The Opera Tattler

LA Opera Bailout

The layoffs earlier this year were not enough, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors just approved a $14 million emergency loan for Los Angeles Opera.

LA Times | LA Opera

Dan Brown at La Scala

Apparently Dan Brown attended the this season's opening of La Scala, a performance of Carmen, and mentioned that he could imagine the opera house as a setting for his writing.

Reuters Article | La Scala

Marino Formenti plays Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus

* Tattling * 
Marino Formenti's recent performance at Los Angeles Philharmonic convinced me to get a ticket for his performance of Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus in Berkeley yesterday, although I neither like nor understand Messiaen. Unfortunately, it turned out that I had to return to Southern California on Saturday morning for personal reasons, but was able to goad someone into taking the ticket I had purchased. As it happened, I arrived back in Berkeley in plenty of time for Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra's holiday performance. In fact, I was so early I was able to to over to St. John's where Formenti was playing to meet up with some of my favorite bloggers at the recital. I had thought it was unlikely I could go into the hall, since there was probably no intermission.

I was surprised to be able to hear some of the music from outside of the building, and when I entered the lobby, the person selling tickets asked if she could help me. Seeing the sign that said there was no intermission, I remarked that the piece had gone on for an hour already, declined buying a ticket, and sat in the hallway to wait for my friends. From what I could tell, I was missing a great performance, Formenti's playing is so appealing. I could only hear the forte bits of the music, as I was sitting by a rather loud water heater.

I do not know how long I was there before the ticket seller came up to me and said something about it being unfair that I was listening to the music and had not paid for a ticket. This was completely discombobulating to me, and I found I really had no response. I had been listening to what was audible to me, and maybe I should have paid for half a ticket, as she suggested, for sitting in a hallway. I did say in no uncertain terms that I was not going into the hall, as I think that would have been unfair, to disrupt the performance whilst it was going on. The person was placated when I told her I was waiting for friends that were in the hall. However, perhaps she has a point, I did listen to snippets of Formenti playing Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus, and to that end, I have made a nominal donation to San Francisco Performances. I also have a strong suspicion that I will not attend a performance presented by San Francisco Performances this season.

The Tallis Scholars sing Josquin's Missa De beata virgine

* Notes * 
The Tallis Scholars started their latest US tour in Berkeley yesterday evening. The first half of the program consisted of Josquin's Missa De beata virgine, which was sung with remarkable clarity. The nine singers were perfectly synchronized under the direction of Peter Phillips. After the intermission we heard impeccable singing of Nesbett's Magnificat. Only seven of the singers took part in the Tunes for Archbishop Parker's Psalter by Tallis, yet they still produced a great deal of sound. Three pieces from Byrd with the full ensemble followed: Ye sacred muses, Tribulationes civitatum, and Vigilate. The singing was gorgeous, the voices blended together beautifully, and the tempi were crisp.

* Tattling * 
There was electronic noise at the beginning of the performance, some talking, a little more whispering, and a wailing hearing aid. All of this more or less subsided in the second half.

Stucky, Sibelius, & Stravinsky at Berkeley Symphony

* Notes * 
Last night Berkeley Symphony played a program of Steven Stucky, Sibelius, and Stravinsky. The program was quite coherent, the pieces all hung together well, each having a certain ethereality. The orchestra shimmered under Joana Carneiro, though perhaps lacking precision, the musicians did produce a lovely, hazy sound. Stucky's Radical Light started off almost like white noise, and was generally inoffensive and rather pretty. Its relationship to Symphony No. 7 of Sibelius that followed was clear. Likewise, "Elegy" from August 4, 1964 was harmless enough, and not unattractive as a piece. Stravinsky's The Firebird Suite glittered as the finale of the performance.

* Tattling * 
There was very little whispering, at least at the sides of the orchestra level, where there also were not that many people.

Final Performance of Otello at SF Opera

* Notes * 
The final performance of the year for San Francisco Opera was Verdi's Otello last Wednesday. The orchestra continued to sound fine, especially the woodwinds. Luisotti's interpretation of the music came through, his choices in tempi and dynamics were strong. The chorus also did wonderfully. Vocally, the performance was consistent with the opening, Renée Tatum (Emilia) and Eric Halfvarson (Lodovico) stood out in the smaller roles. Beau Gibson was quiet as Cassio, and Marco Vratogna (Iago) was also a little thin vocally. Zvetelina Vassileva (Desdemona) had good volume but a great deal of vibrato in her highest notes. Her voice is, however, not unpleasant. Johan Botha sang beautifully, but his stage presence is lacking, and the audience openly laughed at him at the end of Act III when he sings "Quella vil cortigiana ch'è la sposa d'Otello." Perhaps the supertitles were to blame.

