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 wish I could understand what it is about Lucia, Villazon and Netrebko which sparks such interest. A third tier opera sung by two performers currently on the downward slopes of their respective careers.
What more is there to say?
Lindoro, I agree with you. it’s no different at a Broadway show, where audiences will give standing ovations for everything. I’ve seen lousy shows (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Curtains) get the same standing ovations as great shows (Dirty Blond, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Copenhagen). I will say this, though, as a former singer. Vocal cords don’t always do what you want them to, no matter how good your technique. They are subject to humidity, dust, air temperature, sleep (or lack thereof), colds, phlegm, nodes, etc. However, there is a big difference between having great technique but an off night and singing the wrong rep. When I was singing, I desperately wanted to be a Verdi baritone, but my voice was more suited to Handel, Mozart, and early Bel Canto. The Think System might work in The Music Man, but no matter how much singers might wish to sing repertoire other than what they’re suited for, that doesn’t make it so.
Miss Kitty Litter:
The answer is, hype, hype, hype!
Is Lucia a “third tier” opera (whatever the “f” that means)?
Sanford: The Think System might work in The Music Man
Not to be pedantic (oh, all right, to be pedantic), the Think System doesn’t work in The Music Man: when the band finally plays, they are horrible. But the parents don’t notice because “that’s my boy!”
I’m not sure how that bit of trivia applies to the argument at hand, but I’m sure somebody will find in it a way to bash someone.
P.S. Miss Kitty Litter
I think that someone should change your box, as the litter is obviously “soiled.”
La Cieca, I’m your biggest fan (which brings me back to Penetrating Wagner’s Ring!) and you “snapped’ at me? Is that two snaps in a circle, girlfriend? So maybe Trebs *is* using the think system after all!
Netrebko may be having trouble with parts of Lucia, but her career is not on any kind of downward slope, puleeze!!
And I found the statement about Lucia being a third tier opera very interesting. I love Lucia (a dubbed sitcom with Lucy and Desi?), but it’s not my favorite Donizetti (don Pasquale). I also don’t think Norma is Bellini’s best (Puritani, Capuletti). But I think what Lucia seem more third tier than it actually are all of the bad performances, or performances that are unbalanced (too much of her and not enough of anyone else). I think is why I like the E flats and fioratura in the mad scene as an excerpt but not in complete performances. I also don’t like the ah-AAHHHs at the end of the sextet or the Rigoletto quartet, either.
God bless La Cieca for that new term (Ah-AAHH)!
Sanford: I’m totally with you re: the high note at Rigoletto quartet. My first recording was the Bonynge so I was used to Joanie taking the high note. And the first time I heard the real ending, I was floored. All of a sudden, the ending became a profound moment rather than a showy ending. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard the Lucia Sextet without the high note at the end (have to pull out the Caballe recording and give it a re-listen) but at least that one seems to build to a more triumphant ending. In any case, these ensembles are very reflective pieces when heard in the context of the opera and showy high notes take away from that reflective quality.
I understand why people love the high notes, but from a purely musical standpoint, the high note changes the balance of the chord as the composer wrote, in terms of open or closed spacing of the notes in the chord. It seems really picayune, but I always notice that.