Winter meeting
This afternoon’s broadcast of La bohème (beginning at 1:00 pm) is sure to provoke lots of commentary from the parterriani.
Conductor: Marco Armiliato; Mimì: Anna Netrebko; Musetta: Nicole Cabell; Rodolfo: Piotr Beczala; Marcello: Gerald Finley; Schaunard: Massimo Cavalletti; Colline: Oren Gradus; Benoit/Alcindoro: Paul Plishka.
The real-time chat is, as usual, over at La Casa della Cieca.
(Photo: Cory Weaver, Metropolitan Opera.)
I was in the house for the performance and loved it. Netrebko really gives everything she has, which is refreshing in this age. I just wish she was a bit more dramatically specific in her interpretation. Her mimi just was not special, though viscerally impressive and dramatically committed. Beczala was not in great voice, but still gave a wonderfully charming performance. Ditto Finley. Can someone tell me why Nicole Cabell is singing at the Met?
I would love to see Netrebko in Butterfly, ML, maybe tosca one day, maddalena di coigny, etc. Though her technique is problematic she doesn’t seem to be pushing her voice unnaturally and should be able to handle all of these roles with no problem. And it would be even better if she didn’t just skim over the lines and really invested more in the text and phrasing. However, I don’t think any of these roles are on the horizon for her, even within the next 4-5 years.
What is “ML”? I’m sure it’s obvious and I’ll kick myself later, but I’m having trouble making the map at the moment. Thanks.
Manon Lescaut?
Look what Der Zwerg dredged up this time: