The Music That Makes You Think: Opera, Baroque, Classical etc!

[Jipijapa]

How about a catch-all topic for opera and/or classical and/or classical-ish singers?  (Yes, Andrea Bocelli is allowed)

 

I recently, for the hell of it, got a subscription to the Met's online archive, which you can play on an iPad also, which means you can port it via Airplay to your TV, which (along with English subtitles) makes opera worth watching.   Since I generally waste two to three hours each Sunday morning sitting around in my pajamas NOT getting started on my busy day, I figured, why not fill those hours with some kulcha?  So, I've started spending my Sunday mornings watching opera.

 

The 1980s Franco Zeffirelli production of Turandot was a smashing start.  Placido Domingo in his prime, and very complicated sets and costumes.  I highly recommend.  I was getting really into it, too, yelling back at the TV.  ("Bitch!  He answered the questions.  You HAVE to marry him!")

 

Anyone else watch this stuff? 

 

Also, Youtube is a glorious smorgasbord of random arias, singer vs. singer fanvids, and entire operas.  THIS is fucking awesome:

 

 

(Watch it to the end.  Really.)

Edited February 19, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Sandman87]

I recommend Classic Arts Showcase , which is available via internet, Dish Network, cable, or satellite dish. They're essentially a music video channel (much like MTV was in the Good Old Days) for opera, ballet, classical music, classic movies, modern art-house movies, plays, jazz, animation, etc. Basically anything classifiable as Art that can be shown in a reasonably short segment. It's a good place to see and hear a wide variety of things.

[Jipijapa]

Oh yeah!  I used to watch Classic Arts Showcase and then my local PBS station dropped it.  Didn't know you could watch it online now.  Thanks!

[Jipijapa]

This week's Sunday morning opera was Don Giovanni... The original "Breaking Bad" (Leporello was the original Jesse Pinkman) and surprisingly amusing/cute, until the end, of course. Jeez, did the Don really deserve to go to hell? I mean, he killed someone in a duel, it's not like he was a cold blooded killer.

Don Giovanni was played in this production by Samuel Ramey, who appeared in the aforementioned production of Mefistofele.  Epic singer.  Epic actor.  Epic hair.

 

Zerlina and Masetto, the country bumpkins, are adorbs. Mozart was so talented.

 

It's hard to stay put watching something for three hours or more... But, as Bollywood movies still show, that was how long people expected to be entertained before the 20th century.

 

Oh, and Don Giovanni was possibly the first opera to have "hit songs" on its soundtrack.  Meaning, when Don Giovanni sits down for his big catered banquet (for himself), he's hired musicians to play selections from other currently popular operas of the day.  So, a few minutes are devoted wholly to Don G sitting there and grooving to his favorite awesome tunes.  Love it.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Jipijapa]

For all you opera haters out there, this series of "Perle Nere" (black pearls, opera slang for Bad Moments) is very entertaining, if a bit cringe-inducing.  The videos helpfully explain what is going wrong and why.

 

 

(More here and here)

 

And do NOT miss Dragana

 

Edited February 26, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Jipijapa]

This week's Sunday morning opera (and vacuuming - I've added that as part of the weekly routine during Act III) was yet another 1980s Met production staged by Franco Zeffirelli... Tosca, starring Placido Domingo and Hildegard Behrens. Tosca is my least favorite Puccini opera (after Madama Butterfly) and I had three Met productions to choose from, but I figured I couldn't go wrong with Zeffirelli and this cast. 

 

Tosca the character is such an insecure basket case anyway right from the get go, that it's hard to understand why Mario would stay with her.  I did have some trouble getting into Act I and initially thought Behrens was miscast.  Don't mean to be sexist but while I have absolutely no problem with opera heroines being on the plump side or not beautiful, it gets harder to suspend disbelief when they are obviously in their forties or fifties.

 

Then this guy showed up.

 

 

Baron Scarpia.  FEEL the lecherous evil, people.  Feel it and fear it...

