BaL 19.10.19 - Verdi: La Traviata

[Pulcinella]

I think Mr Esfahani is doing a very good job and has a very engaging radio presence though my thoughts are probably coloured by recent sorting events in Japan....

I agree.
My problem, as it is with announcers from The Met, is that Americans have cloth ears when it comes to Italian pronunciation.

[Lawrence]

I think Mr Esfahani is doing a very good job and has a very engaging radio presence though my thoughts are probably coloured by recent sorting events in Japan....

I agree, I am impressed with him and enjoyed the programme and I am pleased that his chosen winner is also my favourite recording.

[doversoul1]

I agree, I am impressed with him and enjoyed the programme and I am pleased that his chosen winner is also my favourite recording.

More the pity he wasn’t given to do a ‘proper’ BaL.

[DracoM]

[Master Jacques]

A model BaL, allowing for the twofer format (Mr McGregor sometimes being reduced to repeating what Mr Esfahani had already said).

"A model BaL." Why?

I believe my suspicions were confirmed in spades. We learned a hell of a lot about Mr Esfahani, his strong likes and dislikes, his total identification with the character of Violetta and his dislike of callow young men. But we learned little about Verdi, La traviata or its range of recordings. Some of what he said was plain wrong, or perverse. His interpretative remarks (e.g. if Callas is the Darth Vader of opera, Pavarotti is the William Shatner) were utterly meaningless. It was like a Met interval talk, with all that pretentiously bad Italian pronunciation floating about to add gloss to the warm prosecco. Anyone who knew nothing about this opera would have finished up none the wiser. Truly terrible, in my opinion - and a penny-in-slot final choice - though I can see that Mr E's light entertainment values take him a long way with many Forumites. Enough said, by me at least!

[DracoM]

[doversoul1]

"A model BaL." Why?

I believe my suspicions were confirmed in spades. We learned a hell of a lot about Mr Esfahani, his strong likes and dislikes, his total identification with the character of Violetta and his dislike of callow young men. But we learned little about Verdi, La traviata or its range of recordings. Some of what he said was plain wrong, or perverse. His interpretative remarks (e.g. if Callas is the Darth Vader of opera, Pavarotti is the William Shatner) were utterly meaningless. It was like a Met interval talk, with all that pretentiously bad Italian pronunciation floating about to add gloss to the warm prosecco. Anyone who knew nothing about this opera would have finished up none the wiser. Truly terrible, in my opinion - and a penny-in-slot final choice - though I can see that Mr E's light entertainment values take him a long way with many Forumites. Enough said, by me at least!

I agree with this, which to me was a waste of his knowledge and his talent as a radio reviewer.

[Goon525]

Well you can call it a 'penny-in-the-slot' choice, but isn't it simply because it's by some distance the best recording?

[underthecountertenor]

Well you can call it a 'penny-in-the-slot' choice, but isn't it simply because it's by some distance the best recording?

And he amply justified the choice during the course of the 45 mins, whilst also giving due credit to others, including the Scala Callas and Moffo, for example. The negative comments here smack to me of prejudice (in the strict sense of the word).

[Pulcinella]

I agree with this, which to me was a waste of his knowledge and his talent as a radio reviewer.

I perhaps need to qualify my #31: my 'agreement' with Heldenleben was more on his ability to handle AMcG than on actually informing us of much other than his own predilections/preferences. But it's not an opera I care much about, so I wasn't giving my full attention. As a 'twofer' it was not one of the worst, though.

[Darloboy]

I wonder whether Kleiber, Muti and Giulini will get a mention in these days of short, short lists, I suspect at least one of them will be ignored.

Surprisingly the recommendations were exactly the same as Roger Parker’s.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I perhaps need to qualify my #31: my 'agreement' with Heldenleben was more on his ability to handle AMcG than on actually informing us of much other than his own predilections/preferences. But it's not an opera I care much about, so I wasn't giving my full attention. As a 'twofer' it was not one of the worst, though.

I do care a lot about the opera but I was slightly distracted by the England / Australia match so I can’t comment much on the detail.I think the days of BAL being a scripted essay are gone and if twofers are , regrettably, the way forward this one was better then most . On the pronunciation front I don’t think American Italian is any worse than English Italian . Even within Italy there are so many different accents ( not to mention dialects) so a notion of “correct” Italian pronunciation is a bit of an illusion.

[Master Jacques]

Well you can call it a 'penny-in-the-slot' choice, but isn't it simply because it's by some distance the best recording?

No, it isn't. What about the Sills and Caballé recordings for starters? Neither have the rushed, feverish feeling which Kleiber brings to the table, both are superbly sung in all three departments, the choral singing is miles better and both are absolutely complete (another huge area we were not enlightened about here.)

[Master Jacques]

And he amply justified the choice during the course of the 45 mins, whilst also giving due credit to others, including the Scala Callas and Moffo, for example. The negative comments here smack to me of prejudice (in the strict sense of the word).

If anyone wants chapter and verse for my criticisms, I would happily supply them (his Moffo comment about her being an "unsung singer" reveals the shallow range of his knowledge for starters.) You'd have to say more about "prejudice", because I don't know what you are driving at and find the suggestion strange.

[LeMartinPecheur]

[H]is Moffo comment about her being an "unsung singer" reveals the shallow range of his knowledge for starters.

How so? I took him to mean simply that (these days?) she gets a lot less notice than she deserves. Suggest you look up the word in a dictionary!