i want to liveblog!
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:Â 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:Â 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.
I for one am hooked….cannot wait to read your observations.
La Cieca, let us know if they have a little stand with an awning from beneath which youll be able to purchase a bottle of aftershave.
Well I saw the show from a movie theater in Chelsea (NYC) Renee’s triple homicide was quite the experience in HD. It certainly gave a new meaning to the phrase doomed heroine. At any rate, the highlight of the show was the very NYC audience. When Jimmy Levine walked into the pit, the more than slightly sozzled woman next to me screamed “pederast” at the screen and booed as only a late career mezzo can. It was that kind of New York crowd.
Oh, nonsense, Dawn! This was not a disaster by any means. Renee Fleming is always Renee Fleming, but she was in good voice and she DELIVERED. An enjoyable and well-spent evening, all in all. Not the last word in glamor offstage, I suppose, but onstage, at least, I liked the Traviata and Capriccio outfits. The Manon dress was elegant but made no impact onscreen. I enjoyed Vargas’ contributions as well. Des Grieux should be a good role for him. Pity his Traviata cabaletta was cut. I especially enjoyed the Capriccio scene, self-regarding though it was, as Cieca so perceptively pointed out. But what glorious music – I’m always glad to hear it.
By the way, Cieca, Fleming did wear a wig in the Capriccio scene as well. It was shown to us by the wig-maker during the blather before the performance, and certainly looked like what went onstage.
I agree with DanPatter
Fleming was in good voice. I have not always been thrilled with her but the comment about ‘new meaning to the phrase doomed heroine’ is pure nonsense. It is not so much a reaction to a performance as it is a hidden agenda.
Well.
Very much enjoyed the evening at the movies – not perfect technically: the titles didn’t start until 15 minutes into the Traviata (not that I minded, but all the old bats in the audience were murmering). Fleming looks incredible, and sang very well throughout – if with the usual habits from time to time. I would call it a resounding success for her. The Capriccio dress won the contest by a mile, IMO. And always glad to hear that music – a daring choice in programing by all concerned.
Hope Cieca will summarize her thoughts and give us a chance to discuss tomorrow.
“Your doyenne is standing next to a wastebasket outside Avery Fischer Hall” – some kind of seating upgrade la Cieca?
“Unfortunately Renee Fleming has not a clue what Manon is about. I mean, not a clue.” – who does?
I am very glad I forced myself to stay for the “Capriccio” final scene(it was begining to get friggin freezing sitting in Times Square)
Fleming pulled that scene off quite beautifully, I thought–and looked very beautiful, as well.
BTw–I thought that Summers made the orchestra sound the best, under his baton–I don’t know if there was a problem with the feed from the MET, or just the speaker-system-or something–but Levine’s Act II “Traviata” sounded very out of wack
I have to say that I went to my local theater this evening expecting to hate Renee and love the gowns. It turns out I mostly liked her and did love the gowns. I thought she sang the Verdi and the Strauss very well. The Manon had moments. Her opening recit was dreadful – and there were pitch issues in the top – but the church scene was very well sung. Vargas sang really well too. Is it just me, or has Hampson’s voice lost some of the richness and warmth? I can’t quite put it in words, but to my ears he sounded younger than he is? He sounded good – but just not what I was expecting (guess I haven’t been paying attention lately).
I want to correct cara Cieca on one little mistake. i am in Indy, not philly.
Fleming’s dress for the first part of traviata looked all wrong: like Williams’ description of Blanche’s dress, “An old Mardi Gras” outfit. Or Iolanthe. It was too flighty-looking for Violetta at that stage of the story.
Thought RF did a good job of handling the Trilogy of Terror. It was however a VERY long evening…and my mind wandered. I’ve seen Fleming do the first two operas before, and it was more of the same. Capriccio more interesting by far because it was less predictable.
Fleming looked great, is a star, and carried the whole affair off with a nonplussed ease: therefore it was a tour-de-force of means, and I salute her for carrying it off. I still find her diction and placement a bit back and bland, instead of brisk, sharp.
Sphincter-mouth Hampson was distracting to watch. Vargas I thought wonderful, spontaneous, committed.
The endless “you are here” interviews got long and a bit tedious. Official “show” time was listed at 6; but we had to plow through nearly an hour of pre-filler, only of which Voigt I truly enjoyed. SHE has a natural gab gift, and is chatty, swift and funny.
Interesting stunt, brilliant even, but not a riveting evening: G-A-L-A to the max. It was a successful night for Fleming, for the MET.
I was happy to hear her in such good shape vocally. I want to hear her move more into the spinto rep – Manon Lescaut, Aida, the “Forza” Leonora, maybe even Tosca. Stuff where she’s having to work too hard to get precious. I’m convinced she has the chops for it.
I am not convinced she has the chops for Forza or Tosca, etc. at all. In my opinion she needs to do more Strauss. She was glorious and visibly moved by the music. That is where I think her temperament is.
Hay all, can someone post a complete cast list for tonight’e performance? I could swear that i saw more people in the stage besides Renee, Ramon, Dwayne and Thomas. Maybe my coke was spiked and there was nobody else (at least that is what the downladable “cast list” the met provided would lead to believe)
Come see RENEE sing Violetta, Annina, the 3 whores, the servants, ALL in HD and she will be singing all the roles from off stage when she is not on stage.
the traviata and the capriccio were good, Capriccio better than the Traviata.
The Manon showed strain and not a clear idea of what she was trying to impart, thus jazz here and there. The dresses to my eye were hideous except the last. Not a huge reception from a house nearly sold out with her fans. Strange. Having given the party for herself, hope she was happy.
The voice shuts down under pressure. Anyone who suggests a more spinto rep must want her dead. Couldn’t handle it if she borrowed a voice to go with this one. All the cutesy interviews have got to go. Dignity anyone.? Must everyone trip all over themselves snatching Beverly’s Hostess mantle? SG is not good, too coy and inner joke.
Voigt is okay, but really with one night before her opening what the hell are y doing stand up for>? And then the absolute dumb and dumbest, Margaret and Berger. Could these two be any more hideous?
I am thrilled her night of self appreciation went so well, for her fans at least, what was it all for really?
Well if it was a silly GALA it’s certainly getting a lot of silly reviews.
I agree Josephine. I wouldn’t want to see her do Tosca or the like. I might be imagining this, but I think her unnecessary histrionics and embellishments occur more in Italian. The Capriccio tonight, I thought was lovely. The music itself is ravishing, and Fleming’s German is very good, and, to me, she sings much more cleanly in German and especially in Strauss.
The movie theater I attended here in Austin experienced technical difficulties, we only got to see the last 5 minutes of blather and the first 10 minutes of Traviata. Many complaints from the attendees, obviously. The very apologetic management refunded our money and gave out free passes, but that didn’t begin to make up for the disappointment. The fault lay with the theater and its satellite dish whatnots, and not with the Met. I enjoyed the lack of subtitles. Alas, no scheduled Encore performance of the gala.
What little singing we heard was fine to our ears. Vargas always show up for work. Renee looked and sounded terrific.
The Lacroix costume was a gathered, falling, sad masterpiece.
“I have seldom heard the music sung with such rhythmic honesty.”
Just how many Violettas has Tony heard? Maybe Gheorghiu before this?
Are you sure that was Manon and not the scene in the Countess’ bedroom from Queen of Spades?
Josephine says: “I am not convinced she has the chops for Forza or Tosca, etc. at all. In my opinion she needs to do more Strauss. She was glorious and visibly moved by the music. That is where I think her temperament is.”
Too right. Everyone has known this for years including, I suspect, Renaaaay herself. For too long she has been (to quote an unforgettable Opera News review of the fabulous Grace Ann in Forza in the 80s) a figment of her own imagination.
Complete cast list of the MET Opening Night Gala (22.IX.2008)
———————————–
Verdi: La Traviata (Act 2)
Conductor: James Levine
In order of vocal appearance
Violetta: Renee Fleming
Alfredo: Ramon Vargas
Annina: Kathryn Day
Giuseppe: Juhwan Lee
Germont: Thomas Hampson
A Messenger: John Shelhart
Flora: Theodora Hanslowe
Marquis: Louis Otey
Grenvil: Paul Plishka
Solo Dancers: Sara Erde, Christine McMillan, Griff Braun
Gastone: Tony Stevenson
Douphol: John Hancock
———————————–
Massenet: Manon (Act 3)
Conductor: Marco Armiliato
In order of vocal appearance
Lescaut: Dwayne Croft
Poussette: Monica Yunus
Javotte: Reveka Evangelia Mavrovitis
Rosette: Ginger Costa-Jackson (Debut)
Guillot: Bernard Fitch
De Bretigny: John Hancock
Manon Lescaut: Renee Fleming
Count des Grieux: Robert Lloyd
Chevalier des Grieux: Ramon Vargas
The Porter of the Seminary: Jason Hendrix
———————————–
Richard Strauss: Capriccio (Final Scene)
Conductor: Patrick Summers
In order of vocal appearance
The Countess: Renee Fleming
Major Domo: Michael Devlin
———————————–
Scattered impressions from inside the house:
Nice buzz as the well-dressed crowd filed in (the red carpet outside was severely compromised by the war-zone construction). Starting about 10 minutes late, and still lots of empty seats downstairs as people continued to arrive late. Big applause for Jimmy Levine who basked in the audience appreciation. Lights up for the national anthem. Audience sat down, the late-comers continued to be seated and then the music start. A smattering applause (not as bad as the tourist crowd) of the Zeffirelli set. A bit tweaking of the staging. Violetta and Alfredo ran onstage in a playful mood, she went upstairs to leave him for his solo aria. Vargas started out in meltingly gorgeous voice for the recitative, generous with the phrasing, lingering on exquisite long breaths, well-supported by Levine in the pit. Then “Di miei bolenti spiriti” started off rather clumsily with a weak bottom range, the phrasing became a bit more tentative, with a more pronounced tightness in the passagio. Kathryn Day’s superbly reliable Annina (thank god it’s not Diane Elias!) was on display more vehemently than usual that she literally blew him off-stage as Vargas ran off without his cabaletta — in obvious deference to the diva’s evening (though it might have been a wise choice to spare him the punishing tessitura and a high C). Renee came down in a rather ditsy giddy Valley-girl manner, giving us a clear view of the ghastly doll-rag costume that simply doesn’t fit with the country house decor. Hampson entered in towering rage, his voice booming in excellent condition but largely dull and stiff in characterization (which might actually be what the turgid Germont pere is like!) Tempi are generally fleet, even as Levine allowed some stretching of the phrases for vocal display if not emotive effect. Renee sang more cleanly than most of her previous Violettas (from the 10 or so I’ve caught at the MET), with less of her trademark mannerisms of bluesy scooping and Sutherland-channeling vowel-mauling for the odd-pronunciation effect. Chest tones were used more sparingly in less vulgar manners (cf. “per lei sara”). She can still pull out a lovely messa di voce (not the best one I’ve heard for that moment, but still darn good) before the launch of an ethereal “Ditte alla giovine” which verged on the sublime notwithstanding the occasional vowel-mauling: it’s “the beautiful voice” at its best in the service of the music. Hampson’s virile voice (too booming for the role) didn’t blend as well as one would expect, sounding more stiff than sympathetic (but then maybe that’s the true face of Germont pere, saying one thing but acting quite clumsily in a completely different way). The “morro” cabaletta section was launched rather vehemently by a desk-pounding Violetta in a bit of clumsy staging in recent years for “drama-driven” divas (come back Ruth Ann, please!), but the duet ended quite touchingly and was well rewarded with applause as Violetta stood alone staring blanking ahead before moving on to the “Dammi forza o cielo” section, exquisitely drawn with soulful support from the orchestra (and a lovely oboe solo), only marred by Renee’s obdurately snappy “Silenzio! Va, l’istante” when she summoned Annina to deliver the letter to Douphol: I have always felt that a more muted and conflicted rendition would be more effective than such uncharacteristic vehemence (just like the desk-pounding earlier!) The build-up to “Alfredo, tu m’ami, Alfredo” was well-articulated in its studied intensity, the climactic “Amami Alfredo” riding an orchestral swell from Levine which required an bigger outburst than usual for Renee (Marco Armiliato handled this section best — actually the whole score best — for her by scaling the big orchestra down to whispering chamber size), by the the voice has fully warmed up and in excellent condition to withstand Levine’s assault. When Germont pere returned to find his heart-broken son, the acting was slightly more effective between two fairly stiff performers (and characters — it’s one of the rare time I’ve seen Alfredo actually hugged and cried over his father’s shoulder, only to recoil at his father’s exhortation of “orgolio e vanto”). Hampson’s once again vocalized “Di Provenza” superbly, with slightly more humanity and feelings, but still not as movingly well-differentiated as some of his vocally less-endowed competition (such as Anthony Michaels Moore, who boldly colored the second verse with a slightly hoary accent to get literally to the core of “Il tuo vecchio genitore”; or even Dwayne Croft and Bruno Caproni in recent years; Dimitri Hvorostovsky also suffers similar defects with Hampson from an overly beautiful and young-sounding voice for the role). Scene one ended with a dramatic tug-of-war between father and son over Flora’s party invitation. Very long (bathroom?) break between scenes for more late-comers. And even Levine couldn’t wait for all to be back to their seat before starting the music, and the parting of the curtain for scene two always brought much applause. It was a nice thoughful bit of casting to give the older house singers a bit more exposure on a telecast. Paul Plishka has been settling into the avuncular role of Doctor Grenvil (displacing another stalwart Leroy Lehr whose voice has declined even more quickly alas); the same for Louis Otey as the Marquis d’Obigny. Young Tony Stevenson has owned Gastone in recent years and proved adept at twirling his matador throw. John Hancock reprised his elegantly handsome Baron Douphol. But the nicest surprise came with the casting of Theodora Hanslowe as Flora, complete with a new glitzy gold-laced Spanish-style frock (nice complement to Renee’s former Silver-Black Spanish-style costume in this production). The dancers (same male lead) were more boisterous with their