Upcoming Opera Online from Belgium (Especially Mozart!)

Here's my semi-annual blog post. I am putting it here mostly for me, because I really want to be sure to see these three Mozart/Daponte operas!

I just experienced the Tales of Hoffmann from La Monnaie as well. I was a bit disappointed in the concept with most numbers sung in front of a microphone (I get why they did it, but I found it annoying after the fifth or sixth time), and by Patricia Pettibon, who seemed very stressed. 

Love, like, or hate them, I am always glad to experience productions from La Monnaie. And, as I said, I am looking forward to these Mozarts (and Pique Dame and Rosenkavalier.) Their video streams usually are up for about six weeks, starting right after closing night. Some are available on other platforms. Hoffmann is on arte.tv, and it's geoblocked in the United States; but you can access it with a VPN.

Here's the trailer for the upcoming Figaro.

Thanks to anyone who's still reading me. I will try to update my little blog a little more often!

Passion, Rage, Love, Anger (a Master Class on Donna Elvira)

I love it when Joyce DiDonato works with (and on) aspiring Donna Elviras. This is from JDD's Guildhall masterclasses in the spring of 2015. I try not to miss any of her classes, but somehow, I overlooked this one. Thanks to YouTube algorithms, this video popped up in a sidebar yesterday. Watch and learn about the many facets of Donna Elvira, and JDD's ideas and guidance. She gets a little physical, but I think student soprano Francesca Chiejina survived the session—and came away with a lot more insight to the role. I can't wait to see her on stage!

Overheard at the Cinema – What we all were thinking

"Just give it a rest, caro!"

Met in HD Don Giovanni Finale

Octavio: Marry me
Anna: Let's wait another year
Woman two seats over from me: Oh Jesus!

Due Don Giovanni(s) aus Salzburg

Salzburg 1954: (English subs):

.

Salzburg 2014: (No subs):

Is this becoming a Mozart blog? Well, so what if it is?? Please enjoy!

La Monnaie Don Giovanni – Age Restricted on the Toob

Another opportunity to see/hear the entire performance of Warlikowski's Don G. from La Monnaie. But you have to prove you're old enough. (They probably should make you prove you're open-minded enough!) 

LeporelloGram Tomorrow from the Met, Courtesy of Luca Pisaroni

If you haven't already signed up for Instagram to follow Joyce DiDonato (she's who finally drew me over to the dark side) here's another good reason to give it a try:

Luca Pisaroni

3 hrs · 

I’ll take over The Metropolitan Opera's Instagram account tomorrow and will post behind-the-scenes glimpses of Don Giovanni, my daily rituals on the days of a show... http://instagram.com/metopera ‪#‎LeporelloGram‬

Following Earwormopera Around on YouTube

Lately it seems that every third interesting opera video I click on is posted by none other than the blogger known as Earwormopera, under the nom d'Tube musicalpunchlines. 

This is not a bad thing. In fact, it's a very good thing*. Clearly, Earworm and I have very similar tastes. In fact, many of my readers may know that I was greatly inspired by the Earworm to start my own blog. (Fans of this blog can thank Earworm. Non-fans can...well, non-fans can do whatever you want—so long as it's not illegal or immoral.)

Since I've been kind of stuck in Don Giovanni-land lately, I'd like to share one of my (many) favorite clips from the Claus Guth production in Salzburg, featuring one of Earworm's and my all-time favorite sopranos: Dorothea Röschmann.

*In fact, the only thing better would be if there were even more clips on the musicalpunchlines channel! (Hint, hint!)

This Don is gone...

...but definitely not forgotten. A few clips can be found if you look around a bit:

and here's another chunk of Act 1:

These are from the Mezzo TV broadcast, which to me, look and sound like a different performance than the official La Monnaie webcast. Can there please be a commercial DVD release of this (he asked, hoping against hope)?

Meanwhile, for Mezzo Elvira fans, here is her awesome Act 2 aria (sadly, audio only):

Monday Mozart with Miah Persson

Miah sings Mi tradi... in the 2013 Paris production:.

