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Post by couldileaveyou on May 12, 2021 11:30:55 GMT
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4,596 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 12, 2021 11:47:01 GMT
Interestingly we get Miller's Boheme as the last one was awful.
Hurrah for Vixen. I love it.
I'm not sure I can sit through Handmaid's Tale again but I'll try listening to some Rudder's music before deciding.
Lee Dennis? Really? Are they that desperate? Other comedians or singers exist. Someone like Jennifer Saunders could be brilliant in the role.
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4,596 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on May 13, 2021 11:08:48 GMT
No secret seats this season.
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591 posts
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Post by AddisonMizner on May 13, 2021 20:01:32 GMT
Not the most exciting season from my perspective, certainly not when compared with the ROH’s recently announced 2021/2022 offerings. There are some truly exciting things in that season. I just need to wait and see what some of the casting is like. Hoping for Piotr Beczala in the Lohengrin, and Benjamin Bernheim in something.
Anyway, back to ENO…only Die Walkure and The Handmaid’s Tale really appeals. I didn’t know that there was an opera based on this material. Did anyone see the original 2003 staging?
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14 posts
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Post by perfidious_albion on May 19, 2021 13:28:39 GMT
I saw the 2003 ENO production of The Handmaid’s Tale. As it happened, I’d read the book around the same time. For me I thought it captured Atwood’s dystopic vision pretty well, although much tamer than the TV series for sure.
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Post by cartoonman on Jun 2, 2021 13:04:53 GMT
No secret seats this season. A great shame they were just too good. Not sure I can afford to go without secret seats.
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7,538 posts
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Post by alece10 on Jul 2, 2021 9:46:34 GMT
I have decided to broaden my horizons this year and delve into some opera. I know its Operetta but I do love a bit of G&S so have booked for HMS Pinafore and I have always wanted to see a Philip Glass opera as I find his music quite hypnotic so have booked for Satyagraha - am I going to enjoy this?
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4,596 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Jul 2, 2021 10:22:12 GMT
I have decided to broaden my horizons this year and delve into some opera. I know its Operetta but I do love a bit of G&S so have booked for HMS Pinafore and I have always wanted to see a Philip Glass opera as I find his music quite hypnotic so have booked for Satyagraha - am I going to enjoy this? I adore Satagraha - seen this production three times and it never fails to amaze me ♥️♥️♥️
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1,316 posts
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Post by tmesis on Jul 2, 2021 10:37:21 GMT
I'm a fan of Glass; love his Violin Concerto, most of his symphonies and string quartets but his operas bore me senseless - particularly Satyagraha.
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Post by Mr Snow on Nov 21, 2021 21:46:36 GMT
I saw the opening night of The Valkyrie. Ok staging (i.e. not to offensive) and much fine singing and diction.
But there was problems with the production. Apparently at the last minute Westminster Council said the final act ring of fire was unsafe. The artistic director announced this beforehand and encouraged us to use our imagination. No attempt to suggest the effect with lighting was made. Strano.
Overall I was underwhelmed. Perhaps I've been spoilt, but it seemed to me the orchestra was unfocussed and possibly under-reheresed. The initial storm wasn't stormy and the violins refused to soar. It did improve a bit over the evening and the music in the final scene did at least get off the ground but was hardly on a higher plane. (sic)
Since then I've heard the original Conductor (who has lineage to Goodall) was let go only days before and a royal row occurred, with the result that he is being reinstated for one of the nights only? At present I have no desire to pay for subsequent Operas in the series unless they can get the music right. It's what I most enjoy in Wagner's Operas.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Nov 22, 2021 13:19:30 GMT
Since then I've heard the original Conductor (who has lineage to Goodall) was let go only days before and a royal row occurred, with the result that he is being reinstated for one of the nights only? I understood Anthony Negus was only ever down to conduct one performance, so that would mean he's now back in the position that he was in, not that he's been removed from all the other performances. However this is just what I've gathered from Twitter; I don't know if ENO has made any official statement as to what's going on.
I'm not going to see the production. I was pretty sure that Jones would not be putting together the sort of style production that I'd want to see & the reviews & production pictures show that my assumption was correct. Also, it would be a very long evening in a mask. I think I'll be avoiding any 4+ hour operas until covid is under control.
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Post by Mr Snow on Nov 22, 2021 14:44:33 GMT
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Nov 22, 2021 18:12:58 GMT
I must confess that I not infrequently see a conductor enter an orchestra pit & realise I don't know who will be conducting the about-to-start performance! I attend operas based on who's singing, not who's conducting, so if there was a change of advertised conductor I'd be unlikely to even notice, let alone demand a refund.
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Post by interval99 on Dec 1, 2021 23:54:11 GMT
More issue with The Valkyrie on Sunday matinee. As already noted in the thread it was announced at the start that the fire scene in act 3 was out for health and safety reasons.
But it was also announced that Matthew Rose who was to be singing Wotan could not sing and his understudy was not available either but Matthew was able to walk through the role and they had got Tomasz Konieczny in to sing the role from the side of the stage.
So we had the slightly surreal effect of Matthew acting and mouthing the words in English while Thomaz sang the words in German on the side of the stage.
Normally I see opera via the many live cinema links and had seen this show done by the met and ROH so had had decided to splash out on this production but sadly production values wise it was a complete let down. A few set props uninspired lighting and clothes seemly brought several sizes too big from Matalan.
Rachel Nicholls as Brunnhilde and Nicky Spence and Emma bell sang wonderfully but the standing ovation and biggest cheer was for Thomaz who absolutely out powered anyone else with his vocal prowess and the fact even while standing on the side often unlit he provided the power and force you expect a leader of the gods to show yet could also do the many emotional levels Wotan has to display. Compared to poor Matthew wondering around the stage looking like a lost trainspotter in his red Mac and lumberjack gear, really felt sorry for the cast it was one of those productions you wonder if the production team were having wagers to see how stupid they could make it before they were rumbled.
One of those nights when the cast change makes the night and while I won't be racing back to a eno show for a long time hearing Thomaz was a wonderful experience.
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3,927 posts
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Post by Dawnstar on Dec 2, 2021 13:13:22 GMT
But it was also announced that Matthew Rose who was to be singing Wotan could not sing and his understudy was not available either but Matthew was able to walk through the role and they had got Tomasz Konieczny in to sing the role from the side of the stage. I envy the audience that got to see this. I saw quite a few Wiener Staatsoper streamed operas last year that featured Konieczny, including 3 Rings, and really liked him. I'd love to hear him sing live but he seems to very rarely appear in the UK.
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535 posts
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Post by jek on Dec 4, 2021 11:37:56 GMT
I won't be going to see the Valkyrie but I do feel so sorry for the prop and costume makers. When I visited the costume store (in Southwark) and the prop store (at Trinity Buoy Wharf) as part of London Craft Week they were working flat out on the production and were excited at the planned ring of fire. The waterproof jackets were proving particularly challenging as they needed to make them as breathable as possible (to avoid performers over-heating) and also to not crackle in the way that the everyday version does. And making spears and the like that aren't too heavy to pick up is more difficult than you'd think. I know that finding technical solutions must be part of the joy of the job but it must still be disappointing when a production doesn't quite come together or get the plaudits you were hoping for.
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