* Tattling * 
The audience ill-behaved. For one thing, some of the technical staff were about, and I heard their talking aloud, and their walkie-talkies. Someone read The Hobbit during the overture of Act III, oblivious to the fact that he was blocking my light for reading the score. The same person rustled a plastic bag, but at least had the good sense to leave after Act III. Some else snored loudly on the middle bench of the back balcony throughout Act III, naturally the only one with light back there.

The Barber of Seville at LA Opera

* Notes * 
Last Sunday Il Barbiere di Siviglia opened in a matinée performance at Los Angeles Opera. The orchestra sounded unfocused under Michele Mariotti, often not with the singers. As Fiorello, José Adán Pérez sounded fine, as did Kerri Marcinko (Berta). Andrea Silvestrelli was an amusing Don Basilio, his throaty, resonant tones were spot on. Bruno Praticò looked and acted convincingly as Doctor Bartolo, but could not always be heard over the orchestra. both lacking heft and fullness.

Nathan Gunn (Figaro) moved so well, and he really has the physicality to pull off the humorous choreography in this production. His voice seemed just a little thin, especially for a baritone. Juan Diego Flórez was perfectly sweet as the Count, never straining. He started off slightly quiet, but seemed to warm up as the afternoon progressed. On the contrary, Joyce DiDonato (Rosina) was wonderful from the beginning. Full of sass, she sang with a gorgeous ease and good volume, but not overwhelming anyone else.

Emilio Sagi's production, directed by Javier Ulacia, was certainly informed by The Wizard of Oz, starting off monochrome and ending in lurid colors. The scenic design, from Llorenç Corbella, was perhaps overly precious. It was all terribly cute, especially Doctor Bartolo's tiny dog.

* Tattling * 
Everyone on the left side of Handrail Obstructed Balcony B was quiet, no talking, hardly any whispering. Unfortunately there was talking from the center, and of course, cellular phones rang during Act II, some more than once, even though we had all been reminded to turn off our electronic devices.

Ensemble Parallèle's Wozzeck Presentation

Ensemble Parallèle's Artistic Director and Founder Nicole Paiement is giving a musical presentation about Berg's Wozzeck and a behind the scenes glimpse of the upcoming production. Bojan Knezevic and AJ Glueckert will offer musical examples and director Brian Staufenbiel will be on hand for a question and answer session on staging concepts.

This event occurs on December 10 at 6:30 p.m. at San Francisco Conservatory of Music (50 Oak Street, San Francisco) and is followed by a reception. Seating is limited and responses will be counted on a first come, first served basis. One should contact Lucik Aprahamian at lucik25@gmail.com or by phone 831 252-0573.

Dudamel conducts City Noir

* Notes * 
On Friday Gustavo Dudamel conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a program of Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lou Harrison, and John Adams. The Salonen is heavily orchestrated in the manner of much contemporary music, with a plethora of percussion, including six bongos and four tom-toms. Dudamel kept the volume to non-deafening levels, even if the brass did have harsh moments. The Piano Concerto from Harrison that followed had significantly fewer orchestra members on stage. At times it seemed that the soloist, Marino Formenti, and the orchestra were not playing in the same piece. This kept the music quite interesting, in any case. Formenti's playing was appealing and sensitive, yet could be brutal.

City Noir had a world premiere at LA Phil last month, but John Adams was in attendance nonetheless. The work has nearly twice as many sorts of percussive instruments as the first piece. The musicians seemed together and engaged, the viola solo in the second movement was particularly fine, as was the trumpet solo in the last movement. If nothing else, Dudamel certainly conveyed excitement.

* Tattling * 
There was no whispering or talking in the Terrace View, and very little noise in general from this section. Coughs could be heard throughout the hall. It was remarkable to see how few empty seats there were, given that the program consisted entirely of new music.

