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• Yesterday I saw an adaptation to the stage of "The Graduate" (yes, the film with Dustin Hoffmann). This production became kind of notorious because of a scene when the actress playing Mrs. Robinson appears completely naked on stage. In the case of this production, this actress is Vera Fischer, who has achieve this rare phenomenon, which is looking better naked now than in her films in the 70's. Anyway, reviewers were unkind with the whole production, which is nonetheless interesting. The sceneries are beautiful and interesting and Miguel Falabella's direction is quick and funny. His adaptation (and also his direction) tend to highlight the funny and sexy aspects of the story. As a result, Mrs. Robinson's bitterness and world-weariness are played down and Benjamin's existential restlessness becomes really pale. Although the casting is interesting, key roles such as Benjamin and Elaine are given to beginners, who - promising as they are - skate a bit in the surface of the characters. Finally, as Mrs. Robinson, Vera Fischer didn't seem to be in a good day. I also think her approach relies entirely on her looks and seductiveness. I've happed the opportunity of seeing her some years ago in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - and she did a very good job. Not really so here. All in all, I still found it an entertaining and worth while the visit.

Finally, I'll be away on a trip for a while and won't post here until July 27th.

Friday, July 2nd 2004

• It is good to be in Rio - and in a season when there is so much to do! First of all, I had a theatre week-end - Eduardo de Filippo's Sabato, domenica, lunedì. It was the first play "for grown-ups" I have ever seen back in the 80's (with a legendary cast including the truly lamented Yara Amaral and Paulo Gracindo) in a new staging with the charming couple Nicete Bruno and Paulo Goulart and, on Sunday, Shakespeare's Winter Tale with a theatre group I like very much, which is the Atores de Laura - with an admirable Paulina performed by Suzana Kruger.

Today I went to the opera - Un Ballo in Maschera at the Theatro Municipal. I won't beat around the bush - it is the worst staging of an opera I have ever seen. Aderbal Freire-Filho's production is ugly, silly and barely functional. It is surprising to say that considering it has no sceneries (only red and black pannels and almost no props but some chairs). The idea of manning the stage with lots of people who have nothing to do with the plot but to look a bit lost and to bump into each other while they interfere with the good understanding of the libretto is laughable, the costumes are ugly and the actors' direction is complete nonsense. It would be really wonderful if those people who claim to "direct" opera houses finally could understand that they should leave opera staging to people who know how to do it. Watching two or three DVDs is no replacement for a lifetime experience. "Bumping into each other" is also the way I would describe the effect achieved by conductor Fabiano Monica. The level of mistakes, mismatches, erratic pitch, dull rhythms and uneventful orchestral tutti is simply unforgivable. As Amelia, Japanese soprano Eiko Senda gave a frustrating performance. Although she has a truly exciting top register - big rounded top notes and delicate piani involved - her middle register is over-smoky and her low register is so unfocused that she sounds like a retired countertenor down there. She sang with commitment and some imagination, but the voice is wrong for the role and she should give a second thought about her placement. As Oscar, Rita Cammarano offered a charming voice and technical comfort, but the volume is what the French call "confidential". Silvia Pasini's Ulrica has three voices - none of them quite accomplished, especially the coulourless middle register. She has some charisma and lots of energy, but that is not enough when a true dramatic mezzo is required. Sebastião Teixeira's Renato produces too much forced curdled tone for comfort. The most pleasant performance in the cast was tenor George Oniani's as Riccardo. He still needs a bit more stage experience - also in order to learn how to manage his resources (he tended to get pinched when things were happening too fast or too often and he could have a more flowing legato), but the tone is pleasant, natural and one could know somehow that his top register was going to work throughout the night without much ado. Considering the level of coughing during the performance, I believe the audience should be put in quarantine.

Monday, June 28th 2004

• More broadcasts: Emanuelle Haïm's Rodelinda from Glyndenbourne. Before I say anything on the performance, I must confess I find Rodelinda a tough assignment. I have always been eager to listen to the work conducted by someone like Minkowski or Jacobs - artists who have the power to infuse animation and theatricality in a work quite lacking that. As it is, Emanuelle Haïm has imagination and her phrasing is creative and poetic and she has a great band in the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Beautiful as it sounds, Rodelinda is not exactly the work for this charming and delicate approach. It certainly works marvelously in moments such as Dove sei?, but around act III you want an earthquake to happen in the orchestral pit to see if something _different_ happens. For example, Vivi Tiranno should boost act III in excitement, but the balletic sprightly conducting just drained it of any punch. You just need to listen to Roger Norrington in David Daniel's recital (with the OAE as well) to see how it should be. Glyndenbourne's cast certainly has distinguished performances. Against the expectations raised by her name, Emma Bell doesn't have a bell-like sound. Her plummy soprano is reminiscent of Jennifer Smith's, only more substantial. She is a really expressive singer really adept in soft singing, but tends to smear her coloratura. Although she was often moving, the singing itself was rarely lovely. It made me miss Sophie Daneman, whose non-expressive Rodelinda is still able to arouse some sympathy with her vulnerable seraphic sound. On the other hand, I couldn't be more happy on listening to a female alto in the part of Bertarido, which has suffered too much unheroic singing in the throats of countertenors who cannot help but sounding angelic. Mariana Mijanovic is really convincing as the wronged king Bertarido with her dark low register and energy. She had a brave stab at her two third-act arias, the difficulty of which sometimes made her sound more concerned than heroic. Jean Rigby was a bit unfocused, but aptly contrasting with Mijanovic's in her more feminine sound. The part of Unulfo was exquisitely sung by countertenor Matthew White, who only lacks stronger low notes. Timothy Robinson's voice is a bit unstable and whinny, but he succeeded in conveying Grimoaldo's nasty personality. Finally, Paul Gay was a bit dry-voiced as Garibaldo.

Wednesday, June 23rd 2004

• More reviews: C. Davis' Entführung aus dem Serail and Gardiner's Semele.

