Tristan und Isolde in HD – I love you so much I could die!

Stuart Skelton and Nina Stemme as Tristan und Isolde

This post/review of the Met in HD performance of Tristan und Isolde is a slightly expanded (and better proof-read) version of a comment I posted at The Earworm's review of last Monday night's performance. 

I enjoyed the Met broadcast on Saturday. I have to confess it’s my first time sitting straight through Tristan und Isolde; and I found myself drifting a bit during Act 3. That said, I confirmed my conviction that you really just need to “give in” to Wagner’s pace; let time stand still, as it were; and the piece doesn’t seem quite as long as it really is.

All of the singing was glorious; but I wished for better acting from Tristan and Kurwenal (and less barkiness from K). I find I have a tendency to close my eyes during these broadcasts, not because I don't want to see the scenery or the singer but because it allows me to wallow in the sheer sound of both voice and orchestra! Nina Stemme...well, she's awesome; I do need to open my eyes when she sings, because she also is an engaging actor. Stewart Skelton and Ekaterina Gubanova also sang beautifully; and of course René Pape is in a class of his own as King Marke. Really, everyone sang well. 

I was not bothered by the updated setting, though the set was nothing if not dreary. For me, the cargo ship setting enhanced the feeling of Isolde being kidnapped. The sailors menacing the women was creepy but appropriate. A little part of me wanted Isolde to be a bit dressier; but, her dress and demeanor accentuated the “captive” aspect.

Watching the Radio – Gösta Winberg (and others) on Ö1 Radio

Apropos Musik on Ö1 Radio remembers Swedish tenor Gösta Winbergh just a week before what would have been his seventieth birthday, in a program called: Not just a Mozart Tenor – Gösta Winbergh.  This may come as a bit of a surprise for those of us who do think of this Swedish tenor primarily as a Mozart singer who dabbled in Wagner (notably Lohengrin). In between, he sang music of Donizetti, Bizet, and Puccini (!), to name a few others. Sadly, he died of a heart attack at the early age of 58, right after a Vienna performance of Fidelio. See! Singing Beethoven is hazardous to your health.

In this hour-long program, we get to hear him in arias from Fidelio, Carmen, Tosca, and of course, Die Zauberflöte. The program also includes duets from Die Entfürhung aus dem Serail* with Edita Gruberova, L'elisir d'amore with Barbara Bonney (BB’s Adina is another pleasant surprise!), and The Pearl Fishers.

Ravel: L’Enfant et les Sortilèges – Digital Concert Hall

There's also an audio version available

Something cool that one might overlook when visiting the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Digital Concert Hall is the amount of opera (in concert) they present. This spring they reprised their Baden-Baden Zauberflote; and in the recent past they’ve presented Salome and Porgy and Bess. Some of the works are “semi-staged” while others are more “concerty.”

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.

Die Zauberflöte aus Baden Baden 2013 – Review Part 2: It Takes a Village

Blindfolds. I'm tired of 'em.
Someone else can explain 'em this time.

The only characters who remain distinguishable from the crowd throughout this Zauberflöte are Pamina, Tamino, and Papageno, who wanders in from the lobby, as if from another show. Like Tamino, Pamina is literally thrown into the action. Several choristers grab her and plop her on the ground for her first scene with Monostatos.

Everyone else steps in from the chorus to be or do whatever is needed to move the story along and get the two couples united in the end; then they meld back into the ensemble. 

Die Zauberflöte in Baden-Baden – Preview

The Berliner Philharmoniker established 
a new Festival at Baden-Baden. The main focus of the Easter Festival 2013 is four performances of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute” conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, in a production by a director well-known to readers of this blog. 

The Berliner Philharmonker Digital Concert Hall site says:

The Canadian Robert Carsen has directed productions for almost every major opera house. He is fascinated by the complexities in the Magic Flute: "It is completely designed around opposites. Day and night, love and hate, man and woman, the hero Tamino and the simple Papageno." Musically, too, the Magic Flute has an infinite variety - and given the immense popularity of the opera, this wealth is often overlooked.

BPO Digital Concert Hall – Part 1: The One that's about the new Carmen Recording

I just discovered the Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall (DCH): yet another reason to spend time in front of my computer. I came across the site through Anne Sofie von Otter's Facebook page. I will say more about ASvO and DCH in a later post, since this post is supposed to be about the new Carmen recording. 

You have probably already read about the new recording of Carmen conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, and starring Mrs. Rattle Magdelena Kožená, Jonas Kaufmann, and Genia Kühmeier (a soprano to watch... and listen to, of course!) It's already been reviewed, previewed, and otherwise discussed at blogs such as Likely Impossibilities, Music Web International, Parterre Box, and I Hear Voices.  

Saturday Night Special – Dorothea Röschmann sings Brahms

Found treasure:
I had no idea I owned this recording. I discovered it when I was searching online for Die Röschmann's recording of Strauss' Four Last Songs. Much to my surprise, up popped this German Requiem reference.  And I thought, "I have that recording!" 

I hope you enjoy this gorgeous bit of Brahms as much as I do.