# What is the greatest performance you have ever attended?



## Verdilover (4 mo ago)

Live opera is almost always an extremely powerful experience, but there are some performances that truly go above and beyond. What is the greatest performance you have ever attended? When and where was it? Who was in it?


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Carol Vaness was all set to make her debut in Norma but withdrew on short notice. Speight Jenkins, our general director was a great new singer scout and recruited a young English singer, Jane Eaglen, to make her North American debut in the role. At the time she was perhaps the leading Donna Anna in Europe. She was a good deal lighter at that point and her voice was in prime pre Wagner condition and she BLEW Seattle away. Norma was always my favorite opera but I was certain I would never hear a singer who had a voice big enough for the part to sing both beautifully and with the dexterity that the part demanded, but Eaglen really astonished me and I went twice. I never felt her studio recording lived up to her live performance and she didn't take the D like she did in the trio live. My the time she sang Norma at the Met 7 years later she was singing Wagner a good bit and I think her flexibility suffered a bit. She had also gained about 50 pounds and combined with getting older made her breath support suffer I suspect. Unlike Callas, who's weight loss likely exacerbated her vocal problems later on, I think the opposite happened with Eaglen. You can support a voice properly being obese when you are 30 but run into problems when you get close to 50. The same thing happened to Rita Hunter, who had a similar voice and weight problem to Eaglen and who sang similar roles.

My favorite live concert was a Verdi Requiem with Alessandra Marc, Vinson Cole and Florence Quivar. Marc's voice was so big, so beautiful, so lyrical that I was in heaven and I had the handsomest date in the house. She had by far the most spectacular high notes I have ever heard- both in terms of size and beauty but she also had that quality Rysanek had where the voice blooms at the top and the vibrato gets more exciting. I'll never forget it.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Why do some peformances take off more than others? Who knows? I remember how this happened with a performance of *Der Rosenkavalier *given by Scottish Opera at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle-upon-Tyne back in the early 1970s. I saw it on a Saturday night with a large group of friends and then again on the Monday with exactly the same cast, but, for some reason the Monday evening performance was nowhere near as thrilling or moving. The beautiful, traditional production was by Anthony Besch, with designs by John Stoddart, and was conducted by Alexander Gibson. I remember the Marschallin's boudoir in the first act was all mirrored walls (it must have been a nightmare to light) which played a key part in the playing out of the end of the Act. The superb cast consisted of Helga Dernesch as the Marschallin, who looked absolutely gorgeous, Anne Howells as Octavian, Teresa Cahill as Sophie and Michael Langdon as Ochs. (This was the revival. Octavian and Sophie were played by Janet Baker and Elizabeth Harwood the first time round.) Usually during the beautiful orchestral postlude to Act I, the Marschallin refelctively picks up a hand mirror to inspect her face for signs of aging, but in this production it was infinitely more moving. Left on her own, this Marschallin walked sadly over to the chaise in the centre, catching a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors. Almost in shock, she turned away, but couldn't escape looking at herself as she was confronted by another mirror. Ever so slowly as the curtain came down her hands went up to her face as if for the first time noticing a wrinkle that hadn't been there before. It was indescribably moving. I'd never heard any of the music before but that first hearing of the final trio in which the three female voices soared and twined with one another almost destroyed me. It liertally had us all in tears. It was also clear that Dernesch had the most exceptional voice of the three, but Cahill had a wonderfully soaring top register and Howells was a tremendous actress. Her Octavian was impulsively boyish and utterly convincing in male drag. I've seen many productions of the opera since, including one at Covent Garden with Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender and Edith Mathis, but none of them have ever supplanted that memory.

Another I would mention is a 1983 *Carmen *at Covent Garden with Agnes Baltsa and José Carreras, who were making their Covent Garden debuts in their respective roles shortly after having had such a success in the opera in Vienna. The traditional production was by Michael Geliot with designs by Jenny Beavan and looked absolutely fantastic.
I had queued from seven in the morning on a cold day to get day seats as all performances had sold out as soon as tickets went on sale. This possibly also added to the excitement. The opera was conducted by Colin Davis, Leona Mitchell was Micaëla and Benjamin Luxon Escamillo, but the stars were undoubtedly Baltsa and Carreras. Baltsa's Carmen was no hip swinging vamp, but a bare-footed wild child, a flurry of movement at her entrance in perfect time with the accompaniment when the chorus sing their repeated _La voilà*. *_By contrast in the last act she accepted her fate with totem-like stillness. It was a complete performance where acting and singing were inextricably intwined. Carreras too was a superb José, who convincingy charted the character's inital innocence and eventual degradation. In the last act he was the very epitome of a man who no longer had anything to lose, I have the DVD of a much later performance with these two stars at the Met and it is nowhere near as exciting. There is a suspicion that a whiff of routine has crept into their performances. After all, by this time they had appeared in numerous productions all over the world. However the excitement in the audience that night, both during and after the performance was palpable. It has remained a wonderful memory.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

The most powerful performances I saw were on TV or youtube. Maybe I need a comfort of my home ? Or better singers ? My local theater is a lottery, but sometimes you get a decent combination of singers.
EDIT: It's wrong, e.g. we had a really starry Rusalka this year, but I wasn't there. I have several family and health reasons, why I don't like being on watch this way.

Will the first place, unexpectedly, go to the unknown comical opera I saw this year live, in the beautiful summer evening, in a garden of a historical building in Bratislava ? Be it. Nicolo Jommelli: La cantata e disfida di don Trastullo. The chamber orchestra of Musica Aeterna, Lenka Máčiková as the soubrette, Martin Babjak as the naive old guy.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

1.A final Met performance years ago with Patricia Racette as Blanche in "Dialogues des Carmelites" was so emotionally jampacked that it just grabbed your gut and even at curtain calls we could see backstage where they were all embracing and crying.
2. Karita Matilla's initial blockbuster performance of "Salome". The audience went wild.
3. My own personal emotional attachment to the Met debut of Rolando Villazon as Alfredo in "Traviata" at the Met with Fleming and Hvorostovsky was thrilling. All 3 in top form.
4. An unforgettable "Romeo et Juliette" at the LA Opera Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Villazon and Netrebko.
5. The emotion packed "Il trovatore" which was sadly the last performance with Hvorostovsky before he died. The audience (and the orchestra and singers as well) went completely ballistic. He was so grateful and sweet. It was memorable and heartbreaking.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> 1.A final Met performance years ago with Patricia Racette as Blanche in "Dialogues des Carmelites" was so emotionally jampacked that it just grabbed your gut and even at curtain calls we could see backstage where they were all embracing and crying.
> 2. Karita Matilla's initial blockbuster performance of "Salome". The audience went wild.
> 3. My own personal emotional attachment to the Met debut of Rolando Villazon as Alfredo in "Traviata" at the Met with Fleming and Hvorostovsky was thrilling. All 3 in top form.
> 4. An unforgettable "Romeo et Juliette" at the LA Opera Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with Villazon and Netrebko.


The Salome and Traviata sound heavenly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She was so beautiful when she sang Salome and had the right voice for it.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

A “greatest” performance that involves Violetta (Traviata) and Fleming is a contradiction, no? For example. Has anyone heard and seen anything so distasteful?






And is that a microphone by her right-arm elbow?


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

An also ran: Eugene Onegin with Fleming, Vargas and Hvorostovsky Enjoy!


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## bagpipers (Jun 29, 2013)

I'm a bit of a homebody and rarely do concerts I have a few a good memories

1.The Guarneri String Quartet playing Beethoven late quartets at Seiji Ozawa hall at Tanglewood Lenox Ma in the early 2000's
2.The "Met" New York with the "Barber of Seville" mid 1990's

3.2010 Beethoven piano con.3 Leif Ove Andsnes piano and Rachmaninoff 2nd symphony both with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.


on non classical I saw Roger whitaker as a kid and Charlie Daniels as a teen both in Springfield Ma

The only rock show I saw was Sonic Youth in 1992 at Umass student union,free concert I crashed because I was bored


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## Verdilover (4 mo ago)

nina foresti said:


> An also ran: Eugene Onegin with Fleming, Vargas and Hvorostovsky Enjoy!


I SO wish I could've seen this, but I was far too young. Dima and Renée are absolutely searing in this scene. They convey so much tangible, white-hot passion. An incredible performance that I simply love rewatching again and again. Dmitri's delivery of Onegin's Act I aria, my favorite part of the opera, is just otherworldly. He is to Onegin as Leontyne Price is to Aida and Maria Callas is to Norma.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

ALT said:


> A “greatest” performance that involves Violetta (Traviata) and Fleming is a contradiction, no? For example. Has anyone heard and seen anything so distasteful?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Grotesque.

It may be a drug monitor, courtesy of Dr. Grenvil.


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## Hogwash (5 mo ago)

Does the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway count? If not then I've never attended a proper opera performance. We don't seem to have a strong opera tradition in the mid west. Maybe I'll make it up to Cleveland sometime however attending a grand opera in the likes of Italy or Vienna---someday---would be a dream come true.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Hogwash said:


> Does the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway count? If not then I've never attended a proper opera performance. We don't seem to have a strong opera tradition in the mid west. Maybe I'll make it up to Cleveland sometime however attending a grand opera in the likes of Italy or Vienna---someday---would be a dream come true.


