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Urban Shocker's Neighbourhood Watch

I suppose if I move forward several rows - next season - there will be less likelihood of "opera-blocking" ( to paraphrase cal ) because there will be relatively more width of stage in front of me and relatively less potential tall guy to block it. But movin' on up will involve bribery.

I wandered into the fancy lounge, and gave them a chance to admire me. Then, away to the new Friends lounge ( I'm not a member of that, either ), nicer than the windowless hellhole they had last season.

Sandra Piques Eddy sure acted boyishly cute as Cherubino, sounded swell, and was fun in the cross-dressing cross-dressing scenes. I agree that Robert Gleadow almost nailed his Figaro and that Ying Huang was rather disappointing. Jessica Muirhead sung beautifully as the Countess, especially that lamentation aria over her dud of a husband. I thought the staging and the sets worked well enough, though it all seemed a bit cautious. And the humour was well done.
 
Hi !!!

Saw Don Carlos - a heapin' helpin' of Verdi, at the opera last night.

Go !!! That is if you can get a ticket.

Paolo Olmi is a fabulous conductor; he's got the gift -- as you have said before, one could reach out and grab the music.

This was the one slated night for Joni Henson to sing Elizabeth and she was so wonderful, too.

This opera house? The acoustics are ablaze, they're on fire !!!!
 
I saw The Marriage of Figaro on Sunday from our new seats in the last row of Ring 4, centre. (TonyV, the new seats thing is a long story - last season we were here, there, everywhere.)

Regarding the 'on fire' acoustics - we had loved them everywhere we'd been in the hall so far, until Sunday. The vocals were still fine actually*, but we felt the orchestra sounded muffled where we were. Maybe it was just Julia Jones keeping the lid on them however - I suppose we'll have Don Carlos to compare the sound again this coming Sunday. If it's still muffled, then the jury will declare that the last row is too far under the overhang, or some such thing...

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*Direct line of sight from our seats to the stage of course, but the front half of the orchestra were hidden from our view - so that may be what's muffling the orchestra's sound somewhat.
 
To the Elgin last night for The Return of Ulysses. Very well done, all beautifully sung and played and danced and costumed. Well worth the price of admission to hear Christopher Temporelli sing Neptune - and see him in that skirt. Such pecs. My oh my.
 
He's only sleevless in Ulysses. That photo's a preview of coming attractions, for Idomeneo. Marshall promised big casting news for it that will result in a complete sellout. Naturally thats got me hoping for Nathan Gunn.
 
Thought you'd like that.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition to be portrayed in a good light ... nobody! But the COC gave it the old college try last night with Don Carlos - the auto da fe was a particularly charming tableau of gently writhing bodies, everyone having a rather jolly time of it. Adrianne Pieczonka had a cold, so Joni Henson was the Queen. A real Big Hair production all round, hour after hour of it, and I had a great time.

Maestro Olmi's even shorter than Yannick. He looked kinda Mr. Bean-like when he got up on stage for the curtain call, like a little toy. The band sounded as magnificent as ever, under his baton.

Nobody famous as far as I could see. The Ralston Purina's, John and the missus, sat several rows ahead of me at orchestra level. The big tall man in front of me was replaced by a short woman with spiky hair this time.
 
I miss the Thursday crowd - a nice bunch of folks. But Saturday is more convenient for me, despite the rather manic and ( I think ) 905-ish audience. I don't always feel like rushing to the opera after a full day of Mon-Fri "work".
 
Urban Shocker said:
I
Sandra Piques Eddy sure acted boyishly cute as Cherubino, sounded swell, and was fun in the cross-dressing cross-dressing scenes. I agree that Robert Gleadow almost nailed his Figaro and that Ying Huang was rather disappointing. Jessica Muirhead sung beautifully as the Countess, especially that lamentation aria over her dud of a husband. I thought the staging and the sets worked well enough, though it all seemed a bit cautious. And the humour was well done.
Click to expand...

Cherubino was certainly the star of the show. Terrific acting (as a boy trying to act as a girl) and wonderful voice. Figaro was well acted and funny but I thought his voice was under-powered.

"I wonder if Bayrakdarian will pull out of Figaro now that she's pregnant - as she's just done with the Met's production?"

I was wondering why they made her look so matronly. My wife figured it out right away. Bayrakdarian was terrific.
 
It's been a whole 8 days since I saw Don Carlos now, and I should have dropped by this thread sooner. I concur with US's assessment of the band under Olmi - they were superb - and it proved that the slightly muffled tone we experienced in the back of Ring 4 for Figaro was not owing to the position of the seats. Olmi will be welcome here again.

US - I hope Henson acquitted herself well - Ms. Pieczonka certainly did when we heard her. I miss the Thursday night crowd too. The median age of the Sunday aft crowd is definitely rinsier, and reactions from it somewhat less energetic.

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The Saturday night crowd applauds everything that moves. If I'd been stuck in 905-land all week I'd probably do the same. I expect their kids were throwing up in the gutters of clubland a few blocks away while all this was going on.

Henson made a pretty good Queen, though I sensed disappointment all round when it was announced that Pieczonka wasn't going to perform. I thought Terje Stensvold rather stole the show as the King, perhaps because the Carlos seemed a bit weak - especially in the first act. Zdenek Plech in the small role of the spirit of the dead king was strong too, and Mary Phillips as the Princess.

Carlos and Rodrigue seemed to be enjoying their butch-huggy-huggy death scene a little too much, I thought.

There were a few times when the cloying Romanticism of the libretto got to me - all that dying of love nonsense. What a shift from the operas of Mozart and Handel, when everything was clever and cynical and more like real life.
 
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