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| Author |
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| 25 new of 221 responses total. |
rcurl
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response 100 of 221:
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Sep 17 15:33 UTC 1998 |
I agree that is usually the case. But I am sure there are works in which
the piano is 'equal' to the instruments it is playing with, and is not
just "accompaniment". I can't name one at the moment, but I do doubt that
there are any with voice, though I don't know why there can't be.
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gracel
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response 101 of 221:
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Sep 17 15:43 UTC 1998 |
We have the sheet music, with title in Italian and German but not English.
"Duetto Buffo di Due Gatti (Buffo-Duett Zweier Katzen) per due voci e
pianoforte" with parts for "Primo Gatto" and "Secondo Gatto". The words
are all "Miau" except where they're "miau-au-au-au".
FWIW, when we saw it done the performers were both sopranos; the second cat
part goes down to the A below middle C, so I might have some trouble with it
myself.
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coyote
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response 102 of 221:
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Sep 19 17:55 UTC 1998 |
Re 100:
There are many, many pieces like that. Piano trios aren't called piano
trios because the piano plays the accompaniment. What oftentimes happens in
trios (at least the ones I've followed, which are all for violin, cello, and
piano) is that there are sections where the piano accompanies the violin
and/or cello playing a melody and there are sections where the violin and/or
cello accompanies the piano playing the melody, and there are also some
sections where there's a unison melody or perhaps even counterpoint.
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faile
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response 103 of 221:
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Oct 26 05:56 UTC 1998 |
random note on my part... really great English operas are those of
Purcell... they're kind of neat.
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krj
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response 104 of 221:
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Oct 29 19:43 UTC 1998 |
I'm trying to remember if DIDO & AENEAS is a Purcell opera; we saw that
in London, at the Royal Albert Hall, of all places; an odd opera
venue, especially since we ended up seated behind the orchestra.
-----
I am way behind on my casual reviews. It was about a month ago that
we saw Opera Lenawee's double bill of PAGLIACCI and GIANNI SCHICCI.
PAGLIACCI I found somewhat disappointing, both in the score
and the acting; the villain who motivates the killings was particularly
wooden. GIANNI SCHICCI, in contrast, was a delight, a reminder of why
Puccini stood so far above his contemporaries.
The singer acting Gianni Schicci had a great sense of comic timing.
The big aria from this opera is sung by Schicci's daughter, who
otherwise spends almost all her time being shoved offstage.
-----
Upcoming opera in Ann Arbor: UM School of Music presents
Verdi's LA TRAVIATA, at Power Center, November 12-15 1998.
http://www.music.umich.edu but the web page won't tell you
much more detail than I have just given you.
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mcnally
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response 105 of 221:
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Oct 30 03:54 UTC 1998 |
Opera Grand Rapids is doing Verdi's "A Masked Ball" this weekend.
I don't really have time to go, but I've already got tickets, so
I suppose I will..
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faile
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response 106 of 221:
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Oct 31 18:07 UTC 1998 |
"Dido and Aneas" (or however you spell it.) is Purcell.
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mcnally
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response 107 of 221:
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Nov 1 06:49 UTC 1998 |
#104's spelling of "Aeneas" is correct.
Opera Grand Rapids' production of "A Masked Ball" was OK but not
thrilling which was, I think, partly this production and partly
the opera itself. I found the music surprisingly forgettable
compared to other Verdi opera.
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krj
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response 108 of 221:
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Nov 14 04:32 UTC 1998 |
I still need to write something about MOT's TURANDOT, but we'll
skip ahead to tonight's LA TRAVIATA, from the UM School of Music.
The show runs through Sunday. I enjoyed the Violetta in our cast,
Jennifer Larsen, quite a bit. There was an interesting dance
piece during the overture, which explains that rather incomprehensible
drawing on the advertising poster for this production.
We had front row seats, just a few feet away from the violins, so
the orchestral sound was almost like wearing headphones, and we could
glance over at the conductor any time we wanted. I gather that most people
don't like such close seats, but we do -- they were available for us
to buy on Thursday.
Overall, an enjoyable evening.
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krj
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response 109 of 221:
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Jan 29 04:05 UTC 1999 |
Two student opera productions are listed in the February "Observer."
Benjamin Britten's THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA, a chamber opera, performed
at UM School of Music McIntosh Theatre, Thursday Feb 4 & Saturday Feb 6.
This is probably going to be a laboratory-style production
with minimal costuming and sets, is my guess.
Rossini, THE ITALIAN GIRL IN ALGIERS. EMU's Pease Auditorium,
Friday Feb 5 & Saturday Feb 6. I've never seen an EMU production.
