http://www.zeitschichten.com/2009/02/22/the-operatic-canon-forgotten-chestnuts-and-poisoned-violets/ A web magazine about music, history and the politics of culture Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:42:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.zeitschichten.com/2009/02/22/the-operatic-canon-forgotten-chestnuts-and-poisoned-violets/comment-page-1/#comment-13852 Zoë Lang Wed, 13 May 2009 07:27:30 +0000 http://www.zeitschichten.com/?p=777#comment-13852 Hi Robert, thanks for your comment. Actually, it came at a great time because just last night I went to see Tosca at the Vienna State Opera, and was reminded of why some of these chestnuts do stay popular. I should hope that part of why anyone goes to hear the opera (instead of simply listening to recordings) is for the experience of hearing great performances, and the tenor last night, Jonas Kaufmann, sang the role of Cavaradossi superbly. His 'È lucevan le stelle' was delivered with confidence and strength, showcasing a truly wonderful voice. I certainly agree with you that we have more options that ever for opera in today's world. However, for those of us who (normally) do not have access to more established companies, the seemingly endless Puccini parade gets old. I was a bit disappointed with the Met Opera Broadcast offerings for next season, which seem to be much of the same, despite the fact that the company is presenting several of the less ossified works. Hi Robert, thanks for your comment. Actually, it came at a great time because just last night I went to see Tosca at the Vienna State Opera, and was reminded of why some of these chestnuts do stay popular. I should hope that part of why anyone goes to hear the opera (instead of simply listening to recordings) is for the experience of hearing great performances, and the tenor last night, Jonas Kaufmann, sang the role of Cavaradossi superbly. His ‘È lucevan le stelle’ was delivered with confidence and strength, showcasing a truly wonderful voice.
I certainly agree with you that we have more options that ever for opera in today’s world. However, for those of us who (normally) do not have access to more established companies, the seemingly endless Puccini parade gets old. I was a bit disappointed with the Met Opera Broadcast offerings for next season, which seem to be much of the same, despite the fact that the company is presenting several of the less ossified works.

]]> http://www.zeitschichten.com/2009/02/22/the-operatic-canon-forgotten-chestnuts-and-poisoned-violets/comment-page-1/#comment-13828 Robert Berger Tue, 12 May 2009 22:23:23 +0000 http://www.zeitschichten.com/?p=777#comment-13828 Interesting comments. Despite the lasting popularity of certain operas by Verdi and Puccini etc, the operatic repertoire today is in fact more diverse than ever before in the four centuries old history of this great art form. We can everything from operas by Monteverdi, Handel,Rameau,Gluck and mozart as well as ones by Philip Glass,John Adams, John Corigliano,Kaaia Saariaho, William Bolcom and other contemporary composers. 50 years ago, you had little if any chance of ever seeing operas by Janacek,Dvorak, Schreker,Zemlinsky, Szymanowski,Dukas,Chausson, Berlioz, Braunfels, Chabrier, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other composers who have written notable but long neglected operas. Today you CAN, despite the lasting popularity of Puccini. The operatic repertoire, far from being in any way ossified, is in fact in constant flux. Interesting comments. Despite the lasting popularity of certain operas by Verdi and Puccini etc, the operatic repertoire today is in fact more diverse than ever before in the four centuries old history of this great art form.
We can everything from operas by Monteverdi, Handel,Rameau,Gluck and mozart as well as ones by Philip Glass,John Adams, John Corigliano,Kaaia Saariaho, William Bolcom and other contemporary composers.
50 years ago, you had little if any chance of ever seeing operas by Janacek,Dvorak, Schreker,Zemlinsky,
Szymanowski,Dukas,Chausson, Berlioz, Braunfels, Chabrier, Prokofiev, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other composers who have written notable but long neglected operas.
Today you CAN, despite the
lasting popularity of Puccini.
The operatic repertoire, far from being in any way ossified, is in fact in constant flux.

]]>