From the dvd booklet; probably copyrighted:
Act One:
The black African Othello has returned to Venice victorious after recapturing Cyprus from the Turks on behalf of the Adriatic Republic. In reward he asks the Doge to grant him citizenship, which the latter immediately confers on him - despite his origins. But Othello's ambitions are even loftier: he has secretly married Desdemona, daughter of the politically influential Elmiro. However, Elmiro has other plans for Desdemona: he hates Othello because of his skin colour and intends to marry Desdemona to Rodrigo, who is passionately in love with her.
Desdemona seeks advice from her confidante, Emilia. She has been worried ever since a letter and a lock of her hair that she wanted to send to Othello fell into her father's hands. In order not to give herself away, Desdemona let her father believe that the letter was addressed to Rodrigo. If Othello sees the love token in the hands of another, he will believe her to be unfaithful. Desdemona's fears are all too well founded: the letter and lock of hair have fallen into Iago's possession. Iago also once hoped to win Desdemona's hand in marriage and now wants to take his revenge on her as well as Othello, whom he misleads into believing is his friend.
Elmiro hastily announces the wedding, but to Rodrigo's dismay Desdemona defies her father. When Othello joins them, he declares before the entire company assembled to celebrate his victory that Desdemona has sworn her love and fidelity to him. Desdemona confirms her oath, whereupon Elmiro curses his daughter. Her despair is increased by Rodrigo's and Othello's threats.
Act Two
Rodrigo cannot accept being rejected by Desdemona. When she reveals to him that Othello is her husband, he threatens to kill the Moor. Desdemona decides to find Othello in order to save him.
With the help of the love letter and the lock of hair it is easy for Iago to convince Othello completely of Desdemona's infidelity. He is resolved to kill her. Rodrigo demands that Othello renounce Desdemona; instead, Othello challenges him to a duel. Desdemona intervenes. In utter terror and at the same time stung by Othello's cool attitude, she falls into a faint. She regains consciousness in Emilia's arms. The news that Othello is still alive gives her only a brief respite: Elmiro's appearance culminates in a complete rupture between him and Desdemona.
Act Three
Desdemona has given up all hope of seeing Othello again, as he has been sent into exile. Emilia cannot console her. Desdemona's sorrow is echoed in the sad song of the gondolier. To give vent to her feelings, Desdemona sings the song of Isaura, who died of a broken heart under a weeping willow. She bids farewell to Emilia, says a prayer and goes to bed.
With Iago's connivance, Othello has stolen into her bedroom. While a storm rages outside, he vacillates between love, self-hatred, jealousy and vengefulness. When Desdemona wakes up, she protests her innocence - to no avail. Othello announces to her that Iago has murdered Rodrigo, her alleged lover, and kills her.
But Rodrigo is alive: he explains to Othello that Iago admitted his intrigues before falling by Rodrigo's hand. The latter is now prepared to relinquish Desdemona. The Doge also speaks of reconciliation, and Elmiro of a possible marriage, whereupon Othello kills himself.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
Rossini: Otello (2012) Synopsis mine
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6047190/
Venice.
Modern-ish dress; women wear gloves and pillbox hats circa 1962.
Act 1:
At a cocktail party, Otello (in very dark makeup) is welcomed back from his victory over the Turks in Cyprus. Most men are in black suits; some in dress uniform, none like Otello's short jacket. Iago (ensign to Otello) and Rodrigo (son of the Doge) sulk together in a corner until Iago (wearing similar short jacket) feels the need to hug Otello. The Doge enters very slowly, with a medieval hat, medallion and robe over his modern black suit. He praises Otello, gives him a medal, and inquires what reward Otello desired. Citizenship; granted. (They call their state Adria.) All go in to dinner.
Elmiro & Rodrigo come out and discuss Desd. (Elmiro's daughter) and whether she will accept Rodrigo; unclear. Elmiro goes back, Iago emerges from the shadows. He reveals the letter from Desd. and vows to destroy the Moor - out of friendship for R. The men depart.
Emilia & Desd. enter and peek into the dining room. Desd. worries about the letter her father intercepted, and that she let him believe it was intended for Rodrigo.
Iago enters & the women flee. He sings alone about his former desire for her; he spits at that memory.
Rodrigo enters, followed by Elmiro, who admits he hates Otello, and wants Rodrigo as his son-in-law, asks Iago to help accomplish that.
Exit Iago & Rodrigo, enter Desd, who asks for a kiss from her father; she gets a side-hug.
Exit Elmiro, enter Emilia, so the women can speculate what her father intends for Desd's marriage.
Women exit, enter Iago with a folio of paperwork. He retrieves Elmiro & Rodrigo from the dinner; Elmiro & Rodrigo each signs the document in the folio. Enter Desd. & Emilia to see the signing. Elmiro tries to convince her to accept Rodrigo, who sings his internal doubts. Desd. reads the document to finally realize what her father wants. She resists. Rodrigo tries to convince her of his love for her. Iago retreats. Father, daughter, suitor sing their feelings.
While Rodrigo paws Desd, the dinner party enter the room led by Otello & Iago. Outraged, Otello reveals they have sworn oaths to each other; Desd. confirms it and Elmiro curses her. The cast (minus Iago, who only observes) sings a quintet plus chorus about the predicament. Eventually Rodrigo & Otello join Elmiro in cursing Desd. Desd. follows her father when he exits.
Act 2:
Desd.'s bedroom.
Fresh from the dining hall, Rodrigo followed Desd. here; he continues to plead his case, calling her a traitor when she resists. She confesses that she and Otello are married. After a lot more pleading and resistance, he leaves, vowing to kill Otello.
Enter Emilia. They sing about Desd.'s fear for Otello. Desd. departs, Emilia sings about gathering comrades to help.
Recreation room with frig and pool table, chairs put up for the night.
Otello lamenting his condemnation of Desd. Enter Iago to share the intercepted letter. It has the desired effect.
Exit Iago, enter Rodrigo, who challenges Otello physically. They each grab a pool cue as a weapon, but continue singing. Enter Desd., who tries to keep them separated. They disarm, but still want to fight. The men depart as though they will fight outside.
Enter Emilia, who finds Desd. fainted, but she revives, worried about Otello. At Desd.'s request, Emilia & friends pursue Otello. Desd. continues singing, a crowd gathers. Enter Elmiro, so he and the chorus can condemn Desd. further, and Desd. can continue to defy his wishes.
Act 3:
Desd.'s bedroom.
Emilia & Desd. sing about her feelings. Otello has been condemned to exile. Gondolier sings offstage, a sad song that Desd. writes on her wall. Desd. remembers another song that fits the mood, and brings out her record player to hear it, then sings along about the woman so despondent she dies beneath a willow tree. Desd. asks for one last kiss from Emilia before retiring to bed. Exit Emilia.
Enter Otello, who sings about his conflicted feelings, wielding a dagger in the dark while Desd. sleeps. She wakes, and they have it out. She claims she is innocent, and if he can't believe her, he should kill her. He does.
A knock at the door. Outside are Rodrigo, Elmiro, the Doge, Emilia and the chorus. Iago is dead by Rodrigo, after he confessed the letter's intended recipient was a deception (how did he know?). Rodrigo is ready to concede Desd. to Otello, as is Elmiro. The Doge reinforces the state's appreciation of Otello, revoking his exile. Otello lets the folks into the room, they see the dead Desd. Realizing he's killed her for no good reason, he executes himself while Rodrigo helps drive the dagger deeper. Both Elmiro and Rodrigo kick Otello's body. Curtain.
Monday, July 29, 2019
marker: new project started
Today I'm starting the next phase: watching the unrated titles in my collection, and whatever else I want.
