I already weighed in on the Met's Der Rosenkavalier when we saw the live performance last fall so let me draw on yesterdays' HD performance at the Palookaville Multiplex for just a few extra comments.
One: the horseplay between Renée Fleming and her "boy toy" (!) Susan Graham at the opener is a lot more erotic at close range than it did from the Balcony Circle. You can see them tickling, poking and very nearly giggling their way through the morning, which is just exactly what a young lover and an old cougar would be expected to do.
Two: I can't even remember who we saw in the "third-banana" role as Sophie at the Met--maybe it was Christine Schäfer who played it in the HD and if so she's a big gainer from the HD format. She's got a lovely voice but it's weak in the low register. She's also a wonderful actress, with loads of great face-action (she reminds me of James Woods, as a performer with more going on in his/her mind than s/he can contain). Both the voice and the face deliver better in close-up than they do on the big stage. I'd love to hear her in something like Schumann songs (fn.: I see from Wiki that she debuted as Sophie in San Francisco back in '95. We had season tickets for the SFO Opera back then--so chances are I saw her before yesterday).
Three: Mrs. B, and I disagree over how they played the great trio in the third act. Mrs. B. thought they destroyed the unity by focusing on the singers one (or two) at a time. I thought it helped me to follow what is a thrilling but fairly intricate piece of music. Either way, it's a reminder of what you already know: HD and big stage are two different shows. Opera will never be the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment