Boulevard Solitude

[french frank]

The Henze opera gets its Radio 3 broadcast next Saturday (21st) at 7.30. Reviewers not overwhelmed by the production but the performance much praised.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0477dh8

[bluestateprommer]

Hmm, surely I can't be the only person here who gave HWH's Boulevard Solitude from WNO a listen on iPlayer. That aside, it sounded fine to my untrained and unaccustomed ear, never having heard the opera in any form or excerpt before. The English diction was quite good, although I didn't perhaps quite follow every single twist and turn in the story. It was still a bit of a jolt to hear Christopher Cook giving a quick synopsis of the next scene when there were short pauses, as the work was done with no interval. A few momentary slips of ensemble, but nothing major, with Lothar Koenigs holding things together well, and launching w/o preliminary applause. Of course, for those able to attend in person, I'm sure that it didn't hurt that Sarah Tynan sang the lead role :

http://www.wno.org.uk/explore/boulevard-solitude

Fine cast overall, and definitely worth the listen.

[Roehre]

Hmm, surely I can't be the only person here who gave HWH's Boulevard Solitude from WNO a listen on iPlayer. That aside, it sounded fine to my untrained and unaccustomed ear, never having heard the opera in any form or excerpt before. The English diction was quite good, although I didn't perhaps quite follow every single twist and turn in the story. It was still a bit of a jolt to hear Christopher Cook giving a quick synopsis of the next scene when there were short pauses, as the work was done with no interval. A few momentary slips of ensemble, but nothing major, with Lothar Koenigs holding things together well, and launching w/o preliminary applause. Of course, for those able to attend in person, I'm sure that it didn't hurt that Sarah Tynan sang the lead role :

http://www.wno.org.uk/explore/boulevard-solitude

Fine cast overall, and definitely worth the listen.

No, you aren't, as I did too (and listed the piece in the "What are you listening to"-thread.
I loved it, and it was rather shorter than I expected with just under an hour and a half.
In the broadcast twice little summaries of what was happening were included, which helped to understand the work and wasn't intrusive at all.
Manon Lescaut through mid-20C-eyes, IMHO at level with Puccini's.

[french frank]

It's what comes of losing the routine of listening to R3 .

One of the most (personally) memorable opera broadcasts for me was Henze's L'Upupa which, with a bit of pre-research, was very engaging, and easy to follow (Henze choosing a 'fairy tale' for that one, unlike for Boulevard!).