O chat gentilissima
Tonight’s the night, cher public: the prima of the Met’s new Don Giovanni, conducted by fabulous Fabio Luisi and featuring that leading candidate for Einspringer of the Year, Peter Mattei. The fun begins at 7:30, both on Sirius/XM and on the Met’s Live Stream, and the effete will want to sharpen their knives in anticipation of the chat at La Casa della Cieca.
I am so relieved the opening night went well especially for Pisaroni and Mattei and of course very happy for the rest of the great cast -- must have been pretty hard with all the additional rehearsals. Am looking forward to the HD-broadcast.
The reviews are starting to come in:
Theatermania
http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/reviews/10-2011/don-giovanni_42643.html
Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gNvMezDMaZb64BTL1UwW5eLcgV2Q?docId=74dc2c3b5a734f348aa6f09f0d52c9a0
NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/arts/music/don-giovanni-at-the-metropolitan-opera-review.html
It is a dreadful production. But the singing, conducting, and orchestra make up for it. I found last night excellent despite the lame production.
Once this production ends up with a 2nd or 3rd tier cast and a half-assed conductor, it is going to be excruciatingly painful to attend.
Right now, the musical performance is strong enough to make the production irrelevant.
The production could have been created 30-40 years ago. No new ground being broken. Nothing that says this production is a product of it’s times. The ending (with the fire) comes off as a cheesy 70s arena-rock gimmick.
It’s remarkable how they managed to screw this up. The City Opera Alden prod -- with a budget that was probably a twentieth, maybe less, than this one -- was miles ahead in keeping one entertained and thinking.
If one is a person who goes to the opera mainly for it’s theatrical aspects -- this DG can safely be skipped. If one goes for the music and the sound, then right now w/Luisi et al, one should definitely attend.
Very humdrum bland production. I thought similarly about Bolena. Disappointing.
From the AP review: ouch.
“…It’s not too soon for the Met to say it needs another new “Don Giovanni.”
“Keller’s production was seen at the Met in just 36 performances over three seasons, an unusually brief appearance for a core opera. Herbert Graf’s 1957 staging at the old Met, with sets by Eugene Berman, lasted until 1984. Since then, the Met has struggled with one of Mozart’s masterpieces…”
Well, musically, it sounded great last night.
Too bad if the production joins the list missed opportunities. I too miss the Berman sets; even if the staging was dated by 1984, it was lovely to look at.
This strikes me as one of Tomassini’s finer reviews, though he twice uses the word “hearty” to describe a singer.
“And there was some intriguing sexual tension in Giovanni’s roughhousing with his servant.”
For a fine, and entirely accurate, review of last night’s Don Giovanni
see Martin Bernheimer in the Financial Times. He’s got it just right,
at least, exactly the way I heard it and he was not afraid to point
out that the Donna Anna is really not quite up to her role.
I sometimes think that M. B. is the last living adult classical
music critic working in New York. All due respects to J. Jo., who
is himself quite OK most of the time, if M. B. should ever retire
I fear a great tradition will be closed.
I say, bring back the Herald-Tribune, let a moderate Republican
voice be heard, and make Martin Bernheimer the music editor. The
least Gelb could do is put him on Saturday afternoon intermissions
on a regular basis; that, refreshingly, would bring a knowing sane voice
to the table. The TT review in the NYT, now up, is very pussyfooting;
does not TT really understand voice or opera singing? He seems very
vacant in that area. I think he must be included in the Met pension
plan!