# Strictly musical/theatrical review of operas themselves



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm new here and don't want to step on people's toes and start redundant threads, but I've been encouraged by other members to start this one.

I feel that often we opera lovers comment upon the performances/singing/stage directing of operas and the quality or lack thereof of DVDs, CDs, etc, but shy away from actually getting into the specifics of the opera itself, as if we felt that these works are 'sacred' and it is bad form to criticize them, and more elegant to just gauge whether a given production did justice to the work or not.

This is certainly a valid and usufel approach (so that we can, for instance, decide on whether to purchase a given CD or DVD, etc, or whether to attend a run of a live performance or follow a broadcast). Or we have some fun and vent, we can bitch and complain about some stage director's shenanigans, or some bad singing by some principals, or be in awe of these when they are good. Sure, these are all interesting, but bear with me, I'd like to propose something a little different.

I've noticed that discussions here tend to be divided by medium - there are threads on opera CDs, opera DVDs, live opera performances that users have attended, etc.

However, regardless of whether an opera is on vinyl, CD, DVD, blu-ray disc, streaming site, radio, TV, or cinema broadcast, or live performance, it all starts with the work itself.

Regardless of whether there is a decent stage director or one with, to put it mildly, too many 'original' ideas; whether the orchestra is good or not; whether the conductor interprets correctly the tempi or not; whether the props and costumes are appropriate or not; or whether the singers do a good job or not; on the bottom of it all there is the composer and the librettist.

So, questions that we might want to address - and rate as A, B, C,... A+... C-, etc, so that we establish our hierarchy of preferred works and preferred arias/ensembles/orchestration, would be the following in this thread:

Overtures, preludes, intermezzi - how good are they at establishg the mood, or introducing the story? Are they great symphonic fragments in themselves? Are they uninspired, poorly linked to the opera/act?

Recitatif/arioso - interesting, evocative, efficient in terms of narration, or boring and stopping the action too much?

Arias, duets, emsembles - tuneful, melodious, romantic, lyrical, dramatic, intense, etc, versus the negation of these qualities? Do they provide good substract for the singers to display their gifts (coloratura, control of the musical line, etc)?

Scenes - are they well connected, theatrically appropriate?

Orchestration - does it do a good job at tone painting, accompaniment, illustration? Or is it disconnected, conventional, or clichéd?

Ballets - do they contain good music that provides excellent choreographical opportunities? Are they too long, stoppping the action on its track, or do they provide a welcome short break that is pleasant and enjoyable?

Acts - do they hold as theatrical pieces, with good character development, adequate build-up, exciting climactic moments, etc?

Libretti - how good is the poetry? Is the plot too ridiculous and dragging down the music, or offering opportunites for exquisite musical commentary? Are the lyrics of the arias, duets, and ensembles beautiful and well matched to the language both vocally and musically speaking?

Musical structure - does it make sense and treats nicely the libretto? Are the styles and genres picked by the composer - caballeta, cavatina, aria da capo... waltz, ballad, rondò... folkloric music... appropriate for the subject matter and general emotional tone? Is there care put into the structure and its progression - major versus minor keys and scales, harmony, tonal versus atonal music, etc? Is it conventional or innovative?

Pace - is it well held, homogenous, or rather interrupted? Does it progress nicely or drags down? Does it conclude well?

What's the historical importance of the work, in theatrical and musical terms?

What's the overall score of each act, and the overall score of the entire opera, all things considered? Does the opera meet the personal threshold of the individual reviewer to become one of his/her favorites? Top ten? Top 20? Second tier of favorites? A must have, or one to avoid?

Then, of course, since the review must come from the reviewer's experience with some sort of medium, it's not like any mention of the singing/staging/conducting/technical image/sound quality etc would be banned - just, the *focus* would be in the merits or demerits, strenghts or shortcomings of the opera itself, not of the given performance. One would also be welcome to comment on whether the performance can highlight strenghts and overcome shortcomings of the work, or vice-versa.

So, this is the proposition for this thread. As an example, I'll repost here a review I wrote for another thread (before I was told that that thread was for reviews of live performances) on Gounod's Faust. When I say an example, I'm not implying that my review should be the standard. I'm not even sure if what I'm saying makes sense, and while I tried, I definitely did not address everything that I proposed above - there may be people here who will do a much better job at following this model or are much more learned and knowledgeable about these works than I am. My intention while giving an example is just one of setting the tone of the approach I'm proposing. 

If there is interest in this kind of approach, this thread will survive and thrive. If there isn't, it will die out.

So that's it, and thanks for the attention.

:tiphat:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

*As promised, here is the 'example'*

A warning / disclaimer - unlike most, when I write a review I'm mostly reviewing the opera itself, not the production or the singing (although about this one, I touch on it at the end). These reviews for me are ways to create a ranking of my favorite operas and I try to concentrate on the strenghts and weaknesses of the music (score, voice) and the theatricality of the scenes, and to curb myself from overestimating the opera if the production is good, or underestimating it if it is not (hard to do because I'm human, but I try). So, I'm not exactly reviewing this DVD, but rather trying to review Gounod's Faust.

I offer no guaranties about the names of the arias I write down when I'm reviewing from a DVD that lacks its insert (as is the case today - it's a Netflix rental). I just try to copy them down as I get them, and sometimes I don't get them right and the "official" name of the aria is different.

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1985 production from the Vienna State Opera. Erich Binder conducts. Ken Russell (!) directs (and makes a mess).
Francisco Araiza is Faust, Ruggero Raimondi is the Devil, and Gabriela Benackova is Marguerite.










Starting soon.

Overture - ominous music to start with. Getting more melodious now. Still, so-so. Too long. B-

Rien! En vain j'interroge - Faust's first arioso/recitatif mix. I don't care for it very much. B-

Le ciel pallît - more forceful and haunting than the preceding one - better. Faust prepares himself to commit suicide. Two choruses are heard - girls, harvesters, good people but Faust is not moved. A good scene. B+

Faust curses God. Vocal lines and orchestration are both sort of overdramatic and the orchestration feels conventional. B-

Me voici - d'où vient ta surprise? The Devil comes up.

Faust asks for la jeunesse - À moi les plaisirs. The devil replies, Fort bien! The dialogue continues and is interesting. B+, spinning, merry rhythm and melodie, the best part so far.

End of Act I. B- overall.

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Act II brings up six choruses, supposed to be lively and joyful. The first one is a drinking song, not very good. the ones that follow are not any better. The orchestration is pallid. C+. Then at the end they merge and it gets a little better. B-. This doesn't seem to be Gounod's forte. I've seen much better.

O sainte médaille - a solo by a soldier. Very short. Started well but then ended abruptly. Not enough for a score.

Avant de quitter ces lieux - this is above what we've had so far but nothing extraordinary. B+

Another drinking song, a little better than the first one, with some drôle d'histoires (weird stories) told by members of the crowd. The devil comes to interact with people. B

Le veau d'or - the first really good piece. A

Mephistopheles makes a mess in the plaza - rather uninteresting scene. C+

De l'enfer qui vient - pretty good piece. B+

Ainsi que la brise legère - pleasant waltz. Not bad at all. A-

Ne permettez vous pas la belle demoiselle - a lyrical duet. It's an OK one. B

the waltz comes back and ends the act.

Overall - B+

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Act III

Interesting prelude. B+

Faites-lui mes aveux - OK. B

Quel trouble unconnu me penètre - Salut, demeure chaste et pure - OK, now we're in business, finally a really good piece. A+. It was about time.

Il était un roi de Thulé - charming. B+. However it stops the plot dead on its track, and is rather useless.

Ah! je ris de me voir - The Jewell Song. Lovely, A+

Seigneur Dieu, que vois-je - it starts a good stretch of melodious arioso, and some ensembles in rapid succession.

It leads to a nice quartet: Je ne vous crois pas. A

Il était temps - Mephisto sings his big aria, very impressive, with lots of gravitas. A

Now it's time for a long love duet between Faust and Marguerite in various parts:

Laisse-moi, laisse moi contempler ton visage. He sings, then she sings. Romantic, melodious piece. A. Followed by I'l m'aime, I'l m'aime pas. B. 
Then Ô nuit d'amour! Cel radieux! Big time melody, rolling, enticing, serenade style. A+, I like it a lot. Partez, partez, oui, partez vite! Marguerite has a pang of guilt and pushes Faust away. Overdramatic let down. B-.

Divine pureté! comes to close the act. Again, the melody soars, and we get back to A territory, with a nice tune to end it after Mephisto comes back, and Faust and Margueritte exchange some more passionate lines, her back to her room and singing with the window open. Effective. A

This act is far superior to the first two. I give it an A overall. The opera is getting progressively better: from B- to B+ to A. Looking forward to the last two acts to see what the global score will be.

