Category Archives: Idiots at the Opera

What’s Up Rossini? Idiots at the Opera: Il Barbiere di Siviglia

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For those of us of a certain age, for whom the nanny was a television set, Il Barbiere di Siviglia will always be linked with Bugs Bunny’s infamous Rabbit of Seville – which features its own special brand of buffa set to the tune of Rossini’s overture. As soon as the orchestra began my brain was already in Looney Tunes mode and I could see Bugs in drag, hear his lyrics, “Can’t you see that I’m much sweeta? I’m your little senor-it-a”

Bugs and Figaro have a lot in common. Both are tricksters out for their own survival but mostly on the side of good.

For those of you unfamiliar, here’s the elevator version of the story: Figaro is a barber – also a “jack of all trades, fixer, veterinarian, health care provider (enemas might be a speciality). He runs into his former patron, Count Almavina, who is wooing Rosina although Rosina doesn’t know the Count’s true identity. Rosina’s lecherous guardian, Dr. Bartolo is hoping to marry her. Figaro helps the Count in his pursuit and plan to get Rosina away from the not so good doctor.

The staging of this version, by Bartlett Sher, seems to be going for the antic, but I didn’t find it quite antic enough. I’m not sure what was missing, but some energy or cohesion seemed to be lacking, so despite a few fine performances it moved a bit slow. The first acts end with a literal anvil dropping down and I wasn’t sure what that was even about. It was abstract and meta – a comment on the cartoon like aspect of this form of comic opera, maybe? But for me, the joke didn’t land, and what should have been lively first act finale lagged.

In the second act, there was a more subtle Easter Egg for Looney Tunes fan, unless I’m reading too much into it. Sometimes a carrot, is just a carrot.

Yunpeng Wang, a young artist new to the Met, was in the small role of Almaviva’s servant, Fiorello. He has a large voice and presence. It would not be surprising to see him graduate to larger roles soon. Isabel Leonard was outstanding as both a singer and an actor as Rosina. She was a delight. There’s an aria in the first act that would be almost a throwaway, Una Voce Poco Fa, had she not so completely nailed it. Film buffs may recognize the song. It was the one Susan Alexander sings to Charles Foster Kane on the night that they meet. Christopher Maltman making his role debut was very good – if not great as Figaro. Given the tenors who’ve played the part, those are some big boots to fill, and he didn’t seem quite there yet. Lawrence Brownlee as the Count lacked power in the first act, though he picked up a bit in the second and had the audience cheering him on. Maurizio Muraro as Dr. Bartolo was exceptionally comfortable in the role.

It’s a strange feeling seeing the prequel second. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro features many of the same characters some years later. Almaviva and Rosina are so wonderfully and operatically in love in Il Barbiere, yet we know that in a few years the Count will be lusting after Figaro’s fiancée, and Rosina will have her own boy toy.

Overall this was an entertaining, but not an outstanding production. It may be worth going for Isabel Leonard alone although I doubt this will be her last outing in the role. It’s entirely possible to stage classic buffa and still have it appear fresh. Last year’s production of Falstaff was as example. For whatever reasons, this version of Il Barbiere falls short.

Taking you out, here is the full version of the Rabbit of Seville:

(If you enjoyed this or any post even a little bit, you might maybe want to check out Marion’s literary work or even just click on any of “my picks” above and then Jeff Bezo’s will give Marion some pocket change with which she will purchase heating oil this winter. Thank you very much.)

The Opera I Have No Interest in Seeing

Idiots at the Opera, Politics and Culture

Like many ordinary people I have a blog. Per google analytics most of the people who come here on any given day come to find out how to get cheap tickets for the Met, and/or to read my take on some opera I’ve seen – even though I am a musical ignoramus. So maybe some of my subscribers might be wondering why I haven’t said anything about the brouhaha regarding the The Death of Klinghoffer at the Metropolitan Opera. I haven’t said much because too much was being said, and my own feelings were so muddled, I didn’t know where to start.

