# The Met's New Ballo



## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Went to last night's performance and overall was pretty impressed. The David Alden production leaves too many actors with too little to do for too long, and they did sometimes seem not to fully understand what he wanted from them (or perhaps that was me), but the thing did jell pretty well by the second act, I thought, and the third act was really kind of subtly breathtaking. The roles he gives shadow and light are pronounced, and I really can't believe that the Live in HD broadcast could possibly do justice to it, unfortunately, but we'll see. A few bugs to work out, but I expect the production will be a hit, over the years. 

Marcelo Alvarez: doesn't have nearly the ping that Gregory Kunde has (saw Kunde's Ballo a few weeks ago in opera in cinema) but he was lyrically gentle and sang beautifully. Didn't overact nearly as much as I was expecting him to.

Hvorostovsky: ran out of breath during Eri tu - you could hear him gasping almost louder than he was singing. Not a bad job overall but he's sung better, and I expect he will for the broadcast.

Radvanovsky: has a lovely voice but you really can't say, as you can with Callas, that she has many different voices. Even Fleming impressed me, in her Onegin (well, her Tatiana), with the variety of tones she produced (and she was lovely in every register). Radvanovsky seems to have one tone. Well, Amelia is not a very grateful role; I don't think sopranos really make their reputation with her, as mezzos can with Adalgisa. And she seems to have forgotten she was singing for a few measures during the Oscar - Renato - Amelia - conspirators medley in the second (?) act.

Kim: needs to be given better footwork, but her voice was wonderful. Her stumbling around in the first act was intended to look wounded but wound up looking just amateurish, and her choreography in the last scene just looked kind of stupid. That said, her constant cigarette-flourishing seemed to me to work oddly better than I could have imagined. A very studied and effective caricature of a twenties rakehell. If only her chemistry with Alvarez had approached that between, say, Grist and Domingo on their video from the seventies - that would have been something.

Well, awaiting your thoughts after whoever is here sees the Met broadcast!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Great review Greg & I hope it's released on DVD eventually as I don't think I'll be able to see it in HD. 

One of my fb friends went & she thought it was wonderful but she's a huge Dima fan & he can do no wrong in her eyes/ears but I have blind spots as far as some singers are concerned so I can't criticise.

Don't blame Kim, I think anyone would find it difficult to create chemistry with Alvarez.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Dima's always a gasper. I hear him doing it even on CDs.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> Don't blame Kim, I think anyone would find it difficult to create chemistry with Alvarez.


He looks best with a big hat and a huge moustache.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Great review Greg & I hope it's released on DVD eventually as I don't think I'll be able to see it in HD.


OH, too bad you won't see the HD production! But no doubt they'll put out a DVD soon. It's odd, though, one wonders how they make their choices what to sell and what to retain - we're all still waiting for the DVD of Bart Sher's Barber, and I sure wouldn't mind getting the Dessay/Tezier/Calleja Lucia, not to mention Julie Taymor's Zauberflote (you can get a shortened English version, but it's not the same).



> One of my fb friends went & she thought it was wonderful but she's a huge Dima fan & he can do no wrong in her eyes/ears but I have blind spots as far as some singers are concerned so I can't criticise.


... what's an fb friend ... ?



> Don't blame Kim, I think anyone would find it difficult to create chemistry with Alvarez.


Oh, I don't blame Kim at all, she was wonderful. I think everyone just needed a lot more practice. Oddly enough I agree with you about Alvarez, although I can't really say why ... maybe he seems a bit too intense and full of himself? Hmm. Ah well, I'm no expert on chemistry.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Dima's always a gasper. I hear him doing it even on CDs.


Huh. Well, I didn't notice him doing it in his Trovatore, but you know I hear so much more when I go back and just listen, without watching!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Dima's always a gasper. I hear him doing it even on CDs.





guythegreg said:


> Huh. Well, I didn't notice him doing it in his Trovatore, but you know I hear so much more when I go back and just listen, without watching!


It was very noticeable in Rigoletto. I thought it was good, brought an authenticity to his suffering.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

guythegreg said:


> ... what's an fb friend ... ?


Facebook friend


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

Un Ballo is really an opera i really don't know. I never really found a decent cd recording and i don't think that there is a first rate DVD (maybe the newish Alvarez/Urmana DVD). Always seems a little long-winded and not much action??


