--- Begin Message ---
There are 9 messages totalling 544 lines in this issue.
Topics in this special issue:
1. Baltimore Opera Premiere of "Eugene Onegin"
2. Cast Query re Met Tosca 1961
3. Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
4. Double Mimi
5. Double Mimi . . . Ooopsey!
6. Meistersinger in Chicago, or Box Lunches, Anyone? (long)
7. Fwd: Long Distance Charges for Internet Access (2)
8. Nielsen
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 00:46:06 -0500
From: Mark Loeb <markloeb (at) EROLS(dot)COM>
Subject: Baltimore Opera Premiere of "Eugene Onegin"
This evening Baltimore Opera presented a production of "Eugene Onegin" that
was quite traditional and quite beautiful. (Compared to the Met's last
effort, at least there were no leaves for a bedroom or chairs for a ball.)
The sets were designed by Pier Luigi Samaritani and were lovingly bathed in
golden tones by Donald Edmund Thomas. Stage direction was competently
handled by Dejan Miladinovic.
But the highlights of the evening were the music and the singing. The
"star" of the production was Dwayne Croft whose lustrously burnished
baritone and sensitive acting made the title role special indeed. He looks
and sounds like a true Onegin. Maria Gavrilova, though, was the highlight
of the evening. Her rendition of Tatiana's Letter Scene, wonderfully
accompanied by Maestro Christian Badea, grabbed the audience by the lapels.
For nearly ten minutes you could have heard a pin drop, so rapt was the
attention, a consequence of superb singing-acting. Ilya Levinsky, a young
tenor, was a solid Lensky, perhaps not a Gedda (who is?) but certainly well
worth hearing. Tomas Tomasson was a fine Gremin, although he did not hold
the last low note as long as he might have. The Triquet, Joseph Frank, had
a bit of a "frog" in his throat. And it was a special delight to see and
hear that great veteran Mignon Dunn as Filippyevna. Christian Badea
conducted a wonderful performance, eliciting excellent playing from his
orchestra. The Baltimore Opera chorus made, as always, a major contribution.
It was, as I said, a very traditional production, with wonderful singing,
acting and orchestral playing across the board. What more can anyone ask?
It was a fine performance.
Rabbi Mark Loeb, Baltimore
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 00:40:57 EST
From: RWM30 (at) AOL(dot)COM
Subject: Cast Query re Met Tosca 1961
Hello all!
My aunt, who is as yet not computer-literate, is trying to remember who she
saw as Mario in Tosca when she went to the Met for her wedding anniversary in
1961. The anniversay is Nov. 3, so I'm guessing she went sometime around Oct-
Nov. Grace Bumbry was Tosca and she swears James Levine was there, too.
Could anyone here could give us this info, or at least suggest where we can
find it?
Thanks in advance,
--Regi
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 07:31:53 +0100
From: Petra Leonards <leonards (at) UNI-FREIBURG(dot)DE>
Subject: Monteverdi: L'Orfeo
Petra Leonards, 203-3302 <leonards (at) ruf(dot)uni-freiburg(dot)de>
Hallo, dears listers interested in Early Music: the curved series of dots
indicates, that there is no slur in the source; editorial symbols have to
be explained in the preface. Of Monteverdis Orfeo exists a more modern and
carefully made edition of (my former teacher) Edward H. Tarr.
Greetings from Petra/Freiburg
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 21:35:26 -0900
From: Jay Michael Taylor <loge (at) GREATLAND(dot)NET>
Subject: Double Mimi
To all, hello . . .
Listening to La Faniculla this evening, I've decided to
ask a question concerning a Puccini curiosity:
Basically, why did Puccini use a character named "Mimi"
in two different operas (La Faniculla and La Boheme)?
Was he feeling redundant, was this his way of honoring
a personal friend, or was there some other reason?
Jay Michael Taylor
loge (at) greatland(dot)net
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 21:51:00 -0900
From: Jay Michael Taylor <loge (at) GREATLAND(dot)NET>
Subject: Double Mimi . . . Ooopsey!
To all, my apologies for asking such a ridiculous
question and so clearly elucidating my stupidity.
The Puccini "La Faniculla" character to whom I was
referring is Minnie, not Mimi (thanks, Pinkser).
Jay,
(who almost never reads the opera libretto . . .
or the backs of his CD jewel cases for that
matter).
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 01:09:30 -0600
From: "Harris S. Saunders, Jr." <hssaund (at) UIC(dot)EDU>
Subject: Meistersinger in Chicago, or Box Lunches, Anyone? (long)
I attended the Chicago Lyric Opera's production of
_Die Meistersinger_ last night, Wednesday 10 March 1999.
The performance began at 6:00 p.m., I was outside the
opera house at 12:05 a.m. My experience was not the
same as Bill Fregosi, for whom "[t]he long evening just sailed by."
This is the first time I have seen _Die Meistersinger_ in
the opera house. During the first two acts, the words of
the Tanzmeister in _Ariadne auf Naxos_ came to mind
again and again: "Die Oper enthaelt Laengen--gefaehrliche
Laengen." During the second intermission, I said to
some colleagues that if this were my first opera I'm not
certain I would ever return. After Act III, I felt I had had
my transcendent experience (which is what I expect from
a Wagner opera).
Let's begin with the visual aspect, for which words fail me.
The production is from La Monnaie, Brussels (Margo, have you seen
this?) and the sets and costume designs are attributed to
Andreas Reinhardt, a name that will live in infamy.
These are the worst opera sets I have ever seen
(and I've seen the LA Opera's _Lucia_). I realize astroturf
has great utility in sports arenas, but it is an abomination in opera
houses. The stage is covered with astroturf from the back to the lip
of the slightly raked stage (the astroturf even covers the prompter's
box!). As Bill has mentioned, a scrim with a reproduction of a
deposition of Christ creates a shallow setting for Act I. It drapes down
onto the
astroturf, with the result that characters walk on Christ, Mary and John!!!!
I'm not religiously punctilious; this stikes me as more than insensitive.
As Bill has mentioned, the Meistersinger sit about 15 feet above
the stage at the top of this scrim. As usual, such precarious
situations engender some tension (in this audience member at
least). Is someone going to fall? Will the singers be able to move about
gracefully? No. Will they have an acoustic shell from which
they can project their voices? No.
As mentioned, the second has a very open square in Nuremberg
dominated by a huge statue, whose details I could not discern
from my seat high up in the balcony. The design thus
contravened the sense of the rather cramped spaces of medieval towns,
that Wagner's set directions convey. Also, there was no distinction
in degree of grandeur between Sachs's house and Pogner's house.
>From my seat, which is to the side, they seemed matched.
In the course of the "riot" (about which I will say more below),
some costumed creatures arise from a trap door in the
astroturf to contribute [almost negligibly] to the mild pandemonium;
people also appear on the statue, though I did not
observe how they got there.
The opening set for Act III represents the nadir. It is a shallow
set, with a wall represented by what looks like canvas.
(How else can I say it? This set looks cheap.) The floor of
this room in Sachs's home (not really his workshop) is also
astroturf, of course! There's an armchair
for Sachs to the left (from the point of view of the audience);
a high desk to the right and some wooden thingamajigs against
the back wall to the right. To the left in the canvas is a cutout
scrim the size of a door; it looked to me like a faux-representation of a
cabinet
(at one point Eva seems to appear behind this). The door by which
people enter the house is to the right; the door from which
Walter emerges after his dream, to the left.
The Johannisfest set, of course, has the astroturf at its most expansive,
in this instance unnecessarily interrupted by a rivulet down which a boat
flows
at one point and over which can be placed wooden planks, though,
in fact, the chorus members feel free to walk in the "water." Folding
chairs are set up in a semicircle for the Meistersinger.
Well that's about it for the sets. On to the costumes:
Several listers have stated that this productions is set in Wagner's
time. If this is so, it's the costumes that do this, though
I don't really think these are accurate representations of
mid 19th-century dress.
Well that's about it for the costumes. On to the stage direction:
Given the constraints of the stage, the singers moved and
acted convincingly. The riot in Act II, which--I should imagine--
represents a challenge for a stage director to which he would want
to rise, hardly registered. Citizens simply emerge from everywhere
in their nightclothes; some fight each other, though not particularly
violently
(providing little real basis for Sachs's feeling that the chaos of
the night was motivated by Wahn).
The conducting: Christian Thielemann, in general, was fine.
I think he might consider waiting a second for the [highly
appreciative] audience to settle down before he launches into
preludes. His haste to get underway spoiled the beginnings
of the preludes to Acts I and III.
The singing: This is my first full opera season in Chicago,
and, in general, I have been impressed by the healthy size
of the voices this season. This cast constitutes
an exception.
Three singers stood out: Michael Schade (David),
Rene' Pape (Pogner), and, most of all, Eike Wilm Schulte
(Beckmesser) came across really well.
Jan-Hendrik Rootering (Sachs) was
difficult to hear during most of the thickly orchestrated
passages, but he husbanded his strength well and sang an
impressive Act III. Goesta Winbergh (Walther) did
not strike me as having a particularly resonant voice.
Nancy Gustafson (Eva) was sometimes inaudible.
She could not sing loudly well; she simply did not have
the power to convey "Sachs, mein Freund."
She sang "Selig wie die Sonne" (which is soft)
well. She has no trill.
Unless this was an off day, I do not think this
repertoire is suited to her, even in a smaller house.
Robynne Redmon (Magdalene) was fine, _much_
better than as Laura in _Gioconda_ earlier this season.
However unenthusiastic my evaluation of the singers
may seem, for the most part I was impressed by their
stamina and their wise refusal to push their voices.
I was disappointed when Winbergh, who had been singing
legato, decided to punch each note of the Preislied.
As I said above, Act III did succeed in providing a
transcendent experience, in large part due to
ideas behind the staging of the Song Contest and its
aftermath. Beckmesser throughout was presented as a
decent person, somewhat rule-oriented, to be sure,
but almost likeable, and not a creature to be scorned.
His singing of the song is actually engaging until he
comes to the words "garstig und fein," which he suddenly
singing very emphatically. Even after this, his
singing does not become a complete disaster until
the end. When he rushes off he does not "lose himself
in the crowd" as Wagner directs. He goes off to the right
a ways away from the semicircle of the Meistersinger;
someone brings him a stool to sit on. If I remember
correctly, over the course of what follows, some Meistersinger
including Sachs gesture for him to return to the circle, but he
refuses. Keeping Beckmesser on stage creates a
degree of tension: what is going to happen?
Walter enters led by a little girl who then moves over to the left.
When Walter sings his song, triumphs, and rejects membership
in the Meistersinger, "Nicht Meister, nein . . . " among the
reactions is Beckmesser going over to Sachs and waving his hands as if
he is aghast that Walther should do this (in other words,
obviously Walther should accept membership). He then
goes back to his corner.
Sachs does his "Verachtet mir die Meister nicht" spiel,
and after Walther accepts the chain, in the course of
the general enthusiasm, the little girl crosses the
stage and goes to Beckmesser. This is so unexpected!
The little girl takes Beckmesser's hand and brings him
over to Sachs. I found this act incredibly touching.
The timing also contributes to this. Beckmesser and Sachs
finally shake hands as the closing C-major chords
blaze forth in the orchestra, a narrative use of pantomime
worthy of the Meister himself. For this gesture alone,
I would see this production again.
I am not one for directors departing from the clear intentions
of the composer (and Wagner clearly has Beckmesser offstage at this point),
but this staging works for me on a purely emotional level; I also believe
it can be defended intellectually, but the emotional impact is what makes
this experience worthwhile.
Two notes on supertitles:
1. The supertitles do not include a
translation of the words "Wach auf," which would no
doubt have occasioned great laughter on the part of the audience
considering the point at which it occurs.
2. The phrase "zerging in Dunst das heil'ge roem'sche Reich"
was translated as something like "should the whole world dissolve, etc.,"
in other words, there was no mention of "the Holy Roman Empire,"
which might indeed have been confusing to an audience that
(in my section, at least) was already visibly concerned about
the references to "German" and "Germany."
Box lunches:
If anyone has commented upon this practice I missed the posting.
At the entrance to the opera house, there are people hawking box lunches,
which you can reserve for the first intermission. (Can one eat
lunch at 7:30 p.m.?) People sit on the floor and on the stairs
throughout the opera house eating their box lunches. At first this
struck me a quaintly relaxed, but it can easily lead to abuses. Some
audience members then take their unfinished lunches into the auditorium
with them for Acts II and III.
Instead of unwrapping a cough drop, a woman in front of me uncapped
a container of coleslaw! A couple of people took swigs of bottled water.
I say, "Down with box lunches."
Yours,
--Harris Saunders
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 02:12:03 EST
From: Helen Kamioner <Cconarts (at) AOL(dot)COM>
Subject: Fwd: Long Distance Charges for Internet Access
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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In a message dated 3/12/99 0:06:29 AM EST, georgemott (at) erols(dot)com writes:
<<
CNN reported that in the next two weeks, Congress is going to vote
on allowing telephone companies to charge for Internet access. That
means every time we make a long distance e-mail we will receive a long
distance
charge. This will get costly. Please visit the following web site AND
complain. Complain to your Congressman. Don't allow this to pass.
<A HREF="http://www.house.gov/writerep";>http://www.house.gov/writerep</A>
Pass this on to your friends. It is urgent!
PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW TODAY
BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!
>>
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Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 23:39:09 -0500
To: cobakapup (at) aol(dot)com, "DJPB (at) aol(dot)com" <DJPB (at)
aol(dot)com>, bushler (at) erols(dot)com,
"Fluffydeev (at) aol(dot)com" <Fluffydeev (at) aol(dot)com>,
"Cconarts (at) aol(dot)com" <Cconarts (at) aol(dot)com>,
"MARKLAMOS (at) aol(dot)com" <MARKLAMOS (at) aol(dot)com>,
"alieberm (at) erols(dot)com" <alieberm (at) erols(dot)com>,
"BMalensek (at) aol(dot)com" <BMalensek (at) aol(dot)com>,
James Mott <jjmott (at) us(dot)ibm(dot)com>,
Nicholas Kepros <NKepros (at) compuserve(dot)com>,
"Rrallo (at) aol(dot)com" <Rrallo (at) aol(dot)com>, Bob Stern <stern
(at) pentagram(dot)com>,
Jan Stuart <janstuart (at) erols(dot)com>
From: georgemott <georgemott (at) erols(dot)com>
Subject: Long Distance Charges for Internet Access
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
<html><BR>
CNN reported that in the next two weeks, Congress is going to vote <br><BR>
on allowing telephone companies to charge for Internet access. That <BR>
<br><BR>
means every time we make a long distance e-mail we will receive a long<BR>
<br><BR>
distance <br><BR>
charge. This will get costly. Please visit the following web site AND<BR>
<br><BR>
complain. Complain to your Congressman. Don't allow this to pass. <br><BR>
<font color="#0000FF"><u><a href="http://www.house.gov/writerep";
eudora="autourl">http://www.house.gov/writerep</a></font></u><font
color="#000000"><BR>
<br><BR>
Pass this on to your friends. It is urgent! <br><BR>
PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW TODAY <br><BR>
BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!<br><BR>
</font><BR>
<BR><BR>
<div>George Mott</div><BR>
NYC <BR>
</html><BR>
--part0_921222724_boundary--
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 23:24:25 -0800
From: Birgit Johansen <johansen (at) UNISERVE(dot)COM>
Subject: Nielsen
Please, note that Carl Nielsen is a Nielsen (not Nielson which is Swedish.
Nielsen is Danish) and his opera is called "Maskerade" not Maskarade.
Apart from this I would like to know if it will be available in Canada as
well or on MusicBoulevard. Anybody know???
Birgit Kierulf Johansen (not Johanson!!!) in Ladysmith,
Vancouver Island
Canada
At 00:56 11-03-99 EST, LTopper314 (at) AOL(dot)COM wrote:
>I am interested in finding out if the following two recordings are going to
be
>available in the United States:
>
>1. Nielson: Maskarade on Decca
>
>2. Hass: The Charlatan on Decca the "entartete" series.
