Meta tags:
Headings (most frequently used words):
2013, opera, april, mostly, bieito, calixto, dvd, blog, the, by, this, in, saturday, 19, wednesday, on, sunday, search, reviews, and, festival, blogs, don, giovanni, staging, meistersinger, november, 2016, monday, september, may, 27, live, performances, reviewed, thursday, 25, tuesday, 23, 21, friday, 17, 14, most, popular, posts, web, bayreuth, translate, archive, salzburg, richard, wagner, venues, labels, about, me, including, contact, information, subscribe, to, followers, continuing, as, flying, surgeon, rusalka, basement, of, fritzl, dull, zambello, katharina, wagners, winner, disappointing, from, zürich, pique, dame, barcelona, singers, disappoint, smashing, carsen, tannhäuser, giulio, cesare, david, mcvicar, which, scandal,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (278), and (129), opera (85), this (56), with (49), not (49), production (44), for (36), dvd (35), his (31), her (31), all (29), don (28), that (28), from (27), she (27), but (26), have (24), well (23), are (22), one (22), however (21), #wagner (20), giovanni (20), barcelona (18), which (18), seen (18), mostly (17), bieito (17), act (17), calixto (16), tannhäuser (16), rusalka (16), festival (15), michael (15), was (15), bayreuth (14), peter (14), years (14), has (14), when (14), quite (14), staging (13), though (13), donna (13), best (13), review (12), 2013 (12), very (12), role (12), comments (11), about (11), robert (11), liceu (11), april (11), better (11), cast (11), really (11), time (11), what (11), state (10), meistersinger (10), klaus (10), florian (10), vogt (10), katharina (10), franz (10), david (10), anna (10), labels (10), may (10), ago (10), than (10), posted (10), does (10), also (10), while (10), here (10), paris (9), volle (9), reviews (9), now (9), there (9), both (9), stage (9), conductor (9), seems (9), first (9), sachs (9), blog (8), house (8), simon (8), seiffert (8), kusej (8), eva (8), maria (8), voice (8), real (8), impression (8), bottom (8), line (8), scale (8), average (8), will (8), many (8), elvira (8), much (8), never (8), him (8), giulio (8), around (8), see (8), walther (8), posts (7), royal (7), keenlyside (7), petra (7), berlin (7), mcvicar (7), after (7), out (7), september (7), november (7), more (7), overall (7), least (7), leporello (7), who (7), singers (7), vocally (7), almost (7), just (7), other (7), scene (7), probably (7), same (7), stagings (7), cesare (7), hermann (7), painting (7), especially (7), carsen (6), richard (6), parsifal (6), martin (6), marina (6), kristine (6), opolais (6), elisabeth (6), christoph (6), rather (6), february (6), 2008 (6), carmen (6), look (6), too (6), later (6), way (6), contemporary (6), exciting (6), any (6), had (6), those (6), cleopatra (6), sings (6), only (6), groissböck (6), schnitzer (6), venus (6), lisa (6), beckmesser (6), strong (6), tristan (5), salzburg (5), patricia (5), stemme (5), lehnhoff (5), miah (5), persson (5), poplavskaya (5), lohengrin (5), welser (5), möst (5), hawlata (5), emily (5), magee (5), oper (5), von (5), angelika (5), kirchschlager (5), copenhagen (5), joyce (5), didonato (5), you (5), live (5), march (5), 2010 (5), german (5), most (5), like (5), elegant (5), take (5), characters (5), traditional (5), sarah (5), danielle (5), niese (5), age (5), choice (5), even (5), extraordinary (5), some (5), weigle (5), without (5), life (5), perhaps (5), countess (5), been (5), nürnberg (5), zambello (5), jezibaba (5), fritzl (5), including (4), information (4), zurich (4), wolfgang (4), orchestra (4), isolde (4), directors (4), nina (4), nikolaus (4), michaela (4), boder (4), metropolitan (4), matti (4), salminen (4), ludovic (4), tezier (4), london (4), van (4), concert (4), charles (4), bavarian (4), baden (4), music (4), living (4), theater (4), auf (4), wagnerian (4), performances (4), june (4), july (4), august (4), october (4), january (4), surgeon (4), gens (4), unfortunately (4), they (4), final (4), thought (4), acting (4), together (4), last (4), society (4), ottavio (4), case (4), created (4), far (4), productions (4), before (4), mother (4), find (4), connelly (4), bardon (4), dumaux (4), where (4), part (4), british (4), clear (4), character (4), bit (4), between (4), did (4), beatrice (4), uria (4), monzon (4), sebastian (4), markus (4), eiche (4), finally (4), say (4), gallery (4), begin (4), himself (4), ewa (4), podles (4), misha (4), didyk (4), dvds (4), ballo (4), often (4), truly (4), interesting (4), then (4), ever (4), how (4), change (4), atom (3), view (3), complete (3), vienna (3), succession (3), sophie (3), koch (3), young (3), ring (3), national (3), kaufmann (3), anja (3), andreas (3), staatsoper (3), december (3), 2007 (3), 2011 (3), flying (3), show (3), aria (3), brings (3), past (3), bertrand (3), billy (3), véronique (3), kwanchul (3), youn (3), wojtek (3), drabowicz (3), completely (3), fast (3), times (3), performed (3), why (3), off (3), top (3), such (3), work (3), edge (3), convincing (3), car (3), background (3), masetto (3), zerlina (3), commendatore (3), few (3), being (3), father (3), sexual (3), hand (3), despite (3), presence (3), william (3), christie (3), cornelia (3), tolomeo (3), could (3), certainly (3), still (3), today (3), baroque (3), must (3), singer (3), pants (3), entirely (3), point (3), sets (3), into (3), günter (3), hard (3), otherwise (3), would (3), either (3), wife (3), looks (3), come (3), their (3), two (3), audience (3), place (3), wall (3), paint (3), next (3), during (3), günther (3), gilbert (3), deflo (3), pique (3), dame (3), end (3), seem (3), among (3), maschera (3), 2003 (3), josé (3), pogner (3), magdalene (3), easily (3), were (3), stand (3), always (3), reading (3), kaune (3), admittedly (3), remember (3), details (3), old (3), them (3), controversial (3), fact (3), found (3), worked (3), mackerras (3), francesca (3), gleadow (3), kyle (3), ketelsen (3), clearly (3), tomas (3), hanus (3), nadia (3), krasteva (3), janina (3), baechle (3), dvorak (3), prince (3), damaged (3), foreign (3), princess (3), water (3), goblin (3), psychological (3), outside (3), ambiguity (3), follow (2), subscribe (2), profile (2), west (2), thomas (2), tbu (2), eric (2), stockholm (2), stefan (2), herheim (2), sir (2), danish (2), des (2), nibelungen (2), bastille (2), olga (2), norwegian (2), natalie (2), dessay (2), scala (2), kasper (2), joseph (2), jonas (2), johan (2), james (2), levine (2), del (2), westbroek (2), den (2), ekaterina (2), dresden (2), semperoper (2), dmitri (2), deutsche (2), daniele (2), gatti (2), barenboim (2), christopher (2), christine (2), christian (2), thielemann (2), camilla (2), skovhus (2), practical (2), anne (2), netrebko (2), caterina (2), antonacci (2), silja (2), angela (2), scholl (2), agnes (2), baltsa (2), boulezian (2), gesamtkunstwerk (2), parterre (2), likely (2), impossibilities (2), new (2), night (2), operaramblings (2), tattler (2), sounds (2), fury (2), trying (2), blogs (2), munich (2), current (2), related (2), link (2), need (2), know (2), photograph (2), 2009 (2), 2012 (2), continuing (2), 2016 (2), spanish (2), weeks (2), 2026 (2), above (2), search (2), through (2), recent (2), home (2), comment (2), anatoly (2), kocherga (2), felipe (2), bou (2), marisa (2), martins (2), marcel (2), reijans (2), regina (2), schörg (2), everyone (2), taste (2), interpretation (2), worth (2), vastly (2), right (2), talent (2), amidst (2), underlying (2), essentially (2), dull (2), personenregie (2), mainly (2), table (2), obviously (2), minutes (2), indeed (2), main (2), others (2), people (2), back (2), certain (2), get (2), realises (2), affair (2), massive (2), scandal (2), sex (2), shocked (2), feel (2), sunday (2), glyndebourne (2), sesto (2), christophe (2), personally (2), prefer (2), vivacity (2), rhythmic (2), every (2), cesar (2), against (2), erda (2), demands (2), youthful (2), looking (2), masculine (2), simply (2), comes (2), hint (2), version (2), manner (2), fabulous (2), involved (2), doubt (2), entertaining (2), breakthrough (2), became (2), seemed (2), mention (2), late (2), century (2), evolves (2), interested (2), normally (2), towards (2), highly (2), wednesday (2), problem (2), houses (2), less (2), filmed (2), guests (2), fine (2), versions (2), idea (2), creative (2), bad (2), wolfram (2), previous (2), double (2), third (2), paintings (2), surprising (2), equally (2), thus (2), painter (2), naked (2), try (2), ends (2), orgy (2), nakedness (2), let (2), alone (2), finds (2), modern (2), art (2), side (2), makes (2), extensive (2), use (2), auditorium (2), spectators (2), disappointing (2), under (2), strongest (2), performance (2), reason (2), unsympathetic (2), overchallenged (2), mature (2), famous (2), largely (2), period (2), costumes (2), used (2), zürich (2), level (2), nevertheless (2), arias (2), great (2), normal (2), dam (2), brigitte (2), pinter (2), strehl (2), gunther (2), inventive (2), give (2), suffice (2), style (2), colours (2), abstract (2), excellent (2), nothing (2), exactly (2), these (2), characterization (2), couple (2), presents (2), throughout (2), theatre (2), carola (2), guber (2), norbert (2), ernst (2), trailer (2), saw (2), close (2), detailed (2), lived (2), anyway (2), direction (2), outcast (2), heads (2), masters (2), concept (2), wach (2), clad (2), perform (2), capture (2), director (2), coffin (2), wagners (2), puzzle (2), perfectly (2), accept (2), agree (2), can (2), made (2), row (2), violence (2), entführung (2), komische (2), 2004 (2), season (2), reviewed (2), wozzeck (2), originally (2), down (2), major (2), saturday (2), worse (2), disagree (2), ramon (2), vargas (2), invited (2), once (2), outstanding (2), intention (2), accomplice (2), escape (2), shocking (2), page (2), awesome, inc, theme, powered, blogger, followers, contact, zubin, mehta, yannick, nezet, seguin, willy, decker, willard, white, eastern, divan, waltraud, meier, vittorio, grigolo, violeta, urmana, vesselina, kasarova, valery, gergiev, valencia, tuva, semmingsen, tommi, hakala, relased, quasthoff, hampson, docusoap, terje, stensvold, svetlana, ignatovich, sven, bechtolf, susanne, resmark, susanna, phillips, susan, graham, stig, andersen, stephen, milling, stephanie, blythe, stephane, braunschweig, sonya, yoncheva, sondra, radvanovsky, soile, isokoski, georg, solti, simone, rattle, ruggero, raimondi, rolando, villazon, roberto, alagna, lloyd, lepage, dean, smith, rising, stars, 161, jones, riccardo, muti, renée, fleming, rené, pape, plácido, domingo, pierre, boulez, philippe, jordan, philipp, himmelmann, lang, sellars, rose, mussbach, mattei, konwitschny, petibon, patrice, chereau, chatelet, orange, 125, comique, peretyatko, borodina, nino, machaidze, nicole, cabell, nadja, mojca, erdmann, mikhail, petrenko, mihoko, fujimura, schuster, schönwandt, maurizio, pollini, martina, mariusz, kwiecien, mariss, jansons, rebeka, marcelo, alvarez, malena, ernman, maija, kovalevska, magdalena, kozena, roh, linda, watson, leonie, rysanek, laura, aikin, krysztof, warlikowski, krassimira, stoyanova, kent, nagano, kate, katarina, dalayman, bech, holten, karita, mattila, jürgen, flimm, julia, kleiter, juha, uusitalo, juan, diego, florez, kaiser, calleja, jose, cura, john, tomlinson, reuter, botha, janai, brugger, morris, isabel, leonard, irmgard, seefried, irene, theorin, inva, mula, ildebrando, arcangelo, ian, storey, harry, kupfer, hamburg, gustavo, dudamel, gerald, finley, genia, kühmeier, fura, baus, ferruccio, furlanetto, falk, struckmann, fabio, luisi, johansson, esa, pekka, salonen, erwin, schrott, elza, heever, söderström, elina, garanca, siurina, semenchuk, edith, haller, 263, dorothea, röschmann, tcherniakov, hvorostovsky, diana, damrau, daniel, claus, guth, claudio, abbado, ventris, schlingensief, marthaler, christof, loy, schäfer, mielitz, christianne, stotijn, gerhaher, castronovo, tilling, nylund, bryn, terfel, ben, heppner, barbara, frittoli, audun, iversen, antonio, pappano, annette, dasch, sofie, otter, schwanewilms, prohaska, larsson, harteros, gheorghiu, denoke, andris, nelsons, kriegenburg, aleksandra, kurzak, aix, provence, adrianne, pieczonka, listed, alphabetically, unamplified, annina, teatime, lighthouse, cantan, ellas, coloraturaah, classical, iconoclast, designerblog, erwins, glt, torn, fernem, land, interchanging, idioms, intermezzo, ionarts, iron, tongue, midnight, sleeping, jessica, duchen, kinderkuchen, fbi, cieca, gertsamtkunstwerk, maldito, candelabro, favourite, intermissions, reblog, overgrown, path, òpera, demais, interesses, cake, chic, fresh, love, magic, obsession, rocks, chanteuse, opernblog, arts, prima, musica, superconductor, taminophile, remain, operational, tyro, critic, heute, morgen, welt, der, wiener, swedish, oslo, milan, madrid, teatro, bayerische, venues, docu, soap, events, types, everýthing, click, 128, 354, archive, google, translation, russian, korean, japanese, italian, french, chinese, translate, move, coloratur, aaah, terrifying, dresdner, bei, arte, und, bald, gig, economy, bride, journal, 2019, issue, authentic, korngold, raise, proms, roof, jdcmb, quatuor, diotima, 30th, anniversary, mason, beethoven, days, planet, amazons, day, opus, klassik, awards, heft, schubert, clicking, web, slow, journey, germany, updated, villa, wahnfried, standing, room, tickets, 1981, herbert, karajan, telling, popular, 