i working away to a very long list of Anna Caterina Antonacci’s radio recitals on tube.. i didn’t know one of her favorite composers is Monteverdi! until Dehggial mentioned.. and after several rounds of “Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda” capping with this absolutely superb performance (it’s so cool she has her own show! pretty much sings what she wants and an entire orchestra + extras to accompany her and entire audience, including this 1-woman show in New York that we’re not gonna discuss i missed.., talk about breaking the trends..) i thought it was ripped to listen to her Poppea.. to discover she had sung often Nerone! so, that’s a picture for the rest of this weekend. I would like more pix, and more importantly, a whole show somewhere please? Below is the accompanied finale duet. Their voices mesh very nicely! This is the kind of Poppea show i crave for!
photo for the night
124 responses to “photo for the night”
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Are you on for Poppea from Bucharest? 15min til start time.
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oh, thanks for the reminder!! Poppea? i kept getting confused… you’re on the site then, coz the radio says tomorrow! (and today in 15min they’ll broadcast Ulisse, which i’m guessing i missed yesterday!)
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no, you’re right, it’s Ulisse! I’m a day ahead 😉
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ps- do you have the link by any chance? (direct link, not from worldconcerthall?) am setting up the capturing machine…
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I’m on the festival main site: home
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Please try to capture tomorrow as well, I will be at work :-(((
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oh man, can you deal with just audio? coz video is the bit i’ll have trouble with, and was the reason i missed 3 min of Harteros last time…
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sure, audio is #1!
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well, both are up and running, we’ll see if either will capture anything :D. i don’t want to touch it now.. except i lost control of the volume, now the host is screaming out the headset 😀
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do you need another link? there is this one, I don’t know if it works but there will be some interviews later with Egarr and perhaps the singers, which I suppose is also the case tomorrow.
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no no, i don’t touch nothing now :), will test more after this.. she’s singing already
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that’s what I meant 🙂
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wow, Liza Watts is going to town; that might not record too well 😉
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here comes our Penelope, who is she? i didn’t have time to investigate… but lovely warm tone.. who’s Liza Watts? The sound is screeching on my audio here, will have to sort out before tomorrow 😉
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The one is pink is Watts. Penelope is Barbara Kozelj. She will also sing Penelope here in a couple of weeks. I am a bit nonplussed but will how different it feels live.
scroll down for the cast: here.
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i’m afraid to touch anything during capture (have you ever seen a capture where suddenly windows pop up in front of the video? email, text edit, anything can decide to pop right in front of the video window :D)
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ok, don’t then 😀 how tall is the bass???
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he could be standing on someting 😉
oh, here comes a CT, he’s got some reallllly nice music to sing to!!! and bass+tenor flanking! -
no, I checked when he towered over the ladies, he IS that tall.
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oh, here comes the famous tenor.. i forgot which character, he must be Ulisse!
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he’s Ulisse, yep. Weird forehead but very good singing. Watts is next up.
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did she change clothes? i got pulled away to handel proposal matter, we’re planning to take over the world 😉
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i thought so, maybe my pink = white 😉 i trust you that when you take over the world there will be plenty of good opera planned 😀
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thanks for the reminder, revising the budget ;-), more dreadlocks?
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dreadlocks?
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ah, you didn’t see the photo of the main post!!
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I did, it’s just the context; yes to dreadlocks of that sort 😀
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i a bit single traintrack in thoughts these days.. such pix inhibits contextual planning…
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too much intense work 😉
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ps- for your entertainment, here’s a summary of the above pictured performance, avail in tv-broadcast format from scavenge site, which i will scavenge… i have a thing for dreadlocks…
1st reviewer:
“This Nerone like a Latino pop star, with dreadlocks, torn jeans, santiags, coke, and leg kicks à la James Brown; this new-rich Poppea, a Lolita of luxury call girl bad taste; this 1960s Seneca, wan and ridiculous; this menopausal and bourgeois Octavia; not even mentioning the transsexual nurses, somewhere between Mrs Doubtfire and Miss Fine, the CNN news report after the attempted murder of Poppea, the mafioso bodyguards, the night-club employees. In short, a very hip bunch of nothing. Should Love be no longer an “enfant de bohème” but a ghetto rapper? Does this story essentially take place below the waist? Of course! Beyond that, it transforms Monteverdi into a racy American vaudeville comedy.”
