Luni 16 noiembrie

Opera Naţională Română

orele 18.30

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Giacomo Puccini

Madama Butterfly

Invitaţi: Dirijorul CRISTIAN SANDU de la Academia de Muzică „Gheorghe Dima” Cluj-Napoca şi baritonul FLORIN ESTEFAN

CRISTIAN SANDU                            – Dirijor

RODICA POPESCU-MOISA            – Adaptarea regizorală

ANDREI ŞCHIOPU                            – Adaptarea scenografică

MIHAELA BOGDAN             – Asistent regia artistică

VLADIMIR POPEAN                         – Maestru de cor

CORNELIU FELECAN                      – Asistent maestru de cor

RODICA BALTEŞ                              – Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San)

ŞTEFANIA BARZ                              – Suzuki, servitoarea lui Cio-Cio-San

CORINA PĂŞTEANU                        – Kate Pinkerton

VIOREL SĂPLĂCAN                        – F. B. Pinkerton, locotenent în marina

Statelor Unite

FLORIN ESTEFAN (invitat)    – Sharpless, consulul  Statelor Unite la

Nagasaki

PETRU GHILEA                                 – Goro, peţitor

VALERIU TURCU                              – Prinţul Yamadori

MIRCEA MOISA                               – Unchiul Bonzo

ALIN ANCA                                       – Comisarul imperial

RADU PINTEA                                   – Ofiţerul stării civile

Mexico's Dios de los muertos ... a day to celebrate our lost loved ones.

Today is All Soul’s Day. It’s a day to remember the dearly departed, especially those who have recently left us. I’d like to dedicate today’s post to two beautiful souls who passed away this week — my in-laws. At 96, they were both an inspiration to me in so many ways. And neither one of them would ever have called any of the thoughtful gestures and kind words and actions they shared daily — no, hourly — as good deeds. To them, it was second-nature to put yourself in another’s shoes and treat each person with compassion and understanding. I still have so much to learn from them.

One of the many things I learned by watching my father-in-law in action was the way he took a special interest in every person who crossed his path. Whether it was a waitress, a store clerk or a bank president, he treated each individual with the same warmth and courtesy, genuinely interested in who they were and what they were about.

He was a master at turning a brief encounter with a stranger into a warm exchange that invariably left that person a little cheerier as they went on their way.

I did try to do that today. And I will try to do that every day. For Flos and for Poppo.

P.S. Here’s a song that reminds me of my in-laws, both great opera lovers. Enjoy!

Cuarteto Ebene / Fuente: http://www.quatuorebene.com/en

El ensamble de cámara francés Ebène fue distinguido con el premio al mejor disco del año por su grabación de los cuartetos de Debussy, Ravel y Fauré, de acuerdo al panel de expertos de la emisora de música clásica Classic FM y la revista británica Gramophone.

La ceremonia de premiación se celebró en el Hotel Dorchester la noche del viernes, en la que el Cuarteto Ebène también se llevó el premio a la mejor grabación de música de cámara. El disco representó el debut de la agrupación con el sello Virgin Classics. Entre las grabaciones que también fueron galardonadas destacan la Sinfonía Manfredo de Tchaikovsky interpretada por la Orquesta Filarmónica Real de Londres (categoría orquestal), la ópera Madama Butterfly de Puccini en la que participa Angela Gheorghiu y el Sueño de Gerontius de Elgar ejecutado por la Orquesta Hallé (mejor grabación coral). Por lo que respecta al galardón al artista joven del año, éste correspondió a la pianista Yuja Wang que recientemente firmó para el sello Deutsche Grammophon. El premio por una vida dedicada a la música fue recibido por el director austriaco Nikolaus Harnoncourt. De igual forma, el connotado productor Bernard Coutaz, fundador de la casa disquera Harmonia Mundi, obtuvo un reconocimiento especial por su trayectoria. El premio al mejor sello este año fue obtenido por ECM.

Para conocer la lista completa de ganadores visite el sitio de Gramophone.

