Comments on: tba announced

By: Pierfrancesco

Pierfrancesco — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:36:43 +0000

was at the elisir performance last night. audience reaction to ‘una furtiva lagrima’ was ecstatic and pittas was soundly cheered at the curtain call. (he actually started jumping for joy – whether he was keeping in character or was actually that happy is unclear). angela sang well, but seemed slightly miffed that she had to cede the evening to a newcomer (and tried to compensate by waving at the audience even more self-indulgently than usual). otherwise, the production looks desperately tired and benini’s conducting was atrocious.

By: dsunshinegirl

dsunshinegirl — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:38:02 +0000

So do we know how this brilliant casting choice fared last night?
Haven’t heard a drop. Was an opportunity to be a huge splash.

By: CastaPiva

CastaPiva — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:25:45 +0000

okay darlings, looks like it will Mary Dunleavy in for Adina, at least after Tuesday.

By: brian

brian — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:03:32 +0000

didn’t cutler cancel almost the entire run of Puritani with Netrebko? that certainly would have given him some exposure.

By: La Cieca

La Cieca — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:48:36 +0000

Nerva: I stand corrected. I’m not sure how this would have gone down if Villazon had been the Nemorino (or Alagna, for that matter). I’m not sure if I were the jump-in tenor I would want to take a call after Gheorghiu either.

By: Nerva Nelli

Nerva Nelli — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:44:15 +0000

“9. On April 9, 2009 at 4:09 pm, La Cieca groaned:
Gualtier: Thereâ€™s a set order for bows in every Met opera, and ordinarily unless someone else is singing the title role (Don Giovanni, Andrea Chenier), the leading lady takes the final call. This is true in Lâ€™elisir dâ€™amore as well, surely.”

I recall Pavarotti, Kraus and even Lopardo taking the final call in this staging.

By: Charlie B

Charlie B — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:37:27 +0000

I thought he sang very nicely in the Act IV aria in Macbeth in the Met live broadcast last year. No doubt he could be good looking if he lost about 3 tons of fat, which is a great pity. I’m sure he is a very nice man, and certainly does not deserve any negative comment for filling in for Villazon.

By: Stonato

Stonato — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:18:33 +0000

CRAP
Main Entry: nonsense
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: Something that does not have or make sense.
Synonyms: balderdash, blather, bunkum, claptrap, drivel, garbage, idiocy, piffle, poppycock, rigmarole, rubbish, tomfoolery, trash, twaddle

By: Stonato

Stonato — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:52:45 +0000

The pride and joy af the Epstein stable. CAMI is CRAPPY. Their stock has been reduced to a SELL rating.

By: CastaPiva

CastaPiva — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:34:14 +0000

…and, CAMI’s own little progeny duo!

By: CastaPiva

CastaPiva — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:33:09 +0000

#15 and I were right! Gheorgs was definitely scheduled to rehearse today with Dimitri, but it just got changed to Nicole Cabell. Is Angie “sick”?

By: wotonlover

wotonlover — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:04:53 +0000

I have two tickets to Die WalkÃ¼re this Saturday, April 11 at the Met. The tickets are good seats in the orchestra. Showtime is 12 noon. Will sell cheap! Contact wotonlover@gmail.com, if interested!!

By: cnukz

cnukz — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:47:19 +0000

ciao, Back to civility and reality!!!! The Met is a huge,fawking BARN. Most voices have to oversing in that covered stadium whilst they would be just fine in Vienna. Most of the great recordings we revere from 50′s,60′s und 70′s had lots of splices I’m sure. Zinka,Richard and Leonard wouldnt survive to today’s demand for great looks but they sang the notes off the page.You have to have a large voce(Nilsson or Corelli) or great spin(Price or Pav) to survive!!!! IMHO the aeroplane and GREED are an important factor in vocal health. Yell at your God and parents about great looks. Imagine watching Flagstad-Melchior or Sutherland-Pav–just close your eyes and thank God for being in their presence and the MEMORIES —go in peace!!!!

By: Dominatrix

Dominatrix — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:14:02 +0000

La Cieca — then how come Pavarotti always took the last bow in L’elisir?

By: La Cieca

La Cieca — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:09:26 +0000

Gualtier: There’s a set order for bows in every Met opera, and ordinarily unless someone else is singing the title role (Don Giovanni, Andrea Chenier), the leading lady takes the final call. This is true in L’elisir d’amore as well, surely.

By: Hippolyte

Hippolyte — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:43:54 +0000

Cutler replaced Kaufmann when he withdrew “ill” from a bizarre-looking (from photos I saw) new production of Romeo et Juliette at the Fenice in February.

By: mrmyster

mrmyster — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:22:30 +0000

Letch Feeley, you are safe with me. Eric is so long gone out of my orbit, I’ve even forgotten how dry and uninteresting his singings has been at operas I attended with him in an important role. I am teasing you; I hope he does well in Italian lyric; his Sun has been low on the horizon in recent seasons; maybe he’ll work more and perk up. I hope so. Good American lyrics don’t grow on trees. Six or eight years ago he was coming on so strong — and then it did not go anywhere.

By: High C's @ 4:20

High C's @ 4:20 — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:04:51 +0000

Mr. Cutler is in Houston preparing his Duke in Rigoletto that I will see at the beginning of next month, and they have engaged him there as Nemorino next year, too!

By: Letch Feeley

Letch Feeley — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:59:41 +0000

At the risk of being torn to shreds – whatever happened to Eric Cutler? He has sung a couple of lovely Nemorinos in other houses, had the Met Puritani simulcast a few seasons back, and in general seemed to be in grooming to be the next Polenzani. He would have been vocally and theatrically better in L’elisir than Banks or Pittas, but Gelb apparently didn’t want him back.

Now you can let loose with the snide remarks…..

By: Feldmarschallin

Feldmarschallin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:01:31 +0000

tinhtraiviet Nr 57 check your email since I sent you something about the Don Giovanni.

By: Gualtier MaldÃ¨

Gualtier MaldÃ¨ — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:08:13 +0000

I went last night to the Banks Nemorino. He definitely gave a vivid, detailed, richly comedic impersonation that held the stage vividly. His bits with the bottle of Elixir were worthy of Eric Idle or Benny Hill. Banks makes up for lack of height and good looks with stage savvy – really I think he is just as much of a stage animal as Villazon. His middle is light but the tops (such as they are in this part) are ringing. The audience quickly came to his side and he exuded command of the stage. By the end of the evening he held the audience in the palm of his hand.

He was working alone up there – no chemistry with Gheorghiu who was giving a solo diva display. Now it was a genuine star turn but everyone was a satellite to her sun. Made for a very strange and not exactly appropriate interpretation. The diva also got the last bow despite the fact that the opera is the tenor’s story.

By: mrmyster

mrmyster — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:03:05 +0000

Well Nerva Nelli #26, it seems you have chimed in. I think I’ll follow Mark Twain’s sentiments when it comes to you and suggest: you are not as bad as you seem. On the other hand Polenzani performances I’ve heard always turn out much worse than expected; he never fails to disappoint. This is just taste, of course, and as such is not arguable; but it is interesting how many voice world professions I talk with seem to share my sentiments. None of this is intended personally against him – I wish him all the best, nor do I intend to demean the qualifications of those who seem, here, so sharply to disagree with my comments. I will, however, quite confidently continue to disagree with you if I think such will add dimension to the discussion.
M. P. clearly has his partisans; I am just not one of them, though I would go any time to hear his Meistersinger David. Now, go for a cup of calming tea!

By: mrmyster

mrmyster — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:55:06 +0000

#58 T’dot. My goodness Mme. T., I may have to revise my opinion of your ability to manifest good manners in a discussion with someone with whom you disagree. Did you mean to say that your judgments on M. P. were in your “opinion,” or were you speaking ex cathedra as some kind of vocal Pope? My opinion of the tenor in question remains unchanged, though I take it you have some kind of vested interest in him and/or his career. I detect a strong tendency to idealize the facts.
As for your judgments on this writer, I would be delighted to speak with you on the telephone one day and see if we don’t have more in common than you realize! And, to be accurate, Santa Fe (one of the companes I patronize), offers five operas each summer, not four; it’s their ‘sister’ company (sort of) OTSL, that offers four. They do very nice work in St. Louis, but since it is all in English I don’t go there. I guess I am missing something you value.
In any case, it is my intention to try to keep this discussion at a good level of civility.

