tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post4461407338724565679..comments2024-03-27T21:41:50.122-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: Massenet ReconsideredLisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-72750143026878013192011-12-11T18:37:40.355-08:002011-12-11T18:37:40.355-08:00Calimac,
"Yes, nauseates. I feel even more s...Calimac,<br /><br /><i>"Yes, nauseates. I feel even more strongly that way about Debussy.</i><br /><br />**********<br /><br />You are not alone.<br /><br />I actually loathe all of his later music (i.e. most of the piano stuff, Etudes, the violin sonata, Jeux).... I find them awful. And to think there are people who feel that 'Jeux' is his greatest work ??!!<br /><br />Now I love a good deal of austere and rigorously formed music but Delius had it right, I think, when he said that Debussy had..... <i>'degenerated into a mannerist'</i><br /><br />For me the early string quartet, <i>Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun</i>, Nocturnes, Suite Bergamasque, a few songs, <i>Pelleas</i> and <i>La Mer</i> will always remain the definitive showcase of his style.<br /><br />If this makes me a philistine then so be it.The Wistful Pelleastrianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01391989065502028363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-77436395219993801412011-11-15T07:08:44.397-08:002011-11-15T07:08:44.397-08:00I'm not exactly speechless, but close. A genui...I'm not exactly speechless, but close. A genuinely visceral reaction!Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-68561215711094421682011-11-15T04:32:11.987-08:002011-11-15T04:32:11.987-08:00Yes, nauseates. I feel even more strongly that wa...Yes, nauseates. I feel even more strongly that way about <a href="http://calimac.livejournal.com/526070.html" rel="nofollow">Debussy.</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-68059601632213430432011-11-14T09:50:58.076-08:002011-11-14T09:50:58.076-08:00Panurge would be a serious rarity!
Mike, a revela...<i>Panurge</i> would be a serious rarity!<br /><br />Mike, a revelatory <i>Manon</i> would be fascinating; it's very hard to imagine. I'm curious about <i>Cendrillon</i>, which I've never heard. As to <i>Cenerentola</i>, I can't bear to wait 3 hours for "Non piu mesta." Haha about the kitch. Yeah.<br /><br />The pianist mentioned that Massenet wrote 50-odd operas, so there would have to be some losers.<br /><br />calimac, I'll have to check out the small-scale Gounod. The large scale...well, I stand by my opinion of <i>Faust</i> as the most boring and worthless opera to hold a place in the standard repertory.<br /><br />Literally nauseated, upset stomach, as to Franck? Wow.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-39737938957065629962011-11-13T23:39:56.744-08:002011-11-13T23:39:56.744-08:00Like you, I'm fond of lots of Saint-Saens. Th...Like you, I'm fond of lots of Saint-Saens. Then there's Franck. I love his Symphony and his Violin Sonata, but a lot of the rest of his work nauseates me. Never quite figured that one out.<br /><br />As for Gounod, think small. The Petite Symphonie, the Funeral March of a Marionette; those are his best.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-7179796654740638432011-11-13T22:50:49.558-08:002011-11-13T22:50:49.558-08:00I saw a great production of "Manon" in t...I saw a great production of "Manon" in the 1980s at the SF Opera with Sheri Greenawald, of all people, in the title role, and changed my mind completely about the opera, which I thought crap up until that moment. Also prefer Massenet's version of the Cinderella fairy tale, "Cendrillon" to Rossini's "La Cenerentola," and "Werther" is just great, goopy stuff.<br /><br />Still, as the composer of kitsch like "Thais" and "Herodiade," there are good reasons to pick and choose among Massenet's works.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-28077850455294885492011-11-13T21:09:07.910-08:002011-11-13T21:09:07.910-08:00I need to catch up on Massenet as well. I'd gi...I need to catch up on Massenet as well. I'd give my right arm to see his "Panurge" staged. I'm very curious how he handled Rabelais of all things, and his ghost apparently haunted the rehearsals.Steve Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00622029663113855181noreply@blogger.com