# Anna's Don Pasquale to appear on national TV



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

The next installment of Great Performances at the Met on public television in the United States (I believe it's this coming Tuesday) will feature the recent Don Pasquale production with Anna Netrebko.

Prepare your DVRs and DVD recorders!


----------



## DarkAngel (Aug 11, 2010)

I am watching two Don Pasquales this weekend.....and also plan to buy Netrebko if released on DVD or Blu Ray in the future


----------



## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Bah. Totally jealous.
We're only getting Renee Fleming's Thaïs tomorrow. Oh well. It'll probably be good too.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

DarkAngel said:


> I am watching two Don Pasquales this weekend.....and also plan to buy Netrebko if released on DVD or Blu Ray in the future


Why don't you just record it from TV this week? It's this Wednesday at 9PM ET.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aksel said:


> Bah. Totally jealous.
> We're only getting Renee Fleming's Thaïs tomorrow. Oh well. It'll probably be good too.


Usually it's the other way around. We only rarely have opera on TV here. I haven't seen Renee's Thais but the reviews are very good.


----------



## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Usually it's the other way around. We only rarely have opera on TV here. I haven't seen Renee's Thais but the reviews are very good.


It is rather rare here as well, but I would imagine it's a lot more frequent than over there. The Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK, has just signed a contract with the Met which that allows them to broadcast rather a lot of the Met broadcasts on TV. So far, they've sent the 2007 Barbiere with JDF and Joyce DiDonato. And I think they might be planning on sending the new Ring in March, but I don't quite remember.

And I am quite exited for Renee's Thaïs nevertheless. Should be fun.


----------



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Aksel said:


> And I am quite exited for Renee's Thaïs nevertheless. Should be fun.


It's very good.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aksel said:


> It is rather rare here as well, but I would imagine it's a lot more frequent than over there. The Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK, has just signed a contract with the Met which that allows them to broadcast rather a lot of the Met broadcasts on TV. So far, they've sent the 2007 Barbiere with JDF and Joyce DiDonato. And I think they might be planning on sending the new Ring in March, but I don't quite remember.
> 
> And I am quite exited for Renee's Thaïs nevertheless. Should be fun.


Yes, Thaïs with Renée is supposed to be very good and sexy.

What kills me with envy is the fact that our European friends get all those BBC channels including BBC4 which often carries specials with full operas and documentaries about singers, etc. Over here we only have BBC America which is watered down for the "American taste" and never carries opera, and our National Public Television which, like I said, broadcasts a few Met operas per year, like once every three months. Of course, there is Met in HD but this is available everywhere so no bigger luck for living here.

And the Met, our main opera company, stages 27 operas per season (only 12 get to the airwaves). Most of the other companies stage between 3 and 6 per year, unlike what happens in Europe, where most German opera houses stage some 40 - in some cases, 50 - per year, and they have many companies in several different cities that are at relatively close driving distance from each other. Same thing in Austria - Vienna and Salzburg have dozens and dozens of productions every year. The Mariinsky stages some 60 different operas per season! Paris with its three major companies is paradise. Even smaller European capitals like Budapest beat the Met in number of different operas per season (I believe their company is staging about 34 this season).

For an opera lover, it's much better to reside in Europe than in the United States.

Maybe I'll retire in Europe some day.


----------



## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Well, we don't get BBC here either, except for some "best of" channels that are pretty good. But we do get BBC HD that at times (sometimes every Sunday) sends operas, mostly Glyndebourne, but I've seen the Met Meistersinger and a friend of mine saw the Covent Garden Carmen there. But I'd love to get BBC 4. And also Radio 3. But NRK2 and P2 are wonderful substitutes.

There's this program on NRK 2 called Hovedscenen (Main Stage) that airs concerts, operas, ballet and documentaries about classical music every Sunday. It really is quite a remarkable show.

But the Norwegian National Opera stages, as I counted just now, 13 operas this season (as in this spring, not the entire 2010/2011 season), I might be wrong. I don't really know the total number they're staging this season. But they also double as a ballet stage plus a recital hall, so a lot of days are "lost" to that. It is a young opera house, but I doubt Oslo has a capacity of handling more operas. And, Oslo is a very, very small capital in a rather large, long country.

