Shopping in Auckland

Very odd visit(s) to Marbecks Classical this weekend. Since I was there in April the shop has halved in size - and it was already pretty packed. There's a strange smell in one corner, over near the Handel and Haydn. Their fabulous selection of opera on DVD is arranged not by composer but by title, which makes for a slightly odd browsing experience. Though I suppose that's the way movie DVDs are laid out, so it makes some sort of sense. Sort of. The music playing in store when I arrived was Christmas carols arranged for harp, blasting out of the speakers at incredibly high volume - and though no doubt the harpist was some fabulous virtuosic genius, it was still a little too 'Best of Relaxing Classics' for me and didn't put me in a particularly good mood. When that ended it was followed by near silence, something orchestral too soft to make out. And is the free bag of designer coffee they're giving away with Sandrine Piau's Opera Seria CD the reason it's number one on the Concert FM charts? I think it probably is.

And here as elsewhere, Felicity Lott Torments Me. Have I mentioned this before? I'm being followed by Felicity Lott. Or possibly, I am (against my will) following Felicity Lott. As I go my merry Yvonne Kenny obsessed way, I constantly find Felicity where Yvonne should be. Wearing her Marschallin costumes. Recording roles Yvonne has only sung on stage. They were even one after the other on the Askonas Holt sopranos list until Anna May Leese came between them. So browsing through the Naxos collection (which seems rather inordinately large given the size of the shop) I spotted a CD of William Walton songs. Dare I look? though I. Those Walton songs may just be the best thing Yvonne has ever recorded, can I bear even to see the name of another singer associated with them? But I had to look - and sure enough, 'Soprano: Felicity Lott'. I almost laughed out loud. I didn't buy it. However when I returned on Saturday (after the previous day's purchases I only needed one more Beethoven stamp on my loyalty card, so figured it was worth having another look around) it occured to me that I wanted to get my hands on a recording or two of La Voix Humaine in order to familiarise myself with it somewhat before seeing it in Melbourne in December. Naturally Marbecks only held one recording of it. Naturally it was Felicity Lott's. This I did buy. After all, the reviews for it are fabulous - and at least in this case, I'll hear Felicity and then Yvonne. I think we can guess which one will be the definitive 'Elle' of my lifetime. Though speaking of the definitive 'Elle' - I wouldn't mind owning Denise Duval's recording of it either.

Real Groovy's classical section, on the other hand, offered me nothing. 50 million secondhand copies of Aled Jones' CD Higher. And Haunted Heart which I do not want. Why did Renée's prettiest cover photo ever have to be on her jazz CD?

But in the end I'm a happy and somewhat poorer person, and now the proud owner of the following:

Medea in Corinto. Oh, I paid much too much for this opera. Or, alternatively, I paid a civilised amount for the opera, and an extra $37.95 for the photo in the liner notes of the soprano singing Creusa. And when I go now and listen to it, it will of course be worth every extravagant cent.
The Marriage of Figaro. Yes, in English. I'm not quite sure how I'll ever make myself listen to Act One though - with my darling Yvonne singing the Countess, I'll quite happily let things begin with 'Porgi amor'. Such a heathen.
Die Zauberflöte. Gorgeous red cover + bargain price = worthwhile purchase. And then there's my beloved William Christie conducting, and chère Mlle Dessay singing the Königin. Irresistible.
Anna Moffo - Arias. AKA The Beige Album. I spent many months head over heels in love with Anna and yet somehow in all that time acquired only three CDs, only one of which was a solo disc. But I have this now. And it was free! Thankyou loyalty card.
Sara Mingardo - Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel. And despite the title, many other composers too. I've only heard a little of it so far but I can tell she's my kind of girl.
And as I said, Poulenc's La Voix Humaine with the Ubiquitous Lott. Also includes La Dame de Monte-Carlo, a short monologue, once again with text by Cocteau.

Comments

[Barbara]

Yeah. What is it with this Felicity Lott thing anyway? She doesn't really happen for me.

[Patrick]

I love Felicity Lott and if you asked Yvonne who her influences are I bet Dame Felicity's name would come up. She has always struck me as a 'singer's singer'. And unlike many great singers she can also do justice to the French rep. I discovered her through a wonderful album of songs with words by Victor Hugo. She also has a special knack for duets which makes for a most delicious Cosi.

[Rozzie]

Sarah: have been very wrapped up in Vic Uni's production, and have been suffering heavy withdrawal symptoms now it's all finito. My computer’s also been in at Hans Sachs' shop for repairs. The other day the esteemed Herr Direktor gave what I'm sure was a fascinating seminar on life in a German opera house, which unfortunately I was unable to attend.

