Met Tannhauser 23.01.2016

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Conchis, I like the song contest - it's relevant and advances the plot - but the Paris-revised act one is deadly. The original version is much, much better.

[Maclintick]

last night was unbearable for me for both reasons mentioned so far (and in spite of a truly wonderful-sounding baritone, whose name I missed

Peter Mattei, who was excellent, & enjoys the finest music in the opera, after all, as Wolfram. He didn't erase memories of Christian Gerhaher at Covent Garden under Semyon Bychkov, who brought an extraordinary vocal purity & depth of characteristion to the role. Like other forumites, I've been worried by Eva-Maria Westbroek's squally vibrato recently, as in the ROH Cav&Pag, but what was almost equally troublesome, & had us, like the Eye's Alice reaching for the sickbag, was her averral that "Maestro Levine" represented " a sort of Nelson Mandela of Music" ...this seemed almost too much even for her habitually gushy radio interlocutor...Only in America...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Peter Mattei, who was excellent, & enjoys the finest music in the opera, after all, as Wolfram.

Many thanks, Maclintick

[Beef Oven!]

Well, I only know his Parsifal and Dutchman, both of which are the worst (because dullest) recordings of those works in my collection, and last night was unbearable for me for both reasons mentioned so far (and in spite of a truly wonderful-sounding baritone, whose name I missed). But, as BeefO rightly points out, he's done some truly wonderful work with the Music of other composers (add the Carter/Babbitt/Cage/Schuller disc to the 2nd Viennese School recording, too).

And I have long had that Carter/Babbitt/Cage/Schuller CD in my collection, and would vouch for it.

[Prommer]

My god, this orchestra can play absolutely beautifully. The intro to the Entry of the Guests was utterly exquisite.