tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post2637843239327251611..comments2023-12-27T09:38:56.562+01:00Comments on Opera Cake: We will barock you (6): Orlando BoriosoOpera Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-16617933262143965142011-03-23T09:16:20.592+01:002011-03-23T09:16:20.592+01:00Hi Andrew and thanks for your comment. I hope Jenn...Hi Andrew and thanks for your comment. I hope Jennifer was great on the final night as she was at the premiere. <br /><br />I understand your points and obviously agree, although one point is maybe worth rehashing a bit. I don't mind if the singers sound a tad less good than they do on the recordings, of all the stage action compensates by bringing some extra quality to the piece. My beef with Audi's staging was that the singers were running like crazy (Orlando) but only to portray a caricature of a madly jealous person, instead of bringing something "new"/different out of the work that could not be communicated through music alone but could have been done through image, gesture, or interaction among characters. <br /><br />With a staging like this, the cuts to shorten the opera would have been welcomed on my end ;)<br /><br />Thanks again and cheersOpera Cakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-71897767761955507172011-03-23T01:12:17.999+01:002011-03-23T01:12:17.999+01:00i just got back from the closing night performance...i just got back from the closing night performance (22mar2011) and i am with you on a lot of points. while i have enjoyed the recording and the live broadcast of concert performances in the past, i am not sure that this translation to the stage added anything to the beauty and drama of the work as we know it. in fact, i was left underwhelmed and more than a little confused. for one thing, i found the need for the singers to play up the drama for the stage robbed them of the focus in the singing; in fact, more than once, they sounded exhausted or out of breath. i say this by way of comparison with the singer who replaced romina basso at the 11th hour (we were informed that she got into paris only at 4 pm today!) and who sang from the orchestra since she didn't know the staging/blocking (she had a non singing double on stage). she, daniela pini, sounded much more in control and sang with nuanced emotion. i am not against staged performances but many times, i find singers tend to overact and this can take away from their vocal stamina. for e.g., it's easy to act crazy/mad but not so easy to do it well. ms lemieux's mad scene and mad portrayal belonged to the first sense; it was sad to see some of the vocal shadings and colouring gone by the way side from all the fumbling and dashing around which left her breathless in parts. the same can be said for ms lamore to some degree. by comparison, mr jarrousky whose character was not given over to such histrionics sang sublimely. it is no wonder he got more 'bravos' (i agree that he may have a more vociferous local fan base but i am not convinced that that is the only reason). Pierre Audi's direction may be to blamed for all this. Many times I found that the singers were just told to turn on 'drama' switch, as it were, without any correlation to the musically material or dramatic intention of the scene. I found there was very little dramatic coherence or character development so that it was hard to identify with any of the characters in their personal psyche. I had so much expectation for this to be a truly stunning success given its history and gestation but was left underwhelmed. this was a truly top-notched cast and they can all do justice to the piece. it is just the dramatics and development that needs to be majorly fine-tuned for this opera to not end up as a curiosity that leaves some of its audience alienated and confused.Andrew Wonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03758236763788446581noreply@blogger.com