MakarovaFan Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Has anyone or does anyone plan to see Rattle do Pelleas? I only just found out about it and am practically in tears that I can't see my favorite opera conducted by him. Link to comment
Kathleen O'Connell Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Has anyone or does anyone plan to see Rattle do Pelleas? I only just found out about it and am practically in tears that I can't see my favorite opera conducted by him. I can't go either, and it's breaking my heart! Anthony Tommasini gave it a rave in the NYT. I know someone who's seen it, and she gave it a rave as well. I especially wanted to hear Gerald Finely's Goloud, but the whole cast looks splendid on paper and, I gather, sounds splendid too! Link to comment
abatt Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 I saw it on Friday. It was fantastic in every way. The singing was stellar, the orchestra sounded incredible under Rattle's baton. I think there are only 5 performances, since this opera does not sell terribly well. Link to comment
Helene Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 I'm hugely disappointed that Pelleas was not given an HD broadcast. I heard the premiere last Friday on Sirius radio, and Gerald Finley was sensational. I tried to figure out a way to get to NYC for this, but to no avail. Link to comment
Kathleen O'Connell Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Hah! I just noticed that the final performance is Saturday, Jan 1, which I can attend after all! Can't think of a better way to open the new year ... Looks like lots of tickets are still available ... Link to comment
Helene Posted December 20, 2010 Share Posted December 20, 2010 Oh, excellent! Please tell us about it! Link to comment
Kathleen O'Connell Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 It was magnificent. Kudos to Simon Rattle: I don't think I've ever heard the Met's orchestra sound better and I loved, loved, loved his technicolor take on the score. Gerald Finely's Golaud was so powerfully drawn and beautifully sung as to make a case for re-naming the opera "La Tragédie de Golaud" or somesuch. His scene with Yniold beneath Melisande's window was especially gripping: it perfectly encapsulated Golaud's corruption through his suspicion and jealousy. (Neel Ram Nagarajan was terrific as Yniold.) Stéphane Degout's Pelleas was a bit pallid by comparison -- although I think that goes with the role -- but really came to life in his scene beneath Melisande's window (when he becomes entranced by her hair). Magdelena Kožená's Melisande was very interesting -- more faintly sinister faerie bride than otherworldy innocent. She sang beautifully (as did Degout) but didn't exhibit a ton of stage presence - her hair upstaged her more than once. I like Jonathan Miller's production a lot - it's one of those "updatings" that actually works. It's a shame they didn't capture it on video, although I'm not sure how well it would transfer to screen. Link to comment
Helene Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'm so glad to hear it! I love Finley, and over Sirius, I thought he was great in the season premiere, and even better today. I listened to it twice today: once live and then again in the CBC2 tape delay. It was heaven Link to comment
Kathleen O'Connell Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 The house looked full, by the way, and not too many people fled during the intermissions -- although this may be as much due to the fact that the performance ended at 4PM rather than midnight as to anything else. Still, it was nice to see. Helene -- Have you seen this production? It's an example of how to exploit the vastness of the Met's stage without overstuffing it a la Zeffirelli. Miller updated the setting from the implied mythic middle ages of the original play to roughly the turn of the century -- i.e., around the time of the opera's composition. (Melisande's gowns are redolent of the pre-raphaelite version of the middle ages nonetheless.) The action takes place inside a vast but sparsely furnished, monochromatic, decaying chateau. (Yeah, no forest, no grotto -- but it still works.) There are no wings - it looks as if the palace's rooms just continue on into infinity. The working part of the set -- a carefully arranged jumble of interior and exterior walls, furniture, ancestral busts, mammoth empty picture frames, and of course the ancient fountain -- sits on a turntable set into the stage floor, which is done up to look like parquet from end to end. The set rotates during the orchestral interludes between scenes (and sometimes during a scene itself) to change the setting. It sounds gimmicky, but it neatly sidesteps the pitfalls of fairy-tale prettiness while still locating the drama someplace that reads like a myth or a fable. I suspect the set has to be big--and empty--to work; otherwise it might look like Miller was trying to turn Maeterlinck into Ibsen. It also solves the problem of what to do during all those interludes besides drop the curtain. Link to comment
Helene Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 I haven't seen it, and I would have loved to, but I couldn't travel for any of the performances The last "Pelleas" I saw was last January at the new Opera House in Copenhagen. Designer Johannes Leiacker used the revolving platform to create three sets, but as the opera progressed, he added trees into the interior sets, so that the line between in and out of doors was blurred. Watching the Copenhagen Ring DVD's, the Fricka reminded me of an Ibsen character, although "Das Rheingold" was set in the '20s and "Die Walkure" in the '50s. Link to comment
vipa Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 My husband and I saw it last week and LOVED IT. True confession - I had never been to the opera before. I'm a big ballet fan and go to many music concerts each year; I've heard recordings of opera singers and attended some vocal concerts but I never attended an opera. I have been talking about going to the opera for years without actually doing it. My 20 something son (a musician) gave me and my husband tickets to Pelleas & Melisande at the Met for Christmas. I am in danger of becoming a big opera fan. Seriously if any of you BTers have recommendations of operas to see - either the Met or NYC Opera please fire away. I'm a newbie with a wide range of musical tastes. I know this is a ballet board, so if there is another site I should be going to please let me know. Pelleas & Melisande really whet my appetite. Link to comment
Kathleen O'Connell Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 My husband and I saw it last week and LOVED IT. True confession - I had never been to the opera before. I'm a big ballet fan and go to many music concerts each year; I've heard recordings of opera singers and attended some vocal concerts but I never attended an opera. I have been talking about going to the opera for years without actually doing it. My 20 something son (a musician) gave me and my husband tickets to Pelleas & Melisande at the Met for Christmas. I am in danger of becoming a big opera fan. Seriously if any of you BTers have recommendations of operas to see - either the Met or NYC Opera please fire away. I'm a newbie with a wide range of musical tastes. I know this is a ballet board, so if there is another site I should be going to please let me know. Pelleas & Melisande really whet my appetite. If Pelleas whet your appetite, I think you're ready for just about anything! It's a tough opera for a lot of folks: it's long, it's not jam-packed with tuneful arias, and the action is decidedly oblique and low key. Of course, this particular Pelleas was really special -- even at the Met it's not often that the stars align like that. That being said, there are some interesting looking things coming up at the Met in the spring. James Jorden, the Post's opera critic, was very enthusiastic about the new Traviata. The cast for the Met's new production of Rossini's Le Comte Ory looks unbeatable on paper (Damrau, DiDonato, Resmark, Flórez, Degout, Pertusi). I would crawl across broken glass on my hands and knees to hear Rene Pape sing the phone book, so I think going to hear him sing the title role in Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov is a no-brainer; however, the Met's new production has had a troubled history and might not live up to the cast. I'm thinking of getting a ticket to Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride to hear Susan Graham in the title role (I think it's one of her best); Domingo is singing too, and that's not going to last forever (although he seems not to have gotten that memo.) And speaking of Gluck, you could also catch a performance of Mark Morris' production of Orfeo et Euridice with David Daniels. And Nixon in China. NYCO is reprising their updated Elixir of Love, set in a roadside diner by Jonathan Miller. I really want to support NYCO (I've seen wonderful stuff there), but I might give this one a miss and opt for the Monodramas triple bill instead. As for opera sites to visit: James Jorden's alter ego La Cieca runs Parterre Box, the fizziest opera blog ever. I haven't found an opera site as sane and well-run as Ballet Alert, alas, though Opera-L isn't bad. Opera flame wars are the stuff of legend. Link to comment
Helene Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 vipa, don't forget the Met HD broadcasts: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964 There are eight left this season, and for ~$20, you can taste test the operas to see if they are in styles and/or productions you like, and then invest the money in live tickets. (Ballet and opera habits can get pricey ) I saw the "Damnation of Faust" HD in Seattle and flew to NYC to see it live. Link to comment
vipa Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 vipa, don't forget the Met HD broadcasts: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964 There are eight left this season, and for ~$20, you can taste test the operas to see if they are in styles and/or productions you like, and then invest the money in live tickets. (Ballet and opera habits can get pricey ) I saw the "Damnation of Faust" HD in Seattle and flew to NYC to see it live. Thank you Helene, what a great idea. I just signed up to receive emails about the broadcasts. Link to comment
vipa Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 If Pelleas whet your appetite, I think you're ready for just about anything! It's a tough opera for a lot of folks: it's long, it's not jam-packed with tuneful arias, and the action is decidedly oblique and low key. Of course, this particular Pelleas was really special -- even at the Met it's not often that the stars align like that. I did love it, and have noted all of your suggestions. I'm entering a new world - thank you for your help Link to comment
Kathleen O'Connell Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 If Pelleas whet your appetite, I think you're ready for just about anything! It's a tough opera for a lot of folks: it's long, it's not jam-packed with tuneful arias, and the action is decidedly oblique and low key. Of course, this particular Pelleas was really special -- even at the Met it's not often that the stars align like that. I did love it, and have noted all of your suggestions. I'm entering a new world - thank you for your help Please report back and tell us what you think! I'd really be interested in your thoughts, as someone new to the genre, comparing the HD experience with the live one. Link to comment
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