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Yashin said:


> Un Ballo is really an opera i really don't know. I never really found a decent cd recording and i don't think that there is a first rate DVD (maybe the newish Alvarez/Urmana DVD). Always seems a little long-winded and not much action??


This is my favourite CD. Carreras is wonderful on here (imo).










I've got this DVD but I'm not that keen on it & will remain in my 'watched once' pile.


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

sospiro said:


> This is my favourite CD. Carreras is wonderful on here (imo).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the recommendation. I am not a big fan of Carreras (fussy i know!) but he always sounds like Carreras and not the character. The same can probably said for Caballe, but she has one of the most beautiful voices ever so i can forgive her. Ingvar Wixell - now i like him! Might have a look.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

I have the Abbado recording on DG with Domingo, Ricciarelli, and Bruson, and can recommend it.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

sospiro said:


> It was very noticeable in Rigoletto. I thought it was good, brought an authenticity to his suffering.


roflmfao ... for length


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Yashin said:


> Un Ballo is really an opera i really don't know. I never really found a decent cd recording and i don't think that there is a first rate DVD (maybe the newish Alvarez/Urmana DVD). Always seems a little long-winded and not much action??


I used to be a HUGE ballo fan, listened to the Callas/di Stefano/Gobbi CD every day twice a day. It's still my favorite for just listening. There are better CDs - Merrill was an astounding Renato, and his live CDs with Mignon Dunn as Ulrica and Leontyne Price as Amelia just crackle. If I'm watching, though, it's Domingo/Cappuccilli/Grist (Grist as Oscar) and you know, I've forgotten who his Amelia was lol! Grist just takes over the stage in that DVD, imho. Skipping around the stage like a 23 year old, at 42! And to say someone has upstaged Domingo ... that takes some doing. They had great chemistry though, really worked together well. Oh wait: Ricciarelli was the Amelia.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

MAuer said:


> I have the Abbado recording on DG with Domingo, Ricciarelli, and Bruson, and can recommend it.


Isn't that the DVD where the credits say Bruson but the pictures show Cappuccilli?


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

guythegreg said:


> Isn't that the DVD where the credits say Bruson but the pictures show Cappuccilli?


This is on CD. Perhaps the label that released the video with Domingo and Ricciarelli confused the two recordings, since they share the same tenor and soprano, and inserted Bruson's name in error. But thanks for the tip about the video -- it sounds very appealing, and I always liked Reri Grist.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

My significant other was in NYC last week and saw the friday _Ballo_ with a friend. The consensus was the voices were magnificent, and the sets and costumes were magnificent, but the two aspects did not mesh together well. Guess I'll get a chance to decide for myself at the HD screening.

FWIW, he also went to the Dimi/Sandra CD signing at the Met Store. Apparently Dimi walked out at some piont because fans continued to ask for photos despite his pre-announced no-photo request. No means no, and I'm sure he had his reasons, but well.... disappointing. The SO did meet (and take a photo with) Ms. Radvanovsky who was charming and cordial.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Dima has said publicly that the part of his job he hates the most is meeting fans. I can understand a woman not wanting to be photographed if she feels she doesn't look her best but a bloke?


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Dima has said publicly that the part of his job he hates the most is meeting fans. I can understand a woman not wanting to be photographed if she feels she doesn't look her best but a bloke?


Well after this photo, apparently from the backcover of their duo CD, I wouldn't blame either of them for being camera shy.  Sandra looked ravishing, BTW.


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Well, awaiting your thoughts after whoever is here sees the Met broadcast!


For us movie theater going ones, this season, there is a feast of Un Ballo. Not only is there the upcoming Met broadcast, but only a month ago, Emerging Pictures' Opera in Cinema broadcast a wonderful production of this opera from the Teatro Regio di Torino. I will be looking forward to comparing them and definitely look forward to both Hvorostovsky and Radvanovsky, who I saw at the WNO only 3 months ago in their premiere of Anna Bolena singing the lead role.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

MAuer said:


> This is on CD. Perhaps the label that released the video with Domingo and Ricciarelli confused the two recordings, since they share the same tenor and soprano, and inserted Bruson's name in error. But thanks for the tip about the video -- it sounds very appealing, and I always liked Reri Grist.


Oh yeah, Grist runs away with it. Great, great performance.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

sospiro said:


> Dima has said publicly that the part of his job he hates the most is meeting fans. I can understand a woman not wanting to be photographed if she feels she doesn't look her best but a bloke?


Right you are. Especially weird in his case since he pays so much attention to how he looks. Maybe he's afraid a hair will be out of place.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

tyroneslothrop said:


> For us movie theater going ones, this season, there is a feast of Un Ballo. Not only is there the upcoming Met broadcast, but only a month ago, Emerging Pictures' Opera in Cinema broadcast a wonderful production of this opera from the Teatro Regio di Torino.


Right, that's the one I saw a month ago. The only really positive thoughts I had on it were of Kunde, who has a really thrilling voice. The Amelia didn't seem to realize how much the close-ups would reveal of her thoughts - thought she was on stage and the audience miles away, I think.


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## tyroneslothrop (Sep 5, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Right, that's the one I saw a month ago. The only really positive thoughts I had on it were of Kunde, who has a really thrilling voice. The Amelia didn't seem to realize how much the close-ups would reveal of her thoughts - thought she was on stage and the audience miles away, I think.


I try to think only happy thoughts when I watch these performances, and generally will be more mad at directors at arrangements and staging choices than I will at the performers. I was at an _Anna Bolena_ at the WNO not so long ago where the bass who sang Enrico had his voice crack at one point, very noticeably. I thought the people in the seats around me might throw rotten fruit! However, I only felt bad for him. Obviously, no singer would want to have their voice crack in their opera house debut--he was probably mortified and couldn't sleep that night. _(On the other hand, I can't for the life of me remember his name, so although I am not going to deride his singing, I'm also not remembering him either! :lol _


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

tyroneslothrop said:


> I try to think only happy thoughts when I watch these performances, and generally will be more mad at directors at arrangements and staging choices than I will at the performers. I was at an _Anna Bolena_ at the WNO not so long ago where the bass who sang Enrico had his voice crack at one point, very noticeably. I thought the people in the seats around me might throw rotten fruit! However, I only felt bad for him. Obviously, no singer would want to have their voice crack in their opera house debut--he was probably mortified and couldn't sleep that night. _(On the other hand, I can't for the life of me remember his name, so although I am not going to deride his singing, I'm also not remembering him either! :lol _


Everybody cracks at times. it goes with the territory, particularly for tenors because it's really such an unnatural way of singing.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

tyroneslothrop said:


> I try to think only happy thoughts when I watch these performances, and generally will be more mad at directors at arrangements and staging choices than I will at the performers. I was at an _Anna Bolena_ at the WNO not so long ago where the bass who sang Enrico had his voice crack at one point, very noticeably. I thought the people in the seats around me might throw rotten fruit! However, I only felt bad for him. Obviously, no singer would want to have their voice crack in their opera house debut--he was probably mortified and couldn't sleep that night. _(On the other hand, I can't for the life of me remember his name, so although I am not going to deride his singing, I'm also not remembering him either! :lol _


What a shame, poor guy. And as baritone Tim Nelson said 



> On days like today I realise the idiocy/frustration of having a career dependent of the well being of 2 flimsy folds of mucous membrane!


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

tyroneslothrop said:


> I try to think only happy thoughts when I watch these performances, and generally will be more mad at directors at arrangements and staging choices than I will at the performers. I was at an _Anna Bolena_ at the WNO not so long ago where the bass who sang Enrico had his voice crack at one point, very noticeably. I thought the people in the seats around me might throw rotten fruit! However, I only felt bad for him. Obviously, no singer would want to have their voice crack in their opera house debut--he was probably mortified and couldn't sleep that night. _(On the other hand, I can't for the life of me remember his name, so although I am not going to deride his singing, I'm also not remembering him either! :lol _


I'm with you: I feel sorry for singers who run into vocal problems like cracking during a performance, One can be certain they already feel horrible about it; why rub salt in the wound by booing them?


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

MAuer said:


> This is on CD. Perhaps the label that released the video with Domingo and Ricciarelli confused the two recordings, since they share the same tenor and soprano, and inserted Bruson's name in error. But thanks for the tip about the video -- it sounds very appealing, and I always liked Reri Grist.


Here it is on YouTube:


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

sospiro said:


> Dima has said publicly that the part of his job he hates the most is meeting fans. I can understand a woman not wanting to be photographed if she feels she doesn't look her best but a bloke?


