Comments on: eyes wide shut

By: dalva

dalva — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:43:46 +0000

Thank you, La Cieca. You are the best!

By: zinka

zinka — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:31:15 +0000

When the Paterson NJ opera Co.did this gorgeous work(In English) in 1965..I was the doctor (of Marisa Galvany, whom I met for the first time.) Paul Plishka was King renee…and it is a beautiful work.,It is quite short..The met should do it with perhaps Aleko……I loved this opera since I was in it…and I hope they record/dvd this perf.CH

By: The Vicar of John Wakefield

The Vicar of John Wakefield — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:35:00 +0000

IOLANTHE is a damn sight better tha foreign trash like Puccini and the dubious Tchaikovsky. So is PRINCESS IDA.

By: Hans Lick

Hans Lick — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:49:05 +0000

Richard, 8: I thought she’d probably done it, but I wasn’t there! I’m sure you perceive the distinction immediately….

Krunoslav, 9: I graciously allow you to be wrong. I’ve seen Maid of Orleans half a dozen times (2 concert perfs, 3 stagings, one of those twice) and except in D.C. with Freni (cheesy conductor), the final scene had the audience on its feet in delicious frenzy each time. The coronation scene is also stunning, and all of Act I, and that splendid men’s chorus opening Act II. The ballet music is unnecessary, and Act II kind of wanders, I admit. But the right conductor (and a snip of the ballet) should fix that right up and make it a thrill.

I’ve seen Iolanta three times (on the basis of so many uttered enthusiasms), and each time it completely failed to send me at any point. Maybe Hvorostovsky can save it, but I’d rather he did something sure fire like Tsar’s Bride or Snow Maiden. Or Maid of Orleans. Iolanta has only one virtue: It’s short. But I like music.

By: tcjr

tcjr — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:24:04 +0000

I think it would make really lovely holiday fare, rather then seeing the MF or H&G yet again

By: casualoperafan

casualoperafan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:23:34 +0000

Netrebko is always at her best in the Russian repertoire.

By: Le_Chiffre

Le_Chiffre — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:53:12 +0000

tcjr, I think that would be fantastic and very appealing to audiences. Particularly with Trebs.

By: tcjr

tcjr — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:35:10 +0000

Gelb was seen a performance (thanks OperaChic!). Do yu think this means we will see this opera @ the Met?

By: chicagokok

chicagokok — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:22:03 +0000

she seems to be slimming down.
smart move

By: Krunoslav

Krunoslav — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:14:48 +0000

3- Hans, I wish I understood what you see in the formless Meyerbeerian mess of THE MAID OF ORLEANS, which has exactly one memorable aria plus about 20 minutes of good orchestral music. IOLANTA is a far superior work. I have seen them both staged several times — IOLANTA never without most of the audience crying, it is melodic and terribly moving. There are *worse* operas then ORLEANSKAYA DEVA (Rimsky’s PSKOVITIANKA, for example) but it is really not any kind of masterwork.

By: richard

richard — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:01:55 +0000

HL @ #3 “The dream role for her would be The Tsar’s Bride; ”

She has actually done this. The first time I saw her was at the SFO about 10 years ago; she sang the role with Hvorostovsky and Borodina (in Olga’s earlier, much more sensational form than she is now). I loved it.

By: Le_Chiffre

Le_Chiffre — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:35:53 +0000

Clarification: I haven’t read any official reviews, so the ‘well-received’ bit above refers to comments and anecdotes.

By: Le_Chiffre

Le_Chiffre — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:34:24 +0000

I’ve also heard fantastic things about this run of Iolanta from friends. Trebs sounds great in this clip, and I’m very pleased to read that this production is so well-received. I want singers to do well, and be cast well in rep.

Three cheers for this production.

By: scifisci

scifisci — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:08:46 +0000

It’s not fair! Europe always seems to get the best of Netrebko!

By: mrmyster

mrmyster — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:55:07 +0000

Well said, Amnerees! My thoughts exactly. In Russian rep. A. N. is truly extraordinary, and she should appear more often where she shines the brightest. I envy Baden Baden this event; friends from there report being overwhelmed by it — and what does it matter about the tacky costumes when the music is so good; besides, they aren’t THAT bad are they? She appears a bit thick in the waist, though not unattractively so. It’s just marvelous how well her voice sounds in Russian music — it takes on lustre and colors not otherwise much evident!

By: Hans Lick

Hans Lick — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:38:52 +0000

Amnerees, I so totally agree with you. (And yes, I have her B-in-a-M.) She is flawless in Russian music. (I consider her good but flawed in Italian music.) The dream role for her would be The Tsar’s Bride; that and Snow-Maiden and Maid of Orleans are the superb Russian operas of which we are being sadly deprived. Gergiev would be splendid conducting them, too – I’ve heard him lead Snow-Maiden.

Iolanta isn’t nearly as good as those three, but of course it’s much cheaper to perform.

By: Amnerees

Amnerees — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:07:38 +0000

At least Netrebko knows how to sing this music beautifully. Check out her performance on the Betrothal in a Monastary DVD (1998), and you’ll hear what we’re missing. She should be singing Russian repertory.

By: Hippolyte

Hippolyte — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:42:08 +0000

Iolanta is my favorite Tchaikovsky opera and contains one of the most beautiful love duets ever written where Vaudemont falls in love with Iolanta and eventually discovers her blindness which has been hidden from her by everyone in the kingdom she lives in. His realization that she is blind is an astonishingly moving moment. Unfortunately I can’t listen to the youtube clip at my work computer but having a live recording of Beczala in the role and having heard Netrebko sing the duet with Villazon I can only imagine they should be rather well-suited to it. Since Baden-Baden has been televising a lot of its productions lately (the Wernicke Rosenkavalier and the Wilson Freischutz) perhaps this will show up too.