Tuesday, June 22nd 2004

• More broadcasts: Jacobs' Nozze di Figaro from Paris. It has been a pleasant surprise - although his orchestral sound still lacks strings and there is a certain vagueness in his phrasing (not in his tempi, which tends to be faithful to the stage action), it certainly has a more natural and pleasant sound than on his CDs from Harmonia Mundi. Annette Dasch's shimmery velvety non-aristocratic but kind-of sexy voice is certainly unusual for the Countess, but it works beautifully in Mozart. Rosemary Joshua is the kind of singer who is not contented to have an exquisite voice - she can still make it even more beautiful when she presses the "floating mezza voce" button. More than that: she is animated, stylish and intelligent (the only other Susanna who can really make something of the repeated "tua madre?" and "tuo padre?" in Riconosci in questo amplesso is Lucia Popp - and that is the highest compliment I can think of) - I really preferred her to Patrizia Ciofi. Angelika Kirchschlager sounded less glamourous live than on CD - her sound was also really feminine and the low notes could be more comfortable. Both Pietro Spagnoli and Luca Pisaroni excelled as master and servant with their solid full-toned idiomatic singing. The Barbarina, Paulette Courtin, is also praiseworthy - she and Jacobs offered a fresh and interesting L'ho perduta.

Monday, June 21st 2004

• A review of David Stern's recording of Semele has been added to the Handel page.

Sunday, June 20th 2004

• More broadcasts: this saturday live from Amsterdam Verdi's Don Carlo. First of all, Riccardo Chailly certainly know how to present a theatrical performance of this difficult opera - he successfully made an organic whole of the chiaroscuro of public and intimate scenes and offered a really powerful final act. I have often been bothered by the mood shifts in the soprano/tenor duet, but here it sounded simply perfect. The casting is certainly unusual and in many ways surprising. As Elisabetta, Amanda Roocroft offered a puzzling performance. My expectations were very low, because a regrettable Desdemona from Munich had already turned the red alert lights on. Here the voice sounds quite healthy - but this is a mezzo soprano voice all the way. In order to "survive" in the top register she resorts to a formidable amount of pressure and the result is a high percentage of tear in the voice. This serious blemish aside, her sound and temper are Italianate enough and she - miraculously, considering the difficult top notes - has accurate phrasing. In the last act, she even did some amazing things, such as some beautiful floated tones and and a truly exciting top note in the end of the opera. If my amazingly poor knowledge of Dutch language has not betrayed me, the broadcast host was telling that this was Violeta Urmana's farewell to the role of Eboli, since she is going to concentrate on the dramatic soprano repertoire. Her decision could be felt during the opera - one often thought that Roocroft was the deeper-toned female singer in the cast. As it is, she was very economical with chest register and the tone blossomed in the other end of the voice - her O don fatale was indeed uplifting. In the title role, Rolando Villazón is a kind of Domingo-lite, except when he resorts to mezza voce, when the tone is more Carreras-like. He does have a solid voice, a bit tight high up, but the sound has pleasant dark shades. He is less "elegant" live than in his recital disc, sometimes verging on lachrimosity, but has some charming moments and - at least in audio - seems to keep the dramatic tension on throughout the whole opera. A most pleasant surprise is Dwayne Croft's Rodrigo. Since I saw him live at the Met in... 1996 maybe... the voice, already beautiful then, has developed steady on. Considering the velvety sound, it must not be the most powerful Verdi baritone around, but few can compete with him in eveness and loveliness of tone. I never found Robert Lloyd's voice really noble (maybe I found that in Jordan's Parsifal, but that is the notable exception) and indeed it still is consistent with his reputation (it has its cavernous and less than firm moments), what is amazing considering the time he's been around. His big aria was sensitively done and he outshined Jaako Ryhänen's Inquisitore in their scene.

Saturday, June 20th 2004

• Today I could listen to a broadcast I've been anxiously waiting for: Rattle's Idomeneo in Berlin last year. I cannot say I am disappointed with Rattle - his tempi are fluent, he knows how to slow down for the arie d'affetto and plays some interesting effects. However, I often found his points exclusively musical and lacking dramatic consistence. O voto tremendo, for exemplo, beautifully done as it was, lacked a sense of public tragedy. Maybe Rattle wanted to make the Berliner Philharmoniker sound "lighter" to create a Mozartian impression, but - even then: there was not the apt impact of a big orchestra nor the nimble articulation of a smaller ensemble. Anyway, I don't want to sound snob - although not a ground-breaking Idomeneo, it certainly was a pleasant one. When it comes to cast, I have noticed how difficult it is to find the right singers for these roles these days. Christiane Oelze's floated tone and dramatic engagement are real assets for Ilia, but she lacks tone in the upper reaches and has some ungainly explosive attack moments. Her habit of transposing up phrases in the repeats of section A didn't sound entirely pleasant to my ears. As Elettra, Anne Schwanewilms does some remarkable things and some less than commendable ones. For a singer used to dramatic repertoire, her phrasing is impressively clean and well-sculpted. Curiously, when she has to scale down, the voice gets an attractively creamy sound (except in the extreme high notes, which sound often tense). In the most outspoken moments, she sounded out of sorts, edgy and unfocused. As it is, act II was the most favourable to her talents. Predictably, Magdalena Kozena stole the show with her bright-toned elegant Idamante, easy through the whole tessitura and phrasing arrestingly. Philip Langridge should not sing the part of Idomeneo anymore - the tone shows a huge wobble which disfigures his vocalization beyond salvation. If I have to single out any positive aspect of his performance, it must be recognized that he can more or less hit the right notes in the filigree of the longer version of Fuor del Mar, but the sound is far from agreable. He seems to have the same fondness for transposing up phrases in his repeats - and the results are even less sucessful than in Oelze's case. Peter Hoare displayed a weird open tone as Arbace. Now I'm listening to an Entführung aus dem Serail conducted by Andreas Delfs (with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra) in order to listen to Laura Aikin's Konstanze. It is still - by a fraction - on the heavy side for her, but she is truly an admirable artist and deals with the difficulties of her role without resorting to ugly sounds and beguiling our ears with her really exquisite voice (what a lovely mezza voce!). It is a pity she doesn't have a recording of this role, especially if we consider that no other soprano since Gruberová (the exception is Eva Mei) has dealt with the role with such assured musicianship and technical accomplishment.