Hi Hogwash:
I have a neat idea for you.
Go to Amazon online and buy a used DVD of "L Boheme" with Neil Shicoff and Ileana Cotrubas. You will be hooked on opera!
(Here is the ending)


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## Hogwash (5 mo ago)

nina foresti said:


> Hi Hogwash:
> I have a neat idea for you.
> Go to Amazon online and buy a used DVD of "L Boheme" with Neil Shicoff and Ileana Cotrubas. You will be hooked on opera!
> (Here is the ending)


Thanks for the suggestion Nina. To clarify, I've actually watched opera on DVD/Blu-Ray and I'm a fan of excerpts CDs but I've never attended a live performance.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Hogwash said:


> Thanks for the suggestion Nina. To clarify, I've actually watched opera on DVD/Blu-Ray and I'm a fan of excerpts CDs but I've never attended a live performance.


It is harder for many people who live far from an opera house. I no longer go. $20 for parking to me is like a cross to Dracula. I also don't like to stay up late anymore.


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## Hogwash (5 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> It is harder for many people who live far from an opera house. I no longer go. $20 for parking to me is like a cross to Dracula. I also don't like to stay up late anymore.


The parking garage is soul sucking business of the highest order


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

20$ for parking is a robbery. In Europe the most of the audience jumps in the underground after the show. In Saint-Petersburg parking in the street around Mariinsky theater is still free, but to find a place is a kind of sport.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Yesterday I watched Il Trovatore in Mariinsky, for the seventh or eighth time live. My wife and I took to the opera our friend, who recently revealed an interest to opera and can't stop now. Last summer we showed her Aida, Attila and even Parsifal. It was her very first Il Trovatore and I envied her enthusiasm. Nevertheless, we got much pleasure too and remembered our first Il Trovatore several years ago. Then there was another cast with an exception of our favorite Tatiana Serjan as Leonora. It was her why we decided to go. Time doesn't pass without a trace for her, unfortunately, but she is still a very tender and sophisticated Leonora, and no staging can put a crimp in her performance. It's a pity she has little recordings. 
Our almost constant Azucena was wonderful Ekaterina Semenchuk, but not this time. Yesterday Anna Kiknadze took the role, according to a programme, for the first time. She has overdone a little old gypsy acting, but her low notes were really infernal. (She is our house mezzo. I might mention her Fricka, Mrs. Quickly and the Princess from The Sorceress).
Manrico and Di Luna were relatively young. Tenor Ivan Gyngazov surprised pleasantly, he has a big beautiful voice and he stopped, finally, parking and barking like he used to in previous seasons (I hope I understand this idiom right).
The baritone was Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar from Mongolia. He has a beautiful timbre, but sometimes drowns in an orchestra and chorus. Di Luna is sung better than Scarpia, when he is barely heard in Te Deum. My choice of Di Luna is Alexey Markov (also an ultimate Onegin), but that evening I had almost nothing to complain.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

These are performances, I could call memorable. I can't boast that I've seen live Callas, and of "The three tenors" I've seen only Domingo, just because he couldn't stop singing. But it's only a decade or so in the theater. 
1. My first stage Salome with Elena Stikhina. 
2. Falstaff in La Scala with Maestri, Lemieux, Cavaletti, Gianattasio. 
3. Eugene Onegin in Mariinsky with Markov and Stikhina. 
4. Semiramide with DiDonato, Barcellona, Brownlee, Esposito in München. 
5. Four Lucias with Shaghimuratova. 
6. Don Carlo with Stoyanova, Furlanetto, Semenchuk, Meli in La Scala and with Serjan and Semenchuk in Mariinsky. 
7. Manon Lescaut with Tatiana Serjan in Mariinsky. 
8. My first Der Ring in Mariinsky. 
9. Alceste with Roschmann and Castronovo in München. 
10. The tale of the invisible city of Kitezh in Mariinsky.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

ColdGenius said:


> These are performances, I could call memorable. I can't boast that I've seen live Callas, and of "The three tenors" I've seen only Domingo, just because he couldn't stop singing. But it's only a decade or so in the theater.
> 1. My first stage Salome with Elena Stikhina.
> 2. Falstaff in La Scala with Maestri, Lemieux, Cavaletti, Gianattasio.
> 3. Eugene Onegin in Mariinsky with Markov and Stikhina.
> ...


How big is the opera house in St. Petersburg? Marinsky???


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> How big is the opera house in St. Petersburg? Marinsky???