feet-stomping than usual, the over-the-top dancing-bull ballet got a good hand as expected. Then Renee swept onstage on a HUGE train of a red/burgundy taffeta overcoat (that must be at least 12 to 15 feet long!) and even when taken off, the main purple gown still has a long train of at least 8 feet long), something that would have fit much better in the Manon Act 3. The gambling table exchange was well-drawn by the smaller characters; Renee vocalizing solidly on the side. The confrontation scene was less subtle than past assumptions (even between Renee and Ramon 5 years ago), a bit more defiant shouting than nuanced persuasion/anguish. The humiliation was therefore more brutal but not shocking, even as Renee spinned around and fell over quite dramatically (almost legs in the air before crumbling in a heap). The exchange between Germont pere and fils started out with a slightly underpowered Hampson (maybe waiting half an hour took a toll?) and continued with a sweeter voiced Vargas than the underpowered Alfredo of the earlier outburst. Wise that she has always been to make the most of her vocal heft in the concertato, Renee stayed in place right downstage on the floor, just turning her head away in shame from a solicitous Germont pere, rather than getting up on her feet and walking up to the middle of the semi-circle like most other Violettas in the visually lovely but vocally sabotaging standard staging. More mannerism than usual (at least compared to last year’s run) crept into Renee’s part in the concertato and distracted from the pure emotive power of the musical line (and the pure and moving singing Renee had shown she was capable in the part). A surprisingly superb contribution came from Hampson, but Levine kept a somewhat leaden rein and the big number added up to less than the sum of its parts, even though the visual tableau was stunning, in which the slight rearrangement of character position made a far greater dramatic impact at the end with the lights focusing on a prostrate Violetta and an angry Douphol at different ends of the stage. Quibbling aside, Renee was in excellent voice and gave a more probing portrayal of the role on balance (stronger in scene one than scene two). It was nice to see Levine getting on stage for curtain calls with the leads even though he himself didn’t take a solo bow.
Marco Armiliato jumped on the podium like a kid with an infectious joy for music making. Conducting from memory, he threw himself into a lively opening of the Cours-La-Reine scene which got a big hand for the circus like scenery (and quite a bit of chuckle when the poodle appeared). The chorus as in the Traviata scene 2, was on superb display with fine highlighting of smaller sections. As Lescaut Dwayne Croft was in his element as a pompous persona, so went his artificially puffed up singing which seemed to have lost mch resonnance and gravitas no thanks to the higher tessitura of the role (Dwayne was surprisingly affecting as Germont pere in recent years at the MET, esp. just last yeat with Renee). Bernard Fitch acquitted himself well enough in a brief appearance as Guillot, but left no doubt that in the long run he would be far from the same league as my darling Jean Paul Fouchecourt in recent years, or god forbids, Michel Senechal of years past. John Hancock did double duty as Bretigny and showed an excellent command of French style (and pronunciation!) Renee came on at her ditsy best, though as I much prefer the garish frilly red dress of the standard production, I found the Lagerfeld gray silk frock going completely against the shallow lack of care of this Manon of the Gavotte. Renee got interrupted 3 times at the end of each stanza, and the music flow suffered even as she gamely held her pose and picked things up a new (one time even slightly wagging her fan to let the audience know that it’s not over yet!) The voice remains pure and agile for the most part, with a superb trill to boot (something one couldn’t say about Netrebko — even as one shudder to think of a new production for her sake), even though she had to scoop up to some of the high notes which were thinner and less secure than ideal, but that’s just nitpicking. Renee’s declaimed French was not her strength, by the same token, neither was Robert Lloyd’s and his singing sounded quite worn with some serious struggle with legato these days: very surprising to see him brought over just for the opening gala. The exchange between Manon and the Count therefore had some bumpy moments in an already less than smooth ride in the Cours-la-Reine. Thankfully shorter scene change over the St Sulpice. The chattering women chorus was done superbly, yet more proof of the improved quality under Donald Palumbo’s leadership. Robert Lloyd could still act the role better than sing it, and his snarling departing words “Restes a prier!” dripped with sarcasm. With the stage to himself Vargas displayed all of the worrisome symptoms of an overparted voice with tightness over the passagio and underpowered heft even as he nearly shouted certain dramatic parts of the big aria “Ah fuyez” It’s still an exquisite voice at softer dynamics, and the role would probably be good for him at a house half the MET size, and that’s probably why he has never sung it here (has he ever sung it anywhere else?). Renee rushed onto the scene with a big brown/burgundy bonneted overcoat that gave a nice accent to the pallid gray silk dress underneath and finally brought out its understated beauty, though of a kind more befitting a classy widow than a femme fatale! Her clunky declamation aside, Renee still sang this scene as well as I can recall first seeing her in the role a decade ago at the MET and in the most recent revival 3 years ago. With Vargas playing a much weaker supporting role in the duet, it was up to Fleming to carry it along, and she barely succeeded by dint of her exquisite vocalism. Her characterization regrettably has become vulgarized by Netrebkotitis, esp. when she took off the overcoat and leaned back over a praying pew to taunt and tempt the new Abbey des Grieux with vulgar groping of her breasts and pelvic region, thereby leaving nothing left to pump up the intensity in the third (and more passionately blended) stanza of “N’est ce plus ma main” to build up to a desperate going-for-broke “N’est ce plus Manon” (ingeniously rendered by the old staging in a coup de theatre in which Manon finally dropped her plain hooded black cloak to reveal that stunning temptress red dress!) that decisively broke des Grieux’ resistance, the exultant “Enfin!” with a fist pump seemed to ring hollow in that context and had to be plastered over with some furious tongue fight (similar to what Trebbie did with Mr Bean at the 40th Anniversary Gala — which also brought to mind another example of such gratuitously idiotic sex lure which was lapped up by an uncritical public: at the end of “Mi chiamano Mimi” Mr. Bean’s Rodolfo had to lock lips with the asthmatic tubercular Mimi for the duration of the applause, only for the suddenly bashful Mimi to react to his “second” — though actually his “first” according to the stage directions in the libretto itself! — attempt at kissing with a “No, per pieta” … which bring to mind yet another tongue-in-cheek quip I’ve heard “I’m only shy when I go for seconds!”) Lovely singing from Renee aside, this Manon Act 3 was subpar by the standards of her previous assumptions of the role, with stronger supporting casts. But still, it was an excellent performance that easily wiped the floor of Netrebko’s screamfest cum grope match with Villazon a couple seasons back. What’s sad is Renee’s feeling the need/pressure to stoop to copying the vulgar elements of such extra-musical decoys.
