tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post1122962908391344593..comments2024-01-24T08:24:14.555-05:00Comments on My Favorite Intermissions: Voigt Smacks Met Crowd Around with Riding Crop, Says: You Are My Bitch. Met Crowd Concurs.Maury D'annatohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-82718172776200388642008-03-16T19:46:00.000-05:002008-03-16T19:46:00.000-05:00I was listening on Sirius and didn't think Mac Mas...I was listening on Sirius and didn't think Mac Master embarrassed himself, so I was pretty surprised at the boos. But they were strongly outvoted by the cheers. Too bad he didn't get a second shot with less pressure.<BR/><BR/>But what do I know, I loved Macbeth, Lucia and Peter Grimes!<BR/><BR/>Sorry - I have to sign anonymous as I don't have any of those accounts listed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-7958679350085169342008-03-14T17:00:00.000-05:002008-03-14T17:00:00.000-05:00But mostly what it does, this production, is stay ...<I>But mostly what it does, this production, is stay out of the way and allow for some stillness without going too far into Robert Wilson territory for the "How Dare You" crowd</I><BR/><BR/>It's not the stillness, it's the Bangles <I>Walk Like An Egyptian</I> arm movements that bug the crap out of me. Oh, and every production is the same, the only thing really changing being the colors that the stage is bathed in. <BR/><BR/>I'm generally against booing, but I couldn't help myself when Lang Lang literally pounded his way through the Tchaikovsky 1st piano concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic a few years ago.<BR/><BR/>Re: John Tomlinson, years ago I heard him in a radio broadcast and he sounded bad: wobbly like all hell, past it. About a year later, I heard his Guernamanz at the Staatsoper Berlin and he was a revelation, the voice in good trim, almost as good as Kurt Moll in the part. It helped that he was singing in an intimate, horseshoe theatre as opposed to the airport hanger that is the Met. <BR/><BR/>Maury, if you go again, you'll get Robert Dean Smith or Gary Lehman, who was a fine Parsifal here in Los Angeles a while back.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-61039811068201889792008-03-13T22:28:00.000-05:002008-03-13T22:28:00.000-05:00Maybe they were all saying "Boo-ritten! Boo-ritten...Maybe they were all saying "Boo-ritten! Boo-ritten!"?Grrghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411931791000663919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-82993588033643754322008-03-13T19:44:00.000-05:002008-03-13T19:44:00.000-05:00Oh, sorry...I'm so sorry to have ruffled your feat...Oh, sorry...I'm so sorry to have ruffled your feathers, Maury, although we have often agreed on things in the past. I won't trouble you again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-75435829183771234712008-03-13T18:28:00.000-05:002008-03-13T18:28:00.000-05:00maury- again spot on. What you get when you pay fo...maury- again spot on. What you get when you pay for your ticket is an undertaking that the performance will take place. They don't and can't guarantee that you'll like it.<BR/><BR/>And as for the other anonymous- yeah, I'm sure MacMaster stood on stage thinking 'Oh dear, guess these people don't like Peter Gelb's casting policy very much, this'll show him'. Grow up.jondrytayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07014577384156823525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-43396149909982662442008-03-13T15:31:00.000-05:002008-03-13T15:31:00.000-05:00Last Anonymous: Oh, or, I don't know, it could be ...Last Anonymous: Oh, or, I don't know, it could be because one flat note after hours of good singing is not the end of the fucking world. <BR/><BR/>I'm hearing this argument here and there about how I Paid A Lot For My Ticket And I Deserve Better. I can't even formulate a rational response to this. Boo fucking hoo. You went to the Met, got five hours of opera about which I daresay unless you are statively discontent there was probably <I>something</I> enjoyable, and I'm going to venture a guess that the purchase of the ticket didn't cause you to skip any meals. I pretty much hated a particular production last year, but was generally polite about it because I'm not a spoiled five-year-old. Gave it a bit of a diss here where nobody involved is ever going to see it, expressed my disdain to friends. The deal is, at the Met or at Massapequa Lyric, you pays your money and you takes your chances, and at the Met, more often than not, it pays off. My response, if I couldn't deal with that, would be to stay home. Those who prefer to throw a tantrum, well, I can't stop them.Maury D'annatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-54760177983446679702008-03-13T15:15:00.000-05:002008-03-13T15:15:00.000-05:00Paul and Gregory: right on. I actually think you,...Paul and Gregory: right on. I actually think you, Paul, transcribed it better than I did, as "right" comes out almost as "rot" (sorry, GP, I don't know how to do IPA on here) in Kentucky. p.s. very amused by descriptor "Alabamic."Maury D'annatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-25071108717856292102008-03-13T15:01:00.000-05:002008-03-13T15:01:00.000-05:00Well, there are two sides to any booing. One is th...Well, there are two sides to any booing. One is that a singer who steps in and "saves" a performance should not be booed. Another is that one of the world's greatest opera houses should be absolutely sure that they can present a fully viable cover and that is doubly true of such an arduous role as Tristan and triply true when the person cast has been known to have vocal difficulties in recent years. And if a top opera house wants people to pay top ticket prices, the public is entitled to boo if they feel they've not gotten their money's worth. The only way to displeasure - since there are no refunds for crappy singing - is to boo. <BR/><BR/>The Met's trying to cut corners by eliminating the old "cover six and sing two" rule so they don't have to pay the fees required to get a first-rate (or a seasoned second-stringer) to cover. And people who have other offers are unlikely to sit around covering and then find when the incumbent cancels, Gelb calls on Marcello Giordani.