four weedings and a funeral
This afternoon, after breaking the tragic news that Baltimore Opera seems to be on its last legs, Opera Chic added the startling tidbit that even the mighty Met is planning major cutbacks for next year. The blog says (with no source offered) that the company “is about to excise four [productions?] from their 2009-10 season.”
Per Brad Wilber c/o Sieglinde, the Met’s ambitous 100% Peter Gelb-planned season is projected as follows:
New productions: Tosca, From the House of the Dead, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Carmen, Attila, The Nose, Hamlet, Armida.
Repertory: Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Aida, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Der Rosenkavalier, Turandot, La Damnation de Faust, Il trittico, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Hansel and Gretel, Stiffelio, Simon Boccanegra, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, La Fille du Regiment, La boheme, The Ghosts of Versailles, Der Fliegende Hollander, Benvenuto Cellini, Lulu.
So if four of these productions are fated to fall by the wayside, which do you think most likely to be axed? And, while we’re discussing, which four do you think should be axed?
RE: LaCieca’s observation on keeping old productions on the boards. #95
I suggested it only as a temporary measure while the economy falters, as it did in the ’30s and ’40s. Fortunately, the Met does have some “exceptional” productions which have held up, like the Merrill & O’Hearn Rosenkavalier. They have ditched others that should have been retained. As stuffy as the previous Hansel and Gretel was, it was preferable to the offensive and inadequate one we’ve got now. If it’s a choice between great casting and new productions during financial hard times, I’ll take the former.
I think the Met is systematically replacing productions that require lots of stage hands and prop managers (the old Frau, Hansel, the Ring, Hoffmann, etc.) with streamlined productions that cost less to mount in a repertory house. The aesthetic results are variable, to say the least.
I can’t say what the cheaper alternative is at this point, but if sticking with old productions for a while saves money, I think we should live with them.
“The falstaff is from the first or second year of the new house ”
Hardly! This is the sole remaining show from the Old Met. It premiered in March 1964 w/ Colzani, Tucci, Sereni, Alva, Raskin (from taped evidence the very best of a good cast) and Elias under the debuting Bernstein.
Who was Quickly again??? Seems to me she was and is quite Famous…
Feldmarschallin ranted:
“they asked a singer I know if she is available next season for some Verdi. She was amazed that they asked so late in the game”
Now who on EARTH might that be??????
At any rate one can feel confident that she will be the greatest Abigaille, Lady Macbeth, Amelia, Giselda, Desdemona, Aida, Gilda, Oscar, Nanetta, Amalia, Mina, Odabella and Helene now performing.
THE NOSE is really best suited to a scale like that of Gotham Opera. And Szot is not a Russian speaker, which one really should be for this idiom. Plus, being remarkably handsome is exactly what one does *not* need in this Gogolian part of a mediocre jerk who thinks he is a player.
Peter Gelb has been very anxious to get rid of the old Zeffirelli and Otto Schenk productions to put his stamp on the company and differentiate himself from Volpe who adored their work. However, Schenk and Zeffirelli were creating successful productions long before Volpe took full power around 1992 or so. We may think that they are bourgeois, overstuffed and brainless but audiences love these shows. Gelb does like the Zeffirelli “Turandot” and “La Boheme” (which was critically drubbed for being too overpopulated and gargantuan at the premiere) and so those will stay.
The new productions have been the spearhead of his leadership along with the publicity campaigns and HD moviecasts. I like the “so old it’s new” aesthetic of the Schenk “Ring” but the problem is that this production has not a single interesting dramatic idea about the work. Conceptually it is a void and only interesting singers like Gwyneth Jones, Behrens, Waltraud Meier, Hanna Schwarz and others have been able to animate it by bringing in interpretations that have been honed elsewhere.
However, a great benefit of a production like the Zeffirelli “Tosca” is that you can put any soprano in it and it will work. It worked with Sylvie Valayre and it worked with Aprile Millo, it worked with Placido Domingo and it was reworked for Pavarotti. The Zeffirelli “Traviata Mach II” currently up on the boards has seen some very different sopranos including Ruth Ann Swenson, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu (who did make an impression in it), Cristina Gallardo-Domas (ditto and she could be heard well at all times), Krassimira Stoyanova (terrific at her debut), Hei-Kyung Hong, Mary Dunleavy (the dark horse contender) and Patricia Racette (the premiere replacement star).
As for refurbishing old productions, it is surprisingly expensive and difficult and something of a losing battle. That is why many companies take the option of replacing the production in its entirety.
Here’s my view of what I think will go down from a “bottom line” perspective for the Met…not neccsarily what I WANT to happen. If I had to predict what’s on the block and what’s safe:
Tosca-Safe…and will still be done as a new production, even though I personally love Zeff’s old one to death and was pissed off that they were scrapping it. Tosca’s a draw in itself, as is Mattila…whether the role is right for her or not.
From the House of the Dead-Gone…I’m a big Peter Mattei fan and like the piece…but it just isn’t gonna sell…plain and simple.
Les Contes d’Hoffmann-Probably the LEAST likely to be axed…a certainty. Nebs? Rolando? Pape? Garanca? Sher? This has got hottest ticket in town written all over it. I like the Schenk production and if it was in better condition I’d recommend keeping it with the great cast…doesn’t need the new production to sell. But…apparently that’s not an option.
Carmen-Staying. People will go see Carmen if someone plucked off the street was in the lead. The Alagnas will sell, for better or for worse…most likely for worse in the case of Angela…the voice just isn’t right for Carmen. She’s likely to scare off the purists, but not the tourists.
