“The Love for Three Oranges” by Sergei Prokofiev

Paris National Opera’s Three Oranges
I was recently given a gift of the DVD of the Paris National Opera’s 2006 production of Prokofiev’s “The Love for Three Oranges”. I looked forward to viewing it firstly because a young baritone I know, David Bizic, was singing a very small part in the opera, and, secondly because Jose Van Dam was singing the part of the magician, Tchelio. I am sorry to say that I was quite disappointed. The stage director, Gilbert Deflo, tried to treat the opera as “commedia del’arte” which should have made it a very attractive production. However, I found that there were too many special effects which distracted from the content and the singing and turned the really humorous comic parts into non-funny scenes.

The plot of this opera is based on a fable of a prince who suffers from melancholia and whose father, the king, fears he will die if he is not made to laugh. The scene that actually brings the prince to laughter is not the least bit funny and leaves you wondering what he is laughing at.

The fault in this “draggy” production lies mainly with the conductor, Sylvain Cambreling, who does not do justice to the sharp and sparkling score. Prokofiev’s music under his baton simply drags along, slowing down the action and making the production actually a strain to watch. Too bad.

Wagner’s “Flying Dutchman”

Sailing the High Seas with the Flying Dutchman
Wagner’s fourth opera, “The Flying Dutchman”, was conceived in 1839 (so they say) after the composer made a very stormy sea crossing from Europe to London. The voyage, which should have only taken eight days, took three weeks due to the stormy seas. At any rate, this is a ghostly story of a Dutch seaman with a ghostly ship who is doomed to sail the high seas after being cursed by Satan. He can be reprieved only by the true and faithful love of a woman, and he is allowed to land once every seven years to find this woman.

The production I watched yesterday with a friend is a film version directed by Vaclav Kaslik, who is a well-known conductor and producer of opera films. The famous Wolfgang Sawallisch conducts, imbuing the music with emotion and drama which I have not found in any other production. The roles of the Dutchman and his newfound faithful bride are sung and acted beautifully by Donal McIntyre and Catherina Ligendza. The result is spellbinding! Both visually and musically you simply hold your breath. A really high class film version.

Mozart’s Piano Concerto #9 “Jeunehomme”

Piano Concerto #9 in E Flat Major, K271, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
It was rumored that Mozart composed this piece for a young French pianist when she visited Salzburg but this has never been verified. Nonetheless, it has been known as the “Jeunehomme” concerto. Although the work has the classic three movements: Allegro, Andante, Rondo, there are several departures from convention that make this work innovative.

Firstly, the first movement of the concerto opens with an orchestral announcement but with interventions by the soloist. This was very unusual for its time. The remainder of the movement consists of dialogues between the soloist and orchestra with two cadenzas written by Mozart for this movement. The second movement is written in a minor key which Mozart would repeat in only five other of his many piano concerti. The third movement, the Rondo, opens with the solo piano, again an innovation.

This piano concerto is very highly praised by most music critics who feel that Mozart moved forward in the Classical style when he composed it. However, to the untrained listener it is simply a beautiful work for piano and orchestra, particularly the 1966 recording I have with Alfred Brendel at the piano together with I Solisti di Zagreb.

Rossini’s String Sonatas

Rossini’s Sonatas for Strings
Of Rossini’s six String Sonatas I only have the last three, nos. 4, 5, and 6. However, these three are enough to allow me to tell you that they must all be charming. Rossini composed them for a merchant and patron, Agostino Triossi, at his summer home near Ravenna. Triossi played the double bass and therefore wanted music for strings that would include the double bass rather than the viola.

Rossini obliged, composing six charming sonatas in three days which his patron plus cousins plus Rossini himself played for their own entertainment. The sonatas are both poignant and comic, reflecting what was to come later in the composer’s operas.

At a much later date, he described the pieces as horrendous claiming that he was ignorant of harmony at the time they were composed. Listening to numbers 4, 5 and 6, it is impossible to agree with the composer’s criticism of his own music. The sonatas are worth far more than he allows.