There is an old theater built in 1860-s, a standard sized hall of its time. It's described in "Anna Karenina" and shown in "White nights" with Baryshnikov and Mirren. The new theater Mariinsky-2 was opened about ten years ago on the opposite bank of Kriukov channel. It's big, 1830 seats. There is also a smaller concert hall in the quarter nearby, a rebuilt sets storage. 
Unlike the most modern theaters it keeps on being a repertoire theater. The repertoire itself is vast, but the productions are dispersed chaotically throughout a season. Only Wiener Staatsoper works this way, but it has more international casts and tends to organize it's schedule as stagioni.


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

Probably the first Meistersinger but more because of the music than the principals (Westbrook, Botha) - Prior to seeing it live I just couldn't sit though a recording but I was transfixed at the Met. I really needed to see this one live.


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## Montarsolo (5 mo ago)

My first opera visit was unforgettable. Mozart's Don Giovanni under Hans Vonk with
Don Giovanni; Roberto Scaltriti,
Donna Anna; Luba Orgonasova,
Don Ottavio; Rainer Trost,
Donna Elvira; Charlotte Margiono,
Leporello; Gilles Cachemaille,
Zerlina; Rebecca Evans,
Masetto; Nathan Berg,
Il Commendatore; Andrea Silvestrelli

Another concert that I still remember well is a concert performance of Il Pirata with Miricioiù.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Admiral said:


> Probably the first Meistersinger but more because of the music than the principals (Westbrook, Botha) - Prior to seeing it live I just couldn't sit though a recording but I was transfixed at the Met. I really needed to see this one live.


I saw it live in Bayreuth at age 15 but knew no German so I was lost. Bored to tears. Seeing it in a video with a translation it was a revelation. So wonderful.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I’ve attended so much live opera in San Francisco that I couldn’t actually pick one “best” performance. Often, one or two singers would stand out from the rest of the cast, not that any of them were deficient. Both Kurt Herbert Adler and Terry McEwen knew what they were doing and often a sub-par performer would not make it past the dress rehearsal, if they even got past the _sitzprobe. _ Some great nights I can name: a fabulous Ponelle *Turandot *with Caballe, Pavarotti, Leona Mitchell/Chailly on the night Prince Charles was in the audience, an electric performance; *L’Incoronazione di Poppea *with Tatiana Troyanos and Eric Tappy/Lepard a sensuous Monteverdi evening; a perfect *Jenufa*, with Elisabeth Söderström and Sena Jurinac; my first *Elektra *with Ingrid Steger, Marita Napier, Irene Dalis, Ragnar Ulfung - I sat down and never moved for 90 minutes.

My first live *Der Ring des Nibelungen*, ith Eva Marton/Gwyneth Jones/Janis Martin alternating as Brunhilde, Helga Dernesch as Fricka and Waltraute, Rene Kollo in his first *Siegfried*, Peter Hoffman and Janine Altmeyer as the twins and James Morris, whom Terry McEwen talked into singing Wotan. I sat for one cycle and stood for the others!

My first live *Norma*, in a brand new production mounted for Joan Sutherland, with Huguette Tourangeau and the underrated John Alexander - the sickle refused to stick to the “tree” the first time.

My first *Trovatore *when they announced a substitute for James King of the name of Placido Domingo in searing form; the soprano was Leontyne Price; Azucena, Irene Dalis. That substitution galvanized the rest of the cast. Jaime Aragall made his debut as a super handsome Duke in *Rigoletto *in a Renaissance production with Sherrill Milnes.

At the Metropolitan, a monumental Jessye Norman as Cassandre in a *Les Troyens *that afforded her to also sing Didon, as Tatiana Troyanos canceled. She was beyond fabulous, transcendental, spinning ethereal phrases while the Enee butchered everything he sang. She sang Cassandre barefoot and shook the rafters with her great cry “malheureux roi!,” all the while keeping the tone gloriously beautiful.

The first Händel opera I ever saw live was in the 1980s *Julius Caesar *in English with Tatiana Troyanos, Valerie Masterson and Sarah Walker, conducted by Charles Mackerras in the English National Opera production with incredible costumes by Michael Stennett - he designed some of Joan Sutherland’s costumes and those of the Met’s *Semiramide*. I have loved *Giulio Cesare *ever since and most of Händel’s _oeuvre._

We enjoyed a glut of tenors in the 1970s/80s: Aragall, Carreras, Shicoff, Lloveras, Merighi, Lamberti (with Kiri in *Simon Boccanegra *in a memorable debut), along with Pavarotti, Domingo, Burrows, Alexander and others.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> I’ve attended so much live opera in San Francisco that I couldn’t actually pick one “best” performance. Often, one or two singers would stand out from the rest of the cast, not that any of them were deficient. Both Kurt Herbert Adler and Terry McEwen knew what they were doing and often a sub-par performer would not make it past a stage rehearsal, if they even got past the _sitzprobe. _ Some great nights I can name: a fabulous Ponelle *Turandot *with Caballe, Pavarotti, Leona Mitchell/Chailly on the night Prince Charles was in the audience, an electric performance; *L’Incoronazione di Poppea *with Tatiana Troyanos and Eric Tappy/Lepard a sensuous Monteverdi evening; a perfect *Jenufa*, with Elisabeth Söderström and Sena Jurinac; my first *Elektra *with Ingrid Steger, Marita Napier, Irene Dalis, Ragnar Ulfung - I sat down and never moved for 90 minutes.
> 
> My first live *Der Ring des Nibelungen*, ith Eva Marton/Gwyneth Jones/Janis Martin alternating as Brunhilde, Helga Dernesch as Fricka and Waltraute, Rene Kollo in his first *Siegfried*, Peter Hoffman and Janine Altmeyer as the twins and James Morris, whom Terry McEwen talked into singing Wotan.
> 
> ...


I would fly to SF if I could Vulcan mind meld with you for your experiences at these productions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

MAS said:


> I’ve attended so much live opera in San Francisco that I couldn’t actually pick one “best” performance. Often, one or two singers would stand out from the rest of the cast, not that any of them were deficient. Both Kurt Herbert Adler and Terry McEwen knew what they were doing and often a sub-par performer would not make it past a stage rehearsal, if they even got past the _sitzprobe. _ Some great nights I can name: a fabulous Ponelle *Turandot *with Caballe, Pavarotti, Leona Mitchell/Chailly on the night Prince Charles was in the audience, an electric performance; *L’Incoronazione di Poppea *with Tatiana Troyanos and Eric Tappy/Lepard a sensuous Monteverdi evening; a perfect *Jenufa*, with Elisabeth Söderström and Sena Jurinac; my first *Elektra *with Ingrid Steger, Marita Napier, Irene Dalis, Ragnar Ulfung - I sat down and never moved for 90 minutes.
> 
> My first live *Der Ring des Nibelungen*, ith Eva Marton/Gwyneth Jones/Janis Martin alternating as Brunhilde, Helga Dernesch as Fricka and Waltraute, Rene Kollo in his first *Siegfried*, Peter Hoffman and Janine Altmeyer as the twins and James Morris, whom Terry McEwen talked into singing Wotan. I sat for one cycle and stood for the others!
> 
> ...


We can close the thread after that. 😁


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

It's difficult to choose just one performance. Contenders would be one of Kabaivanska's final Butterflys in Verona. Tosca with Gheorghiu, Kaufmann and Terfel conducted by Pappano and the Ring or Elektra conducted by Barenboim. Parsifal and the Ring at Bayreuth were special experiences as well.

However, I'm going to go with a performance which had me in tears throughout most of it, the musical interpretation was so intense.

Waltraud Meier's final Kundry in Berlin with Barenboim conducting. Of course, this was in part memorable due to it being a role farewell and the performance ended with Barenboim giving a speech in honour of one of the singers he has worked with a lot. Schager was Parsifal and the rest of the cast was pretty much the same as on the DVD/Blu-ray release of the Tchernikov production. I realise some will have found the production departed too much from the original stage directions and setting, but I thought it worked wonderfully and didn't contradict the main meanings in Wagner's artwork.

N.


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## ColdGenius (9 mo ago)

The Conte said:


> It's difficult to choose just one performance. Contenders would be one of Kabaivanska's final Butterflys in Verona. Tosca with Gheorghiu, Kaufmann and Terfel conducted by Pappano and the Ring or Elektra conducted by Barenboim. Parsifal and the Ring at Bayreuth were special experiences as well.
> 
> However, I'm going to go with a performance which had me in tears throughout most of it, the musical interpretation was so intense.
> 
> ...


I think it was an unforgettable experience. 
I heard live Barenboim conducting once, they gave Strauss' Don Quijote and Heldenleben. It seemed beautiful. 
He's a famous contemporary Wagner's interpreter, but his work in this field is rarely mentioned on this forum. It's interesting how do you find him.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> It's difficult to choose just one performance. Contenders would be one of Kabaivanska's final Butterflys in Verona. Tosca with Gheorghiu, Kaufmann and Terfel conducted by Pappano and the Ring or Elektra conducted by Barenboim. Parsifal and the Ring at Bayreuth were special experiences as well.
> 
> However, I'm going to go with a performance which had me in tears throughout most of it, the musical interpretation was so intense.
> 
> ...