Redacción Clásica México

อารมณ์เห็นโฆษณาหลังหนังสือพิมพ์ เลยเกิดอยากดูโอเปร่าขึ้นมา เลยไปดูคนเดียวมันซะเลย ไม่เคยไปดูแบบสดมาก่อนเหมือนกัน

Madama Butterfly เป็นชื่อที่น่าจะคุ้นมากๆอยู่ เพราะถูกนำมาสร้างหลายแบบเหลือเกิน แบบหนังพูดก็มี แบบเวอร์ชั่นจีน เวอร์ชั่นเวียดนามก็มี ขนาดเอเอฟยังเอามาทำ พลอตเรื่องมันค่อนข้างเข้าใจง่ายมากอยู่ แต่แบบโอเปร่าของปุชชินี่นี่หละ ที่เป็นจุดเริ่มต้นของความโด่งดัง ถ้าใครได้ลองดูซักแบบนึงแล้ว เรื่องก็เหมือนๆกัน ไม่ได้มีอะไรพิศดาร พลอตน้ำเน่าแบบซื่อๆ

เพราะพลอตแบบง่ายๆกระมังเลยทำให้ Madama Butterfly เป็นโอเปร่าที่ดูง่าย มั่วๆฟังๆไปก็เข้าใจภาษาอิตาเลี่ยนแบบไม่ต้องอ่านซับไตเติลได้ โอเปร่าดูๆไปแล้วก็แปลก บางคนว่าเสียงมันโหยหวน บางคนก็ว่าเสียงสูงเก่งจัง บางคนก็ชอบเพราะมันดูอลังการงานสร้าง แต่อีกมิติหนึ่งที่น่าสนใจคือ การสื่อสารให้คนดูเข้าใจ เสียงตัวละครและท่าทางเวลาคุยกันมันไม่ใช่ความสมจริง แต่ก็เข้าใจในลีลาท่าทางได้ ทั้งๆที่ไม่ใช่ภาษาที่ฟังรู้เรื่อง และไม่ใช่ gesture ที่เป็นวัฒนธรรมของเรา แปลกดี

พูดถึง Madama Butterfly คงพลาด act สองไม่ได้ เพราะเป็น act ที่เรื่องเริ่ม dramatic และก็คงไม่พูดถึง Un bel di ไม่ได้เช่นกัน ไม่เฉพาะแต่ด้านท่วงทำนองที่ Un bel di ค่อนข้างติดหู และ “ป็อบ” แต่ด้านเนื้อหา Un bel di ก็ทำให้เนื้อเรื่องที่ค่อนข้างตื้น ลึกขึ้นได้อีกหน่อยนึง คำประกาศว่าเค้าจะต้องกลับมา มีประโยคแฝงอันนึงที่ทำให้คิดอะไรแปลกๆ เพราะต้องบอกว่ามันแอบได้กลิ่น “หยิ่ง” นิดๆ

aspetto gran tempo…อะไรซักอย่าง ประมาณว่า ถึงจะเห็นเรือเขาแล่นมาลิบๆที่ปากอ่าว (นึกสภาพเมืองนางาซากิ) ก็จะรออยู่บนภูเขาอย่างนี้ ด้วยใจไม่หวั่นไหว (แต่กูไม่เดินลงไป) ถึงจะนั่งรอจนซากุระร่วงไปสามหนแล้วแต่ก็จะคอแข็งที่จะไม่เดินไปหา มันทำให้ได้กลิ่นอะไรซักอย่างที่น่าสนใจในความน้ำเน่า

ตรงนี้ไม่ค่อยได้เจอกับ content สมัยนี้มากนัก จะเจอแต่ไม่ง้อไปเลย ก็แข็งกร้าวประมาณกูอยู่คนเดียวได้ แต่อันนี้ให้มิติความเป็น “คน” มากกว่านิดนึง เพราะคนถึงจะรักยังไง ก็ยังมีศักดิ์ศรีค้ำคอ จะให้ร้องแร่แห่กระเชิงก็เกินไป แต่จะให้ช่างแม่งช่างมัน ก็ดูแสร้งว่าไปนิด ถึงตอนนี้ก็เหมือน hint ให้รู้แล้วว่า Butterfly ไม่ใช่คนที่จะอยู่คนเดียวได้ แต่ก็ไม่ใช่คนที่จะยอม “ง้อ” เช่นกัน

แล้วมันก็นำไปสู่ act สาม ที่จบแบบคอนเซปท์ของอะไรก็ตามที่เกี่ยวข้องกับญี่ปุ่น หลายๆอย่างที่คำคออยู่ มันมากเกินกว่าจะอยู่แบบไร้เกียรติได้ จบชีวิตซะยังดีกว่า ถ้ากลับไปมองถึง act สอง จะพอรู้ว่า ไม่ได้ทำเพราะ “รัก” อย่างเดียว แต่เพราะอัตตาส่วนหนึ่งในตัวเองด้วย

ลึกๆแล้ว ถึงจะเป็นเรื่องที่ดูเหมือนน้ำเน่า ก็มักจะมีอะไรมากกว่าที่เราคิดเสมอ

โดยเฉพาะเมื่อไปดูคนเดียว

Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madam Butterfly has a  Philadelphia connection. John Luther Long, a Philadelphia Lawyer, wrote the original story in Center City.  You can read more about  it here.

There’s also a recent  Philadelphia connection.  The two 12 foot high bronze statues below, currently on display in City Hall courtyard,  are on loan from artist   Jun Kaneko  to mark the Philadelphia Opera Company’s  upcoming performance of the opera.   Kaneko originally created brass heads for the  Opera Omaha’s spring 2006 performance of Madame Butterfly.     See more of  Kaneko’s breathtaking set designs  here.

Brass Heads in City Hall Courtyard

Here’s a portion of the Philadelphia production.

Questa sera all’Arena flegrea, l’atteso ritorno di una classico della lirica nella produzione del Teatro San Carlo. Il capolavoro pucciniano, che ha commosso schiere di appassionati ascoltatori delle disavventure e della morte di Cio-Cio-San, torna in un allestimento minimalista, che sottolinea i valori musicali di una perla del melodramma italiano.Le repliche fino al giorno 11 agosto.

We were watching a Metropolitan Opera performance of Madama Butterly Wednesday, June 24, on TV. Patricia Racette, an American singer, and Marcello Giordani, Italian-born, were the  leads. The beauty and quality of the female lead especially,   the range and  control of  body as she knelt, sang and gestured, performing in different positions,  struck me speechless. Not to mention the most difficult task of opera singers, to sing (often to sing lyrics of a foreign tongue. whose words the singer has to learn, pronounce and deliver with proper emphasis.  It was an indescribably beautiful experience to hear and watch Madama Butterfly.

I hesitate to say this for fear of offense. Such a peformance puts play acting in the back row. Hearing an  actor on stage pales in comparison.

Fonte: “L’Arena“

MUSICA A 360 GRADI. I dirigenti della Fondazione illustrano anche gli appuntamenti artistici al di fuori delle opere
Domani Cocciante, poi Hancock e Lang Lang E il 2010 sarà l’anno targato Franco Zeffirelli

Il futuro e lo sviluppo della Fondazione Arena passa anche da Arena Extra, la nuova società guidata dal sovrintendente della Fondazione Francesco Girondini, e diretta dal veronese Gianmarco Mazzi, che si occupa della gestione integrale (anche parziale, in molti casi) di manifestazioni collaterali al festival areniano.
E a margine della presentazione dell’87° Festival areniano Girondini ha presentato anche le prime dati di concerti in Arena che rientranto appunto nell’attività e nella programmazione di Arena Extra.
Girondini ha dunque ribadito l’annunciata partecipazione del cantautore Riccardo Cocciante alla serata di domani, quella già stabilita per il 13 luglio (anche qui con l’intervento dell’orchestra dell’Arena) con il pianista e tastierista jazz di colore Herbert Jeffrey “Herbie” Hancock e inoltre quella con il pianista cinese Lang Lang, uno degli ultimi fenomeni in campo strumentale.
I due concerti andranno ad aggiungersi agli altri programmati da settimane di The Killers (8 giugno), Tiziano Ferro (21 giugno), Laura Pausini (29 giugno), Elton John e Anastacia (7 luglio), Claudio Baglioni (14 settembre; era programmato il 2 giugno ma è slittato) Ligabue (21 settembre).