250, database, older, veronique, realise, valid, ensemble, semi, eloquent, manners, signed, demonstrating, comical, occasions, gurnemanz, performs, nowadays, bass, splendid, splendidly, notch, restless, alienated, generation, accordance, ideas, deviated, heroine, addict, description, youth, moment, consist, park, pub, pool, tasteless, party, supper, cheap, away, rubbish, peeing, floor, drinking, beer, cans, popping, luggage, compartment, dead, killed, might, save, butt, murdered, stab, thrown, unwilling, hands, forced, décors, group, constantly, seeking, boundaries, happy, shagging, girls, latest, consensual, murder, aggressive, promises, cover, entire, story, exchange, favors, mightily, pissed, disgusted, favour, believing, eito, ambiance, rare, achievement, succeed, creating, english, 2001, urine, oral, frequenting, rarely, preferring, buying, your, law, recommend, freshest, gran, teatre, 2002, 2005, enlightment, connolly, maltman, achilla, tempeste, kirschschager, due, greater, negrin, spring, repeat, daniels, pelly, course, drive, enlightenment, conducted, tolemeo, appearing, importance, beautifully, somehow, fails, leave, lasting, impact, adversary, bleak, cornlia, beauty, power, yes, exact, problems, younger, countertenor, admit, female, bearing, forceful, straight, toned, singing, futhermore, menace, appropriate, roman, emperor, general, gives, unsophisticated, vulgar, rings, direct, delivery, dancer, definitely, factor, portrait, scheming, helped, wonder, international, applies, particular, roles, career, stagnate, poppea, hat, apart, dances, movements, accompanying, secondly, funny, moments, dumps, cigarette, urn, rival, husband, pompeo, clashes, egyptians, brother, paced, considered, inclined, myself, colonisation, egypt, egitto, provoking, superb, illogical, unfortunate, carsens, arrival, doing, sell, alternative, centered, struggles, explored, available, recommendation, alden, frommunich, holtens, pleasant, listen, bloom, match, ladies, substitute, weakness, run, stunning, body, shaky, vibrato, unpleasant, interpretative, controversy, opens, dreaming, whilst, performing, autoeroticism, painters, pilgrims, return, rome, scaffolds, empty, stripped, antecedents, mind, calls, arrives, women, merged, representing, different, essential, aspects, womanhood, reveals, touched, high, class, recognized, masterpiece, assigned, full, masterpieces, its, beneath, botticelli, milo, turned, revealed, curtain, drops, studio, multiple, copies, itself, enough, artistic, inspiration, completes, owner, reception, unsurprisingly, successive, revelation, note, reverse, actually, sängerfest, tannhäusers, presumably, expelled, enter, exit, rows, ths, artists, struggle, process, disappoint, smashing, friday, michaelboder, represented, five, somewhat, lacking, punch, density, grandiose, true, primordial, force, sufficient, watch, plays, sounding, heavily, strained, passage, wonderful, touching, doesn, lie, basically, sufficiently, disappointed, rejection, forte, sparse, recipe, previously, levels, central, confrontation, thrilling, parts, jaded, prokofiev, oranges, rigoletto, manon, tchaikovsky, gambling, addictive, loves, kills, grandmother, order, gain, three, secret, winning, cards, contains, beautiful, yeletsky, rejected, fiance, offers, possibilities, personalities, retirement, presently, eugene, onegin, lado, ataneli, tomsky, yeletski, elena, zaremba, pauline, seiffer, nightwatchman, revert, faced, decoded, piece, mixed, results, light, recognizable, simplistic, geometric, stylish, blue, second, stair, 3rd, amphitheatre, ballet, answer, question, learn, regarding, relationship, eludes, none, outs, strain, difficult, usual, command, optimal, vocal, shape, notwithstanding, recently, dry, experience, lot, ridiculous, swift, keeps, momentum, competition, stiff, reach, neither, nor, competing, lehnhoffs, repeated, dams, raison, être, static, freeze, die, tuesday, departing, medieval, wrestle, issues, super, leaves, desired, rest, nobody, exceptional, amanda, mace, year, underpowered, taking, fully, advantage, ups, impressive, answers, heavy, handed, again, long, wish, revise, read, shorten, longer, project, revision, needed, summarize, submit, conformism, moves, requires, familiarity, culture, ancient, present, myriads, discover, pace, furious, stuff, begins, suddenly, shirt, beck, town, sach, fancy, apartment, brahms, etc, dancing, suit, constructing, neat, idealised, family, literally, within, frames, doll, sudden, choral, preceding, captured, tied, chair, underwear, weird, dance, blindfolded, walks, going, seriously, master, stroke, earnest, eerie, helpers, putting, starting, fire, burn, reminiscent, nazi, epoque, golden, calf, model, emerges, bringing, check, 