Gratuitous Friday – Peter Mattei as Don Giovanni (Champagne Aria)

The Paris Opera has graciously shared this little clip of Michael Haenke's Don Giovanni (which, sadly, doesn't seem to be available in full anywhere these days). The cast also included David Bižić, Patricia Petibon, and Veronique Gens.

Thank you, Paris Opera!

@Rinatshaham = Mezzo Elvira Awesomeness

I just tweeted the above comment, then did a quick search on Israeli mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham and found this great interview at the Operatraveller blog. I first encountered Ms. Shaham as Cherubino in the marvelous ROH Nozze di Figaro. Carmen is her signature role, but she occasionally ventures into the higher realms of roles such as her recent debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at La Monnaie (available online for about five more days. Go watch it. Now! Seriously.)

Operatraveller saw this Don G live, and in the review commented (and I concur):

Rinat Shaham’s Elvira also made the role her own. The voice so rich and easily produced, the tessitura holding no terrors.  She was also a captivating actress, fully encapsulating Elvira’s strength yet also mapping the journey when she realizes her betrayal.  

Only 10 More Days to Watch this NSFW Don Giovanni from La Monnaie

At least the opening bit—the film during the overture, and some of the action in the opera box (and a few other bits)—is not safe for work (NSFW). 

I try not to be a prude; but every once in a while, I channel my Mom and purse my lips and say things like, “That’s quite unnecessary!” Then I channel my Dad, who would say something like, “Well! How ’bout that?” (…meaning, “I’m not sure quite what to think!”)

As I do so often, I waited till (virtually) the last minute to watch the current production of Don Giovanni at La Monnaie; and I haven't seen all of it yet. So far, I’d say we have a wig-fest for a sex-obsessed Donna Anna (Barbara Hannnigan, who seems like an odd choice, but is quite effective.) And another freaking-out Don Giovanni with a foot fetish and some interesting oral fixations (Jean-Sébastien Bou, whom I’d love to like better, but frankly he seems maybe the weakest voice in the cast—of course Don G is often the weakest character.) And another ironic, patient, and tolerant Leporello* (Bass-baritone Andreas Wolf, sounding charmingly baritonish.)

The entire cast seems fully committed to Krzysztof Warlikowski's vision.

Don Giovanni – Jean-Sébastien Bou

Leporello – Andreas Wolf

Donna Anna – Barbara Hannigan

Donna Elvira – Rinat Shaham

Don Ottavio – Topi Lehtipuu

Zerlina – Julie Mathevet

Masetto – Jean-Luc Ballestra

Commendatore – Willard White

Choeurs de la Monnaie, Symfonieorkest van de Munt/Ludovic Morlot

Stage Director – Krzysztof Warlikowski

*This is kind of off-point, but I think Leporello and Donna Elvira are my favorite characters in this opera. I’d like to see a spin-off for them! 

Opera from Salzburg (and beyond) on Medici.TV

I tuned in to medici.tv this afternoon just in time to see the curtain calls (live) for Il Trovatore. But not to worry, it will be available in archive very soon. Some additional exciting opera performances from the Salzburger Festspiele are (or will be) on medici.tv this month. And they feature some of our favorite singers, including DR, LP, and MS.

I like what I've seen/heard so far of Don G. First of all, any production with Brando and Luca is going to look and sound good. And when Donna Elvira enters a muddy, torn wedding gown, immediately heads for the bar, skips the glass and goes straight for the bottle, you know it's going to be an interesting ride! (Not to mention Anna poking Ottavio in the chest with the knife that offed her father...she seemed to actually be holding the knife (trying to get it away from DG) when it killed her dad. I am interested to see where they go with that!)


