Classical Music & Opera Forums

Cendrillon:

Am listening to it now, the recording with Von Stade, Welting and Gedda. I think I loved it once because I had the boxed set and ordered it last year on cd so I must have wanted it.

However, after listening to it last night and today, I've wondered what I saw in it. This is about Cinderella and the music is as flat as a pancake but at least a pancake tastes good to me. This is downright dull except for the singing of Von Stade and the wonderful Welting. Was Massenet bored when he wrote this or was his creativity asleep, a state in which I soon will find myself.

While not as bad as Pelleas, it's dangerously close.

Donizetti's opera about a queen with a tragic eating disorder: Anna Bolemia.

Act I - The Great Hall in the Palace

The courtiers whisper among themselves about how thin the Queen is getting because she can't keep any food down. ("Ahi, Misera! Ella non puo mangiare!") They sing that the King no longer dines with her. Giovanna Seymour enters, distressed, and in a dramatic recitative-arioso, sings that the Queen sent for her and then threw up on her ("Ella di me solecita e poi m'ha vomitava!"). Anna now enters at the top of the staircase and, after vomiting on the landing, descends shakily to Giovanna. She asks Giovanna why she looks so distressed. Giovanna replies, who could not be distressed when wearing the Queen's breakfast? Anna says, yes, she has been praying to the porcelain God a great deal, ("E ver, afflitto son io, ne sol perché!), but she knows things will improve. She calls for Smeaton, a young page, and asks him to sing a song to cheer everyone up. Smeaton then sings a tender ballad about the joys of the table ("Deh, non volere a mangiarmi"). The Ballad covers the entire meal, a stanza for each course. But when he reaches the verse about the savory, Anna reacts violently ("Cessa, deh cessa!) and throws up ("Uuuuurrrppp!"). In a poignant aria ("Come, innocente giovane"), Anna recalls to herself how the King complained that she was fat and so she embarked on a binge-and-purge regimen that got out of hand. Then, while singing the cabaletta on the joys of regurgitation, "Non v'ha sguardo a cui si vomito," she stuffs herself with polenta, sausage, and delicious cinnamon rolls. At the end of the cabaletta, she snatches the helmet off of a guard, pukes into it, and after handing it back to the disconcerted guard, exits with as much dignity as she can muster.

To be continued...

Harfis, I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd be interested to read about her. Welcome to the forum!

calvert wrote:Donizetti's opera about a queen with a tragic eating disorder: Anna Bolemia.

Act I - The Great Hall in the Palace

The courtiers whisper among themselves about how thin the Queen is getting because she can't keep any food down. ("Ahi, Misera! Ella non puo mangiare!") They sing that the King no longer dines with her. Giovanna Seymour enters, distressed, and in a dramatic recitative-arioso, sings that the Queen sent for her and then threw up on her ("Ella di me solecita e poi m'ha vomitava!"). Anna now enters at the top of the staircase and, after vomiting on the landing, descends shakily to Giovanna. She asks Giovanna why she looks so distressed. Giovanna replies, who could not be distressed when wearing the Queen's breakfast? Anna says, yes, she has been praying to the porcelain God a great deal, ("E ver, afflitto son io, ne sol perché!), but she knows things will improve. She calls for Smeaton, a young page, and asks him to sing a song to cheer everyone up. Smeaton then sings a tender ballad about the joys of the table ("Deh, non volere a mangiarmi"). The Ballad covers the entire meal, a stanza for each course. But when he reaches the verse about the savory, Anna reacts violently ("Cessa, deh cessa! and throws up ("Uuuuurrrppp!"). In a poignant aria ("Come, innocente giovane"), Anna recalls to herself how the King complained that she was fat and so she embarked on a binge-and-purge regimen that got out of hand. Then, while singing the cabaletta on the joys of regurgitation, "Non v'ha sguardo a cui si vomito," she stuffs herself with polenta, sausage, and delicious cinnamon rolls. At the end of the cabaletta, she snatches the helmet off of a guard, pukes into it, and after handing it back to the disconcerted guard, exits with as much dignity as she can muster.

To be continued...

LOL I hope a Eurotrash director doesn't see this!

"To be continued..."

Oh, Noooooooooooo! Not that!! I cannot stand anymore.
Hand me my barf bag, hurry!

