tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post453003504572391069..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Coming soon: two mythic giantsDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-76584382954694575262016-09-23T23:47:49.231+01:002016-09-23T23:47:49.231+01:00I wish you were here to be part of my fab class - ...I wish you were here to be part of my fab class - you'd love your fellow students, they're such an interesting group. I doubted if The Nose could sustain more than a couple of classes - Shostakovich always said that the music wouldn't work if detached from the staging and I think that's mostly true. Elgar's dark masterwork is for some reason the least known of his half-dozen greatest scores, J loves it; it has such a unique atmosphere. But some parallels, certainly, with Strauss's Don Quixote.<br /><br />Worth watching The King of Comedy alongside the groteque media circus of the current campaign - there are points of contact.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-13260916053407784712016-09-23T20:51:34.077+01:002016-09-23T20:51:34.077+01:00Such an interesting mix of operas coming up for yo...Such an interesting mix of operas coming up for your class. Would of course love to know what you have to say about The Nose. I've marked my calendar to listen to your Building a Library segment--Elgar's Falstaff is entirely unknown to me. On the ENO film references, I only dimly remember The King of Comedy and have no recollection at all of Sandra Bernhard appearing in it. Might be time to watch it again, if I am able to tear myself away from current events, that is.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-58513702227127325872016-09-22T13:16:27.836+01:002016-09-22T13:16:27.836+01:00Thanks, Andrew - what do you teach? Violin or appr...Thanks, Andrew - what do you teach? Violin or appreciation? I'd love to know.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-59470131632821133642016-09-22T13:13:42.462+01:002016-09-22T13:13:42.462+01:00Alas I have to teach my own classes on a Monday, b...Alas I have to teach my own classes on a Monday, but I'll be with you in spirit!Andrew Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13621999760260602982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-30317313200874959672016-09-19T18:00:09.391+01:002016-09-19T18:00:09.391+01:00Nothing strange about it to us - maybe it was just...Nothing strange about it to us - maybe it was just ahead of its time in its extreme compression, by operatic standards. Whereas I would say that Elgar's Falstaff IS strange, and there are things in it I can't quite explain by reference to the Henry IV and V plays. The element of autobiography, perhaps.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-36675535267568646002016-09-19T17:46:27.057+01:002016-09-19T17:46:27.057+01:00In her memoirs ( I have given my copy to Sue Bullo...In her memoirs ( I have given my copy to Sue Bullock) Melba refers to Falstaff as Verdi's "strange swan song ". David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-21510943629790424892016-09-19T13:24:02.231+01:002016-09-19T13:24:02.231+01:00Well, as we know, Boito grafted lines from the Hen...Well, as we know, Boito grafted lines from the Henry plays into Verdi's operatic Merry Wives (not always organically, as in the placing of the 'honour' speech in the musically marvellous monologue at the end of Scene One). And music enriches the plainer text, with Verdi taking the Windsor Forest moonshine seriously. The lovely thing about the sitcom original is its use of concrete, down-to-earth vocab which Boito matches with some flavoursome Italian archaisms.<br /><br />Elgar's work is much darker overall, and has a sound like no other orchestral masterpiece I know. I aimply couldn't choose between opera and symphonic poem, and fortunately I don't have to.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-23906012011940415652016-09-19T13:15:29.336+01:002016-09-19T13:15:29.336+01:00How far do the remarks about Falstaff also apply t...How far do the remarks about Falstaff also apply to the Verdi version?<br /><br /> Verdi defended his understanding of Shakespeare very energetically.David Damantnoreply@blogger.com