Organized in release date order, but sliced up for variety:
1 silent film per day
then
Organized in release date order, but sliced up for variety:
1 silent film per day
then
130 to watch Monday: 1928-32
153 to watch Tuesday: 1933-36
152 to watch Wednesday: 1937-43
145 to watch Thursday: 1944-53
159 to watch Friday: 1954-73
152 to watch Saturday: 1974-95
146 to watch Sunday 1996-19
86 to watch: Silents 1914-30
1037 total without the silents
148 s/b avg per list
but 1933 was just too big to move (42 titles) and I refuse to split a year in case I find other titles to add.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Giordano: Andrea Chénier (1985), 8
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Director: Humphrey Burton
Conductor: Julius Rudel
Stars: Plácido Domingo, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Giorgio Zancanaro, Jonathan Summers.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254090/
Premiere 1896
Time: 1789–94.
Place: In and around Paris.
Speaking revolutionary thoughts can get you killed during the wrong regime.
Staging/sets/costumes/acting/singing all fine. Story I didn't follow too closely; it looked familiar from when I watched a version at Met on Demand ('96 version with Pavarotti, which I called 7.5, and did claim to follow). This one's an 8 with a shrug. It might be better or worse if I paid closer attention.
Rated 7.7 (21)
RoyalOpera, cond. Rudel; 8
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Verdi: Rigoletto (2001), 8-
A disfigured court jester named Rigoletto seeks vengeance for his daughter who fell in love with the Duke of Mantua, and for his own humiliation, with tragic results.
Director: Sue Judd
Conductor: Edward Downes
Stars: Paolo Gavanelli, Christine Schäfer, Marcelo Álvarez, Eric Halfvarson, Graciela Araya.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386749/
LittleSongBird gave this a 10, as did the only other reviewer, but the overall rating is much lower. She's a prolific IMDb reviewer, especially of opera, and claims Rigoletto is among her top 5 Verdi operas. I'd agree; my list: Otello, Rigoletto, Aida, Traviata, Ballo (some). She prefers the Ponnelle film with Pavarotti (me too), and some old Tito Gobbi stuff that I'll stay away from.
The production is dark. There's only 1 set, with a corrugated aluminum/steel lean-to and broken chicken-wire fencing. The Duke lives in a glass house, so he sees that stuff. It's a bleak place. I always have trouble imagining the Duke staying at Sparafucile's place, and this one, even more so. No pretty palace, no soothing garden, just tetanus potential everywhere.
Gilda is a boyish stick of a woman, hardly what I'd imagine the Duke mooning over for 3 months of Sundays at church. But then they make Ceprano's wife almost identical (he also raves about her), so they probably thought about it.
This is my 6th Rigoletto to rate, and except for the 7 set in Vegas, they're all 8's. I wonder if I watch the first 2 again, would their ratings go up?
I love the (dark, horrible) story, and the performances are fine. But I'm glad I didn't see this one first.
Rated 7.7 (26)
RoyalOpera, cond. Downes; 8-
Monday, July 8, 2019
Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (2013), 8
In this melodically rich bel canto masterpiece, a femme fatale renowned for her ruthless pursuit of power reveals poignant vulnerability when she comes face to face with her long-lost son.
Director: Frank Zamacona
Conductor: Riccardo Frizza
Stars: Renée Fleming, Michael Fabiano, Elizabeth DeShong, Vitalij Kowaljow.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2962362/
Premiere: 1833
Time: Early 16th century
Place: Venice and Ferrara
Filmed at SF Opera, Sep/Oct 2011
Bought because of Michael Fabiano, one of contestants featured in The Audition (2008). He's ok here, but the role is not terrific. It's prominent (he really is the 2nd lead), but musically it doesn't play into his strengths as much as Traviata (Met on Demand).
Fleming was labeled as "too nice" for the role by some Amazon reviewer(s). The role is intended to show vulnerability in this supposedly ruthless (serial killer) character. I'll be interested to see how Joan Sutherland played it.
DeShong is familiar from Semiramide (2018). Both are trouser roles. I thought she was very good here too. There was physical affection between her character & Fabiano's that strongly suggested male bonding beyond friendship (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
I liked Kowaljow a lot. I'm always happy for a good bass, bass/baritone. He has only a few other recordings, including a Wotan (or 2?) in 2010 Die Walküre (or 2?).
I chose the still shot instead of the drab dvd cover to illustrate why I like the sets/costumes.
The story is another long lost parent/child (unknown to each other) reunion, but it's not clear that his loyalty shifts when she tells him; it's right at the end of the opera. It was also not clear to me when she determined the truth, probably their 1st act duet.
Rated 9.0 (7)
SFOpera, cond. Frizza; 8
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Shostakovich: Lady Macbeth von Mzensk (1992), 8+
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Director: Petr Weigl
Conductor: Mstislav Rostropovich
Stars: Markéta Hrubesová, Galina Vishnevskaya, Michal Dlouhý, Nicolai Gedda.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104668/
#90 of the top 1000 operas performed ('09-'18).
This is a German production (the credits are about the only place that shows) by a Czech director using a Russian opera with a London orchestra and chorus.
The Lady Macbeth reference is a loose connection. No one becomes king, but murders are committed, and madness ensues.
Bought this because it was so high on the Performed list, and because an Amazon reviewer mentioned it as a good use of overt sexual scenes in an opera (contrasted with the one they were reviewing). Since this is my first viewing of this opera, I'll never be satisfied with a simple staged production; the sex was an integral part of the story. Without it, are they just mooning at each other? (Hmm, wonder if I have (Image Ent.) a censored version; someone contributed male frontal nudity to IMDb. But I watched it on the small screen, and it was probably fleeting.)
The actors were not opera singers; they lip synced to an extant recording. Every character has 2 credits: actor and voice.
The film is very well done. I'd give it a 9, but I'm not crazy about the music. The story, the settings, the performances were all excellent.
Rating 7.2 (68)
LondonPhil, cond. Rostropovich; 8+
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Zandonai: Francesca da Rimini (1984), 8
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Director: Brian Large
Conductor: James Levine
Stars: Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, Cornell MacNeil, William Lewis.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0255176/
Premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 19 February 1914
The story takes place in Italy: Ravenna and Rimini.
Time: early 1300s
Saw this during my Met on Demand run, liked it.
Today I only really perked up at the end, when things got, um, well, final. And during some earlier PD/RS kissing scenes; they played it hot and steamy.
Weirdest part: when PD & RS meet and fall in love instantly, we get a lengthy scene with music and mooning/mugging, but no singing/talking.
Good to have for breadth of composers. The only other entry for Zandonai on the list of top 1000 operas performed ('09-'18 worldwide, per OperaBase) is Giulietta e Romeo at 963; Rimini is 300th.
Rated 8.8 (18)
MetOpera, cond. Levine; 8
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Puccini: Tosca (2001), 9
Benoit Jacquot reinvents the way we view opera in this magnificent production of Puccini's story of Tosca's love for the painter Cavaradossi and the intervention of Scarpia.
Director: Benoît Jacquot
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Stars: Angela Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna, Ruggero Raimondi
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240122/
First performance at Rome, January 14, 1900
Time: June 1800
Place: Rome
Gimmicky presentation, with b/w studio recording footage cut into the opera, along with location-setting outdoor footage shot with jittery cam and sometimes made very grainy/soft focus. Sometimes singers talk over their own singing. Not sure why the camera circles Scarpia so much during Te deum. I love that we get a reflection of Scarpia singing via his dinner knife, an important object later.
But mostly it's a brightly-lit production with some elaborate sets, some minimal. The look is of a sound stage, confirmed by IMDb location info.
None of the gimmicks bother me, and since this is the 5th production going into my collection, a gimmick or two is welcome.