I'm not so crazy about Waltraud's voice but onstage with her great beauty and tremendous acting skills she would be electrifying. I LOVE her Isolde on video. I wouldn't listen to it in the car over Flagstad or Varnay but I could watch it again with pleasure.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Tsaraslondon said:


> Why do some peformances take off more than others? Who knows? I remember how this happened with a performance of *Der Rosenkavalier *given by Scottish Opera at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle-upon-Tyne back in the early 1970s. I saw it on a Saturday night with a large group of friends and then again on the Monday with exactly the same cast, but, for some reason the Monday evening performance was nowhere near as thrilling or moving. The beautiful, traditional production was by Anthony Besch, with designs by John Stoddart, and was conducted by Alexander Gibson. I remember the Marschallin's boudoir in the first act was all mirrored walls (it must have been a nightmare to light) which played a key part in the playing out of the end of the Act. The superb cast consisted of Helga Dernesch as the Marschallin, who looked absolutely gorgeous, Anne Howells as Octavian, Teresa Cahill as Sophie and Michael Langdon as Ochs. (This was the revival. Octavian and Sophie were played by Janet Baker and Elizabeth Harwood the first time round.) Usually during the beautiful orchestral postlude to Act I, the Marschallin refelctively picks up a hand mirror to inspect her face for signs of aging, but in this production it was infinitely more moving. Left on her own, this Marschallin walked sadly over to the chaise in the centre, catching a glimpse of herself in one of the mirrors. Almost in shock, she turned away, but couldn't escape looking at herself as she was confronted by another mirror. Ever so slowly as the curtain came down her hands went up to her face as if for the first time noticing a wrinkle that hadn't been there before. It was indescribably moving. I'd never heard any of the music before but that first hearing of the final trio in which the three female voices soared and twined with one another almost destroyed me. It liertally had us all in tears. It was also clear that Dernesch had the most exceptional voice of the three, but Cahill had a wonderfully soaring top register and Howells was a tremendous actress. Her Octavian was impulsively boyish and utterly convincing in male drag. I've seen many productions of the opera since, including one at Covent Garden with Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender and Edith Mathis, but none of them have ever supplanted that memory.
> 
> Another I would mention is a 1983 *Carmen *at Covent Garden with Agnes Baltsa and José Carreras, who were making their Covent Garden debuts in their respective roles shortly after having had such a success in the opera in Vienna. The traditional production was by Michael Geliot with designs by Jenny Beavan and looked absolutely fantastic.
> I had queued from seven in the morning on a cold day to get day seats as all performances had sold out as soon as tickets went on sale. This possibly also added to the excitement. The opera was conducted by Colin Davis, Leona Mitchell was Micaëla and Benjamin Luxon Escamillo, but the stars were undoubtedly Baltsa and Carreras. Baltsa's Carmen was no hip swinging vamp, but a bare-footed wild child, a flurry of movement at her entrance in perfect time with the accompaniment when the chorus sing their repeated _La voilà*. *_By contrast in the last act she accepted her fate with totem-like stillness. It was a complete performance where acting and singing were inextricably intwined. Carreras too was a superb José, who convincingy charted the character's inital innocence and eventual degradation. In the last act he was the very epitome of a man who no longer had anything to lose, I have the DVD of a much later performance with these two stars at the Met and it is nowhere near as exciting. There is a suspicion that a whiff of routine has crept into their performances. After all, by this time they had appeared in numerous productions all over the world. However the excitement in the audience that night, both during and after the performance was palpable. It has remained a wonderful memory.


I’ll have to go back to hear about Carmen because I enjoyed hearing you remember Rosenkavalier so much that I Knew I’d be happier ending with that. You make it sound wonderful!


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Figaro! I’ve posted big chunks of why the evening was special on here on other threads. And even though I’m not silly enough to go around assuming that people would remember it, I’m still averse too falling fully into the old uncle retelling his stories for the 19th time role! But the magical moment was Dove Sono by Zylis-Gara. I’d heard my dad refer to the aria many many times but I didn’t know it and when the recitative came to its pause and she launched into those unsurpassed opening lines, it was love at first sight. We’re still together today!


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

I am really surprised at how many posts do not even mention the conductor?!

For me it would be a tossup between a Jon Vickers, Colin Davis _Peter Grimes_ with the ROH on tour in Los Angeles, and a Maria Ewing / Christoph Dohnanyi _Salome_ at Covent Garden.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Becca said:


> I am really surprised at how many posts do not even mention the conductor?!
> 
> For me it would be a tossup between a Jon Vickers, Colin Davis _Peter Grimes_ with the ROH on tour in Los Angeles, and a Maria Ewing / Christoph Dohnanyi _Salome_ at Covent Garden.


