Comments on: Der Musensohn

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:09:06 +0000

Ms Peters sings nice French too. Shame, of course, that she is so fat and ugly, like all singers were before 2005 or so.

By: Regina delle fate

Regina delle fate — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:38:05 +0000

Didn’t he have to rethink the singers he hired for Hoffmann? Several times? Just asking…

By: Regina delle fate

Regina delle fate — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:35:58 +0000

And, presumably, in Hoffmann’s day, there would have been even more trees and woods in Munich than there are today…

By: That Guy

That Guy — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 05:37:28 +0000

I was in the house and Calleja made it through, generally by the skin of his teeth.

He seemed to be pushing for volume in the prologue and Act 1, particularly in Kleinzach, and this cost him. He omitted the high B in the Olympia act and all the other acuti were tight and small. He began having tuning problems in act 2 and all of the challenging phrases in act 3 were beyond him. He phonated the pitches but it was not good singing. (O Dieu de quelle ivresse, Giulietta duet, and Septet) The upper register becomes nearly straight-tone and very small, and in all of these difficult passages he very obviously rushed, leaving Levine to try and make something of it.

So, in short he hit all the notes but the strenuous passages were very strained. I will give him a mulligan and hear it again, since they are saying he has been ill (didn’t sound ill yesterday or in the dress rehearsal), but I have to admit again that I just don’t like his voice, technically speaking. If he would fix the bleat he might have a very nice leggiero to lyric tenor for a house the size of the Met, but at this point his career perplexes me. It seems largely due to some perceived prestige attached to his Decca recording contract, which is also a mystery to me. He should be very thankful every day that someone along the line decided to make him a star, because his performance doesn’t warrant the kind of career he has had.

Oh, and the French diction was atrocious. At the bare minimum you have to learn how to pronounce every vowel correctly if you’re going to sing freaking Hoffmann at the Met, you can’t make dozens of mistakes.

By: Straussmonster

Straussmonster — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:42:04 +0000

That is definitely true. I think it’s difficult to make unambiguous art that’s also art and not propaganda, so it’s always easy to be misread on the other side of things. For my part, although they were nude I don’t think they were actually genuinely sexy–if they had been, I think I would have felt differently.

(P.S. I am also a girl, for what that’s worth.)

By: Zerbinetta

Zerbinetta — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:56:27 +0000

That’s exactly what I got from the Muse. But as for the other women, isn’t it a little problematic that a criticism of the male gaze also indulges it? Sher wants to have his (cheese)cake and, well, you know. I don’t need to finish that.

By: Graciella Scusi

Graciella Scusi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:34:19 +0000

Thanks, Gualtier.

By: Sanford

Sanford — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:30:24 +0000

I think we’re arguing on the same side. The Saturday radio broadcasts were marketed as “live” as well, and served the same purpose (and still serve the same purpose) as the HD boradcasts – to bring opera to audiences who might not otherwise get to hear or see it.

By: justanothertenor

justanothertenor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:24:36 +0000

Sanford,
I am not saying that broadcasts are a new thing. However, HD Broadcasts as performance IS new. I think the HD broadcasts are wonderful, but I also know for a lot of people, this is the only exposure to Opera they have. Some of my family, for example, lives in the middle of nowhere in the Northwest of the US. They used to make three/four trips a year to Seattle to see live opera. Now that the HD broadcasts are available only an hour drive away, instead of the twelve it tok to Seattle, that is all they do.
So yes, i stand by my point. In the past, people understood broadcasts (aural or visual) were a subpar way of experience opera. Now, they are marketed as an alternative to live performance.

By: Sanford

Sanford — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:18:39 +0000

By: Constantine A. Papas

Constantine A. Papas — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:04:51 +0000

On my Sirius, with surround sound, Calleja’s singing was excellent, with a timbre of the 40-50s, somewhere between Bjorling and Tagliavini. He is in his early 30s and very promising. As for Netrebko slowing down, I doubt it unless she’s planning to have another baby.

By: Gualtier M

Gualtier M — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:03:11 +0000

Voila.

By: Graciella Scusi

Graciella Scusi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:51:46 +0000

Has JJ’s review been posted?