I thought Dmitri ... sorry, I can't call him Dima, as I don't think he would like me for long, and it's mutual ... showed his butt during the Live HD broadcast when Deborah Voigt asked him something innocuous about singing the role and he says Oh, I just have this fabulous instrument. Something to that effect, made me want to hurl. What an obnoxious man.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Saw the HD over the weekend. I loved just about every aspect of the production, but I also had the benefit of adjusted expectations due to this thread and comments of friends who had seen it. I thought Alvarez was spot-on vocally and dramatically. Though he didn't look like a Swedish king, perhaps that was to his favor since Verdi's Gustavo has quite the Mediterranean temperament. Dmitri was well suited to Renate's more typically nordic chill and Sandra understandably and believably caught between them. And Stephanie Blythe, well I have yet to see her _not_ steal a show.

I was really tickled by the Act 1 dance number. As much as I love Verdi, some of his male choruses can be comically jaunty, sometimes annoyingly so.. i.e Rigoletto, Ernani. I loved that they took the jauntiness and ran with it. My SO who saw the show live agreed with theGreg that they really couldn't capture the full effect in the broadcast.

I also got a sense, moreso than other broadcasts, how the HD can never do full justice to the voices and found myself wishing I had seen and heard it live on stage.

The sets were great too: minimalist and grand at the same time. I liked how they seemed to be constantly manipulating the huge panels that made up the set to skillfully evoke place and mood.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Barelytenor said:


> I thought Dmitri ... sorry, I can't call him Dima, as I don't think he would like me for long, and it's mutual ... showed his butt during the Live HD broadcast when Deborah Voigt asked him something innocuous about singing the role and he says Oh, I just have this fabulous instrument. Something to that effect, made me want to hurl. What an obnoxious man.


Oh, but it was so FUNNY! You couldn't tell if he was serious! I think he meant it but also meant it to sound like a joke. Everybody in the theater laughed and laughed. But it served her right, for mispronouncing his name TWICE exactly the same way. I mean, my god woman, learn the guy's name. She pooped all over him in the interview and he was probably having to scramble a bit to look civilized about it.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Cavaradossi said:


> And Stephanie Blythe, well I have yet to see her _not_ steal a show.


Ain't THAT the truth. Doesn't every guy really need a woman who keeps a skull in her handbag? lol And her INTERVIEW was great!



> I also got a sense, moreso than other broadcasts, how the HD can never do full justice to the voices and found myself wishing I had seen and heard it live on stage.


It's kind of a double edged sword, really: because they're live in HD they sing better - and so tickets are harder to get. I notice a lot of people really love Hvorostovsky's bellowing - it's so hard for him to do it, so I suppose it's understandable - but I just feel he doesn't bring the class to his singing that the other stars did.


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

*Aagh*

Well, it's official: the wonderful mirrored third act sets, that make the stage kind of explode outward in the theater, didn't work at all on video. Gosh what a shame. And Kim's dancing wasn't any better on the broadcast. She's probably dancing challenged, no sense of her body really. But on the bright side, everybody sang better and Hvorostovsky hardly gasped at all. Gosh though, Alvarez sang so well. I think his appearance sets up negative expectations, and then he kind of rises above it ... just wonderful.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

guythegreg said:


> Well, it's official: the wonderful mirrored third act sets, that make the stage kind of explode outward in the theater, didn't work at all on video. Gosh what a shame. And Kim's dancing wasn't any better on the broadcast. She's probably dancing challenged, no sense of her body really. But on the bright side, everybody sang better and Hvorostovsky hardly gasped at all. Gosh though, Alvarez sang so well. I think his appearance sets up negative expectations, and then he kind of rises above it ... just wonderful.


The director hinted at the exploding set in his interview, so I was watching for something big. When that didn't happen in the video I assumed he was speaking metaphorically or something. So no, it didn't register at all. Maybe just as well. I kind of like that they are still tailoring the sets for the hall and the in-person experience and not how it will look on video.

And yes, exactly right about Alvarez. Voice + stage presence = win/win


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Cavaradossi said:


> I kind of like that they are still tailoring the sets for the hall and the in-person experience and not how it will look on video.


I think what we have here is the all too familiar case of yet another half-witted unprofessional and/or egotistical video director scuppering the director's vision. What is it with them that they seem terrified of letting us see the whole stage?


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> I think what we have here is the all too familiar case of yet another half-witted unprofessional and/or egotistical video director scuppering the director's vision. What is it with them that they seem terrified of letting us see the whole stage?


You know, I was thinking something was wrong with the video editing! Then when I didn't see Brian Large's name, I KNEW it ...


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