Today at the Marinsky Gala Anna Netrebko Displayed her Verdi skills in Lady Macbeth's first aria. The Aria was recorded in her latest Album and she take on the role next year. Olga Borodina, Placido Domingo, Rene Pape, and Alexy Markov also performed under the direction of Valery Gergiev.
Showing posts with label Alexy Markov. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alexy Markov. Show all posts
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Faust Preview 2012-2013 Season
Des McAnuff's incomprehensible production returns to the Met starring Piotr Beczala and Marina Poplavskaya.
The Production
Last year the Met unveiled The English National Opera's production of Faust replacing Andrei Serban's visually lavish production of Faust. Gelb's reason for replacing a production that had only been shown 13 times was because he wanted a more theatrical Faust. However what he got was an incomprehensible and confusing production. Rather than pleasing the audience with a dazzling, energetic and colorful take on the simple love story, Gelb bored audiences and critics alike. The production which takes place during World War 2 in Faust's laboratory has interesting and diverting sequences as well as interesting lighting effects. However when McAnuff is forced to work with the heavy material, he runs out of ideas and relies on the singers to engage the audience. As an audience member it did not matter how beautiful the singers were singing because I was confused and uninterested by the action. Critics were also not impressed by the work. They stated that "there was something about an atomic bomb, and Faust being a middle aged man with a mid life crisis who actually DRINKS the poison and then suddenly has a flashback because he returns to that moment where he drank the poison and dies as the final curtain comes down. Confused? So was I. McAnuff mentioned a flashback sequence, but only confusion arises from this: in a flashback, someone goes back to their youth, which Faust promptly does after Mephistopheles gives him the potion. However, Faust does not immediately turn young when he drinks the poison. He remains old, and invokes the devil to make him young again and the story proceeds as it normally does. It could have been interpreted that he flashed back when the devil showed up except McAnuff shoots this interpretation in the foot the moment Faust returns to the moment when he drank the poison the first time at the end of the performance." Critics also questioned many aspects of the production including where Marguerite goes when she dies, Where are those stairs leading her to at the end, Is there a heaven in a universe where Science has presumably become/ destroyed God, and why is the Atomic Bomb concept abandoned after the Walpurgis Night Scene and make no impact on the opera's final scene. The point is the production was unclear and unfocused. Gelb's decision left me never wanting to see another Faust until this production is removed forever from the Met.
The Production
Last year the Met unveiled The English National Opera's production of Faust replacing Andrei Serban's visually lavish production of Faust. Gelb's reason for replacing a production that had only been shown 13 times was because he wanted a more theatrical Faust. However what he got was an incomprehensible and confusing production. Rather than pleasing the audience with a dazzling, energetic and colorful take on the simple love story, Gelb bored audiences and critics alike. The production which takes place during World War 2 in Faust's laboratory has interesting and diverting sequences as well as interesting lighting effects. However when McAnuff is forced to work with the heavy material, he runs out of ideas and relies on the singers to engage the audience. As an audience member it did not matter how beautiful the singers were singing because I was confused and uninterested by the action. Critics were also not impressed by the work. They stated that "there was something about an atomic bomb, and Faust being a middle aged man with a mid life crisis who actually DRINKS the poison and then suddenly has a flashback because he returns to that moment where he drank the poison and dies as the final curtain comes down. Confused? So was I. McAnuff mentioned a flashback sequence, but only confusion arises from this: in a flashback, someone goes back to their youth, which Faust promptly does after Mephistopheles gives him the potion. However, Faust does not immediately turn young when he drinks the poison. He remains old, and invokes the devil to make him young again and the story proceeds as it normally does. It could have been interpreted that he flashed back when the devil showed up except McAnuff shoots this interpretation in the foot the moment Faust returns to the moment when he drank the poison the first time at the end of the performance." Critics also questioned many aspects of the production including where Marguerite goes when she dies, Where are those stairs leading her to at the end, Is there a heaven in a universe where Science has presumably become/ destroyed God, and why is the Atomic Bomb concept abandoned after the Walpurgis Night Scene and make no impact on the opera's final scene. The point is the production was unclear and unfocused. Gelb's decision left me never wanting to see another Faust until this production is removed forever from the Met.
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