Brahms’ Piano Concerto #1 in D Minor, Op 15

The Piano Concerto #1 by Johannes Brahms
Due to an accident which caused me to injure my right leg, I have been holed up at home and confined to bed and chair for the past two weeks. As a result I am listening to a lot of my CD’s which ordinarily are neglected because of TV programs or just plain being busy and out of the house. Today I decided to devote my listening hours to Johannes Brahms whom I seem to have forgotten recently.

A replay of his first Piano Concerto gave me a lot to think about. Brahms is considered to have straddled the classic and romantic styles in his compositions. Basically a romanticist, his compositions are very classic in form and this concerto is certainly an example of this. Beginning with huge tutti, it is angry and frightening and then when the piano enters all is delicate and quiet and we are nearly in a chamber work. This composition was to have been a symphony. In 1854 Schumann, a great friend of Brahms, convinced him to try writing a symphony, but somehow Brahms couldn’t do it. He wrote three movements which he then decided to use as a sonata for 2 pianos but was finally convinced into creating the concerto instead.

The first movement, designated “Maestoso” is indeed a massive 22 minutes and expresses Brahms’ emotional turmoil at the mental illness of his friend Schumann. Then the second movement, the Adagio, is almost ethereal. Clara Schumann pronounced it “spiritual”. The finale, a Rondo, is lighter in mood and a short cadenza towards the end gives it a splendid finish.

Dvorak’s Magical Piano Quintet

The Piano Quintet with Artur Rubinstein
Dvorak’s Piano Quintet in A, written in the year 1887 and premiered in January, 1888, is such a delightful piece of gay chamber music and was the one piece that actually got me interested in listening to chamber music concerts. Before hearing it I had mostly preferred orchestral pieces with or without soloists and vocal works. I had a preconceived idea that chamber works were boring.

However, upon hearing this bright work, and especially with the Guarneri Quartet accompanied by Arthur Rubinstein at the piano, I realized that I was missing out on a whole world of music.

This piano quintet starts off with a bright melody that immediately puts the listener in a good mood. It abounds with ideas and feelings from the composer’s native country (Bohemia/Czechoslovakia). The second movement is even labelled “Dumka”, which is a lament or melancholy song, while the third movement, the Scherzo, is called “Furiant”, which is a lively Bohemian dance. The finale is a sparkling Allegro showing Dvorak in his most optimistic mood. This work is pure delight.

The disc I own is an RCA Victor Red Seal, something that no longer exists. However, it was put out by BMG in 1988, and I am sure it can still be found somewhere. It is definitely worthwhile searching for it.

Another Met Simulcast Success

La Fille du Regiment by Gaetano Donizetti
Last April I visited a good friend of mine in Portland, Oregon, and, while there, I noticed an advert for another Metropolitan Opera simulcast. This one was their last simulcast of the season, and the production was to be Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment”. I immediately suggested to my friend that we get tickets. She had no idea what it was all about and was very surprised when I explained to her that the Met “streams” live matinee performances to movie theaters all over the U.S. and Europe, and this one was at a theater very close to her home. Of course we got tickets and, of course, she was thrilled and plans to see all the simulcasts next season!

This comic opera by Donizetti was quite a sensation with the exquisite and playful soprano, Natalie Dessay, and THE bel canto tenor of today, Juan Diego Florez. Florez has one aria in this opera with 4 high C’s. It is the aria which supposedly made Pavarotti famous. Florez sang so beautifully at the Met that the audience wouldn’t let the opera proceed until he had done an encore. This is something really special because it is really never done at the Met! The story of an orphaned girl brought up by a French regiment and adopted as their daughter who falls in love with a Tyrolean young man, and all their problems till they are happily united at the end, offers wonderful comic acting opportunities for all the cast. The music is delightful and this production is a jewel. We had a wonderful time.

Schubert’s Trout Quintet

Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Members of the Budapest String Quartet
It is always a pleasant feeling to be able to rediscover our old favorites in music discography. That is what happened to me last night when I looked for some music to listen to in bed. My hand drew out Schubert’s Trout Quintet played by members of the Budapest String Quartet and Mieczyslaw Horszowski at the piano. The disc is a Sony Classical from 1990 which has been digitally remastered and, therefore, sounds really nice. It partners with Schubert’s famous quartet “Death and the Maiden” played by the Juilliard String Quartet, another old favorite.