Mozart: Don Giovanni

Lenneke Ruiten (Donna Anna) 

Anett Fritsch (Donna Elvira) 
Valentina Nafornita (Zerlina) 
Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Don Giovanni) 
Luca Pisaroni (Leporello) 
Tomasz Konieczny (Il Commendatore) 
Andrew Staples (Don Ottavio) 
Alessio Arduini (Masetto)

Sommerakademie of the Vienna Philharmonic 
Philharmonia Chor Wien 
Wiener Philharmoniker 

Christoph Eschenbach conductor
Sven-Eric Bechtolf stage director
Rolf Glittenberg set designer
Marianne Glittenberg costumes
Friedrich Rom lighting
Ronny Dietrich dramaturgy
Walter Zeh chorus master

Verdi: Il Trovatore

Anna Netrebko (Leonora) 

Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Azucena) 
Diana Haller member of the young singers project (Ines) 
Francesco Meli (Manrico) 
Plácido Domingo (Count di Luna) 
Riccardo Zanellato (Ferrando) 
Gerard Schneider member of the young singers project (Ruiz) 
Miloš Bulajić member of the young singers project (A Messenger) 
Raimundas Juzuitis member of the young singers project (An Old Gypsy)

Members of the Angelika Prokopp Sommerakademie of the Vienna Philharmonic 
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus 
Wiener Philharmoniker

Daniele Gatti conductor 

Alvis Hermanis stage director, set designer
Eva Dessecker costumes
Gleb Filshtinsky lightings
Ineta Sipunova video
Gudrun Hartmann associate director
Uta Gruber-Ballehr associate set designer
Ronny Dietrich dramaturgy
Ernst Raffelsberger chorus master

And Coming Soon:

Schubert: Fierrabras

Broadcast date : Aug. 25, 2014, 1 p.m. EST

Julia Kleiter (Emma)
Dorothea Röschmann (Florinda)
Marie-Claude Chappuis (Maragond)
Michael Schade (Fierrabras)
Georg Zeppenfeld (King Karl)
Markus Werba (Roland)
Benjamin Bernheim (Eginhard)
Peter Kálmán (Boland)

Members of the Angelika Prokopp 
Sommerakademie of the Vienna Philharmonic
Wiener Philharmoniker 

Ingo Metzmacher conductor 

Peter Stein stage director
Ferdinand Wögerbauer set designer
Annamaria Heinreich costumes
Joachim Barth lighting
Ernst Raffelsberger chorus master

This Just in from Switzerland:

There's also a quite nice concert performance of  Beethoven's Fidelio from the Verbier Festival. Nicely sung, and OKly acted. The singers did their best, I guess, but it looks like, with a little stage direction, they could have done so much more with the drama. I'd love to see a stage director have a bit of input in concert performances of opera. Although EN seems to be the biggest name there, I thought he was well outshone by Messers Gleadow and Jovanovich (hooray for North American singers) and Frau Brimberg (another exciting sound from Sweden.) The ingenues, the phantom baritone (Don F.), and M. Minkowski all did a great job, too. 

Ingela Brimberg (Leonore)
Brandon Jovanovich (Florestan)
Evgeny Nikitin (Don Pizarro)
Robert Gleadow (Rocco)
Sylvia Schwartz (Marzelline)
Bernard Richter (Jaquino)
Charles Dekeyser (Don Fernando)

Collegiate Chorale 
Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra 
Marc Minkowski conductor 

Peter Sellars – Two of his Classic Mozart Productions on the Tube

Nearly everyone has an opinion about Peter Sellars' productions of...well everything he's ever directed. He's been around for a while, now and he is not going away—I think his work has really matured over the years. He surfaced as an opera director with his 1990-ish films of the three great Mozart/DaPonte operas. (You might argue with the term "classic" when describing his productions. However, like them or not, they are classics of their genre.) 

I encountered these three productions when they were first broadcast on PBS. I was fascinated by Le nozze di Figaro, a bit annoyed by Cosi fan Tutte, and completely put off by Don Giovanni (I switched it off in the middle of the "Champagne Aria," finding the production icky and some of the singing unbearable.)

Now, with more life experience, more opera experience, more experience with Regietheater (although I am not sure these two really count as regie—feel free to discuss/disagree in the comments section below), and a completely different world outlook, I re-approached these operas with curiosity. The good news is that we can experiment with and form our own opinions on Mr. Sellars' Cosi and Giovanni for free on YT (for now). Thanks to the enterprising Opera Nerd for posting them!

As Seen on Facebook...