The Final Scene of Capriccio is new to me, having missed Kiri’s farewell in its inaugural at the MET (maybe it’s time to schedule a revival for Renee in a few years down the road?) Patrick Summers tended to be rather uninspiring in the standard repertoire (in other words, a hack), but he seemed to keep the orchestra together well enough, and obviously showed good rapport with Renee. The Galliano black dress with a turquoise Art Deco feathered-neck overcoat made Renee look rather striking, except for the unfortunately Lolita-like hairpiece that was far from flattering at any age. I freely admit to loving Strauss’ music even though I don’t know the German language to judge the performance. Renee seemed to have good affinity with Strauss and by the end of the long evening, her voice has fully warmed up and could still soar with Strauss’ melodic flights. The characterization came across as passionate to the point of vehemence at times, a very extroverted rather than introverted monologue. Lovely music and singing that deserved better than the gun-jumpers with their premature applause before the music ended (or the curtain moved) … Though the curtain calls had been fairly brief and unassuming in the earlier parts of the evening, by the time the curtain rose again for the last time with Renee standing by herself in the middle of the elegant Capriccio set, she was warmly greeted with a shower of program confetti. A great honor and triumph of a much beloved artist, and a memorable evening for her legions of fans. Glad to have been there, and proud to be a Fleming Flapper.
Now, come on, folks. Yes, Fleming has vocal idiosyncrasies, but when they are under control, and they were last night for the most part, she is very fine. (On a side note, she, along with Domingo, Bartoli, and Terfel – all hated here from time to time – will all be talked about long after all of us are cold in the ground). My biggest complaint from last night? Hampson, who has NEVER had core to his sound, and thusly never been right for opera, sounded awful. Not counting that his voice is totally wrong for Verdi, he sounded old for his 50 years. Get the lieder singers outta the opera house! And Vargas – stop singing Un ballo – it’s killing you!
Patrick Summers almost made George Manahan seem like a competent conductor.
Martha Stewart and Donald Trump. Why do people with that much money have such bad haircuts?
As for Manon … who knows what she is all about or that stupid opera. Or most of Massenet.
John Shelhart as the messenger in Traviata was completely miscast.
There were technical difficulties in the movie theatre in Gary, Indiana and even though they gave us all peanut britlle and bus passes it did not begin to make up for the disappointment.
They need to look for a new horn player. In the ‘Moonlight Music’ his rhythmic precision reminded was reminiscent of Angela Gheorghiu in Traviata.
Everybody was poorly dressed and looked like crap. These are rich people!!! Are their stylists blind?
Renee Flemings costumes were hideous and she looked too thin. She needs to start eating enchiladas rancheros. Her voice was ok but really who cares…why did they not call the program ‘Renayyyy: An Homage to Moi’?
Martha Stewart was hideous. I made that drink based on her recepie and it was awful. I could not find the orange liquer in Gary, Indiana. So I replaced it lime juice and it was awful. I hold Miss Stewart personally responsible for this.
I was not offended by the evening but I was absolutely unmoved, especially by those interviews which have to be cut soon. If I go to the movie theatre to watch the Met again and there are moronic interviews I will start to bellow ‘hojotoho’ at the top of my lungs.
In conclusion, I am not a bitter old bitch who is incapable of taking pleasure in anything. I just am expressing my opinions on the forum to raise the level of art.
Well, actually I AM old, and I am bitter, and I most certainly a bitch, but not all three together.
During the last intermission, Christine Baranski said that she once saw Dietrich F-D sing Nozze di Figaro at the Met. Can this be true? I thought DFD never sang at the Met.
On more important matters, is Mattila going to take it all off as Salome? Or will she wear a thick asbestos bodystocking?
dawn fatale, I was seated next to late career soprano who booed levine. (SHe would be upset if you called her a mezzo) now I know what you were doing with that text message thing all thru the opera. I basically found Fleming not as bad as I expected but found her rather calculated and boring, no sincerity what so ever. Her acting is always pure ham and never really organic. Hated the first gown, loved the rest, after all this was a fashion show. The love fest for Renee during all the intermissions got nauseating. It really was like watching Renee masturbate infront of us for three and a half hours. what a vanity project without any real substance, with Vargas in such wonderful voice it was a shame to cut his cabaletta in traviata. and the camera work is just too kinetic. too many angles and cuts, the MET needs to study the old Brian Large videos where the camera was allowed to linger on a singer and let us truly appreciate his or her performance. look at The Suor angelica with Scotto. The camera only changes angles twice I believe during the entire Senza mamma. The long takes let us appreicate the performer. This MTV style of editing is exasperating.
all of the above are very fascinating to read, thank you la cieca.
Can we get to see this in Blighty (I wouldn’t mind the Capriccio bit)?
The costumes are mostly hee-jus. Only Capriccio looks tolerable (though the hairdo makes her resemble Mandy Roocroft, no bad thing I guess).
On the ‘myself I shall adore’ tack, a friend had a review of the Strauss Swanopera appear in a student newspaper with the ‘o’ missing from the protagonist’s title…I kid you not.
Well.
Thoroughly enjoying reading others’ thoughts. Tinhtraiviet: BRAVO. It interests me to find out that some on this forum don’t pay very close attention to details – especially the singing. It will help me to take their reviews with more grains of salt in the future. And I’m not talking about “style” or “taste”. I’m talking about FACTS. For instance: Vargas started the evening very well – true. The voice does get smaller as it ascends, but his singing in Traviata was very good, as many have mentioned.
What NO ONE has mentioned thus far, was how he nearly came to grief in the St. Sulpice scene – miscalculating a couple of the highest phrases, and having to resort to a sort of straight-toned geschrei that rather alarmed me in regard to his vocal health. Now, don’t get me wrong, he is indeed a treasurable singer, and this can happen to anyone from time to time. Still, I just find it strange that it hasn’t been mentioned. In addition, if a tenor has to work THAT HARD to get through one section of Massenet’s Des Grieux, then that same tenor should certainly not be tackling such assignments as Don Carlo and Riccardo.
I wish him well, but found the vocal unraveling a surprise.
Rysenek Freak – you are correct Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau never sang the Count or anything else at the Met. He did sing the Figaro Count in Berlin and in Vienna and of course at Salzburg for a number of seasons around 1956-1960 with pretty much the same cast, Seefried, Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig, Kunz under Boehm. The 1957 Salzburg Figaro is available on Orfeo and other labels and he recorded it also in the studio under Fricsay on DGG.
He was asked to sing the Figaro Count in the 1953 Salzburg production under Furtwaengler but at the time he did not feel his Italian was good enough and then Furtwaengler changed the language and did it in German (with Schwarzkopf, Seefried, Gueden, Schoeffler, Kunz – a classic Viennese cast).
I saw the show in Times Square. Good view of everything but Debbie Voigt who hosted the Times Square show couldn’t get a video feed onto the screens in Times Square and then finally at the second intermission she got a video feed but no sound for her talk with Penny Woolcock.
As for Renee, first let’s talk about the dresses. The first Lacroix dress in the “Traviata” was too evening dress, too belle epoque, too dressy and fussy and made Renee look like a Texas socialite with the big blonde hair. She was almost Ellie Mae Clampett dressed for the ball. All wrong for the character and situation. The sceond gown for the party scene was better but different in look and style from everyone else’s onstage. The Karl Lagerfeld gown for Manon was classy but matched too well with the sets. Ponnelle the original designer deliberately made everything else grisaille so that Manon in the original production design’s bright red gown would stand out like a beacon against the Cours de la Reine and St. Sulpice grey backdrops. This tasteful, unadorned, gorgeously cut and draped grey silk gown just faded into the background. Wig and jewels were lovely. The Galliano art deco number for the “Capriccio” was stunning. However the low decolleté revealed a body mike wire going down from Renee’s wig down her neck.
Renee’s dipthonged vowels and fussy micromanagement of the line really don’t work for me in Italian opera in general but aren’t as much of a problem in French and German. So I found she went from good to better to best in the evening which is how it should be. The “Traviata” started out too bouncy and ditsy but she dig into the scene dramatically and though she didn’t break my heart, it was a worthy assumption. Cristina Gallardo-Domas and Krassimira Stoyanova (in her debut performances) were better as was Angela Gheorghiu. The Manon was surprisingly effective. She looked young and her business was convincing in the first scene. She sounded lush and the top was pretty free throughout. She overdid the rubato in some of the descending runs in the Gavotte but in Massenet a little mannerism can pass for style. In the St. Sulpice seduction duet, I also find the business of her throwing herself over the prié-dieu in a coital pose pretty much de trop but I think that has been in the staging before? Not just for Netrebko too.
I had no reservations whatsoever about the “Capriccio” which was stunning to see, stunning to hear and a stunning interpretation with a hint of playfulness and dash mixed in with the introspection.
Ramon Vargas was musical and solid in both Traviata and Manon with a burnished sound in the middle. However the top turns opaque and can run out of steam during high sustained climaxes. Hampson has that dry Anglo-Saxon timbre that is okay in German and French but lacks juice for Italian opera. Dwayne did good as Lescaut and Robert Lloyd is an old-stager I’ll give a pass on for some vocal woolliness for his savoir-faire. At this point he probably needs an act to warm up which he didn’t have here. Nice to see for leading singers like Plishka, Hancock, Hanslowe, Michael Devlin, Otey and others filled out the comprimario ranks (Kathryn Day was once dramatic soprano Kathryn Bouleyn who some of you may remember from City Opera and other places about 28 years ago).
I would say that Renee gave the performance of a star and delivered the goods. Good choice of material (though her Traviata will never be a first choice of mine) and stunning delivery. I think she sounds like she is still at the top of her game vocally whatever we make think of some of her artistic gambits. For those in the house, was there an audibility problem anywhere? She was very small-scale in Traviata Act I last season.
as noted in another thread, from up close and personal (i.e., the stage), the Manon aria was a disaster – she clearly was in trouble, and doing everything she could in terms of tricks to get thru the fioritura, while the D’s were scary. It’s time for her to put the facility roles away – fast.
A wonderful evening in the movie theater. Aside from the floral print costume in the opening scene, I thought the gowns were spectacular, particularly the Galliano Capriccio number.
I’m not surprised Vargas hasn’t sung des Grieux before. He has a lovely voice, but he seemed severely taxed during Ah, fuyez, gripping the lectern for dear life.
The role of Madeleine fits Renee like a glove, and I can’t wait for the full production of Capriccio in two years.
Gualtier: La Cieca’s gimlet glance was fixed to that funny little black squiggle on Ms. Fleming’s upper back, and eventually your doyenne figured out that it was a stray feather from the evening wrap that stuck to the soprano’s lovely nape. When she arose from her Recamier-style repose on the divan, the feather was, thankfully, quite gone. So, not a body mike cord, but that was my first guess as well.
Evenhanded: La Cieca thinks you should maybe get just a little bit over yourself. Perhaps Vargas was not ideally free with the highest phrases in the Manon aria; I don’t think we should draw a whole career trajectory from a few seconds of an unusual and non-representative experience. At least from what I could see on video, he looked rather nervous (understandably) which is one reason for a high phrase to sound difficult. That he had to sing the whole first stanza of his aria kneeling was probably a mistake — he might have relaxed a bit more if he’d had the chance to move about. But, after all, what’s in the prompt book is there in stone.
“Renee seemed to have good affinity with Strauss..”
And she has a special affinity for the final scene from Capriccio. I read an interview with her once and she cited listening to a recording of it as what inspired her to sing opera. She heard it and said, “I want to do THAT!”.
Thomas, in the meantime you could do worse than get hold of Carsen’s Paris Opera (Garnier) Capriccio with Renee on DVD. There she really does come across as a ‘nice person’, looks beautiful in GOOD frocks (the era is the early 1940s), sings it well, the rest of the cast are wonderful (including Anne Sofie von Otter as a very classy Clairon), and I defy you not to be surprised by the Chinese-box effect of the final-final scene.
Under a really rigorous director, she’s great. But often the mannerisms overwhelm and, as has been said above, the performance often doesn’t add up as a characterisation.
scaramuccio – I originally wanted to buy that DVD but was put off by reviews that said there was some strange miking issues which in effect made it appear as though it were a lipsynched studio recording, even though it was in fact a live performance. Is this actually the case or is it indeed a normal filmed live opera performance?
“neither was Robert Lloyd’s and his singing sounded quite worn with some serious struggle with legato these days: very surprising to see him brought over just for the opening gala.”
Not to those of us who follow the yearly misadventures of Fiend and Billingsate.
Well.
Thank you La Cieca for your kind advice. I shall take it into consideration.
In the meantime, I note that others (Gualtier, Thomas) have also noted the deficiencies in Vargas’ top to which I alluded. With all due respect to our dear hostess – and not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill – Vargas was basically screaming the top in “Ah, fuyez”. I agree that he could have been nervous – but let’s face it, it’s a really tough section to sing, so let’s cut him some overall slack. It did not detract for me, but I was simply trying to take a balanced view.
Balabanov is making similar comments about Fleming in the earlier Manon scene, and I disagree entirely. Fleming’s first high D was stunningly clear, solid, ringing, and long-held – so much so in fact that I was thoroughly surprised she still had that facility. The second one was good, but much less secure. Apparently Balabanov heard this quite differently. Likewise, what I heard as very problematic top notes in Vargas’ singing, you apparently heard with much less alarm. I respect your opinion.
How is it that one gets ticked off for venturing that Vargas may not have been perfect all evening, and one is urged to take into account his nerves, whereas one can trash Fleming’s top notes and fioritura, declare her facility in this repertoire utterly over and recommend that the Met cancel the planned production of Armida without illiciting any reaction at all?
After suffering through that last scene, I came away with one thought — God, Strauss SUCKS! Admittedly it was the first time I ever heard anything from “Capriccio,” and it WILL be the last. BTW: Ricky ripped off the intro theme from Massenet — it’s the same tune and harmonies from the great “Le Cid” tenor aria, “O, souverain.”
Because, Cocky, there is a big difference between what seems to be nerves on one or two phrases, and a general problem across the performance. I would not necessarily agree that the lackluster Manon scene last night makes a future Armida a no-go, because the styles are so different. It may well be, though, that Fleming will have to rethink her habit of inserting notes in alt at the end of every number, since the high D is just not a very secure note for her any longer, at least in as exposed a position as the note falls in the Cours-la-Reine aria. (A loud, piercing high D to bring down the curtain over an ensemble at the end of, say, Hotel Transylvanie, is another matter.)
To my ears, Fleming’s vocal production last night was no better or worse than she’s sounded for the past few years, and at least in the Traviata she seemed to be trying to sing the music without deliberate overinflection. I only wish she trusted Massenet as much as she seems to have come to trust Verdi.
Well.
For some reason I feel compelled to allay La Cieca’s fears regarding Fleming’s “habit of inserting notes in alt at the end of every number”. This is hyperbole, of course, but assuming La Cieca is genuinely concerned, I want to fill her in that there is really only one possible place to “insert” in the score of Armida. The music simply was not written to accommodate the sorts of high note additions we’re used to from other bel canto era operas.
Of course Callas found ways to put in some astounding high options, but all except one would be considered FAR too unstylish for Fleming to attempt in this day and age. The exception is at the very end of the opera, where a high E-flat can be inserted to excellent effect. In this case, it would indeed be a “bring down the curtain” moment as described by La Cieca. Still, many have sung the role without this option (Gasdia, Ricciarelli, Miricioiu to name a few), and I imagine by the time the MET production rolls around, Fleming will also be eschewing this particular effect. Aside from this moment, there just really isn’t much opportunity for ultra high-note display (I imagine much to Fleming’s and La Cieca’s relief).
I basically agree with Evenhanded about Vargas, he did make heavy weather of the climax of “A Fuyez Douce Image” (a place where Valletti cracks in the 1954 Met broadcast). However, this isn’t a new problem nor does it signal a significant vocal crisis of the end of a career. He sang Riccardo in “Ballo” for one performance (quite stylishly and professionally) and I noticed the spongey, unfocused top without “ping” back then. It has been a problem in bigger lyric and lirico-spinto Verdi and Puccini repertoire. He went from a Rossini-Donizetti tenor (where he was excellent) into a general purpose Verdi-Puccini lyric tenor with some French on the side. The transition has had some definite downsides for him. The top isn’t really up to that kind of heavy usage. But he is “serviceable” and gives good musical value and basically sounds nice but not exciting. The voice is more reliable and of one piece than Giordani or Licitra’s though they have the real vocal material for that repertoire.
“During the last intermission, Christine Baranski said that she once saw Dietrich F-D sing Nozze di Figaro at the Met. Can this be true? ”
How am I not recalling this statement? I thought I slipped out of the movie auditorium only during the designated “intermission” (speech-less, with second count-downs) segments. The only time I saw Christine Baranski was outdoors before the opera, with her (lovely and poised) daughter. (By the way, Ms. Baranski has much more of an operatic voice background than she was letting on; listen to the NICK & NORA cast recording.)
Anyway, I also don’t recall anybody mentioning seeing DFD at the Met, so maybe I genuinely did miss something.
Paul – what a shame for you, as the master said to a young man who said that, try as he might, he couldn’t get on with Rosenkavalier. But one man’s meat is another’s poison, so there we go.
Scifisci – I can’t remember now what I thought about the apparent ‘lipsynching’ but, no, it’s not a live performance, not at least before an audience, because there are all sorts of clever things to do with the Countess being in the auditorium. It is the Salle Garnier, though.
As for lipsynching, well, we’d never watch any of those Ponnelle opera films or Fellini if we let that get entirely in the way. There IS some weird lipsynching on a Lyon performance of The Love for Three Oranges, and I can’t see any reason for it.
I think I am in the minority here but I thought Susan Graham was excellent. She was charming, cute and articulate.
“I basically agree with Evenhanded about Vargas,… He went from a Rossini-Donizetti tenor (where he was excellent) into a general purpose Verdi-Puccini lyric tenor with some French on the side. The transition has had some definite downsides for him. The top isn’t really up to that kind of heavy usage. But he is “serviceable†and gives good musical value and basically sounds nice but not exciting.”
What I find fascinating is that he has been re-introducing Mozart into the mix lately — Tito at the Met last spring, Don Ottavio at Covent Garden earlier this month. I wonder if this is just the accident of scheduling, or a deliberate attempt to keep the more lyrical side of his singing in trim.
Susan Graham referred to Vargas helping them out as a late replacement. Who was originally planned as the gala’s tenor(s)?
Evenhanded: Well, unless the score of Armida is radical indeed, it will still include numbers that end with dominant-tonic harmonics, and that’s where the leaping up into alt so often happens. Plus presumably the work has a free cadenza or two, where the singer may well rise to extreme top notes. Does not Maria Callas soar up to high D and E in her famous live recording of “D’amor al dolce impero?”
Not to say that these notes in alt are de rigeur or that Fleming will interpolate them, but there certainly are opportunities should she care to find them. Some of us recall the occasion when she decided that the score of Lucrezia Borgia would provide an excellent vehicle for her high F…
My that was a longish evening. However I am glad I stayed to the end – I found the Strauss wonderful and it demonstrated Renee’s connection to his music and aesthetic. It was clear she has really lived into this music and connected to it more than just singing in her fach, this world makes sense to her. She seemed very free – I was fascinated by the fleeting emotions crossing her face as she preened in the mirror.
I could very well have done without the Manon – her motions we just so stock: the Gavotte was meh for me. The jazz crooning was insipid.
Glad the evening ended on a better note.
If Gelb called me and asked “how do we do this better?”, I’d put down my Grande Dame Cocktail, and offer this:
1. Don’t interview audience. Pre-record interviews directors, designers, cast, music staff about the piece and production. This part can be aimed over the heads of the masses – know-it-all opera queens want to learn something too. (Really, we do)
2. Hosts should NOT be opera insiders, but charming (recognizable) people who have their own passion for it, along with gift of gab. They’re out there.
3. In large populated scenes, pull back more, so we can enjoy the GRAND in opera.
4. DON’T cut away from what’s on stage until the end of the scene – we don’t go to the movie theatre to watch the audience react to a climactic moment. At least not the theatres showing MET transmissions…
I wasn’t impressed by Vargas’s “Ah fuyez” either. And no, it’s not the almost-cracked note at the end. His voice just wasn’t responding in the high-lying passages of the aria. Probably nerves. His Rodolfo last year was very good so I don’t think it’s a worrisome sign or anything.
Wasn’it a high G??
And I agree that Fleming should NOT be venturing into heavier rep. She has been pretty smart about choosing roles that fit her voice (though not necessarily her temprament). She eventually dropped Norma and admitted in her recent ON interview that it didn’t suit her. Things like Tosca and Amelia would be much too heavy for her.