😉😉😆😆( this an attempt at a joke here!!!). So why did you still need to name the singers Conductor lady?????


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

The Conte said:


> It's difficult to choose just one performance. Contenders would be one of Kabaivanska's final Butterflys in Verona. Tosca with Gheorghiu, Kaufmann and Terfel conducted by Pappano and the Ring or Elektra conducted by Barenboim. Parsifal and the Ring at Bayreuth were special experiences as well.
> 
> However, I'm going to go with a performance which had me in tears throughout most of it, the musical interpretation was so intense.
> 
> ...


I saw that production in Berlin when the Staatsoper still was performing at the Schillertheater in Charlottenburg in 2015. While I enjoy it, Parsifal is not my favorite Wagner opera, but I was riveted throughout by the stellar singing and liked the Tchernikov production. The evening I went, the principals were Wolfgang Koch (Amfortas), Rene Pape (Gurnemanz), Andreas Schager (Parsifal), Tomas Tomasson (Klingsor - who also sang the best Meistersinger I've seen at the Komische Oper Berlin several years ago) and Anja Kampe (Kundry).

Schager is an amazing singer with a terrific stage presence. I saw him sing Siegfried in the new Berlin Ring in October (with the wonderful Thomas Guggeis conducting in place of the ailing Daniel Barenboim) - Schager's singing was effortless through to the end of both Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

ScottK said:


> Figaro! I’ve posted big chunks of why the evening was special on here on other threads. And even though I’m not silly enough to go around assuming that people would remember it, I’m still averse too falling fully into the old uncle retelling his stories for the 19th time role! But the magical moment was Dove Sono by Zylis-Gara. I’d heard my dad refer to the aria many many times but I didn’t know it and when the recitative came to its pause and she launched into those unsurpassed opening lines, it was love at first sight. We’re still together today!


That reminds me of another perfromance of *Le Nozze di Figaro *in 1972. In the second Act (?) the curtain opens and there sits the most gorgeous woman, the cut of the costume accentuâtes the lovely _poitrine; _she is perfectly composed during the introductory orchestral portion, then she sings, _Porgi amor, qualche ristoro _in the creamiest, most beautiful tone I’d ever heard, and I fell in love with Kiri Te Kanawa.


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Hoffmann said:


> Schager is an amazing singer with a terrific stage presence. I saw him sing Siegfried in the new Berlin Ring in October (with the wonderful Thomas Guggeis conducting in place of the ailing Daniel Barenboim) - Schager's singing was effortless through to the end of both Siegfried and Götterdämmerung.


I saw Schager as Siegfried in both operas in Hamburg just before the pandemic and I came away feeling the same way you do. I thought it the most impressive singing I'd heard live at the time, but the more I listen the more I believe I was mistaken. He's exciting and indefatigable, but his technique is not sound and I think we can already hear the voice deteriorating.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> It's difficult to choose just one performance. Contenders would be one of Kabaivanska's final Butterflys in Verona. Tosca with Gheorghiu, Kaufmann and Terfel conducted by Pappano and the Ring or Elektra conducted by Barenboim. Parsifal and the Ring at Bayreuth were special experiences as well.
> 
> However, I'm going to go with a performance which had me in tears throughout most of it, the musical interpretation was so intense.
> 
> ...


I am not over the moon about the basic sound of her voice listening in the car BUT when you combine her beauty and her movie actress acting her movie Isolde is just mesmerizing!!! I watched part with a friend and both of us were so moved. As a physical actress I would put her way way up in the best in opera singer/ actor list. We lost a really great live performer and her voice was still in good shape when she retired. I never got the impression that she had bad technique but she didn't have the type of sonic beauty of Flagstad or Traubel or Leider by any means.


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## ewilkros (8 mo ago)

MAS said:


> That reminds me of another perfromance of *Le Nozze di Figaro *in 1972. In the second Act (?) the curtain opens and there sits the most gorgeous woman, the cut of the costume accentuâtes the lovely _poitrine; _she is perfectly composed during the introductory orchestral portion, then she sings, _Porgi amor, qualche ristoro _in the creamiest, most beautiful tone I’d ever heard, and I fell in love with Kiri Te Kanawa.


I saw a performance in that run, maybe even the same one as you, and went into it well-acquainted with Nozze but utterly ignorant as to who this Te Kanawa, Von Stade, or Blegen might be, and had a similar reaction to yours for all three!



http://archive.sfopera.com/reports/rptOpera-id613.pdf


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I saw a Nozze in Paris, Solti conducting 1980, unforgettable. 
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

Il Conte d'Almaviva............Gabriel Bacquier (1924) 
La Contesa d'Almaviva......Gundula Janowitz (1937) 
Figaro ................................José van Dam (1940) 
Susanna.............................Lucia Popp (1939 - 1993)
Cherubino..........................Frederica von Stade (1945) 
Bartolo...............................Kurt Moll (1938) 
Don Basilio........................Michel Sénéchal (1927) 
Marcelina..........................Jane Berbié (1931) 
SIR GEORG SOLTI conducting Orchestre de l'Opéra national de Paris 1980


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

Becca said:


> I am really surprised at how many posts do not even mention the conductor?!
> 
> For me it would be a tossup between a Jon Vickers, Colin Davis _Peter Grimes_ with the ROH on tour in Los Angeles, and a Maria Ewing / Christoph Dohnanyi _Salome_ at Covent Garden.


I really should have added a _Falstaff_ with Carlo Maria Giulini / L.A. Philharmonic. While none of the singers really stood out, Giulini made it an exceptional and much anticipated event.

FWIW, Renato Bruson, Katia Ricciarelli, Barbara Hendricks ...


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

The Conte said:


> Schager was Parsifal


I'm watching this now




+


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## Hoffmann (Jun 10, 2013)

As far as the greatest performance I've seen - that would be a _Lohengrin_, my second opera ever, when the Deutsche Oper Berlin brought their modern production to the Kennedy Center shortly after I moved to DC in 1975. I studied German literature in school, so knew German had a 'feel' for the subject, so had a pretty solid foundation for listening to and enjoying the opera (in those long ago days before surtitles). 

Lorin Maazel conducted and Rene Kollo sang a stunning Lohengrin, as did Pilar Lorengar's singing of Elsa. I don't recall the other principals. Since I had almost no experience with opera, what I recall most vividly about the performance is that it is one of two performances I've ever seen when the entire audience leaped to its feet the second the conductor's baton came down (the other was a gorgeous "Pictures at an Exhibition" by the Orchestre National de Paris under Jean Martinon in Heidelberg, Germany in 1972). 

The Kennedy Center experience wet my appetite for more - so, at the tender age of 25 was well on my way to becoming an opera fan.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Hoffmann said:


> As far as the greatest performance I've seen - that would be a _Lohengrin_, my second opera ever, when the Deutsche Oper Berlin brought their modern production to the Kennedy Center shortly after I moved to DC in 1975. I studied German literature in school, so knew German had a 'feel' for the subject, so had a pretty solid foundation for listening to and enjoying the opera (in those long ago days before surtitles).
> 
> Lorin Maazel conducted and Rene Kollo sang a stunning Lohengrin, as did Pilar Lorengar's singing of Elsa. I don't recall the other principals. Since I had almost no experience with opera, what I recall most vividly about the performance is that it is one of two performances I've ever seen when the entire audience leaped to its feet the second the conductor's baton came down (the other was a gorgeous "Pictures at an Exhibition" by the Orchestre National de Paris under Jean Martinon in Heidelberg, Germany in 1972).
> 
> The Kennedy Center experience wet my appetite for more - so, at the tender age of 25 was well on my way to becoming an opera fan.


I am so glad you had a better experience at the Kennedy Center with Wagner than me. I saw Die Walkure with Domingo in the "American Ring" or Hillbilly Ring. I could not stand the prostituting of the wonderful Norse myths and left before the Hojotohos. I was well prepared for Parsifal the second time I saw it ( the first time was at 15 at Bayreuth) and it was a peak musical experience as they opened the new opera house here with it and pulled out all the stops.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Rogerx said:


> I saw a Nozze in Paris, Solti conducting 1980, unforgettable.
> Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
> 
> Il Conte d'Almaviva............Gabriel Bacquier (1924)
> ...


OMG!!! If that isn't a jaw dropping cast I don't know what is!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

ScottK said:


> OMG!!! If that isn't a jaw dropping cast I don't know what is!


It´s on You Tube, not so good sound mind you .


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## BalalaikaBoy (Sep 25, 2014)

Demetri Hvorostovsky near the end of his career at the Chicago Lyric. The tickets were only $64 dollars, and I remember chuckling to myself about how many people spend $300 to see various talentless contemporary musical groups live, while I can see arguably the most famous living baritone at the time for just over 1/5 the cost.

It wasn't really an "opera". He performed a range of Russian folk pieces, but even in the condition he was in (he would be deceased just a few years later), his low notes were solid and projected clearly to my seat on the balcony without any amplification.


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