Finally, today I saw Júlio Bressane's Filme de Amor. I won't comment on the film itself, since Bressane has kept faithful to his style (which seems to be extremely irritating to 95% of humankind - with his 70's agenda of "intellectual" dialogues with tons of quotations varying from Greek mythology to rock 'n' roll, never forgetting to épater la bourgeosie...). Anyway, the film deserves mention for Walter Carvalho's miraculous photography. His mastery both in b&w and in colours (some scenes are shown both ways - and it is amazing how beautifully he takes profit of each technique) is admirable and the poetic way with which he deals with some places in Rio which have often looked quite ugly to my eyes is truly impressive.

Wednesday, June 16th 2004.

• This week-end I could finally listen to the broadcast of Verdi's Trovatore from Paris. Although Sondra Radvanovsky's low register could be more developed, she has confirmed my first good impression - her Leonora is stylish and beautifully sung. As for Roberto Alagna's Manrico, yes, he gets the job done. Although the voice is a couple of sizes smaller than the role, the tone is puffed-up in a way that doesn't impare the natural actrativeness of the sound. Although one cannot judge from recordings, the forte top notes seem to lack the cutting edge for some more exposed passages. I have the impression Di quella pira had been transposed a whole tone down. If I am not mistaken, he got a nice ringing high b-flat, but tended to disappear when singing together with the choir. Stefano Antonnucci displayed a solid voice as the di Luna, but the tone was a bit wooden and he seemed to be in the tip of his toes in the most outspoken moments. Although Dolora Zajick's voice sounds a bit shrill these days, she is still the element of interest in the cast - her powerful voice, technical matery, stamina and charisma are all still there. I also have just listened to a tribute to Anna Moffo on RAI - highlights from a Sonnambula VAI has just released on video. In this performance, she is at her prime, singing beautifully, expressively... and with the most seductive of tones. Listening to her, I kind of understand what Renée Fleming tries to do, but fails. Moffo's tone has this inbuilt sexiness, which Fleming tries to produce but ends on doing charicature out of exaggeration and of bad taste. You just need to compare Moffo's lovely and unaffected Ah, non credea mirarti with Fleming's blowsy performance in her bel canto recital disc to see what I mean.

Sunday, June 13th 2004

• Just to say that a review of Yakov Kreizberg's Don Giovanni DVD from Glyndenbourne has been added to the Mozart page.

Friday, June 11th 2004

• Deborah Voigt's new recital of Wagner and Strauss opera scenes is a nice opportunity (at least for me) to reassess the artistry of this American soprano. While I never doubted her amazing vocal resources - a rich dramatic soprano of unusual ease from top to bottom of her (long) range, as I could witness live at the Metropolitan Opera House when she sang a splendid Sieglinde - she has often failed to please me in recordings. The voice sounded often too grainy and unvaried (I have just re-read my reviews at the Strauss page and the comment is invariably this) and it has been a while since her name has become a turn-off for me. However, her two new releases - Thielemann's Tristan and the EMI recital "Obsession" - has proved to be a fortunate evidence of her talent. The Wagner items reveal a valuable piece of casting for this composer's operas - I can't think of someone else today who can deal with this repertoire with such vocal nonchalance (probably Violeta Urmana). There is nothing forced or unnatural in her singing heavy repertoire. The voice is always full, round and creamy and seems to blossom in her glorious top register. Because of her vocal aisance, her phrasing is amazingly clear and pleasant. It is true that she still could display more imagination and fondness for tone colouring - and I hope experience will grant her that. In this recital, her Sieglinde is excellent - rich, warm and exciting. Her Isolde is far more concerned than in Thielemann's recording - more specific in her story-telling in the act I's narration and more sensuous in the Liebestod. Also, Natascha Petrinsky is a pleasant Brangäne. On the other hand, Dich teure Halle is a bit metallic compared to Levine's gala from the Metropolitan. The Strauss part of the recital is even more interesting (it also seems that the BRSO and Sir Richard Armstrong feel more comfortable with the Bavarian composer too). I have compared her Chrysothemis, Kaiserin and Ariadne with her former recordings with Sinopoli - and I have to say that Voigt has improved immensely. While she sounded often dull and lacklustre with Sinopoli, here she sings with a lighter, more concentrated and brighter tone, which grant her a youthfulness and grace she didn't display before. Her phrasing is far more spontaneous and delicate and - while she still could be more expressive - now I can hear the voice of a rich big lyric Straussian soprano. All the excerpts are beautifully sung, especially Salome's closing scene, which unites the virtues of power and creaminess very few other sopranos display in this difficult passage. Considering what I hear in this recital, Deborah Voigt is in her absolute prime - I hope she will keep up with the good work.

A review of Thielemann's Tristan und Isolde from Vienna has been added to the Wagner page.

Thursday, June 10th 2004

• Elephant is certainly the best film ever directed by Gus van Sant. He has always had a stylized approach to cinematography - and the result has often been artifficiality. Here he seems to delve into the most classic and pure sense of beauty. The opening credits are already an example of perfect design - from the font to the perfect balance of lines and colours of the eletric pole against the sky. This Antonioni-like composition of settings where the characters are inserted (and even seem to take second place), the documentary-like camera, the perfect sound engineering and the extremely believable cast - not to mention the best usage of Beethoven's Pour Elise ever - all this make Elephant a thorough work of art. But all that would be superficial if van Sant had not found this understanding view of the bloodshed. It is almost as if we saw the characters through the eyes of God - all of them - victims and killers - are shown as innocents (angelic looks abound in the cast). As much as Antonioni's L'Avventura had an oppresive and beautiful Italian landscape in order to represent human solitude and insignificance before an incomprehensible fate, Van Sant has the clinical orderliness of the school's architecture denying the kaleidoscope of miseries in those young lives.