 

It's not a real criticism to say that Cornell MacNeil's performance is as gloriously two-dimensional as this screenshot would imply.  Nobody ever accused Scarpia of being psychologically complex... however, MacNeil also happened to be a pretty great baritone too (and an American, woot).  Anyhow, he rocks in this.  (And should, since he played this role since the time of Christ.)

 

And yeah, I came around to Behrens in Act II.  She did have a gorgeous voice and actually it occurred to me she was very believable playing someone with Tosca's insecurities, not being a fabulously beautiful young diva.  And her "Vissi d'arte" was a showstopper where she justly got a huge ovation.

 

 

Unfortunately the opera sort of dramatically slows down in Act 3 when (spoiler) Scarpia has been murdered and all that's left is for Tosca and Mario to talk it over (and die).  However, we do get this great "E lucevan le stelle" from Domingo.  I think the 80s was the peak of his voice and stardom.

 

 

It's a pity that as of 2015, Domingo has not gracefully gotten off the stage and is now trying to pass himself off as a baritone... which he is not.  (MacNeil and Behrens are both deceased now.)

[Sandman87]

Not that I have anything against Tosca, but I really. really wish that Classic Arts Showcase would dial it down a bit. They've been running segments from it a lot over the past month, and it's starting to wear thin. They seem to be stepping back from it a bit this week, so maybe I'm in luck. While they're at it they could stand to find some Gilbert & Sullivan other than The Mikado. A bit less La Triviata would also be welcome.

If anyone wants to see the less serious side of ballet, go to YouTube and look for clips featuring Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Funny stuff.

[Jipijapa]

Great recommendation!  I'm all about the funny stuff... 

 

Speaking of which, this week I decided to mix it up a bit.  Running the risk of becoming Puccini'd out too soon, and also I really need to not see Placido Domingo for a while.  And also, some opera produced in THIS century.  And also, something besides Italian.  So, today I decided to go for the Met's recent production of THE NOSE (Shostakovich) starring hunky Paulo Szot.  (Disclaimer:  a girl can dream, OK?) Best known for South Pacific, but also a Serious Opera Baritone.

 

Needless to say, The Nose is never making it to Opera's Top of the Pops... and honestly, the singing isn't really the point, which is good because there ain't no catchy tunes in this one.  It's absurdist!  There's a lot of shrieking!  (but in good voices, as far as I can tell)  There's artistic screen projections up the wazoo!  Seriously though, the production design, costumes, artwork, animation etc are truly mindboggling in this and I could recommend it on that alone, for the adventurous and stoned. 

 

It's about a guy (Szot) who loses his nose, which rampages all around the city by itself.

 

 

Understandably, Paulo is very upset about this situation.  Truly, he is a fine singer and really a terrific actor, because he actually manages to make an extended crying scene both heartrending and (intentionally) hilarious.

 

 

But that's not all this opera has to offer.  I like to use my Sunday morning opera sessions for coffee and croissants, to make it a real treat, and look!

 

 

Well -- in the end, after much sturm und drang (or whatever the Russian avant garde equivalent phrase) -- Paulo gets his nose back.  Now if my nose was missing for a week, and I got it back and it actually managed to stick, I know what I'd sniff in order to celebrate.

 

 

But seriously, I thought this was just going to be "Ho hum, experimental theatah" and Russians running around saying how weird it all is.  Well, there's a lot of that too, but some of this is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny stuff, and Paulo Szot is awesome.   And, as mentioned - the art direction is fucking incredible... a graphic designer's wet dream, which my screenshots unfortunately do not capture.  I didn't regret watching this at all.  (You can check out some scenes from it here on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=szot+the+nose

Edited March 8, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Jipijapa]

It's Sunday so that means... OPERA!  This week:  a three and a half hour Verdi political drama. 

 

(NOOOO!  Don't run away!)

 

Yes, I could have went for the obvious Verdi such as La Traviata or Il Trovatore etc, but I decided to go for Don Carlo.  This opera is actually not THAT long by long opera standards, but it is five acts long (and, some versions have a ballet attached).  You can choose several different versions, in French or Italian.  I prefer opera in Italian.  What I like about this opera is not the love plot (it's extremely tortured) but all the shifting political intrigue.  It's sort of the Hamlet of 19th century opera -- you have a mentally unbalanced prince with daddy issues, and mommy issues (well, sort of), a ghost who may or may not be real, etc.

