lucia: two acts
UPDATE: And now the reactions to Act 2:
“Villazon continued to struggle. Pushed upper register and passaggio. High notes he seems to accomplish (or in some cases misses) by sheer will of force. Aside from a beautiful legato in the sextet, his voice is very worrisome. Netrebko has bloomed in this act, acuti seemingly in control, mostly, and beautiful phrasing.  Her duet with Kwiecien was the highlight of a second act that was blessed with many magical moments. Armiliato is expertly following the singer and trying to help them as much as possible. This was an overall splendid second act.”
“Villazon seems to grow stronger by the act and the engagement scene suits Trebs’ voice. Now we await the would be horror of the mad scene…”
“Villazon cracked on the A again but actually powered through it somehow and held it quite long. Then knocked over a couple of extra chairs cuz he was pissed.”
“He struggled mightily but held on to The Note… actually finished it almost strongly. Â That was the only glaring flaw — the rest was more of the same.”
9:00 PM: Four of the cher operatives are in contact with La Cieca thus far. To begin with, the announced cast is performing. The reactions to Act 1:
“Villazon is struggling through his passaggio and upper register. The sound is tight and swallowed. He seemed to warm up slowly but never felt confident in his singing so far. Netrebko is delivering an honest and nuanced performance but suffers from intonation problems. Kwiecien is quite lovely.”
“No cracks so far although some sketchy moments. The people around me seem impressed. The overall impression this far is the same as the other night – and something I never thought I would say about Anna and Rolando -there is no spark, no passion, no real chemistry.”
“My friend says, ‘Yelping and squawking.’ V. half-cracked a note in first duet and held back thereafter. Several ouch moments. She sounds fine.”
“The replacement speculation should come to an end: Villazon and Trebs will appear on the HD telecast. Villazon hammed it up a bit, but sounds recovered. Leave it for others to speculate further, but my novice ears heard only one or two small cracks in the first act. Â As for Trebs, god bless her, she simply does not have the ornamentation for the role. Dessay (despite her detractors) could have decorated a Christmas tree with her voice at this point in the opera.”
I am soooo sad..becuse I got to know Rolando since his debut..a talented..hilariously funny MORE hyper than even me)guy..and i hope he recovers….His talent is something so special…and i hope he does not go the way of….you know…..(make a list).
Elisir is more for him..but i fear next year Hoffmann is too much.
I really love this guy..he has been so kind to me and to all his fans..and I want to see only the best for him.
P.S. After the Fleming Thais and some other shows i have been seeing, I am going to buy 16.50 tickets (Side Family circle box)next season..and i do not have to see the back of the set..I would rather be miserable for 16.50 than for 66.50… The sound is fine..and I think by now I can enjoy opera..but not go hiome miserable that these overrated sopranos are taking over…..Where is Mariella Devia?????
You have to be an intellectual midget not to consider Lucia anything but a first rate masterwork. Very few knew how to communicate from and to the heart using the magnificence (and simplicity) of the human voice like Donizetti. James Levine said that every number in the score is of the utmost quality, unlike Rosenkavalier (his example) that has only the final trio as really genial. Levine’s correct of course.
Donizetti’s psychological insight into madness was never as magically portrayed by any other composer. The Wagner leitmotif “innovation” was present in Lucia some 30 years earlier. Anyway, only Lucia and a few other operas would cause the current buzz on the blogosphere, I can’t see singers bombing in Wagner and causing the same type of stirr, even if they were Trebs and Crackzon. That’s because Lucia has the power to speak to the masses.
What was I thinking? Clearly it’s YOUR world, Dorion; and the rest of us are just fortunate to be in it.
Thanks for the opportunity to touch greatness.
yes Miss Kitty, you’re welcome, the Holocaust did happen, men did land on the moon and Lucia IS a first-rate opera, despite delusions.
Uh, Dorion? Were you around Parterre during last’s years Tristan debacle? With all of the multiple illnesses, stage mishaps, substitutions and the fact that the two stars for whom it was mounted in the first place didn’t sing together until the final performance? Or in the chat room during the broadcast?
Anyone that believes “Lucia” is a third-tier opera is a third tier audience member! (whatEVER that means) – If you know your opera, you would know that one of the most, if not the most famous, of operas most often mentioned or written about is in fact Lucia. There is not a line scored by Donizetti that I would not listen to or do without, *cuts* – I can’t say that for most other operas or composers – I agree with the person who also mentioned ‘Pasquale’ and that Norma pales in comparrison with Puritani/Capuletti – - the singing style, and the writing of these two composers are sublime. They DO take a certain voice, but more importantly, a certain TECHNIQUE of singing … We are not going to be hearing that Saturday with Lucia – It’s a shame. And the rumor that Netbrenko will be singing “Anna Bolena”?! The Met is out of it’s mind!!!