tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post7215629297257084771..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Glyndebourne: autumn chatsDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-58865204305519174102011-10-28T14:02:26.694+01:002011-10-28T14:02:26.694+01:00Yes, I reckon the Handel revival has served the mu...Yes, I reckon the Handel revival has served the music colleges very well - no danger of destroying young voices, and they usually handle the agility pretty well. Most of this cast were young, too. Rinaldo could hardly have looked more schoolboyish (but then counter-tenors have a pretty short shelf-life, don't they, unless they survive by dint of sheer charisma, like James Bowman).Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-5559464914437500502011-10-28T13:56:38.157+01:002011-10-28T13:56:38.157+01:00Aw shucks, and I have nae chance of seeing GoT'...Aw shucks, and I have nae chance of seeing GoT's Rinaldo. <br />I fell in love with the opera when I saw the RSAMD production a few years ago - the great thing about RSAMD productions being that the cast are usually the same age as the characters they are portraying.<br />The production had lots of visual jokes, including 'the arrival of the weapons of mass destruction' in the form of the front end of a very American-looking aircraft. I'm smiling right now at the memory.Catrionanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-54987509841113723982011-10-27T15:11:51.795+01:002011-10-27T15:11:51.795+01:00There is - but since this one also dealt with the ...There is - but since this one also dealt with the drastic 1731 revision, all Rinaldo bases were helpfully covered.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-43704147533515116822011-10-27T15:09:47.989+01:002011-10-27T15:09:47.989+01:00I think that there is a second volume on the Hande...I think that there is a second volume on the Handel operas - 1726 to 1741 - by Winton Dean ( born 1916) aloneDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-18041939267014234492011-10-27T10:55:43.068+01:002011-10-27T10:55:43.068+01:00Much as I love Babs in certain things, I once made...Much as I love Babs in certain things, I once made the mistake of buying the diplo-mate for his birthday a really obvious double whammy of 'essential Barbra' and Judy at Carnegie Hall, and though I know they're chalk and cheese, this Divina did somewhat cast the semi-Stupenda in the shade.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-64909337922493538522011-10-27T01:37:36.293+01:002011-10-27T01:37:36.293+01:00I'm out of my depth here, but can at the least...I'm out of my depth here, but can at the least join in to say, it's always a good thing to cut "classical Barbra" short. (While it's true that I once made it a point to own every single LP of hers--and am even sorry (sometimes) that I gave them all away--I am glad I stopped listening before she started up with this sort of thing.)Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-37559731392867441232011-10-26T22:35:13.280+01:002011-10-26T22:35:13.280+01:00Quite right, Sir David, and I have to say that the...Quite right, Sir David, and I have to say that the Dean/Merrill Knapp 'Handel's Operas 1704-1726' you passed on some time ago came in hugely useful; it even has a table of exactly where every jot and tittle of Rinaldo - very little of it brand new - comes from. So mille grazie.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-64938292004745582122011-10-26T17:54:22.895+01:002011-10-26T17:54:22.895+01:00As regards the show being "very silly" o...As regards the show being "very silly" one might recall Voltaire's remarks that "What is too stupid to be said must be sung". And I would add that great works of art are about life and death and love and hope, and in opera not about the story which is often unrealistic and merely the skeleton on which the meaningful flesh of the work of art is hung. This argues against sur-titles, and certainly, if the singing is in English, this enables enough of the skeleton to be understood. <br /><br />The reference to the Ebert Room reminds us of what some call "Hitler's Gift" - those driven out by the Nazis ( plus those who left of their own will), the men and women who gave so much to this country and America. At Glyndebourne we gained Ebert and Fritz Busch, and (often overlooked) Otto Loeb who brought beautiful wines from the Mosel to Glyndebourne and to BritainDavid Damantnoreply@blogger.com