http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 7 Oct 2002 16:08:02 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/10/07/160802.php Sasha CastelThere's a certain subset of opera fans who dismiss Rossini comic operas with a haughty wave. I'm decidedly not one of them. I love Il barbiere di Siviglia (and to answer your unasked question, yes I do think of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in "The Rabbit of Seville" every time I hear the overture). I came to love L'Italiana in Algeri after last year's hysterical revival with Jennifer Larmore, Samuel Ramey and Matthew Polenzani. And I REALLY love La cenerentola, now playing at the funny farm.First of all, a word about the production. Can we invite producers and set designers of the world to a conference, and stipulate that tilted furniture, cracked mirrors, torn wallpaper, and peeling paint all represent Aristocracy In Decline? Can we just agree on that, and NEVER see these hoary and overused devices again? I mean it's been done to death.All right, enough ranting. Let's get on to the good stuff, which in this case means Juan Diego Florez. Florez is considered one of todays hottest young opera stars. Resembling nothing so much as a long-lost Latino Backstreet Boy, he is a deft light comedian, dreamy romantic lead, and oh yeah, sings the deathly high fioriture like nobody's business. His second act aria, "Si, ritrovarla" got a full three minutes of well deserved ecstatic applause.Sonia Ganassi took the role of Cenerentola. A thoroughly charming actress with the face of a china doll, Ganassi won over the crowd in spite of a voice that was somewhat unfocused, especially in the lower ranges.The roles of Dandini and Don Magnifico were played by Alessandro Corbelli and Simone Alaimo, respectively. It is fascinating to watch the different approach taken by these two Italian singing-actors. Alaimo, constantly mugging, dancing about and generally just acting like a spazz, was not nearly as funny as Corbelli, who achieved better audience reactions with a mere raised eyebrow or simple gesture. The marvelous Canadian bass John Relyea repeated his sonorously sung Alidoro, and Joyce Guyer and Patricia Risley made much of their roles as the stepsisters Clorinda and Tisbe (here, not so much wicked as merely airheaded and selfish). Edoardo Muller kept the orchestra spry and light. Music1140@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Oct 2002 16:08:02 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2002/09/24/104028.php Sasha CastelAnother Met season, another Placido-thon on opening night. Act 2 of Fedora would seem to be a strange choice for a gala, except that who can complain when Mirella Freni is on the stage? The woman is a living legend, the true embodiment of diva, certainly the last of her generation. Her voice rang strong, true, and mostly clear as the princess who falls in love with her husband's assasin in spite of herself (Yeah, this is one of those opera plots that give opera plots a bad name.) Cynthia Lawrence was a perky Olga, and Dwayne Croft as de Siriex suffered in comparison to Patrick Carfizzi's Borov (a much smaller role). Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet made a cameo as the foppish pianist Lazinski. PD was obviously energized by the presence of his costar, and after a few worrying cut-off phrases he emerged with a gorgeously sung "Amor ti vieta" which rightfully earned a loud ovation.The next act was Act 2 of Samson et Dalila, an opera I've never cared for, especially in the violently colored Elijah Moshinsky production currently playing. Olga Borodina, quite visibly pregnant (there's an interesting story twist!) made it almost tolerable with her too-sexy-for-words "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix". Sergei Leiferkus, whose voice has never attracted me, once again suffered the indignity of that AWFUL costume and makeup (head-to-toe orange body paint topped by a tiger skin robe. Gaaah.) in his few moments as the High Priest.Finally, the fourth act of Verdi's Otello seeming a bit anticlimactic out of its dramatic context, wrapped up the evening. Renee Fleming has been paying attention to her critics. She floated through the Willow Song with a minimum of swooping and crooning, which pleased me more than is polite to say. Placido came into his own in this act, in what is deservedly his signature role. His death scene never fails to give chills, and it made this viewer seriously wish that the rumors that he may be retiring this role are premature. He obviously still has a great deal to tell us about this infinitely fascinating character.It was amusing to see Juan Pons and Greg Turay reduced to bit players as Iago and Cassio, respectively. Jane Bunnell once again sang a wonderfully sympathetic Emilia. Throughout the night, James Levine and the Met orchestra were spot-on. Music: Opera774@blogcritics.org Tue, 24 Sep 2002 10:40:28 EDT