000, bank, voila, east, canteen, 1950, sits, typewriter, corner, shoemaking, sneakers, dropping, sky, throwing, sullen, hangs, brotherhood, sorts, traditionally, meistersingers, sit, small, yellow, books, classics, barefoot, slightly, outsider, nearly, dress, sprays, everything, everybody, driven, assembling, disorder, compared, beckmessers, assembled, enjoy, allegory, changes, reacts, receives, treatment, renowned, depart, traditionalisation, criticise, debated, grand, daughter, judged, politically, artistically, having, dozens, negative, frequent, provide, myriad, impossible, notice, presenting, daring, novel, arriving, minute, squeezed, seat, followed, spectacle, opened, earlier, universal, criticism, bayreuthfestival, dast, hans, sixtus, stolzing, artur, korn, veit, fritz, kothner, friedemann, röhlig, ein, nachtwächter, winner, thursday, born, 1962, mirande, ebro, spain, refers, catalán, education, history, philology, university, afte, apprentice, pete, brooks, vic, school, bristol, biographical, biography, describing, nudity, aesthetic, distinct, unique, beginning, notable, include, seraillet, set, brothel, homepage, interview, inteviewed, rude, journalist, links, maschero, 2006, boris, godunov, stuttgart, 2000, infamous, opening, men, squat, open, loos, selected, opinion, achievements, directorial, approach, masked, trio, difficulty, name, deceased, engaged, score, ornamentations, asked, offensive, havereviewed, choices, directed, frankly, forgot, mozart, terms, characerization, musical, things, voiced, shows, comic, recording, sweet, inhabits, 100, thin, sai, chi, onore, ugly, boring, finding, circular, glass, dark, death, flames, bare, chested, baggy, foolish, wigs, wear, comedy, tragedy, monodimensional, rogue, anonymous, desperate, understood, operas, virtually, okay, something, efforts, drown, dullness, andanna, covent, garden, halfvarson, groissbäck, unwatchable, pit, whose, rigid, reluctant, transparent, flow, cool, egocentric, herself, creature, looker, terrifyingly, thoroughly, contrary, expected, signing, groissbock, ideal, interpreter, haunted, worthy, hollywood, star, silvery, agile, appeal, should, held, planned, gave, debut, musetta, boheme, pulled, retrospectively, hailed, noteworthy, debuts, met, magda, rondine, caught, undercover, police, shattered, children, mental, institution, insane, closest, thriller, works, heartbreaking, beyond, repair, chance, adapting, escapes, aided, insensitive, played, carries, premarital, help, damages, inflicted, upon, childhood, prisoner, severe, incompatible, flees, comfort, prison, knows, features, portraits, mothers, support, upstairs, sisters, kept, prisoners, cellar, idyllic, helps, inspired, horrors, likes, priklopil, ignores, trace, romantic, era, grim, picture, josef, pritzl, haunting, forget, whether, agrees, basement, monday, started, denmark, board, certified, significant, working, write, website, named
Text of the page (random words):
g voiced clear donna elvira also kyle ketelsen in strong voice shows quite a comic talent as leporello robert gleadow 23 years old at the time of the recording and miah persson are sweet however while marina poplavskaya as always inhabits her character more than 100 vocally she seems quite thin and overchallenged especially in or sai chi onore simon keenlyside himself is clearly among the top choices of any don giovanni production today though i d like to see him in a better directed production frankly as always i almost forgot the don ottavio here ramon vargas though i do not really know what to say about him he sings his arias well but mozart did not give him much to work with in terms of characerization to begin with there are many many don giovanni dvds out there and off hand i can without difficulty name at least 5 better than this one in fact all the don giovanni dvds i havereviewed are better than this one though i admittedly have seen worse as well much worse the late sir charles mackerras deceased in 2010 was engaged and clearly masters the score despite the fact that i largely disagree with the ornamentations he asked the singers to perform though they were in no way offensive the masked trio the bottom line scale of 1 5 3 average simon keenlyside 4 5 kyle ketelsen 4 5 marina poplavskaya 3 joyce didonato 5 miah persson 4 5 robert gleadow 4 5 francesca zambello s production 2 charles mackerras 4 overall impression 3 