Co-Production of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London; Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona; Wiener Staatsoper; San Francisco Opera; and L’Opéra National de ParisYeah, that doesn't include the Met, but whatever. I've had this opera and production listed in my Operatic Future Seasons page for I don't know how long, but originally I thought it might star Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna, so, yeah, a while ago.
The current cast includes Anna Netrebko (not seen at SFO since 2009), Piotr Beczala (seen regularly), Anita Rachvelishvili (seen here as Carmen in 2011), and Maurizio Muraro. I would be fine with this cast!
I mean, it's not exactly a deep opera, and I rather suspect that it falls into the same category as Andrea Chenier and Cyrano de Bergerac: very pretty, mostly forgettable music. Still! It was once a repertory staple and so I'd like to see it -- although I'd rather see La Gioconda a lot more.
On an unrelated note, Elīna Garanča withdrew as Didon in Opera de Paris' Les Troyens, replaced by Ekaterina Semenchuk (that herself withdrew from Rusalka).
ReplyDeleteUgh... all the singers I want to see withdrew from this production! :(
Yikes. Was this Garanča's role debut, by any chance? Semenchuk must have beren the original Jezibabah, ARGH.
ReplyDeleteThis explains why I was a little surprised to see Michelle DeYoung's name in the Rusalka cast.
ReplyDeleteNope, she sang Didon in Deutsche Oper in 2013. And Semenchuk sang Didon in Mariinsky in 2016. But still ... ;)
ReplyDeleteSigh.
ReplyDeleteI believe Garanča will never sing in SF, after what happened in 2010.
Looked at your 2019-20 list for SFO, really hope they do Billy Budd, one of my very favorite operas. Dear SFO: Do the original 4-act version which has 5 minutes at the end of Act 1 that was cut after the premiere because Peter Pears couldn't sing it. I saw that version in St. Louis, it adds to the plot because in the revision Captain Vere disappears from the opera for a long stretch and it gives motivation to Billy wanting to die for him.
ReplyDeleteYou can actually comment on the Futures page!
ReplyDeleteDon't get your hopes up for the four-act version, but since there was an item in Opera about BB, I'm confident of it. Actually, I'm pretty confident of the whole season.
Hello Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIf you are in Paris, I would love to show you the Royal Opera of Versailles.
Thanks! I'll be in Paris Feb. 2 to 9 - drop me an email at lhirsch@gmail.com.
ReplyDelete