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krj
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response 110 of 221:
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Feb 26 17:01 UTC 1999 |
Last Sunday Leslie and I saw a touring production of Verdi's OTELLO.
The company was billed as the Italian National Opera, but it was just
a patched-together roadshow. The orchestra was from Hungary, and
one of the singers was a Michigan native.
This was the sloppiest opera production I had seen in some time.
The singer who performed Otello seemed to be having some problems
with his high notes, and overall his tone had this warble to it which
reminded me of opera singers on old 78 rpm records. Leslie said it
may have been deliberate use of an older, out-of-fashion style of
singing. Leslie said the Desdemona was really annoying, because if she
hit the right note it was just a lucky accident. The orchestra and
chorus were good musically, but the chorus staging was awful
-- they didn't act or move, they just stood there and sung.
The only really good performer on stage was the Iago.
He had a fine baritone and a commanding stage
presence. Even though Iago is the bad guy, we were rooting for him.
But still, I had a wonderful time. I had never seen Verdi's OTELLO
before. It's a remarkably sturdy show, and even after taking all the
abuse Sunday's production heaped upon it, the opera acquitted itself
well. Verdi turned to Shakespeare at the end of his life;
after AIDA, he took 15 years off, then wrote his setting of OTHELLO.
And after about another decade (?) he wrote his final opera FALSTAFF,
based on THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR.
I place the end of Verdi's career in a magical, brief period for
Italian opera. Wagner's ideas for a fully integrated music-drama
had spread to Italy; composers such as Verdi, and Puccini to come,
were getting past the model of opera as hit song/recit/hit song.
So Wagner's ideas crossed with the glorious singing tradition of Italy:
still a few years in the future were the 20th century's impact on
popular classical music, and the collapse of the financial world
of Italian opera.
OTELLO flows in a way that I just love, rather
than stopping all the time for audience applause. In the last act,
Desdemona sings a prayer to the Virgin Mary; she knows that things
have gone very bad in her relationship with. Sello, and the aira
is full of foreboding. It comes to a quiet end -- and the MSU audience
did not clap. Whew! It was an emotional, impressive moment.
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arabella
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response 111 of 221:
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Feb 27 07:10 UTC 1999 |
Actually, I didn't say that the tenor was deliberately using an old
fashioned style of singing, but rather that he *sounded* old fashioned.
I believe that he has a faulty technique, with his larynx way high,
which accounts for both his tremolo (goaty warble) and for all the
cracking on high notes.
And with the soprano, it's not that she didn't know what notes to sing,
but rather that she sang so terribly off pitch that the occasional on-pitch
note seemed like an accident.
It really was a terrible production. I'll have to ask in the classical
singer forum what people have heard about this organization. But
I agree with Ken that the story and music are great, and it was worth
enduring two terrible singers to see my first Otello.
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mcnally
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response 112 of 221:
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Feb 27 20:37 UTC 1999 |
Thursday I saw U of M's Comic Opera Guild's production of "Kismet"
at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater.. While I can't recommend the
production enthusiastically I had a decent time -- I've always enjoyed
the music from Kismet and I thought several of the cast members were
pretty good, especially the lead (the poet/rhyme merchant..) It plays
over the weekend (i.e. until 2/28/99) if anyone's interested in
catching it.
Tonight I'm going to go see Opera Grand Rapids' production of "Tales of
Hoffman", about which I know very little..
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krj
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response 113 of 221:
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Mar 18 19:40 UTC 1999 |
Mike, I hope you'll get back to us with a review of "Tales of Hoffman."
Spring student opera productions:
Michigan State's production of Verdi's LA TRAVIATA opens tonight.
School of Music Auditorium in East Lansing.
University of Michigan's production of Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE
runs Thursday 3/25 through Sunday 3/28. This is going to be sung
in the English Translation by Andrew Porter, according to the
postcard we got.
We're seeing the TRAVIATA tonight. UM's FLUTE is almost certainly
going to get squeezed off our schedule, as Leslie is busy with
a recital and a choral performance that week.
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mcnally
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response 114 of 221:
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Mar 18 22:19 UTC 1999 |
"Tales of Hoffman" was surprisingly good. The plot ties together
three of Hoffman's short stories in a framework of lost love and
the poet's relationship with his muse. The music was enjoyable and
the performace itself was quite good, especially the vocal talent
which was a step above the quality of last several Grand Rapids
productions I've seen (particularly the female lead -- Kathy something..
