Re: Romeo and Juliet at the Met

Thanks for this. I keep being afraid from all the people who see it that I
am going to enjoy her, but I'm sure I'll find something....


I am curious to hear it on Sirius if it comes across. I have tickets for
December with Matthew P, but may want to try one earlier with Alagna.

Best

"clem" <labine41@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1191168516.783614.93160@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We saw the opera last night. First of all, Anna Netrebko is worth
seeing, and I am not talking about her looks. She is an effective,
committed actress, with a great voice. This is not a favorite opera of
mine, but at this point I think I would attend ANY opera in which Ms.
Netrebko sang.

As Romeo, Alagna was effective, and much appreciated by the audience.
I have trouble with his constant scooping. (if that is the correct
term. I mean that he frequently glides into the correct note from
below. Sometimes the glide is so pronounced that it sounds like a
completely off-pitch tone preceding the correct one.) This deficiency
is all the more noticeable when contrasted with Ms Netrebko's
precision.

I read four reviews of the opera, which were generally favorable,
although Clive Barnes hated the production. So did I. The scenery
should enhance the opera, or at the very least, not interfere with
it. In this case, the heavy-handed symbolism was a distraction. When
the curtain opened on the fourth act, revealing a bed suspended in mid
air, as Romeo and Juliet cavorted amid the stars, many in the audience
applauded. I laughed out loud. Later in the act, Juliet gazes
longingly at the bed, as it rises up into the rafters. This sort of
thing might work in Magic Flute, but Romeo and Juliet is not that kind
of fantasy.

The first act is supposed to take place at a party - a ball -. It was
almost entirely static. Behind the stage throughout the opera is a
spherical opening - it opens and closes from time to time - to reveal
the Sun during a total eclipse, an enlargement of the top quarter of
the moon, nebulas, galaxies... The construction of the stage was such
that it is amazing that the performers could sing through their fear
of falling off of it.

We thought that John Han*** was excellent as Capulet, as was Isabel
Leonard as Stephano. Split decision on Stephane Degout as Mercutio. My
wife Marie liked him very much; I find his voice lacking some of the
heft that I like to hear in a baritone.

Picking another nit - the knife fight between Tybalt and Mercutio was
oddly staged. Romeo watched from the wings. Thus when Mercutio asks
"Why did you interfere?" the line does not make sense.

One other source of annoyance for me (and I have never heard from
anyone else who feels this way) is the French language, as sung. While
English, German and Italian are all sung pretty much as spoken, the
French add an extra unaccented syllable to many words.
(eg "Je t'aime" becomes "Je t'aime-uh" "Parlez-moi de ma mere-
uh...")

A bientot...

Paul



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