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Act IV

Elles ne sont plus la - it's pungent, but somehow rubs me the wrong way, seems too lachrimose. I'm not impressed. B-. I'm not very much into this sort of thing (this is one of the reasons I don't care much for Madama Butterfly).

Siébel comes in, it all continues in the same style. I still don't like it. There is something missing from this version - according to my synopsis, we're supposed to get a Mephisto aria her, and a pray by Marguerite. Nothing like this in this version.

A march comes in. Deposons nos armes. A bunch of people arrive. By now the entire pace of this thing is pretty much shot. Gounod was unable to maintain what he had achieved in Act III.

But then, Gounod recovers. Next is Gloire Immortelle - pretty good march. A-.

This followed by Vous qui faites l'endormie, by Mephisto. Rather clichéd piece, punctuated by diabolic laughter. B-. The pace continues to suffer and the whole thing feels forced.

Valentin, Faust, and Mephisto get to a trio. Redouble, O Dieu puissant. Again, rather mondaine stuff. B

Lame sword fight ensues, Valentin gets killed. Or dying. As usual, in opera, people sing after they are poisoned, stabbed, or pierced by sword, LOL. What he sings is not that enticing, as he keeps insulting his sister. C+.

Long, long, death scene. By now I'm bored. C-

It ends on some tuneful, melancholic orchestration that is actually better than what came before it, B+.

Act IV comes to an end, the weakest of them all so far. B- overall.

-----

Act V now.

OK, now we get Marguerite in a church, trying to pray and Mephisto stopping her from doing it, ballerinas come around for a few seconds (no full ballet in this production, pitty, because I heard that the ballet music in Gounod's Faust is very beautiful), she is arrested. Souvient-toi du passé - the Mephisto aria that was missing before, is now up next. I guess this production switched the order of scenes. It is pretty good. A-.

Seigneur, accuillez la prière - Marguerite sings, very lyrical, beautiful. Again we are in A territory. The scene ends well with the Devil shouting À toi l'enfer!

Sc 2, the ballet, is skipped in this production.

There is a long brass/clarinet introduction to Sc 3, I like it, B+ at least if not A-.

Marguerite is in her prison cell. Faust and Mephisto come along, Mephisto leaves, Faust sings. Oui, c'est toi. Rather good. A-.

Gounod and Barbier and Carré (the librettists) try to move into high drama. I'm not sure if they succeed. It all seems to lack punch, since this love duet is definitely not as good as the one in Act III. B-

A waltz tune comes up while they recall their first meeting. Nice. B+

The orchestra comes alive and comments on the action rather nicely (unlike in most of the opera). It's ending well, and moving back into an A for this scene.

Marguerite's melody, helped by the orchestra is actually quite beautiful and gets an A+. The devil drags Faust away. Marguerite is about to be beheaded. Jugée... sauvée. Some church-like music comes... Paix et félicité, they sing. But then Ken Russell screws up - he changes the ending!!! The guillotine falls. A gory, bizarre scene comes up when we see Marguerita's beheaded corpse raising from her coffin. Whaaaaat? This isn't Gounod's ending. Final curtain.

Act V gets an A.

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So, time for the final judgment of this opera. Five acts. B-, B+, A, B-, A.

The two As cancel the two B-, and we get to an overall B+ score. Seems fair.

A B+ for me means that it doesn't surpasses the threshold to become one of my favorites, but has its merits.

It is hard to understand why this opera is so much more popular than the vastly superior _La Damnation de Faust_ by Berlioz, which shares the same topic and is better in every way we look into it (orchestration, libretto, pace, lyricism, dramatic impact, creativity, effectiveness, duration, etc.).

About this production - meh. Rather weak staging with outrageous betrayal of the opera's ending, and some stage director gimmicks (come on, Ken Russell!) that didn't work at all (Marguerite is depicted as a nun). So-so singing. Gabriella and Ruggero did fairly well, but Francisco was subpar. But I don't think what I'm saying about this opera has to do with the production. Of course this opera can be made better by more talented singers and better stage directing, but it won't ever be as good as Berlioz's.


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

Almaviva you are a hard taskmaster.......

How would we find time to watch our beloved operas with such long detailed summaries :lol:

Perhaps you are writing and watching opera at the same time


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## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

BTW I have not seen any Faust DVD yet........