posted by mostly opera at 20 21 3 comments labels dvd review joyce didonato marina poplavskaya miah persson simon keenlyside saturday 27 april 2013 calixto bieito calixto bieito born 1962 is mirande de ebro spain refers to himself as catalán education history of art and philology at the university in barcelona afte he worked as an apprentice with ao pete brooks old vic theatre school bristol biographical details here extensive biography i n spanish here directorial approach very contemporary often describing characters living on the edge of society in stagings often including nudity sex and violence at his best his productions are both aesthetic and with a distinct and quite unique contemporary feel major achievements in opera breakthrough beginning of the 00 s with highly controversial stagings of ballo di maschera and don giovanni in barcelona and london other notable stagings include carmen the best production on dvd in my opinion wozzeck also top choice on dvd as well as entführung from seraillet set in a brothel komische oper berlin 2009 calixto bieito selected productions ballo di maschera barcelona 2000 the infamous opening scene in which 14 men squat on open loos pants down entführung originally at komische oper berlin 2004 parsifal stuttgart 2010 boris godunov munich 2013 calixto bieito on dvd don giovanni barcelona liceu 2003 wozzeck barcelona liceu 2006 carmen barcelona liceu 2011 calixto bieito live performances reviewed by mostly opera ballo in maschero copenhagen around 2003 seen but not reviewed calixto bieito links current productions 2013 14 season by calixto bieito calixto bieito inteviewed in 2004 on his don g by a very rude british journalist profile interview on calixto bieito calixto bieito homepage posted by mostly opera at 22 44 no comments labels calixto bieito opera directors tbu thursday 25 april 2013 katharina wagners meistersinger a winner on dvd meistersinger dvd bayreuth festival 2008 production katharina wagner conductor sebastian weigle dast franz hawlata hans sachs michael volle sixtus beckmesser michaela kaune eva klaus florian vogt walther von stolzing norbert ernst david carola guber magdalene artur korn veit pogner markus eiche fritz kothner friedemann röhlig ein nachtwächter i remember very well this production the first i saw in the bayreuthfestival house in 2007 arriving at the last minute i squeezed into my hard seat on the 25 th row followed this spectacle which had opened a few weeks earlier to almost universal criticism for some reason meistersinger normally receives a very traditional treatment even by directors otherwise renowned for inventive staging perhaps it was the depart from this traditionalisation that made many criticise katharina wagner s staging or perhaps the fact that the succession to wolfgang wagner as festival director at that time was very much debated and that she as his grand daughter was judged as much politically as artistically i for one remember having seen dozens of negative comments related to this staging from people who had not even seen it at the time anyway i found at the time and i still find now that this staging is more than interesting and the dvd with the frequent use of close up provide myriad of details which were impossible to notice from the 25 th row in the house especially the last 45 minutes are quite extraordinary presenting a daring and entirely novel interpretation to truly enjoy this staging you will probably need to accept agree that this opera is an allegory of changes in society about how society reacts to change and how much change it can accept in act 1 we are in a 19 th century brotherhood of sorts traditionally clad meistersingers sit around the table reading small yellow books of german classics at that time sachs barefoot is a slightly controversial outsider but not nearly as controversial as the modern dress walther who sprays paint on everything and everybody not a singer but a painter the point is driven through by him assembling a puzzle of nürnberg all in disorder compared to beckmessers perfectly assembled nürnberg puzzle in act 2 the sullen eva hangs around what looks like an east german canteen in the 1950 s where sachs sits with his typewriter in the corner in the only hint at shoemaking sneakers seem to be dropping from the sky and all ends in an orgy of paint throwing the real stuff begins in act 3 now beckmesser is suddenly the outcast with his t shirt beck in town and finds himself in sach s fancy apartment where the heads