BBC has broadcast - live from the Covent Garden - today what could be thought of as the most glamourous Arabella around these days: Karita Mattila in the title role, Barbara Bonney as Zdenka and Thomas Hampson as Mandryka. However, glamour would be the most unlikely word to come to my mind once the function was over. Dohnány presided over a workaday performance - certainly clear, but lacking in forward movement, Schwung and... in lack of a better word, magic. This certainly has been the fault with the cast too. Despite a basically seductive voice, Karita Mattila no longer has the aristocratic poise the role requires. She took most of the first act to warm, but even then a bit more brightness and naturalness would be most welcome. She had to work hard for floating tones, the exposed top notes had a hint of breathiness and the low register is handled with some awkwardness. It is true that the low end of Arabella's tessitura has been a bother to most sopranos (probably only Lucia Popp excelled in this aspect) - but most of them, such as Lisa della Casa, Kiri Te Kanawa and Felicity Lott have offered more alluring ways of dealing with it. Anyway, I am sure in the theatre the sheer power of Mattila's soprano may have been a nice stand-in for the aura of sophistication which the role so requires. Despite a congenial voice and personality, Barbara Bonney is also rather miscast as Zdenka. The role requires the kind of naturally projecting top register she never had (one just have to think of Helen Donath or Hilde Güden to understand what I mean). The result is that much of what is above the stave is unfocused. Thomas Hampson's Mandryka is made on the example of Fischer-Dieskau's - a certain sophistication evoked by his high-placed baritone and the Lieder-singer approach in the less exposed passages. However, Hampson lacks the power and firmness the young F-D had (I'm talking about Keilberth's recording) and sounds strained too often. Finally, the Covent Garden orchestra didn't seem to be really at ease in this score - there were many unpolished passages and the sound lacked homogeneity.

Saturday, June 5th 2004

• While waiting for the broadcast of Handel's Semele by Minkowski, I had the luck of listening to the first act of Glyndenbourne's Magic Flute (unfortunately not to the entrance of Sarastro). I can't wait for another broadcast to listen the rest of the compelling performance. Jurowski's conducting unites the apparently paradoxical solemn and light character of Mozart's Singspiel. The orchestral sound is rich yet absolutely transparent and speed takes second place to expressive phrasing to beautiful effects. Lisa Milne rich bright soprano is taylor-made for Pamina. Cornelia Götz is light-voiced for the Queen of the Night, but compensates the unfocused moments with expressive musicianly phrasing and truly impressive coloratura. Pavlo Breslik has the lyric tenor with heroic possibilities for the role and phrases arrestingly. Despite a less than ingratiating voice, Jonathan Lemalu is a rich-tone amiable Papageno. This is probably the best performance by this young baritone I have heard.

When I've read on the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées that they would stage Semele, one of my favourite operas, with Mark Minkowski on the podium, I was really sad I could not see it. The opera has been lucky on stages in recent years - I would point out William Christie's performances in Paris with Rosemary Joshua and Rockwell Blake and René Jacobs' in Berlin with Janet Williams in the title role. Minkowski is certainly one of the very best conductors in Handelian repertoire and I was curious to see this English opera performed with a French touch. He certainly has not disappointed me - and it was exciting to hear Handel's recitativi accompagnati sounding like Rameau. The Musiciens du Louvre were in great shape as always and the choir deserves special mention, since not only were they performing in English but also taking part in the dramatic action. Annick Massis offered a puzzling performance in the leading role. Her voice has a childlike tone, a modest low register and little carrying power (even in the high notes). She also has a very economic expressive range - and a weird habit of reaching isolated top notes through a yodeling-like scoop. In the end, the performance sounded austere and uninvolved. And seduction is the vital part of this role. Of course, she does have coloratura and is capable of true pure tone. It must be singled out that her rendition of Oh, sleep, why dost thou leave me? was extremely touching and sensuous. In the small role of Iris, the sparkling Claron McFadden only served to show what was missing in the French soprano's performance. As Ino, Charlotte Hellekant brought a rather more imposing tone, although her voice didn't seem flexible enough for her role. As Juno, Sarah Conolly had far more impressive resources, such as true coloratura, a positive low register and lots of charisma. The role requires a more substantial voice, though. Countertenor Stephen Wallace lacked tone, but pulled out a decent performance as Athamas. David Pittsinger offered a thoroughly satisfying performance in the roles of Cadmus. However, the shining feature of the performance is Richard Croft's superlative performance as Jove. This is a singer whom I've admired from the very first second (when he provided Elvino's line in the final aria of Bellini's La Sonnambula in a Kathleen Battle bel canto recital) and he never ever let me down. I am glad a singer of that level of accomplishment could find a "safe harbour" in the appreciation of a conductor of the level of Mark Minkowski. The final question is - should Minkowski record Semele? Especially if we have in mind that John Nelson's recording has reached legendary status with fabulous performances all round from a dream-team cast. Considering that Gardiner recording is quite tame, a new recording with period instruments would be welcome. However, a different cast, with the exception of Croft and Pittsinger, should be found. A more characterful and seductive singer, preferably native speaker, should be found for the title role, such as Rosemary Joshua or an old Minkowski's collaborator such as the exquisite-toned Nicole Heaston. I know Miah Persson is not English, but she also has the right voice for the role. A Bernarda Fink or a Hillary Summers should be performing the part of Ino and a true contralto, such as Alice Coote, should sing Juno.

A review of Mehta's Trovatore with Antonella Banaudi has been added to the Verdi page.

Saturday, May 29th 2004

• Robert Altman's The Company is a puzzling film. I am a completely ignorant about the art of dance and only with a little help of my friend Ivan I am now able to follow a whole ballet and understand more or less what is going on. I say this because I wonder if someone other than ballet aficionados can actually like this movie. Of course Altman is a genius and the amazing new perspectives on filming dance he presents there are worth while seeing. The opening number and the pas de deux on My Funny Valentine (btw, the song appears zillions of times during the film until they make sure you're really sick of it) are really nice, but why haven't they just made a documentary on the Joffrey Ballet Company? The fictional plot involving Neve Campbell and James Franco is entirely banal and adds nothing to do the understanding of the ballet scenes. More serious than that: even an ignoramus about dance such as I am is able to realize that some of the numbers are of poor taste, such as the final dance, with dancers dressed as coconut trees and monkeys being swallowed by a freaky giant head.