2nd:
“many great singers have tried L’Incoronazione di Poppea, but the novelty here is that they are doing it with an original instruments group (the excellent Concerto Vocale), with a conductor experienced in this repertoire. Here, the stage is dominated by the stunning Nerone of Anna Caterina Antonacci, surrounded by the excellent Patrizia Ciofi (Poppea) and a vocally grandiose Anne Sofie Von Otter (Ottavia), even if she seems to have more difficulty fitting in with the direction. The latter two also camp it up as Fortune and Virtue in the prologue.” -
sounds like major fun 😀 I think it’s always ok to have a properly debauched Poppea. It’s filthy 😀
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the Romanian musician interviewed at the interval said AAC had only a 1hr rehearsal before the performance.
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wow! that’s what i’ve heard too from my friend playing in the orchestra: extremely short rehearsal time..
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chop-chop! what I don’t get is how singers can sing if they can’t hear the orchestra. In the case of concert performances it looks like they can, but when it comes to staged opera… I mean just by watching the conductor’s gestures? I’d be scared.
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they have these small boxes with prompters, you remember the dog that moves its ears in VK’s Carmen? or Harteros keeping looking toward corner in Wien with VK caressing her during “Di cor mio”.. when i was in Zürich i saw the prompter’s head sticking out too 🙂 and during curtain call VK reaching into the box to shake his hand. Also i think they have reverse TV-set from the pit toward the singers.. but that’s why we always see them turning their head toward front.. à-la DR’s while she was wrestling with VK during “Come ti piace imponi”
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I get that and how they get their tempo cue from the conductor but I’m thinking more in terms of knowing if they are singing to soft or too loud. Maybe they just don’t… lol, I didn’t realise that was the purpose of the dog in Carmen, very funny.
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you know this famous tenor of course? Ian Bostridge (as Ulisse)
And this is the “parasite” :D, he’s got some really nice drumming from plucking strings. I also really like the tone of the bass -
I have heard him very little in the past (lieder) but he is very good indeed. You’d think he’s singing at Wigmore Hall all the time but I’ve ignored him so far.
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“I’ve ignored him so far”
tenors 😉 -
yep. The CT looks like a mezzo! haha.
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am really hearting this down-the-stretch bit.. *esp.* the orchestra!! is it also part of the london package? (and i quite like phrasing of Penelope so far.. in a couple of days bemf will also broadcast Ulisse from this past summer, i’ll try to see again what my issue was with Nesi..)
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Yes, this exact same cast will be singing here on 29 Sept. What day is your Ulisse?
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20/sep, link over at Stray’s , 8pm eastern time, so pretty late on your side.
(ps- i still having issue with this parasite’s aria :D, but he’s not pouting! that’s a bonus!) -
cheers, I’m home on Sunday 🙂
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just missing poppea ey ;-), i’ll make sure the machines working properly.. good news about saturday is i don’t suddenly have meetings / interruption.
(ps- back from bathroom break and this guy still singing!!) -
i know, annoying. Pretty much the same cast as last year at Barbican, minus Poppea. Hopefully this one is better.
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here comes Penelope’s dancing tune… i can’t wait!
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pretty neat! still I think she needs to be a bit more alive.
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sweet 🙂
was interesting hearing the duet, i like his phrasing better than hers. but really fantastic music!! -
yes, very good job all. He’s really as good as they say, can’t comment. If I were a tenor lover I’d be a big fan starting tonight. Must check him out next time he’s at Wirmore 😉
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The broadcasting team needs a kick in the shins, though, average job with sloppy moments like cutting the sound before the visuals and leaving that poor lady presenter hanging instead of switching the cam.
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oh? i was surprised sound to cut while they’re still bowing… but at least the performance was intact, the most important bit :D.
was a pleasant afternoon! thanks for joining in! makes it very fun 🙂 , international affair
(i’m gonna investigate the sound saturation issue, i have a small suspicion it might be their problem and not mine.., though losing completely control of sound is not ideal) -
it is fun indeed! glad I could join, I was originally supposed to work this evening. I don’t think it affected everyone, mostly Watts, the other ones kept is Monteverdi.
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oh, this is your pink lady. she’s challenging the capturing machines.. her voice will be saturated.. as i haven’t figured out yet how to gain back control of sound 😀
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see what I mean? ping-heavy!
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ps- i have the capture, just now trying to figure out how to put video and audio together as my 2 capturing machines inhaled them separately without alignment 😀 (ps- it was rather tamed for some reason, i was quite indifferent about it, esp. Nerone’s music.. and ended up spending the rest of my eve/nights/morning re-listening to version from Bologna + Paris..)
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hm, interesting. I’m curious how it’ll come out. I’ve been listening to the dark one from Bologna too – good singing from all but so damn dark!
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i got a new duet from Paris! and now a true confession: aca’s voice *is* the Nerone’s voice for me! simply b/c the music is so high, i have such difficulty all these times with what i call “screeching”.. and her voice simply solves this..
and true to both Paris + Bologna, what the heck is wrong with lighting.. but i wonder if it’s the problem when a performance is meant for live and not prep for recording. If you had been in Munich you’d notice there was no light issue for capuleti, yet the video came out way too dark..
(now merging.. trying to match the woman speaking in Romanian at the beginning but i gave up.. now trying to see if can match a singer..) -
oh, don’t remind me about the light issue in Capuleti! When I’ll write about it, half of it is going to be about how I want to throw rotten eggs at whoever did the lighting.
In this case, though, it’s also that they had a grand total of one camera who had to do everything and did nothing much in the end.
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here you go, Part1. merging of Part2 in progress. i’ll update link here.. There’s *slight* offset still i think, as i can only do it via visual.. to within 0.1sec accuracy…
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thanks a lot! 😀
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and 2nd. i mentioned on my running ramble yesterday that i was 3 phrases late for this part.. coz at intermission i went back to bologna :D. funny thing is the bass starting here, if you’re a bit absent-minded you’d think you’re in a Bach matthew’s passion or something!
(vlc plays mkv) -
I noticed singers something sound like in another opera period 😉 it’s kinda funny. Now I’ve heard this, the Ulisse, the Poppea with ACA and a bit of the Boston Ulisse and I’m not sure who does what where 😀
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wait a minute, you’ve heard Ulisse from boston already? i thought it’s coming up in 1.4hr??
(i’ve now read A.Hallenberg is a superb Ottavia.. so i’ll add her to my Poppea’s cast.. coz i’m now *very* biased and think ACA solves all my previous issues re. losing interest w/ both Poppea and Nerone’s music 🙂 , in fact i woke up today w/ Nerone’s voice in head…) -
I followed Stray’s link and it’s there already with Orfeo.
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ps- whenever you eventually get around to it, i’d be curious to hear your thought about this Ulisse. it’s a different performance than the one i attended, but i think singing was similar to how i perceived..
Edit: i’m guessing they’re cleaning things up a bit too much, it sounds way too polished and a bit “cautious” -
I’ve listened to the first hour and I like it quite a bit. I agree it’s polished but not unpleasant. They are into it.
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i know what it is: missing sound of thumping + wrestling on ground, i big fan of that sort of wrestling 😉 (in addition to dreadlox)
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me too, I find the thumping and strange noises add a lot to the enjoyment of the music 😀 was this a concert performance?
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FULLY staged!! (with the requisite hand gestures remember)
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oh, yea, I remember now 😀 they must’ve been tip-toeing around then.
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they were floating 😉
actually i have the feeling they cleaned it up to remove “noise”. i got the cenerentola from munich w/ VK and they also cleaned it in this manner, really gives you the disconnecting feeling.. i much prefer ‘raw’ singers 😀 -
hehe, I’m sure they were!
funny, as there’s barely anything at all happening in Cenerentola to begin with (boring opera! Cenerentola has that annoying Una volta c’era un re and the good thing at end – if you haven’t fallen asleep through the tenor stuff).
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well, with VK even if she’s dusting i want to hear the broom sound! 😀
(with all these monteverdi.. suddenly i have an urge to hear VK’s floating notes again.. currently charging through 1/2 way of that schwetzinger 2005..)sitting through the current VK drought i have been thinking.. esp i’ve been reading a few more of ACA’s interviews too… : that she (ACA) said singers sometimes don’t really choose their rep but is driven by what’s offered… she even said she would have liked to sing the same roles a few times but she doesn’t get the offer and simply has to continuously switch..
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interesting you should say that. It seems in the past singers just sang the same roles over and over again whilst now they sing them a few times and then move on – or are moved on. That being said, some do get to sing the same stuff for at least a few years (how long did VK sing Romeo? long enough that I caught it too 😀 that’s long!).
ACA is one of the odder cases who, outside of the Baroque repertoire doesn’t easily fit the roles opera houses are used to.
but I just booked an airbnb for Vienna – checking another ex-Vitellia off the list 😀 I have 3 so far I think, 4th on the way.
I discovered Vienna is a bitch for cheap flights and places, most everything cheap was booked through October already 😛
hehe, that Opera Lively chap used to hang out at the forum I did too (but before my time). Huge AN fan, sickeningly huge 😉
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– (just done w/ schwetzinger, now on salzburg 1992 to get full dosage of sprinkled floating notes on top of charging chorus..)
– actually we were *just* a few years late for her Sesto!! and you really caught her last romeo! now i remember reading on some V.Genaux interview where she said she sang some 500 rossini performances or something and thought she needed to move on (and moved over to europe)
– and i was enjoying that dude’s interview until the end when he mentioned he’d put his photo w/ aca on the shrine he already built for AN 😉
– oh? which ex-V is that? this is your CT-pilgrimage ? airbnb just opposite of the haus? i can show you where to stand to catch singers coming out 😉 (in case you decide to line up for standing tix at the main opernhaus) -
it’s Alex Pendatchanska (Poppea!) yep, the CT pilgrimage 😉 shhhh, or my mezzo credit is lost (the cute mezzo from London’s Catone in Utica is in it though). This is at Theater and der Wien, at the main I think they have Tosca or something I couldn’t care less about.
I’ve watched the Schwetzinger concert a couple of weeks back. I go for one or two bits and stay for the whole 😉 very nice concert. Blech, I couldn’t care less about opera in 2005 (but 2005 was a very difficult year for me… so I probably couldn’t attended either way).
500 Rossini, whew. Can be fun but I was just thinking how I don’t care about Cenerentola and I don’t really like Barbiere that much either… too much tenor business. I would go more than once for Tancredi, Ory and Pietra del paragone.
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you know, it’s funny, on that trip i went to see alcina (grin), i was told Renee Jacobs would conduct at Theater an der Wien mozart.. so i showed up.. and now looking back on a photo i took there, Alex.Pen was singing!! (so that’s 1 ex-V for me! in fact now 2, coz i heard DR!)
are you going for more than 1 show in the run? (might as well fill up your CT desire 😉 ) , but how many of them are there? may be i should go check out your post.. I remember there was something about that..
meanwhile, i in the mood for some blood today (hence schwetzinger) and decided it’s time to charge full speed into Les Troyens.. so was super excited to get full dvd of chatelet 2003 from library (girl there was super excited to give me too, apparently she likes it *a lot*.. anyhow, it’s now sitting beautifully here coz i realized laptop doesn’t have cd slot.. time to chaaaaarge toward medee then, need some blood 😀 )
(ps- i agree, barbiere is quiet meh, guess i got introduced into rossini via VG’s cute short haircut so i still quite like that production, but agree overall it can be quite a drag.. tancredi all the way, i should relisten to semiramide perhaps.. or eventually explore this other thing that ACA is famous for, ermione or something like that..) -
oooh, yes! Semiramide! They don’t seem to do it often these days, though in the ’80s it was quite often done. VK keeps singing Arsace’s big aria in concert even nowadays so why didn’t she sing the role, eh? It also needs a good dramatic soprano and a good bass, but it would be fun, as there are a few people who could do it.
this is the Wien Poppea post where I talk about it all. The cute (butch) Sesto from the student production is in it too 🙂
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yes, i was searching yours.. but got sidetracked coz i thought i had saved medea.. but in fact don’t have it, aaaargggghhh, really need some dramatic music!!! 😀
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why are you thirsty for blood? hehe. I was really tired this morning from reading legal stuff and went to listen to something “bloody” (like Slayer) and there among many metal recommends was Parto from Salzburg 😀 so weird (because I was at work and not signed it).
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Leander keeps trying to get me to see Cavalli’s Serse which is the day before, might as well, I guess. The system is weird, spews out seats as it likes.
So what are you going to do with the Troyens DVD?
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“So what are you going to do with the Troyens DVD?”
I don’t know yet! it’s still sitting here.. while i desperate for my fix.. feel like this now
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😀 awesome pic! write a post about that. Is there no Troyens on youtube? I haven’t heard it yet, it seems like a big wahala.
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actually i didn’t know about it at all as of 2 days ago :D, but started listening.. well, you know, i needed some specific fix.. w/ ACA screaming french spewing blood… but i have a feeling perhaps it’s the coffee a bit strong today… let me calm down and read up on your CT poppea…
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persistence is the key, finally secured this, now for storage until the next crave for blood, might happen soon if i still cant locate my fix for tiramisu 😀
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back, a little bit calmer..
who is in Serse? 🙂
it’s too bad there’s nothing exciting at the main opernhaus, coz it’s really worth to just climb in, may be you can show up and get a €3 and just go in to feel the sound? -
yea, it’s like the first year there’s no Rosenkavalier. I was gutted, Wien and no Rosenkavalier, even with some girly mezzo 😉
Serse = CTs, of course. Tim Mead is the lead, don’t know anyone else.
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oh of course, now i get why Leander was twisting your arm further 😉
(limping here now, losing energy from screaming, but hopeful to still find medea 😀 , methinks this is what happened when exposed to harpsichords for 1 full week ) -
more than 45min of solo harpsichord and I may cry for Wagner 😉
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oh wow, even 5 CTs wouldn’t push me that far 😉 . think i got my fix.. after 10 clips of medea 😀 . here. of course one remembers how i got into it.. SM was dragging a suitcase and caressing a little bird singing to solo bassoon, then out from below the ship emerged ACA.. if i get around to watching this whole thing again i’ll probably write up.. as for now, i sitting on hands knowing the library also has that, troyens, and her rodelinda dvds. but time to search for something that will run for 3 hr to wrestle with writing. i might scavenge something from your site..
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And I saw Veronique Gens too! So 4 already 😀
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strange that you didn’t find Poppea and Nerone’s music interesting before… I never had issues, even with CTs.
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think i need more orchestra.. otherwise they’re all “reciting” which requires phrasing.. and my exposure has been very limited.. starting w/ SM as Ottone! then first time i heard Poppea + Nerone was the show w/ A.Forsythe + D.Hansen, and for me Nerone’s music is way too head-ache inducing! so the video from Liceu was my only other exposure.. and i lost interest as well for some reason.. i think generally i just need some singer who i can “understand”, then after that i’d notice the music and explore more..