<BR/><BR/>It's Gelb who should be booed; he should stop frittering away money on mediocre productions like his MACBETH, LUCIA and GRIMES and spend the money instead on having good singers on hand. <BR/><BR/>After hearing Debbie's flat ending of the Liebestod, why wasn't she booed? Well, because she's DEBORAH VOIGT, that's why.<BR/><BR/>I understand the Met is seriously contemplating a 'three tenors' TRISTAN if Ben is not up to the whole role by Friday.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-39621231754330826762008-03-13T14:25:00.000-05:002008-03-13T14:25:00.000-05:00Sorry, I was at the Tristan and I joined in the ch...Sorry, I was at the Tristan and I joined in the chorus of boos. I feel that I have every right to show my pleasure or displeasure at a performance. I don't care if Mac Master came in at the last moment, he should not have been on the stage croaking out a performance. <BR/><BR/>It looks like Heppner will not be singing on Friday and Mac Master will not be singing the performance. Maybe I and my fellow audience members who showed their displeasure should be thanked. I hope we booed Mac Master off the Met stage for good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-41806649465422573362008-03-13T10:06:00.000-05:002008-03-13T10:06:00.000-05:00/ðiʃɪr/ is not specific to KY. I have oft' heard i.../ðiʃɪr/ is not specific to KY. I have oft' heard it *and* /raɪtʃir/ spoken in the Alabamic region as well.Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02529720009266903423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-68573967347332349632008-03-12T17:24:00.000-05:002008-03-12T17:24:00.000-05:00I just want to add a hearty hurrah to the anti boo...I just want to add a hearty hurrah to the anti booing sentiment. Self-important, self-satisfied behaviour which has no place in a room where people have just been sweating away for five hours in the name of entertainment.<BR/><BR/>About the opera itself, nothing to say. I'm allergic to Wagnerjondrytayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07014577384156823525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-22246687750250602522008-03-12T17:05:00.000-05:002008-03-12T17:05:00.000-05:00I don't understand what compels audience members t...I don't understand what compels audience members to boo someone on an operatic stage, especially if it's known that the singer is filling in at the last minute. The last time it happened in my presence, I was sitting in Chicago's Lyric Opera balcony during a 2001 performance of "Otello." Ben Heppner was experiencing vocal difficulties [a nice way of saying he stunk] but still didn't deserve the noises coming out of the man sitting a few rows ahead of me. When the curtain closed on Act II, I hissed to the offender, "Hey, this isn't Wrigley Field, ya know." He apparently got the message, since he never came back for Act III.<BR/><BR/>BTW, I loved reading your asterisked "elison" commentary. I had an uncle who always said "right cheer" -- actually it came out more "raat cheer" -- even though he'd never lived farther south than Columbus, Ohio. Of course, he also used to clean his ears with his car keys, so 'nuff said.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06877408572713743323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-79432709948127099902008-03-11T23:10:00.000-05:002008-03-11T23:10:00.000-05:00thanks for a balanced view of the evening. I was t...thanks for a balanced view of the evening. I was there and thought Voigt was great - a definite improvement over Jane Eaglen to my ears - yet all I see on the other blogs is vitriol. I'm sure it sounded different on the radio but in the house it was pretty thrilling - even without a Tristan!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-79354396072534180552008-03-11T21:27:00.000-05:002008-03-11T21:27:00.000-05:00Your comment about the sometimes dubious notion of...Your comment about the sometimes dubious notion of actually paying attention to the words during this opera put me in mind of the first performance of Tristan I ever attended, back in the days before projected titles. I went with an elderly German-speaking lady, who watched the whole thing in a serious and absorbed manner, but suddenly had a little giggle fit in the midst of some of Tristan and Kurwenal's raving and tussling in the third act. Afterward she explained that she just couldn’t get past the moment when the latter looks at the former and asks “Bist du nun tot? Lebst du noch?” <BR/><BR/>Of the two questions, I’d say the first is definitely the funnier. Comedy gold, even.