of the old german masters brahms etc dancing in the background sachs with his elegant suit is now constructing a neat idealised family concept literally within the frames of a doll house for walther and eva to be filmed in how come this sudden change then in the choral scene preceding the wach auf sachs is captured and tied to a chair by these heads while they often clad in underwear perform a weird dance and eva blindfolded walks amidst them what is going on here seriously next however katharina wagners master stroke begin in earnest with an eerie scene in which sachs s helpers capture a stage director and conductor putting them in a coffin starting the fire to burn them exactly at the wach auf in a scene reminiscent of the nazi epoque very strong theater indeed et voila what comes out of the coffin a golden calf it seems when a model of the auditorium emerges from under stage we the audience are double spectators to walther bringing home a check of 10 000 from the nürnberg bank while beckmesser now is an outcast the staging requires a familiarity with german culture both ancient and present that i perhaps do not have and there are myriads of details to discover here as the pace is furious especially in the third act to summarize sachs and walther essentially submit to conformism while beckmesser moves in the other direction no katharina wagner does not have all the answers and admittedly the staging of the first act seems a bit heavy handed but then again the first act is really long and not for the first time do i wish wagner would have lived to revise read shorten it though i have no idea if he ever thought about that and anyway if he had lived any longer his next project after parsifal would probably have been a revision of tannhäuser needed as well more singers stand out on the dvd than i remember from the live performance especially franz hawlata underpowered in the theater but not here taking fully advantage of the close ups for us to see his detailed and impressive acting walther really is a super role for klaus florian vogt probably his best role together with lohengrin and michael volle also leaves nothing to be desired as for the rest nobody was exceptional one way or the other though admittedly michaela kaune was vastly better than the amanda mace i saw the year before katharina wagner presents with the only production on dvd truly departing from medieval nürnberg and trying to wrestle with this issues for this alone this is a must see trailer for the dvd the bottom line scale of 1 5 3 average franz hawlata 4 michaela kaune 3 4 klaus florian vogt 5 michael volle 5 norbert ernst 4 carola guber 4 katharina wagner s production 4 5 sebastian weigle 4 overall impression 5 posted by mostly opera at 20 27 no comments labels bayreuth festival dvd review franz hawlata katharina wagner klaus florian vogt meistersinger michael volle richard wagner tuesday 23 april 2013 disappointing meistersinger from zürich die meistersinger von nürnberg zurich opera 2003 production nikolaus lehnhoff conductor franz welser möst cast josé van dam sachs peter seiffer walther petra maria schnitzer eva matti salminen pogner michael volle beckmesser brigitte pinter magdalene christoph strehl david gunther groissböck nightwatchman it is not the first time that otherwise quite inventive stage directors seem to freeze and revert to previous times static theatre when faced with meistersinger while it is perhaps not surprising that no one seems to have truly decoded this piece why not at least give it a try katharina wagner did with mixed but nevertheless interesting results nikolaus lehnhoff as seen here well suffice to say we are light years from his production of tristan and isolde to be seen at glyndebourne around the same time nikolaus lehnhoff s style is easily recognizable though simplistic geometric sets in stylish colours and characters in period costumes just take a look at the abstract blue second act with a massive stair case which could easily have been re used for his lohengrin the best are the equally abstract 3rd act sets including and excellent amphitheatre excellent ballet however when the answer to the question what did you learn from this staging regarding the characters and their relationship is nothing then the raison d être for this dvd eludes me especially as none of the singers were stand outs either peter seiffert sings walther like tristan though not without strain his real life wife petra maria schnitzer is better vocally though