Sunday, May 23rd 2004

• Diarios de Motocicleta is so far Walter Salles' best film. I often find the Brazilian director demonstrative and too eager to muse the eyes with fancy fotography and the heart with touching stories. Here he tells the non-eventful but captivating story without resorting to tricks - experiencing the magnificence of South America's landscape and the disarming open-heartedness of South American people is the very raison d'être of this film. This is a film about something to happen after the words "the end" appear on the big screen.

Today I intended to listen to the broadcast of Idomeneo from Teatro San Carlo in Naples, but in the end of act I, I really didn't feel like going on. Although the Neapolitan orchestra has proved to live up to the standards of great repertoire, as in Richard Strauss's Capriccio, Mozart seems a bit out of the scope - and the choir was simply at a loss trying to be a tempo. The soloists were also mainly disappointing. Angeles Gullin was fluttery and sour as Ilia and Iano Tamar was completely miscast in a role unfit for her range, placement and style. Sonia Ganassi didn't seem to be in a good day - the tone too nervous for Mozart - but she is a truly creative artist with many resources hidden under her sleeve. I was eager to hear Kurt Streit as Idomeneo, but I had some trouble to recognise his voice - it sounded heavy and unflexible. I really don't know if he (and the rest of the cast) warmed to the rest of the opera - I hope they did - but I really preferred to listen to something else. The next idea was a broadcast from Florence - a Nozze di Figaro with Mehta from 2003. I like his recording on Sony, but this broadcast seriously lacked forward movement. Lucio Gallo was a superb Count, even better than in studio, but Eteri Gvazava was uncharming as the Countess and - vivacious as she is - I really want Patrizia Ciofi to sound as she did in Pidò's Lucia di Lammermoor. The singer who recorded Susanna for Jacobs and Blondchen for Mehta is ok, but the one who sang that Lucia had one of the loveliest and seductive voices I have ever heard. After fifteen minutes, I fortunately shifted to a broadcast from Vienna - Verdi's Attila with impressive performances from Julia Varady, Vladimir Chernov and Carlo Colombara plus rich orchestral sound. We were also treated with a large except of Trovatore, act III, and I guess I NEED to buy Sinopoli's recording. Sinopoli leads a Mozartian performance - rhythmically alive, flowing and elegant helped by the Bayerische Staatsorchester's clean sounds and natural recording by Orfeo. Julia Varady is a superlative Leonora, sculpting her lines in the classical manner, displaying authoritative technique even in the trickiest passages and making her character a believable passionate human being. I didn't hear much of Brendel, but the duet, and he seemed to be in rich (and exquisite) voice.

The June issue of Gramophone magazine had one surprise for me - Karina Gauvin. What a lovely voice! Best than that: used with utter musicianship and naturalness. Boulez's new disc of music by Debussy and Ravel also seems to be impressive - Anne Sofie von Otter is stunning in the excerpt of Shéhérazade.

Saturday, May 22nd 2004

• Sometimes you have to keep your expectations low in order to experience some things, but you still can get disappointed. As my friend Isabela said, Wolfgang Petersen's Troy is an example of how to take one of the greatest stories of humankind and transform it in the worst film ever made. I won't waste your time saying how Homer's original ideas have been replaced by sheer idiocy - everybody but guys at big studios know that. The film is so kitsch that it is difficult to single out problems - the abuse of computer effects (don't these people see Italian historical movies?!), the AAAAAAAWFUL soundtrack, the oligophrenic dialogues and, of course, bradpittorlandobloometcetc... Worst of all was to see Helen of Troy pictured as a blond bimbo of good heart who also babysitts for Andromaca. OK, she's cute, but I guess a Catherine Zeta-Jones would be necessary for us to BELIEVE in the whole thing...

An interesting experience was Monique Gardenberg's staging of Robert Lepage's The Seven Streams of the River Ota. I like the fact that the play takes 5 hours to be performed - and there are so many things happening that one hardly feels the time pass, but I cannot say that this play showed any new light about post-war situation. OK, war is bad and makes people suffer. We knew that before the play. The booklet says the idea is to show how Hiroshima is a place where people can see their own devastation etc, but - at least for me - this only appears in a very distant way, while the play concentrates on daily life events, such as family reunion, the death of an HIV-infected brother etc. Weirdest of all - the text shines in the funny episodes, such as the crazy landlady in New York and her junky tenants or the marvellous ego clash between an actress and the Canadian ambassador's wife after a performance of a play by Feydeau in Tokyo. Maybe if characters had been more deeply built (some Japanese characters seemed really unrealistic, for example), the dramatic scenes would be more than shallow interludes between funny and entertaining scenes. Although the direction allows some overacting now and then, the cast has some nice performances from Caco Ciocler, Maria Luísa Mendonça, Giulia Gam (maybe her best work on theatre) and, above all, the hilarious Beth Goulart. The staging is also very creative and has beautiful sceneries (although some of them take too much time to be changed).

Saturday, I could also listen to act I from La Clemenza di Tito staged in Copenhagen. It seems it hasn't been staged there for more than 100 years. Conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen did a splendid job, displaying rhythmic vitality, stylishness and animation. The Concerto Copenhagen has also splendid strings. The cast was merely functional and the conductor was kind enough to help them in the trickiest passages.

Finally, a review of Zagrosek's Ring from Stuttgart has been added to the Wagner page.

Sunday, May 16th 2004

• Just to say I've retouched both the Vier Letzte Lieder and the Mozart Concert Aria discographies on including comments on Ackermann recording with Schwarzkopf of the former and Natalie Dessay recording with Thomas Guschlbauer of the latter.

