Classical Music & Opera Forums

We absolutely loved La Cenerentola yesterday -- and we started at 9.30 am. I came to this site hoping for some discussion. John Relyea just blew us away and we loved the staging. If they were looking for the ideal looking Cinderella they found it in Garanca -- but Brownlee required some struggle with cognitive dissonance -- mental, not aural. He sounds great. It was the same kind of struggle we had coming to terms with a puppet as Madama Butterfly's child.

A link to a youtube video of Garanca singing Zarzuela http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgeSw4R1SLQ

Gatto:

I thought Garanca was simply lovely, sweet, gentle and peace-loving. She
played her role perfectly IMO.
Her voice was beyond reproach and glory be, the lady's got a real bonafide
trill, fancy that!
In fact, the entire cast was splendid with the mean ol’ father as played by
Corbelli, stealing the entire show away from everybody else. He was hilarious!
He’s a natural comedian.
The sweetness of Brownlee’s voice certainly matches that of “his holiness”
Florez, who is in a class hard to compete with.
Relyea too was pleasing to listen to. (Has anyone ever noticed that the way
his mouth turns up in a perpetual grin reminds them of cute little toothy Robert
Morse?)
A very entertaining afternoon.

Mille grazie, Mogliettina! The step-sisters were pretty good, too. I loved their little dances at the curtain call.

ACD:

Get well soon. Hope they put in a new "Verdi/Puccini" gene and reduced the Wagner gene.

Hope to see you back here.

gattopardo wrote:Mille grazie, Mogliettina! The step-sisters were pretty good, too. I loved their little dances at the curtain call.

That one stepsister almost ran away with the entire thing. She was a total riot with her hamming it up -- and the opera was just perfect for over-acting. Her facial expressions were priceless.
I wonder who they both were.

I'm always amused to recall that there used to be a liquor store in Aspen called 'Don Magnifico's'.

Reminds me to go back and take out my Cendrillon with Von Stade/Nicolai Gedde/Jane Berbei/Ruldel conducting. And Ruth Welting as la fee. I love this recording but having heard it for awhile.

Reissued with a trashy cover with no relation to the opera. I miss the old cover with Von Stade running down the stairs. I have the box set.

lulu wrote:Reminds me to go back and take out my Cendrillon with Von Stade/Nicolai Gedde/Jane Berbei/Ruldel conducting. And Ruth Welting as la fee. I love this recording but having heard it for awhile.

Reissued with a trashy cover with no relation to the opera. I miss the old cover with Von Stade running down the stairs. I have the box set.

"Gedde", "Berbei", "Ruldel"---who are they?

I saw Lawrence Brownlee sing Il Principe in Houston's production of Cenerentola a couple of years ago. The voice is good, but I found his stage persona bland and a bit off-putting. I missed the telecast on Saturday - will try to catch it on the repeat.

Cal:
It's well worth searching for that repeat. Not only was Garanca superb in the role, exactly as I want my Cinderella to be and look like from my childhood, but Corbelli was spectacular and the one step-sister was a hoot.
I am not usually an opera comedy lover, but this one really grabbed me.

La Pons' Lucia

I am listening on Sirius to Pons' Lucia from 1937. She sounds quite lovely. Pinza is in the cast. The sextet will come up soon.

Pons' Mad Scene was fabulous--lots of improvisation, a little of it bordering on camp, but mostly pretty good. And she sang it in a higher key. I assume she hit an E-natural (or F) at the end of the scene.

Gee, amneris, one would think I'm the only one who misspells on this forum.

You must love to go after me. You seems to understand exactly what I was saying.

On the other hand, maybe you didn't. In which case, look it up on amazon.

lulu wrote:Gee, amneris, one would think I'm the only one who misspells on this forum.

You must love to go after me. You seems to understand exactly what I was saying.

On the other hand, maybe you didn't. In which case, look it up on amazon.

I just thought it was funny that you got three in a row!

Speaking of misspellings, it's Chaliapin, not Chalipin.

Lauritz wrote:Speaking of misspellings, it's Chaliapin, not Chalipin.

We all misspell and make typos (well, most of us ) but the least we can do is to try to get the names right. If you don't know how to spell a name, write (sp?) after it, or look it up. I always have trouble with Ghena's last name and with italian names re: consonants, double or single?? like: Valletti, Bastianini, Cappuccilli and Zeffirelli.

I learned to spell Nilsson, by thinking of it as Nil's- son.

amneris wrote:

Lauritz wrote:Speaking of misspellings, it's Chaliapin, not Chalipin.

We all misspell and make typos (well, most of us ) but the least we can do is to try to get the names right. If you don't know how to spell a name, write (sp?) after it, or look it up. I always have trouble with Ghena's last name and with italian names re: consonants, double or single?? like: Valletti, Bastianini, Cappuccilli and Zeffirelli.

I learned to spell Nilsson, by thinking of it as Nil's- son.

So what did you do about Pavarotti?

Lauritz wrote:

amneris wrote:

Lauritz wrote:Speaking of misspellings, it's Chaliapin, not Chalipin.

We all misspell and make typos (well, most of us ) but the least we can do is to try to get the names right. If you don't know how to spell a name, write (sp?) after it, or look it up. I always have trouble with Ghena's last name and with italian names re: consonants, double or single?? like: Valletti, Bastianini, Cappuccilli and Zeffirelli.

I learned to spell Nilsson, by thinking of it as Nil's- son.

So what did you do about Pavarotti?

I usually don't listen to him! That's what I do! I'll make an exception today since Puritani with Sutherland and Pavarotti is playing now on Sirius!
PS I don't have that trouble with every italian name, just some--like Ricciarelli!

Pavarotti is stupendous in this Puritani broadcast. It's a real golden age performance with everyone at the top of their game. I was at this performance, way up in the Family Circle standing room, and I remember the sound of those incredible voices coming up and hitting me (gently, of course) in the face.

calvert wrote:Pavarotti is stupendous in this Puritani broadcast. It's a real golden age performance with everyone at the top of their game. I was at this performance, way up in the Family Circle standing room, and I remember the sound of those incredible voices coming up and hitting me (gently, of course) in the face.

Puritani, Purritani, Purittani, Purrittani, Puritanni, Purrittanni, Purittanni, Purritanni--OY! I can't go on!


Itt's a gorrgeous opperra, beter to lissten to thann to sse.