parterre box

113 comments

• Mark says:

  I checked the broadcast tonight. Netrebko got 42 seconds on opening night of Puritani — far short of the 2 minutes claimed by certain people here with IQs of 48.

  Sugarmezzo: is that the best you can do? Go back to kindergarten.

  And there is nothing more banal or boring that saying “Oh, Mark, you are so boring.”

  Such wit. Almost reminds me of Addison deWitt.

  on April 22, 2008 at 10:04 PM
• daintymouth says:

  Obviously Mark has a lot of time on his hands!!

  on April 22, 2008 at 10:30 PM
• La Cieca says:

  Mark, enough with the flailing. Either learn moderation or you’ll go on moderation.

  on April 22, 2008 at 10:41 PM
• kashania says:

  I’m sorry to have encouraged him.

  Mark: You win, big guy.

  on April 22, 2008 at 11:37 PM
• sugarmezzo says:

  Suck my balls, Mark.

  on April 22, 2008 at 11:43 PM
• Micaëla says:

  Robert le diable? Really? That would be nifty.

  I vote for an encore of any number that ends with the death of the character in question, just to see if they can rise from the dead with any dignity intact.

  on April 23, 2008 at 12:45 AM
• tinhtraiviet says:

  To put the long ovation in perspective, for her mad scene in the Lucia run earlier this season Dessay regularly garnered between 1:15, 1:30 and 2:12 (opening night) and nobody told her to do an encore of anything. And for her stupendous Zerbinettas (I was lucky to see 5 of those, first in 1998 and then in 2003 after her recovery from throat operation), Dessay regularly got between a minute and a half to two minutes of applause. By comparison, Caballe’s out-of-this-world triple-octave cascade in the Act 4 aria of Vespri in 1974 “only” earned her 1:26 on the broadcast; and Radvanovsky’s latter-day attempt at the same feat clocked in a paltry 46 secs on the broadcast (admittedly one of her poorer efforts in the run; at the non-broadcast performance I saw, she clocked in a far more respectable 58 sec ovation, and an additional 50 secs after the Bolero). JDF’s performance of the piece de resistance though no doubt impressive and enjoyable, was hardly in the same class as the geriatric Alfredo Kraus as late as 1988, never mind Pavarotti in his prime in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The rush for an encore of the cabaletta after a mere minute an a half of ovation (prompted not only by breaking character, but also by a blatant fluff piece in the NYT the previous weekend in which the possibility of an encore to match the experience at LaScala was not only hinted to but shamelessly encouraged) seems like a rather contrived and desperate attempt on the part of management to generate buzz for the production and the “gala opening” occasion. To JDF’s credit however, the cabaletta came off far more impressively in the encore. Now that would be something that deserves a repeat, far more than the first time around! Better yet, the Act 2 aria was a thing of extraordinary beauty (save for a glaring interpolated high note, a C#? with his customary bleating quality at the top of the range), replete with hushed control of dynamics, melting tones and sensitive phrasings (and even more than passable French), a masterly demonstration of bel canto expressivity, quite on the same level as Dessay’s heart-breaking farewell “Il faut partir” at the end of the first act. But there was no vocal pyrotechnics or dare-devil high notes there to whip the audience into a frenzy and clamor for an encore. C’est la vie.

  on April 23, 2008 at 2:02 AM
• sugarmezzo says:

  But you know, tinhtraiviet, I agree with everything you said, but I saw him do Cenerentola a few years ago, and it was THRILLING. Absolutely thrilling. Not perfect, a little bleating here and there, yes, a little nasal, yes, but it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up (in a good way). It was, for lack of a better word, AWESOME. It made my heart pump faster, and made me want to jump out of my seat. I really don’t blame people for reacting this way – I wasn’t there, but if it was like the Cenerentola, I don’t blame them. It’s not often that singers make you feel that way these days!!

  on April 23, 2008 at 2:34 AM
• Carlos María Eduardo García de la Cal Fernández Leal Luna Delgado Galván Sanz says:

  Thomas squealed:I prefer that singers not step outside of their character to bow…Perhaps it is dated, but I think they should “stay frozen” up to a point and then continue.

  In light of your distaste for singers breaking character during applause, I suggest that you not attend performances of any romantic ballet.

  on April 23, 2008 at 2:48 AM
• Carlos María Eduardo García de la Cal Fernández Leal Luna Delgado Galván Sanz says:

  Allow me to clarify:No, there aren’t any singers breaking character during applause at the ballet, but the dancers do so frequently—although, I must admit, they do acknowledge applause “in character” about half the time, so I guess it’s 50/50.

  on April 23, 2008 at 3:32 AM