But to the matter at hand. Well... the Oz production was a pretty standard (if not a little pedestrian) stab at things, in my opinion. Now I'm not saying a measured take on Mozart is necessarily a bad thing; I think an ounce of prevention is often the best approach to these things. I can't bear post-modern retellings that try to insinuate something subequatorial into every phrase and offhand remark, every nuance of the music. Mozart seems to always grab the short straw when it comes to this kind of direction, possibly because many directors like to draw on the all too believably human aspects of his characters and themes. In general, I like to encounter a production that is innovative in all the right places and offers me a unique view, but still maintains the integrity of the composer and their intentions. Some of the most effective productions are those that get out of the way and let the music communicate, and sometimes, though not always, this can mean very simple or traditional, or stark-looking, staging, stripping things back to their bare bones, so as not to detract but merely enhance the heart of the work.
There is nothing wrong with innovative and effective, yet simple, staging. If the performances themselves have conservative leanings, things can start to become problematic. Let me make myself clear on this point. By no means do I think that performances should be overtly “stagy:” I define conservative acting as that which is not committed enough to make an unflinching connection with the audience. This was a quibble I had with NZ Opera's "Giovanni," and it came to the fore in this production too.

This "Flute" looked a little dated, unsurprising as it was a child of the '80s (oh, they had designers then!)When a mulleted Tamino stepped out onstage, I didn't hold out much hope for things aesthetically improving. But, as I'm sure you're aware by seeing many actors stuck in bad productions, good performances can redeem pretty much anything, even hair crimes. So I waited. And the Tamino wasn't that bad. Really. But the whole thing felt a little...stiff. Most certainly, I was missing the German language. It didn’t really bother me too much that the Papageno bore a striking resemblance to the crocodile hunter circa 1993. And it wasn't that anyone wasn't acting in a dramatic sense, but that was the problem; it felt too acted, too distanced, not real enough. I know there are arguments about and preferences for emblematic vs. realistic acting, especially in the static form of opera, but I personally feel that this “lack of connection” between performer and audience, still unsettlingly prevalent in opera productions, is yet another obstacle to overcome in the battle for the art form to remain relevant to many. Of course, a recorded performance is completely different from what a live audience would be experiencing. I had a discussion once which illustrates my point, where a cast member in an opera production made the comment about another cast member: "her acting looks really good from the audience."
Afraid I have to say that although Yvonne Kenny was vocally very much on top of things, to me at this stage in her obviously young career her artistry was still developing, meaning her holistic approach to the art form... but I'm sure that you completely missed this when watching, Sarah, and I don't want to spoil her performance for you, so ignore me!!! Though I've yet to share your adoration, I realise you are far, far gone into the realms of diva worship and won't be returning anytime soon!

The Kath Battle/Met production looked beautiful but it did chuck everything in with the sink... as a result, it occasionally lost focus (it’s a bit like Giovanni in that way; it’s hard to stage it successfully, there’s so many directions you can take the work, so much thematic richness, you can either give all of them cursory attention or focus on two or three, so certain areas inevitably always fall short.) But the best Flute I experienced on video by a mile was a semi - staged production from 1995 for the Amsterdam festival, conducted by John Eliot Gardiner, with a largely Nordic/German cast. I returned the video without writing any details of who they were, and as they were largely not well known, I can’t recall names. But they just GOT this stuff. I found the only trio of ladies that I've actually warmed to so far, and the production also boasted the most spectacular Konigin of any I've encountered. It proved my point about the big M; staging be damned (though I liked the minimal approach here,) it's all in the performances, in getting inside the music, and in how involved, in a real way, the players are. The Pamina blew both my socks off; such an unaffected, natural performance, yet with the vital edge of a young woman experiencing her first real pain. The sublime expression of the nobility of the human spirit, “In diesen heil’gen Hallen,” was beautifully taken. The razor-sharp orchestra presented excellent teamwork, and Mozart specialist Gardiner kept things going along at a corking pace.
There is no doubt in my mind how much capacity this art form still has to evoke, to connect. In such wonders as Cecilia Bartoli, even the most blaze opera goer will be recharged by seeing the new things that can still come out of old art; finding things they never knew were there in the music before, experiencing the new life that’s been breathed into it - even music as well-loved and listened to as Mozart. We need more performers who can make music LIVE.

[Sarah]

Re: Felicity, just let me say, I have absolutely no issues with La Lott vocally. Not that I've heard a great deal of her, but what I have heard has been lovely. She turned up on Operadio the other night singing 'J'ai deux amants' and it was fabulous. It's just she keeps turning up where I want my darling girl to be instead.
And as for the Magic Flute - Rosel and I are almost entirely of one mind. More of that anon.