tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post7237482145460422365..comments2023-12-27T09:38:56.562+01:00Comments on Opera Cake: We will barock you (5): Alcina at Théâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesOpera Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-31773188154877922542010-12-06T01:59:48.832+01:002010-12-06T01:59:48.832+01:00One of these days I'm going to have to see a p...One of these days I'm going to have to see a production directed by my namesakeSergionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-78855736998185089332010-12-02T13:16:39.390+01:002010-12-02T13:16:39.390+01:00Hi thadieu! I guess you're more of "baroq...Hi thadieu! I guess you're more of "baroque-fan" than I am. Even when fresh and alert, I'm not sure 4 hours of baroque is what I could bear up with in concert. It's just too much for me (and I know quite well many arias in Alcina). <br /><br />Wagner operas are also long but they are rarely fully given in concert, even tho their musical and dramatic contents are much more vibrant than what you get from baroque (well for me at least). Usually you have Act-2 of Tristan, or Act-1 of Die Walküre... <br /><br />4 hours of Alcina with a clever stage action -- I'm all for it! But in concert, not any more :) <br /><br />Had I know it. I'd have left the concert during intermission; right after Anja Harteros' heart-throbbing "Ah! mio cor", and I'm sure I would have been much happier.Opera Cakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-7811470875489516612010-12-01T18:14:19.036+01:002010-12-01T18:14:19.036+01:00hi Opera Cake, thanks for your review! I attended...hi Opera Cake, thanks for your review! I attended 3 times the staged version in Vienna and found each time more wonderful than the last. I completely agree with you on Ah Mio Cor, just simply stunning. She left me floored, unable to move as intermission rolled in. I guess to listen to the concert version you need to know the entire opera by heart and arrive at the concert hall fresh and alert :-). Otherwise, 4 hours can be quite long.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-78736936645659467122010-12-01T14:12:29.318+01:002010-12-01T14:12:29.318+01:00Hi John! Exactly! That's what I keep repeating...Hi John! Exactly! That's what I keep repeating too. <br /><br />I guess they'll split the concert at Barbican the same way they did it in Paris. First 2 hours are actually enjoyable, and when you feel in a shadow of boredom, the last aria (Ah! mio cor) helps. <br /><br />It's during Part-Two that I started suffering, but since my seat was in the middle I couldn't just get up and leave... <br /><br />Well, maybe it's me and my attention span too short for Alcina in concert?! <br /><br />CheersOpera Cakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-82361501167866873992010-12-01T13:57:35.418+01:002010-12-01T13:57:35.418+01:00This is coming to London on Saturday provided that...This is coming to London on Saturday provided that Eurostar is not halted by the snow.<br /><br /> I agree that 4 hours is too long for a concert version. In the 18th C the audience would drink, flirt, gamble and chat during the duller bits so why should we should we sit in the dark for this long for a concert performance.<br /><br />Harteros should make it worthwhile though.Vecchio Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06667687814424223347noreply@blogger.com