Netrebko as Anna: Can no one really touch her?

A lot of fuss is being made about Anna Netrebko's ability (or inability if you see it that way) to perform the title role in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. I've listened to the recordings and videos from the prima in Vienna and find her rather exciting, if not the last word (or even close) to real bel canto style.

Several friends have argued no one in the past - at least since Callas - can properly take on the role, and that "no one today" - or even in the last ten years can compete with Anna as Anna. I'd have to disagree.

Here is Carol Vaness, not a singer I (or anyone else) would typically associate with Donizetti, but here she is in an absolutely thrilling reading of "Coppia Iniqua":

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oAokjH6uu8&feature=related

Two more Anna's who take the unwritten high note option at the end adding a degree of frisson to the proceedings:

First up, Mariella Devia who seems as if by the role possessed - wonderfully so:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfHMbPAqoA

And finally, a Netrebko contemporary, Elena Mosuc, who brings a Sills-like razzle dazzle to the role, and interpolates (wildly) some thrilling high notes and sends the crowd into a frenzy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc1JIHE2caw&feature=related

So, in my opinion the notion that no one can touch Nebs is a faulty one. She's exciting but hardly the last word in the role.

T'was the Night Before New Year's

And once again, with great apologies to Clement Clarke Moore!)

T’was the night before New Year’s and all through the Met
Garanca was smoking (I mean sans cigarette!)
The boo-birds were readying for opening night,
All dripping with malice – all spry for a fight.
While just hours before, there had been a debut
Dave Pomeroy sang Hoffmann (and pretty well, too!)
Some pronounced the voice “small” . . . others, “vin ordinaire”
Others yawned “he’s not Gedda, why the hell should I care?”

“I miss the old days” seemed the theme of the season
“We had real stars back then,” was the most proffered reason.
“We’d Tebaldi and Milanov and Schipa and Jussi
We had bassos like Pinza, so just keep your Pertusi!”
Others fought back, “they’re dead now, a new day has dawned!”
But the old guard dismissed them and collectively yawned,
“Oh yes, now there’s Handel and di capos galore”
So much quicker than Ambien, do you mind if I snore?”

So, this year we had Tosca, all stripped down and edgy,
Some praised it as “boffo” some yelled “goddamned reggie!”
They clamored for Franco, they demanded “tradition!”
They made it quite clear, “the old way’s our mission.”

Then the Janacek came and the ticket sales ceased
“Why the hell would they do such a depressing piece?
His music’s all spiky, all self-reverential
And with no tunes, why it’s all so damned inconsequential!”
“There’s no plot” - “There’s no story”- “there’s no love scenes” they cried
(And without intermission their bladders were fried!)

So they waited for Hoffmann, they waited so long,
While others complained “the acts’ orders all wrong!”
They wanted the trio, Antonia and such
They wanted it badly, they wanted it much
Then came coughs, cold and fevers as replacements came
(Though Held and Netrebko held fast to their game)
And while Bartlett’s production got mix-ed reviews
The show’s been a hit (so what else is news?)

Still they turned on the Gelb – a great list of complaints
(Turning men like Joe Volpe and Bing into saints)
“Why he’s ruining the Met and he’s killing tradition,
With his operas ‘bout Gandhi and . . . nuclear fission
We want things with nice tunes, we want sets that are pretty!
Not these dirges in darkness all dirty and gritty,
Bring back halcyon days of Nate Merrill and O’Hearn,
For this surely is what TRUE opera lovers yearn,

So, tonight we get Carmen, that hot Spanish wench,
Performed by a Latvian singing in French,
And we’ll see what distinction is brought by Brit, Eyre
(Who made Billy Crudup a hot dame with flair!)
But remember, what matters here most is the story
And of course, Bizet’s score – which is covered in glory . . .

So in honor of opera from Berg to Bellini
Let us bury all hatchets, let’s all raise a martini
(or a glass of champagne or of cider or beer)
And with opera all welcome a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everbody!

La Boheme: The Movie

Just when you find yourself wondering “can I take another Boheme?” Puccini’s score proves itself one of the most evergreen in the operatic canon. This film was a fairly faithful representation of a “traditional” Boheme with minimal liberties taken by the director – generally to good effect.

Subtitles seemed a mite wrongheaded and sometimes downright awkward sometimes as much as half the text seemed to go untranslated then at other points so many titles were going one couldn’t both watch the action and read the titles.

This is where I ran into a few problems: Knowing Boheme by heart (I’ve been in a half dozen - in a variety of roles) since my student days – including a touring production) and with no way to turn the titles off – my eyes kept wandering to the bottom of the picture – then looking up and being jarred by middle-aged singers/actors playing at being young with varying degrees of success.

There were other issues, and one can endlessly quibble away picking the thing apart to make it “the worst movie ever” – but I found FAR more here to enjoy than to complain about, particularly the performances of Villazon and Netrebko who made a wonderfully believable pair of lovers. I very much liked Netrebko’s more mature and slightly less innocent approach to Mimi rather than trying to have a go at being 19 or 20, which would have not worked in either voice or body (loved her pulling Rodolfo into her room on their way to Momus. I found ending the act with the camera focusing solely on the candle a stroke of genius – the simplicity of it bursting with multiple symbolisms. Just beautiful.

Momus was fun, and despite the opulence, actually feeling more stripped down and lower key than most live productions (the Met has more people in Act II alone than this entire movie!) The lighting – with a delicious almost golden glow to the scene – was enchanting as was Nicole Caball’s “Thoroughly Modern Musetta.” The director did yeoman’s work here, beautifully balancing the stage picture far more than the score typically allows where the tendency is to focus almost exclusively on Musetta, forgetting there are other people singing throughout the act.

Having the camera drop in on Mimi & Rodolfo throughout the scene, we became privy to their “I only have eyes for you” exchanges otherwise impossible live, as these are typically swallowed up by the swirl of activity going on about them. This afforded that tone of sweet oblivion where, when in first flushes of love and passion, the very world disappears. It was in little touches such as these where I felt this Boheme made its strongest mark and made a strong case for its being “La Boheme: The Movie.”

I felt the film worked best in the third act where Netrebko poured on the sound and emotion, looking terrifyingly frail, giving me a little start as when we first see her from behind, she’s lurching forward almost as one already dead. She was also working the Louise Brooks melting eyes to the furthest limits. She broke my heart in the scene with Marcello, followed by my favorite moment of the entire opera; her overhearing Marcello and Rodolfo’s conversation. This is where I judge EVERY Boheme – if it can turn me into a sniveling, teary mess, well then, I’m sold. I was sold.

Villazon’s hyperactive nature seemed to infect his fellow Bohemians – particularly so in the first act where the pacing tended toward the frenetic. But he really did own this Rodolfo and I genuinely LIKED the character he made him out to be (though again, he wasn’t always helped by the poor titling). The singing from all was generally gorgeous and I liked the filmic aspects which were mostly tasteful and allowed for reaction shots.

And can I just say how wonderful it was to see opera (even filmed opera) on Public Television and what a joyous gift I found it to be for this time of year. So, kvetch away ye olde curmudgeons, if this be where thou dost find thy joy.