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!

Three Salzburg Nozzes (Nozzi?) for a Wintry Weekend

Not saying too much about this first one yet, (for several reasons!) since we need time to check it out. 

1963 (no subs)

2006 (English subs)

And 2015, with a famous canine and a few singers we love (no subs).

(I am not labeling this post too carefully, so as not to draw too much of the wrong sort of attention. If you know what I mean.)

More Must-See Medici.TV (Mozart and Beethoven)

Tristan and Luca

Luca Pisaroni as the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro. Do I really need to say more? 

The performances are quite good, and I really dig the Upstairs/
Downstairs theme (and set.) Having the Count, Countess, Figaro and Susanna all about the same age also makes sense. I am not sure I like seeing Luca as a bad guy. I mean he does it well, playing a textbook abusive husband, alternately loving and threatening. But, well...Luca's such a nice guy, I think he should always be the hero! The whole cast is pretty impressive*, including Zurich stalwart Martina Janková as Susanna, and Anett Fritsch (a cool Donna Elvira last season), and Adam Plachetka as Figaro. ...and the rest! Anyway, watch it while you can. 

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro – Dan Ettinger, Sven-Eric Bechtolf – Salzburg Festival on medici.tv.

*including a furry cameo by Luca's doxy Tristan as, appropriately, the Count's Dog. I am still waiting to see Lenny get a juicy opera role. 

While you're hanging out at medici.tv, be sure to watch the new Claus Guth production of Fidelio with Jonas Kaufmann and Adrianne Pieczonka. I’ve seen only a brief excerpt so far. But it looks pretty good. I mean, it's Claus Guth...and of course, there's JK and AP! (It also has dancer Paul Lorenger, and sign language artist Nadia Kichler who both appeared in Guth’s amazing staging of Handel’s Messiah.)

Fidelio: Beethoven – Claus Guth, Franz Welser­-Möst – Salzburg Festival – With Jonas Kaufmann on medici.tv.

Having missed all but Act 1 of Carmen, and barely catching the Bayerische Staatsoper Lulu** before it went off the web***, I am pledging to myself to re-watch Nozze and watch Fidelio from beginning to end before they disappear!!

**Marlis Peterson is amazing as Lulu. I thought Tcherniakov’s production was illuminating—in Acts 1 and 2. Act 3 seems to be a stumbling block for many directors. But MP is amazing—really the whole cast is impressive. If it turns up—ahem—elsewhere, do take time to watch it. I am looking forward to hearing MP in the new Met production. Speaking of Lulu at the Met, there is a really good article/appreciation of this opera in the latest issue of Opera News. Lulu (like Wozzeck, I guess, but I am not as big a fan) provides new insights (to the music and to the characters) with multiple hearings. 

***I left the browser window open for the past few days, and still was able to watch Act 3 today, even though technically it was no longer available.

Another Marriage of Figaro? Really?

Do we need another Le Nozze di Figaro? Well, I do. It's my favorite opera. And Luca Pisaroni as Figaro makes any Nozze a don't-miss performance! In honor of his recent San Francisco appearance (and in lieu of a recording of those performances), here he is. There are some other singers and a conductor, too. 

Figaro – Luca Pisaroni

Susanna – Rosemary Joshua

Il Conte Almaviva – Pietro Spagnoli

La Contessa Almaviva – Annette Dasch

Cherubino – Angelica Kirchschlager

Marcellina – Sophie Pondjiclis

Antonio – Alessandro Svab

Bartolo – Antonio Abete

Don Basilio – Enrico Facini

Barbarina – Pauline Courtin

Don Curzio – Serge Goubioud

Conductor – Rene Jacobs

I Always Wondered about Figaro and the Count...

From the Barihunks Blog: I think this counts as an April Fool, but it is  an interesting plot twist! 

Barihunks confounding Susanna offstage in Vienna Marriage

Degout and Esposito

Mozart Monday – Four Weddings and a Figaro

Of course, all of them have a Figaro! Here are five fine performances of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro—each with its own particular charms—courtesy of our fellow opera lovers over at YT. (And there are several more, if you're so inclined.)

Happy Monday!

Ludovic Tézier,  Barbara Frittoli, Ekaterina Siurina, Luca Pisaroni, Karine Deshayes

Philippe Jordan, Opéra national de Paris orchestra and chorus (2010)

Knut Skram, Ileana Cotrubas, Benjamin Luxon, Kiri Te Kanawa, Fredirica Von Stade 

John Pritchard, Glyndebourne (1973)

Hermann Prey, Mirella Freni, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Kiri Te Kanawa, Maria Ewing
Karl Böhm, Wiener Philharmoniker (1973)

Lucia Popp, José van Dam, Gabriel Bacquier, Gundula Janowitz, Frederica Von Stade 

Georg Solti, Opéra de Paris Orchestra and Chorus (1980)

And, of course:

Dorothea Röschmann, Bo Skovhus, Anna Netrebko, Ildebrando d'Archaneglo, Christine Schäfer Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Salzburg Festspiele (2006)

Gratuitous Friday – Luca Pisaroni is Count Almaviva

More Luca joy! I think this Madrid performance is his first Conte. It's kind of odd to see him being the angry Count instead of the crafty Figaro. The whole performance was broadcast in Spain. Here's hoping for more clips soon!

Wiener Staatsoper Live

About a year ago the Vienna State Opera started streaming live broadcasts on the web and to specially equipped Samsung TVs. It seems they've noticed that not everyone who is interested in their programming speaks German. So this fall they broadened their advertising to reach the English-speaking audience. It is now somewhat easier to figure out how works the website. 

Unlike some organizations, the Staatsoper does charge for their streamed performances, but they also offer benefits such as delayed streaming so you can see the opera at 6pm in your own time zone. Right now you can also get a free pass to an opera of your choice just by registering at their website. And there are some goodies coming up just within the coming week:

Sunday, November 2 

Wagner: Tannhäuser

Friday, November 7

Puccini: La Boheme 

Plus:
Le Nozze di Figaro

La Cenerentola

La Traviata

Arabella 

Die Fledermaus

...all before the clock strikes 2015!

Check out the staatsoperlive.com/en webpage, to get the free offer, and go to staatsoperlive.com/en/live to see the full schedule. And click below to see a preview:

I have to add, whether in the interest of full disclosure, or just to brag, that I received an email a few days ago from the Staatsoperlive folks asking me to post this video on my blog. I have posted about their broadcasts before, so I don't feel I am pandering. On the contrary, I am flattered that they found me and thought my little blog was worth their effort!

Monday Mozart – David Bižić is Figaro: Aprite un po' quegli occhi

Our favorite Serbian Barihunk David Bižić as Figaro in a live recording from Grand Théâtre de Genève 2013 (audio only). Happy Monday!

David Bižić is Figaro in Switzerland

There's still time to catch a flight to Geneva to see David Bižić in Le nozze di Figaro.

David Bižić demonstrates his dance moves as 
Figaro in Le nozze di...

Donnerstag Duetten mit Dorothea

I have to admit I only downloaded three tracks from Matthias Goerne's 2000 opera recital album. These would be the three that include Dorothea Röschmann as his duet partner. Two are Mozart, in roles she's sung many times elsewhere at better tempi (these feel somewhat rushed.) However, if you've heard Dorothea sing Alban Berg's Der Wein and thought, gee I bet she'd be a good Marie or Lulu, here is an opportunity to sample. This is the Act 3, Scene 2 of Berg's Wozzeck, in which Wozzeck murders Marie. I always think of MG as a little intense, and maybe a bit strange. This is the final track of his CD. Just sayin'...

German text below:

The Marriage of Figaro – Paris Opera, 2006 (Part 2: Eyeglasses and Wine Glasses)

Marthaler and Maestro Sylvain Camberling decided that a harpsichord or fortepiano wouldn’t seem quite right in this setting. So they brought in a performance artist as a “Recitativist.” He’s on stage and participates in the drama—accompanying the recitatives on an electronic keyboard and a batch of odd instruments, including a melodeon, a glass harmonica (pictured), and a pair of beer bottles.  This guy interacts with the other folks on stage, at one point providing the Countess with a couple of shots of whiskey.  

The Marriage of Figaro – Paris Opera, 2006 (Part 1: The Chair, the Stair, and the Lectern)

This Nozze di Figaro received such mixed (mostly bad) reviews I knew I just had to see it! I usually find Christoph Marthaler's viewpoint fascinating—but not always convincing. He often creates a lot of subsidiary action as a commentary to the main action. It’s something I enjoyed in his production of Věc Makropulos.

Not Really About the Music At All (OK, maybe a little)

Thomas Tatzl as Figaro

The Opera Chic notes in her post today: 

Austrian bass Thomas Tatzl...probably declines invitations from Abercrombie's street team recruiters every time he treads the pavement. 

My first thought was, "Hey check him out." My second thought was, "Yeah but can he sing and/or act?" 

Sunday Brunch – Sull' Aria (Röschmann & Schwartz)

Here is another Sull' aria, this time in the proper language. Unfortunately there is no video here, but some lovely singing. Of course, Dorothea Röschmann is incomparable as the Countess. I’m not familiar with the Susanna – Spanish (!!) soprano Sylvia Schwartz – but she’s a soprano to watch out (and listen out) for, with a smooth, light, lyric voice.

Sunday Brunch – Sull' Aria (Rothenberger & Jones)

Here is a surprise treat: Gwyneth Jones before she shredded her voice, and the ever-lovely Anneliese Rothenberger, who probably never sang an ugly note in her life. Together, they perform the beautiful soprano duet from Mozart's Die Hochzeit des Figaro. I am not sure, but this duet was probably performed in isolation, specifically for TV (not a full opera production.)

Curtain Calls and Scene Changes

For some reason, when watching an opera video, I really dislike seeing the curtain calls between scenes and after each act. But I don't mind at all seeing behind-the-scenes stuff.  In the Met HD Elisir, I liked seeing the (excruciatingly long) set change between scenes in Act 1. In the Neuenfels' Lohengrin you can see the chorus getting ready for the final scene, and during the prelude to Act 3, there is a specially produced video of backstage stuff. But those are video-only bits. The audience in the opera house doesn't see that. It's part of the video production. 

This video continues past the Act 3 Prelude. 

The mice/rats singing of the Bridal Procession 

is pretty cool (and yes, a little weird.)

I guess that maybe why it doesn't bother me. Scene changes don't take me out of the drama, because changing the scenery is part of the production. I enjoy the mechanics of theater. Sometimes you even get to see the scenery changes right on stage (e.g., the wonderful Minghella Butterfly) and those changes really are part of the show.  Somehow that artificiality is not distracting to me. 

Gratuitous Dorothea Röschmann Post

The Earworm's blog linked to a video a day or so ago, stating: 

I am not sure who is ultimately responsible for the appearance of this video, but the entire Salzburg 1995 Le Nozze di Figaro is up on YouTube! The highlight of this for me of course is Röschmann as Susanna, but you also get the added bonus of Susan Graham as Cherubino. 

And Speaking of Marthaler – Helene Schneiderman is Marcellina

HS (left) as Flora, lookin' butch.

Mezzo-soprano Helene Schneiderman is a Jersey girl who trained in the U.S. then started her professional career in Germany. A member of the Staatstheater Stuttgart since 1984, she sings mezzo repertoire around the world. Probably her most widely viewed performance is her appearance in the thankless role of Flora in the DVD of Willy Decker's Traviata (the one with the red dress)–particularly thankless here, as it's very hard to find her in the sea of dark men's suits!

Sunday Brunch – Le Nozze di Figaro: Sull' Aria



Hillevi Martinpelto



Alison Hagley



This musically stylish Le Nozze di Figaro is led by John Eliot Gardiner. I personally find the two-dimensional sets and overdone makeup annoying and a little disturbing. Perhaps in 1993 the production folks didn't think about things like camera close-ups.  And Hillevi Martinpelto (Countess) should sue the wig maker!