I have heard many versions of soprano aria "jewel song"


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Quite an incredibly detailed post there. I was holding my breath to see the first review, but it disappointed me. You went through each number of the opera and gave your opinion without addressing any of the criteria in your first post. How would you treat a Wagner or other through-composed opera?

Another flaw, you base your review of the work on your experience through one performance. This inevitably distorts your view of the opera through the conductors decisions and performance of the orchestra. The honest way to create such a review (and I applaud you for the concept!) would require detailed theoretical knowledge and a direct referral to the score.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

emiellucifuge said:


> Quite an incredibly detailed post there. I was holding my breath to see the first review, but it disappointed me. You went through each number of the opera and gave your opinion without addressing any of the criteria in your first post. How would you treat a Wagner or other through-composed opera?
> 
> Another flaw, you base your review of the work on your experience through one performance. This inevitably distorts your view of the opera through the conductors decisions and performance of the orchestra. The honest way to create such a review (and I applaud you for the concept!) would require detailed theoretical knowledge and a direct referral to the score.


Exactly, sorry to disappoint you, I did say that in the example I was about to post I didn't do all of the above, but maybe people who know more than I do can jump in. Like I said, I'm here to learn. Or I could try to do that as well, I don't know how well, though. While I have those criteria in mind when I give my scores, I wrote that review before this proposal, and wasn't into explaining everything that was going through my mind during the scoring process for that particular post.

About going to the score, I wouldn't be able to, but again, if learned musicians can do it and post this style of review it will be great for all of us.

A Wagner would get credit for the continuous music, the leitmotifs, the exquisite orchestration, rather than for the analysis of an aria which is either inexistent or less prominent, depending on what Wagner we are talking about. Same with something like Pélleas et Mélissande.

Yes, of course the performance influences the evaluation, but like I said, one could try to avoid this influence as much as possible.

As of for the flaws of my approach, I don't intend it to be flawless, of course; but still, with its flaws, it can be entertaining and instructive.

Here is another one I did it from a CD, which by nature is more neutral and less conducive of undue influences. I did explain a little more my impression of each part, but again probably not as much as you would want (this was also written before the proposal).

I'll do my best to be more explicit and thorough for the next one - but hey, you could do one too, no?

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Il Guarany, by Carlos Gomes

Relatively obscure Brazilian composer, his style is very close to Verdi's (who respected him). I have just finished listening to his most known opera Il Guarany, with Placido Domingo (available commercialy on 2 CDs with the libretto in Italian, translated into English, French, and German). Here is what I thought:

Beautiful overture (_Sinfonia_)

Nice start with the chorus of the 'cacciatori.' It does sound like Verdi. Quality without originality, I see.

Wow, this is very beautiful, Cecilia's second aria (after a very brief and tuneful pollaca) is very good, with a very effective choral punctuation. _Deh! Riedi... deh riedi!_

Antonio's Ave Maria is beautiful too. _Salve, possente Vergine_.

All these arias turn to ensembles and the effect is impressive.

Now I got to the gorgeous duet _Sento una forza indomita_. Excellent!

End of first act. Homogeneously good. A+

Act II starts with a scena and a nice Pery aria, _Vanto io pur superba cuna_, majestic.

It is followed by a rather theatrical scene full of action, then a dramatic duet - _Serpe vil_. The steady high quality continues. We're getting to a chorus piece now - _Udiste? - L'ore è un ente sì giocondo._ Verdian again.

What a nice, tuneful waltz-like rondò follows - _Senza tetto, senza cuna_, Canzone dell'Avventuriere!

Now, Cecilia's ballata, _Oh, come è bello il ciel! - C'era una volta un principe_. Delicate orchestration with guitar sounds, light, with beautiful opportunities for the soprano to work the musical lines and do some coloratura. Very lyrical, very romantic. I like it!

Here, in a Brazilian production (nice soprano!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=GRXK...eature=related

The duet between Cecilia and her assailant Gonzales is very dramatic, with a good dose of pathos. _Donna, tu forse l'unica_

Some more good theatrical action, and we get to the finale of Act II. Majestic and impressive ensemble, in two parts, the second one start with the attack of the Aimorès and is appropriately solemn with a moment of frozen fear, then everybody jumps to the arms and prepares for the fight. Good Verdian orchestration.

Poor Carlos Gomes, if only Verdi hadn't done it before him! I mean, if only he had Verdi's creativity as well and weren't just a copycat...

Regardless, even if it's a copy, it's a pretty good copy and Act II earns from me another A+.

Act III now. Opens with a ballet - which unfortunately I can't see. But I can look at it on YouTube later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=8L0Q...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=aHEt...eature=related

Chorus piece, _Aspra, crudel, terribil_, pretty good, finishing by a rather effective line, Ferro e fuoco (steel - or rather, iron, and fire).

Next, the chief Aimorè indian sings a bone-chilling aria, it does feel savage and evocative of the fierce tribe's warring ways (the Aimorès historically were very bellicose indians). He turns more mellow and romantic as he sees the beautiful face of his prisoner and falls in love with her, addressing her more gently. The change in tone is striking. Well done, Gomes!

Then, we get to a big gaffe from the Italian librettists, I don't know why a genuine Brazilian like Carlos Gomes didn't correct it. The Cacico calls Pery 'the desert tiger.' What desert, and what tiger??? LOL, the Rio de Janeiro surroundings at the time in 1560 were a luxurious subtropical forest, no desert in sight for thousands of miles, and tigers were not part of the Brazilian fauna. A metaphor, sure, but how would the chief Aimorè even know about these things to be able to formulate such metaphor??? [laugh]

Another quite dramatic and theatrically rich scene, when the Cacico is calling for Pery to be killed and eaten, Cecilia pleads for him, etc. Pery's line is exquisite and plaintiff, _Ah! tu me vedrai morir!_ (Ah! You'll see me die!).

The theme of the overture comes back briefly to a beautiful effect. The Cacico grants to Pery and Cecilia a moment alone to express their love for each other before Pery is killed.

Then, a duet between the two protagonists, pungent and tearful. Superb! _Ebben, che fu - Perché di meste lagrime_. A+ quality material.

All right. Pery drinks poison. Why does opera like poison so much?[laugh]

Now a chorus with the Cacico and his tribe. The overture theme comes back in full force while the indians kneel and pray to their gods. The effect is very solemn and the orchestration is very beautiful. The choral piece is gorgeous, followed by a short finale to ACT III when the Portuguese come to the rescue.

Did I mention that it all deserves an A+? LOL

Act IV

Very beautiful orchestration again with elements from the overture (different ones) into which the voices of the coro di avventurieri melt; wavy music, again it starts well.

Another gaffe from the libretto - Pery is alive - what happened to that poison?!? Ah, OK, it is explained later that he got antidotes from forest herbs, how convenient.[eyes]

Beautiful aria for Gonzales, _In quest'ora suprema_.

Good dramatic scenes continue, there is the baptism scene, this is turning more into theater than music, Act IV seems dramatic enough but less musical so far, they're having to pack too much action into a short span and there is no space for good arias. A pity, it's the first downside so far of his entire opera.

OK, Pery's soaring aria (although short - can't really call it an aria, it's more like a short arioso) when he converts *is* beautiful, so, never mind._Al Dio che in me regenera_.

Beautiful display by Cecilia._Che sento? Ed io dividermi_

Now, for the Gran scena e terzetto finale ultimo. Spectacular! Don Antonio gets to be a suicide bomber 450 years before they became fashionable[laugh] and it literally ends with a bang, with the overture theme returning for a - er... - bombastic finale. Goosebumps!

A+ all around. Excellent opera. I wonder why in the hell this is not part of the repertoire. Not very demanding, not too long, full of dramatic potential, beautiful orchestration, some outstanding arias, duets, and ensembles... A winner from beginning to the end.

The only way to explain its failure to endure is the fact that it is, note by note, done in the exact style of Giuseppe Verdi, and it was composed by an obscure South American composer.

But while not matching a _Don Carlo_ or _Aida_ in terms of majestic impact, or _Il Trovatore_ which is stylistically closer, if only we got Verdi out of our mind and just listened to this opera, we'd easily see that it is extremely good, and certainly much better than _I Lombardi_ which gets staged fairly often.

I'd like to know its history of performances.

Folks, if there is anybody reading this long post about an obscure opera composer's least obscure work, get this one.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> Almaviva you are a hard taskmaster.......
> 
> How would we find time to watch our beloved operas with such long detailed summaries :lol:
> 
> Perhaps you are writing and watching opera at the same time


I just do it for my first encounter with an opera so that I keep track of the highlights and my overall impression.

And yes, it's sort of writing and watching, but not entirely, because usually I just write down the first line of a particular aria and keep going, then I take advantage of breaks like scene change and intermissions to type.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Well I find the idea quite novel, but I'm not sure I have the patience to do it myself. I feel it might break the magic for me, and as I'm not a trained musician I'd feel unqualified. But I look forward to reading more of your views.

Your introductory post certainly provides a good critical approach to any work though, and to bear in mind when one is listening.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Well I find the idea quite novel, but I'm not sure I have the patience to do it myself. I feel it might break the magic for me, and as I'm not a trained musician I'd feel unqualified. But I look forward to reading more of your views.
> 
> Your introductory post certainly provides a good critical approach to any work though, and to bear in mind when one is listening.


I'm not a trained musician either, and yes, I'm unqualified, which doesn't stop me from trying.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

*Euryanthe*

I'm not always in the mood for detailed analysis of aria by aria, ensemble by ensemble.
But I'd like to include a general appreciation of the work I've been watching this afternoon: Weber's Euryanthe.

A+ for the music. The libretto is a mess but is not able to drag down such exquisite and melodious orchestration.

This is good competition for the title of most melodious opera writing which in most people's mind might belong to Donizetti.

Apparently Weber had been criticized for Der Freischütz by those who thought it was more Singspiel than opera, with too many recitatifs and not enough beautiful singing. Well, then Weber set out to shut his critics up by composing Euryanthe, and one must say that it is an astounding success.

The original libretto was said to be extremely weak and had to be re-written 9 times! It is still weak...

However and in spite of it, this opera is musically close to perfection. First, the very beautiful and haunting overture correctly sets the tragic tone. Then it opens with a chorus and the conventional exchanges in a high real court, but very rapidly moves into a passionate tenor aria in which Adolar sings of his love for his wife Euryanthe. One immediately gets the romantic and dramatic impact of his feelings, just to be thrown into his rival Lysiart's hateful aria hinting that she is unfaithful. Oh boy, we are minutes into the action and everything is in full speed! The tension mounts at lightning speed when the two rivals almost come to an engagement with their swords drawn, but set for a bet. We are thrown into the duet between the two female leads, Euryanthe and Eglantine. There is a very interesting equilibrium between these two scenes between the two male and the two female voices - while the men interact violently, the women interact delicately and with subtle intrigue. Besides, this opera contains some of the most fine music for soprano duets, making one think of what would happen years later with Richard Strauss.

The orchestration is entirely written through, with an unbroken flow of music of the best quality. The voice of the orchestra provides a non-stopping commentary that is always appropriate and expressive, in multiple layers. It flows from solemn to dramatic to ominous to suspenseful with admirable ease. For example, the orchestration acquires a pounding effect in the scene in which Euryanthe is being accused and the ring is being produced as proof of her (made up) unfaithfulness. It's like the harsh words she is being thrown at are hammered in over and over - and then it all becomes piano piano with the shocked and whispering chorus lamenting what they're seeing. This moves with no time left for the pathos to fall down, into a halting, pungent trio in which the two spouses lament their sort while Lysiart continues to be hateful. As the tragedy of the moment downs on the protagonists, the orchestra acquires funebre march-like qualities and reduces the sound volume so that the trio of singers increase their despair/triumph more and more. What a beautiful effect!!!

Choral pieces are used to excellent effect, without being overwhelming or too intrusive. Ballets are short and artsy.

The opera never loses pace. It progress inexorably, with very varied scenes - for example, we get the Hunting Chorus that provides a nice folk-like break, as well as melodic bursts like the May Song.

This is a formidable example of how to set to outstanding music a mediocre libretto.

Bravo, Weber!

A+ for the music, C for the libretto, but who cares for the libretto when the music is so exquisite? I'll be listening to this one on CD without the words, over and over.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

*Rossini's [i]Il viaggio a Reims[/i]*

I watched this one this afternoon, and here is my review.

It's a minor Rossini work, put together in rapid touches, since it was commissioned to celebrate Charles X's coronation as King of France. The opera itself is about the coronation (or more precisely, about a bunch of aristocrats stuck in a hotel, awaiting transportation to Reims where the coronation will take place), and ends by a sugary praise to Charles X (_Viva il diletto, augusto regnator_), filled with repeated shouts of "Viva la Francia." Rossini does seem to suck up a lot to the French, and it is interesting to notice that this was the last opera he composed in Italian, and he was already living intermittently in France until years later he moved there for good and lived in France until the end of his days. One might think that he was interested in earning the sympathy of the inhabitants of his new home.

Apparently Rossini just intended this opera to serve the occasion and be forgotten; he canibalized it later and used half of its music in _Le Comte Ory_ and its ballet in _Le Siège de Corinthe_.

So, I approached this work with low expectations, and they were mostly confirmed, but this is not to say there aren't some hidden jewels there.

First, the bad news, as they say.

This opera doesn't really feel like an opera, but rather, like a concert to display some nice coloratura arias, bel canto style. There isn't much that happens, and all that does, seems to be just an excuse to present a showcase of several arias. This is clear when we see the large number of characters with singing lines - not less than 20! There are so many characters, that this opera with a single act that lasts for 2 hours and 5 minutes, is still introducing new charaters at the 1 hour 23 minutes marc. It's even more clear when at a certain point, the characters who are guests at an hotel and come from everywhere in Europe are invited to sing a typical song from their home countries, and the concert feeling is reinforced as they go one by one to the front of the stage and sing their numbers.

Another problem with the excessive number of characters is that the plot becomes confusing and irrelevant. By the time you understand who is in love with whom and who is the rival of whom, it doesn't really matter to you among the various love stories whether between two rivals it's Y or rather Z who ends up getting the girl W. There is no time for any character development, so, if Y sings a love song to W and Z gets jealous and sings in protest, the feeling of the audience is - who cares? Therefore, it is the love song itself and the protest song itself that are the point - thus the 'concert' feeling.

In terms of pace, there are problems as well. It's a single act, but it is too long an act. It is hard to keep the pace and sustain the audience's interest when you are introducing one character after the other and singing a number of mostly disconnected arias. There are particularly two points in which the action almost comes to a halt and two long and boring love duets are performed - _Nel suo divin sembiante_ which lasts for 15 long minutes, and _D'alma celeste o Dio_.

In terms of orchestration and musical structure, all is nice but nothing is particularly special. You get a nice Rossinian overture, the usual punctuation of ariosi, the usual typical Rossini crescendo, the usual hectic ensembles ending on the typical um-pah-pah, and the usual Rossini fast tongue-twisting aria à la _Largo al factotum_.

The libretto by Luigi Balocchi is based on Mme. de Staël's _Corinne, ou l'Italie_. While like I said it doesn't develop characters and it is confusing given the excessive number of characters, its poetry is nice enough, and it doesn't drag down the music.

Now, the good news.

Somehow, even with the above shortcomings, this opera is still lots of fun. It is pleasant and even though there is no entertaining plot, it does work as the intended showcase for some nice numbers.

It is quite satirical, making wicked fun of the European aristocracy of the time, and even picking on several European countries and their stereotypical inhabitants. Rossini and Balocchi seem to be mocking everybody, especially in the hilarious aria _Bravo il signor Ganimede_ when the buffoon Don Profondo (interesting name) literally mocks all the different foreign nationals who are hotel guests: the rigid German, the snob Frenchman, the macho-man Spaniard, the impetuous Russian, and so on and so forth.

Another satirical part is the display of "national songs" (starting with _Or che regna fra le genti_) which mocks either national anthems (there's a parody of God Save the King) or typical music of, in rapid succession, Germany, Polland, Russia, Spain, England, France, and even Italy itself (although the latter gets better treatment).

Both the arias/ensembles in the above two paragraphs are quite good, funny, and entertaining.

Another highlight is _Che miro, ah, qual sorpresa_, which exaggerates the coloratura in purpose, to accentuate - with an irresistible comic effect - the bubbly personality of the most _coquette_ of the characters, la Contessa di Folleville (another very well picked name, LOL).

Four more numbers are pretty high quality:

1) Your typical Rossini crescendo in _Zitti! Non canta piú!_ has the usual attractiveness of similar pieces in his works.

2) A spectacular, truly spectacular ensemble called _Non pavento alcun periglio_.

3) Another pretty good ensemble; not as good as the one above, but very impressive with not less than 14 voices, _Signori, ecco una lettera_.

4) The best piece of the entire opera, in my opinion: _Arpa gentil_, a fine example of lyrical, melodious bel canto. Very, very beautiful; this aria deserves a place in any top 100 list.

Overall, I rate this opera a B. It never really takes off to make it into B+, A- territory, but it is certainly pleasant and with some exquisite bits.


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