Sleeping with Schubert
It sounds rather daring to say that you slept with Schubert especially since he was supposed to have died of syphillis. However, please don’t take me literally. I put the Schubert Trout Quinted on the player by my bed and lay down with eyes closed to enjoy this delightful chamber work with its Mozartian overtones. I especially love the Scherzo (the 3rd movement). However, I fell peacefully asleep in the delicate Andante (2nd Movement) and never reached the Scherzo. I recommend this disc to all who are enamored of these two Schubert works. They are beautifully performed by the Budapest and Juilliard respectively.

La Boheme and Popcorn

The Met’s La Boheme via Cinema
I spent the month of April in the U.S., specifically in California and Oregon, and, as a result I was given an introduction to a new world of film and computer technology that was a real delight. The Metropolitan Opera of New York has taken to “simulcasting” some of their Saturday matinees to cinemas all over the U.S. and also to some European countries. I don’t know how to explain what they call simulcasting. All I can tell you is that the live performance, in this case Puccini’s “La Boheme”, was “streamed” (as they say) into the movie theaters allowing us to view a real live opera performance in high definition and eat popcorn at the same time. In California, due to the time difference between east and west coasts, I saw the Met matinee at 10:30 in the morning. The price of a ticket is $22 instead of $100 or $200 which it would cost at the Met itself. The quality of the viewing is fantastic, and you feel as though you are actually in the opera house.

Zefferelli’s Production
The Met’s Boheme was a Franco Zeferelli production created by him especially for the Met in 1982. It is what can be termed a “spectaculo”. The sets and costumes are lavish and create the bohemian atmosphere of the Monmartre Quartier of Paris in the 19th century. Angela Georghiu and Ramon Vargas as the main characters (Mimi and Rudolfo) are marvelous – both in voice and in acting. The whole performance was a real adventure! The Met will be simulcasting 11 operas next season. If you are in any country where these performances can be seen in the cinema, don’t miss them!

Puccini’s “Turandot” and the Israel Opera

Turandot – An Opera Difficult to Produce
Puccini’s last opera about a Chinese Princess who hates men, gives them 3 riddles to solve, and when they can’t, chops off their heads, is not an easy opera to produce. First of all, it requires a tremendous dramatic soprano, with a strong voice who can go to the heights, and a strong tenor who can also sing the famous Nessun Dorma aria with lyrical emotion. Secondly, it needs spectacle – beautiful Chinese style costumes and scenery and great ceremonial pomp. And last but not least important it requires a large, almost Wagnerian orchestra with added timpani instruments such as gongs, xylophone and the triangle. This makes it a very expensive opera to produce and, therefore, it isn’t done very often.

The Israel Opera was fortunate to have the Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona production, and the result was a huge success. The night I saw it, Baysa Dashnyam, the Mongolian born soprano, sang the title role. She has a slightly metallic tint to her magnificent soprano which added to her dramatic portrayal of the repugnant Turandot, who is described as the cold Princess with ice in her veins instead of blood. The only sympathetic role in the whole opera is that of the slave girl Liu who commits suicide rather than betray her secret love, Prince Calaf. Liu was beautifully portrayed and sung by Michal Shamir. The American tenor, Antonio Nagore, gave a strong performance of Prince Calaf, whose character in the opera is no less repugnant than that of Turandot. The three Chinese Ministers, Ping, Pang and Pong, were wonderfully sung and acted by Olivier Grand, Felix Lifshitz and Yosef Aridan, as was the role of Calaf’s father, sung by Vladimir Braun.

The director’s change of the ending: having Turandot commit suicide rather than the original “happy” ending of Turandot and Calaf uniting, didn’t disturb me in the least. It was a wholly plausible interpretation. I haven’t enjoyed myself so thoroughly at an Israel Opera performance for a long, long time.