Morris Robinson was a tower of strength throughout as Hermann and his contribution to the ensemble of the second act simply can’t be underestimated. We were cast from strength even down to the Shepherd of Erica Petrocelli, our most recent Musetta, and tenor Robert Stahley, who’s a member of our young artist’s program to watch, as an intensely strong Walther. They numbered nearly 60 voices and made a massive sound that left many of us literally gasping for breath behind our masks. This is true most especially in a work with so many pitfalls due to offstage entrances and barely accompanied sections that are always in danger of going pitch imperfect.
The Chorus did some of the best singing I’ve ever heard from them. I’m pretty sure we got the “Vienna” version of the score but I’m not the musicologist on Tannhäuser that I am with some other works so don’t quote me. Then, at the end of the evening I was surprised to see only one harpist in the pit, so someone please give JoAnn Turovsky a bonus right now. But, no, Wagner’s tale of Heinrich the Wayward Minnesinger isn’t getting a lot of love here at Schloss Mack.
Complete Ring cycles? I’ve shown extraordinary restraint in only procuring five. Obviously not as fascinating to me as the fleet of Fleigende Holländers that adorn my bookcase shelves.
What with the vaccination bracelets and now the Jumbo-Tron’s blasting Wagner it’s looking a lot more like Coachella every time I attend LA Opera now.Ī friend asked me if Tannhäuser was one of my favorites and my reply was,”Not really, I only have two recordings”.
I’d be embarrassed to admit this had it not been for Maestro James Conlon using musical and visual excerpts from Chuck Jones’ classic opus ‘What’s Opera Doc?’ in his pre-performance talk that was streamed onto the big screens on the new Music Center Plaza.Īpparently it’s a shared cultural experience. I was most likely introduced to opera, Wagner directly and his Tannhäuser indirectly, by a cartoon bunny got up in Brunnhilde-drag.
0 kommentar(er)
