tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post1301429729244948406..comments2024-03-27T21:41:50.122-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: Metropolitan Opera 2015-16Lisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-25146260932976811682015-02-20T05:31:51.284-08:002015-02-20T05:31:51.284-08:00I'm with you until Edgar, which I have never h...I'm with you until <i>Edgar</i>, which I have never heard.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-49953840919678406782015-02-19T23:36:00.386-08:002015-02-19T23:36:00.386-08:00Respighi stretching things
He was a terrific oper...<i>Respighi stretching things</i><br /><br />He was a terrific opera composer. One of the best things I've been to in the last 10 years was his <i>Marie Victoire</i> in Berlin, it was written in 1913 but unperformed until 2004. I also love <i>La campana sommersa</i>, <i>La Fiamma</i> and <i>Balfagor</i>. Any of those should be performed instead of the 9 millionth <i>La Boheme</i>. <br /><br /><i>Ariane et Barbe-bleue</i> is also a great opera and very stage-worthy (I saw it at Opera North in the 90's), again much more interesting than the 9 millionth etc. etc.<br /><br />How about Franchetti's <i>Cristoforo Colombot</i> or Hindemith's <i>Cardillac</i> (original version) or <i>Mathis der Maler</i> or <i>Die Bakchantinnen</i> or <i>Alkestis</i> (latter with a Hofmannsthal libretto) or ..... or......<br /><br />Hell, if they *must* do Puccini, how about doing <i>Edgar</i> once in a while?Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-55143790047512878822015-02-19T15:04:04.661-08:002015-02-19T15:04:04.661-08:00I agree completely. It is the general problem of c...I agree completely. It is the general problem of contemporary music, and contemporary music has been especially poorly treated at the Met, which rarely commissions new work and rarely performs new operas from elsewhere. Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-78825429297892464162015-02-19T11:04:33.712-08:002015-02-19T11:04:33.712-08:00After seeing The Nose, I've been looking forwa...After seeing The Nose, I've been looking forward to Lulu (which I would have even if Kentridge wasn't directing).<br /><br />However, how can you expect people to want to hear contemporary opera if it's offered on a hit or miss basis. Even if it's just one token opera every season, people will form the habit of going to it. But, these gaps work against building up a new audience.Mary Jane Leachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02528029302809678176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-78751434974626607082015-02-19T10:36:21.052-08:002015-02-19T10:36:21.052-08:00Oh, wait, sorry - I got confused by my inbox and t...Oh, wait, sorry - I got confused by my inbox and thought this was Mary Jane again. I know your taste. ;-)Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-74287059551714021142015-02-19T10:35:30.522-08:002015-02-19T10:35:30.522-08:00Who do you have in mind in that 1890-1920 period? ...Who do you have in mind in that 1890-1920 period? Shrecker, Zemlinsky, etc? Mascagni's later work? Resphighi, stretching things? D'Indy, Dukas, etc?Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-10274099355366819022015-02-19T10:27:46.652-08:002015-02-19T10:27:46.652-08:00For me, it's not even that they don't do n...For me, it's not even that they don't do new stuff or even stuff written in the last 20 years (though <i>L'amour de Loin</i> is supposed to be done in 2016-17), it's that they ignore stuff from ca. 1890 > 1920 that is tonal but thankfully not Donizetti.<br /><br />As someone on Parterre Box pointed out, all the Met operas are Italian or German with one exception and there's the usual "tourist bloat" of 17 <i>Butterfly</i>'s etc. There was someone who said "Well, the Paris Opera has x number of those warhorses too". Sure, but they also have new productions of <i>Moses und Aron</i> and <i>Lear</i>, not the same thing. <br /><br />Hard to decide whether the Met, LA Opera or SFO has the more boring season. :-)Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-1163218849497407602015-02-19T08:20:43.104-08:002015-02-19T08:20:43.104-08:00I didn't run the full press release because th...I didn't run the full press release because they sent it as a PDF and the formatting disappears in a copy & paste (and it's the length of a short novel), but they've got some new work under development. Of course, of the several items they put into development a few years ago, none made it to the stage.<br /><br />There IS a commission to Nico Muhley and one to Ades ("The Exterminating Angel") and maybe more, but yeah: the most recent opera on 15-16 is <i>Lulu</i>.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-72301336278978036452015-02-19T08:02:55.879-08:002015-02-19T08:02:55.879-08:00I guess the way to avoid controversy over contempo...I guess the way to avoid controversy over contemporary operas, is to not produce any. Sigh.Mary Jane Leachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02528029302809678176noreply@blogger.com