Thursday, May 13th 2004

• Yesterday I could listen to the broadcast of Fidelio from Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. I wasn't impressed by the event. Maazel's conducting was indeed apt, but the orchestra and - above all - the choir were not up to the task. The soloists were acceptable. Gabriele Maria Ronge is a serviceable dramatic soprano - the tone gets too vibrant sometimes and the top notes have a bit of shrillness - but she was amazingly in control of the situation. Best of all is tenor Stuart Skelton. Although the voice has its extent of artifficiality (a usual malpractice in the Heldentenor repertoire), it retains its brightness in top notes and scales down for flexibility when necessary. A name to have in mind.
Similarly, Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja is someone who stands out of the crowds. On Gramophone Magazine CD (May 2004), he offers a surpassing account of the Lamento di Federico from Cilea's L'Arlesiana. He sings it with such freshness, care for the text, dynamic variety and tone colouring - it is the most Schubertian account of a Verismo aria I have ever heard. The voice is beautiful, plangent, a bit old-fashioned in its "heady" top register - only a bit on the light side for this repertoire. Forte top notes are a bit tense, but the tone is so pleasant that one readily overlooks that. Of course, this judgment is made on one aria - and I'm looking forward to hear more from him. Chailly's conducting is also exquisite - this might be a nice "birthday gift" for someone who likes Italian opera... :-) Also on the Gramophone CD, Magdalena Kozena - a precious artist of impressive vocal resources, musicianship and good taste - offers a haunting account of Respighi's Il Tramonto (unfortunatley, just an excerpt). The repertoire of her disc is not necessarily my favourite, but this sampler really made me feel like investigating the rest of the disc.

Finally, I have retouched the discography of Mozart's Idomeneo. Although there are a great deal many good recordings - there is still space for more! My dream recording would feature Dorothea Röschmann as Ilia, Carmela Remigio as Elettra, Magdalena Kozena as Idamante. The conductor could be either Abbado or Muti. In two weeks, RAI is broadcasting an Idomeneo with Kurt Streit and I am curious to see what he can do in this role.

Sunday, May 9th 2004

• I guess Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is the kind of thing which sounds entirely un-cool in 2004, but I am a helpless fan of British novels and British films on British novels. Not long ago I wrote about Robert Young's movie with Samantha Morton and Ciarán Hinds and I remember that I had the impression Zeffirelli's version with Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt was somewhat more glamourous. Today I could see again the Zeffirelli film on TV and I have to confess that - different from many reviewers - my heart goes to Young's movie. To start with, I found Young's script (by Richard Hawley) more faithful to the book, even if this makes the story longer. Zeffirelli's screenplay (co-written by Hugh Whitemore) is more straight to the point, but its economy makes the whole thing somehow more sentimental. Hawley's longer dialogues give actors time to make feelings blossom and the result is altogether more convincing and moving. Also Zeffirelli's milky Vermeer-like atmosphere - exquisite as it is - did not match the chiaroscuro of the more "artless" photography of Young's film. Finally, I found Zefirelli's cast mannered and one-dimensional compared to Young's. Charlotte Gainsbourg is made to look helplessly gloomy and unengaging. She accomplishes that with excellence and when she finally appears in a white dress for the wedding scene, the effect is telling - but my overall impression is little interest for the character. On the other hand, Samantha Morton successfully keeps a whirlwind of emotion hidden just one inch from surface and finds the right touch of modest radiance - her Jane has the necessary loveliness for us to understand why her boss falls so deeply in love for her. I guess girls might find William Hurt's Rochester far more alluring than Ciorán Hinds', but somehow he seems too debonair and untormented for my taste. Hinds may be less charming, but definitely looks a more believable match for his governess - and I felt more chemistry between him and Morton than with Gainsbourg with Hurt, who are so discrete about their mutual attraction that they could be playing bridge over the whole affair. Also, Joan Plowright seems to be sleepwalking through Zeffirelli's film, while Gemma Jones offers a deeper, more spontaneous and more engaged performance. Even Maria Schneider sounds tame compared to Robert Young's Sophie Reissner.

Yesterday, I suffered the consequences of the Sasser worm, exactly when I was listening the broadcast of Verdi's Trovatore from Paris. I was so curious to listen to it, but couldn't go further than Tacea la note placida, in which Sondra Radvanovsky showed ample resources. I found compensation on a Lucia Popp disc given by a friend, in which EMI gathers various performances by the much-beloved Slovak soprano. I had many of the items in complete recordings, but was pleased to discover one of the most luscious Viljalieder I have ever heard, full-toned but delicate solos from Carmina Burana, exquisite solos from Grieg's Peer Gynt, exemplary renditions of Schubert's Die Forelle and Gretchen am Spinnrade and a characterful and beautifully sung solo from Mahler's 4th.

Sunday, May 2nd 2004

• If you're unprejudiced about movie actions, I strongly recommend Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Most of you may be wondering why I am talking about this movie only now. Apparently, Brazil has been left behind and only now part 1 is in the theatre next to us. Anyway, the movie is a must see: Tarantino has been able to create a marvelous pictorial universe, with highly stylized cineamatography including an effective use of a controlled colour palette (turning around strong yellow and orange) and extensive appropriation, especially of Asian visual arts - Japanese anime and Chinese action movies above all. This could have resulted in inorganic miscellania, but the director wisely avoided the trap, finding a sense of structure in the highly aestheticized and irreverent approachr. For example, his use of the spraying blood in fight scenes (reminiscent of Monthy Python and the Holy Grail) adds a touch of humour for what could be only disgusting otherwise. The melting pot of cultural references - the expert soundtrack taking pride of place in this aspect - adds spice to the experience - Daryl Hanna with eyepatches matching her outfit is pure Mexican soap opera, for instance. Of course, all this babble would be pointless if the film wasn't fun - and it indeed is. I can't wait to see part II.
On the other hand, Christine Jeff's Sylvia has entirely misfired. Gwyneth Paltrow is miscast in a role that requires real dramatic genius. If you have seen Julianne Moore's look in The Hours, you'll understand what is missing here. The script doesn't seem to show that Sylvia Plath was an interesting person either. She is made to look an annoying depressing shrew who can bake - and I'm sure there should be more than this in the famous American poet. I mean, beside her poetry - which appears not very often in the movie anyway. Also, the director seems eager to make visual poetry, especially when water is involved, be it on the sea or in the bathtub - but it fails entirely and only adds to the sense of overall monotony.
Today I found on TV by complete accident a film I haven't seen for a while - George Roy Hill's Thoroughly Modern Movie, a dealicious crazy comedy which succeds in making fun of cuteness and being cute at the sime time. The cast is full of surprises: Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore as the ingénue, James Fox as Andrew's slightly goofy boyfriend, Carol Channing so over-the-top that it is almost admirable and even Pat Morita (yes, from Karate Kid...).

