Thus spake Tommasini
“I will have more to say on this question later.” So, three weeks ago, Anthony Tommasini left open the subject of how “[n]one of the versions of [Les Contes d'Hoffmann] that have appeared over the years, some of them corrupted, can be said to be authentic.” The Times scribe has at last broken his silence, though La Cieca will leave it up to the reader to decide whether he actually has “more to say.” [NYT]
Clearly the “Met” should do the work in good clean English, with Julian Gavin in the name-part, Rutter, Jane Irwin, Michaels-Moore, Lloyd and Tomlinson. None better!
Haven’t you heard about this recording
http://www.chandos.net/details06.asp?CNumber=CHAN 3162
“Tenor Julian Gavin takes the lead of Don Carlos and is ably assisted by William Dazeley as Rodrigo, Janice Watson as Elizabeth, and Alistair Miles as Philip II and Sir John Tomlinson as the Grand Inquisitor.”
When the COC did the French version a couple of years ago, I was surprised by the extra music in the final scene. Carlos and Elisabeth are accused by the Inquisitor and Phillipe and they defend themselves, denying any wrong-doing. The extra music stopped the finale from seeming so abrupt, as it does in the Italian.
I think Andy Porter (who used to bring bewildered looking pick ups to the Met press room dressed in full leather) found ms in the Paris Opera back men’s room and connected it with the ur-Don Carlos (why he was clutching at the old bricks therein has never been explained)
WTF?
The 70s were more fun, weren’t they?
What toadying nonsense. One could as well say that since KHOVANSHCHINA and TURANDOT and MOSES UND ARON and LULU were left unfinished, absolutely anything one did to make them more slick and marketable would be fine
The last two are somewhat different cases from the first two. MOSES UND ARON may technically be incomplete, as Schoenberg wrote the text for a third act that consisted of M & A arguing, then Aron dropping dead. He completed the first two acts and they work perfectly.
LULU was orchestrated up until about 1/4 of the way through the third act and the rest was complete in short score. Since the last scenes, in London, were basically reprises of already heard material, it was fairly easy for Cerha to re-construct the orchestration.
Both are incredible operas and I’m glad they get performed on the fringes of the standard rep; the City Opera Achim Freyer production of MOSES UND ARON in the early 90’s was one of the best nights I’ve ever had in an opera house.