Huis Clos
That most operatic of all operas, Il trovatore, has been done many ways, but here’s a first: the warhorse as bottle episode. The production is by Dmitri Tcherniakov for Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. There’s video after the jump.
Photo © Bernd Uhlig.
Ya know, I know not much about Trovatore except as a casual fan of opera, and I have to say that this production appears to be just as interesting as any other Trovatore I have seen or seen clips of. (additional points for not having M. Alvarez is not in it).
I watched Tcherniakov’s DG online and have since come to very much appreciate his approach since it is one of the few times that I haven’t been bored throughout the entire Madamina aria by watching the characters act out the tedium of an extraordinarily geeky relative making hilariously received sexual advances towards another relative’s wife. (must look this trope up). Of course, Ketelsen’s voice being so magnificent made it all the more enjoyable.
Much better name. Casanova wannabe.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CasanovaWannabe
Here’s a clip of the same duet from the good old days when there were no pesky directors around:
Do we know who these people are and why don’t these conductors understand what Verdi has written very clearly?