Attila-Staying. It’s always news when the Met attempts a Verdi opera for a first time, so that’ll generate some buzz. So will Muti’s debut. Fannies will be in the seats…die-hards will want to check it out…it remains.
The Nose-This would be gone if Paulo Szot were not involved, but he is. He’s a big musical theater star now…some non or fringe opera fans of his will want to see him. Should sell pretty well. It stays
Hamlet-Stays…more for the cast than for the merits of the work. Dessay and Keenlyside can make the most of the piece.
Armida-Renee Fleming. Stays.
Le nozze di Figaro-Stays A good but not terribly incredibly interesting cast is lined up…but the opera sells.
Die Zauberflöte-I could really do without this for a year…the year after year revival is reaching Nabucco-like proportions. But the Taymor production still draws. It stays.
Aida-Surefire box office. Plus, there’s a promising cast lined up between Urmana (Some folks like her some don’t…I do), Botha and Zajick. Stays.
Il barbiere di Siviglia-Not sure why they’re bringing back the uninspiring Jose Manuel Zapata…but the work is popular and the production still new enough that it should sell well. Stays.
Der Rosenkavalier-Stays. Not all Strauss sells, but Rosenkavalier does. Fleming, Graham, Persson…Levine on the podium…it’s a keeper.
Turandot-Stays for the same reason as
Aida…pure spectacle…guaranteed moneymaker. The cast draws interest too. Heppner’s Calaf should be eagerly anticipated. Guleghina’s Turandot…well…
La Damnation de Faust-Stays I love the piece, not sure how it’s doing box-office wise..but even if it wasn’t doing well that Met would look bad scrapping the revival a year after it debuted.
Il trittico-This is a bit of a tricky one. I’d say it stays…but I wouldn’t be COMPLETELY shocked if it went. Probably will be around because a: They can market the aspect of Racette doing all three roles and B: Still a very new production that was generally (though not universally) well received. Plus, Lucic is in it…and I’d go see it for that alone!
Die Frau ohne Schatten-Stays. This was one of the better new productions the Met has done in recent years and deserves another showing. That being said, if it didn’t have Voigt’s star power it might be on the chopping block. The opera has a devoted fan base, but isn’t guaranteed to sell no matter what the cast…like Rosenkavalier.
Hansel and Gretel-Stays…it’ll bring the kiddies in come Xmas time.
Stiffelio-Gone. Does the fact they only have Andrsej Dobber apparenly cast at this point show they’re having some difficulty finding a lead? Why bother with the effort if there’s probably no one out there who can sing it at this point and it probably won’t sell too well anyway?
Simon Boccanegra-Stays. Scrapping Domingo’s potential farewell? Uh…no.
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk-Gone. Do you really see them doing TWO Shostakovich operas when the economy is in the crapper and cuts to the repretory are needed? Me neither. This one doesn’t have Paulo Szot. It’s a goner
La Fille du Regiment-Stays, of course. Damrau and Cabell share duties as Marie and Florez is back. This one’s going nowhere!
La boheme-Stays. Why? It’s La Boheme.
The Ghosts of Versailles-Stays…for the same reason The Nose does. Chenoweth will generate buzz and sell some tickets. If she wasn’t involved this would be scrapped…and no great loss either.
Der Fliegende Hollander-Stays. Scrap this and there will be no Wagner next season. No chance of that. Uusitalo didn’t great a response for his stint in Salome, but Voigt is in this too…and Botha brings you some luxury casting as Erik. This hasn’t been done in several seasons either, so it’s about time to bring it back.
Benvenuto Cellini-Gone. When I saw this on the revial list I said…huh? Wasn’t well-received the first time and you don’t even have the benefit of a different cast. The two leads are exactly the same as when it premiered 5-6 years ago!
Lulu-Gone…but not certain of this. It might eek by through the skin of its teeth because it’s got a niche following and because there are more reasons to scrap the other productions I already predicted would be on the outs. If they cut 5 this will likely be one. If they keep it, and cut four I’ll say the Nose gets picked (sorry) to go on the chopping block.
Gualtier: However, a great benefit of a production like the Zeffirelli “Tosca†is that you can put any soprano in it and it will work.
In the sense that a bare stage and the soprano’s own evening dress will also “work,” yes. From the Metropolitan Opera I would like to expect that the production rise above the level of “not getting in the way.” (And while we’re on the subject, the FZ “Tosca” does “get in the way” especially in the first act. The scaffold is too far upstage for a tenor to make a reasonable impression with “Recondita armonia” (which is why the aria has been restaged from the second season on) and the arrangement of the set makes for a very clumsy “partial view” first entrance entrance for Floria.
A London agent told me that Fiend had already told him that Frau and Ghosts of Versailles have been axed – a terrible shame. The Nose is a diabolically feeble opera and presumably only being done to placate Gergiev. Can it be true that Elektra sells better than FroSch which is now a relative rarity? I suppose it’s cheaper to put on, but presumably they will use the same singers: does Linda Watson sing Elektra? Dean Smith presumably won’t sing Aegisth and I forget who the Barak is.
And Cellini will be axed! No great problem there – the production was horrible and nobody can sing it.
I must be the only person who wanted to see the Cellini again, but such is the way of the world.
Elektra for Frau makes some sense in that it’s a less expensive opera to put on–fewer singers and shorter–but it’s also been some time since it’s come around.