“Nein, nein!”
In the comments section of this post, you are invited to offer your opinion on why Renée Fleming’s broadcast performance (as heard tonight, October 13) strikes you as not a great portrayal of the Marschallin.
The finest “Nein, Nein” response will win a copy of the Sony CD
Deadline for entries in this competiton will be midnight, Wednesday October 14 when the comments section in the “Ja, ja” and “Nein, nein” threads will be closed. In honor of Our Own JJ, all eligible responses should be 300 words or less, and, while your doyenne invites your comments, nominations and general egging-on, her decision as to the winning essays is final. She also reserves the right to substitute alternate prizes to winners residing outside North America.
#20 Cerquetti!!! A “house style?” How about a Strauss style???
For once we heard musicianship at the Met free of the gummy goo
of a certain conductor J. L., and it was a clear sweet breath of fresh air. It has real energy and pacing — rare at the Met!!!!
If you want to talk about mannerisms, Levine is your man. I thought
de Waart did a splendid job last night — at this stage of the game, he has far more energy and ability than J. L. with this or any other score. He actually Conducts the orchestra.
Hammy comedy with moments of pathos is very on point — you are right; so what do you want, a te deum? I thought it a highly idiomatic and worthy performance, with plentiful Straussian style — after all, it IS a theatre piece and that is how it was conducted.
As for Mr. Tristram in #12, I respectfully suggest you get some new batteries for your hearing aids, both of them. Pfaugh!! Such
pretentious wrong-headed blather! You really should not masturbate in public.
#21 Wow!
No, actually I don’t think that Rosenkavalier is just that. It’s not a Te Deum either. I want quicksilver comedy and witty asides, chatter that sounds as conversational as possible, certain wistful moments devoid of bathos and over-accentuation, brass and winds crispness and velvet string sound, not overtly lush. This may sound like nitpicking, but I’m spoiled. By Kleiber’s Vienna 1954 recording, still insurpassable, by Bohm’s 1960 Dresden rec (despite Schech) and by Karajan’s 1960 live Salzburg rec with the beautiful, unaffected della Casa, to die for. Bychkov and Luisi are great, very different, Strauss conductors alive today and both present a challenge to classically peceived notion of how to perform this score. Bychkov is tougher, more dramatic, while Luisi encourgaes Debussy-like textures and has an acute sense of architecture. Both have the perfect orchestras for this – Wiener Philharmoniker (Bychkov) and Staatskapelle Dresden, an orchestra I’m helplessly in love with. Luisi scores higher in my book because he encourages the singers to listen to the orchestra and perform like chamber musicians.
De Waart was really great last night, and he almost managed to make it all sound convincing. The Met players are really excellent, but the playing didn’t strike me to have the qualities I pointed above. That said, de Waart had some interesting insight into Strauss’ wind-writing and the more menacing shades, reminiscent of Elektra, were really evident.
#22 – You don’t want much do you, sweet Madame Cerquetti?
What you describe is what I want, but we rarely rarely get — from the recording studio yes, live from the pit, not very often. I thought Edo gave a performance very different from what we usually hear of this score from the Met. Late Levine is highly problematic, I don’t need to tell you. So Edo was refreshing and gave insight – and I mean it was a ‘theatre’ performance in the best possible way — give it two more run thrus, and it will be further polished and you might be more satisfied. YES, Luisi! I’ll be so glad to have him — in anything. What a big disappointment Gatti is in Aida – I’ve heard it twice now; no go.
Maybe you and I should take over the casting department at the Met? Ready?
J.
sfe
Yeah, let’s. Only if we can throw in suggestions reg rep.
To me, Levine always seems to be an extremely gifted technician, a wonerful orchestral trainer. But most of his readings sound like they belong to the ‘copy and paste’ variety, especially his Wagner, Parsifal possibly excepted. But as a Verdi conductor, I think he is very very different. He has a true personal style in this composer, especially fine in Don Carlo and Ballo. I’m not excatly fawning over whatever I’ve heard of his Strauss, though.
The problem is that Renee is SINGING the role rather than–and that old cliche applies (I know!)–really being the character (she just doesn’t know how to do that). And her lush voice with the chesty, lower tones doesn’t work well enough to naturally project the text. As C-F writes, it should be:
“….quicksilver comedy and witty asides, chatter that sounds as conversational as possible, certain wistful moments devoid of bathos and over-accentuation…”
I had to wait until the end of Act I to become remotely interested in her character; other singers have accomplished this with their first few phrases–they hook you right at the start, and it only gets better and better after that!