Carry my bust with pride
Is it just me, or is Patricia Racette on the cusp of turning into Aprile Millo?
(Oh, and while we’re on the subject: it certainly took her long enough, but finally The People’s Diva really looks like a diva! Brava, you go on like this!)
Looking at the ASO pics made me think of all those talks about the composer’s intentions. I wonder what would they think of non-medieval Schicchi, a Suor angelica set in the basement of a convent in 1960 (or thereabouts) and that non descriptive Tabarro.
How about that guys? I would have loved to see HD transmissions of those performances. Does anyone know if they are being telecast of broadcast?
I forgot to mention footwear. She should wear a pair of gardening shoes to complete the mom look.
http://www.mooseyscountrygarden.com/garden-journal-07/red-gardening-shoes.jpg
I had to tell my own mom that gardening shoes are not suitable to wear out in public, but I’ve noticed a lot of suburb moms wearing them.
Pardon the interruption again but:
1. That Gianni Schicchi looks mighty fun
2. The woman looks fantastic as Giorgetta. I bet beth had a field day.
3. I’ll like to nominate Brandon as one of the most fuckable tenors around.
4. Podles as the Zia Pricipessa. I’d kill to see that.
Hey, wait a sec, yeah! No one is bent out of shape about the SFO Trittico’s setting of Angelica outside of a slavishly literalist reading of the original setting. In fact, I think it got good reviews (in general and in reference to the direction). I guess one nunnery can stand in for all the others, but if you have La Madeleine showing a breast, it’s anarchy.
P.S. Are they interviewing each other? For what?
P.P.S. I agree the pic is distorting…we too saw Racette in La Ford’s costumes in The Letter this summer. She looked great (with a nod to MrM’s point about “top heavy”!)
“I liked the red dress the first time I saw it, but then she wore it about 20 times so I got sick of it.”
Javier, you do say some annoying shit here on a pretty frequent basis, but then you go and say something like this and I am totally in love and forgive you for everything. It is good to know that there will be young smartasses out there to replace me when it’s time for me to retire or mellow out.
I did not know who the woman in black is Racette I am guessing. The Met usually ask other singers to interview the stars of the night. However, they did not interview Scarpia or Mario. That would have been great or even Plishka. He surely had a lot of time on his hand. I thought that the lady in black was really bad at what she was doing. She constantly read from the cue cards even when giving a compliment. She was very unengaging and very disinterested in the entire proceedings. Mattila was so interesting to talk to and she was like a wet tissue paper.
It reminded me of Thomas Hampson during La Cenerentola forgeting names. It was really embarassing. I do not know why they do not make it more interesting and engaging. Get a real journalist or some person who is not taking the proceedings so seriously.
Also why the Met so stereotypical and being all about the DIVA. Really…dull..the men are carrying the opera just as much.
Lindoro –
The Suor Angelica at SFO is set in a children’s hospital run by the sisterhood. It took me about ten minutes to adjust to it, and it lead to a lovely moment at the end where a child appeared in the doorway, and you couldn’t tell if it was Angelica’s son or simply one of the patients wandering the halls. Very ambiguous…
And yes, Podles as The Princess is just awesome. She and Racette make Angelica quite simply one of the most enthralling things I’ve ever seen.
Sounds good, Baritenor. I bet there was hardly a dry eye in the house! I think it’s even more of a tear-jerker than Butterfly.
“The Suor Angelica at SFO is set in a children’s hospital run by the sisterhood.”
Is this the New York City Opera production? That’s how their 2002 production played it and it worked very well indeed. Angelica ran the hospital’s pharmacy which adjoined the nuns’ lounge which featured a statue of the Blessed Virgin–totally believable.
Actual divatude: