La Forza Del Destino (Covent Garden)

[Stanfordian]

I was at the Preston Odeon on Tuesday but I've just been told that at the Blackpool Odeon there was a fault with the streaming and the audience missed the last 10 minutes. They were refunded. Not surprisingly the person who told me was furious with what happened.

Last year at Preston Odeon they couldn't get the streamings of one of the theatre productions to work and we were all refunded.

[LHC]

I too saw this at a cinema screening on Tuesday and concur with most of the comments made so far. The volume was fine at my local cinema (South Woodford), indeed, I would have preferred it to be a little louder than it was. The cinema was packed, although most of the attendees were middle aged or older. Most seemed to be regulars, and I suspect the cinema has learnt to moderate the volume to suit the tastes of its regular clientele.

Everyone in the cinema was enthralled by the performance (including those for whom this was their first encounter with forza)

I'm afraid I was not impressed at all by Veronica Simeoni as Preziosilla, but the rest of the cast were superb, especially Kaufmann, Tezier and Netreko. I hope very much that this will appear on Blu Ray in due course.

[alywin]

I was at the Preston Odeon on Tuesday but I've just been told that at the Blackpool Odeon there was a fault with the streaming and the audience missed the last 10 minutes. They were refunded. Not surprisingly the person who told me was furious with what happened.

Last year at Preston Odeon they couldn't get the streamings of one of the theatre productions to work and we were all refunded.

I don't suppose this is exclusive to Odeons, but most of my worst streaming experiences have been at my local Odeon, including a Royal Ballet triple bill which was scarcely watchable!

Anyway, looks as though the only repeat screening left inside the M25 (I forgot it in time to make arrangements last week!) is tomorrow afternoon at Stratford Picturehouse. I thought someone had said there was one on at Greenwich too, but it doesn't appear to be showing up.

[ostuni]

We were at the (almost full) Islington Vue for yesterday’s Encore screening. I thought Pappano, Kaufmann, and Tézier were magnificent, but we both had a real problem with Netrebko. A lot of people, both here and on Twitter, who have seen way more opera than I have, have been putting her performance up with the greats of all times. And yes, her high notes, both soft and loud, are glorious; magnificent breath control, too. What about the tuning, though? Jessica Duchen tweeted her doubts about the beginning of ‘Pace, pace’ - but my wife (who's much more critical than me of intonation issues) and I both noticed a *lot* more places where Netrebko was uncomfortably sharp, where descending semitones were closer to quarters, etc.

Of course, this was live, and slips are bound to happen; if you’re right at the back of the stage, it's hard to hear the orchestra clearly enough. I only know the likes of Leontyne Price (and many other 'greats') through studio recordings: I'm not enough of an opera buff to go round collecting all those various live recordings which seem more and more available these days. Is the near-perfect intonation that I remember from recordings due to studio conditions; is anyone else similarly troubled by Netrebko's recent performances? I'd love to hear opinions, especially from those of you who have more opera-going experience than I do.

[Cockney Sparrow]

...........Of course, this was live, and slips are bound to happen;.........I only know the likes of Leontyne Price (and many other 'greats') through studio recordings: I'm not enough of an opera buff to go round collecting all those various live recordings which seem more and more available these days. Is the near-perfect intonation that I remember from recordings due to studio conditions; ......

Could be. I have come to the conclusion that allowances have to be made for live performance, more so for opera performance given the number of participants - the probability of each of them being on top form on the same day. Vocal and dramatic commitment count for a lot - for me. As long as the vocal / musical deficiencies aren't too extensive.

.....is anyone else similarly troubled by Netrebko's recent performances? I'd love to hear opinions, especially from those of you who have more opera-going experience than I do.

I've seen Netrebko as Lady Macbeth and it was impressive. For Forza I went on 2 evenings, and she was on much the same form both times (the first was the night of the live cinema streaming). I thought she was really good, in a demanding role. She sang Pace, Pace softly with great control, no harshness,wobble or beat, at the end of a long performance. She was committed dramatically and vocally secure throughout - she delivered. There are no doubt others who could do the same, but I felt lucky to hear her, especially alongside Tezier, Kaufman and Furnaletto.

She didn't seem notably out of tune to me. I'm not cloth eared but I'm sure there are those who are more acute in hearing these things.

[Stanfordian]

We were at the (almost full) Islington Vue for yesterday’s Encore screening. I thought Pappano, Kaufmann, and Tézier were magnificent, but we both had a real problem with Netrebko. A lot of people, both here and on Twitter, who have seen way more opera than I have, have been putting her performance up with the greats of all times. And yes, her high notes, both soft and loud, are glorious; magnificent breath control, too. What about the tuning, though? Jessica Duchen tweeted her doubts about the beginning of ‘Pace, pace’ - but my wife (who's much more critical than me of intonation issues) and I both noticed a *lot* more places where Netrebko was uncomfortably sharp, where descending semitones were closer to quarters, etc.

Of course, this was live, and slips are bound to happen; if you’re right at the back of the stage, it's hard to hear the orchestra clearly enough. I only know the likes of Leontyne Price (and many other 'greats') through studio recordings: I'm not enough of an opera buff to go round collecting all those various live recordings which seem more and more available these days. Is the near-perfect intonation that I remember from recordings due to studio conditions; is anyone else similarly troubled by Netrebko's recent performances? I'd love to hear opinions, especially from those of you who have more opera-going experience than I do.

It's not technical perfection that moves people emotionally and even makes the hair stand up on the back of the neck but that rare performance ability that Netrebko that has in spades. I can't imagine how challenging it must be to sing live the highly demanding role of Leonora especially when having to climb and lie on tables.

Maria Callas and Horowitz are just two examples of artists who spring to mind as not being always noticeably technically perfect but great performers.

I think we have to appreciate how extremely difficult it is performing these big roles live. We are talking about live performances not recordings made under studio conditions with retake after retake possible.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I didn't want to make comparisons in my previous post, seeming to take anything away from Netrebko, they were memorable performances.

However, I would say Ermonela Jaho's performances make my hair stand up on the back of my neck - the most total commitment dramatically with complete vocal ability. Great nights in the opera house. Alongside Domingo as Otello (and sorry, great as it was, this Forza did not reach that "stars aligned" height as compared by the critic Canning - #30 above).

[underthecountertenor]

We were at the (almost full) Islington Vue for yesterday’s Encore screening. I thought Pappano, Kaufmann, and Tézier were magnificent, but we both had a real problem with Netrebko. A lot of people, both here and on Twitter, who have seen way more opera than I have, have been putting her performance up with the greats of all times. And yes, her high notes, both soft and loud, are glorious; magnificent breath control, too. What about the tuning, though? Jessica Duchen tweeted her doubts about the beginning of ‘Pace, pace’ - but my wife (who's much more critical than me of intonation issues) and I both noticed a *lot* more places where Netrebko was uncomfortably sharp, where descending semitones were closer to quarters, etc.

Of course, this was live, and slips are bound to happen; if you’re right at the back of the stage, it's hard to hear the orchestra clearly enough. I only know the likes of Leontyne Price (and many other 'greats') through studio recordings: I'm not enough of an opera buff to go round collecting all those various live recordings which seem more and more available these days. Is the near-perfect intonation that I remember from recordings due to studio conditions; is anyone else similarly troubled by Netrebko's recent performances? I'd love to hear opinions, especially from those of you who have more opera-going experience than I do.

I was in the House that night, and would agree that Netrebko sounded, to my ears, a little sharp in places. Still a fine performance by her though.

[kernelbogey]

What a disgrace the website is.

[alywin]

I think you must need this thread: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...-House-website :)