parterre box

50 comments

• Feldmarschallin says:

  while I like Mattila in the right rep and Rysanek in just about anything, I concur that I find nothing in common with the two really. Never even thought about it actually. I guess both are committed but it also stops there since Rysanek had that amazing top which for one Mattila doesn’t possess.

  on October 14, 2009 at 5:42 PM
• richard says:

  Rysanekfreak,

  I loved Leonie too but can’t agree on Gioconda.

  Mattila was demented as Chrysothemis!
  The best I had seen since Rysanek. Really.
  She was one crazy woman.

  on October 14, 2009 at 5:44 PM
• Lucky Pierre says:

  what’s really scary is how mattila in those photos as the met’s tosca looks so much like the reincarnation of marton… anyone else notice that crazy jawline???? scary.

  she was very demented as salome, which was surprising.

  on October 14, 2009 at 5:54 PM
• ika1 says:

  To me she looked more like younger judy dench. La cieca am not sure why but I am not able to log in with google chrome at all when wanting to post comments

  on October 14, 2009 at 6:04 PM
• Baritenor says:

  I just saw Florez in La Fille last night in San Francisco, so I gotta weigh in. He really is wonderful in Donizetti and Rossini. I’ve seen his Duke (the video, anyway) and while he gets through it honorably, it’s not his role. I agree, I would love to hear him sing Ferrando or Ottavio. There’s a video of him doing Tamino’s aria on Youtube. It’s pretty good.

  While I’m on the topic of the San Francisco “La Fille”, there was some speculation a few weeks ago about Diana Damrau’s Marie. Well…it was awesome. Vocally impeccable (“Par le rang et l’opulence” was stunning) and she threw herself into all those maniacal bits of business conceived for Dessay and totally made it her own. A triumph, and you New Yorkers should be salivating for her run at the Met..

  on October 14, 2009 at 7:39 PM
• richard says:

  Baritenor, one of the awkward things about JDF is that he is a big, big star and gets top fees.
  There isn’t really all that much that he can sing that is for a star tenor. He might be a great fit for Ottavio and Ferrando but they are not money tenor roles.

  I don’t even think of Barber as being a role where the tenor stars, even in Fille, he doesn’t have the title role and it’s certainly not his show alone.

  It will be interesting to see how he manages this situation. He is doing Comte Ory at the MEt and that is a role where I think the tenor’s name can stand by himself above the title as in JDF in Comte Ory. but how many of his other parts can you say that. Not his other Rossini roles in Cenerantola or L’Italiana, those are vehicles for the mezzo.

  He does Puritani and Elisir and I can see those as roles where the tenor can be viewed as the lead performer, but what else??

  on October 14, 2009 at 7:59 PM
• Alto says:

  richard, your post makes no sense. Since when is a singer’s worth — or his fee — defined by what he does NOT sing? The man is the best in the world at certain things, which he mostly — and increasingly — sticks with.

  So what’s the problem?

  on October 14, 2009 at 8:10 PM
• richard says:

  Sorry to confuse you Alto, I must try harder not to…..

  Baritenor suggested Ferrando and Ottavio for Florez , my point is that he is well suited for them but what opera house will want to pay his fee for him to sing those roles???

  Florez is very limited as to roles he can sing, particularly roles where the tenor is the undisputed lead Barber, Cenerantola, L’Italiana are not star tenor roles.

  Is that maybe a bit clearer??????

  And I don’t think he is the best at anything.
  He has a voice that is bleaty and very limited in color. He has a nice finish on his singing but that is about as far as I’ll go.
  Nice, in a very small way.

  on October 14, 2009 at 8:25 PM
• Baritenor says:

  His coloratura is always accurate and fleet, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sing a bad C (or above).

  on October 14, 2009 at 8:29 PM
• operadent says:

  Gavriola is impressive. Enjoying her much more than Karita.

  on October 14, 2009 at 8:46 PM