Answered prayers
“…this stage still has a tendency, it seems, to swallow some of the bloom and resonance of voices…. For both works, the orchestra came through just fine. Less so the voice, though the sound was honest and clear…. the amplification did not make these singers much more audible than those who sang the old-fashioned way…. Yet the sound of the pianos, placed behind a scrim, seemed distant.” [Need You Ask?]
It was hardly a “gala”…and more like a mish-mash. It was the pros who carried the evening: Flanigan/Ramey/Castle/diDonato. Rufus Wainwright was an embarassment…and was booed. The theatre and its trappings looked great and the sound was not to be judged on this evening with a mix of mics and no-mics.A cautious opening evening….
Duh, Tony, the problem was NEVER with the orchestra. The original acoustics have always displayed the sound from the pit in at least an acceptable matter. So the orchestra sounding “fine” just means that at least the sound from the pit wasn’t degraded by whatever adjustments were made.
What has always been the issue is the sound from the STAGE, i.e. the singers voices. Or, yes, instruments
on the stage, such as the pianos that sounded “distant”
last night.
Well, let’s see what the deal is with the first actual
performance. Hopefully the acoustics will be at least a little better than they were.
I hope the Times is going to fix the photo captions. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy!
I wasn’t there but will hear for myself at Esther. I’m hopeful but not wildly optimistic.
I love this: “One thing is certain already: with its new seats, boasting firm cushions and ample back support, and the new aisles, the Koch Theater may be the most comfortable house in New York” Well, he sounded pretty certain when the sentence started, not so certain when it ended. Don’t they have editors?
It was a relief from the lengthy Met galas. The aria from Bolcom’s Wedding (Anna Christy) was a beautiful surprise. But Doofus Wainwright…was that a joke? So many amateur singers surpass him that I won’t call him amateurish. And that apologetic little dance? Jaw-droppingly bad. I have to say that the aria from his opera was mostly lovely, and Amy Burton along with it.
Well, you can put me down as the first one on this thread who enthusiastically welcomes back the NYCO after all its travails, and my sincere wishes for its deserved success as an innovative and different approach to opera — a needed venue across the hall.
In bocca lupo.
“Then, with Mr. Manahan waving goodbye, the entire orchestra, piano included, descended into the pit”
Oy such ballyhoo! is this what the steel era will be about?
“Then, with Mr. Manahan waving goodbye, the entire orchestra, piano included, descended into the pit”
Strangest staging ever of Don Giovanni!
No, apart from the theatricality and demonstration that the mechanics had done their job well, having the pit up was a way to compare sounds with the house filled with people and the orchestra in different positions. Presumably many configurations are possible Congratulations to all concerned.
Wasn’t it nice of Zeffirelli to participate in the NYCO auction by offering an overnight in his home to the highest bidder!