 

The plot, in a nutshell: Hunky young Prince Carlo of Spain thinks he's getting married to beautiful Elizabeth of France to cement the peace between France and Spain... but at the last minute, Carlo's dad, King Phillip, decides to marry Elizabeth himself.  Angst ensues.  Meanwhile, Carlo's best friend, Rodrigo de Posa, is all about saving Flanders from King Phillip's brutal reign.  Looming over all is the Grand Inquisitor (of Spanish inquisition fame) who everyone is afraid of, even the King.  There are backstabbings, secret love letters, a masked misunderstanding (of course, because this is opera), people being burned at the stake, assassination by blunderbuss, revolution... a lot happens in 3 hours.

 

I have to confess that I probably wouldn't have chosen this particular production (again dating from the 1980's) if it didn't feature one of my opera crushes, the underappreciated baritone Giorgio Zancanaro, who was an ordinary-looking former Italian traffic cop with an extraordinary voice.  He plays Rodrigo, who is probably one of the most impossibly too-good-to-be-true men in all of opera.  If Rodrigo was any more noble, his teeth would sparkle.  Spoiler:

 

 

(Translation: This is for me the supreme day,
let us say a solemn farewell;
God permits us still to love one another
near him, when we are in heaven.
In your tear-filled eyes
why this mute terror?
Why are you sad? Death has charms,
o my Carlos, for him who dies for you!)

 

What a guy!

 

This production (available in full on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ac2j2ofUNM, without English subtitles unfortunately) also has the opposite problem of the "leading lady is too old" issue.... the "old guy is too young" issue.  The bass playing old King Phillip, Robert Lloyd, is actually quite a young guy under tons of makeup.

 

If you ever want to go the whole hog and watch a long, very traditional Italian opera about intense court intrigue, I recommend this one highly.

Edited March 15, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Jipijapa]

Today's opera was Aida.  I don't like this opera, in fact I don't like Ancient Egyptiany things in general, it's not a historical time period that holds much romance for me.  So, this review will be brief.

 

I watched this old production from the Met archive for one reason only - the farewell performance of the great Leontyne Price.  Truly one of the greatest voices of the century.  She was 58 and this is one of the most demanding roles in opera and she was just... OMG.

 

 

She got a 25-minute ovation for her curtain call after this - never mind the huge ovation she got after finishing this aria.  At the end of the night, her tenor co-star, who shared their final dying duet, was in tears and it was very moving.  {sniffle}  THIS.  IS.  OPERA.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Sandman87]

A couple of noteworthy things that were on Classic Arts Showcase tonight. Worth looking up on YouTube:

- A segment from a very strange film version of Stravinsky's The Nightingale by Christian Chaudet. Live action mixed with CGI, probably involving hallucinogens somewhere along the way.
- A scene from an old production of The Mikado, featuring Groucho Marx as Ko-Ko. Lots of fun, what with Groucho being Groucho.

[27bored]

I saw Madame Butterfly once for a class. Fuck Pinkerton! How are you gonna cheat on your woman then come back with your side chick and ask to take the kid back home with you? That's some bullshit. I would've cut him before I stabbed myself.

[Sandman87]

Yeah, we took a class trip to go see Madame Butterfly back when I was in 5th grade. It was too long for kids that age, I didn't like the story, and our seats were too far away from the stage to see very well. My take-away was that opera sucks, and it took a long time for me to learn to like some of it.

[Jipijapa]

Subjecting 5th-graders to opera?  That's just cruel.  Even for Italian kids.

 

And Madama Butterfly?  I'm an adult and I can't stand that one.  Yes, Pinkerton is the biggest asshole in all of opera, I agree... and I cannot relate to bubbleheaded Cio-Cio San either, or Sharpless, the guy who knows everything that's been going on yet does nothing (I suppose his name should have been Gutless).

