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A
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« on: 22:33:50, 09-12-2007 » |
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Did anyone go to this ? I had tickets, good ones too, but was unable to go in the end. It was Ian Bostridge, my hero  I do hope someone tells me it wasn't any good so I don't feel so bad! A |
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Well, there you are.
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Ruth Elleson
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« Reply #1 on: 00:28:39, 10-12-2007 » |
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Ummm, sorry to tell you this, A, but it was brilliant   (I went to the Friday performance, after nearly ditching my tickets on the grounds that I was simply going to too many operas this week - and then when they announced that John Relyea had cancelled and Gidon Saks had replaced him, I thought better of it. And yes, it was fantastic. I am not going to write too much about it right this minute, as I've been singing all day and I'm shattered. But it was great. Sorry  ) |
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Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!
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A
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« Reply #2 on: 00:41:24, 10-12-2007 » |
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Darn !!!  Hope you are well A |
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Mary Chambers
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« Reply #3 on: 11:25:44, 11-12-2007 » |
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I'd love to have been there, a favourite opera of mine, though I'm no fan of Bostridge. His reviews in this haven't been too good, but Gidon Saks has been universally (I think) praised. I'd love to have heard the chorus, as good amateur choirs sound quite different from opera choruses - how wonderful to have the chance to sing in this. (The LSO chorus did brilliantly in Grimes with Colin Davies, much better than any opera chorus I've heard. Pity about Glen Winslade.)
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Donna Elvira
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« Reply #4 on: 14:02:14, 11-12-2007 » |
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I'm not a fan of Bostridge either, Mary. Having seen Simon Keenlyside in Billy Budd in both Vienna and Covent Garden, I can't imagine anyone else in the role. He was utterly brilliant.
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Mary Chambers
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« Reply #5 on: 14:58:02, 11-12-2007 » |
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Except, of course, that Simon Keenlyside, being a baritone, was Billy, and Ian Bostridge, being a tenor, was Captain Vere, as no doubt you know. Quite agree with you about Keenlyside, though - he was the perfect Billy.
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Ruth Elleson
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« Reply #6 on: 15:17:52, 11-12-2007 » |
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It was good to hear Nathan Gunn, though. I don't have any recordings of Billy Budd, having only ever heard it live - and until last Friday, Simon Keenlyside was the only singer I had ever heard in the role (except Billy's soliloquy, which I've heard sung in numerous concerts and vocal competitions).
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Oft hat ein Seufzer, deiner Harf' entflossen,
Ein süßer, heiliger Akkord von dir
Den Himmel beßrer Zeiten mir erschlossen,
Du holde Kunst, ich danke dir dafür!
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operacat
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« Reply #7 on: 16:28:00, 11-12-2007 » |
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I wondered how Bostridge would do as Captain Vere - I thought he acquitted himself very well. And Gidon Saks was brilliant as Claggart!! I had previously seen him as Hagen, and he brought the same qualities of menacing stillness to his portrayal of Claggart.
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nature abhors a vacuum - but not as much as cats do.
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perfect wagnerite
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« Reply #8 on: 22:08:15, 11-12-2007 » |
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I'm not a fan of Bostridge either, Mary. Having seen Simon Keenlyside in Billy Budd in both Vienna and Covent Garden, I can't imagine anyone else in the role. He was utterly brilliant.
For me, not having seen Keenlyside, the definitive Billy Budd will always be the younger Thomas Allen - vocally and physically ideally suited to the role, and with an unforgettable visionary quality to his performance. |
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At every one of these [classical] concerts in England you will find rows of weary people who are there, not because they really like classical music, but because they think they ought to like it. (Shaw, Don Juan in Hell)
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Ron Dough
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« Reply #9 on: 00:23:12, 12-12-2007 » |
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I wish I could have heard Gidon as Claggart, in the same way that I wish you could have seen his extraordinary production of Turn of the Screw in Aberdeen last year: here is all that I can show you of it, with a 26 year old woman playing Miles; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1Ggt9vCpJI&mode=related&search=I'm afraid the strange camera work is his, too, but he's a man of many talents: for anyone who may have missed it before, here he is in a rather different British operatic role; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFjTNZsilly partygY * And a little clip from an American Turn of the Screw caught my eye, too, whilst I was there.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt-umeFknK0* When you have this in your browser, you will need to replace the 'silly party' bit with the letters b, N and p (by themselves. and without the comma, spaces or and) |
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« Last Edit: 00:29:43, 12-12-2007 by Ron Dough »
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operacat
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« Reply #10 on: 18:04:55, 12-12-2007 » |
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I'm not a fan of Bostridge either, Mary. Having seen Simon Keenlyside in Billy Budd in both Vienna and Covent Garden, I can't imagine anyone else in the role. He was utterly brilliant.
For me, not having seen Keenlyside, the definitive Billy Budd will always be the younger Thomas Allen - vocally and physically ideally suited to the role, and with an unforgettable visionary quality to his performance. I've seen Keenlyside AND Allen - I found Keenlyside to be Allen's equal in most respects. |
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nature abhors a vacuum - but not as much as cats do.
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