What makes this REALLY welcome are the vocal performances. The voices were recorded in a studio (Abbey Road), so this is ideal aurally. I never saw a problem with lips out of sync, but maybe those are the moments when we get some extra footage.
Gheorghiu looks and sounds the part; acts well too. Alagna does extremely well with his role, really holding his own in duet with Tosca, and Raimondi as Scarpia is wonderful, of course; IMDb shows 4 recordings of Tosca with him and this is my 2nd.
Very glad to add this to my collection.
Rated 7.4 (364)
RoyalOpera, cond. Pappano; 9
Monday, July 1, 2019
Moody: Agreed (2019), 7-
Director Simon Iorio
Conductor/composer: Howard Moody
Cast:
Korimako: Tom Scott-Cowell (countertenor)
Elin: Nazan Fikret (soprano)
Alex: Michael Wallace (baritone)
Kronos: Zara McFarlane (jazz singer)
Maya: Louise Winter (soprano, perhaps mezzo)
(not on IMDb)
https://www.glyndebourne.com/events/watch-agreed-online/
https://youtu.be/nq5mw-axv9Q
https://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/explore-our-operas/explore-agreed/
http://www.glyndebourne.com/opera-archive/explore-our-operas/explore-agreed/agreed-synopsis/
Premiered 2019
Although this was in English, and has subtitles, it was hard to follow. They were trying to be ethereal, both ancient and modern.
Set in a land called Orientis, with a nearby island of Aquila, we get political strife that separates a family. Then love blooms and the politics separate the lovers, causing her death. Some sort of reconciliation appears to happen at the end.
What's not clear to me is why the "leader" of the land banished those born in Aquila back to that island. Was it political or was he just trying to rid himself of his mother? When she returns after 15 years, was that his motivation for making the separation of the land from the island even stronger, losing his daughter in the process? If the synopsis, written by the librettist, explained it, I missed it.
GlyndebourneOpera, cond. Moody; 7-
Verdi: Giovanna d'Arco (1989), 7-
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Directors: Keith Cheetham, Werner Herzog
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Stars: Renato Bruson, Susan Dunn, Vincenzo La Scola
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0254356/
First performed at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, 1845.
Time: 1429
Place: Domrémy, Reims and near Rouen, France
Filmed at Teatro Comunale de Bologna
Purchased this shortly before finding the Tutto Verdi set.
My notes from that production: Tutto Verdi: Giovanna d'Arco (2008), 8
I played this over and over for perhaps a full day (Fri/Sat), and could not connect to it. I would usually look up at about the same moments, so musically/vocally each principal did some good things. And I even looked for other performances of this tenor.
But the production was not wonderful. Look at the poster: Joan of Arc is the big white-gowned actress in the middle. She never changed into battle gear, she never moved like she could participate on the field. Nor did I notice any action. The 2008 production was much better in that regard, where Joan is at least garbed and fit for war.
Going to file this away for now. Hmm, it's not just me:
Rated 6.2 (53)
(multinational funding, including BBC and something Portuguese), cond. Chailly; 7-
Massenet: Cendrillon, 7+
Conductor: John Wilson
Stage director: Fiona Shaw
Film director: François Roussillon
Cast:
Cendrillon: Danielle de Niese
Fairy Godmother: Nina Minasyan
Prince Charming: Kate Lindsey
Stepmother (Madame de la Haltière): Agnes Zwierko
(not on IMDb)
Even though I signed up for emails from Glyndebourne, it was my calendar tickler from last year that pointed me toward seeing this online:
https://www.glyndebourne.com/events/watch-cinderella/
https://youtu.be/BlkvvBQj1lQ
The video is from yesterday's live broadcast, and includes a 20 min intermission with no content. Next viewing, skip to the end of that using the big countdown clock onscreen. After that countdown is when we get the backstage featurette.
This is the story where the father is still living, and stands by helplessly while Cinderella is treated as a servant. In this production, the house is full of servants, but Cindy gets the plum assignment of scrubbing the floors.
This opera may need another watch. They seem to have played with the story a bit, because I got confused about the sequence of events. After Cinderella dons her ballgown, we see her in her rags again (at the ball?), and she switches back into the gown, still at the palace. The story does include a sequence where her father almost convinces her the whole thing was a dream, so perhaps this team was expanding on that early in the show.
Another thing to watch for in a second viewing: is the prince also a household servant in a dress? S/he is presented that way during the scene where the father tries to enforce the dream concept, AND when shoe fits. Per a backstage discussion, they might have been trying to capitalize on the trouser role to make a same-sex statement. But that character is called the Prince, and the women who come to the ball to court him (and later wanting to try the shoe) are called Princesses.
Nice, but happy to have the Met production, which is brightly lit (not so this production), and doesn't insert any confusing extras that I saw here.
GlyndebourneOpera, cond. Wilson; 7+
Chimes at Midnight (1965), 7
The career of Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff as a roistering companion to young Prince Hal, circa 1400 to 1413.
Director: Orson Welles
Stars: Orson Welles, John Gielgud, Margaret Rutherford, Keith Baxter.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059012/
Mine is the Criterion edition.
IMDb: Sir John Falstaff is the hero in this compilation of extracts from Shakespeare's "Henry IV" and other plays, made into a connected story of Falstaff's career as young Prince Hal's drinking companion. The massive Knight roisters with and without the Prince, philosophizes comically, goes to war (in his own fashion), and meets his final disappointment, set in a real-looking late medieval England. Filmed in Spain.
I like OW's voice & acting in general, and this is no exception. The archaic language, not so much.
I don't find the character of Falstaff attractive/interesting in any way (apparently Welles disagreed, perhaps because of his alcoholic father, perhaps because of his own inclinations toward excess), not in Verdi's opera nor here. Now his companions (instead of the women he targeted in the opera) are playing tricks on him, taking advantage of his age/weight/intoxication.
I didn't really follow, early on, that Hal would become king; he just seemed one of the companions. Perhaps next time I'll know better.
As for the much-praised battle scene, I was extremely grateful it was not in color. Blood without color is easier to tolerate. Commentary or featurette pointed out that the brutality was indicative of the end of the chivalric era. I think I saw a moment of deliberate brutality toward a horse; hopefully the blows weren't real.
Did I miss a build-up to the deaths of Henry IV and of Falstaff, or were they as sudden as I found them this viewing? I know my attention faded during the battle, and was not as strong after. When I don't find the story compelling, perhaps I should take a break during olde language productions.
Rated 7.9 (6,837)
indie, dir. Welles; 7
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Gounod: Faust (2004), 8
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Directors: Sue Judd, Robin Lough
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Stars: Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel, Angela Gheorghiu, Simon Keenlyside.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1954436/
Premiere 1859
Place: Germany
Time: 16th century
The production looked more Victorian than 16th century, but it worked for me. At one point Faust injects himself with a hypodermic (illicit drugs); that's rather modern: 1853 is when that's invented.
I'm on an Alagna jag, and this one was pleasing, to the extent that I can appreciate this opera.
I felt like I watched fairly carefully (not undivided attention, but close), and find these plot deficits: According to the synopses in Simon's Great Operas and on Wikipedia, Marguerite is in prison because she killed her out-of-wedlock child. We see her in prison, and earlier put a baby into a coffin, but not its cause of death. Also, Marguerite is supposed to go to heaven at the end, and possibly Faust too, but they're both onstage after the appearance and exit of the angel and the descent of Meph, so that did NOT convey either direction for our mortals.
I believe Marguerite is portrayed as fairly innocent at the beginning of the show, and resists Faust's advances, but when she succumbs, she pays dearly. He pays too, but only because he has a conscience.
I never did see the moment complained about by a (civilian) reviewer, and which is memorialized on the dvd menu: Meph tasting blood. His costume is red brocade, which I believe he wears in the first half of the opera. I have no idea of the source of the blood. (Or is it Valentin's? That's the only blood I remember seeing, but that's on the second disc, and Meph wears a plain black cloak there.)
I have no quibbles with the production design; the Victorian costumes are consistent with the metal hypodermic needle (I watched for that). The ballerino (why don't we use that word more?) had some pretty scary vampirish teeth; wonder if that was prosthetic.
The moral of the story: don't mess with the devil (duh) and wait until marriage and/or use some of those new-fangled rubber condoms (invented 1855) before you fool around. (Other covers were available since the middle of the 16th century, per Wp.)
Rated 9.3 (7)
RoyalOpera, cond. Pappano; 8
Friday, June 28, 2019
Becoming Traviata (2012), 7
Natalie Dessay prepares to take on the role of Violetta in this documentary about the staging of Verdi's masterwork at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in France.
Director: Philippe Béziat
Stars: Charles Castronovo, Natalie Dessay, Louis Langrée, Jean-François Sivadier.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294917/
Read some praise for this somewhere, and I like Dessay a lot, so I thought I'd try it.
I missed the obvious fact that this is mostly in French. Interesting that the chorus is coached in English. (On the opera's credits, the chorus is listed as Estonian; the orchestra is the London Symphony O.)
This was not as interesting as I'd hoped. There was not much discussion of the big picture. Mostly micro-management of gestures/expressions, including for the chorus. I actually thought: has Dessay performed this role elsewhere, or is this her first crack at it; she seemed patient enough with the director. (Her IMDb credits show this as her first Traviata recording, but that means little.)
It was interesting to hear Dessay sing in non-operatic mode during rehearsal.
Sometimes we get the audio from either a different rehearsal moment or from the final performance. Sometimes we get dress/semi-dress rehearsal footage and/or performance footage spliced in with the raw rehearsal stuff. It's mildly interesting, but not consistent enough to make it really so. Y'know: here's the early rehearsal, here's dress, here's performance, especially for the 2 or 3 key scenes featured.
This should have been a double feature with the opera itself. I'm going to try to resist buying the opera (I have too many Traviatas already), but I think seeing this without that is very incomplete. On the other hand, if you have both, you'd almost need to queue them both up on 2 devices and play this scene on one then the other.
Rated 7.0 (98)
indie, dir. Beziat; 7
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (1996), 7
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Director: Brian Large
Conductor: Evelino Pidò
Stars: Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Simone Alaimo
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252412/
Premiere 1832
Place: A small village in the Basque Country
Time: The end of the 18th century
Thought I'd try a more attractive couple to see if this opera is to my liking. Meh is still the result, although I did not watch it carefully, so maybe I missed the fun.
But my perception of "the fun" is that Alagna plays a fool (young, naive, whatever) who wants the best girl in town (landowner, no less), and thinks the medicine man's cheap wine will woo her when HE drinks it. So he's foolish, then he becomes drunk. When he runs out of money, he enlists in the army to get cash to buy more elixir. This time it works with all the other girls, because they learn he's just inherited his uncle's farm. Somehow the best girl figures out she'd miss him, buys back his army contract, professes her love, and the medicine man takes the credit (the elixir makes you rich too.)
Setting it in the time of automobiles doesn't help. Makes me wonder which war the army will stumble into.
Although they're real life newlyweds, I didn't feel any chemistry between them, and they don't get together until the very last duet. Their stage kisses are completely chaste, but given this plot has about the same tone (but mellower) as Li'l Abner, that's more appropriate than passionate ones.
Oh well. Hope I never get tempted to buy another performance of this.
Rated 8.5 (49).
OperaLyon, cond. Pido; 7
Massenet: Le Roi de Lahore (2005), 7
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Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Marcello Viotti
Stars: Giuseppe Gipali, Ana María Sánchez, Vladimir Stoyanov, Federico Sacchi.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2354171/
Premiere 1877
Time: 11th century.
Place: Lahore, a city of Pakistan.
Filmed at Teatro la Fenice di Venezia
This came to my attention when IMDb had misspelled Vladimir's name (Vladmir is underlined by spellcheck; name change/merge went through today; I wanted to cheer and send them praise, but they just did their job properly without intercession - how sad I wanted to celebrate that improvement). The cover is pretty and interesting, and the Amazon reviews conflicted with the YouTube clip I found, so...
The story seems to make passing between death and life an easy switch, assisted by a god of course. The strange part is that Alim seems to retain his memory of both during his return trip (or maybe I missed something).
I like the 3rd act ballet (toward the end of disc1). The music is a bit slow, but they have enough stuff going on to liven things up. Besides, you can stare at the painted topless dancer to try to determine if she's really topless and painted, or if there's some very thin fabric covering her.
The female lead is too heavy and too old, but has a nice voice, and is matched with a tenor who's almost as wide.
Again baritone Vladimir Stoyanov pulls my attention back to the screen with his aria. He's nothing to look at, and I wouldn't recognize his voice among other baritones. I wonder why he consistently pleases?
Learned today that Fenice is Phoenix, and this opera house has burned down 3 times.
FeniceOpera, cond. Viotti; 7
Giordano: Fedora (1993), 8-
Princess falls in love with her fiance's killer just after sending a letter to authorities reporting his guilt. Tragedies ensue.
Conductor: Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Stars: Mirella Freni, Adelina Scarabelli, Plácido Domingo, Alessandro Corbelli.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2381939/
Premiere 17 November 1898
Teatro Lirico, Milan
Time: 1881
Place: St. Petersburg, Paris and The Bernese Oberland in Switzerland
Filmed at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, cap. 2030.
When I watched the Met on Demand production (same 2 stars, almost 2 months ago), I found this story interesting (except the ending). Not so much today. At one point I started wondering if the background was a large painted canvas, or just a scrim with back projection. The backdrop is not particularly interesting, so that tells me my mind was wandering. I didn't really catch why she fell in love with him, other than he declared his love for her; no idea why he fell for her. (I ran it twice, and both times something brought my eye back to the screen as they were trading love declarations. Watched that section a 3rd time, and wonder if his love for her was evident earlier still; not gonna start it again.)
I do like having this in my collection for breadth. There are more than 5 Italian composers (Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini), after all. One fascinating scene has no singing, no dancing, only the Princess contemplating and writing the letter pointing to her fiance's killer; "fascinating" only for what it doesn't do, and that it lasts a longish time.
OperaLaScala, cond. Gavazzeni; 8-
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Verdi: La traviata (1982), 7+
Violetta meets Alfredo and quickly falls for him. After the lovers run away together, they live in bliss for a short time. However, Alfredo's father, Giorgio, starts to interfere, concerned that Violetta's bad reputation will affect the marriage prospects of Alfredo's sister. Violetta reluctantly leaves Alfredo, but his love is so strong that it leads him to actions that have tragic consequences.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Conductor: James Levine
Stars: Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, Cornell MacNeil.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084821/
First performance at Venice, March 6, 1853
Time: 1846
Place: Paris and the suburb Auteuil
I have too many productions of this opera already, and have already spotted another I might want.
This film is disappointing, because it is Zeffirelli. I was absolutely distracted throughout by the incredible wealth (home furnishings) amassed by the courtesan. Did one patron gift his entire palazzo to her? How does that opulence align with the plot point of her selling off all her country home possessions to pay the summer debts? Seems like she could do that with the contents of one mantle in the city home. And the country home is almost as opulent.
I was fine with the restructuring FZ did: opening with her on her death bed, then flashing back to happier times, bringing us up to date all in flashback. I like that we can go outdoors, or at least to outdoorish sets that would be too much transition onstage. But at the end, Alfredo, his father, the doctor, her maid are all absent. That seems too cruel; makes the immediately prior scene of reconciliation (too late) with Alfredo seem like a dream. So was it all a dream? Oh no no no.