And yes, our state patronage of the arts is rather wonderful.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Aksel said:


> Well, we don't get BBC here either, except for some "best of" channels that are pretty good. But we do get BBC HD that at times (sometimes every Sunday) sends operas, mostly Glyndebourne, but I've seen the Met Meistersinger and a friend of mine saw the Covent Garden Carmen there. But I'd love to get BBC 4. And also Radio 3. But NRK2 and P2 are wonderful substitutes.
> 
> There's this program on NRK 2 called Hovedscenen (Main Stage) that airs concerts, operas, ballet and documentaries about classical music every Sunday. It really is quite a remarkable show.
> 
> ...


Every Sunday? Wow, nice! All that we get here every Sunday is American football.

In my small metropolitan region, the local opera company has 3 productions per year.

Like I said, I do consider, after retirement (still some 15 years ahead), a move to Europe, of which I'm also a citizen (I have dual citizenship American/Italian).

What irritates me is that I pay a small fortune for satellite TV, with some 500 channels, and still, I don't get any strictly cultural channels, which shows you how superficial our society has become, in the United States. We get plenty of violent movies and all kinds of sports, but for culture, we have to rely on the rare occasions when NPR shows something.

I think that at the very least, our satellite TV companies should include a handful of European cultural channels in their grids. But I'm ashamed to say that probably they don't, because there is no demand for them.


----------



## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Every Sunday? Wow, nice! All that we get here every Sunday is American football.
> 
> In my small metropolitan region, the local opera company has 3 productions per year.
> 
> ...


Wow. 500 channels and no strictly cultural stuff? That really is a shame.

But three productions a year is more than we get up here. We're lucky if we get an opera staged once a year. Granted, we do get amazing concerts from one of, at least in my opinion, best chamber ensembles in the country, but not nearly enough opera. The last we had was three quarters of a semi-staged Carmen. In Norwegian.
It is to be noted that I live about 1000 or so km from Oslo.


----------



## B.O.Dow (Jan 2, 2011)

Could someone upload the performance to a file host server (RS or something..) for all of us Netrebko-fans outside USA?
Forgive me if this sounds a bit rude but we have not any other means to see the performance :-(


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I don't know how to do that.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> But the Norwegian National Opera stages, as I counted just now, 13 operas this season (as in this spring, not the entire 2010/2011 season), I might be wrong. I don't really know the total number they're staging this season. But they also double as a ballet stage plus a recital hall, so a lot of days are "lost" to that. It is a young opera house, but I doubt Oslo has a capacity of handling more operas. And, Oslo is a very, very small capital in a rather large, long country.
> 
> And yes, our state patronage of the arts is rather wonderful.


Wow! I've always made the excuse that NZ is too small to stage a lot of operas, but with roughly the same population to cater to as you guys, NZ Opera is putting on two productions next year, shared between Auckland (same size as Oslo) and Wellington the (smaller) capital. It's a national disgrace!

The only difference would be the logistics, getting any singers in from Europe does entail a 30 hour flight. And of course any singer worth their while promptly heads off to Europe or at leas Australia.


----------



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

Almaviva said:


> I think that at the very least, our satellite TV companies should include a handful of European cultural channels in their grids. But I'm ashamed to say that probably they don't, because there is no demand for them.


Probably not, but that's because the public is not exposed to it. You can't build up public interest by showing one Met performance every three months.


----------



## jhar26 (Jul 6, 2008)

mamascarlatti said:


> Wow! I've always made the excuse that NZ is too small to stage a lot of operas, but with roughly the same population to cater to as you guys, NZ Opera is putting on two productions next year, shared between Auckland (same size as Oslo) and Wellington the (smaller) capital. It's a national disgrace!


Wow, hardly seems worth the trouble of having an opera company at all. Belgium is a country the size of a postage stamp and we have four opera houses.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> In my small metropolitan region, the local opera company has 3 productions per year.


Omaha gets 2. Even Denver (where I'll be moving this summer) gets only 3


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

B.O.Dow said:


> Could someone upload the performance to a file host server (RS or something..) for all of us Netrebko-fans outside USA?
> Forgive me if this sounds a bit rude but we have not any other means to see the performance :-(


Unfortunately, I have no means of capturing it or I would.

e: In fact, it doesn't seem it will be playing on my local PBS station 

e2: Ah, we're getting it Wednesday. Well, that's Omaha for you -- always a bit behind the rest of the world


----------



## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Wow! I've always made the excuse that NZ is too small to stage a lot of operas, but with roughly the same population to cater to as you guys, NZ Opera is putting on two productions next year, shared between Auckland (same size as Oslo) and Wellington the (smaller) capital. It's a national disgrace!
> 
> The only difference would be the logistics, getting any singers in from Europe does entail a 30 hour flight. And of course any singer worth their while promptly heads off to Europe or at leas Australia.


