The most interesting aspect of David Alden. Elements of the intensely emotional Italian opera idiom of the mid- 1. French grand opera of the period. Verdi does not really reconcile these contrasting styles. Instead, more interestingly, he just allows them to coexist. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Verdi: Un Ballo in maschera - Claudio Abbado on AllMusic. Giuseppe Verdi, Claudio Abbado, Pl Mr. Alden embraces these stylistic contrasts. He brings a slightly surreal quality to the opera. At the same time, he draws out the ambiguities and fickleness of the opera. Aided by the lithe, crisp conducting of Fabio Luisi, Mr. Alden makes the shifts seem deliberate choices of the supremely confident dramatist Verdi. This production is best when subtle and character- driven, and Mr. Alden draws compelling performances from a strong cast, headed by the tenor Marcelo . But the overall mood and look of the production are obvious and glib, despite the sleek, abstract imagery of Paul Steinberg. Like many productions of . But with its film noir imagery, this . For the final ballroom scene, in which the king is killed, the walls are lined with mirrors that send blinding shafts of light around the stage and into the house. Photo. Marcelo . Ah, the king as Icarus. He is a self- absorbed monarch who invites disaster by shirking the needs of underlings and romancing the wife of his trusted adviser Renato (who in this setting is Count Anckarstrom). Icarus as a metaphor is heavy- handed enough. But a configuration of that mural looms over every scene, no matter where it takes place, and you get tired of looking at it. I wish Mr. Alden had stuck more closely to the film noir atmosphere, as he does effectively in the opening scene. During the prelude we see Gustavo dressed in a smoking jacket, looking discontented, sitting in a leather chair and sipping brandy, then dozing off. This image captures the mood of the music and gets at the king. Learn the story of Verdi's opera, Un ballo in maschera in this opera synopsis. Cast Gustavo, Re di Svezia (Tenor) Renato, suo segretario e sposo di Amelia (Baritone) Amelia, moglie di Renato (Soprano) Ulrica, Zingara (Mezzo-Soprano) Oscar, paggio (Soprano) Cristiano, marinaio (Bass) Horn, nemico del re. Title: Un ballo in maschera (TV Movie 2005) 7.6 /10. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? The Met Opera's production of Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera DVD features Luciano Pavarotti, Katia Ricciarelli, Judith Blegen, Bianca Berini and Louis Quilico, with Giuseppe Patan. Available from the Met Opera Shop. The first lines sung by the courtiers (the Met choristers, sounding excellent, as usual) when they enter are to wish that the king be enlightened by beautiful dreams (though the conspirators among them mutter asides). Mr. Now and then he lunged at high notes, and the bottom of his range was weak. But this was one of his most dramatically charged and refined performances at the Met. Karita Mattila, who was to have sung Amelia, withdrew in May. The assignment went to Ms. Radvanovsky, who was splendid. Her earthy texture and quick vibrato are not to all tastes. But her voice shimmers with emotion and carries excitingly over the orchestra. She is a compelling vocal artist who knows what she is doing and brings intensity and deep feeling to every phrase. She was particularly moving in the scene in which her husband, here the charismatic baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, having discovered her in a rendezvous with the king, tells her to prepare to die. Confronting his wife, Mr. Hvorostovsky shook Ms. Radvanovsky by the shoulders, as if really ready to strangle her. But the next moment he nestled his head next to her face and kissed her, almost pleadingly, singing with his trademark dark sound and supple phrasing, which poignantly brought to life this suffering husband. During the sassy chorus that ends the first scene, Ms. Kim led the courtiers in a vaudeville routine, complete with shuffling dance steps. As choreographed by Maxine Braham, the routine was a little too cute. Still, the silliness put an aptly weird spin on Verdi. The scene with Ulrica, the fortuneteller, represents the Italianate Verdi at his most bleak and ominous, and this production has the powerhouse mezzo- soprano Dolora Zajick in the role. This was Mr. Just this summer I saw two of his productions elsewhere: a bold staging of Britten. Something about the Met, with all its history and influence, has a way of throwing even internationally acclaimed directors off their game. Correction: November 1. A music review on Saturday about the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of “Un Ballo in Maschera” by Verdi, which includes as part of the set a large mural of the mythological Icarus falling from the sky, misidentified the maker of the wings Icarus used to fly. They were made by his father, Daedalus — not by Icarus. Continue reading the main story. Un ballo in maschera - Giuseppe Verdi.
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