Opera on 3 - 9 July, 2011: Massenet's Cendrillon from the ROH

[Guest]

Anyone else going to see this? I'll be at the 9th July performance.

Have never over-cared for Massenet, but the two previous Laurent Pelly productions I've seen (Fille Du Regiment and L'Elisir....) have both been marvellous (heard Manon was just as good, but had to miss that as was in UAE): I think he's rather good at blowing the cobwebs off old warhorses.

[gurnemanz]

My wife has acquired two £60 tickets on Ebay for £60 the pair. I know nothing about the opera but had mentioned that I would be happy to go and see Alice Coote in anything. I will also look forward to seeing Joyce DiDonato on her own two legs. Last time we saw her at ROH she was in a wheelchair for the Barbiere di Siviglia.

[Mandryka]

Can omeone with the appropriate powers transfer this thread to the Music and Performance section? Thanks!

[handel21]

Massenet's Cendrillon

Anyone else going to see this? I'll be at the 9th July performance.

Have never over-cared for Massenet, but the two previous Laurent Pelly productions I've seen (Fille Du Regiment and L'Elisir....) have both been marvellous (heard Manon was just as good, but had to miss that as was in UAE): I think he's rather good at blowing the cobwebs off old warhorses.

I went to the dress rehearsal. I thought the production every bit as good as the two Donizetti productions (I missed Manon, also). Cleverly designed, witty and, sometimes, very beautiful. In short, everything you want from Cinderella. Audience response was huge. Everyone loved it. Joyce Di Donato has some ravishing music and there is a wonderful duet for her and Alice Coote. Also outstanding is Gutierrez as the Fairy Godmother.What casting! I guarantee you'll love every second. I've never been a great Massenet fan but I think this may have converted me!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Opera on 3 - Saturday 9th March, 2011: Massenet's Cendrillon

Live from Covent Garden, the Royal Opera House presents its first ever production of Massenet's Cendrillon in a staging by French director Laurent Pelly with an all-star cast including Joyce DiDonato and Alice Coote. Massenet's score stays true to Perrault's well-known Cinderella story, but adding a coloratura soprano fairy-godmother, and some ravishing duets for Cendrillon and her prince. Donald Macleod is joined by Sarah Lenton to discuss the background to Massenet's opera, and interviews the cast and conductor about their roles in it.

Presented by Donald Macleod

Cendrillon .....Joyce DiDonato (Mezzo-soprano)
La Fée ..... Eglise Gutiérrez (Soprano)
Le Prince Charmant ..... Alice Coote (Mezzo-soprano)
Madame de la Haltière ..... Ewa Podles (Mezzo-soprano)
Pandolfe ..... Jean-Philippe Lafont (Baritone)
Noémie ..... Madeleine Pierard (Soprano)
Dorothée ..... Kai Rüütel (Mezzo-soprano)
Roi ..... Jeremy White (Bass)
Doyen de la Faculté ..... Harry Nicoll (Tenor)
Surintendant des Plaisirs ..... Dawid Kimberg (Baritone)
Premier Ministre ..... John-Owen Miley-Read

Royal Opera House orchestra & chorus
Conductor ..... Bertrand de Billy.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

I was there for Tuesday's opening night - my Opera Britannia review here: http://www.opera-britannia.com/index...iews&Itemid=16

Some very good singing and well worth listening in to R3 this evening... just a pity to lose the visuals. I do hope that the broadcast isn't plagued by the frequent audio dropouts and interference which blighted last week's Madama Butterfly.

EA, are you four months late with your thread title?

[Mandryka]

Well, I take your point about the casting and the production....musically, it was very good indeed and Joyce Didonato (despite having a cold) delivered the goods, as did Alice Coote. But, oh dear me, what an uninspiring piece of hackwork this opera is! Ballets that seemed to on forever, unmemorable music (did Massenet ever write anything memorable, apart from the Meditation from Thais?) and padding, padding, padding.

A truly horrible work. It didn't deserve the talent that was lavished on it.

[Barbirollians]

Well, I take your point about the casting and the production....musically, it was very good indeed and Joyce Didonato (despite having a cold) delivered the goods, as did Alice Coote. But, oh dear me, what an uninspiring piece of hackwork this opera is! Ballets that seemed to on forever, unmemorable music (did Massenet ever write anything memorable, apart from the Meditation from Thais?) and padding, padding, padding.

A truly horrible work. It didn't deserve the talent that was lavished on it.

Manon is full of memorable tunes !

[french frank]

[To clarify - as requested I have moved Mandryka's thread from CD Review, and also merged it with Eine Alpensinfonie's Opera on 3 thread. It has resulted in Mandryka's earlier posts taking precedence over EA's. Sorry - I hadn't realised this might be a bit confusing!]

This does have the benefit of now linking IGI's Opera Britannia review to the present discussion. There seems to be a division of opinion!

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

But, oh dear me, what an uninspiring piece of hackwork this opera is! Ballets that seemed to on forever, unmemorable music (did Massenet ever write anything memorable, apart from the Meditation from Thais?) and padding, padding, padding.

A truly horrible work. It didn't deserve the talent that was lavished on it.

I think 'a truly horrible work' is rather an extreme response, but each to his/ her own. I think that Cendrillon's phrase 'Vous êtes mon Prince Charmant' in their duet is exquisite. There are wonderful, memorable melodies in Manon, Werther, Thaïs (not just the 'Méditation'), Chérubin - a fizzing comedy, Esclarmonde, Cléopâtre (an opera I'd programme straight away if I were running Covent Garden!) and Don Quichotte.

[Pianorak]

. . . There are wonderful, memorable melodies in Manon, Werther, Thaïs (not just the 'Méditation'), Chérubin - a fizzing comedy, Esclarmonde, Cléopâtre (an opera I'd programme straight away if I were running Covent Garden!) and Don Quichotte.

May I put in a good word for his Piano Concerto and some of his solo piano pieces. I think Massenet, like any good novelist, has the knack of writing terrific openings – at least for Werther and the Piano Concerto, his only major works I'm familiar with.
I still remember with pleasure Alice Coote's Charlotte in the Leeds Opera production of Werther broadcast on R3.

[gurnemanz]

A truly horrible work. It didn't deserve the talent that was lavished on it.

We were at ROH for Saturday's broadcast performance. I wouldn't lay claim to it being a great work but it was an enjoyable and entertaining evening. Some of the music came across as a bit bland and frothy and there were longeurs, but it had a lot more to offer than I expected and not just good singing in the main roles. ...."Massenet's fantasy traces the history of French opera from the rustic wheeze of a Lullian musette to the grand divertissements of Versailles, the night-sweats of Berlioz, the frank sensuality of Bizet, the tart satires of Offenbach, and the subtle assimilation of the Wagnerian aesthetic....Listen carefully to the lavender-grey chromatics of the enchanted forest and there are pre-echos of Pelléas et Mélisande, a work premiered only four years later." (Anna Picard in today's Sunday Indie)

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/reviews/cendrillon-royal-opera-house-londonbrle-nozze-di-figaro-opera-holland-park-londonbrrinaldo-glyndebourne-east-sussex-2309801.html

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

[To clarify - as requested I have moved Mandryka's thread from CD Review, and also merged it with Eine Alpensinfonie's Opera on 3 thread. It has resulted in Mandryka's earlier posts taking precedence over EA's. Sorry - I hadn't realised this might be a bit confusing!]

This does have the benefit of now linking IGI's Opera Britannia review to the present discussion. There seems to be a division of opinion!

That was a good idea.I hadn't seen Mandryka's thread when I started mine.

[Barbirollians]

Been listening to the Sutherland/Bonynge recording of Esclarmonde - bought for a song secondhand.

What a terrific yarn - lots of lovely tunes and drama and a happy ending.

[Cockney Sparrow]

My usually hazy memory clears - I saw her on stage at the ROH in Esclarmonde. It must have been one of the last productions she did at the ROH? (The programme is packed away). I was impressed with the voice, the acting was no doubt adequate but I don't recall it one way or the other. Which goes for the piece itself.

I've never really clicked with Massenet or French operatic music, although I did go to Werther recently, and, now, would give other Massenet a try. Maybe I'll listen to more Massenet - it would be better if I'd seen it live first though.