By: Straussmonster

Straussmonster — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:31:52 +0000

They struck me as an aspect of Hoffmann’s own very strange fantasy world (everything we saw on the stage), and his own, especially by the end of the opera, dysfunctional relationship to women. All three of the ‘heroines’ are classic Types of Woman, and Hoffmann fails at any meaningful engagement with any of them, and doesn’t get the girl in the end…so it reads as pretty critical of the Male Gaze to me. But YMMV, of course. (In that vein, I read Nicklausse as being the helper of the villains as the jealous Muse wanting Hoffmann for herself/knowing that the more he cries, the better the art he makes.)

By: justanothertenor

justanothertenor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:29:08 +0000

JJ’s review of Hoffman is, in my opinion, dead on with what I saw at the dress rehearsal. I can’t comment on Calleja because I have not heard him in the full role, but given how much the rest of JJ’s opinion make sense to me, i will trust him on that one.
Who is indeed making the artistic decisions?
Or as I put it after the dress: ” it’s time to rethink the directors and the singers Gelb hires.”

By: squirrel

squirrel — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:28:23 +0000

I think that Met audiences tend to be knowledgeable enough to grade their enthusiasm seriously based on the merits of the singer’s performance (as opposed to audiences in Paris, who cheer for everything except for ugly sets, which they boo heartily.)

But I do not think that anyone anywhere cheers or boos based on a rubric of arbitrary intellectual considerations.

By: justanothertenor

justanothertenor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:28:05 +0000

JJ’s review of Hoffman is, in my opinion, dead on with what I saw at the dress rehearsal. I can’t comment on Calleja because I have not heard him in the full role, but given how much the rest of JJ’s opinion make sense to me, i will trust him on that one.
Who is indeed making the artistic decisions?
Or as I put it after the dress: “this time the blame can be assigned to none other than [Gelb] himself: it’s time to rethink the directors and the singers he hires.”

By: kashania

kashania — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:17:22 +0000

I’ve been at plenty of performances where the audience didn’t cheer all that much for individual arias but brought the house down during the curtain calls. Just sayin’…

By: Sanford

Sanford — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:01:54 +0000

Can I point out that to say that Gelb is responsible for that is a little, um, ludicrous, as the Saturday Met broadcasts have been around since 12/25/31. Many generations grew up only hearing opera on the radio through speakers. The real issue with streaming and radio broadcasts is they are inherently lossy formats. Even with the best speaker systems on a great computer, the signal is lossy. I haven’t heard HD Radio yet, so i can’t address that, but FM and Streaming are lossy. The frequencies don’t go either low enough or high enough to fully capture any form of music. And I don’t think they do an adequate job of capturing acoustics. A voice sounds quite different in a hall with great acoustics than it does on the radio, or even on CD or vinyl. I liked Mr Calleja’s voice, and I love the vibrato, but I’d love to hear him live to really hear him.

As to the opera itself, zzzzzzzzzzzzz. I left after the Doll Song to watch FlashForward. Sorry, but Joseph Fiennes trumps Trebs any day of the week. I would like to have heard the Antonia act as it has my favorite music in the opera, but oh, well.

By: Sanford

Sanford — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:49:56 +0000

When I first started coming to this site (3 years ago!?!?!?), I was a bit of a prig when it came to respecting other peoples’ opinions. I would regularly get into pissing matches with people, insulting them and/or getting defensive about my own opinion. Until i discovered the difference between “I don’t agree” and “You’re a stupid bitch”. or the difference between “That soprano’s a filthy whore” and “I didn’t like her in this role because she didn’t have a trill (or whatever)”. It still bothers me to see people apologize for having an opinion, when ALL opinions are valid, whether I agree with them or not.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:43:06 +0000

MrM, My intent was not to flame you. Because you have such a wealth of excellent experience hearing all those great singers, it makes you particularly welcome on the site. But not all of us were born early enough to have seen Rene Maison as Hoffmann.

I think it flattens the art form a bit to use our expertise to insist on one “correct” opinion of an artist, or to question the legitimacy of others’ opinions.

My review of Calleja was mixed (see above) but I personally felt like we had a real contender in the part, and he portrays an interesting “shoegazing” version of the hero, a wallflower with an raging inner life.

