parterre box

Tuesday morning: A further report from Lindoro Almaviva:

Over all the night was a success d’estime. It was a Renee worship night and we got just that. I am sure you will be able to talk in better terms about the singing or lack thereof. My impression is that Renee had an “acting” night, as i was saying earlier.

In my opinion, the presenters did an ok job. Graham fell flat on the duties, while Voigt was surprisingly refreshing. I do not blame Susan because as I was saying earlier in the chat, I would get bored too if I was asked to serve as high priestess on another singer’s worship event. Graham looked bored, unimpressed and a little frumpy on her gown.

Voight i thought came as the best presenter they have had in a long time. Her timing was excellent, her interactions quite sincere and over all her personality shone.

Last act: well, as expected the best of the evening. That dress had me dialing for a doctor and scheduling gastric bypass surgery in a hurry. I know you were not wild with it, but I thought it fit the production the best of all the costumes, that and the Trav 2-2.

Monday night:  Unidentified blogger.

Offstage divas:

10:30 pm, in the cab on the way home: Finally. The last dress of the night is not a hugely conceptual piece but it is very beautiful if not perhaps my notion of what a French countess mught wear to a dinner party. There’s an opera cloak a la Vionnet, heavily beaded in a Jugendstil pattern. The collar is, perhaps predictably, a flourish of black marabou. Once this is removed, a very slender indeed Fleming is revealed in a sheath of black matte jersey with a slight train. The dress is sleeveless with delicate beaded straps, and the look is accessorized with black jersey opera gloves. (A closeup revealed that they were held in place above the bicep with wig tape) Fleming wore her own hair for this act (and presumably the post-operatic perfume launch) a wig styled to look like her own hair, cut into a smooth long bob, parted slightly off center, in a pale white-gold blond shade. (No photos of this act yet; La Cieca thinks the mysterious shutterbug who sent her the other photos in this post must not be a Strauss fan or something.)

UPDATE:  Here’s a Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera photo taken at the dress rehearsal:

And here a glimpse from YouTube.

One or two lurches into chest voice aside, this music sounded delectable in Fleming’s cool lyric soprano. I don’t know if I care for the self-regarding posturing she does in this scene. When a Strauss heroine looks into the mirror, she is supposed to be peering into her soul. Fleming seemed to be checking whether her blush was even.

Kudos to the director and camera operators, who very carefully cut away any time the soprano let her upper back drift into closeup. Fleming therefore gave the impossible but delicious impression of a diva completely devoid of back fat.
Lindoro Almaviva reports from Indianapolis:

Well cieca, act 1 is over and it is a mess here in my screen. Apparently the met is not sending the signal in letterbox and Renee is looking ultra thin and tall.
From a technical side this has been a royal mess. Susan had no live mic at the beginning so we saw her lips move, but that was it. thered were no subtitles until the end of the Pura sicome. Pepole in the theater are not happy. we have been told that this is the feed they are receiving, but we are not convinced.

Ronizetti and I have noticed the unnecessary cuts and the absence of a prompter. We could not help but chuckle when Violetta asked Alfredo if he wanted “expresso a te”

9:25 pm: Well, you don’t realize how handsome that Ponelle Manon is until you see it in opposition to a Zeffirelli set. The dress is, I think, a failure. The grey silk surely up close looks very subtle but at least onscreen is very dead and ordinary without texture or much catching of the light. La Cieca notices that since the Vogue shoot, somebody has redraped the skirt into a more traditional 18th century line and (tackily) bedazzled the neckline and hemline — I suppose to make the gown show up a bit more.

Unfortunately Renee Fleming has not a clue what Manon is about. I mean, not a clue. Even her artificiality is somehow insincere.

For St. Sulpice she accessorizes with a really gorgeous black silk cape with a giant hood trimmed in lace flounces. The effect of elegance or, well, much of anything, is severely marred when Fleming chooses to do a brief pole dance on the prie-dieu.

Vargas continues lovely; his simplicity and honesty only shows up Fleming the more. (That’s vocally speaking, not just dramatically.)

7:45 PM: Your doyenne is standing next to a wastebasket outside Avery Fischer Hall, the only place she could find wifi access in the godforsaken Lincoln Center area.

Okay, Traviata. Fleming’s first dress is not exactly right for the scene, too floozyish, but she wears it well. It’s a ballgown of fllmy pink to peach silk chiffon with a basque heavily decorated with multicolored stylized flowers. The effect is impressionistic.

It’s VERY decollete, and at one or two points La Cieca worried about a nip slip. For reasons best known to her couturiers, Violetta wears a necklace worth, oh, 10,000 luigis — maybe the bijoux are more important than the cavalli and cocchi.

2,2 dress is better, actually quite a valid costume. It’s garnet faille gathered across the bodice with strips of jet beading, with a full flounced skirt. The back falls into plis Watteau, but very controlled. The off the shoulder neckline is trimmed in bright red flowers and the sleeves are long and straight.

Tom Hampson looks to be in terrible pain most of the time but he sounds okay, though it’s hard to tell over speakers. Poor Ramon Vargas has nothing much to sing since his cabaletta is cut, but he’s the only Italian stylist of the bunch. The Marchese is a non-singer.

More after Manon.

5:00 pm: La Cieca reports live tonight from the big-screen simulcast of the Met’s opening night gala from the North Meadow of Fordham University near Lincoln Center in New York City, my cat said fiddley aye dee. Please check do back at this posting beginning at 6:00 pm EDT for frequent and no doubt startling updates. In the meantime, don’t forget that tonight will also feature a live chat moderated by Enzo Bordello, also at parterre.com, also commencing at 6:00 pm.

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