Met Live - Die Frau Ohne Schatten

[Ein Heldenleben]

That first act was just wonderful . The orchestra are playing their hearts out . Elza Van den Heever is singing the Empress beautifully and Issachah Savage a tremendous Emperor. A bit of a triumph really…

[smittims]

This is a 'marmite' opera, isn't it? Some claim it's Strauss' masterpiece, others that it's a turkey. I suppose a really good performance helps. I like a lot of the music but I'm afraid the plot and characters pass me by.

[Ein Heldenleben]

This is a 'marmite' opera, isn't it? Some claim it's Strauss' masterpiece, others that it's a turkey. I suppose a really good performance helps. I like a lot of the music but I'm afraid the plot and characters pass me by.

Never heard any serious music critic or opera fan describe it as a Turkey. I’d argue it’s his greatest . It certainly has his greatest operatic music . It’s no more metaphorical and abstruse than the Magic Flute really to which its heavily indebted.
It’s certainly marmite in the forum because I suspect I’m one of the very few listeners. It’s obviously marmite to the Met audience as there are plenty of unsold seats for the final perf. All a shame as it’s been very well reviewed - and last nights performance was utterly magnificent. The best Emperor and Emperor I’ve ever heard live - the latter a last minute sub who is clearly a massive Tenor star in the making . A wonderful Barak in Michael Volle and a superb Wife and Nurse.
But the glory was the wonderful Met Orchestra and Yannik Nezet Seguin who simply didn’t put a foot wrong Blistering beautifully gradated climaxes reminiscent of opera pit greats like Goodall and Kleiber. And their cello and violin soloists - wonderful musicians.

What a night and what a terrible shame it wasn’t an HD relay as I read it’s a very good production as well.

[Belgrove]

An impressive performance indeed.

I’m one of the claimants for it being Strauss’ greatest score, and have never heard it being referred to as a Turkey. But I gave up trying to interpret its meaning years ago, just revel in its sonic wonders. The best production I’ve seen was at Covent Garden in 2014. The whole scenario was the Empress’s fever dream immediately following a (presumed) miscarriage. Everything was rendered transparent and made sense. The orchestra played out of their skins, conducted by Semyon Bychkov - one of the great nights at the opera.

[Ein Heldenleben]

An impressive performance indeed.

I’m one of the claimants for it being Strauss’ greatest score, and have never heard it being referred to as a Turkey. But I gave up trying to interpret its meaning years ago, just revel in its sonic wonders. The best production I’ve seen was at Covent Garden in 2014. The whole scenario was the Empress’s fever dream immediately following a (presumed) miscarriage. Everything was rendered transparent and made sense. The orchestra played out of their skins, conducted by Semyon Bychkov - one of the great nights at the opera.

That’s two of us Belgrove.
Yes I went to that series - one of the great nights indeed .At the end of it I was too stunned to even applaud . A very very good production also as the Met appears to be . The opera is so fantastical already it seems to deter the Regie mob from excesses - there’s already plenty to go at. Fantastical but like the Flute rooted in real human emotion. That spoken Ich will nicht ..one of the great moments in all opera. That Bychkov was ten years ago wasn’t it? I ended up giving one ticket away to a relative through a meeting clash and buying a second for another performance.

It also hasn’t been seen at the Met for ten years . One critic implored New Yorkers to go as they might never see it again - a sad thought. I had a serious discussion with Mrs H about flying to New York for the final perf on Saturday but the £3,000 BA flight hotel / package each put me off somewhat! Looks like Berlin Opera are doing it in Feb with top prices a bargain €140 . David Butt Philip as Emperor - sounds good.

Most awkward moment last night - the naive presenter asking one of the stars “ What’s the moral of Die Frau? “ How long have you got ? Great art doesn’t have a “moral” that you can sew into an embroidery sampler and hang on the wall.

[Belgrove]

There’s an old thread concerning that ROH production EH.

https://www.for3.org/forums/forum/classical-forum/performance/a-night-at-the-opera/9959-opera-on-3-29-03-14-die-frau-ohne-schatten-roh

A shame I missed this Met production since I’m in NYC in the new year.

[Ein Heldenleben]

There’s an old thread concerning that ROH production EH.

https://www.for3.org/forums/forum/classical-forum/performance/a-night-at-the-opera/9959-opera-on-3-29-03-14-die-frau-ohne-schatten-roh

A shame I missed this Met production since I’m in NYC in the new year.

Thanks I was on the Beeb payroll then and thus sadly not a contributor but I might have had a “Schatten “ like read only presence

This 2014 comment from David G made me laugh ruefully . How to kill “one of the greatest moments in all Opera “


David-G
Full Member

• Join Date: Mar 2012
• Posts: 1216

#53
08-04-14, 00:29
I was at the last night of "Die Frau" last Wednesday. Act 3 builds to a great climax; the Empress is faced with the decision of whether to accept the shadow, thereby destroying the human couple but saving her husband the Emperor, or rejecting it, saving the human couple but at the cost of the Emperor being petrified. The Empress is torn between these irreconcilables, and finally these words are wrung out of her: "ICH WILL NICHT!" (I will not accept the shadow). This is the catharsis of the drama, and it is followed by a long and tense silence. And during this silence, from about ten seats away, somewhere in the front row of the Balcony, I clearly heard the words: "What language is that?"

[Pulcinella]

Dear Diary tells me that I saw a production at Covent Garden on 17/7/1987, but I seem not to have kept the programme and have little memory of it.


I have the Solti recording in the big Decca set of Strauss operas, so need to make a (pre?) new year resolution to listen to it sometime soon.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Dear Diary tells me that I saw a production at Covent Garden on 17/7/1987, but I seem not to have kept the programme and have little memory of it.


I have the Solti recording in the big Decca set of Strauss operas, so need to make a (pre?) new year resolution to listen to it sometime soon.

https://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=16234&row=19&searchtype=performance&genre=Opera&title=Die%20Frau%20Ohne%20Schatten&page=0

87 was this - very strong cast . Pretty sure I went to this plus one of the Solti performances in the late 70’s

[Pulcinella]

https://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=16234&row=19&searchtype=performance&genre=Opera&title=Die%20Frau%20Ohne%20Schatten&page=0

87 was this - very strong cast . Pretty sure I went to this plus one of the Solti performances in the late 70’s

[Nick Armstrong]

Dear Diary tells me that I saw a production at Covent Garden on 17/7/1987, but I seem not to have kept the programme and have little memory of it.

I’m also a fan of this work, the only production I’ve seen being at CG in 1992, the one (in association with Los Angeles) conducted by Haitink with the Hockney set designs ( https://www.hockney.com/index.php/wo...-ohne-schatten ) - indeed a framed poster of the show hangs in the bathroom!

Orchestrally the Met production sounded magnificent, but I’m afraid my allergy (which seems to become more acute as the years go by) to apparently uncontrolled vibrato made me switch off, principally thanks to some of the female singing…

[Ein Heldenleben]

I’m also a fan of this work, the only production I’ve seen being at CG in 1992, the one (in association with Los Angeles) conducted by Haitink with the Hockney set designs ( https://www.hockney.com/index.php/wo...-ohne-schatten ) - indeed a framed poster of the show hangs in the bathroom!

Orchestrally the Met production sounded magnificent, but I’m afraid my allergy (which seems to become more acute as the years go by) to apparently uncontrolled vibrato made me switch off, principally thanks to some of the female singing…

It was only really Stemme. Maybe Barak’s wife in Act 3 . Sadly wider vibrato comes to many soprano spinto singers with age - Callas being the classic example . A few exceptions like Birgit Nilsson, Rita Hunter spring to mind . As I’ve said before you don’t notice it so much live - so much so that I wonder if the more directional sound that mics pick up accentuates it - maybe that doesn’t happen in the theatre so much where the acoustic takes the edge off things.

[kernelbogey]

It was only really Stemme. Maybe Barak’s wife in Act 3 . Sadly wider vibrato comes to many soprano spinto singers with age - Callas being the classic example . A few exceptions like Birgit Nilsson, Rita Hunter spring to mind . As I’ve said before you don’t notice it so much live - so much so that I wonder if the more directional sound that mics pick up accentuates it - maybe that doesn’t happen in the theatre so much where the acoustic takes the edge off things.

There's a Beecham story (of course) of his waiting while Léon Goossens gave the A. 'There you are, Gentlemen,' said Beecham: 'Take your pick.'

(Se non è vero è ben trovato.)

[Pulcinella]

It was only really Stemme. Maybe Barak’s wife in Act 3 . Sadly wider vibrato comes to many soprano spinto singers with age - Callas being the classic example . A few exceptions like Birgit Nilsson, Rita Hunter spring to mind . As I’ve said before you don’t notice it so much live - so much so that I wonder if the more directional sound that mics pick up accentuates it - maybe that doesn’t happen in the theatre so much where the acoustic takes the edge off things.

I see that Gwyneth Jones was Barak's wife back in 1987. I can't remember now when her wobble became overly obtrusive.

[Ein Heldenleben]

There's a Beecham story (of course) of his waiting while Léon Goossens gave the A. 'There you are, Gentlemen,' said Beecham: 'Take your pick.'

(Se non è vero è ben trovato.)

Indeed and what a musician he was. How much vibrato should a singer employ?