I just read a thoughtful piece up on the Guardian website. I strongly recommend you go there now. They took four regular New Yorkers to the premiere of The Death of Klinghoffer and each one wrote his or her response. They each did a wonderful job of representing. It got me thinking. I was not there last night, although God knows I could have been. There were more than usual number of unsold tickets – even for the cheap seats. I have never seen any production of the piece. I have not heard it either, but I’ve read a lot about it. Reading the Guardian, immediately got my juices going and I wrote a comment. You can read my comment there, as well.

Reading their panel’s views, helped me put mine in perspective. If you don’t read through all the comments to find mine, here it is in a nutshell:

I look at a picture of Leon Klinghoffer, and I see my father, who like him was a smart, New York Jew, a son of immigrants and someone who worked his way to a certain point. I hear their story — a final voyage with his terminally ill wife who would die months later from the illness that killed my father, and it makes me terribly sad. Aside from every thing else, the Klinghoffer daughters object to this opera. They don’t want their father remembered as a symbol of something — just what isn’t entirely clear. One of the Guardian viewers said the opera was about the competing narratives in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If that’s the case, it’s offensive to both Palestinians — represented by terrorists who would execute a disabled, old man and throw his body off a boat (and then say his wife did it) AND also to American Jews. Whatever the Klinghoffers’ may or may not have felt about Israel, they weren’t Israelis. They weren’t the Holocaust victims rising to form the modern Israel depicted in the opera’s chorus. They were New Yorkers and they became victims of a terrorist attack.  I don’t want to see them victimized again for “art.”

Here’s what it comes down to: “[T]he juxtaposition of the plight of the Palestinian people with the coldblooded murder of an innocent disabled American Jew is both historically naive and appalling,” — from the initial statement by the Klinghoffer daughters on seeing the piece.

Magic Wins — Die Zauberflöte at the Met

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We caught Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) Thursday night. It’s a Julie Taymor production, not new to the Met, though the previous version had used the English libretto.

I may be one of the few New Yorker’s who has never seen The Lion King. This was my first Taymor experience and it was pretty wow. The costumes and sets suggested everything from ancient Egypt (supported by many references in the libretto to ancient Egyptian gods) to Asia and Africa. The three spirits, played by boys whose voices had not yet broken – looked like Dr Suess characters. Monostatos reminded me of the head blue meanie from Yellow Submarine. There were giants puppets too including ominous gigantic figures with Continue reading Magic Wins — Die Zauberflöte at the Met →

Incident at the Met — RESOLVED

Idiots at the Opera

I’ve taken down the post I wrote yesterday afternoon regarding my terrible, very bad customer experience at the Met. This has now been resolved. Read on:

Briefly, here’s a non-dramatic summary of the initial incident:

I won the lottery (Full disclosure, I object to the lottery for a number of reasons and miss the rush ticket line, but that’s another post.)

The way the lottery works is you get an email telling you that you won. You click a link from the email and you purchase your one or two $25 tickets up to two hours before the show.

When I pressed proceed to cart, I found someone else’s name, address, phone number, type of card, last four digits of card and order. I couldn’t remove that information and I couldn’t order my tickets.

I was spooked by seeing someone else’s stuff, and frustrated because I couldn’t buy my tickets.

I called Customer Service who could not help to buy the ticket, but advised me to print my “you are a winner” email and go to Continue reading Incident at the Met — RESOLVED →

Anna on Fire – Lady Macbeth at the Met – Idiots at the Opera

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Sure, I know the name of the opera is Macbeth, but last night it might as well have been Lady Macbeth because Anna Netrebko was the show.

Her voice sounded weightier, smokier, harsher at times but no less beautiful than in those bel canto roles she is famous for. Her body too has changed. She might not fit that red dress in Willy Decker’s production of La Traviata so well, but she was super voluptuous – ogle-worthy.

When she sings her first aria, in a neglige on her bed, it was thrilling not only to listen to the sound of her voice, but also to anticipate a wardrobe malfunction as she writhed and wriggled. I caught no accidental boobage, but don’t ask me for details about the libretto, I never took my Continue reading Anna on Fire – Lady Macbeth at the Met – Idiots at the Opera →