The music is gorgeous, and so is Domingo (b. '41) both visually and aurally. Stratas is not really pretty enough for the role, but her voice is.
Now that I know of the inconsistencies/ differences in plot (Zeffirelli took a writing credit), perhaps the next viewing will be less distracting.
The 3 others I've noted about have lengths 2:13-2:15. Perhaps FZ cut quite a bit of music, which might account for such a low rating.
Rated 6.9 (1,246)
MetOpera, cond. Levine; 7+
Passion Callas (2006), 8
1997 documentary with then-new interviews with people who worked with la Callas, as well as archive footage of interviews with associates. Film clips, photos and recordings illustrate her performance powers.
Director: Gerald Caillat
Stars: Maria Callas
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10549716/
(I had to add this title to IMDb. It went live in the time it took to watch it.)
I set out recently to acquire some Callas. I chose 3 titles: the Zeffirelli fiction Callas Forever (2002), the '62/'64 Covent Garden performances, and this. I did very well. There is almost no overlap among the 3; the most noticable is a bit of one of the Carmen arias from Covent Garden is here the small slice of Tosca here has her in a different dress, and a different camera angle than the full Act II on the CG disc. Likely some audio recording was used in both this and Callas Forever.
This focuses on her career. Onassis is included, but mostly because that relationship interrupted her career measurably (met him in '59). Meneghini is discussed a bit, but more as her manager than as her husband. Only slight mention of her mother that I recall, nothing about trouble there.
This focuses on her talent, and her deliberate study of the music to determine her performances. Her work with Visconti is here, but I don't remember Zeffirelli being discussed.
This is mostly in French, Italian, perhaps some Greek; some is in English. All non-English is subtitled, so it's a lot of reading.
The bootleg footage taken by a violinist in the orchestra pit is fun but silent. The still photos of performances are well-chosen to convey the emotion she transmitted onstage.
Now I'm torn whether to invest in more, particularly in audio recordings. I should listen to what I have on CD, try to transfer my LPs to disc. The recent (2014, 2017) "remastered" releases are rated high, but also highly criticized by one "expert" in particular. Besides, I want to see the performance while hearing it, not possible with MC beyond a few concerts and Tosca Act II on the Covent Garden disc.
(EMI), dir. Caillat; 8
Mozart: The Magic Flute (2007), 7
Season 1, Episode 1
1h 52m | Musical | Episode aired 24 January 2007
Prince Tamino and Papageno are sent by the Queen of Night to save her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the evil lord Sarastro.
Director: Gary Halvorson, Julie Taymor (stage)
Conductor: James Levine
Stars: Matthew Polenzani, Ying Huang, René Pape, Nathan Gunn, Erika Miklósa, Greg Fedderly.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0956790/
Premiere 1791, 2 months before Mozart's death
Sung in English.
Colorful costumes and (some) sets. Puppetry is not as dominant as the poster might suggest, but is pleasantly prevalent. Visuals enhance the fairy tale aspect of the story.
However, it still took several attempts before I actually finished watching this. (Started on the Met on Demand service, had bad connectivity, ordered disc because this was the first production that felt consistent between story and sets/costumes; yay Julie Taymor.) Even with all the color, and Papageno's humor, and the English lyrics, I don't like all the sing-speak, nor is the story very interesting to me.
Rated 8.5 (43)
MetOpera, cond. Levine; 7
Maria Callas at Covent Garden (1964), 8+
Few of Maria Callas's performances were filmed, so these two gala concerts recorded at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1962 and 1964 are special. On 4 November 1962, it was before an excited audience that she appeared unexpectedly in a live television transmission of a concert with several other performers. She was in excellent vocal condition, which reassured her fans, who had heard rumors that she was vanishing from the stage to be with Aristotle Onassis or because her voice was failing. Callas sings "Tu che le vanita" from Verdi's Don Carlo and the flirtatious gypsy girl's role in the Habanera and the Seguedille from Bizet's Carmen. In 1963 Callas occasionally recorded for EMI in Paris, but her last triumph was her appearance in Puccini's Tosca at Covent Garden in 1964. The director was Franco Zeffirelli and singing in the role of Scarpia was baritone Tito Gobbi.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Conductors: Georges Prêtre (1962), Carlo Felice Cillario (1962)
Stars: Maria Callas, Renato Cioni, Tito Gobbi.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0261048/
Owning this disc fulfils my desire to have the Tosca Act II footage, the only known opera performance footage of MC, in my collection. And although the video quality is lacking a little (I'm not bothered by b/w), I have no complaints about the audio.
The '62 performance is brief, only 3 arias, but the Tosca act is complete.
Gobbi is a terrific Scarpia: both dignified and sinister. (Having seen some alternate interpretations, I appreciate this more.)
The liner notes (required magnifying lens) stated this Zeffirelli production was a new interpretation of Tosca as young/innocent, where prior she had been a mature grand diva. So her dispatch of Scarpia seems more spontaneous and desperate. The acting is compelling and well filmed, a much better view than sitting in the opera house.
Rated 9.0 (66)
RoyalOpera, cond. Pretre & Cillario; 8+
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Verdi: I vespri siciliani (2003), 8-
...I Vespri Siciliani is in many senses an intimist opera, all based on the contrast between the duties imposed on, and sorrowfully accepted by, all the leading characters by their political roles, and their private feelings which, of course, do not correspond to the demands of politics...
Conductor: Stefano Ranzani
Stars: Orlin Anastassov, Amarilli Nizza, Vladimir Stoyanov, Renzo Zulian.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2662532/
French Premiere: June 1855; Paris Opéra
Italian Premiere: December 1855, Teatro Regio, Parma
Italian libretto rewritten in 1861
Place: Palermo, Italy
Time: 1282
Filmed at Teatro Verdi di Busseto
Not the same performance/production as Tutto Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani (2010), 7-, although similar with the opening scene having the chorus on the periphery of the audience. This one did a good job of lighting so you didn't see the audience; the house could almost have been empty. But later, when individual players walked the same edges, some patrons were very visible (and almost bored-looking). They must have made an announcement at the beginning for everyone to "tuck in", but later people forgot or didn't care.
Again I'm impressed by V.Stoyanov's beautiful baritone; when I'm not watching, his aria brings my eyes back to the screen. The lead soprano was also vocally attractive, as was the tenor. In this cast, the rebel leader (also baritone/bass) was young, handsome, and vocally pleasing as well. So I like all 4 leads, the intimacy of the house (the audio was terrific), and the production was fine (no French ballet).
Still, the story leaves me cold: unacquainted father/son on opposing sides of a rebellion alter their loyalties upon learning their true relationship. I do like that the rebellion goes on without their confusion.
The costumes seem more appropriate to revolution during Verdi's life than to 1282.
RAI, cond. Ranzani; 8-
Callas: A Documentary (1978), 8-
Documentary about opera diva Maria Callas.
Director: Tony Palmer
Writer: John Ardoin
Stars: Maria Callas, Aristotle Onassis, Franco Zeffirelli.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417514/
Watched on AmazonPrime.
Good overview of her life (perhaps); some performance footage included, but only clips.
Lots of doc'ys out there about her. Hard to know if any is worth owning. Glad to have watched Zeffirelli's fiction (Callas Forever) first.
Rated 7.9 (24)
(none), dir. Palmer; 8-
Monday, June 24, 2019
Callas Forever (2002), 9
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Stars: Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, Joan Plowright.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274407/
I'm probably over-rating this. My prior rating is 7 from Netflix. But after watching many Zeffirelli opera productions, and seeing a bit about his history with Callas, this film made me smile from beginning to end. Hearing her recordings within the film helped a lot.