 

BTW, if you want to enjoy some free streaming opera, there is a new site called The Opera Platform (http://theoperaplatform.eu) that streams live shows from Europe (they're doing Gotterdammerung in early June) and also has them on demand.  The La Traviata that's available on demand now was pretty good, with an appropriately thin Violetta who does not die pretty.  (This one really coughs up blood and stuff)

Edited May 11, 2015 by Jipijapa

[Sandman87]

Watched a segment with a really impressive pianist today on CAS: Nobuyuki Tsujii. Been playing piano since he was two, composing since he was 12, plays hour-long Beethoven sonatas from memory. He's basically Mozart...if Mozart had also been blind from birth.

 

It's enough to make a person feel inadequate, y'know?

[Sandman87]

Ballet isn't usually my thing, but this clip of the Mariinsky Ballet (back when they were called the Kirov Ballet) performing The Fairy Doll is really cute. The dancers manage to give the impression that they're having a lot of fun.

[proserpina65]

On ‎03‎/‎15‎/‎2015 at 1:12 PM, Jipijapa said:

It's Sunday so that means... OPERA!  This week:  a three and a half hour Verdi political drama. 

 

(NOOOO!  Don't run away!)

 

Yes, I could have went for the obvious Verdi such as La Traviata or Il Trovatore etc, but I decided to go for Don Carlo.  This opera is actually not THAT long by long opera standards, but it is five acts long (and, some versions have a ballet attached).  You can choose several different versions, in French or Italian.  I prefer opera in Italian.  What I like about this opera is not the love plot (it's extremely tortured) but all the shifting political intrigue.  It's sort of the Hamlet of 19th century opera -- you have a mentally unbalanced prince with daddy issues, and mommy issues (well, sort of), a ghost who may or may not be real, etc.

 

The plot, in a nutshell: Hunky young Prince Carlo of Spain thinks he's getting married to beautiful Elizabeth of France to cement the peace between France and Spain... but at the last minute, Carlo's dad, King Phillip, decides to marry Elizabeth himself.  Angst ensues.  Meanwhile, Carlo's best friend, Rodrigo de Posa, is all about saving Flanders from King Phillip's brutal reign.  Looming over all is the Grand Inquisitor (of Spanish inquisition fame) who everyone is afraid of, even the King.  There are backstabbings, secret love letters, a masked misunderstanding (of course, because this is opera), people being burned at the stake, assassination by blunderbuss, revolution... a lot happens in 3 hours.

 

I have to confess that I probably wouldn't have chosen this particular production (again dating from the 1980's) if it didn't feature one of my opera crushes, the underappreciated baritone Giorgio Zancanaro, who was an ordinary-looking former Italian traffic cop with an extraordinary voice.  He plays Rodrigo, who is probably one of the most impossibly too-good-to-be-true men in all of opera.  If Rodrigo was any more noble, his teeth would sparkle.  Spoiler:

 

 

 

 

(Translation: This is for me the supreme day,
let us say a solemn farewell;
God permits us still to love one another
near him, when we are in heaven.
In your tear-filled eyes
why this mute terror?
Why are you sad? Death has charms,
o my Carlos, for him who dies for you!)

 

What a guy!

 

This production (available in full on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ac2j2ofUNM, without English subtitles unfortunately) also has the opposite problem of the "leading lady is too old" issue.... the "old guy is too young" issue.  The bass playing old King Phillip, Robert Lloyd, is actually quite a young guy under tons of makeup.

 

If you ever want to go the whole hog and watch a long, very traditional Italian opera about intense court intrigue, I recommend this one highly.

This was the first opera I ever saw in person, in Baltimore in 1991.  James Morris was glorious as Philip II, cementing the massive crush I had on him ever since I saw him as Wotan in a Met production of the Ring on tv.  (In fact, he's the reason my friend and I chose that particular opera as our first.)   He's also a genuinely nice person who appeared several times with the Baltimore Opera company even after becoming famous. 

[Myliekis]

Hi everybody can someone help me to get notes for piano and vocal Haendel, la Resurrezione, "Caddi e ver, ma nel cadere"?