(am also following same breadcrumb and currently listening to Ulisse) -
well, what worked for me was to “think sexy thoughts” 😉 It seems the key to getting their music. Poppea is all like “ooooooh, Nerone, don’t go anywhere, come back to bed” and Nerone is like “aaaaaaaaaaargh, why do I have to go?!” DH has a very pingy voice, I agree. I started with Alice Coote and De Niese, which worked very well for me.
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i think starting out w/ a CT just completely got me on wrong foot imagination-wise… and the “shrieking” just rubbed the wrong way.. what can i say, think i under some kind of spell now.. w/ dreadlocks 😉
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i finally got around to find this one on tube, A.Coote, wow!! *l.o.v.e* the way she phrases the music!! (and her voice i also love for this role). super like! (and E.Haïm!!) (i’m gonna skip commenting about Poppea for now… too bad you didn’t make it to see her this past summer, i’d have loved to hear some tripping 😉 )
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Yes, her voice is perfect for this. I also liked the production.
wow, starting *very* slow
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yea, but she’s cool 😀
you know what else? that Pur ti miro is wonderful too! I was going to say that then remembered there was something tonight 😀 in fact I think now that Antonacci has the perfect voice for this repertoire (more belated moaning about her cancellation last year, ohime!).
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am currently re-listening to the duet on repeat! it really strikes me how well and balanced it comes out, fits really nice with Ciofi’s. they could really turn the light on a bit!
i was not quite sure.. but according to all reviews i read she was really great in this role (and if you think about it, it’s pretty high for CT, hence fits her range nicely, but the texture of voice i really like here)-
wonderful vocal pairing, must’ve been a hell of a show.
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TCE: ACA, we’re planning Poppea this season, are you interested?
ACA (who lives in Paris): yes!
TCE: which role would you like to sing? Poppea? Ottavia? Nerone? Ottone?
ACA: I want Nerone!
TCE: ok!
😀
(actually she discussed singing Nerone here, after having done Poppea many times)-
we all want Nerone 😀
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found the album 😉
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ehehehe! If I were a singer (in the proper fach), Nerone would be a role I would make sure to sing at some point (at more than one point 😀 ).
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btw, very good interview, I like what she has to say about diction, as I noticed she cares about it.
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hence your inspiration to practice italian 😉
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it’s funny, I used to think Italian was not very nice sounding but thanks to opera I now think it’s the best language out there… music in Italian always sound “right”.
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sorry, was busy with the photo album 😉
french is also fantastic, when emphasis is put right with the music. I also like how she discussed the balance between diction and phrasing 🙂 -
ps- got way distracted from working 😉
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ok, we all missed a potential indeed! now it’s my turn to wonder vhy she canceled.. would have been such a team, she + SC… (that video got quite a cast (except Nerone who i don’t recognize)! clearly before the surge of CT 😀 )
Edit: now full running commentary:
– urgh, that Nerone is really screeching, whatever her name is.. Patricia Schumann..
– 01:08:42: very nice duet Ottone + Poppea, begging type, quite civilized so far…
– I glad you got me watching this finally.. but even if you had ended up not liking her.. i’d still do, she just has a way of phrasing, works very effective, quite expressive, with an edge to her voice. this is a great example here, how she’s shaping the duet, “explaining” to Ottone.. showing a soft side in fact.. quite different than Poverelli’s shoving poor SM’s Ottone to the ground 😀 . oops, said it too soon, heard a BIG THUMP! they must be low on budget with lighting.. total darkness…
– now i have an idea for cast: how about cast 1: ACA Poppea, SC Nerone, SM Ottone, R.Ivernizzi Druisilla, MaiteBeaument Ottavia! cast 2: Ciofi Poppea, ACA Nerone (i want to see this pair again!), SM Ottone + R.Invernizzi Druisilla (i like this pair too!!).