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-23000680638079977392008-03-11T21:03:00.000-05:002008-03-11T21:03:00.000-05:00Maury, thanks for the insightful perspective AND i...Maury, thanks for the insightful perspective AND intermission snack recommendations. <BR/><BR/>Re. booing. Everytime I have booed, I have regretted it afterwards. I have now replaced boos with tepid applause, pianissimo and at a rate as slow as Levine's Parsifal prelude. <BR/><BR/>On a side note, is Sieglinde still blogging? I miss her. I rely on my Cieca-Maury-Sieglinde fix to get me through some tough days. <BR/><BR/>JoeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-80552797845061200652008-03-11T13:12:00.000-05:002008-03-11T13:12:00.000-05:00Maury puts all blogs to shame, really. Beautiful r...Maury puts all blogs to shame, really. Beautiful round-up of last night. Agreed on the "boo-ing" front. I mean, one loves a touch of barbarism now and then, but preferably not at the expense of someone clearly a bit our of his element. <BR/><BR/>And yes, this was Voigt's Ohio. Or her Texas Two-step, or whatever.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00126194899151380765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-42360420645427767162008-03-11T12:46:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:46:00.000-05:00anon: yeah, man, the Bernaise have all the luck. ...anon: yeah, man, the Bernaise have all the luck. It sucks to not be them.Maury D'annatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-77971212405067892702008-03-11T12:45:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:45:00.000-05:00r: it's not my notation system; it's Chomsky and H...r: it's not my notation system; it's Chomsky and Halle's! :) It's just not usually used outside of phonetics and phonology. Check back and let us know whether you loved it or hated it...it certainly wasn't perfect, but I'm just allergic to the school of thought that being discerning means being disgusted as often as possible.<BR/><BR/>btw, I was with you on "Long Island" until I remembered what you may or may not know, depending where you live: the "ng" in "Long" does, in fact, in this region, have a velar stop. It's not the /n-with-a-tail/ you get in most of the country.Maury D'annatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-49857125166362389302008-03-11T12:17:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:17:00.000-05:00Too bad we didn't hear anything comparable to this...Too bad we didn't hear anything comparable to this last night:<BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V0mDgwu7po <BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J--mJzxcF3U <BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muwWNxXA_ggAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-82242043406103282462008-03-11T12:08:00.000-05:002008-03-11T12:08:00.000-05:00It's gratifying to read a temperate (and, at any r...It's gratifying to read a temperate (and, at any rate, insightful) review to counteract the vitriol being slung around some places about the Tristan. Gratifying, I say, for myself, ticket holder to next Tuesday's performance, one still being billed as (to use your notation) [+Heppner] [+Voigt]. <BR/><BR/>(More apropos of nothing, I think the 'Lon Gisland' pronunciation might be another example of spelling influencing pronunciation across a word boundary, since there's no velar stop in the individual words. But maybe it's a case of assimilation. I'll think about it more if the performance does drag on a bit on Tuesday.)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00958359135060298745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-74686318360577268162008-03-11T11:01:00.000-05:002008-03-11T11:01:00.000-05:00Ben: That's terrific that he could pull that off a...Ben: That's terrific that he could pull that off as Hunding in particular. I can't think of a less interesting role in Wagner, offhand.Maury D'annatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-7383520076356885322008-03-11T10:47:00.000-05:002008-03-11T10:47:00.000-05:00Tomlinson is a marvel: I had the exact same reacti...Tomlinson is a marvel: I had the exact same reaction - of Wagnerian 'rightness' - during a Walküre Act I in which he sang Hunding: he practically stole the show with probably the least interesting music to sing. That's saying something, considering the other singers were Clifton Forbis and Eva-Maria Westbroek...Benjamin Roushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11836007594071103663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-17347379072053849242008-03-11T10:39:00.000-05:002008-03-11T10:39:00.000-05:00Henry: certainly one would not dally in choosing b...Henry: certainly one would not dally in choosing between Pape and Botha. I mean really.<BR/><BR/>Anon: thanks for the tip! Maybe I'll catch that last one.Maury D'annatohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14136129943169313348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-52367232266296836432008-03-11T10:30:00.000-05:002008-03-11T10:30:00.000-05:00If Michelle DeYoung falls questionably on ones ear...If Michelle DeYoung falls questionably on ones ear. The last performance is with Margaret Jane Wray -- she and D. Voigt were Met Opera National Council finalist together in 1985. And both have garnered the prestigious Tucker Award. Voigt (1992) and Wray (1989) You might want to revisit with these two.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17999907.post-15424750618291590042008-03-11T10:13:00.000-05:002008-03-11T10:13:00.000-05:00I really like the production. When I saw it with H...I really like the production. When I saw it with Heppner/Eaglen they were totally sidelined by Monsieur Pape. He always seems to rewrite the operas. You tend to wonder why the leading lady in question does not go with him instead of the tenor. I've seen that in Tristan, Don Carlos and Faust.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com