Live from the Met 23.04.11 at 6.00 p.m. on Radio 3 - Richard Strauss: Capriccio

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff.

In Strauss's last opera, a poet and a musician vie for the attentions of a young widowed countess. It opens with a string sextet prelude, the work of the hopeful young composer, Flamand. The poet Olivier is preparing a new play for the Countess's birthday celebrations, and the two love rivals argue on a sensitive subject: which is of primary importance artistically - words or music? The Countess finds it impossible to choose between her two suitors. In one of Strauss's most intimate operas, he explores the nature of his own art.

Countess ..... Renee Fleming (soprano)
Clairon ..... Sarah Connolly (mezzo soprano)
Flamand ..... Joseph Kaiser (tenor)
Olivier ..... Russell Braun (tenor)
The Count ..... Morten Frank Larsen (bass-baritone)
La Roche ..... Peter Rose (bass)
Monsieur Taupe ..... Bernard Fitch (tenor)
Italian Singer ..... Olga Makarina (soprano)
Italian Singer ..... Barry Banks (tenor)
The Major-Domo ..... Michael Devin (bass)

New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
conductor Andrew Davis.


All I can say is "WOW!"

[salymap]

On R3. Thanks for that EA

[bluestateprommer]

Very late to the party, as usual; did anyone there catch the Met's Capriccio on the radio, or better yet, in the HD-cast, as I did? I have to admit that I enjoyed it more than I expected to, since the plot is really so much philosophical and meta discussion on "words vs. music" and tends to circle the same areas over and over again. Also, as one of the reviews noted, the one dissonant disconnect of updating the setting to the 1920's was not reconciling the text which had Gluck as a "contemporary" composer.

However, watching the HD gave me the crisp sense of watching a really good production of a play, with the singers/actors bantering back and forth. Obviously watching an HD-cast can't really substitute for being in the same space as the singers and orchestra, but the close-ups allow more of an appreciation of acting skills and facial expression that people in the house can't see. If anyone could take the spotlight from La Fleming, it was probably Peter Rose, who added just enough bombast to his role, fitting the character.

I'm sure you folks over there noted how well the UK was represented in this production, with Connolly, Rose and Banks on stage, Sir Andrew Davis conducting, and the production by John Cox. I saw that Sir Andrew wasn't using a baton, which was the same situation last year at Santa Fe Opera for Albert Herring. I heard from him that he was dealing with shoulder problems and had to forgo the baton as a result, so one wonders if they're still an issue. I'm not sure that Sir Andrew has conducted at the Met that often, given his primary duties with Lyric Opera of Chicago.