Tuesday, April 27th 2004

• Today I had the opportunity of seeing the new production of Mozart's Die Zauberflötte at the Theatro Municipal in Rio. In some aspects, it was a pleasing experience, but the overall impression is not very positive. To start with, the cast was quite unsatisfying. As Pamina, Silviane Belatto was the only soloist who seemed to care about interpretation and tone colouring. However, her voice, which has something of Pilar Lorengar in it, is desperately lacking in brightness and purity, what impares her obvious good intentions. Kalinka Damiani was clearly overparted as the Queen of the Night and had the worst time of her life dealing with the fast tempi chosen for her first aria. Although her voice is uneven, she could gather her resources and produce a decent Der Hölle Rache - the beautifully clear triplets are praiseworthy. José Gallisa does have a resonant bass, but the tone gets too easily curdled and the extreme low notes lack body. He did present an acceptable In diesen heil'gen Mauern, though. As Papageno, Marcelo Coutinho displayed a basically beautiful voice which had its throaty moments due to artifficial placement, but won everybody's heart with his acting skills and charisma. However, Martin Mühle's raw, undersupported poorly pitched tenor was quite difficult to listen to. We were supposed to hear Luciano Botelho, whose Tamino has already been praised and whom I've seen singing Rameau and Monteverdi beautifully, but it seems we had bad luck. In spite of an ugly-toned Sprecher, the minor roles were functional. German language deserved better treatment. It was amazing to hear the Papagena say "höschte", while Papageno did sing "höchste" and wonder if she never cared to ask him why they were pronouncing it differently... Maestro Silvio Barbato decided for the metronomic approach and, while his tempi were basically acceptable, his beat was often inflexible, robbing the music of its expressivity and allowing very little space for singers. As a result, the rate of mismatch between soloists and orchestra was alarmingly high. Sometimes singers were an entire bar behind the orchestra, what caused weird harmonic effects. I have often complained about creative stagings which look ugly nonetheless as an unacceptable thing. Director Moacy Góes was able to do the opposite of that. His staging was quite elegant throughout. There were many conflictive concepts going on there - Japanese style (gigantic origami, for example), a watercolour colour pallette, geometric sceneries, Egyptian symbols, costumes varying from Roman and Egyptian to somewhere between XVIIIth and XIXth century. It may sound like miscellania, but the result was always pleasing, if unvariably superficial.

Sunday, April 18th 2004

• Some films. Tom Tykwer's Der Krieger und die Kaiserin. Although I like the director's marvelous use of colour and Franka Potente's acting (also the Legoland-like beauty of the city of Wuppertal), the storytelling is handled a bit clumsily. The title makes us think it is a fairy tale story etc, but there could have been subtler character building. Also, the final sequence is downright silly. Being acquainted with Liliana Cavani's beautiful operatic staging's, I was curious to see Ripley's Game. If you like Italy like I do, it is a feast for the eyes. But John Malkovich is affected and furiously overacting - it seems as if the Schwarzkopf's Feldmarschallin had been transformed into an action movie character. It is also a pity that some dark undercurrent in the relationship between characters has not been explored, especially when the cast counts with such excellent actors as Lena Headey and Dougray Scott.

Also I've been to the theatre today: a staging of Nicholas Wright play on Melanie Klein. If you have seen Joel Oliansky's movie "The Competition", in which pianists are shown like people who are doing "pianistic" things 24 hours a day, you'll understand my impression on the play. Melanie Klein, her daughter and her protegée are portrayed like psychoanalysis-freaks and the result is - intentionally or not - the audience took the whole thing as a comedy. It did look as a "weak" day, in which actors, are fulfilling the attitudes blocked in rehearsal rather than putting their souls into it - but I guess that the playwriter is to blame. If the complex relationship between Klein and her daughter/guinea pig/rival had been shown into a subtler and less didactic light, it would have been indeed a great play.

Saturday, April 17th 2003

• Two reviews have been added to their respective discographies: Alan Curtis' Deidamia to the Handel page and René Jacobs' Nozze di Figaro to the Mozart page.

Thursday, April 8th 2004

• Today I had the pleasure of watching a broadcast of Don Giovanni from Vienna which only confirms the unmatched excellence of Maestro Riccardo Muti. This performance outclasses not only his two previous recordings, but also most recent recordings of this opera, especially on video. The Vienna State Opera Orchestra is in resplendent shape and responds with richness of sound to Muti's vital rhythmic and theatrical conducting. I still would like the supper scene to be more agitated than here, but the power and precision of the orchestra were admirable nonetheless. The cast was indeed very strong. Cast from the nowadays waning tradition of inviting rich lyric sopranos for the part of Anna, Adrianne Pieczonka sang with creamy rounded tone all the way. Only in the stretta of Non mi dir, one could feel she was not at ease - but compared to most big-house Donna Anna, she was really impressive even there. Although the voice itself is nothing exceptional, Anna Caterina Antonacci is musicianly all the way and ends on beating a long line of rivals by offering shapely phrasing throughout while keeping the dramatic tension. There is no doubt her idiomatic Italian was of great help. I am rarely convinced by mezzo Zerlinas, but Angelika Kirchschlager really won me over with her spirited spunky performance, the naturalness of her Italian and the fearlessness of her top register. Although Michael Schade voice can sound tense and not exactly charming when sung loud, he has impressive control of dynamics and breath management. Both arias were thoroughly sung. As Don Giovanni, Carlos Álvarez cannot help but calling all attentions with his richest darkest bass-baritone. I felt tempted to write his singing is amazingly natural - but the depth of his tone is simply supernatural. Ildebrando d'Arcangelo, as much as Pieczonka, has improved from his official recorded performance. His voice is now richer and the characterization is far improved. Lorenzo Regazzo is a Masetto one does not overlook (and that's an accomplishment) and Franz-Josef Selig, in spite of some throaty and unsteady moments, has the vocal nature for the part of the Commendatore. Unfortunately, the production is amazingly ugly and some of the stage directing is quite silly. Thank God the singers taking the "comic" parts managed to do something interesting out of it. I wonder why the Vienna State Opera has preferred this aesthetic monstruosity to the exquisite Zeffirelli production I was lucky enough to see in 1999 (it was also a marvelous musical performance, with a freshest Barbara Frittoli as Donna Elvira, an impressive Don Giovanni from Ferruccio Furlanetto and Bryn Terfel's debut in the Staatsoper).

