Love in the afternoon
Right now on BBC 3, Tristan und Isolde from the Royal Opera.
Tristan …… Ben Heppner
King Marke …… Matti Salminen
Isolde …… Nina Stemme
Kurwenal …… Michael Volle
Brangane …… Sophie Koch
Melot …… Richard Berkeley Steele
Sailor …… Ji-Min Park
Steersman …… Dawid Kimberg
Shepherd …… Ryland Davies
Royal Opera Chorus, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Antonio Pappano (conductor).
Just a heads up, for those who can’t listen right now, to this…
It will be availible on the BBC Radio 3 i-player site , for the next week, following today’s broadcast…
Thanks, as always, Auntie Beeb!
(I’m catching up with the last chance to listen to last week’s broadcast of “Carmen”..)
There are times when aural sex is definitely better! Listening to the BBC stream is preferable than sitting through what apparently is a ghastly production. Stemme is great in the first act.
Jay, I was thinking exactly the same thing – how great it is going to be to hear the climax of the love duet without having its impact utterly trounced by the dreadful goings on in the staging at that point.
C.K., are you in London, can’t remember?
The BBC seems to agree with me that Wagner should be turned up to 11. No, really, the player’s volume control goes up to 11. Cute.
Love Stemme. Heps sounds iffy at times for Act 1. We’ll see how the rest goes.
Jay – yes, saw the production on the last performance.
Shame the announcer is such a prat.
Thanks, Cocky, I went back through La Cieca’s and saw your T&I post. Whilst still a bit on the soft side, these BBC intermission features are infinitely preferable to the drivel we get on Metopera broadcasts.
You have to love the short intermission. At the MET the long intermissions are getting out of hand.
lenski — it’s not live, so they have less space to fill. But at least we are spared Renaaay going backstage and asking Nina Stemme, all hyped up after Act 1, about her dress and “What makes Isolde so special?”