Zaubernacht
A YouTuber new to La Cieca by the name of Promptersbox, has managed to make available the entire La Scala Tristan und Isolde. Your doyenne is not sure exactly where the intense magic in this performance comes from: Patrice Chéreau, Daniel Barenboim or Waltraud Meier. But magic it is!
Labels: youtube
POSTED at
2:21 PM
12 Comments:
Yes, but did you have to give us such a good example of why everybody got such good crits except Ian Storey?
Um, isn't Michelle de Young a little ... young ... for that wobble?
Does anybody know any cast details for the upcoming Trittico at La Scala? The blurb about their HD broadcast for May 2008 says this:
"Riccardo Chailly is a conductor especially in tune with Puccini’s language, and has dedicated a great part of his work to the rediscovery of Puccini’s early pages and to the re-interpretation of well-known works. Luca Ronconi is a talented director able to unite and at the same time give a different character to three operas like Il tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi. The three casts were chosen accordingly."
That last sentence makes me nervous.
I enjoyed the smallish Meir as Isolde. Her lyric quality is okay only in small theaters like La Scala. The singing is quite emotional and the blood gushing is quite riveting. What it meant? The rest isn't as distinguished but I love the conductor. the last chord, i think is not together. but how lovely to see such concentration from La Scala doing a german opera with respect and concern for detail and performance. It may be come a serious operahouse again.
omg - La Scala, with over 3000 seats, is one of Europe's largest opera houses.
Graham, that's a long...er...Storey.
http://cultureonthecheap.wordpress.com
So much for paying even a quarter to go hear Ian Storey's Otello here in Los Angeles next year. Yikes.
For those who wish to be informed by actual knowledge and not the misquotings of Wikipedia. La Scala has a little over 2105 seats. According to the New York Times of 2004.
Reorganization of the top gallery has also increased La Scala's capacity to 2,105 seats from 1,800.
I always thought it had had 1800. Still small enough for small voiced Isolde.
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I would never call Meier a 'smallish' voice. I have heard her many times over the years, and it's actually one of the bigger voices I've heard live, especially in the upper part of her range.
And besides, whatever vocal shortconmings she might have, you'd be hard pressed to find an Isolde these days who so completely inhabits this role as Meier does. Just watch her Narration and Curse from the first act on youtube: nowe THAT is subtle and varied singing and acting, stemming from deep understanding...
Nina Stemme, though smallish also, is a more complete Isolde than Meir. Her Glyndebourne Tristan is released on DVD next month...
Liebestod in concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8enypX74hU
OMG - my apologies for posting the misinformation. I was actually using the Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia (David Hamilton, 1987) and my vague memories of an acquaintance describing a tour of the house many years ago, but wrong is still wrong.
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