Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa – Live Concert Broadcast from Amsterdam

Tenor Vsevolod Grivnov (Andrei)

I mentioned this performance of Mazeppa the other day. Today, I actually listened to it. I don't know if the music actually gets better as it goes on, or if I was just paying more attention towards the end, but I found the tenor aria that opens Act 3, the baritone/soprano duet, the tenor/soprano duet, and the final soprano aria to be the most musically satisfying (i.e., tuneful and moving) parts of the opera. My recommendation is if you don't time for the full performance, start with Act 3 (about 58 minutes into the Act II/Act III part of the broadcast.) 

That being said, there are some other nice arias, happy peasant choruses, mighty bloodthirsty choruses, bombastic, Russian-sounding battlefield music (a nice change from the 1812 Overture—actually I think it quotes the same hymn briefly in the battle-aftermath) and other pretty bits. But overall, I'd say it's not as tuneful, at least not up till Act III, as say, Eugene Onegin. Maybe it's just that I know EO better. The singers all sound great; and the audience clearly approved of their performances.

Since I know next to nothing about this opera, I searched (in vain) for a libretto in English (I found one in Russian and Spanish, but that was little use to me.) But the Met has a handy synopsis of Mazeppa that I found quite helpful in keeping track of the (melo)drama! So go, listen; then come back and let me know if you agree that Act 3 is the best, or if you think Acts 1 and 2 are just as lovely as Act 3, and that I need to pay closer attention.

Watching the Radio – Opera on Concerthuis 4

From Radio 4 in the Netherlands: More reasons to spend time in front of your computer!

Handel: Orlando* 

Bejun Mehta

Sunhae Im

Lenneke Ruiten

Rene Jacobs conducting (2014)

Mozart: Die Zauberflöte

Miah Persson

Topi Lehtipuu

Daniel Schumutzhard

Rene Jacobs conducting (2012)

Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Anders Dahlen

Lenneke Ruiten

Cynthia Seiden

Frans Brüggen conducting (2011)

Tchaikovsky: Mazeppa

Lado Ataneli

Gelena Gaskarova

Yuri Kissin

Alexander Vedernikov conducting (2014)

Happy listening!

*This one is great fun! I just finished listening to it, and I'm ready to do it again!

Gratuitous Friday – Pavol Breslik is Lensky

Keenlyside, Stoyanova, Breslik in Eugene Onegin on BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 broadcasts the Royal Opera House production of Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin today at 1:00 PM New York time; 6 PM London time. If, like me, you're not able to listen today, the recording should be available for replay for about a week.

Tatyana ..... Krassimira Stoyanova (soprano)

Eugene Onegin ..... Simon Keenlyside (baritone)

Madame Larina ..... Diana Montague (mezzo-soprano)

Filipyevna ..... Kathleen Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano)

Olga ..... Elena Maximova (mezzo-soprano)

A Peasant Singer ..... Elliot Goldie (tenor)

Lensky ..... Pavol Breslik (tenor)

Monsieur Triquet ..... Christoph Mortagne (tenor)

A Captain ..... Michel de Souza (baritone)

Zaretsky ..... Jihoon Kim (bass)

Prince Gremin ..... Peter Rose (bass)

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Robin Ticciati, conductor

Gratuitous Friday – Joseph Kaiser is Lenksy: Kuda, Kuda

I commented a while back on Canadian tenor Joseph Kaiser’s excellent performance in a musically wonderful, but dramatically strange (and to me, annoying) performance of Handel's Theodora. Just recently, it has come to my attention that he’ll be singing Tamino next season with the Washington National Opera (the other WNO).  Of course, I needed to find out more about him.

Gratuitous Peter Mattei Post: Eugene Onegin

He's won rave reviews for his performance as Amfortas at the Met. Not only because Peter Mattei doesn't usually sing Wagner, but also because he is a great singer/actor. The pain of his Amfortas is palpable. 

Peter Mattei doesn't always get to play the good guy, either. Well, I suppose Amfortas has his issues. But Eugene Onegin? It's hard to find anything really to like about Eugene Onegin. (He's right up–or down–there with B. F. Pinkerton in my book.) 

Eugene Onegin Rehearsal at the ROH

Mr. Breslik is in
the production
but does not
appear in this clip.

