Michel Legrand (1932-2019): 6-10/1/25

[vinteuil]

Most recently, Castor and Pollux at ENO (2011, Kosky, Curnyn) was critically received, for sure, but absolutely not because the English text didn't work. It did..

from Paul Guest's review at the time -

"His orchestra clearly lost, Maestro Curnyn still valiantly, and quite brilliantly, managed to salvage what he could. The chorus were in the same boat as the orchestra, this time through a lack of clarity in their singing: nothing was clear. They sang lines in almost a legato manner at which point they lost touch with the score and inevitably Rameau himself. From the first few phrases, I loathed the English translation, and that is all there is to be said, I wish they’d kept it in French. / ... /
My expressions of discontent toward the musical treatment of this production, though strong, should not be taken too hard. I actually rather enjoyed this new, quirky staging. Next time, though, let’s just keep it French chaps? Ça marche?"

[Master Jacques]

from Paul Guest's review at the time -

"His orchestra clearly lost, Maestro Curnyn still valiantly, and quite brilliantly, managed to salvage what he could. The chorus were in the same boat as the orchestra, this time through a lack of clarity in their singing: nothing was clear. They sang lines in almost a legato manner at which point they lost touch with the score and inevitably Rameau himself. From the first few phrases, I loathed the English translation, and that is all there is to be said, I wish they’d kept it in French. / ... /
My expressions of discontent toward the musical treatment of this production, though strong, should not be taken too hard. I actually rather enjoyed this new, quirky staging. Next time, though, let’s just keep it French chaps? Ça marche?"

As I said, sensible critics liked the translation - and certainly didn't condemn it after "the first few phrases", like this particular amateur blogger, who doesn't even realise that ENO does everything in English, as part of their charter. How RVW would have "loathed" him!

Rather than listen to such ramblings (or mine) I suggest you hear it for yourself, instead of relying on shady bloggers. Because here is something on this untrustworthy Paul Guest chappie:

https://operacreep.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/a-story-of-deception-paul-j-guest/

[Master Jacques]

Oh, and here is something rather more worthy, from David Karlin - a genuine reviewer, not a con-man, and one of the founders of Bachtrack:

All the singers showed great diction, for which a fair chunk of the credit must go to translator Amanda Holden. For the first three quarters of the opera, the metre of the English words tightly matched the phrasing of the music - no clever linguistic tricks, merely simple, poetic language chosen perfectly for its purpose (the last quarter wasn't as good, leading me to speculate, perhaps unfairly, that Holden had to rush to meet deadlines). I have distinctly mixed feelings about seeing opera in translation, but I would have few qualms at all if the translations were always of this quality.

And this from a reviewer who is more "on your side" than not!

[Ein Heldenleben]

We certainly have Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (Cranko version especially) to bear out your thought royally.

Shakespeare deals in stage pictures doesn’t he . The opening of Lear : The King with the Crown and surrounded by cronies and relatives . The end - no Crown , tattered clothes and a stage strewn with corpses.
I once read of a performance of Macbeth done in English in Africa to an audience that didn’t speak the language . They could pretty much follow hats was happening.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Did they? Wondrous nonsense, if it's true! Who was this "someone"? Any such idea is quite patently absurd - like the oft-repeated nonsense speaking of Siegfried as "the scherzo of The Ring". A scherzo, incidentally, featuring spooky woods, poisoning, murders, fights to the death with dragons, nightmare-sequences and pathological fear of women. Yes, that sort of scherzo.

It’s not a wholly absurd idea .

This very good conductor can see some merit in it

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/may/27/ring-the-changes-my-asuterity-wagner-with-opera-north

but it’s stretching things too far really.

Although Wagner wasn’t much of a composer of symphonies it’s not wide of the mark to say that he thought symphonically - in large scale tonal contrasts, using constant thematic development. Bit it’s all a long way from Mozart . The only one of the cycle that really seems Symphony- like to me is Gotterdamerung. But Symphony doesn’t do it justice. I honestly don’t think there’s anything else like it - largely because it constantly reflects back to previous musical thoughts and transforms them. It almost plays with memory in a novelistic way. You can find any analogy really it’s so all encompassing,

[Serial_Apologist]

Although Wagner wasn’t much of a composer of symphonies it’s not wide of the mark to say that he thought symphonically - in large scale tonal contrasts, using constant thematic development. Bit it’s all a long way from Mozart . The only one of the cycle that really seems Symphony- like to me is Gotterdamerung. But Symphony doesn’t do it justice. I honestly don’t think there’s anything else like it - largely because it constantly reflects back to previous musical thoughts and transforms them. It almost plays with memory in a novelistic way. You can find any analogy really it’s so all encompassing,

The overture to Meistersinger is a masterpiece in elaborated sonata form, however, I think.