By: tamerlano

tamerlano — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:34:57 +0000

Polenzani is great in the right rep. He is a fine Mozartean but he CAN NOT sing Rossini to save his life. His “L’Italina” Lindoros were a mess with no coloratura to speak of. He sings lieder exquisitely though…His “Adelaide” is meltingly beautiful.

By: turandot

turandot — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:07:37 +0000

I saw Pittas do Alfredo in St. Louis a couple of seasons ago. He didn’t look anything like this. He was fat, dumpy, a bit of that greasy hair look. Ailyn Perez had to really act to pretend she was interested in him. Voice wasn’t bad. But he’s no great star waiting to happen.

As for Barry Banks. For those of you who can’t read or won’t read. As I said previously, it’s not just about his height. It’s about his stage presence which is nil. If every time someone appears on stage you picture them with a big lollipop singing Munchkin songs they aren’t going to be successful in the role.

I saw him last Friday in Sonnambula and there was just NO magic or stage charisma. He might as well have been singing at an audition. He had zero chemistry with Dessay. It was well sung — albeit with that butt-ugly Rockwell Blake like sound of his — but it was dull as dishwater.

By: turandot

turandot — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:03:48 +0000

30. Mymyster.
It’s always been obvious that the light air in Santa Fe has affected your brain from time to time but your comments about Matthew Polenzani show that you are either a complete idiot, completely deaf, or just a sour old asshold.

Matthew Polenzani is one of the finest young tenors on the scene today (he’s under 40). He is the finest Mozart tenor around (no one can touch his Tamino, Belmonte, Ottavio, etc.), he sang some of the finest Romeos in Chicago and the MET heard in 20 years, his Alfredo is fine. Everything he has touched in a well-considered career so far has been completely successful.

You should get out more before making your pronouncements from that pathetic little place that does it’s 4 little operas every summer. You are clueless.

The comments about Polenzani are just about the dumbest, most ill-informed things I’ve ever read on this blog.

By: tinhtraiviet

tinhtraiviet — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:26:09 +0000

Just got back from tonight’s Elisir. Barry Banks was MAGNIFICENT in both the vocal and acting departments (as I’d expect)! Great sense of comic timing and deft interaction with his colleagues (despite almost no rehearsal). His “Una furtiva lagrima” was a thing of wondrous beauty, lovingly drawn in generous phrasing and a wide palette of vocal dynamics and colors too. He hands down STOLE THE SHOW FROM Gheorghiu (who somehow still got the final curtain call spot!!! was she pulling ranks there???) If only the MET would have the good sense to give all 4 of Villazon’s canceled performances to Barry Banks instead of splitting them unevenly with Pittas. Despite his enormous talent and artistry, Banks kept getting the short end, no pun intended, alas. Will see Pittas on Saturday and give him some benefit of the doubt until then.

By: Nerva Nelli

Nerva Nelli — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:18:51 +0000

Well, as too often mymyster is a fount of ignorance and John Crosby-worthy queenie lookism.

Banks was extremely good tonight as Nemorino, in that ghastly staging working opposite a narcissistic non-colleague. And I am sure I have heard Polenzani in a much broader rep than Miss Santa Fe 1926 has and he has sung well in all of it.

By: Logie on fire

Logie on fire — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:08:23 +0000

re the demise of Signor Donizetti on April 8; a book on great composers I read once mentioned that D in the mental hospital would sit on his cot every day dressed in his formal opera going clothes and a top hat and just stare at the wall lost in his own head. What will Mr. Pittas do onstage?

By: Stonato

Stonato — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:12:10 +0000

I’ll have that Gyro with extra onions please.