On Monday 7 January 2013, the Royal Opera House streamed live rehearsals, interviews and master classes. In addition to showing us behind the scenes at a Wagner performance, they shared rehearsals for the upcoming Eugene Onegin. In this clip, Kasper Holten directs Simon Keenlyside and Krassimira Stoyanova as they rehearse a scene for the first time. 

At the YT site, the ROH adds this warning: 

Guidance - please note this film contains strong language.

(Oh no!! Opera singers swearing!??!?)

Find out more about the production and the upcoming broadcast at the ROH website.

Sunday Brunch – Keenlyside & Breslik are Onegin & Lensky

Pavol and Simon
rehearsing at the ROH.

Simon Keenlyside is Onegin, and Pavol Breslik is Lensky. They will be performing together at the ROH this month, but it's not the first time they've sung Eugene Onegin together.  The clip below [removed per request of the Bayerische Staatsoper, but I'm sure it will turn up again somewhere!] is from their performance in Munich. The director had an interesting (and not unconvincing) take on the relationship between these two friends. Sadly, the production was rather unattractive. And if you're going to have cowboys two-stepping to the Polonaise, at least find cowboys who know how to two-step. But that's in a different clip.

I've a feeling their ROH friendship will be much more platonic! 

Meanwhile, here is the official ROH trailer:

See an ROH rehearsal clip here and find out more about the new production and the upcoming broadcast at the ROH website.

Also, see a clip of PB singing Kuda kuda in Vienna

Post updated 02/12/2013

Gratuitous Friday – Fritz Wunderlich is Lensky (More Opera in the Wrong Language)

Heartbreaking, smooth, beautiful… Wait…what? Is he singing in German??? Who cares? It's awesome singing. I’m not saying it doesn't sound better in Russian. Of course it does! But if we insisted in everything being sung only in the original language, we’d miss a lot of gorgeous—and in particular, vintage—singing. Thanks to many recordings like these, Fritz still lives!

"Kuda, kuda vy udalilis" from Eugene Onegin

(Wohin, wohin?)

Gratuitous Friday – Rolando Villazón Sings Tchaikovsky

Rolando Villazón sings Lensky's aria from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. Back in 2009 he got stuck in a truly dreadful production in Berlin (though he claims to have liked being in it.) My readers know I’m all for new directorial interpretations. But from what I have seen and heard of this one, it’s a concept that has nothing to do with the opera; and it’s a concept that could easily be applied to virtually any opera. The Mostly Opera blog posted several photos, plus a review of that production.

Gratuitous Friday – Pavol Breslik is Lensky

Pavol Breslik has an absolutely beautiful voice and sings with artistry. He’s making his career primarily in Mozart and bel canto roles. True, he may not have a wide tonal range, and his vibrato is rather fast, but his intonation is true, he's easy on the ear and the eye, and he is a charming Lensky in Eugene Onegin.

This Tchaikovsky sounds like it's almost too much for him. Then again, it seems to be a mobile phone video; it's not bad for a phone video, but I don't trust the vocal/orchestral balances. It's clearly not Full Frequency Stereophonic Sound! 

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin – Metropolitan Opera, 2007 (Part 2: It's all Fun and Games till Someone Challenges You to a Duel)

Directed by Robert Carsen, one might be tempted to place this production of Eugene Onegin into the regie category, but other than the sparse sets (and all those chairs), there is nothing shocking happening here (no dancing cowboys!) 

It’s a beautiful, character-driven performance. Hvorostovsky is just Hvorostovsky—handsome, silver hair, silver voice—and isn’t that enough? I mean, who could ask for more? It’s hard to dislike him, but he does manage to make Onegin a condescending jerk. (Not to mention petulant, rude, and self-centered.) Lenski is pretty hot-headed too. He wears his low self-esteem on his sleeve, while Onegin tries to “bravado” his way past his own self-doubt. 

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin – Metropolitan Opera, 2007 (Part 1: Les Feuilles Mortes et Des Rangées de Chaises)

Hvorostovsky and Fleming do make magic together!

Tchaikovsky wrote lovely melodies. And that’s about it. Even conductor Valery Gavrilov points out in rehearsal that there’s not much development (a complaint I’ve always had about Tchaikovsky) and the orchestra needs to work on inflecting all those little motives, or it will get boring fast. But, they’re lovely melodies: and they come back now and then at appropriate times. All I knew of Eugene Onegin was the Letter Scene and (without realizing it) the Polonaise, and I’m happy to learn more of these tunes.