a blog! Here are some of my recent favorites:

I am not a particular fan of Dorothea Röschmann, who nevertheless gets a lot of plum jobs in opera and choral works nowadays. (Brahms Requiem)

Lucky for her he's not her manager!

Ariadne Auf Naxos – Zürich 2006 (Part 3: More Questions than Answers)

When the curtain opens on the “Opera” proper, we are in a replica of an actual Zurich restaurant.

• Are we literally in the restaurant, or is this the set for the Opera?

• Do we feel sad for Ariadne’s plight, or do we admire the Prima Donna’s artistry?

• Are we supposed to know that the servers are the comedians and nymphs? Is that part of the Opera or is it "opera"?

• The nymphs later are patrons in the restaurant. Is this literal, or are we supposed to understand this as part of the theatrical experience?

• The comedians each play three roles in the Opera (or opera.) Do we take note of this, or are we not supposed to realize they are the same people?

• It's played very realistically. but just how literally are we supposed to be taking this restaurant scene?

Ariadne Auf Naxos – Zürich 2006 (Part 2: They Shoot Composers, Don't They?)

<rant> People who complain that Ariadne is not regal enough, or Zerbinetta isn’t perky enough make me nuts.  It’s an opera about mythical and theatrical characters. For that matter, it’s an opera about opera.  So, how would one propose a literal staging or interpretation?  OK, that was rhetorical, although if anyone has some ideas, I welcome them.  Ariadne is supposed to be on a deserted island. If there are some paper maché rocks and cliffs on stage, does it suddenly become more believable? I suggest for the perfect literal/realistic interpretation, the entire audience be flown to an actual deserted island with real rocks and caves. </rant>

Ariadne Auf Naxos – Zürich 2006 (Part 1: Is this the real life?)

 “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? 

Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality…”

- Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody

I keep trying to write my review of the 2006 Zürich Opera performance of Ariadne auf Naxos (staged by Claus Guth). But my notes continue to be no more than a series of questions. Questions are good, but I am not sure a list of questions actually constitues a review. Though now that I think if it, that could be a great new approach...or not.