not exactly youthful is it really that difficult to cast these two characters after all this is not tristan and isolde also as magdalene we see the rather mature brigitte pinter and while matti salminen brings his usual command to pogner he is not in optimal vocal shape age notwithstanding i have seen much better performances from him recently josé van dams strong point is his characterization of sachs the voice rather too dry however his strong stage presence and the experience he brings to the role makes up for a lot best of all however michael volle in a role he repeated in bayreuth a couple of years later vocally strong always interesting and never ridiculous a better beckmesser is not to be seen today finally franz welser möst presents a rather swift reading which is not bad at all especially as he keeps momentum throughout however the competition is stiff and he does not reach the level of neither barenboim thielemann nor levine on competing dvds final scene the bottom line scale of 1 5 3 average josé van dam 3 4 peter seiffert 2 petra maria schnitzer 3 michael volle 5 matti salminen 4 christoph strehl 4 lehnhoffs production 3 franz welser möst 3 overall impression 3 posted by mostly opera at 17 45 no comments labels dvd review franz welser möst meistersinger michael volle peter seiffert zurich opera sunday 21 april 2013 pique dame barcelona dvd pique dame dvd 2010 liceu barcelona production gilbert deflo conductor michael boder cast misha didyk hermann emily magee lisa lado ataneli tomsky ludovic tezier yeletski elena zaremba pauline ewa podles countess tchaikovsky s opera about the gambling addictive hermann who loves lisa but kills her grandmother the countess in order to gain three secret winning cards is not quite at the same level of his eugene onegin but nevertheless contains some beautiful music and 2 3 famous arias one by yeletsky lisa s rejected fiance 1 2 by lisa but above all it is the role of the countess which offers one of the few possibilities for great singer personalities and the role is often cast with singers far past the age of normal retirement presently both anja silja and agnes baltsa may be seen in the role the production by gilbert deflo is elegant and largely traditional period costumes a sparse background same recipe as he has previously used as in his paris versions of manon ballo in maschera and rigoletto zürich unfortunately it is not at the same levels as his best work such as an extraordinary version of prokofiev s oranges thus while the central confrontation between hermann and countess is quite thrilling other parts especially the first act seems a bit jaded hermann really is a quite unsympathetic character and misha didyk plays him well vocally however he is quite overchallenged sounding heavily strained in almost every forte passage emily magee is an at times wonderful and very touching lisa though she seems to mature for the role which doesn t seem to lie well for her and is not among her best ludovic tezier in what is basically a one aria a bit more role sings his one famous aria well and looks sufficiently disappointed by lisa s rejection of him however by far the strongest performance is ewa podles grandiose countess a true primordial force and an entirely sufficient reason to watch this dvd or at least the 2 nd act unfortunately the orchestra is somewhat disappointing as well lacking both punch and density under michael boder pique dame is not well represented on recent dvds but however i doubt that this will end up as a first choice in five years time ewa podles and misha didyk in act 2 the bottom line scale of 1 5 3 average misha didyk 3 emily magee 4 ewa podles 5 ludovic tezier 4 gilbert deflo s production 3 4 michael boder 3 overall impression 3 posted by mostly opera at 14 34 no comments labels barcelona opera liceu dvd review emily magee michaelboder friday 19 april 2013 singers disappoint in smashing carsen tannhäuser staging tannhäuser dvd liceu barcelona 2008 production robert carsen conductor sebastian weigle cast peter seiffert tannhäuser petra maria schnitzer elisabeth beatrice uria monzon venus günther groissböck hermann markus eiche wolfram with this production of tannhäuser robert carsen has created one of his best stagings elegant well thought out as well as thought provoking there is only one problem this was a co production between the opera houses of paris and barcelona in paris the cast including nina stemme and sophie koch was superb in barcelona less so and howev...
|
