Live performances!
So, I finally get to write in here of the live performances I've seen in the past month.
"La Nozze di Figaro" (Columbus, OH - March 3, 2007)
This was a decent, small company production. The set was pretty minimal, and the singing was okay- the person who did the best job of singing was Susanna (I apologize, but I don't have any names from this production), the person who did the worst was the guy playing Don Basilio. The lady singing the Countess forgot her lines in the midst of her big aria, "Dove sono", which I think everyone in the theater felt bad for her. The tempo was off at times, and they cut one of my favorite arias, "Aprite un po' quegli occhi". Now, for the good things. Because of it's small size and budget, they ramped up the comedy, so it was very entertaining in the end.
Rating: 6/10
"Il Barbiere di Siviglia" (Metropolitan Opera Live Broadcast - March 24, 2007)
I was looking forward to this opera the most, and had high expectations for it...and it even exceeded those. I can't tell you how impressed I was with everything about this performance: the performers, costumes, sets, directing, conducting...everything was fabulous. It was everything that "Barber" should be, in my opinion. The vaunted Juan Diego Florez was Count Almaviva, and he gave every reason why he's considered one of the most brilliant Rossini tenors of his time- with his spectacular voice and technique, he makes the challenging role of Almaviva look simple. His acting and passion also added flare and energy to the role. However, not to be overlooked are Peter Mattei as Figaro and Joyce DiDonato as Rosina- Mattei brings a sexy, smart Figaro, maybe not so much ruled by money as others have been, but for the entertainment of doing what he does best- pulling everyone's strings. And Joyce DiDonato was wonderful- her soprano hits every note, every flourish beautifully, and she also adds just that right amount of fire that makes Rosina irresistible. John Del Carlo as Bartolo sounded a little hollow to me in some places, but otherwise he was great. I also loved John Relyea as Don Basilio. The production was smart, sassy, and very, very fast-paced. The only slow part in the entire thing was Almaviva's often-cut aria, which, when you have Florez singing the part, you just have to add back in. I enjoyed hearing it (it was the first time I ever had). I loved the manic frenzy and chaos, and I absolutely loved the costumes. This production is still set in the late 1700's, but is modern, slick and sexy enough to be appealing to all audiences. I can't wait for this to be shown on television (in May on PBS, people- and I WILL be recording it), but I also am hoping that they play an encore of this in the theaters, because I would gladly pay another $18 to see this on the big screen again.
Rating: 100/10 (hey, it's my rating system)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/barber.html
"Die Zauberflute" (Pittsburgh Opera - March 24, 2007)
Another updated production of Mozart's classic, "The Magic Flute". The arias are sung in German, and all of the spoken parts are in English. At first the set and costumes threw me off a little, but as the production went on, I was able to suspend belief and like them. The singing was fantastic- this was my first time seeing the Pittsburgh Opera company, and I am thoroughly impressed. I will add names later, but almost all of the cast was wonderful. To me, Tamino's voice lacked "body", but that's about all of the criticism I have for any of the singing. The lady playing the queen of the night was the understudy, and even though she had a little difficulty with some parts of her arias, she pulled them off beautifully in the end. I am pretty forgiving of that part. I think my favorite singer of the entire production was Pamina...her voice was absolutely beautiful, and she didn't miss a note at all. Papageno was his usual funny self, always acting up in the background. I was a bit disappointed with the audience in the end, not giving the performers a standing ovation (I sure as hell did, although I was the only one standing up in my entire area). Come on, Pittsburgh- the performers did a fantastic job, show 'em some love.
Rating: 8.5/10
I bought ticket's to see Pittsburgh Opera's "Billy Budd" in May, starring Nathan Gunn. I was waffling a bit on buying tickets to see it until A. I knew what the Pittsburgh Opera was like, and B. I found out Nathan Gunn was in it. Then I had no qualms about buying tickets in the director's circle. Heck yeah, front row seats. Be back later with more fun stuff.
