Oct. 8th, 2004 01:24 pm
"Don GioVANni! Is coming to KILL me!"
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muckefuckThis fall's opera season opened with three modest dissappointments.
The first was dinner at the Berghoff. Despite their attempts to get more post-nouvelle, they're still best when they stick to their full-fats-ahead damn-the-cholesterol traditional standards. We've eaten lots of places in the Loop, but we always fall back on them at least a couple times each season for their combination of location, service, economy, and Gemütlichkeit. This makes it especially distressing when they slip up, as they did when they served me "German fries" that had been sitting until they grew lukewarm and leathery on the outside. The schnitzel "ala [sic] Holstein" was my own fault--was wissen Fischköpfe vom Schnitzel, gel? And what is wrong with Northerners that they have to spoil perfectly tasty food with nasty little capers? (Nuphy felt similarly about the anchovy, but I don't consider that fatal, just inappropriate; what, no herring in the kitchen?)
The second was that we didn't have box seats. Nuphy confirmed that we did talk about getting them for this performance, but if it was up to him to take care of that, then he dropped the ball. No big. After all, we have 'em for the Ring, when it really counts. (Incidentally,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bunj, we did get Cycle 3. See you at the show!)
And actually, maybe that wasn't so bad after all, since the bigger disappointment was the opera. I don't mean that it was bad--Kruzitürken, how could it be with that composer, that librettists, that orchestra, and that cast? But I had expected something on a par with the knockout Nozze di Figaro of a couple years back, which remains the most impressive opera performance I was lucky enough to attend. But, as Nuphy explained in intermission, Don Giovanni was traditionally considered the strongest of the three Da Ponte/Mozart collaborations when it's actually the most staid, most slapdash, and weakest. He thinks the consensus is shifting to Così fan tutte, which audiences didn't know what to make of in Mozart's day, but which is much more in line with modern sensibilities than a piece that starts out with an attempted rape and then tried to morph into a light comedy.
Quick notes on the production: Like I said, great cast. D'Arcangelo isn't as strong a singer as I'd like, but he certain brings a lot of verve to Leporello. Bayrakdarian, who nearly wrecked last year's production of Nozze, did better than I'd feared. Her entrance was weak and off the beat, but she got better by the end. She was no match for Graham, however, and certainly not Mattila, whose Donna Anna almost stole the show. We were also blessed with a surprisingly good Don Ottavio and a truly booming basso for the Commendatore. He managed to project some real menace in one of the cheesiest undead characters this side of the King's Ghost. It goes without saying that Bryn can do no wrong, but I confess that hearing the tune to "Non piu 'ndrai" in the Second Act made me wish to god we were singing Figaro again instead of Don Giovanni. At least it's a massive improvement over last year's Sweeney Todd. What a waste of talent that was!
The set decoration was minimal, which Nuphy disliked but I didn't mind--except, of course, when it made the blocking senseless. For instance, in the scene where Leporello has just praised his master's eyesight but the latter proves incapable of recognising an ex-lover in broad daylight from twenty yards across an entirely featureless stage. Then there's the murder of the Commendatore, who's framed in a square of light from the open door, yet everyone has to run around the stage for a minute before figuring out what's befallen him. So, overall, not nearly as bad as the notorious Meistersinger set (especially in terms of looking cheap), but bringing about some of the same kind of idiocy.
So what didn't I like? Although there were some surprising elements to the music (Nuphy leaned over during the Statue's appearance to point out "Twelve-tone row!"), overall it could've passed for Rossini. I'm not slaggin' the man, I'm just saying that I expect more from Amadeus than just sprightly and hummable. Also, as I said, the mix of comedy and tragedy didn't work for me. After someone's been presented as a vicious rapist and a cold-blooded murderer, it's tough to accept him as an entertaining rogue. (The comedic elements were played very broadly.) All claims about Don Juan's seductive powers take on an unsettling edge when he's depicted as relying as much on brute strength as anything else.
The first was dinner at the Berghoff. Despite their attempts to get more post-nouvelle, they're still best when they stick to their full-fats-ahead damn-the-cholesterol traditional standards. We've eaten lots of places in the Loop, but we always fall back on them at least a couple times each season for their combination of location, service, economy, and Gemütlichkeit. This makes it especially distressing when they slip up, as they did when they served me "German fries" that had been sitting until they grew lukewarm and leathery on the outside. The schnitzel "ala [sic] Holstein" was my own fault--was wissen Fischköpfe vom Schnitzel, gel? And what is wrong with Northerners that they have to spoil perfectly tasty food with nasty little capers? (Nuphy felt similarly about the anchovy, but I don't consider that fatal, just inappropriate; what, no herring in the kitchen?)
The second was that we didn't have box seats. Nuphy confirmed that we did talk about getting them for this performance, but if it was up to him to take care of that, then he dropped the ball. No big. After all, we have 'em for the Ring, when it really counts. (Incidentally,
bunj, we did get Cycle 3. See you at the show!)And actually, maybe that wasn't so bad after all, since the bigger disappointment was the opera. I don't mean that it was bad--Kruzitürken, how could it be with that composer, that librettists, that orchestra, and that cast? But I had expected something on a par with the knockout Nozze di Figaro of a couple years back, which remains the most impressive opera performance I was lucky enough to attend. But, as Nuphy explained in intermission, Don Giovanni was traditionally considered the strongest of the three Da Ponte/Mozart collaborations when it's actually the most staid, most slapdash, and weakest. He thinks the consensus is shifting to Così fan tutte, which audiences didn't know what to make of in Mozart's day, but which is much more in line with modern sensibilities than a piece that starts out with an attempted rape and then tried to morph into a light comedy.
Quick notes on the production: Like I said, great cast. D'Arcangelo isn't as strong a singer as I'd like, but he certain brings a lot of verve to Leporello. Bayrakdarian, who nearly wrecked last year's production of Nozze, did better than I'd feared. Her entrance was weak and off the beat, but she got better by the end. She was no match for Graham, however, and certainly not Mattila, whose Donna Anna almost stole the show. We were also blessed with a surprisingly good Don Ottavio and a truly booming basso for the Commendatore. He managed to project some real menace in one of the cheesiest undead characters this side of the King's Ghost. It goes without saying that Bryn can do no wrong, but I confess that hearing the tune to "Non piu 'ndrai" in the Second Act made me wish to god we were singing Figaro again instead of Don Giovanni. At least it's a massive improvement over last year's Sweeney Todd. What a waste of talent that was!
The set decoration was minimal, which Nuphy disliked but I didn't mind--except, of course, when it made the blocking senseless. For instance, in the scene where Leporello has just praised his master's eyesight but the latter proves incapable of recognising an ex-lover in broad daylight from twenty yards across an entirely featureless stage. Then there's the murder of the Commendatore, who's framed in a square of light from the open door, yet everyone has to run around the stage for a minute before figuring out what's befallen him. So, overall, not nearly as bad as the notorious Meistersinger set (especially in terms of looking cheap), but bringing about some of the same kind of idiocy.
So what didn't I like? Although there were some surprising elements to the music (Nuphy leaned over during the Statue's appearance to point out "Twelve-tone row!"), overall it could've passed for Rossini. I'm not slaggin' the man, I'm just saying that I expect more from Amadeus than just sprightly and hummable. Also, as I said, the mix of comedy and tragedy didn't work for me. After someone's been presented as a vicious rapist and a cold-blooded murderer, it's tough to accept him as an entertaining rogue. (The comedic elements were played very broadly.) All claims about Don Juan's seductive powers take on an unsettling edge when he's depicted as relying as much on brute strength as anything else.