#22, Mr Tin: just one wee comment for you (you’ve used up all the words!!),
and that is the simple fact, Renee is too old to sing Manon. So she has to resort to all kinds of vulgar tricks and tics. It’s a bit late on.
mrmyster
Well.
Divaranglr: Agreed on every count. You should just print out your list and mail it directly to Gelb (seriously – why not?).
I feel I must clarify (since La Cieca has spun my comments in the wrong direction) that I NEVER indicated that I thought Vargas’ career was in trouble (or his voice, for that matter). When I mentioned his “vocal health”, I meant LAST NIGHT only. As I said, it was just a surprising mis-step from a generally ultra-reliable singer. And I still believe roles like Riccardo and Don Carlo are wrong.
In regard to Armida – yes, Cieca, I think you probably know the score very well, especially as it was a great triumph for Callas (if only she had been able to sing the complete Semiramide as well!). Still, modern performance practice basically dictates that ornaments fit well within the extant vocal line, and ultimate (even penultimate) high notes are rare. Yes, Fleming and Gossett went overboard with the Borgia (and the high F/G cadenza was especially egregious). But Armida is entirely different. It is much more an ensemble piece (Callas’ approach notwithstanding) and the virtuosity (for the antiheroine in particular) inherent in the score is SO extensive, that additional high excursions just seem unnecessary. As I said, we will see. I, for one, wouldn’t be bothered by the addition of a high e-flat at the end of the opera, but by then the soprano is probably very tired, and it does seem unlikely that Fleming will risk it.
Rinaldo, Vargas was wonderful, really wonderful as Tito in “Clemenza di Tito” last Spring at the Met. He needs to keep the lighter roles in the mix, cut back on Puccini and heavy Verdi and look into some off the beaten track Donizetti and Rossini. Also work on the top of the voice to get some focus and cut into the sound. Pavarotti had a similar career track (though Rodolfo in “Boheme” was his first great role). Pavarotti always had this laser beam focus to the sound that all tenors today lack. Perfect diction as a result. That pingy focused sound allowed him to move into full lyric, spinto and even some dramatic repertory because the voice had squillo – it wasn’t fat but it cut through the orchestra and could ride the climaxes with brilliance.
I for one wish Vargas sang the Rossini Otello he was supposed to do with Eve Queler and OONY (hit me in the poony, you big old OONY!)
Evenhanded: additional high excursions just seem unnecessary
Since when has Renee Fleming been constrained by any notion of “necessity?” It’s not necessary to speak the words “e tardi” as if Violetta were callin’ hogs, but she does it anyway.
By the way, Fleming took a high E-flat at the end of her rondo-finale when she sang Armida at Carnegie Hall… after cutting a huge swathe of music earlier in the third act. So much for her notions of what is necessary.
Yes, the “Ah fuyez”s were a struggle, and I was relieved that he got through the aria without calamity. But he was grossly miscast in both roles, especially for transmission to the masses. People actually laughed during the hot’n'heavy scene of Manon. I escaped by imagining Sebastien Gueze in Vargas’ place.
Well.
La Cieca – you have achieved your goal and beaten me into submission. You are right, I am wrong, Fleming will make an utter mess of Armida and load it with probably dozens of unwritten high notes that she can’t even sing well. You have deflected every point I have tried to make with your Texas-sized Feminum bracelets. Life must be grand in your world of unassailable knowledge. Despite your attitude, I am sure you will attend the production in order to catalog Fleming’s every heinous breach of style. Enjoy.
Evenhanded: There is no reason to get so huffy just because your “argument from necessity” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I don’t think any opera is tacky-proof, and unfortunately Fleming seems to opt for tackiness when she distrusts or is uncomfortable with the material. I don’t think Armida has any particular immunity to tacky interpretation, and if it’s not interpolated acuti (who knows, maybe eventually Fleming will catch up to the rest of the world on Rossini practice) it will be some other kind of bad taste, e.g., the dramatic bit of waving her blood-stained hanky in Germont’s face.
It’s sad to say, but I have to agree with a soprano friend who attended Fleming’s “good behavior” performances of Pirata at the Met: “unfortunately when she gets rid of all the bizarre stuff, what’s left is just dull.” And I don’t think Fleming is going to risk being dull in “her” bel canto vehicle.
Paul, (No. 43) I’m sorry you disliked the Capriccio scene, but as Scaramuccio said, one man’s meat, etc. It’s one of my favorite pieces in all opera. But thanks for pointing out the similarity between the Moonlight Music and the aria from Le Cid. I hear what you mean.
divaranglr (No.53) All of these are great suggestions, particularly your 3rd point, about pulling the camera back more so we can see the entire stage. I remember thinking during the telecasts of the Ring and Aida, productions I saw live several times, that the camera was never letting us see the whole stage, the big picture. Particularly now that these are being shown on big movie screens, the camera should do that more often.
I love the climactic high notes added to bel canto arias, proper or not. They’re exciting.
One more compliment to Fleming: that was a gorgeous trill in Manon’s aria.
Let’s face it, bel canto is where Fleming is most likely to take the tacky route. She’s not gifted in the interpretation department so she makes up for it with… well you know the rest.
Finalmente, Well, it’s over…Lindoro Almaviva and I did our usual socialite best to bring style insight to the audience in our Indy theatre! ~ While the Met must be applauded for their efforts and concept to gain and hold a greater audience, I fear they did themselves a disservice last evening. Was it the Met’s opening night or Renees? – She is simply not of the stature that they wish her to be … (just as Anna Netbrenko is not a coloratura soprano they wish her to be). Taking nothing away from these artists, the Met needs to expand their artist roster and bring others to the party! While we may also be in a vocal recession, we are not in a vocal drought … MET, close your eyes, opening your ears … in all honesty, many of your ‘cover’ singers are of finer caliber .. share the wealth! Renee did a beautiful job in the final act – I want to take nothing away from her, it’s at this point a criticism of the Met’s naivety. I could go on, but at the moment I’m still smiling from amusement at her ‘Espresso a te” in the amami Alfredo in Traviata!! PRICELESS!
I worry about myself sometimes. I mean the “dite alla giovine” last night was amongst the most beautiful singing I’ve ever heard. And although it got so late in Germany that I had to miss Manon and Capriccio. I did hear her Capriccio in Wien last June, and although one of these days I’d love to coach her German, it was still fantastic singing. So what do the rest of you have against her? I find she gets me just where it counts (don’t worry Paul – I was 31 before I realised what Strauss can do one’s hormones….). I’ve just listened to Nina Stemme and Schwarzkopf in Capriccio and neither come anywhere near Renee…….
And as for not being gifted in the interpretation dept., she has almost single-handedly reinstated portamento as good taste.
