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| It's sad to me that I'm getting over my first opera singer crushes. Natalie Dessay was the first soprano I listened to extensively. I have her recording of French opera arias--two of them, actually--plus a few Mozart arias. And the production of Manon I saw last night was incredible, but I was more impressed by her acting than by her singing. It felt pushed, and it didn't look effortless sometimes, especially in "Je marche sur tous les chemins." I know it's hard, but she threw her whole body into it in a way that looked kind of painful from where I was sitting. She did have amazing chemistry with Jonas Kaufmann (Alan Darling says he'd like to spread Kaufmann on a cracker...I'm inclined to agree), and her transition from an innocent young girl (people kept picking her up! It was so cute!) into a mature, self-aware beauty was really seamless. But the voice sounds so young, and it's not much to listen to in the middle. Her "Adieu" was very exciting dramatically, but I couldn't have cared less about the singing. Plus she chain smokes and has nodes removed every year. My bubble is totally burst. I was surprised at how much I liked the character of Lescaut. He reminds me of a sort of male Musetta. Musetta cheats on Marcello, she's flirtatious and selfish and plays with his feelings like they're nothing...but then she sells her earrings to help Mimi. Lescaut is, of course, a bit more nefarious than Musetta, with the gambling and the drinking and wanting his young cousin for himself. But at the end, when Manon is about to be shipped to America, he bribes the guard and takes him to get a drink (or something, not really clear) so that Des Grieux can see Manon one last time. It didn't hurt that his voice was a gorgeous baritone, and he was a lot younger than I'd pictured the character when I read the libretto. I also love "Épouse quelque brave fille." I think most people find it boring (including all the people I was talking to at intermission), but I think it's magnificent--and so does the guy who played Des Grieux the elder. But I'm so over Natalie Dessay as far as sheer vocalism goes. And Manon should end after Act III, because there's no exciting music after that. :) ~Anne | ||||||
comments: glitter and be gay     |
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