tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9458752.post7450856072677965280..comments2023-10-26T08:19:23.900-04:00Comments on an unamplified voice: The dull seducerJSUhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02477558636942883735noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9458752.post-9642563959778291832011-05-14T08:17:17.321-04:002011-05-14T08:17:17.321-04:00I am a little surprised by what I feel is unexplai...I am a little surprised by what I feel is unexplained negativity in this review.<br /><br />The previous 2-word review "don't bother" could at least be attributed to a difference in taste.<br /><br />There seems to be more going on here which I don't understand.<br /><br />Afew observations.<br /><br />1. Ory is probably too intimate an opera to work well at the Met, and that has perhaps led to some of Sher's decisions.<br /><br />2. Ory is NOT second rate Rossini. Berlioz ( who was not a Rossini fan) was quite taken with the final trio, and it represents a change in the direcof music at the time. Rossini didn't quit composing because he was "out of ideas" btw.<br /><br />3. Comedy is difficult, ( it is not required to be "funny"). That said, this opera has the challenge of bringing together Italian comedy and French comedy ( which are two very different things) in a way that comes across to an audience not necessarily particularly versed in either. The two female leads each commented that the last act is full of "people saying one thing and meaning another". Florez walked the tight-rope of not-Giovanni-but-skirt chaser, and that seems to be what the music implies.<br /><br />4. The staging of the trio developed during the run. A viewing of the rehersal clip posted by the Met and comparing it with the HD ( I saw it in the house several times) shows this. None of the productions available for view have good solutions for the staging. Some are awful, some are silly, and Sher's decision to let the audience see what was going on while preserving the fiction that the singers could not, seemed to allow for some play between the singers and the audience. The latter seems to be unforgivable by some.<br /><br />There is much to admire in this opera, and repeated viewings gave the opportunity to see the finer details which may have been missed the first time around.<br />Cassandra RAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9458752.post-65111922328885249632011-04-22T22:43:48.462-04:002011-04-22T22:43:48.462-04:00One has to like Sher's direction, and I'm ...One has to like Sher's direction, and I'm not a fan, nor am I impressed with the direction Mr.Gelb has taken the Met. That being said, too much drama is just that, drama, and there is nothing wrong with a little "lightness" in the line-up. Not everyone is prepared to sit through a long, dark evening of doom and gloom, and the houses need to sell tickets in order to keep the other productions coming.<br />I don't think that anyone is claiming that "Comte" is a great work; it's certainly not, in fact,in places, it's downright boring. I don't feel that it's right to blame JDF for the direction that he was given, which made him seem alternately stupid and more stupid(not to mention being dresses like a refugee from "Jesus Christ Superstar" and then in his outfit from "Il Barbieri"!), Rossini didn't write an aria for Isolier, so that's that.<br />This opera is a light piece of fluff, nothing more (and not very good fluff, at that) but the cast did the best they could with what they were given. The blame for the production lies in not using the more complete version that had been done in Zurich earlier this year, and in sophomoric direction.Suzannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9458752.post-52236880036172602402011-04-22T17:20:41.114-04:002011-04-22T17:20:41.114-04:00This is interesting and thoughtful. Maybe Rossini...This is interesting and thoughtful. Maybe Rossini didn't really like the French. I still puzzle over why he would give up composing.<br /><br />Something is very wrong with it, and perhaps it's exactly as you say. Gert sees Ory as a kind of serial rapist, not really redeemable at all.Dr.Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02298893523780056481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9458752.post-46237786693074842422011-04-22T15:33:34.366-04:002011-04-22T15:33:34.366-04:00Being funny would have helped.Being funny would have helped.JSUhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02477558636942883735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9458752.post-58523084327769338082011-04-22T15:28:07.275-04:002011-04-22T15:28:07.275-04:00You know it is a comedy, don't you?You know it is a comedy, don't you?mathildenoreply@blogger.com