Il direttore artistico dellla Fondazione Arena, Gianni Tangucci, ha confermato (manca solo la firma) anche un nuovo concerto in Arena del pianista e compositore Giovanni Allevi per l’1settembre, che schiererà un gruppo strumentale derivante da diverse orchestre internazionali. «L’attività della Fondazione Arena non può non aprirsi a questo nuovo fenomeno musicale, come Allevi, che non a caso sta riscuotendo un largo successo di pubblico, anche fra i giovani», spiega Tangucci, in municipio, dopo aver illustrato il cartellone del prossimo Festival lirico.
Intanto, il cartellone areniano dell’anno prossimo è già pronto e sarà interamente dedicato alla celebrazione degli 87 anni di Franco Zeffirelli, con le sue produzioni di «Aida», «Il Trovatore», «Carmen», «Madama Butterfly» e una nuova versione di «Turandot». Zeffirelli — che fra l’altro ha firmato il disegno dei nuovi plateatici dei tendoni e degli arredi di bar e ristoranti del Liston — sarà “omaggiato” con altre manifestazioni, mostre e convegni durante tutto il 2010. Un segno del grande e duraturo rapporto fra Verona e il «maestro» fiorentino.G.V.

Sabato 23 maggio, alle ore 18.45 circa, al Cinema Teatro Tiberio di San Giuliano a Rimini si terrà un bellissimo spettacolo per il ciclio Emozioni in musica: avrà luogo infatti la diretta via satellite della “Madama Butterfly” di Giacomo Puccini direttamente dal Teatro La Fenice di Venezia.

La storia è quella di un uomo arruolato in marina chiamato Pinkerton che sbarca a Nagasaki e decide subito di prendere moglie,  sapendo di avere la possibilità di ripudiarla subito dopo le nozze.
La prescelta è una giovane quindicenne chiamata Cio-cio-san che in inglese si traduce con “butterfly”, ovvero farfalla.
Poco dopo le nozze, come premeditato, Pinkerton parte lasciando sola la ragazza che trascorre i mesi successivi disperandosi, stringendo il loro bambino ed aspettando invano il ritorno del marito.
Egli tornerà tre anni dopo, accompagnato dalla nuova moglie, per riprendersi suo figlio e farlo crescere negli Stati Uniti.
Proprio in quel momento Butterfly capisce di aver atteso tutta la vita un amore mai esistito, che vuole distruggerla allontanando il loro unico figlio: per queste ragioni, decide di uccidersi puntandosi un pugnale al petto.
Pinkerton si pentirà del suo operato, ma sarà troppo tardi in quanto troverà Butterfly senza vita.

Non mancate quindi a questo grande appuntamento con l’arte a Rimini: uno spettacolo commovente ed emozionante vi attende!

Posto singolo intero € 12.00/ridotto € 10.00.
Per maggiori informazioni 328/2571483.

A presto

Roxs

En el mes de marzo salió al mercado la n-ésima grabación de la tragedia pucciniana Madama Butterfly, que como alicientes principales presenta a la diva Angela Gheorghiu en el papel de la adolescente nipona, y al macizo Jonas Kaufmann como al despreciable marine americano B.F. Pinkerton.

Estamos en lo mismo que con La Boheme de hace unos posts: ¿era necesaria? No porque hay grabaciones referenciales de sobra, ¿se justifica? Sí, porque los cantantes y directores actuales también tienen derecho a dejar su huella en el gran repertorio.

 Video promocional

Respecto a la Cio Cio San de la Gheorghiu en primer lugar hay que decir que la soprano se encuentra en muy buena forma. No descubrimos ahora que la soprano rumana tiene una voz privilegiada, muy flexible, que sabe manejarla a su antojo y, además, que canta con muchísimo gusto. Otra cosa es la visión que tiene ella del personaje. Parece que la Gheorghiu se ha decantado por una Cio Cio San de carácter menos aniñado e ingenuo que el de otras colegas suyas. Ya en el maravilloso dúo de amor que cierra el primer acto tiene frases donde enfatiza la desconfianza “Le sa. Forse dirle non vuole per tema d’averne a morir, per tema d’averne a morir!”, después de que Pinkerton le recrimine que todavía no le ha dicho que lo ama, o “Dicon che oltre mare se cade in man dell’uom, ogni farfalla da uno spillo è trafitta ed in travola infitta!”, después de llamarla “tenue mariposa”. En el segundo acto se va creciendo, y la celebérrima “Un bel di vedremo” más que un canto de esperanza, se convierte en un canto desesperado, para terminar en una escena final con una Cio Cio San que ya es una mujer madura, con un “Tu? Piccolo Iddio” enérgico y lleno de amargura. Una gran interpretación más cercana a las visiones más dramáticas del personaje a lo Callas o Scotto, que a las más humanas de Victoria de los Ángeles o Freni. En el debe, sólo mencionar que la soprano tiende a exagerar en las notas graves, como palanca para resaltar su idea más trágica del personaje, quedando a veces extraño, con lo que la línea se resiente. De todas maneras, la Gheorghiu se ha apuntado un buen tanto con su Butterfly.