Baker? I'll have to check the program)
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krj
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response 115 of 221:
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Mar 19 20:37 UTC 1999 |
No time to write a real review now, but Michigan State's production
of LA TRAVIATA came off quite well. It is in the Auditorium -- the old
monster Auditorium, not the Music Building Auditorium as I had written
in resp:113. The show plays again Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
Time & location details at www.music.msu.edu, on the "music events"
link. You can feel safe driving to East Lansing without tickets: there
are literally thousands of unused seats. But surprisingly the show
holds together in the big old barn.
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krj
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response 116 of 221:
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Mar 22 21:32 UTC 1999 |
resp: 113 :: The Sunday newspaper ad from the U.Michigan School of Music
reports that their production of MAGIC FLUTE is sold out. They will
be selling tickets to a dress rehearsal, which I believe will be Tuesday.
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mcnally
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response 117 of 221:
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Mar 23 17:38 UTC 1999 |
Hmmm.. Can't figure that one out -- I didn't like "The Magic Flute"
much at all, in fact it's probably my least favorite of the ones that
I've seen performed (though Opera Grand Rapids don't stick their necks
out and risk an unpopular or obscure work very often..)
Anyway, as far as "The Magic Flute" is concerned I didn't care for much
of the music and I got a bit tired of all of the masonic symbolism.
I've always thought it was a particularly weird choice to be picked as
an introductory opera for kids, which is how it sometimes seems to be
promoted.
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krj
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response 118 of 221:
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Apr 29 19:26 UTC 1999 |
Spring professional season:
I just caught the tail end of an ad for Mozart's MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
at the Toledo Opera. It's probably this weekend.
This is the final weekend for Michigan Opera Theatre's production of
MADAMA BUTTERFLY by Puccini. Next up, in late May, is EUGENE ONEGIN.
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mcnally
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response 119 of 221:
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Apr 29 21:02 UTC 1999 |
Hmmm.. That sounds interesting..
The weekend after next is Opera Grand Rapids' spring production
("La Boheme" again..)
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krj
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response 120 of 221:
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Apr 29 21:47 UTC 1999 |
OK, I looked it up.
http://www.toledo-opera.com
MARRIAGE OF FIGARO runs on May 6 and May 8.
Toledo is plugging their new theatre; next year they are moving into
the restored Valentin Theatre, which seats only 900, down from the 2400
capacity of their current house. They are planning an Opera Gala 2000
for February, 2000, with Marilyn Horne, at the Toledo Museum of Art
"Peristyle;" anyone ever been in that facility?
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krj
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response 121 of 221:
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Jun 28 19:43 UTC 1999 |
I've been neglecting this item: I still need to get in brief mentions
for THE CONSUL and EUGENE ONEGIN.
But I did want to mention that I have seen ads for opera DVDs.
The Metropolitan Opera Guild has released three of them. If my
feeble memory is accurate, it's two TV broadcasts from the 1980s,
and a more recent gala concert.
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krj
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response 122 of 221:
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Aug 6 08:21 UTC 1999 |
I'm still behind, sigh.
Adrian's Opera Lenawee company is doing Mozart's COSI FAN TUTTE this
fall. UM School of Music is doing SUSANNAH, an American opera from the
1950s which is having quite a bit of a revival now. I don't have the dates
in front of me, but none of you use this item as your opera schedule
guide anyway.
And the Michigan Opera Theatre really needs to get its web page updated
for the current season.
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krj
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response 123 of 221:
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Oct 21 17:14 UTC 1999 |
Leslie and I travelled to Chicago to see Lyric Opera's second performance
of William Bolcom's new opera A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, based on the play
by Arthur Miller. The opera was very well done, with an old-fashioned
plot and melodies, and a couple of good arias -- in contrast to, say,
an arbitrary Philip Glass piece. It was quite the crowd pleaser, a rarity
for a modern work in my experience.
The story is set in Brooklyn in the 1950s, in a community of first-generation
Americans of Italian descent, and one family's collision with its
illegal immigrant cousins. Catherine Malfitano was the only cast member
I'd heard of before -- she sang Aunt Beatrice, with a remarkably clear
tone.
We have four operas on our calendar this fall, none of which we've
seen before -- that's unusual. Coming up next are Massenet's
WERTHER at Michigan Opera Theatre, with the blind tenor Andrea Boccelli
in his first stage role; then it's back to Chicago Lyric Opera for
Handel's ALCINA. UM School of Music's SUSANNAH makes the fourth.
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mcnally
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response 124 of 221:
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Oct 21 23:33 UTC 1999 |
I'll be seeing Opera Grand Rapids' production of "Turandot" in early
November. I'll post with a review if reminded..
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