Tamerlano at LA Opera

* Notes * 
Yesterday evening Tamerlano had the third of five performances this season at Los Angeles Opera. William Lacey had the orchestra sounding uncharacteristically crisp, serving the music well. Most of the singing was of a high standard, only Ryan McKinny (Leone) and Jennifer Holloway (Irene) did not stand out, both lacking heft and fullness. Sarah Coburn sounded and looked pretty as Asteria, though her vibrato could be excessive. She sang her Act II aria, "Se non mi vuol amar," nicely. Patricia Bardon cut a fine figure as Andronico, and the warmth of her voice was pleasant. She too sang with rather too much vibrato for this sort of music. Plácido Domingo (Bajazet) sounded surprisingly lovely, even if the music does not particularly suit him. Domingo seemed only slightly fragile, his timing imperfect, however, his timbre is beautiful, so sweet. In the title role, countertenor Bejun Mehta had a fresh effortlessness, his volume strong, without sounding strained or constricted.

The production, directed by Chas Rader-Shieber, was a somewhat silly. The most unintentionally hilarious bit was in Act II when Tamerlano took Bajazet's long brocade coat and wore it over his suit in an apparent fit of tyranny. David Zinn's scenery was clean and his costumes elegant. Best of all was the lighting from Christopher Akerlind, understated at first, and building up to the last act, which featured red reflected off of the black floor rather dramatically.

* Tattling * 
There were some mobile phone rings, most disruptive in Act III, during the recitative between Tamerlano and Bajazet. The couple in H 75 and 76 of Balcony B would not stop talking during Acts I and II, despite my repeated attempts to express my displeasure with their noise levels. The male half of this couple had a bad cold and snorted about 25 times in the first act, and I was sure they would not return after the first intermission. They did come back, only to litter cotton swabs and tissues all over the ground around their seats, and to take photographs of Domingo. Their camera emitted various high-pitched sounds during the music. I asked to be reseated after the second intermission, and the ushers were very accommodating and helpful.

From the House of the Dead at the Met

* Notes * 
Leoš Janáček's final opera, Z Mrtvého Domu (From the House of the Dead) had a third performance at the Met last Saturday evening. The production marked the debuts of both conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and director Patrice Chéreau in this house. The austere staging featured a monolithic grey set from Richard Peduzzi, yet was not static as there was much movement of people and stage elements, not to mention some startling effects with massive amounts of paper. The incorporation of the supertitles into the set was cunning, though unfortunately prone to technical difficulties, in this case an error message was displayed prominently at the end of the opera. Also, the choreography could be rather too loud, a distraction from the music.

Salonen had the orchestra under control, producing a beautiful sound that supported the singers. There were only a few harsh, muddy moments in the brass. The ensemble cast was well-rounded. Tenors Stefan Margita (Luka/Filka Morozov) and Kurt Streit (Skuratov) played off each other at the end of Act I, both have fine, but distinct, voices. Streit sang quite mournfully in Act II, with good volume and warmth. In Act III, baritone Peter Mattei portrayed Shishkov with conviction, his desperation and anguish were evident.

* Tattling * 
The back of the Family Circle had rows of empty seats, and by the time the music started, only two people were in standing room.

Turandot at the Met

* Notes * 
Last weekend's Saturday matinée of Turandot at the Met proved quite pleasing. Evidently the Zeffirelli production is extravagant, and judging from the audience reaction, the opulence was very much appreciated. Andris Nelsons had the orchestra playing rather loudly at times, the sound was full and rich. There was more than one time that the singers and orchestra were not synchronized, but not enough to spoil the grand effect of the whole piece.

Joshua Hopkins, Tony Stevenson, and Eduardo Valdes were amusing as Ping, Pang, and Pong; their voices sounded nice together, and their timing with each other was precise. Samuel Ramey wobbled a great deal as Timur, he certainly sounded elderly, which is perhaps fine for this part. Marina Poplavskaya (Liù) sang "Signore, ascolta!" with a beautiful plaintiveness, though her breaths were somewhat loud.

As for our two leads, neither were completely splendid, but certainly not terrible either. At times, Maria Guleghina shrieked her way through the title role, however, she was impressively imperious. Frank Poretta (Calaf) was carefully pacing himself for "Nessun dorma," which he sang with sweetness and strength. It did not sound effortless, but it was most moving.

* Tattling * 
As I waited in the standing room line for From the House of the Dead, I received a deferential message from the Lectures and Community Programs Fellow letting me know I had been reseated to Score Desk 2, as a band was going to be where I was ticketed for, and that the House Manager and Box Office had both been advised of this. When I arrived at the Score Desk Level, I saw several music stands ready for the off-stage band, and indeed some trumpets and trombones played from there in Act III. One of the house staff found me at Score Desk 2, and kindly made sure that everything was organized properly.