FA is wonderful as Callas. I chose the Greek poster because it uses the best shot of her. The current bd cover could be Rene Russo (big sunglasses) playing Jackie O. (There was a similarity in appearance. Perhaps Onassis had a "type.")
This is NOT about her last days. This is complete fiction, Zeffirelli's dream of what might have happened, albeit without being too rosey about the outcome. This was clearly a labor of love, a valentine from FZ to MC. And he seems to have embraced FA as a suitable substitute, at least according to the bits provided as extra features.
Here's an undated photo of the real Maria Callas.
Rated 6.6 (1,994)
indie, dir. Zeffirelli; 9
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Alfano: Cyrano de Bergerac (2008), 8-
While best known today for having composed the ending to Puccini's unfinished Turandot, Franco Alfano wrote some dozen operas, including Cyrano de Bergerac (1936) with a libretto by Henri Cain based on Edmond Rostand's drama of the same name. It is a moving tale of romantic misunderstanding, swashbuckling bravado and heartbreaking loyalty, in which the eloquent Cyrano feels unable to express his love for Roxane because of his famously protuberant nose--except on behalf of his handsome but inarticulate friend, Christian.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Patrick Fournillier
Stars: Plácido Domingo, Sondra Radvanovsky, Arturo Chacón-Cruz.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1329126/
Premiere 1936 (in Italian), Rome
Alfano originally set the text in French, which is how it's performed in this video.
The Rostrand play opens in Paris, 1640. (I have not found this information for the Alfano opera.)
This is my second Alfano: Cyrano, the first being Alfano: Cyrano de Bergerac (2005), 9 with R.Alagno as C, and his brothers doing the production design/direction. They managed to mine more comedy from the script, and RA had more swash in his buckle. PD is dignified and hurt, singing and acting splendidly as always. But with RA you get the extra pleasure of a native speaker singing in French. RA's nose was less extreme, but neither was rendered ugly by the prosthetic, as Cyrano describes himself.
Audio is less than ideal, with the singers sounding far from the mics, but perhaps normal for recorded onstage in 2008.
I like the story a lot, and wish other composers had done this, or done it well enough that we have performances available. I don't find any other Cyrano opera on Amazon,
This opera house is in Valencia, Spain.
ValencianaOpera, cond. Fournillier; 8-
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Tutto Verdi: Falstaff (2011), 7
Add a Plot »
Conductor: Andrea Battistoni
Stars: Ambrogio Maestri, Daniela Pini, Luca Salsi, Romina Tomasoni, Svetla Vassileva.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2813068/
26th Verdi opera, 27th and final major work.
Premiere 1893, La Scala, Milan
(NB: Otello premiered 1887, Aida 1871, Requiem 1874; Verdi was 80 y.o.)
Time: The reign of Henry IV, 1399 to 1413
Place: Windsor, England
Filmed at Teatro Farnese di Parma (capacity 3,000 spectators; where the Requiem was performed)
I like the performers/singing, many costumes are colorful, and the sets are a nice abstraction of Windsor. The opera moved along at a nice brisk clip. I really just don't appreciate the story.
A full 6 chapters in the Great Course (45 min each), each scene is discussed. Apparently this is a culminating work of musical evolution, but that's all lost on me. Also discussed: Verdi's charitable work, which was extensive.
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 6th among Verdi's operas, 24th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
Rated 7.2 (5); one of the votes is a 4.
Unitel, cond. Battistoni; 7
Tutto Verdi: Otello (2008), 7+
The Moorish general Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality it is all part of the scheme of a bitter ensign named Iago.
Director: Peter Schönhofer
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Stars: Aleksandrs Antonenko, Marina Poplavskaya, Carlos Álvarez.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1510822/
25th Verdi opera, 26th major work.
Premiere 1887, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
(NB: Aida premiered 1871, Requiem 1874)
Time: The late 16th century.
Place: A coastal city on the island of Cyprus.
Filmed at Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
I was very disappointed that this was filmed in a non-Italian, Large opera house, with 2,179 seats. (Contrast with Teatro Regio di Parma, the most frequent venue in this set, with 1,200 seats.)
The stage had a slanted, elevated platform, dressed somewhat differently for various scenes. Here's how much I wasn't drawn into this: I don't know if they put a bed onstage for Desd's demise. They projected images on the backdrop.
This Otello is the same tenor as in the 2015 Met production I strongly disliked (production was distracting from the story, Iago was meh.)
This Iago is ok. But again stage business distracted: twice I saw him pull the stage curtain closed when he was going to sing to us (s/b himself), and seemingly wanted to prevent people in the story from hearing.
Desd. looked the part (was that a wig? long blonde hair looked real), but her voice was too mature, too mezzo?
Costumes were fine.
If this were my first Otello, I would never have noticed how wonderful the story is. The plus might be generous.
Fewer than two chapters in the Great Course, plus reference to 4 chapters in the Great Course for Opera overview. Verdi was a traveling conductor (of his own works), and gentleman farmer/manager of his land holdings, had retired from composing. He first met with Boito (librettist) in '79.
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 8th among Verdi's operas, 28th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
Rated 8.2 (6); 5 8's and a 9, mine will be the first 7.
Unitel, cond. Muti; 7+
Tutto Verdi: Requiem (2011), 8
Add a Plot »
Conductor: Yuri Temirkanov
Stars: Sonia Ganassi, Francesco Meli, Dimitra Theodossiou, Riccardo Zanellato, Chorus of Teatro Regio di Parma.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812558/
Not an opera, but 25th Verdi major work.
Premiere 1874, at the San Marco church in Milan
Filmed at Teatro Farnese, Parma
This is not an opera house, but an auditorium with seating stacked like bleachers.
Written as a tribute to Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist, famous for the novel The Betrothed (orig. Italian: I promessi sposi) (1827), generally ranked among the masterpieces of world literature. The novel was a fundamental milestone in the development of the modern, unified Italian language, based on the Tuscan dialect. Manzoni helped create linguistic unity throughout Italy.
I've not been impressed by the Requiem previously, but here the soprano and bass parts, in addition to the choral singing, attracted my attention favorably. I found the mezzo-soprano's voice a bit strange. The tenor was fine, just didn't grab me.
The repeated theme for the day of judgement is a famous segment, and very memorable and suitably scary/exciting.
Glad to have this. Wonder if the back story helped, or if this is really better than the other version I have.
Unitel, cond. Temirkanov; 8
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Rossini: La donna del lago (1992), 7-
Add a Plot »
Director: Ilio Catani
Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Stars: June Anderson, Rockwell Blake, Chris Merritt, Martine Dupuy.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0194439/
Premiere 1819
Place: Scotland
Time: First half of the sixteenth century
Very disappointing. June Anderson is supposed to be a big deal, as is La Scala.
But this suffered from poor direction and/or lack of appropriate camera lenses: most shots were of the entire stage from the back of the house. People looked small. If they changed costume, I wasn't sure who it was. Very rarely did we get as close as the poster would lead you to believe.
The set and costumes were dull, but the time and woodland setting might dictate nature-based colors and simple backdrops. The actual image and sound quality was technically good, but a clear picture of a far-off stage is not what I want to see.
There's no real action or movement here, just stand up and sing. The plot is not terribly interesting, so you need some good acting and visuals to help it along. A maiden, her father, her betrothed, her beloved (en travesti) and an incognito king meet in the woods. Everybody loves her, she's not sure about anyone, maybe not even the beloved. No one important (or at all?) dies despite the war/battles offstage, and it ends with a wedding, or the promise of one, so it's not a tragedy. But it's no comedy either, at least not the way it's played here.
I really liked the 2015 Met production with J.DiDonato & JD.Florez, even rated it higher than the IMDb avg; wonder if I really watched it carefully enough to make that decision. My comment: the intermission interviews made the plot sounded interesting. I shoulda just bought that, but today it's $17.50 and that's a lot cheaper than the sold history. Had already saved a search for $13. Hmm.
OperaLaScala, cond. Muti; 7-
Tutto Verdi: Aida (2012), 9
One of "Tutto Verdi" series "Aida" staged by Joseph Franconi Lee, filmed in Parma.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Antonino Fogliani
Stars: Susanna Branchini, Mariana Pentcheva, Walter Fraccaro, George Andguladze, Carlo Malinverno.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2813000/
24th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1871, Khedivial Opera House in Cairo
Place: Memphis
Time: of the Pharoahs
Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma
If this were my only copy of Aida, it would be sufficient. Except that I've grown to really like this opera, so more (different) productions is better. And this one is different than the other 2.
Sets/costumes/singing/acting all excellent. The stage is too small for the attempted processional, but they did have room for the 3 ballets, and may have done them well. But the TV director decided this was MTV, and did lots of closeups on the biggest (most people & longest) ballet, instead of letting us see what the audience does. Those decisions were fine for the singing, NOT for the dancing. My only consolation: I'm sure the quality of the dancing was not great, but it would've been more interesting to see what was designed/executed. (One of the ballets was comic and cute; beginning of Act II.)
The standout was Aida: Susanna Branchini. Born in Italy (father Italian, mother Caribbean), she was also the female lead in Attila. She has 1 other video credit in IMDb: Leonora in Forza ('07), not the Tutto Verdi effort.
This is an excellent story, with 3 primary characters, all of whom have deep conflicts between love and loyalty to their homelands. The grapple with this conflict throughout, with tragic but logical results. Extra stress: Aida's father has a bit of Iago in him, although he has good reason for his manipulation.
The contrast between grand spectacle and intimate scenes also makes this more enjoyable. Public duties versus private needs has been a theme Verdi used often, but it is very effectively blended here, with characters better developed than usual.
Two chapters in the Great Course again discusses Verdi's life almost as much as this opera, and has high praise for the elements I discussed above.
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 3rd among Verdi's operas, 13th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
Unitel, cond. Fogliani; 9
Tutto Verdi: Don Carlo (2012), 8-
Based on Schiller's play of the same name, Don Carlos was written for the Paris Opéra in 1865-66 in the tradition of a French grand opera. Repeatedly revised and performed in Italian as Don Carlo, the opera is seen here in the version that Verdi prepared for Modena in 1886. In many respects, this is Verdi's most ambitious and most forward-looking work.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Fabrizio Ventura
Stars: Giacomo Prestia, Mario Malagnini, Simone Piazzola, Luciano Montanaro, Cellia Costea, Alla Pozniak.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812962/
23rd Verdi opera.
Premiere 1867, Salle Le Peletier (Paris Opéra)
Place: Spain
Time: around 1650
Filmed at Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti di Modena
(smaller than Parma, bigger than Busetto)
Very competent cast, not young. Amazing they don't have more IMDb credits.
Outline: Carlo, prince of Spain, meets his betrothed Elisabetta, and they fall in love. But father Filippo decides to marry her himself. Carlo's friend Rodrigo convinces Carlo to advocate for the people of Flanders, who are treated badly under Spanish reign. But father Filippo will have none of it. Princess Eboli falls for Carlo, but has an affair with Filippo; when Carlo rejects her, she sabotages Elisabetta's marriage, accusing Elisabetta & Carlo of an affair, putting them in mortal danger. Filippo consults the Grand Inquisitor about putting his son Carlo to death, and GI relates it to God sacrificing his own son. Rodrigo gets imprisoned and dies. Carlo is supposed to be rescued from his fatal sentence by a monk who might be his grandfather, but that was not at all clear in this production. (They also didn't make clear that some heretics were about to be burned.)
Yes, this is the same Don Carlo lineage as in Verdi's Ernani.
Excellent costumes, good sets, good singing/acting. Just don't like the length (and this is the short version; the original for Paris is 5 hrs), and the story doesn't engage me. If you've got 3.5 hrs, seems like more should happen, or we should know our characters better. Otello does both, and in less time.
I own a Salzburg production with H.von Karajan & J.Carreras, watched it in October and praised it here. But I complained about vagueness there too.
In 2 lectures on Don Carlo, the Great Course discusses Verdi's life in Busetto, including the beginning of his relationship with Teresa Stolz, and examines three episodes at the beginning of Act IV:
1. The orchestral prelude.
2. King Philip’s subsequent aria “Ella giammai m’amò!” (“No, she never loved me!”).
3. The opening section of Philip’s interview/duet with the Grand Inquisitor
4. (end of Act IV) Princess Eboli's rage and lament
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 11th among Verdi's operas, 64th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
Unitel, cond. Gelmetti; 8-
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Tutto Verdi: La forza del destino (2011), 7
For La forza del destino, Verdi created one of his most famous melodies, the "fate" motif that permeates the whole of the score. Music and action alternate in masterly fashion between large-scale crowd scenes and intimate interiority, in that way illustrating Verdi's real theme: the manner in which fallible human beings are destroyed by a cruel fate.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Gianluigi Gelmetti
Stars: Dimitra Theodossiou, Vladimir Stoyanov, Aquiles Machado.
22nd Verdi opera.
Premiere 1862, Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, Saint Petersburg
Revision premiere 1869, La Scala, Milan
Place: Spain and Italy
Time: around 1750
Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma
The set is a bare stage with 3 (or 4) large walls that stagehands (in costume) push around, sometimes DURING the performance. The poster shows 3 of the walls, 2 with cutouts forming the cross, which is lit from within.
The lighting of the players is weird, often from above/back so their faces are obscured.
Costumes are dark, although Leonora's first gown (all black) is very ornate, with texture that matches the wall behind her.
The plot is not interesting to me: Leonora and Alvaro are in love, but her father forbids their marriage because Alvaro is part-native South American. In an argument, a gun accidentally kills the father, and the lovers flee, but are separated. Leonora's brother Carlo embarks on a search for the pair to avenge his father's death. She takes refuge at a cave shielded by a monastery. Alvaro disguises himself and enlists in an army. (omitting some stuff) Carlo happens on him, and they duel near the cave. Alvaro seeks help for wounded Carlo, and Leonora comes out. As she bends over Carlo, he has strength enough to stab her in the heart. Both die. The end. Given that story, can't imagine the production/performances required to make me like this. Few of the Amazon listings has a rating over 4/5, and those have few votes. Good thing I have this one for completion.
Watched 2 of these at Met on Demand. Didn't like the one with Sweet/Domingo, (in theory) liked the one with Price/??tenor, but beware sentimental purchase of Price.
The Great Course discusses Verdi's life (he attempted retirement, served in Parliament), and highlights the overture (fate theme) and Leonora's Act III aria (Pace, pace).
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 11th among Verdi's operas, 64th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
Unitel, cond. Gelmetti; 7
Tutto Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (2011), 9-
In 1792 King Gustaf III of Sweden was shot at a masked ball, and this was the starting point for Verdi's
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Gianluigi Gelmetti
Stars: Francesco Meli, Vladimir Stoyanov, Kristen Lewis, Elisabetta Fiorillo, Serena Gamberoni.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812768/
21st Verdi opera.
Premiere 1859, Teatro Apollo, Rome
Place: Stockholm, Sweden or Boston, Massachusetts
Time: March 1792 in Sweden or the end of the 17th century in Boston (British colony)
Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma
I own a 1991 Met production with L.Pavarotti as the King and L.Nucci as his killer. I didn't like it much: Verdi: Un ballo in maschera (1991), 7, and the notes help me remember more than I wrote.
This production I like a lot. This is the Boston version, so there's not so much opulent excess (although the wigs of those bringing the governor requests are really enormous. But the costumes are more Three Musketeers than at court with Louis XIV.)