I think you're on to something there with the flight times. NZ is far away from just about everything. But aren't there New Zealandese opera singers? Just about all of the main soloists in Oslo are Norwegian.
And is there a tradition for opera in New Zealand?

But two operas a year is really very little. There is this village in the west of Norway called Nordfjordeid that does at least one "proper" opera a year. Just this year, they're doing Die Zauberflöte and West Side Story. But I do believe much of it relies on the local community and a lot of those involved are amateurs.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

jhar26 said:


> Wow, hardly seems worth the trouble of having an opera company at all. Belgium is a country the size of a postage stamp and we have four opera houses.


Actually I'm starting to think that here in America we're not doing as poorly as I though. I've just learned from the latest issue of Opera America magazine that in my state of North Carolina which is probably about the size of New Zealand, we have six opera companies - 2 in Raleigh, one in Charlotte, one in Wiston-Salem, one in Greensboro, and one in Asheville. With an average of 3 to 4 performances per company, we get some 20 operas per year, all within a 2-hour drive of each other except the one in Asheville which is 4 hours away.

In spite of living here for the last 8 years, I was only aware of four of them; the other two are news to me and I'll look into their schedule. This is to show that they aren't advertising properly if even an opera lover like me didn't know of their existance.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Aksel said:


> I think you're on to something there with the flight times. NZ is far away from just about everything.
> But aren't there New Zealandese opera singers? Just about all of the main soloists in Oslo are Norwegian.And is there a tradition for opera in New Zealand?


I think it's also linked to a suspicion and dislike of what's perceived as "high culture". I know literally no-one who is interested in opera, apart from one old guy who likes Wagner only. Most people here are just obsessed with sport.

Most NZ opera singers leave when they can - Kiri Te Kanawa, Donald McIntyre, Jonathan Lemalu, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Simon O'Neill, Anna Leese. And who can blame them? The only glimmer of hope is a training facility called Opera Factory round the corner from where I work, where young singers also put on a semi-amateur performance once in a while.

It's sad because in the 19th Century when the Europeans were building towns here, there was an appreciation for opera. Here is the opera house in Oamaru, which has a population of 13,000:


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Watching now, it's at intermission I assume. My first Don Pasquale, very entertaining! Couple misc. thoughts:
- Matthew Polenzani has a great voice and great command of it
- Anna is charming
- Anna has huge feet 
- Only weak point has been the notary. I'm generally not one to complain about vocal quality, but I think my voice might be better than his 

Great time so far!


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> Watching now, it's at intermission I assume. My first Don Pasquale, very entertaining! Couple misc. thoughts:
> - Matthew Polenzani has a great voice and great command of it
> - Anna is charming
> - Anna has huge feet
> ...


I'm glad that you like it.
However I'm very puzzled.
I saw this same production in person at the Met, one week after it was filmed for the _Live in HD_ broadcast, which is the same image we're watching right now.
I'm trying to decide if it's just me, and/or the "no surprise" effect of seeing it for the second time, but I think this performance is *definitely* less good than the one I saw in person.

I'm actually more and more sure of it. I'm convinced that it's not my bias, nor the fact that I'm now seeing the close-ups - I had excellent seats, pretty close to the stage, and also had binoculars; I was able to follow the facial expressions just as well.

So here is what I think:
Anna was a lot more relaxed, natural, and funny one week later from this filmed performance.

As sure as I am that I'm not making it up, I'm trying to find an explanation.

Three things come to mind:

1) The knowledge that this performance was being filmed and sent live to the four corners of the world may have inhibited the artists who were more self-conscious and less natural - and maybe the cameras were a little intrusive. I know that these people are great professional artists who shouldn't be bothered by this kind of thing, but they're still human beings, and I guess that it is different when you're addressing only your live audience at the opera house, as opposed to addressing the entire planet and the posterity (since this will be on MetPlayer and will later be on DVD/blu-ray).

2) One week later and with a couple of performances in between, the whole cast was more able to grow into their roles and had the roles better rehearsed.

