Opera Nights At The Cinema: Verdi's Otello with Kaufmann

I love Verdi's "Otello" and was not going to miss this week's live broadcast with German tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the lead role. I enjoy both Kaufmann's singing and acting. He has emerged as one of the greats. Although doubtless somebody will disagree.

Verdi's opera is based on Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" in which a Moorish general (Otello), who serves the Venetians, is maliciously played upon by his aide (Iago) and led to believe that his new, young, Venetian wife (Desdemona) is unfaithful.
Iago is the driver - his jealousy, envy and pathological psychology moving him to ruin and warp everything around him. Othello is the subject, the man played upon, whose passions are worked and driven so that all that follows is tragedy. And Desdemona's constant good faith pushes her relentlessly towards her fate. This drama has always summed up tragedy to me - a collision of people's psychology and the turns of fate which explode into a terrible outcome - and we the audience can see it coming.

Verdi's opera has the drama and psychology of the original play together with beautiful music and a vocally challenging lead role in Otello. Domingo has been one of the great Otellos. I never managed to see him singing it live. But this week I got to see the broadcast of Kaufmann's debut in the role. Of course it seals him into it. I was relieved that he was not "blacked up". (School age trauma caused by my class being taken to see the film of Sir Laurence Olivier's awful performance as Shakespeare's Othello, whom I expected to drop on one knee and sing a rousing chorus of "Mammy" by way of encore.)

This production's sets involve partial walls (they appear as towering, dark, wooden walls or screens) which move around to change the space. As such the set has been described as minimalist. But I don't think it is. I can cope with minimalist. If a production and music is wonderful who needs a box of tricks?  But here it seems as if movements are made sometimes because they can. For instance why does Desdemona appear to rise up from the ground in one scene? As does the Herald announcing the arrival of the Venetian delegation? Throughout, performers have been walking on and off as usual, so why are these two entrances singled out as "magical"? No good dramatic reason that I could see.
And there are glaring additions to the design's "minimalism". A huge statue of the Venetian Lion is hauled on by the visiting delegation and in the final scene it re-appears, "broken". OK, I'm not a fan of heavy symbolism if it is not handled well but poke it into a relatively severe set and it's impact is disproportionate.

Never mind, I bicker ... because I can. The singing and acting of all the main roles is wonderful: Kaufmann (Otello); Maria Agresta (his wife Desdemona) and Marco Vratogna (Iago). It's a moving opera and a moving evening which we both did enjoy very much. And as usual The Old Man particularly looked forward to his interval ice cream.

Listening to and watching .... Verdi's "Don Carlo" - Kaufmann at Salzburg 2013

OK. I admit it. The Christmas gift of the Met's "Ring Cycle" boxed DVD set won me over to investigate Jonas Kaufmann a wee bit more. Or rather... The Old Man do seem to be doing such a thing with a purchase of a  CD of Kaufmann singing Schubert's "Winterreise"  (not sure, but it seems to gather strength) and ... most recently.... a DVD of Verdi's "Don Carlo" recorded at the Salzburg Festival in 2013 with Kaufmann as Don Carlo, Thomas Hampson as Rodrigo and  Anja Harteros as Elisabetta di Valois. It's a Peter Stein production and is conducted by Antonio Pappano (with much perspiration, warmth and passion).

And I do enjoy it. The production makes the story very clear ... as The Old Man (still facially-and-name-challenged) do definitely think too. I like the rather austere set design which seems to echo the severity of the plot .... ('tis all very tragic) .... and Pappano does a jolly good job as does just about everybody involved.  Yeah ... relished and enjoyed.

Birthday Present

OK. So you may know that The Doll is a Sagittarian.
So yes, recently I did indeed have a birthday.
And I have to say that a kind admirer (he knows who he is) has sent me a DVD of La Traviata as wished for in the Diva Post (click here for reminder of that). And I would like to take this opportunity to say:

"Thank you indeed, kind Sir, it will be duly watched - and I shall be munching violet creams whilst I do so."

Diva Diva Do

Cos I been playing Verdi's "Macbeth" quite a bit recently (see Fry-ups and Nectarines post), I decided to see if I could get hold of a DVD of the film version that The Old Man and me saw ... back in the late 1980s.

And when I say we saw the film. What we actually saw was a preview screening. Back then, for a while, The Old Man was doing some review writing for a freebie magazine run by friends. No pay. Just the perks of the shows and stuff that he got to see and write about.

So off we went to a West End cinema on some rainy morning to see this version of "Macbeth"; a film by Claude d'Anna, and starring Leo Nucci as Macbeth and Shirley Verrett as the Lady herself.

We thought it was good.

It was dark and Gothic - with the Witches depicted as feral young girls. Set in a perpetually gloomy landscape with interiors filmed in a 10th century fortified castle. We lapped it up.

Naturally, it did not get a British release.

But the DVD is available. And it came in the post yesterday, courtesy of my online classical emporium of choice "Crotchet".

Loverly.

And I notice that in the booklet there is a promo picturefor a DVD of "La Traviata" - with Teresa Stratas and Domingo in a Zefirelli cinema production. Orchestra of the Met conducted by James Levine. Mmmmn. I'd like to see that. I used to like Teresa Stratas. I'd forgotten ....

Anyway. Gotta go now. Downstairs I can hear The Old Man joining in with Callas and Gobbi who are singing on a 1953 recording of "Lucia di Lammermoor". It's all very operatic here at the moment, you know. But I guess I gotta do something about supper.

Fry-ups and White Nectarines

It's Sunday and GreyDoll is celebratin' her two mile walk to get a paper for The Old Man. With a fry-up.
In her cheap, but very well-behaved paella pan from the cookware shop up Causeway Head in Penzance, she makes a luverly brew for herself.
Olive oil heatin', farm shop tomato, slices of smoked tofu, and finally - an egg. With slices of toast, away GreyDoll goes.
Old Man looks on enviously.

"Can I have one of those?"
"Sure can."

He gets tomato, a fat green chilli cut in half and seeds emptied, an egg, fried bread, and baked beans.
Hey. Nobody said his arteries are clogged. He's got whistle clean arteries. The fuel lines are lovely. It was just the engine valve was crap.

All this is consumed to volume-up Verdi. Macbeth, no less.

Meanwhile - suppertime pudding is planned. A crumble made with white-fleshed nectarines - grown over in West Penwith and bought at Farmer Tim's.

Yum Yum again.   
(Edit: It WAS Yum Yum. But changed the fruit to peaches grown at the same place. And ground almonds in that crumble mix .... )

A day for feasting and being thankful for local people growing and selling good food.