As evident in the poster, the sets and costumes have a lot of substance. Hard to believe this is still Parma.
The players all sing/act really well. Only the male leads and the witch have multiple IMDb credits. Amelia and Oscar (trouser role; formally "en travesti" in Italian) have only this one. I could become a fan of all 5, but looks like I won't have much chance with some of them.
It helps that I understand the story now; the Met show above was my first, and I watched two online at Met on Demand; didn't like either of those. But today, after all the meh Verdi operas I've seen recently, this looks excellent. The plot is simple, no one is a long-lost child, although Renato's loyalty shifts quite a bit, and he puts his child in harm's way. The smaller production makes it more accessible.
I love the way the patrons keep applauding as the bows go on forever. I didn't feel they gave enough noise for the principals, though. But the bows were poorly organized, and really took too long to get to the principals. Stoyanov (baritone) in particular got a big hand for his 3rd act soliloquy, but I didn't really recognize him during the bows; wonder if the crowd had the same difficulty, and that's why he didn't get more.
There's a sameness to the diegetic party music in Verdi operas. I really think the music used at Rigoletto's party might be the same as that at the ball here. Ir doesn't sound like it comes from the orchestra pit, more backstage, and seems like the same tune both times. I think there's at least 1 more opera with the same/similar music. Ah, the lone violinist was onstage for part of this; kept playing when the king was stabbed? But she's not playing the music that sounds like Rigoletto's party.
The Great Course discusses the censorship/contractual issues in this opera's creation, and finally discusses the last act, where 3 men draw lots for the privilege of killing the king/governor. The 2 chapters with this opera's title are really about Verdi's personal life and Italy's unrest.
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 7th among Verdi's operas, 26th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
This has insufficient ratings to show an average, so I'll push it up today. I really do like it a lot better than the 3 Met perfs I've seen. It's also my favorite of the Tutto Verdi so far, although 9 may be a bit high.
Unitel, cond. Gelmetti; 9-
Friday, June 14, 2019
The Hoax (2006), 8 {nm}
In what would cause a fantastic media frenzy, Clifford Irving sells his bogus biography of Howard Hughes to a premiere publishing house in the early 1970s.
Director: Lasse Hallström
Stars: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Marcia Gay Harden, Julie Delpy.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462338/
Purchased with something else.
Enjoyable. Gere's portrayal made it very understandable why Clifford Irving did this. I got the impression that the moments where they almost got caught, and didn't, or needed to invent answers to unanticipated questions in the moment, were like a gambler's high, and CI at least was addicted, needed/wanted that excitement.
Plot point: CI was shown as a good enough forger to make at least 2 documents. His prior book was Fake, about an art forger. Orson Welles made the movie F for Fake ('73) about them and other forgers.
Fascinating to hear the details that CI & co-writer invented about HH bribing Nixon associates hit reality, and the Nixon Whitehouse ordered the Watergate breakin to see what else the DNC might have.
2 c.tracks is 1 too many. I didn't get much out of the producers' track except the desire to punch the male producer for interrupting and talking over the woman.
Rated 6.7 (15,543).
I bought this on a hunch that Gere would make this better than it sounded or the rating indicated. I was right. I wonder what else of his is worth the risk.
Miramax+, dir. Hallstrom; 8
Tutto Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (2010), 7
Add a Plot »
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Daniele Callegari
Stars: Leo Nucci, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Simone Piazzola, Paolo Pecchioli, Tamar Iveri, Francesco Meli.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5440938/
20th Verdi opera.
Premiere 1857, La Fenice, Venice;
1881 (second version), La Scala, Milan
Time: The middle of the 14th century.
Place: In and around Genoa.
Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma
This is the 4th performance of SB that I'll rate, 3 of them from the Met on Demand voyage, 1 of those owned. I have not liked it in any of these forms. There are 16 on IMDb at the moment; only 1 has a higher rating than the one from the Met that I own, and it's only a sliver higher.
I like the sets (lots of "Dutch" angles, as they call the distorted proportions of German expressionism in film) and costumes (lots of heavy velvet, good colors, even shiny trim on Adorno's outfits), but I somehow I wish they had furniture and props to deal with. The sloped stage looked dangerous.
I ran it more than once, and was attracted to watch a couple of times in the same place, where a singer had something special to their voice/song. It may have been Scandiuzzi (Fiesco) each time; also noticed him as Banquo in the Macbeth I own. But the music is just OK compared to the better Verdi operas. Of course, like Hitchcock, his middling work is still better than most other's best.
I read the synopsis pretty thoroughly beforehand, and watched the intro video carefully. The story is complex without being interesting. It's yet another reunion of adult child (daughter) and father, who bond instantly just because they realize they must be related. Again this instantly changes the loyalty of the the daughter's love interest Adorno, who was formerly the mortal enemy of the father. Verdi seems to like this plot twist a lot, and I dislike it a lot, although in this case I'm not sure Adorno's loyalties were well-founded. I didn't absorb the reason for the antipathy of the "sides", unless it was the personal tragedy of Fiesco's daughter dying, but that might have been his own fault for barring her access to her lover (Boccanegra) and her child (Amelia, grownup by Act 1).
The Great Course mentions this, but basically dismisses it. The strange thing is, according to OperaBase, in the 2004/5 (the earliest I could access) season worldwide, this was the 81st most performed opera, with 43 performances in 7 productions. (To the right: the top 10 in 2004/5. Click to enlarge.)Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 12th among Verdi's operas, 70th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics). I think the featurette mentioned no big choral numbers, which is something that adds to a Verdi opera in my estimation.
Unitel, cond. Callegari; 7
Tutto Verdi: I Vespri Siciliani (2010), 7-
Not until 1855 did Verdi have a chance to try his hand at the genre of French grand opera. A setting of a libretto by Eugène Scribe, Les Vêpres siciliennes proved a success in Paris despite the problematical nature of its subject matter, which deals with the Sicilian uprising against occupying French forces in Palermo in 1282. Today, the opera is usually given in the Italian version of 1861 as I Vespri siciliani.
Director: Tiziano Mancini
Conductor: Massimo Zanetti
Stars: Fabio Armiliato, Daniela Dessì, Leo Nucci, Giacomo Prestia.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2812274/
19th Verdi opera.
French Premiere: June 1855; Paris Opéra
Italian Premiere: December 1855, Teatro Regio, Parma
Italian libretto rewritten in 1861
Place: Palermo, Italy
Time: 1282
Filmed at Teatro Regio di Parma
It took several attempts for me to get through this one. It seems like a giant step backward in plot: another pair of enemies discover they are adult son & father, and loyalties shift immediately, with freedom vs. tyranny formerly dividing the pair. The love interest is also a plot-stirrer: she wants vengeance for the death of her brother a year ago. The bass/baritone intriguer tries to rally the people to revolution by encouraging some drunken occupying army men to carry off the young women for rape. Don't know if I would like it better if a favorite star or two would lead the cast.
The leads and most of the chorus are in dark clothing, and the set is barren, so until the last moments of the opera, when the revolutionaries wave Italian flags (in 1282?), this is colorless. (Ah, one of the Sabine women was wearing a red dress, but most wore white.)
Glad I was not in the audience where the singers stood and performed. For those sequences, the camera points to them, so we're taken out of the story into reality. Meh.
Another dvd I had my eye on sounds like the same production, in the even smaller Busetto theatre, but one of the singers is someone I've liked elsewhere. Decisions, decisions.
The Great Course talks about this briefly.
Per the 2012 featurette, without naming the source of world-wide most-performed rankings, this is 17th among Verdi's operas, 228th among all operas. (another source-less list of the top 100; Operabase Statistics).
Unitel, cond. Zanetti; 7-
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