El Pinkerton de Jonas Kaufmann a mí no me ha dicho nada, el papel es bastante plano y sus intervenciones se limitan al primer acto, especialmente el dúo, y la breve aria del final “Addio fiorito asil”, más teniendo en cuenta la competencia que existe en disco con di Stefano, Tucker o Pavarotti, con voces solares y penetrantes. La voz de Kauffman es bastante oscura y no luce ni en el dúo, donde empequeñece ante los hermosos sonidos de la soprano, ni en el aria. Pinkerton no es un papel a lo macho (por eso Corelli no lo cantó) y por el tipo de voz (lírica-spinto tirando a dramática) ni por afinidad es un personaje para él.

A mi personalmente Kaufmann me recuerda mucho a Jon Vickers, pero con una voz un poco más bella, y me parece que si sigue la línea del tenor canadiense es por donde puede marcar realmente la diferencia, es decir, papeles más dramáticos y Wagner.

El Sharpples de Capitanucci y la suziki de Shkosa son correctos, pero quedan lejos de grandes monstruos como la Ludwig, la Cossotto, o Panerai, Wixell o Pons.

Por el contrario, la dirección de Pappano está entre las más inspiradas, a la vez que contundentes del mercado, no quedando atrás respecto a karajan o Barbirolli, y extrayendo un sonido nítido y homogéneo de una Academia de Santa Cecilia muy en forma.

Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly (CD1, CD2)

Angela Gheorghiu (sop), Cio Cio San

Jonas Kaufmann (ten), B.F. Pinkerton

Enkelejda Shkosa (mez), Suzuki

Fabio Capitanucci (bar), Sharpples

Orchestra e coro dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia

Director: Antonio Pappano

En certa ocasió, en un capítol dels Simpson, es celebra un festival local de cine a Springfield, amb la presència d’un important crític de cine de Nova York com a jurat. La Marge l’ajuda a montar-lo, i si ho recordeu, s’hi presenten entre altres Montgomery Burns, patrocinant-se com si estés a l’altura de Gandhi o per l’estil, Hans “Topo”, “balón en la entrepierna”, i Barney Gumble.

Si, l’ebri amic de tota la vida d’en Homer, en Barney Gumble, presenta una pel·lícula. Un petit curt on es mostra com un simple borratxo, un anyell descarrilat que no aprofita la vida i passa mig dia inconscient al terra (cosa que, de fet, és així de certa!).

La banda sonora que acompanya tot el curt, de poc menys d’un minut i mig de durada (veure a sota) és una meravellosa peça clàssica d’òpera, però fins fa poc no sabia el nom. No us havíeu preguntat mai què era?

El vídeo, que podeu veure a continuació (en versió sudamericana, no l’he trobat ni en original ni en castellà!), us refrescarà la memòria.

Fortuïtament, però, vaig trobar quina cançó era la que tant temps buscava. I no és cap altra que Un bel di, vedremo (Un bell dia, veurem), de la magnífica Madama Butterfly de Giacomo Puccini.

I didn’t make it to last week’s Metropolitan Opera HD video broadcast of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”, but here is a report from the Virtual Farm Boy Special Correspondent in Washington, DC, who attended the rebroadcast of the performance on March 18th.

Made it to Friendship Hts., movie theater was almost full of people about 70. The production must be really gorgeous in person, but one really only gets a hint in the HD, partly because of their  obsession with having it look like TV – about one shot in six lets you see anything except the fine details of the upper torsos of the cast – and partly because it’s VERY stagey and at the same time the effects are rather understated and would depend on the immediacy of sitting right under them. There were lots of light-and-shadow effects that were supposed to be accentuated by a huge mirror flown upstage. But even on the infrequent occasion when there was a shot wide enough to include it, it didn’t really read for the cameras. It’s a theatre effect.

On the bright side, there was also a fair amount of not-very-convincing Japanese style dancing (crowds mostly) that got passed over. Unfortunately, it was in favor of close shots of the diva’s white facepowder and scary hair.

This one was the worst so far for being just too damned close to the singers, and it made it really strain any willing suspension of disbelief. Let’s face it, Patricia Racette is a wonderful singer, but photographed from 10″ away and with about 8 lbs of white powder on her face, it’s about as hard to imagine her being really desireable as it is to picture Marcello Giordani as a hot young stud.  And watching people sing  that close up isn’t attractive.  There’s a realy silly moment (directorial faux pas really) when she runs downstage (which is really DOWN, the stage is steeply raked)  into his arms and he lifts her up over his head. With Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez this might be visually OK, even charming. Patricia Racette is a bigish girl, and she’s wearing the mother of all enormous kimonos. She looks like a side-by-side refrigerator in slippers coming toward him.  So when we’re supposed to be thinking, “Ahh, young love,” what’s going through my mind is, “Geeze, the rehearsals for THAT must have been painful.” As he’s putting her down she sings, “Oh, you’re so strong!”  I couldn’t help a guffaw. Together they had all the sex appeal of the average AARP ad, I thought. Seeing them in what’s about the most explicitly sexy scene until people started actually doing it on stage a few years later, all I could think of was that description of Nelson Eddy and Jeannette McDonald: “the Iron Butterfly and the Singing Capon.” And that was just made worse by being so close to them.  Oddly, she looked a lot prettier, and a lot more Japanese, in the terrible lighting backstage, chewing the fat with Renata Flambé. Giordani looked like what he seems to be, a stick puppet with a big voice.

Speaking of puppets, they were  cool, although again the TV production made it  annoying. There are three puppeteers for each of them, dressed in black, and with their faces veiled in black. Loud and clear message:”They should disappear.” But the camera was SO close that we got treated to the full drama of their hammy facial expressions right through the veils. Part of the motivation of using the puppet was supposed to have been for the singers not to have to “cope” with the mute child performer, for which read, “Children always upstage adults.” In this case the puppeteeers were a huge distraction, I thought, simply because there wasn’t the dramatic distance that the production was conceived to have, waaaay more distracting than a cute 4 year-old. And on stage, I’m sure it was fine.

I guess this all bugs me because I used to be a threatre person, so I already know what it looks like up close, there’s isn’t any fascination about it, and I want to see the pretty picture, not feel like “an insider.”  I read the reviews about these things and people just wax rhapsodic about how cool all the behind-the-scene stuff is. It all just sets my teeth on edge.  La Fleming was yakking away with Anthony Minghella’s widow before I could even get my nose blown at the end of the Humming Chorus. It was a fine interview (much better than sweating singers talking about singing <yawn>) but all that sportscast pacing  is just weird.

And LOUD? I want to tell you. Almost painfully so at moments. But that’s the theater’s fault, not the Met. I think the one in Valley View when we saw Boheme had the best sound of any of these I’ve been to.

Dwayne Croft was fabulous as Sharpless (although there again, he’s an opera singer who acts a little and that’s a bit stiff and ungainly up close) and Maria Zifchak as Suzuki was the best thing on the stage, except for the dancer PInkerton in the little ballet  at the entr’acte of Act 3, who was H-O-T.

Ms. Flambé (can’t they get her to soften her voice a little and not over enunciate every single consonant?  She sounds like Eleanor the Eloqutionist!) did a rundown of the HD brodcasts for next year: nine, including Aida, Hoffmann, Turandot, AND Rosenkavalier. And Carrrrrrrrrmen.   Lulu passed over again. Sorry.

Went and saw Puccini’s Madama Butterfly last night. Must say I was very disappointed. I thought it was going to be about some lady lepidopterist but I was sorely mistaken. It’s all about some Jap chick who marries a Yank! I mean, where were the pith helmets and great big flowing nets? Not a jam jar with holes punched into the lid in sight.

PULL YOUR SOCKS UP OPERA AUSTRALIA!!!