Never saw GIOCONDA, unfortunately. Didn't ENO give a concert performance in Italian years ago?

Or keep this as is, if it gets many replies.

Has anyone ever seen it in this country.  I get the impression from Kobbe and the Met quiz that it is regarded as (slightly old fashioned) rep piece at the Met.  Is that fair?

For many kids in the 50s it The Dance of the Hours was probably the best known piece in the operatic rep, thanks to Disney and those hippos in tutus.

I haven't seen it live but I've seen the DVD with Marton and Domingo. I think they're doing it next year at Holland Park, that refuge for otherwise-homeless operas. (They're doing "L'Amore dei Tre Re" this year for anyone who hasn't noticed.)

I think budgetary constraints keep GIOCONDA off most stages - which is surprising, since it has a lot of magnificent music, some of it well-known enough to encourage box office sales to a wider public?   It's not only the difficulty/cost of hiring a cast able to sing it to the standards it deserves,  but also the scenery and special effects...   the idea of staging the end of Act II alone (where you have two different ships on-stage, one of which sinks in flames whilst the tenor jumps off the prow...) fills me with budgetary terror

L'amo com'e'un fulgor del creato is one of the greatest soprano/mezzo conflict duets in the repertoire, and really needs heavyweight voices to accomplish it successfully.

Conversely I can entirely see the point of Holland Park Opera doing it - you simply say "ok, we are going to solve all these problems a different way to normal, because we have to", and work from there.  I bet it will sell out every night - it certainly deserves to, and good luck to them for trying.

Welcome back, Soundwave - you were missed!

So, tell us - did you ever get to make the head-first dive into the briny in Act II ?  I can't easily think how this could be staged whilst avoiding the word "naff"...   is it possible?

Ho Reiner.  No diving,  but amid flames, noise, confusion etc emitting, fortissimo,  " Sin ch'io vivo, no, al nemico darem cenere e brage  -   (throws burning brand - sometimes strips of orange cloth waving on end for flames - quite effective - into hold, on occasions through cabin door)  Incendio!!!  O Laura addio.  O Laura -     g Bb e f  - runs and vaults one handed over upstage bulwarks.  Curtain.  One very young producer wanted me to dive over onto cushioned low platform but it wasn't as effective as the vault. 
God, those were the days.   
Dinner calls.  Back later.

Ho!.  Tremendous heroism, Reiner.  Why was I not awarded medals?
Mefistofele:  I've not encountered this but I saw a TV performance with Ramey and Gabriela Benacková a few years ago.  The first scene was superb but I found the whole thing a bit unbalanced and patchy despite the lovely soprano aria and a reasonable tenor part.  It is certainly worth seeing once.
The "Wagner tendency" criticism is unwarranted and, as you will well know, was a pretty commonplace response to many works.
Cheers

Oh, a bit of white gauze, some bright lights, 2-3 "Biggol" Mosquito Nets (5.99, IKEA), say 60 quid for the whole thing - when do we start?

Personally I'd be more worried about the Witches Sabbath,  but we can save the other 85 nicker for that 

Who else is interested in later verismo...   for example Leoni's L'ORACOLO?  (The only opera to begin with the sound of a cock crowing, as far as I know?   Well, there's 40 quid of the budget gone already...  )