Comments on: Answered prayers

By: squirrel

squirrel — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:04:32 +0000

oh the turntable, yes this story is familiar now. 1966 was indeed a long time ago!

By: richard

richard — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:03:19 +0000

Squirrel, yes , the Met had a turntable as part of it’s equipment when the house was set to open in Fall 1966.
The opening production was a Zeffirelli staging of Samuel Barber’s new work, Antony and Cleopatra to a libretto adapted from the Shakespeare by none other than Frengo himself.

The production was Zeff’s second for the Met and was MASSIVE . Leontyne Price has very bulky costumes and at one point in rehearsals got stuck in a doorway.
The staging used all the new mechanical goodies that the new house had, including the turntable. But Zeff’s sets were too heavy and the turntable broke down. Big time. No fix available. The production was adapted to
do without the turntable.

Also affected was a new staging of Frau Ohne Schatten, which was also to use the turntable. This was revised to make heavy use of the stage elevators and the Frau was a huge success. Unlike the Antony, which was a big, heavy bomb.

It took several years to get the turntable working and incorporated into a new production. The first time it was finally used was 3 1/2 years later in a new production of Norma in April 1970. I was at the premiere, when the turntable rotated and change the scene from one set to another, the audience burst into cheers.

But this is ancient history, no? Did the planners for the event at the Koch last night still have this old
snafu in mind? Or was it just to show off a little?

By: squirrel

squirrel — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:49:13 +0000

alto I didn’t know this piece of trivia… really?

I saw a Ktya Kabanova in Berlin (thalheimer production) a few years back that raised the hydraulic orchestra pit during the final scene to give the impression of Katya going under into the waters…

yes, it was a stretch! weirdest of all, the lights come up and the orchestra is sitting on stage. Wha?!

By: Alto

Alto — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:08:05 +0000

Perhaps the jaunty demonstration of the orchestra elevator was a reference to the opening of the neighboring opera house where the machinery famously did not function properly upon its crucial debut?

By: richard

richard — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:04:14 +0000

Ha, ha , what about Peter Sellars Spanish Harlem Don Giovanni? With the Don and Leporello played by identical twins?

And Lorraine Hunt as a punk Donna Elvira?
Donna Anna is a junkie and shoots up before the cabaletta
to Non Mi Dir.

This all can be seen on DVD.

But older operas often work better with a concept production than, say 20th century ones, which often have much more specific librettos and stage directions. Not to say they can’t be regie’d, but it’s more of a stretch
than, say 18th century works.

By: CruzSF

CruzSF — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:53:09 +0000

Wow, Graciella, THAT must have exploded the heads of some members of the audience. And we thought the Bondy “Tosca” was to kill for …

By: Graciella Scusi

Graciella Scusi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:14:56 +0000

I saw a Christopher Alden Don Giovanni MANY years ago (a young Lauren Flanagan was a second cast Donna Anna).
It was set in a church basement…a cross on the wall, LOTS of folding chairs. Donna Elvira wore a ’50s large
black and white houndstooth coat and carried a gun in her purse. The Aldens are usually very good helping singers with character and relationships…that is if the singer is receptive to such a heretical approach.

By: laragazza

laragazza — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:52:01 +0000

“Strangest staging ever of Don Giovanni!”

Then you haven’t yet seen Christopher Alden’s new D.G. at NYCO,(Opening Sunday, November 8, at 1:30pm) But that was very funny…George Manahan and the NYCO orchestra descending into the netherworld…! Did anyone else see the dress rehearsal of it today?

By: squirrel

squirrel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:40:01 +0000

“Strangest staging ever of Don Giovanni!”

HA!!

Questo e’ il fin, di chi fa mal! (Di chi fa mal doo wop doo wop doo wop)

By: Noel Dahling

Noel Dahling — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:00:33 +0000

“Though her voice is lyric and light, her sound is so plush and penetrating”
WTF!? What does that even mean? I thought a persons’s voice was their sound.

By: Quanto Painy Fakor

Quanto Painy Fakor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:33:57 +0000

Wasn’t it nice of Zeffirelli to participate in the NYCO auction by offering an overnight in his home to the highest bidder!

By: Quanto Painy Fakor

Quanto Painy Fakor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:28:06 +0000

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.

By: La Cieca

La Cieca — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:23:18 +0000

“Then, with Mr. Manahan waving goodbye, the entire orchestra, piano included, descended into the pit”

Strangest staging ever of Don Giovanni!

By: squirrel

squirrel — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:28:08 +0000

“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?

By: arepo

arepo — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:41:09 +0000

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.

By: 98rsd

98rsd — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:12:15 +0000

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.

By: Trappedinoperahell

Trappedinoperahell — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:50:20 +0000

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?

By: Chanterelle

Chanterelle — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:18:05 +0000

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.

By: richard

richard — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:47:02 +0000

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.

By: calaf47

calaf47 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:30:32 +0000

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….