tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post115506141725494747..comments2024-03-26T15:57:13.443+00:00Comments on On An Overgrown Path: BBC Proms – unplanned Schwarzkopf tributeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1155281414157833942006-08-11T08:30:00.000+01:002006-08-11T08:30:00.000+01:00'That is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men....<I>'That is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.'</I> - Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms.Pliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1155275273275826512006-08-11T06:47:00.000+01:002006-08-11T06:47:00.000+01:00Pliable, I loved your cynicism in the initial post...Pliable, I loved your cynicism in the initial post, and your astonished apologia in the face of "the power of youth," and then the long quote from the review of "Midsummer Night's Dream," which again is also all about the power of youth.<BR/><BR/>The latter may be the ONLY great English-language opera in existence. We have plenty of great English-language comic musicals/operettas, possibly the best repertory in the world, but for opera, I'm afraid it's simply "Midsummer."<BR/><BR/>"Dream," by the way, not "Marriage," as much as I admire Tippett.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1155243984007240282006-08-10T22:06:00.000+01:002006-08-10T22:06:00.000+01:00Ivan Volkov's A Midsummer Night's Dream continues ...Ivan Volkov's A Midsummer Night's Dream continues with his Glyndebourne debut - <BR/><BR/><I>Geoff Brown at Glyndebourne<BR/><BR/>BENJAMIN BRITTEN’S opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream may have been written for his Aldeburgh Festival, but Glyndebourne, a midsummer night’s dream itself, is surely its best home. <BR/>Apart from the Downs and the grazing sheep, you are guaranteed Sir Peter Hall’s production and John Bury’s magnificent designs — 25 years old, but with their magic very much intact. <BR/><BR/>Actually, for small people that magic may have increased. There is now the Harry Potter factor. What is Puck but a Hogwarts pupil with a ginger shock who hasn’t sorted his spells? Jack Morlen, aged 11, bold as brass, assumes the role with great bravado and the spindliest legs that ever walked through frozen ice. <BR/><BR/>Trinity Boys Choir, Glyndebourne’s regular fairies, undertake their singing and floor-crawling with unusual purpose; chorus master David Swinson and the revival director, James Robert Carson, must have worked them hard. <BR/><BR/>From every angle, this is a show about transformation. The characters’ hearts; the music’s chord progressions and motifs; Bury’s romantic Samuel Palmer-inspired forest, which constantly morphs in the changing light. <BR/><BR/>And every cast brings its own mutations. Bottom can be yanked close to a red-nosed clown, but Matthew Rose controls himself, kept his dignity, and is all the funnier. He also wins the prize for best projection: even wearing his ass’s head, every word is audible. <BR/><BR/>But ringing voices can also be perilous. Timothy Robinson’s tone as Lysander is steadfast, but shouldn’t a lover bring to the bower variety and soft edges? Jared Holt’s Demetrius has his brick wall moments too. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand, the metal chill inside Bejun Mehta’s counter-tenor is invaluable for Oberon. This forest isn’t all fun, even with the droll rustics. Iride Martinez, from Costa Rica, cuts a bright swath with her coloratura as Tytania. Tove Dahlberg’s Hermia appeared tentative, though it’s her misfortune to play scenes with the Helena of Kate Royal, who makes acting and singing indivisible. <BR/><BR/>In the pit, the London Philharmonic contribute their own magic with conductor Ilan Volkov (his Glyndebourne debut). Ignore my quibbles; hesitate no longer.</I><BR/><BR/>Source http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-2222262,00.htmlPliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8060605.post-1155242650440444992006-08-10T21:44:00.000+01:002006-08-10T21:44:00.000+01:00Oh, but how wrong can I be? Can middle-aged cynici...Oh, but how wrong can I be? Can middle-aged cynicim be proved more wrong by the power of youth?<BR/><BR/>I've just finished listening to tonight's Prom of 'popular' repertoire - Stravinsky's <I>Firebird</I>, albeit in the rare complete ballet version. The orchestra was the wonderful BBC Scottish, the conductor was their dynamic 30 year old Chief Conductor Ilan Volkov, and the performance was just phenomenal.<BR/><BR/>Listening confirmed the <A HREF="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2006/08/truth-about-those-french-orchestras.html" REL="nofollow">Leboyer effect</A>, working in a great acoustic produces great ensemble. You could hear the effect of the orchestra's acoustically wonderful new home in City Halls in Glasgow on their intonation tonight. Those mighty closing pages, which Fokine honoured by making his dancers stand still because he realised no choreography could match such music, have never sounded more moving - this is truly <A HREF="http://theovergrownpath.blogspot.com/2006/01/bbc-scottish-symphony-orchestra-on.html" REL="nofollow">an orchestra, and a conductor, on a roll.</A><BR/><BR/>The Berlin Philharmonic, and the other <I>'London today, Edinburgh tomorrow'</I> orchestras are going to be hard-pressed to match that kind of music making.<BR/><BR/>Bravo BBC Scottish!Pliablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10616598845886342325noreply@blogger.com