>
>Also, is the sound on the Myto Adriana Le Couvruer with Caballe and Carreras
>better than on the earlier incarnation on Legato Classics?
>
>Is the Adriana Le Couvreur on Opera d'Oro the same performance as released
>earlier on Gala?
>
>Lastly, is the Karajan Die Frau ohne Schatten on DG much better in sound than
>on the earlier Arkadia release?
>
>Please advise.
>
>Lindsey
>
>
johansen (at) uniserve(dot)com
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 01:21:05 -0600
From: Jeff Smithpeters <jeffsm (at) BELLSOUTH(dot)NET>
Subject: Re: Fwd: Long Distance Charges for Internet Access
I thought this was already quelched, that the FCC head himself actually
quelched it on their website. I notice georgemott provides no date or
web page for his supposed CNN report. I keep CNN on constantly, myself
and their webpage is the first one I see when I dial up netscape. I've
not seen any such report.
Helen Kamioner wrote:
>
> In a message dated 3/12/99 0:06:29 AM EST, georgemott (at) erols(dot)com
> writes:
>
> <<
> CNN reported that in the next two weeks, Congress is going to vote
> on allowing telephone companies to charge for Internet access. That
> means every time we make a long distance e-mail we will receive a long
> distance
> charge. This will get costly. Please visit the following web site AND
> complain. Complain to your Congressman. Don't allow this to pass.
> <A HREF="http://www.house.gov/writerep";>http://www.house.gov/writerep</A>
> Pass this on to your friends. It is urgent!
> PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW TODAY
> BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!
> >>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subject: Long Distance Charges for Internet Access
> Date: Thu, 11 Mar 1999 23:39:09 -0500
> From: georgemott <georgemott (at) erols(dot)com>
> To: cobakapup (at) aol(dot)com, "DJPB (at) aol(dot)com" <DJPB (at)
> aol(dot)com>, bushler (at) erols(dot)com,
> "Fluffydeev (at) aol(dot)com" <Fluffydeev (at) aol(dot)com>,
> "Cconarts (at) aol(dot)com" <Cconarts (at) aol(dot)com>,
> "MARKLAMOS (at) aol(dot)com" <MARKLAMOS (at) aol(dot)com>,
> "alieberm (at) erols(dot)com" <alieberm (at) erols(dot)com>,
> "BMalensek (at) aol(dot)com" <BMalensek (at) aol(dot)com>,
> James Mott <jjmott (at) us(dot)ibm(dot)com>,
> Nicholas Kepros <NKepros (at) compuserve(dot)com>,
> "Rrallo (at) aol(dot)com" <Rrallo (at) aol(dot)com>, Bob Stern <stern
> (at) pentagram(dot)com>,
> Jan Stuart <janstuart (at) erols(dot)com>
>
> <html><BR>
> CNN reported that in the next two weeks, Congress is going to vote <br><BR>
> on allowing telephone companies to charge for Internet access. That <BR>
> <br><BR>
> means every time we make a long distance e-mail we will receive a long<BR>
> <br><BR>
> distance <br><BR>
> charge. This will get costly. Please visit the following web site AND<BR>
> <br><BR>
> complain. Complain to your Congressman. Don't allow this to pass. <br><BR>
> <font color="#0000FF"><u><a href="http://www.house.gov/writerep";
> eudora="autourl">http://www.house.gov/writerep</a></font></u><font
> color="#000000"><BR>
> <br><BR>
> Pass this on to your friends. It is urgent! <br><BR>
> PLEASE FORWARD TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW TODAY <br><BR>
> BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!<br><BR>
> </font><BR>
> <BR><BR>
> <div>George Mott</div><BR>
> NYC <BR>
> </html><BR>
--
?In my next life I?m gonna come back as an official and straighten
that
mess out!?
--longtime Phoenix Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons complaining
to a
referee in the film The Hidden NBA
------------------------------
End of OPERA-L Digest - 11 Mar 1999 to 12 Mar 1999 - Special issue (#1999-406)
******************************************************************************
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