Bravo Domingo!!!! Audience Overflows at Domingo's Last Maurizio

The audience at the Metropolitan Opera's performance of Adriana Lecouvreur last night was far from its usual loud self. On the contrary, it was perfectly silent the whole evening. The one detected no-no was an overabundance of flash photography during curtain calls, but for once the nazi-ushers (I say that lovingly, of course) didn't cry out for "no photographs in the house!" Instead, they let the audience wallow in the greatness that was the presence of Placido Domingo and to bestow onto him every compliment and gesture of adoration we could muster.

In what was probably his final performance as Maurizio ever, Placido Domingo sang and acted as if he didn't have 40 years under his belt, but was still in his primmest prime. He doesn't put on airs, he does not act as if he is on top of the world (which he is, by the way), but he acts as he has always done: like the character he is playing. Acting like a dashing young prince can be difficult when you're an almost-70 [still dashing] king of opera, but it isn't hard to imagine any woman falling in love with Placido Domingo even when it is hard to imagine him riding into battle.

40 years ago Domingo debuted in this role opposite the illustrious Renata Tebaldi. Last night his final Adriana was Maria Guleghina who, despite what I have heard about her pushing, gave a wonderful vocal and dramatic performance. Olga Borodina was, as usual, the cool mezzo that she is, a worthy Princess to Domingo's probably intimidating Prince of Saxony. Her husband, played by John Del Carlo, was imposing and comic, towering over his colleagues and providing well needed comic relief. Roberto Frontali really stood out as Michonnet, the real tragic character in this opera, his powerful and beautiful voice that became the icing on this already stunning operatic cake.

What could possibly have been going through Domingo's mind last night as he stepped on to the stage? Could he have seen himself, 40 years younger, nerves bouncing off the wall, beside one of the greatest sopranos of all time? Could he have been reliving those glorious moments of his debut at the Met? Or is it possible that he didn't think of his debut at all, thinking only of the performance ahead and going over in his mind his endless knowledge of opera, its characters, and finding exactly what he needed for Maurizio?

Oh, Domingo, the world may never know.

Happy Listening! =)

The Catfight

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/features/detail.aspx?id=5092


Deborah Voigt and Olga Borodina fight to the death for Enzo's love...
I mean, Gioconda and Laura fight to the death for Enzo's love...

Or is it really Debbie and Olga? Hm...... Watch the video and find out...



Happy Listening!!!! =)

La Gioconda at the Met 9/27/08

La Gioconda- Deborah Voigt
Laura- Olga Borodina
La Cieca- Ewa Podles
Enzo- Aquiles Machado
Barnaba- Jason Stearns ****
Alvise- Orlin Anastassov
Solo Dancers: Angel Corella and Letizia Giuliani

****replacing a sick Carlo Guelfi


Saturday was my first time seeing Deborah Voigt live and boy was I excited!!!! Despite the fact that I was dead tired and my dad could barely keep his eyes open it was a thrilling night!!! (Note: It was not the opera that made us sleepy!)

I was so pumped. Beyond excited. Here was a performance of an opera I had seen before, but not with as much knowledge as I have now. Two of my favorite singers, Olga Borodina and Deborah Voigt, and one of my favorite dancers, Angel Corella, all on one stage. It's almost too much!
Here's the low down:

I'll start with the men. Tenor Aquiles Machado was not my choice Enzo. Let's just put it that way, nicely. His "Cielo e mar" was, in my opinion, less than thrilling. He can hit the notes, just not in the nicest ways. Am I a spoiled opera-goer? Yes. Do I hide it? No. I want the best tenors all the time. =) His entrance was better than the rest of the night, which is weird. Usually it's the other way around.
The Alvise of Orlin Anastassov was so creepy. He went towards the curtain with the "dead" Laura behind it and I got chills up my spine! He sang very well, too. His Act III aria was evil and yet moving. That whole "I'm killing my wife, but only for the sake of family pride" works every time...but it never does (see also Un Ballo in Maschera).
Mr. Not-Peter-Gelb (you can tell I'm terrific with names) came in front of the curtain, to many boos and scoffs, before the performance to announce that baritone Carlo Guelfi (Barnaba) had a bad cold. Not catastrophic! At least Debbie Voigt doesn't have a throat infection! His cover, Jason Stearns, was a very very good baritone. Despite some severe rushing in the act II "Pescator" which caused him to be way ahead of the orchestra, he was quite amazing. His Barnaba was so evil he was almost Iago-like. In the act I "O Monumento" especially. He has a great future ahead of him I can tell, at the Met or not.

Now to the highly commendable ladies:
The best singers of the evening were by far the women.
Deborah Voigt was, in my humble and probably insignificant opinion, amazing! Granted, I have heard her better (ie. last year's Tristan, when she wasn't dying of consumption, etc.), but for the first time hearing her in the house it was fantastic. Might I add, if it's not too much, that she is looking stunning these days. Not that she needs to hear it from me, but she's gorgeous and is looking super healthy and what EVERYONE should aim to look like. I didn't even mind the brown wig so much. =) Back to her singing... Her "Enzo adorato, come t'aaammmooo" was really beautiful. A taaddd pinchy on the high, high note, but I, and I think a few other people, had to consciously stop myself from clapping. "Oh right, this isn't Zinka at the old house, just kidding!" The "Suicidio" was fantastic as well, of course!
Olga Borodina, an original member of the Cool Mezzo List, was amazing last night. I saw her two years ago in the same role and I can't decide which was better. She had a little trouble with the last note of her act II aria, but other than that her voice rang with beauty. She looked radiant as always and her booming voice magnifies her presence by 100%. That's adding to her already apparent stage presence. She's just a BEAST. She's amazing. I love her.
EWA PODLES! Where have you been all my life???? NEWEST MEMBER OF THE COOL MEZZO LIST. She got the longest ovation (of the singers) all night, and rightfully! She sang the heck out of La Cieca!!!!! Not to mention I seriously wondered whether she actually could see or not. She's perfect! Gorgeous voice and very natural acting. Legend.

I'd also like to say that I was not disappointed with any of the supporting roles. Namely David Crawford as Zuane, Tony Stevenson as Isepo, and Ricardo Lugo as a Monk. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of singers the Met got for these roles. Bravi!

The dancers were heavenly. Letizia Giuliani is an Italian ballerina. She was absolutely stunning; her feet are beyond words! I have this thing about dancers' feet, maybe it's because I'm a dancer too, I don't know. She has amazing feet, her arches go up to her eyes! She danced beautifully and she was equally matched in her partner, Angel Corella. Star of the American Ballet Theatre, Angel Corella is, in my opinion, one of the best danseurs currently dancing in the world.



Side Note: The chandeliers looking glorious. They sparkle like nothing else I've ever seen. It looks like it's shooting out rainbows! I noticed chandeliers that I think I had never seen before. They were so bright and beautiful. One thing.... That wonderful affect we all love when the lights come down and they raise the chandeliers: it's gone. Gone. I don't know why, but I guess someone decided that the lights should go down and the chandeliers be brought up in darkness. An eerie effect for the opening cello solo of La Gioconda, but I hope it will not be continued!
I demand old-fashioned pre-curtain routines! I shall not stand for it!




Happy Listening!!! =)

March 1st: A Play-by-Play PART II

LET BE KNOWN FROM THIS MOMENT FORTH THAT OLGA BORODINA IS OFFICIALLY ADDED TO MY LIST OF "THE COOLEST MEZZO'S EVER." That list also includes Frederica von Stade, Stephanie Blythe, Marilyn Horne, Joyce DiDonato, and a few others.

Olga was also my first mezzo ever. She was Laura in "La Gioconda" last season, which happened to be my first opera. (I didn't have the blog then, sorry.) I thought she was cool then, but I wasn't exactly rooting for her so I didn't notice her all that much.

Her Carmen made me laugh a lot. I didn't remember Carmen being this funny. Her singing was so amazing. The "Habanera" was, well, the Habanera! The Seguidilla and her little dance for Don Jose were fantastic. This is one of the first times I've had a strong urge to sing along. Don't worry, I controlled myself! There are so many sing-able tunes in Carmen. What a masterpiece. She was very believable and her emotions were so real. Just before Act III a man came in front of the curtain to many groans and grumbles. "I'm not making a casting change," he assured us, "But Ms. Borodina is suffering from some allergies and she hopes you understand." Okay. So, she didn't sound any different than the other two acts. She still sounded amazing, so I wasn't sure what the point of it was. Anyway, Olga Borodina rules.

Marcelo Alvarez was great vocally, but his sudden falling in love with Carmen looked completely out of the blue. His rage and hatred looked great, though. The "Flower Song" was lovely and he sounded very clear and crisp.

One of the biggest ovations of the night went rightfully to Krassimira Stoyanova. I usually dislike Micaela a lot, but I realized how beautiful her music was. What a marvelous soprano she is! It's a wonder I haven't heard more of her. Her big aria was so beautiful and she got a huge ovation after the aria and at curtain calls.

Lucio Gallo is not my first choice for Escamillo. His "Votre Toast" was mostly drowned out by the orchestra and the high notes sounded pushed and loud. It got better as the night went on, but he doesn't have that much to sing after that.

I forgot to mention this in "Otello", but the chorus sounded great yesterday. During both performances they were stunning. The orchestra, too! Sublime, as usual. Of course, what else do you expect from the Met?

So yes, me and my uncle were waiting for a while in the lobby before Carmen started. They kicked us out of Fiorello's (just kidding, they said we needed to be out by a certain time because they had reservations) at around 6:15, so we stood around the lobby for a while. I'm starting to get bored when a familiar looking man comes from the house into the lobby. It hits me "Oh my gosh, that's Peter Gelb!" I whisper to my uncle. I couldn't move I was so shocked, I just stood there and galked. My uncle nudged me "Go talk to him!" Too late, he walked out, watching me stare stupidly at him. He strolled across the plaza and out into the street. He didn't come back. I knew then that there were no casting changes. I felt really special seeing him. He runs the place! He's pretty important!

Happy Listening!!! =)

Gratitude

Thanks to two amazing friends, the best godfather ever, and Standing Room I will BE ABLE TO SEE RENEE IN OTELLO (this Saturday) and ALSO see Olga Borodina in Carmen that SAME EVENING.

It's too complicated to explain how it all came about. It makes my brain hurt. *ow*

That Saturday will consist of countless subway rides, one rushed lunch, a quick phone call to the Met, and one tired chickie at the end of the night. (Not necessarily in that exact order.) It will somehow all get done and I will be blogging from my cell phone (um, that's not a promise!) during the Otello intermissions, but will have a full review of the Carmen hopefully the next day.

I just have to say again that my two best friends are REALLY the BEST friends an opera buff like me could ask for and that my super amazing and totally cool godfather is, well, super amazing, totally cool, and, might I add, molto bello!!!!! =) lol

Happy Listening!!! =)

PS. To those of you that kept telling me to get Standing Room tickets, thank you as well because if everyone had not insisted then I probably wouldn't have fought as hard! Thanks! <3

Change of Schedule!

There's been a change in plans for the Metropolitan Opera's 2007-2008 season.
Instead of doing Les Contes d'Hoffmann the Met will show Bizet's Carmen.

Well, why the change?

Funny story about that...
The tenor Marcelo Alvarez decided to retire Hoffmann from his repertoire.

"We want to ensure that the world’s greatest singers are performing at the Met in roles that suit them best,” said General Manager Peter Gelb. “While this change affects previously announced plans, we are delighted that Met audiences will get to hear Marcelo Álvarez sing Don José for the first time and that Olga Borodina will perform one of her signature roles.” *

Couldn't have Mr. Alvarez waited another year? Okay, guess not. However, we will have the pleasure to see the great Zeffirelli production of Carmen with the absolutely stunning mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina.

The the cast includes:
Carmen: Olga Borodina/ Nancy Fabiola Herrera (one performance)
Don Jose: Marcelo Alvarez
Micaëla: Krassimira Stoyanova
Escamillo: TBA
Conductor: Emmanuel Villaume


Too bad Hoffmann wasn't on my subscription! I'd be seeing Carmen! =)