3) They were able to improvise better and figure out what worked, what didn't (Anna had several moves in the performance I saw that aren't in this one - for example, during the scene when she was pretending to be shy, she walked around the stage in small comic steps, pushed by her "brother," and this didn't happen today).

Anyway, this is interesting, and tells me that even the same production a few days apart with the same cast can be very different in two different nights.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Anyway, this is interesting, and tells me that even the same production a few days apart with the same cast can be very different in two different nights.


There's a bit in the book Fortissimo (very good book about a year backstage at the Chicago Lyric) that talks about just this, with regards to Natalie Dessay, how she'd change up her performance of Lucia just a bit every night, making every night's performance unique. Though, the author didn't mention if she grew more relaxed throughout the run or if earlier performances were inferior.

I guess like everyone, sometimes performers are more 'on' than at other times.

I'm curious -- at the performance you attended, did Don Pasquale and the doctor come out after the curtain fell after their tongue-twister of a duet to reprise the last minute as they did in this broadcast? Though, for all I know, that might be a standard part of this opera.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Haha, and the moral of the story is: if you're an old man, you're crazy to get married 

Fun and lovely opera. My first time seeing Anna in anything more than youtube clips and she was wonderful (though, sorry Almaviva, she's no Natalie  ). I'd actually like to see Diana Damrau play Norina. Granted she's technically a dramatic coloratura but she's been branching out into lyric roles as her voice continues to develop and indeed will be singing Violetta next year.

Definitely worth the price of admission


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> There's a bit in the book Fortissimo (very good book about a year backstage at the Chicago Lyric) that talks about just this, with regards to Natalie Dessay, how she'd change up her performance of Lucia just a bit every night, making every night's performance unique. Though, the author didn't mention if she grew more relaxed throughout the run or if earlier performances were inferior.
> 
> I guess like everyone, sometimes performers are more 'on' than at other times.
> 
> I'm curious -- at the performance you attended, did Don Pasquale and the doctor come out after the curtain fell after their tongue-twister of a duet to reprise the last minute as they did in this broadcast? Though, for all I know, that might be a standard part of this opera.


No, they didn't. There was no encore. It's another difference.
During the curtain calls, Anna tripped and almost fell, and she threw a lovely apologetic look at the audience. She seemed humble and genuine. I remember that moment very sharply. I love that woman!

I've got the book Fortissimo and I've read half of it, then I dropped it, and haven't restarted yet. I guess this episode was in the second part because I don't recall it.

Anyway, the fact that I found the performance I saw to be superior to this one doesn't mean that today's broadcast wasn't great.

First of all, Donizetti was a spectacular opera composer, and of his operas that I know, there isn't a single one that I don't love (I think I know about eight of his works). This is a unique case for me; not even Verdi, Mozart, Handel, or Wagner have pleased me this consistently. I have three more by him on my unwatched pile, and I'm quite sure I'll like them just as much. It seems like the man could do no wrong. Don Pasquale is no exception; it is a great opera buffa.

Second, all four principals were top level singers. Third, it's a really nice traditional staging. What's not to like?

Just, I think they did even better a week later.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> Haha, and the moral of the story is: if you're an old man, you're crazy to get married
> 
> Fun and lovely opera. My first time seeing Anna in anything more than youtube clips and she was wonderful (though, sorry Almaviva, she's no Natalie  ). I'd actually like to see Diana Damrau play Norina. Granted she's technically a dramatic coloratura but she's been branching out into lyric roles as her voice continues to develop and indeed will be singing Violetta next year.
> 
> Definitely worth the price of admission


Oh don't read me wrong, I love Natalie. It's just that I don't just love Anna, I'm *in love* with Anna.

But like I said, there was something wrong with Anna tonight; she was funnier, more natural, more energetic, and more relaxed when I saw her live.

Also make sure you watch her _L'Elisir d'Amore_ with Villazón, she is quite spectacular there, and very seductive.

