tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post2856625342831693951..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: Leonora at the FrontlineDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-5675958218460192232015-12-17T11:15:24.718+00:002015-12-17T11:15:24.718+00:00I'm tired of the 'success with Donna Anna&...I'm tired of the 'success with Donna Anna' line: in the last two productions I've seen, both poor, DG and DA emerge in a state of post-coital contentment totally at odds with the energy of the music. The 19th century over-idealised Anna; the 20th and 21st traduce her, on no evidence from Mozart or Tirso de Molina. It's a male construct that she was 'gagging for it', a deduction from the 'hysterical' way she behaves thereafter. The girl's been attacked and lost her father, after all. The only production I've seen which treats the first scene as it deserves has been by a woman, Deborah Warner, at Glyndebourne. The 'epilogue' is brilliantly done there, too, persuading a sceptical group of students that the action SHOULD go on beyond Giovanni's consignment to hell.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-72927259117516223052015-12-17T10:06:17.645+00:002015-12-17T10:06:17.645+00:00The real emotional feeling (as in the case of Donn...The real emotional feeling (as in the case of Donna Anna) is indeed ( as you seem to suggest David) in the music, not in the words. Indeed the plot is the skeleton - the flesh of the drama is in the music. One should listen to the music, and I am rather against sur titles, especially at the ENO when one can certainly get enough of the plot from the English words. Also, some argue that Don Giovanni succeeded in seducing/raping Donna Anna, on the grounds that after the events of that night he lost interest in her - the usual behaviour of a serial seducer.David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-59278293235034982852015-12-16T20:11:12.493+00:002015-12-16T20:11:12.493+00:00The conductor, Sebastian Weigle, should also take ...The conductor, Sebastian Weigle, should also take credit. That's quite some Strauss performance, and I hardly knew any of the singers. Another good 'un which I've just reviewed is an Arabella, also without big names, live from the Dutch National Opera - another terrific conductor there in Marc Albrecht.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-57929838618798420772015-12-16T19:33:10.061+00:002015-12-16T19:33:10.061+00:00That in Die Feen the meaning came through without ...That in Die Feen the meaning came through without recourse to a libretto, is quite a testament to her powers of expression.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-11101386728280308902015-12-16T19:24:55.322+00:002015-12-16T19:24:55.322+00:00That's why I wish I'd recorded it - someth...That's why I wish I'd recorded it - something memorable like 'you f**cking bastard, you tried to rape me and killed my dad, I'm going to get you by the balls'. Or some such. Psychological subtext, often. A literal translation will often not give the real emotional feeling behind the words. I just listened to her in Wagner's Die Feen, a chunk of Act 2, without a libretto, and it was so clear what her character and others meant and felt at any given moment. Remember I've only encountered this early work once, in concert, and real meaning, with fire from the orchestra, makes such a difference, covering up essential weaknesses.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-37726632998136965462015-12-16T16:13:19.004+00:002015-12-16T16:13:19.004+00:00David: This really fascinated me, too: "the w...David: This really fascinated me, too: "the way Tamara approaches text - most singers only 'do' a literal translation from the original, but she adds one in which what's really being meaningfully expressed can be scribbled on with all kinds of profanities, if helpful (viz Donna Anna's underlying fury in her reaction to her would-be rapist)." I'd love to hear more about that.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-30282085319917778892015-12-15T22:49:31.884+00:002015-12-15T22:49:31.884+00:00What sort of sexuality, though? Red and raspberry ...What sort of sexuality, though? Red and raspberry colours aren't a gay thing necessarily. <br /><br />Sorry this has all come down to trousers...Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-35546174138631460822015-12-15T20:44:31.814+00:002015-12-15T20:44:31.814+00:00In Lady Chatterley's Lover, the gamekeeper Mel...In Lady Chatterley's Lover, the gamekeeper Mellors regretted that men could not show their sexuality by wearing red trousers. But now they can !David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-84332859643533272012015-12-14T16:22:14.222+00:002015-12-14T16:22:14.222+00:00Hope my 'pants' weren't de trop...I re...Hope my 'pants' weren't de trop...I really treasure a pair of electric blue moleskins, now holey, which Cordings of Piccadily have not been supplying for years so I had to make do with cords in that colour instead. I never understood why Alexander McCall Smith was so relentlessly negative about raspberry coloured cords, deemed the height of mannered untrustworthiness in one of his Scotland Street characters. My first emancipation at university was to invest in a very cheap pair of blackberry cords. Oh, those days.<br /><br />Yes, that makes sense about singing atonally tonally, so to speak. I always envy performers who get the kind of chance to get under the skin of the music as most listeners never will. Still, it must remain expressive, which is why so many people love Lulu so much. I can sing you most of the tone rows, so clearly they've gone in. Anyway several tend to start diatonically.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-4417454864877938332015-12-14T16:14:49.000+00:002015-12-14T16:14:49.000+00:00Willym said exactly what I always think, too. Not ...Willym said exactly what I always think, too. Not to mention seeing you in your sartorial splendor there. (You remind me that I have a pair of pants in about that shade in my closet, but I've not been bold enough to wear them, and now they don't fit!)<br /><br />But, on to the substance. I know only the barest bit of what it takes to sing, and what a gift to get even a glimpse of the insights Ms. Wilson shared in your class. I'm reminded by this of attending the Met production of Lulu recently (which was mesmerizing from first note to last). I had the wonderful luck to be seated right behind Tony Arnold, a tremendously talented soprano of experimental music. I try not to act like a star-struck Zelig in such moments, but I didn't quite succeed. At intermission, I asked her how singers sang atonal works, and she said, "tonally." That is (and I won't get this quite right), one technique is to find a mental ground note and sing against that, varying the ground note as a new one is required to hear the notes sung tonally. She also said that Lucy Dhegrae was a fabulous teacher with a huge trove of techniques for teaching how to sing atonal and other difficult works. The first thing I thought on getting that information was how much I'd like, as an observer, to attend one of her classes, something I'll ask about when I see her next.Susan Scheidhttps://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-37034827931458098242015-12-14T14:50:44.877+00:002015-12-14T14:50:44.877+00:00I wish you could be there too - the select blogpal...I wish you could be there too - the select blogpals would so enrich the course. And I'm very lucky indeed with the generous and loyal crowd I have. Without the substantial core of 20-30 I wouldn't have made the transition from the City Lit - and I'm so glad I did it. Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-38568981954765687422015-12-14T14:45:00.664+00:002015-12-14T14:45:00.664+00:00Each time I read about your classes I so wish I wa...Each time I read about your classes I so wish I was there. I envy your students.Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.com