Pandemic
“Three cast changes have been made for tonight’s performance of Les Contes d’Hoffmann due to illness. Rachele Gilmore will make her Met debut replacing Kathleen Kim in the role of Olympia. Laura Vlasek Nolan replaces Ekaterina Gubanova as Giulietta. Joel Sorensen sings the roles of the four servants – Andrès, Frantz, Cochenille, and Pitichinaccio – replacing Alan Oke.” [The Met]
Call me when *GAIL V.* Gilmore goes on as Olympia…
Rachele Gilmore at the Met yesterday.
Hitting those G’s may be impressive … and the final E-flat certainly was better than Kim’s has been … but 70% of it was flat. Even the things that were “on” hung on the bottom of the pitch. I’m sorry, but I’d rather have someone sing in tune and not go above an E-flat than sing crazy high but out of tune.
With that said, I have heard Ms. Gilmore before, and it WAS in tune, so perhaps she was just nervous. We’ll see if she appears here again.
The high stuff doesn’t impress me. Her nerves clearly got the best of her as the rest of the aria, sans squeaked out high notes, was all over the map. Her staccati were problematic to the point of not existing, the scales were almost always out of tune, and she sang maybe fifty percent of the notes as written. She sounded like a student directly out of conservatory. Potentially promising, but not a clue as to what she was doing. Of course, the easy to please audience thrilled at the high notes, but it all sounded very run of the mill coloratura that one could have heard at any Met district audition.
She needs to go back to her teacher and coach. Learn the aria please.
If that was the highlight of last night’s performance, I dread to think what else happened on that stage.
Well, Cassy, I think you are being a little hard on her. Under the circumstances it is obvious she was a bit nervous – and she was
just not easy in her breathing much of the time. But, mein gott!,
such poise, such range, and basically such tonal quality. Give
this girl a chance two or three more performances, and slightly
more tasteful ornamentation, and she should be First Class!
Go for it, Miss Gilmore!
I just wish to thank Richard for providing that clip of Mado Robin.
Re: La Boheme, the movie; why were the last 2 chords of Act 3 cut?
I guess he just had to have that arty dissolve to Act 4′s black and white street scene. Nevertheless, it’s one of the more convincing opera movies I’ve seen. Villazon’s balls-to-the-wall singing helped me understand why he ran into trouble, but he was the best lip-syncher, with Musetta a close second, and his hyperkinetic acting was pretty decent. Trebs was gorgeous, but the Jungle Red lipstick was a mistake and her kabuki makeup in Act 3 & 4 should have included her neck. Or maybe that’s just the way you look when dying of consumption.
Overall, I think it’s quite a good film, with very good acting. I have a feeling that Villazon probably sang full out even when he was lip synching. Anyway, it was very believable. My biggest problem was with the ending. Why have Rodolfo step away from Mimi just as she’s died. Yes, having the camera pull back and show Mimi all alone was “impressive” but completely against the nature of the ending. The whole point is that Mimi doesn’t die alone; she dies among the love of friends. What makes the ending so moving is not just that she’s dead but how Rodolfo reacts to her death. That’s what gives specificity to the moment. Oh well, still a good film.
Unless I’ve missed something in the 51 years of La Bohemes that I’ve seen since my first one as a kid in 1958, Rodolfo turns away from Mimi during the last few fragmentary syllables she has left in her to ask Marcello if the doctor is coming; he does not see her die. If he DID see her die he would call out “Mimi! Mimi” right away, there would be the big chords, tears and ovations from the audience. That’s not what happens.
After asking about the doctor Rodolpho checks in with Musetta and goes to the window to pull the curtain so the sun won’t be in her eyes, then he answers Colline who asks how Mimi is. He still doesn’t know.
During this time, it is Schaunard who discovers that Mimi has died and whispers the fact hoarsely to Marcello while Musetta heats the cordial with a spirit lamp. The fact is that Mimi dies among friends but that no friend is actually with her–she slips away all alone.