– oh, forgot to mention i have _not_ seen VK as Poppea, other thing for scavenging!
– more *great* phrasing at 02:32:00, but this screeching nerone is a bit too much…
– really superb phrasing! in fact this is the sort of most dangerous, passive-aggressive, soft, vulnerable, but persuasive pushing all the emotional buttons, may be that’s why Nerone was screeching all the time, going berserk..
– wow, what a great duet!
– very interesting ending! singing finale duet 1m apart not looking at each other, with Nerone limping to the finish line, already not looking great for the immediate future!
– i very impressed. and exponentially curious how she interprets Nerone.. need to scavenge hard. but ja, really impressive phrasing, and unique tone so always stands out from the madness of CT + mezzos confusion. In fact the final duet is a bit interesting some of her notes sound lower than Nerone’s. So, that’s a wrap. very nice. i fastforward quite a bit when she wasn’t singing.., as i always say (to self): certain singer makes you focus on the role. this is the one for Poppea.
welcome to the new thread with Poppea from Bucharest with Sarah Connolly. Here’s link: festivalenescu.ro <– video stream. I'll have running commentary here.
– interesting, Romanian, the sound 🙂
– everytime i hear this opera, i puzzled about the opening.. probably coz i always jumped directly into Ottone's music. But one can hear right out the bat tunes which Ottone will repeat
– ok, i would love to see them on platforms with crutches :D. i like the first goddess most (black dress). didn’t realize there’re 3 of them.. virtue, fortune, and ? love? 3 sopranos, the sound is ringing.
– lovely strings!!
– oh , a CT Ottone! (head processing SM with flowers and boots..)
– GORGEOUS violin tagging along with Ottone. really love Ottone’s opening scene! great music line, great accompaniment.
– done, onto the guards, including 1 shouting guy. Some of these people were singing for 3 hours last night and back at it here.
– (think i figure out the sound issue: they’re standing in front of their own mic, sometimes shouting too loud + saturation, even flipping page causing *puum puum* sound)
– here comes Poppea, and right behind her Nerone!! walking around! with music in her hand instead of fixing to the music stand! i’d grab a screen cap here! but don’t want to disturb the capturing machine. she’s got this fantastic stance + look, “preying” almost..
– GORGEOUS orchestra music as Nerone takes turn to be seductive
– (i have a confession: i just saw ACA as Poppea’s last night… she was very seductive! and with this Nerone, one left wishing..)
– i thinking they could really have a bit more free-range and not attached to music stance.. perhaps were told so for mic purpose, but this duet could use some interaction.
– whoever this guy is? they’re replacing the Arnalta with a tenor i think, or isn’t it normally sung by tenor but high in notes? oh yes, he’s wearing a short skirt! (and his singing is being saturated..)
– This Poppea is ok..
– Ottavia has arrived.. and… ok, this is reminding me of the way M.E. Nesi was singing..
– it doesn’t help that i kept getting this confused with Ulisse.. was expecting the son to arrive.. this deep voice guy must the Seneca..
– don’t really care for Ottavia… (and whoever this guy is pouting next to her.., i guess 1 of the guards)
– done with 2nd duet Nerone & Poppea.. ok, the music for Nerone seems to demand some screeching.. as i’ve now heard (1) CT Hansen totally went all out shrieking, (2) PS from last night watch of Poppea from Bologna, and now (3) SC. Her (SC) tone is the most pleasant but she does go beserk 1/2 way through..