But if you want sexy Anna, then you need to see her _Traviata_ and her _Manon_, both with Villazón, and both at a time when she was a bit younger and skinnier, before she had her son. She looks absolutely gorgeous in both productions:



















And talking about the price of admission, yes, definitely worth it, even though the price of *my* admission was a small fortune (premium seats, dinner for two at the Met Grand Tier restaurant, air tickets from North Carolina to New York, etc.). But I'll definitely do it again every time Anna comes back for another opera.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I understand your feelings for Anna, as they precisely mirror mine for Ms. Dessay. Would that I could talk her into leaving her husband and country, I'd likely marry her straightaway despite being a decade her junior  Perhaps the only word that gets more overused than 'genius' is 'artist', but I feel she is one of the true artists of our age -- voice is great, though not to the standards of, say, Joan Sutherland ... but her interpretations and characterizations take her to another level. OK, I'll stop gushing 

I've heard nothing but good things about Anna's L'elisir and I too love all of Donizetti's work that I've heard so it will be next in my queue ... or, next after Ms. Dessay's Hamlet, perhaps 

T-minus 3 months and counting until I get to see her at the Met in Lucia! Hope my experience is anything close to yours.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> I understand your feelings for Anna, as they precisely mirror mine for Ms. Dessay. Would that I could talk her into leaving her husband and country, I'd likely marry her straightaway despite being a decade her junior  Perhaps the only word that gets more overused than 'genius' is 'artist', but I feel she is one of the true artists of our age -- voice is great, though not to the standards of, say, Joan Sutherland ... but her interpretations and characterizations take her to another level. OK, I'll stop gushing
> 
> I've heard nothing but good things about Anna's L'elisir and I too love all of Donizetti's work that I've heard so it will be next in my queue ... or, next after Ms. Dessay's Hamlet, perhaps
> 
> T-minus 3 months and counting until I get to see her at the Met in Lucia! Hope my experience is anything close to yours.


I hope you enjoy your peregrination to Natalie Dessay just as much as I did mine to Anna. I'll be watching Natalie's Lucia on Met in HD and I'm sure she'll be fabulous, since this is one of her best roles.
I agree that Natalie is an outstanding actress and a very good singer (although like you said, not perfect, but neither is Anna, vocally speaking - but I do agree that decent singing and great acting is better than great singing and stiff acting). I have thoroughly enjoyed everything that she's done. And even though she doesn't objectively look as pretty as Anna, Isabel, Miah, etc, I have always found Ms. Dessay to be profoundly attractive as a woman.
Hey, I wouldn't require that Anna quit her country in order to marry her... I'd marry her anywhere in the world, if I could... LOL
But see, you saw Anna just once, and I have the feeling that she wasn't herself today (I've seen practically everything that she's done and is available, plus all her CDs, interviews, documentaries...).
I think she can be *just as good* as Natalie in terms of acting. Case in point, Anna's Lucia which she did in exactly the same staging as Natalie's recent one (that one with the spiral stairs). If you compare the two mad scenes, I actually dare to say (don't shoot me please) that as much as Natalie's was spectacular, Anna's was still better.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

I'll have to hold your sentence in abeyance as I've not seen either in Lucia as yet.
indeed, I've not seen Lucia at all as yet

e: also, I'm getting an idea. Have you seen "Strangers on a Train"?


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> I'll have to hold your sentence in abeyance as I've not seen either in Lucia as yet.
> indeed, I've not seen Lucia at all as yet
> 
> e: also, I'm getting an idea. Have you seen "Strangers on a Train"?


Lucia is one of the greatest operas of all times. If you like Donizetti, you're in for a treat, because this is definitely his most spectacular one, his true masterpiece.

"Strangers on a Train" - thinking about the "you kill my wife and I kill your wife," are you proposing some kind of similar exchange, like I marry Natalie for you while you marry Anna? No way!!!

Natalie's boobs don't look nearly as enticing as Anna's boobs! I can tell, because I've seen them in one of her Lucia mad scenes, when her gown was falling apart and her breasts popped out.  Anna's on the other hand can be checked out in La Traviata when she lowers herself on the couch during the "oh... amore" scene, and she treats the audience to a really, really deep look into those two things of beauty!


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

Well it was more you take out Laurent Naouri and I'll take out ... er, Mr. Netrebko.

You've seen Natalie's boobs??


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> Well it was more you take out Laurent Naouri and I'll take out ... er, Mr. Netrebko.
> 
> You've seen Natalie's boobs??


There is no Mr. Netrebko since she and her partner (Erwin Schrott) are not legally married, so, there is more hope for me than for you.

Yes, I've seen them, or actually, one of them... not as pretty as Anna's!