This shout-out to Alban Berg by Thomas Hampson, who is preparing his Met role debut:

A rebuttal by David Daniels to a review of the UK version of the recent English Concert Theodora, (he's not participating in the UK/Europe run) and a candid rehearsal photo from Carnegie Hall, featuring our beloved Dorothea Röschmann:

And this from David Bižić (who is starring in Don Giovanni in Vienna with several other artists of interest):

Tribute to Maestro Claudio Abbado from France Musique

Last week's edition of the France Musique radio program Lirico Spinto is a 90-minute tribute to Claudio Abbado's work in the opera house.

Even if you have heard and/or have most or all of Abbado's opera recordings for Decca and Deutsche Grammophon, there's some great listening here. Excerpts from commercial releases include the entire Act 1 Finale of  Die Zauberflöte, and the Act 2 Finale of Fidelio. In addition, there are bits from live La Scala performances of Macbeth, Aida, and Boris Godounov. The Aida excerpt (from 1972) features Domingo and Arroyo; and it is particularly exciting!

In addition to the radio program listings, the web page contains embedded full-length videos (as seen on YT) of:

• Macbeth
• Il Viaggio a Reims
• Lohengrin
• Don Giovanni

It looks like this audio program will be available for two years (but my French comprehension is neither strong nor reliable.) Just in case the website is wrong (or I am), go listen ASAP! 

Gratuitous Friday – David Bižić is Leporello

This video is a low-quality bootleg but more than we'd have otherwise. And it's a good one to have. I've posted bits of this before, which you can find by clicking on the David Bižić link below or looking for Peter Mattei on RnR. The full cast list is below the clip; they are stage-directed by Michael Haneke at the Opera Bastille. 

The whole performance (or nearly whole, anyway) is contained in this YOO_TOOB playlist. It’s quite worth listening through the muffled sound and watching the dimly lit stage to hear Peter Mattei, Véronique Gens, and David Bižić do their Mozart thing. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. Happy Friday! 

Filmed live on April 19, 2012 at Opera Bastille, Paris. 

Peter Mattei - Don Giovanni 

Paata Burchuladze - Il Commendatore 

Patricia Petibon - Donna Anna 

Saimir Pirgu - Don Ottavio 

Véronique Gens - Donna Elvira 

David Bizic - Leporello 

Nahuel Di Pierro - Masetto 

Gaëlle Arquez - Zerlina 

Marius Stieghorst - Conductor

Michael Haneke - Stage Director

Christoph Kanter - Sets

Annette Beaufaÿs - Costumes

André Diot - Lighting

Alessandro Di Stefano - Maestro del coro

Wo ist Wozzeck? (And Other Videos We'd Like to See)

Simon Keenlyside

So, it's been three days already, and no sign of the Wozzeck webcast. Come on, people! Of course, it might have hit the Toob and already been snatched offline by the vigilant Staatsoper folks. But I won't give up hope. 

Meanwhile, here is a photo from a Don Giovanni performance (also at the BSO) I'd like to have seen/heard. It was taken by Kyle Ketelson and posted at his Skydrive site, along with a whole bunch more photos from the production. If DR in a ski jacket and mask isn't enough for you, you're sure to find something else intriguing when you check out the rest of the photos. 

Dorothea Röschmann 

Here's the enticing cast list:

Don Giovanni Simon Keenlyside
Der Komtur Goran Jurić
Donna Anna Elza van den Heever
Don Ottavio Bernard Richter
Donna Elvira Dorothea Röschmann
Leporello Kyle Ketelsen
Zerlina Laura Tatulescu
Masetto *Tareq Nazmi

(Unfortunately, this was a very short-lived revival: only three performances!)

Meanwhile, there still is time to see a few other operas that are available online. Here are six to choose from:

Gratuitous Friday – Daniel Behle is Don Ottavio

This is from the recent Paris Don Giovanni. 

Act 2: Il mio tesoro intante

Gratuitous Friday – Peter Mattei is (still) Don Giovanni

Need I say any more?  

OK, I will acknowledge that some may question the appropriateness of his ornamentation in the repeat. And my reply is: it may not be 100% stylistically correct, but golly he sure does do it well! 

Simply Irresistible!

Don Giovanni: Deh vieni alla finestra (Aix en Provence, 2002)