"La Nozze di Figaro" (Columbus, OH - March 3, 2007)
This was a decent, small company production. The set was pretty minimal, and the singing was okay- the person who did the best job of singing was Susanna (I apologize, but I don't have any names from this production), the person who did the worst was the guy playing Don Basilio. The lady singing the Countess forgot her lines in the midst of her big aria, "Dove sono", which I think everyone in the theater felt bad for her. The tempo was off at times, and they cut one of my favorite arias, "Aprite un po' quegli occhi". Now, for the good things. Because of it's small size and budget, they ramped up the comedy, so it was very entertaining in the end.
Rating: 6/10
"Il Barbiere di Siviglia" (Metropolitan Opera Live Broadcast - March 24, 2007)
I was looking forward to this opera the most, and had high expectations for it...and it even exceeded those. I can't tell you how impressed I was with everything about this performance: the performers, costumes, sets, directing, conducting...everything was fabulous. It was everything that "Barber" should be, in my opinion. The vaunted Juan Diego Florez was Count Almaviva, and he gave every reason why he's considered one of the most brilliant Rossini tenors of his time- with his spectacular voice and technique, he makes the challenging role of Almaviva look simple. His acting and passion also added flare and energy to the role. However, not to be overlooked are Peter Mattei as Figaro and Joyce DiDonato as Rosina- Mattei brings a sexy, smart Figaro, maybe not so much ruled by money as others have been, but for the entertainment of doing what he does best- pulling everyone's strings. And Joyce DiDonato was wonderful- her soprano hits every note, every flourish beautifully, and she also adds just that right amount of fire that makes Rosina irresistible. John Del Carlo as Bartolo sounded a little hollow to me in some places, but otherwise he was great. I also loved John Relyea as Don Basilio. The production was smart, sassy, and very, very fast-paced. The only slow part in the entire thing was Almaviva's often-cut aria, which, when you have Florez singing the part, you just have to add back in. I enjoyed hearing it (it was the first time I ever had). I loved the manic frenzy and chaos, and I absolutely loved the costumes. This production is still set in the late 1700's, but is modern, slick and sexy enough to be appealing to all audiences. I can't wait for this to be shown on television (in May on PBS, people- and I WILL be recording it), but I also am hoping that they play an encore of this in the theaters, because I would gladly pay another $18 to see this on the big screen again.
Rating: 100/10 (hey, it's my rating system)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/gpatmet/barber.html
"Die Zauberflute" (Pittsburgh Opera - March 24, 2007)
Another updated production of Mozart's classic, "The Magic Flute". The arias are sung in German, and all of the spoken parts are in English. At first the set and costumes threw me off a little, but as the production went on, I was able to suspend belief and like them. The singing was fantastic- this was my first time seeing the Pittsburgh Opera company, and I am thoroughly impressed. I will add names later, but almost all of the cast was wonderful. To me, Tamino's voice lacked "body", but that's about all of the criticism I have for any of the singing. The lady playing the queen of the night was the understudy, and even though she had a little difficulty with some parts of her arias, she pulled them off beautifully in the end. I am pretty forgiving of that part. I think my favorite singer of the entire production was Pamina...her voice was absolutely beautiful, and she didn't miss a note at all. Papageno was his usual funny self, always acting up in the background. I was a bit disappointed with the audience in the end, not giving the performers a standing ovation (I sure as hell did, although I was the only one standing up in my entire area). Come on, Pittsburgh- the performers did a fantastic job, show 'em some love.
Rating: 8.5/10
I bought ticket's to see Pittsburgh Opera's "Billy Budd" in May, starring Nathan Gunn. I was waffling a bit on buying tickets to see it until A. I knew what the Pittsburgh Opera was like, and B. I found out Nathan Gunn was in it. Then I had no qualms about buying tickets in the director's circle. Heck yeah, front row seats. Be back later with more fun stuff.