Just when you thought Luca couldn't get any hotter. (In Faust at the Houston Grand Opera.)
It's a dog's life.
Lenny and Tristan chillin!
This looks like it will be a dramatic and
appropriately uncomfortable rendering of Mozart's problematic opera (though probably not as icky as the Bieito
production!) After all, the it's not theRescuefrom the Seraglio, it’s the Kidnapping
(abduction is too romantic a word). This blogger looks forward to a video!
Pavol Breslik "rescues" Olga Peretyako in the new Zurich production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
It is a blessing toLiederliebereverywhere that Luca Pisaroni is
one of our great opera singers who continues to perform in recital. Bringing
some stage presence to the concert stage is never a bad thing.
Here are the six Heine
settings from Schubert'sSchwanengesang,
performed in Chicago this past September, while LP (and his
entourage--apparently Tristan appeared again in his acclaimed portrayal of
"the Count's Dog") were there for the Lyric Opera's production ofLe Nozze di Figaro.
I love the viewer
comment on YT that LP is "clearly...a bit stressed..." D'ya think that's not stress, but maybe—oh I don't know—acting? I
mean, these Heine poems are not exactly happy-go-lucky little ditties! (Are any Heine
poems happy-go-lucky?)
Here's a bit of info from Wikipediaon the six Heine poems in Die
Schwanengesang:
·Der Atlas ("Atlas": the singer, having wished to
experience either eternal happiness or eternal wretchedness, has the latter,
and blames himself for the weight of sorrow, as heavy as the world, that he now
bears)
·Ihr Bild ("Her image": the singer tells his beloved of how
he dreamed (daydreamed?) that a portrait of her favoured him with a smile and a
tear; but alas, he has lost her)
·Das Fischermädchen ("The fisher-maiden": the singer tries to
sweet-talk a fishing girl into a romantic encounter, drawing parallels between
his heart and the sea)
·Die Stadt ("The city": the singer is in a boat rowing
towards the city where he lost the one he loved; it comes foggily into view)
·Am Meer ("By the sea": the singer tells of how he and his
beloved met in silence beside the sea, and she wept; since then he has been
consumed with longing — she has poisoned him with her tears)
·Der Doppelgänger ("The
double": the singer looks at the house where his beloved once lived, and
is horrified to see someone standing outside it in torment — it is, or appears
to be, none other than himself, aping his misery of long ago)
Luca Pisaroni as the Count inLe Nozze di Figaro.Do I really need to say more?
The performances are quite good, and Ireally dig theUpstairs/ 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.
*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.)
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.
audiphilis a Berlin-based culture magazine that
covers all kinds kind of music from pop, to jazz, to opera. They are in print and online, audio and visual, but the best thing about them is they did this great interview with
our man Luca—auf Englisch!
Refreshingly, the interviewer is no opera expert, (she sort of stands in for viewers who may have less opera/music
knowledge) but she asks good questions that get Luca talking, and that's a good thing.
Among those questions is the one we've all been wanting to ask: will Lenny and Tristan ever appear onstage with Luca? Set aside a mere 27 minutes to watch, listen, and enjoy!
EURONEWS: Verdi's Simon Boccanegra wows Vienna. Here is a brief video with interview and (enticing) performance excerpts.
Look closely, and you can see Tristan through Tom's leg. Lenny's paws are showing behind the interviewer's chair.
I am really, really looking forward to the
release of the complete performance. Interestingly, Luca speaks only Italian
here, (his English is pretty good) but they do make it a point to remind us he grew up in Verdi's
home town. Sadly, although Lenny and Tristan were present for the interview, their thoughts on the concert are not shared in this video.
Thank goodness Lenny and Tristan keep us up to date on their travels via their
Facebook page, because usually they have their Dad along. In case you haven’t been paying
attention, their Dad is Luca Pisaroni. They all were in Vienna for Simon Boccanegra last week; and this week, they’ll be in Cleveland.
And no, I don't mean that in a figurative, kinky way.
I mean I really would like to have the life of Luca Pisaroni's dogs. I mean, look at Lenny and Tristan! Their Dad is a famous opera singer. They call Vienna home.
This is the intervew that BBC 3 played during intermission of the broadcast of Luca's recital last Thursday (August 23, 2012). I will post the whole recital over the weekend, for those who were unable to catch it live or on the BBC iPlayer.