I can hardly <urp> wait for the continuation.

Lulu, Massenet was a highly professional and prolific composer who manufactured quality goods for the 19th century French opera market. If that sounds entirely too mercantile, well, I could be even snarkier and say that he was that era's Andrew Lloyd-Webber... but that would be going a bit too far, I think.

Lulu:

Massanet's Cendrillon is more true to the original Perrault tale than Rossini's Cenerentola, but I agree with you that the opera is not one of his best. I have the recording and have listened to it a couple of times, but I don't have a burning desire to hear it again (although Von Stade is wonderful). Give me Cenerentola any day instead.

In the final scene of Bolena, the soprano can projectile vomit on the conductor where the trills are written (Eurotrash version)!

What was the name of the longshot who won the race in the rain?
Anne Sophie's mudder.
(quickly running for cov....ouch!)

pczipott wrote:Lulu, Massenet was a highly professional and prolific composer who manufactured quality goods for the 19th century French opera market. If that sounds entirely too mercantile, well, I could be even snarkier and say that he was that era's Andrew Lloyd-Webber... but that would be going a bit too far, I think.

I think Massanet was a better composer than that. But agreed, not everything he wrote is particularly good music. Walter Legge once complained about Thais being "an unappetizing cocktail of Weihrauch and Eros." But Manon is superb, and Esclarmonde is an exciting work if you have the soprano to sing it (and in my lifetime there has been only one: La Stupenda). Werther I dislike because of the whining title character. After the first five minutes of Act II, I want to shout, "Just shoot yourself, already, and put yourself and us out of our collective misery!!" I have not heard "Le Whore di Lahore" and so cannot comment on it.

Calvert writes: I have not heard "Le Whore di Lahore" and so cannot comment on it.

I saw the opera years ago in Vancouver, BC with non other than La Stupenda! All I can say is ZZZZZzzzzzzzz

I've often thought Werther would make a great soundtrack for a Lana Turner movie, one of those soap-opera-ish things she did in the fifties.

Oh, I'm a sucker for Madame X! I saw it when I was very young and it always made me cry.

Jamie, I'm actually quite fond of a good deal of Massenet's music, and he was a wonderful teacher with many important students. I love his various series of orchestral scenes: Scènes alsaciennes, Scènes pittoresques, even a set of Scènes hongroises, and so on. But he was a professional, commercial composer, through and through, and he produced product (of high quality, as I said) whether he was "inspired" or not.

Thanks pczipott.

OK, here goes.

Her Name is Jackie Evancho and she lives in PA.
After seeing the movie version of Phantom when she was 7 she started singing the songs around the house.
Her parents recognized she was pretty good and even entered her in a local talent competition where she came in second place.
After that they started her on the limited singing lessons.
A video of her first performance of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again as well as a version she recorded after 3 months of lessons shows how much she has improved.

Jackie also came in second place in this years USA World Showcase talent contest.

Here's a link to her YouTube page.................http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=use ... iew=videos

As you can see by the videos she has also done some non-classical stuff just to try some different styles.

Thanks for your interest.

I would not judge "Cendrillon" by the CBS recording. Re-casting the Prince as a tenor, and the title character as a mezzo changes the whole complexion of the work. The Prince was written for a mezzo and Cendrillon for soprano.

Just finished hearing my second favorite opera on Sirius, Don Carlo with the power lady Aprile Millo and a very fine tenor, Michael Sylvester, whose name rings a bell in connection with Sills I think, but I forget where or what.
If Sam Ramey was the G. Inquisitor, I was not particularly blown away by his performance. He needs to do a Talvela "growl" on the words, "IL RE!" Scares me 1/2 to death.
Zajick was a fine Eboli.

dementeddavid:

The singing wasn't the problem; it was the music (or is the music, whatever). Whoever sang it or in whatever fasch would not make a difference. The music is boring and draggy. Actually, the orchestral music was the best.

The opera gave me heartburn listening to it. Unlike another unmentionable opera which puts me to sleep.

I think I'll check out Cenerentola. I've only heard parts of it.

Recommended recordings, please? I have too much money on my hands and still some space left in my apt.

Mogs -- Ramey was Filippo. The Inquisitor was Koptchak.

Thank god! I feel so much better! I will now sleep kindly tonight.