Il Trittico at the Met

* Notes * 
The latest run of Il Trittico at the Met opened last night. Stefano Ranzani made a fine debut, his tempi were elastic, and for the most part the orchestra did not overwhelm the singers. Patricia Racette sang the three soprano roles, as she did recently in San Francisco. Her voice showed some strain, and the quality of her vibrato could be unpleasant. Her costume as Giorgetta was not the most becoming. Aleksandrs Antonenko was quiet as Luigi, and though menacing as Michele, Željko Lucic did not cut through the brass at the end of Il Tabarro. Stephanie Blythe was almost endearing as Frugola, her voice is strong, warm, and hefty. Her duet with Paul Plishka (Talpa) was not exactly together, and she was much louder than he.

Suor Angelica featured some lovely choral singing. Racette's acting came across as histrionic (from the back of the Family Circle, in any case), collapsing in a melodramatic pile of skirts not once but twice. Her singing could be moving, especially in the last scene. Blythe again was impressive as La Principessa, haughty and controlled.

Gianni Schicchi was perfectly amusing. Racette's "O mio babbino caro" had some shrillness, and Saimir Pirgu (Rinuccio) strained at the top of his voice. Stephanie Blythe was actually very funny as Zita, as was the rest of Buoso's family. There were only a few issues with timing. Alessandro Corbelli was hilarious as Gianni Schicchi, he is a fine actor, and his voice, though lacking weight, is perfectly suitable for this role.

The production, directed by Jack O'Brien, with sets from Douglas W. Schmidt, is the quintessence of the Metropolitan Opera style. Everything was simply a literal recreation of historical scenes, Il Tabarro was Paris in 1927, Suor Angelica Tuscany in 1938, and Gianni Schicchi 1959's Florence. Of course, this is breathtaking in its lavishness. The Seine looked like it had been brought to New York, there was a donkey that was lead across the convent courtyard, and when the set sank to reveal Lauretta and Rinuccio on the roof, it was difficult not to applaud.

* Tattling * 
The usual watch alarms rang at the hour, most distractingly in Suor Angelica. The audience clapped for every set. There was some talking, and vehement hushing as well.

Muti at NY Philharmonic

* Notes * 
Riccardo Muti conducted the New York Philharmonic in a program of Lizst, Elgar, and Prokofiev last Thursday, and I attended a lively open rehearsal in that morning. The orchestra was in street clothes, as one would expect, and Muti himself was perfectly coiffed, looking foppish in his hot pink sweater. Lizst's Les Préludes, Symphonic Poem No. 3 began the day, and it was surprising how much stopping and starting there was, it truly was a working rehearsal. This was followed by a rather lovely performance of Elgar's In the South (Alassio), which Muti explained was a odd title for him, since Alassio is north of where he is from. The trumpets sounded beautifully clear, and the viola solo came off very nicely. After a brief intermission, we heard selections from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. The orchestra played with exuberance. After one movement Muti commented "What is missing is a sense of dance, a sense of the body that moves," and it was obvious he had a fine rapport with the musicians.

* Tattling *
A hearing aid screeched a few times at the beginning of the Liszt. There was some talking from the students in attendance, and a mobile phone rang during the Prokofiev.

Kepler at BAM

* Notes * 
The US premiere of Kepler by Philip Glass was last Wednesday night at BAM. The opera is rather more like an oratorio than an opera, being that of the 7 solo roles, only one was a named character, Kepler himself. All the singers were from the Upper Austrian State Theatre, Linz, and they acquitted themselves rather well, as far as the chorus is concerned. The soloists blended nicely together, but as Kepler, Martin Achrainer was difficult to hear over the heavy orchestration, as was tenor Pedro Velázquez Díaz. The soprano Alaine Rodin replaced Cassandra McConnell, and was somewhat shrill, but was otherwise inoffensive.

The Bruckner Orchester Linz played nicely under Dennis Russell Davies, though they overwhelmed the soloists at times, they were never painfully loud. As for the opera itself, charmingly enough the texts were in German and Latin, especially adorable was when Kepler sang about the polyhedral models of the orbits of various planets. "Ohne echtes Wissen ist das Leben tot" also had a particular beauty.

* Tattling * 
The audience was fairly silent, though there was one watch alarm at each hour, and a few people left early despite there being no intermission.