Bill and Rysanekfreak – re Fischer-Dieskau’s Conte – he actually recorded it three times in the studio twice for DGG under Fricsay and Böhm and once for EMI under Barenboim. The latter was studio recorded after performances at the Edinburgh Festival in which he appeared with Heather Harper Judith Blegen, Geraint Evans and Teresa Berganza in, I think 1977, and the same principals except Cotrubas replacing Blegen the following year. There were his last opera appearances in the UK. He also sang Mandryka and Falstaff at Covent Garden, but was so upset by his bad reviews for Falstaff that he vowed never to sing opera in London again. Nor did he. I saw him three times in opera. This Edinburgh Conte, as as Falstaff (sung in German) and Amfortas in Munich. Of the three, the Amfortas was the most memorable and his Falstaff worked better in German than it does in Italian on the Bernstein recording.
‘So what do the rest of you have against her’? Her success, my dear, her success. Textbook case of sour grapes. The many bitter pills who inhabit here were desperately hoping that Renee would have some kind of catastrophic failure, of voice or nerve, or costume, that would allow them to spend weeks in juvenile mockery, or better, allow them to write off the rest of her career. La Cieca herself is so bitterly disappointed she has already begun condemning, in high dudgeon, performances the poor woman hasn’t even given yet! You must understand, the purpose of this site is not to engage in serious discussion of things operatic. It is instead to provide group therapy for the emotionally diaffected among the also-rans, has-beens and wannabes of New York’s gay artistic community–singers, coaches, agents and, particulary, failed directors. Renee is the primary target because she is the most visible one, but there have been and will be others. The resulting bitchery is easily understandable (see pages 1-10 of your psychology 101 textbook) but it is not to be taken seriously. Not for a minute.
Ronizetti, the Met surely knew what they were doing last night. They took in a record-breaking $6.2 million dollars from the gala. Only an artist of Renee’s stature could have made that possible, and certainly not a ‘cover’ singer, no matter how gifted.
In other news Clay Aiken just came out of the closet on the cover of People magazine!
Oh, and West Orange, New Jersey’s own Albert Vilar finally goes to trial this week after suffering in exile at his UN penthouse.
to 47. Rinaldo. You were in the movie theater. I was at home listening on Sirius. We got a lot of Margaret J interviews, including a long one with Christine Baranski, which was mostly about Mamma Mia, her friendship with Renee, and her Julliard days, when she would stand outside the Met as curtain time approached and sometimes get handed a free ticket. One of those tickets, she claimed, was to a Nozze di Figaro with DFD.
That first dress would have gotten its designer kicked off Project Runway in short order.
Summers didn’t inspire confidence in the realm of Strauss-conducting last night (though I thought Renee was very good in this part, the orchestra in the interlude that opened the scene was an utter horror), so I’m thinking about skipping Salome and staying home for the presidential debate on Friday…. those who are seeing Salome right now better report.
“Summers didn’t inspire confidence in the realm of Strauss-conducting last night”
Well..listening on Sirius, RIGHT NOW, on my ‘puter, I think Strauss is in fairly good hands…better than the last time we heard this at the MET, at least (under Gergiev)
Wasn’t Ms Flemming wonderful! She looked so good- smelled divine- and sounded awesome! I can’t wait to see her Tosca and Armida. The sooner the Met installs more British administrators to make that happen sooner, the better.
“She’s not gifted in the interpretation department so she makes up for it with… well you know the rest”…Kashania.
Sorry Kashania, I don’t. But lately your tongue has been so far up Josephine I’m surprised you can hear anything at all
“While the Met must be applauded for their efforts and concept to gain and hold a greater audience, I fear they did themselves a disservice last evening. Was it the Met’s opening night or Renees? – She is simply not of the stature that they wish her to be -I want to take nothing away from her…” – Ronizetti
“Disservice” = 6 mill.
“Met’s or Renees opening night?” = don’t they know?
“Not of the stature” = who is then?
“I want to take nothing away from her”= oh really? You could have fooled me! All in all- another brilliant example of high calibre, unbiased crit in Parterre when it comes to anything by Miss RF.
tustuprof, La Cieca has decided that since you are unhappy here, she will give you a little more free time to finish your psychology degree. Cheap psychoanalysis of herself La Cieca does not object to, though she finds it pretty boring reading. On the other hand, she sees no reason to provide a forum for the one-note bashing of other commenters. You have the option of returning to us, tustuprof, if you care to demonstrate that you’re interested in doing something here besides insulting your fellow commenters.
Let’s keep the personal stuff to a minimum, shall we? La Cieca has better things to do with her time than to act as referee.
Ruxont: MANNERISMS!!!
Kashania – Ohhhhhhh! Can you see them too?
brooklynpunk: thanks, I will reconsider! I do want to see it, just not if it’s going to be a trainwreck. It’s true that early and late Strauss are quite different matters…. or maybe the Capriccio was just under-rehearsed.
Mi lagnerò tacendo della mia sorte amar,
I used to use tussy underarm deodorant.
EWWWW! Is that after using the Whipper-Snipper?
61. “But he was grossly miscast in both roles, especially for transmission to the masses. People actually laughed during the hot’n’heavy scene of Manon.”
Well, we here in the Mexican corner of the country rather liked Vargas cast as a lover. Much happy discussion of that at intermission. But, even if he’s not your type, c’mon, this is opera. We love it when a 250 lb Helena rises from the arms of a 300 lb. Menelaus.
Micaela;
Well..if it’s a choice between the train-wreck that the Friday night debates will probably disolve into(and will be repeated ad-nauseum—but of course I’m gonna watch.) OR- the visual train-wreck on the MET stage(if the production is identical to the one they did in ‘04–I’d still vote for Matilla’s bush, instead of gagging over McBush
Josephine – did you also use Tussy on Pussy?
“Well, we here in the Mexican corner of the country rather liked Vargas cast as a lover. Much happy discussion of that at intermission”
Hey,La Christina;
It’s funny you mentioned that–I was sitting in Times Square, surrounded by a rather large group of Mexican tourists, watching the Gala. When Vargas spoke a few words in Spanish, during one of the preConcert interviews, and finished by saying “Viva Mexico!” —the crowd around me went wild—it was kinda cool!!
I also find him sorta sexy…
*thinks* Damn! – I shouldn’t have embarrassed the girl asking about her fan spray like that. I shoulda been more discrete and just asked Kashania.
“I also find him sorta sexy…”
Oh, I’m so glad you said that, brooklynpunk. I can’t say I’m having dreams about him, but ever since his Lensky a couple of years ago at the Met, I’ve found something kind of charismatic about him. And, yeah, his “Viva Mexico” got a pretty big cheer here in New Mexico!
Thank you cara Cieca for publishing my reports.
So what I am getting out of everyone’s opinions overall was that:
She looked mostly good.
She sang mostly well, although she was somewhat overtaxed in the Massenet (Cieca’s eyebrows raised often during that part of it).
Everyone enjoyed it overall.
Isn’t that about it?
Oh yeah, and that the Met made a fortune out of it, and they probably can’t wait to do it again, and make another fortune.