By: Graciella Scusi

Graciella Scusi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:38:15 +0000

I think I understand what you mean, Tenor, but I would disagree with you as to the Met audience reasoning their enthusiasm. Such ovations in my experience have seemed like spontaneous emotional reaction to a singer who has impressed them.

By: androgenous

androgenous — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:20:49 +0000

This is absolute hogwash. Its fine to have an opinion but to project your own thought(s) on 4000 people seem a tad arrogant to me.
The majority of people applaud talent, reaction and connection with the artist. Are you suggesting that the majority of the audience did research on his age, stamina and difficulty of the role? Had he sucked I wouldn’t have applauded or probably booed myself because I do not pay top dollar just to hear a tenor make it through a role. Indeed this is an opera that most of the audience wouldn’t even be too familiar with.

Calleja had a triumph because he rocked – period. The fact that he is young just makes it all the more exciting unless he goest down the road of many before him and blows his voice apart.

By: justanothertenor

justanothertenor — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:16:13 +0000

Tim:
I did not hear the broadcast. This comment is referring to the changing world of opera. I think one of the things Peter Gelb HAS allowed the public to do is to judge voices over broadcasts. His point is to take opera outside of the house and into the homes and everyday lives of Americans. Most people who end up seeing “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” in this run will actually be seeing it on a Big Screen, with voices broadcast through speakers.
So, yes, it matters a lot how voices are now coming through over the airwaves. And I think it is important to start considering that medium, and how different voices sound through it, when making casting decisions.

By: Tenor di Grazie

Tenor di Grazie — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:02:25 +0000

I am not a fellow tenor — “tenor di grazie” not “tenore di grazia”.

I said the thundering ovation was *partly* due to just having survived the role. Obviously many people reacted more positively to his performance than I did, but I also think that some of the enthusiasm may have also been owing to the achievement of getting through the role in a major house at a young age, rather than praise for the distinction of his performance.

By: Tenor di Grazie

Tenor di Grazie — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:55:35 +0000

I stand corrected. Thanks for the fact check.

By: Violetta

Violetta — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:52:02 +0000

“Crespel’s house was situated in the middle of the woods.”

Crespel was hiding Antonia.

By: speedbump

speedbump — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:49:22 +0000

Bravo to Bartlett Sher and the production team for an innovative staging that was faithful to the story. It’s so rare to find a creative team who actually attempts to serve and more fully flesh out the intentions of the creators–most would rather impose a high-concept conceit that undermines the action and frustrates the audience. Also, I’d like to take bets on how long before they start selling “Hoffmann eyeball umbrellas” in the Met Opera Shop.

By: Violetta

Violetta — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:45:48 +0000

I heard the first half on the MET player, and from there, Calleja sounded fine for the role, but he did seem a little “huskey” with cold, and I also thought the hoarseness might account for what seemed like a surprizingly big size. I do hate caprino-laden tenors, but I find Calleja’s bit of caprino more of a distinction, adding to the variety of voices in the world.
I agree with another poster, that when you split up the heroines among different singers, you should have an Olympia with spot-on coloratura, and there was a lot of audible missing over the broadcast. This is the singer who needs to settle into the role.
The Nicklausse I didn’t care for – she sounded the way too many house singers do: heavy and a bit matronly, and not right for Nicklausse. On broadcast, I rather have a matronly-looking Nicklausse than a matronly-sounding one
In retrospect, Held’s villains didn’t make much of an impression – I may have been expecting something more diabolically bass-like…
Oke, the Orchestra, and the Chorus all sounded great.
(And I do love Contes d’Hoffmann, with all its quirks, in both the watered-down Choudens version, and the “new” dark comedy version.)

By: Graciella Scusi

Graciella Scusi — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:45:38 +0000

Tenore di Grazie @8 re: Calleja :
Perhaps the thundering ovation that greeted him was partly due to just having survived what is a punishing role.”

That seems highly unlikely and remarkably ungenerous, particularly if you really are a fellow tenor. And I have to say that your rather prosaic objections to the settings, which seem to expect a naturalistic reality, aren’t very convincing to me when the opera is as phantasmagorical as Hoffmann.