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

My friend, she prefers a guy named Erwin Schrott over you. ERWIN SCHROTT.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

rgz said:


> My friend, she prefers a guy named Erwin Schrott over you. ERWIN SCHROTT.


Oh, that's because she's never met me. As soon as she sees me for the first time, it will be love at first sight and she'll dump Mr. Schrott.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

almaviva said:


> oh, that's because she's never met me. As soon as she sees me for the first time, it will be love at first sight and she'll dump mr. Schrott.:d


*erwin schrott*


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Unfortunately, in spite of the ridiculous name, I have to acknowledge that the guy is quite good looking.


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

The fauxhawk has got to be the most obnoxious haircut of all time. Your Anna has questionable taste.


----------



## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Ian - make sure you find the Stage Door & get the photo with you & Natalie. A bit of airbrushing & you'll be able to say it was a tryst.

This is just me and Joseph


----------



## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

[sudden on-topic-ness] I saw this Don Pasquale on TV tonight, and I actually rather liked it. It was very fun. [/sudden on-topic-ness]


----------



## rgz (Mar 6, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Ian - make sure you find the Stage Door & get the photo with you & Natalie. A bit of airbrushing & you'll be able to say it was a tryst.
> 
> This is just me and Joseph


Ahhh this I absolutely must do! Is it possible at the Met? I think I asked a similar question some weeks back and the answers were rather discouraging.


----------



## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

rgz said:


> Ahhh this I absolutely must do! Is it possible at the Met? I think I asked a similar question some weeks back and the answers were rather discouraging.


Yes I remember you asked but I've never been to the Met so I can't help I'm afraid.

There's a guy who occasionally posts on here who went a few weeks ago & saw a singer Anna 'somebody' I think her name was -  - he's allegedly in love with this singer so I'm sure he would have waited at the Stage Door for this lady.

He may be able to help.


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Yes I remember you asked but I've never been to the Met so I can't help I'm afraid.
> 
> There's a guy who occasionally posts on here who went a few weeks ago & saw a singer Anna 'somebody' I think her name was -  - he's allegedly in love with this singer so I'm sure he would have waited at the Stage Door for this lady.
> 
> He may be able to help.


That guy was me. But I'm afraid I can't help either, because I didn't need to wait for her at the Stage Door. My love for her is reciprocated, so, she arranged for a stretch limousine to pick me up at the end of the performance and take me to her hotel. She said - "you go ahead and wait for me there, while I sign those autographs for my regular fans, and you make yourself comfortable and order the champagne, I'll be right there as soon as I can get rid of the fans."


----------



## Gualtier Malde (Nov 14, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> I know that these people are great professional artists who shouldn't be bothered by this kind of thing, but they're still human beings, and I guess that it is different when you're addressing only your live audience at the opera house, as opposed to addressing the entire planet and the posterity (since this will be on MetPlayer and will later be on DVD/blu-ray).


As you hint at yourself, I think stage animals like Anna Netrebko would be shocked if they had to do something without millions of people watching.


----------



## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Gualtier Malde said:


> As you hint at yourself, I think stage animals like Anna Netrebko would be shocked if they had to do something without millions of people watching.


I was watching the making of the Netrebko/Villazon Manon, and Netrebko was talking about being nervous and got so flustered with himself that he had to shoo the camera out to recover. Even Pavarotti talked about being nervous, and you'd never guess it from his stage persona (I think the hankie helped)..


----------



## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> I was watching the making of the Netrebko/Villazon Manon, and Netrebko was talking about being nervous and got so flustered with himself that he had to shoo the camera out to recover. Even Pavarotti talked about being nervous, and you'd never guess it from his stage persona (I think the hankie helped)..


This was my very first experience with seeing the exact same production twice; once live at the theater with no cameras, and the other one a filmed performance aimed at Met in HD, PBS broadcast, and eventually DVD/blu-ray.

I found that the singers behaved profoundly different, except for the *very* experienced John Del Carlo who was pretty much his wickedly funny, profoundly competent self in both performances.

But the other three principals were *visibly* less natural, less relaxed, stiffer, with forced smiles and forced facial expressions in the performance that was being filmed, as opposed to the one that was only for the in-house audience, in which they seemed to be having lots of fun, and were more playful, much more relaxed and natural.

I don't know whether the filmed performance was the opening night for the production or not. If it was, it would be an alternative explanation.


----------