– this Poppea.. she’s acting spoiled brat during duet with Ottone (not a complaint, just an observation), another interpretation, i guess this is the 4th variation i’ve seen. There’s the almost indifferent à la Poverelli toward SM’s Ottone, there’s kind-ness but get-off-my-tail-stop-the-begging-already à la A.Forsythe, there’s the i’m-sorry-but-you-were-not-here-when-i-got-a-better-offer (with palm to cheek tenderness) à la ACA to Ottone, and now la-la-la-ha-ha-too-bad-i-got-new-power-boy-screw-you Poppea to totally pathetic (in the context here, again not a complaint, the CT did his part, the orchestra emphasized his pathetic-ness much more) plea.
– again, it’s really hard to follow this opera for me from music point of view (unlike Ulisse), and 3/5 times now i became disinterested (to be honest, i got quite disinterested at various parts of the opera in all 5, and typically fast-forward to where i find the character most interesting..)
– intermission.. may be a chance to re-listen to ACA’s Poppea, deadly seductive by my human standard (comparable to VK’s Carmen, i prone to these kinds of women 😀 ), but she showed a lot of humanity as well, non 1-d.
– oops, was enjoying ACA having fun with her “nurse”, starting 2nd half 3 phrases late.. to deep voice guy
– Nerone has a solo to lovely violin, truly gorgeous! though at this point i completely lost along storyline to know what she (SC) is singing about, but before that was some rejoycing with another guy, not sure which character…
– oh, the nurse in short skirt who i thought was a tenor is a CT, and with a very lovely tone, now singing solo to drumming theorbo.. to Poppea, this must be where (s)he’s senerating (gosh my spelling is down the toilet today..) Poppea to sleep in the garden?
– you will forgive me, i’ll provide a reference again, to this 3rd duet between Nerone + Poppea, starting… ah, ok, the capturing machine is on, let’s not disturb it, but that duet from last night video from Bologna is a true gem. now i get it, there’s a certain kind of phrasing that just hits me like a storm, melts all guards.. in fact you can hear it in this _simple_ “Addio” , which when this is done i’ll provide link…
– back to Ottavia who i don’t mind to just please walk out of town..
– oh, that was “Addios Roma” she was moaning about…
– so this must be the nurse celebrating luck of climbing up the ladder… zzzz
– and that is the end.. perhaps it’s not my night.. or not my kind of opera.. enthusiastic applause from the audience. cheers.
– back, as i’ve now re-tuned to last night Poppea 1993 from Bologna. and providing some more time-tag:
1. “Addio” (lose all guards 😉 )
2. the 3rd duet, which i really didn’t realize how great it is until now…
3. duet Ottone & Poppea, Ottone sung by Bernadette Manca di Nissa
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and, to reverse role (i in awe with sound balance, ❤ )
Ha! I found your link. You and dehggial must have enjoyed this. It’s fun to chat while watching something together online! Did you capture Ulisse on video?
Thank you so much for the links. I have downloaded Poppea and Ulisse to my PC and they will be a permanent reminder of a wonderful trip to Bucharest.
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you’re very welcome! it was very nice to “meet” you and hear from an insider too! i would really love to hear more on your impression in future concerts too!
(we–my circle of bloggers–used to gather on one of the blogs for events we’re passionate about too, with occasionally 1 or 2 of us live at the event for post-report, such great fun 🙂 )
Ian Bostridge put a link to your Ulisse downloads on his facebook page!! 😀
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I thought I recognized that building 🙂
Dr T, what are you using for playback on those downloads? My mac is confused, or maybe it’s just me.
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pix “borrowed” from you last winter ;-), works great as screen for laptop. i use vlc for everything (and mplayer, but that’s command line thingie). let me know if you manage? mkv allows me to store the compressed graphics which is 1/6th to 1/10th the size of original video!
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Oh duh. I didn’t realize this thing didn’t have vlc. Probably bc all the others do. Too many old machines lying around this place!
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thanks Annie, i saw it too :-). hope you had a great time at the live version! i saw the nice write up from Dehggi.
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I had a great time thank you and Dehggi’s review was brilliant I wish I could write like that!
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scientist by day, opera fan by nights and weekends.
thadieu's opera rambling outlet 
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