Monday, March 29th 2004

• Today the Metropolitan Opera has surpassed itself in a sensational broadcast of Richard Strauss' Salome. Valery Gergiev's kaleidoscopic, rhythmic and forward moving conducing has elicited sensational playing from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. The orchestral image was sumptuous and the irony, exoticism and sensuousness were beautifully described in the pit. Of course there was an impressive cast. Beyond all my expectations, Karita Mattila has adapted her womanly voice into a girlish yet full-bodied sensuous tone which fits the role to perfection. One notices her voice does not take to mezza voce as easily as it used to do but the sound has an inbuilt floated quality that compensates for this small problem. She also displays perfect understanding of Straussian style, singing with round-toned grace throughout. If I had to be picky, I would single out the bad habit of resorting to chest voice and other distortions to depict vehemence. Not only it sounds far from "threatening" but also seems to unbalance her voice now and then. Larissa Diadkova also held her own in the difficult part of Herodias, offering attractive powerful focused sounds. In a part a bit high for his voice, Albert Dohmen cunningly adapted the strain into "vocal colouring" - a strong impersonation. Siegfried Jerusalem seemed a bit overcareful with his top register, but his unexaggerated yet characterful Herod ended on being really satisfying. The claim on Jochanaan's head has rarely been better performed by tenor, soprano and conductor as today. Matthew Polenzani was aptly fresh sounding as Narraboth and Katharina Göldner's dark mezzo deserves to be mentioned.

A review of Rattle's Fidelio has been added to the discography.

Saturday, March 27th 2004

• I'm still overwhelmed with emotion while I write about the superb Tristan und Isolde performed today in Rome and broadcast by RAI. Unfortunately I wasn't able to listen to anything but the 3rd act - but if the rest of the opera was so marvelous as the last act, it must have been one of the best performances of Wagner's masterpiece ever. Myung Whun Chung, as he has done in his Roman Tannhäuser, has transfigured the already haunting score. His conducting displays the alpha and the omega of Wagnerian conducting. Although the sense of clarity, the attention to woodwind, the precise articulation and the refuse to make the music sound nothing but exquisite does relate the work to the composer of Meistersinger, the richness of sound and the masterly understanding of tempo (one cannot say this is a fast or slow Tristan - musical sensibility and sensitivity dictate the pace) make us think of Parsifal. It would be a shame if a recording of this music by Chung is never produced. Listening to Violeta Urmana's round creamy, bright and powerful voice, handled with loving artistry and stylishness, one cannot help feeling before what is called Golden Age singing. Youth, sensuousness, expression - a beautiful performance. It could be reckless of mine to praise so highly an Isolde only through listening to act III, but the excited applauds plus the radio commentators remark that "there cannot be a better Isolde around these days" show me I am not exaggerating. I was also pleased by Stig Andersen's beautifully sung Tristan. His voice has the right ring for the role and, despite the occasional strained moment, it is natural and flexible enough in order to allow him the ease of tone colouring. All in all, this is far the most interesting Tristan I've heard in a long while and certainly better than the tenors which have sung the part in the last three or four official recordings. Alan Titus was a rich toned Kurwenal. The Accademia di Santa Cecilia coped admirably with Chung's sophisticated conducting and the broadcast sound was warm and natural, with a good balance between singers and orchestra.

Monday, March 22nd 2004

• The only film by Mel Gibson I had previously seen is Braveheart and the director has shown there he has a talent for building scenes from the visual point of view (as opposed to a dialogue-wise approach), especially in what depicts the interactions between characters. When a good cast is available (and he certainly had that - let's not forget that even Sophie Marceau was there), this approach to cinematography does pay its dividends. So it does in his new film "The Passion of the Christ", which could do entirely without dialogues. As a matter a fact, the dialogues in "dead" languages are a good idea in order to give flavour to lines well-known by everybody. It seems Gibson intended to concentrate on images, which have been gradually disconnected from the words everybody knows. Christians know that Christ has suffered for their salvation, but this suffering has been dealt with as a rather spiritual affair. This films shows that suffering really meant excruciating pain - and those who believe should never take it for granted. Many times during the film I couldn't think anything but "I can't take no more" and then the next thought would be "and I am _only_ watching it!". If this was Gibson's intent, it is beautifully conveyed in his thoroughly conceived splendidly cast exquisite film. I particularly admire his Foucault-like approach to the suplice of Christ. In a certain sense, the body of Christ is the main character of this film - as if it had to be entirely deconstructed so that the spirit could arise in it complete allmight. If I had to be picky, I don't know if I like the devil's coverage through the whole process. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't remember his omnipresence in the passion as described by the evangelists. However, the script deserves all praises for the supremely touching scene in which Mary comes to solace his son in the Via Crucis. Maia Morgenstern and Monica Bellucci could melt a heart of stone with their deeply felt performances avoiding all kind of tricks or easy detours. Also, James Caviezel is very good in his physically and emotionally exhausting part. By the way, it was pleasing to see so many Italian actors in the cast, including the beautiful Claudia Gerini.
Although the soundtrack is efficient, I guess one who knows the Matthäus and the Johannis Passion will always miss it when the subject is the passion. It is no coincidence that today is Johann Sebastian Bach's birth date and I've certainly listened to my McCreesh's recording of the Matthäus, in which Magdalena Kozena does sing like an angel.

Sunday, March 21st 2004

• Collecting discs is an eternal source of concern, delight and curiosity. Today I've been watching TV and found Istvan Szabo's Meeting Venus, a film I've seen many times (and am probably done with it), but NEVER could solve this mystery: in the scene the main character (the conductor) leaves his wife, we can hear one passage of the Venusberg scene (Zieh hin, Wahnsinniger if I am not mistaken) which IS NOT IN THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK. Probably because I am 100% sure this is not taken from the highlights with Janowski. That tenor and that mezzo are DEFINITELY NOT René Kollo (it is a warm round FIRM tone) and Waltraud Meier (it is quite a fruity vibrant big soprano). Today for one second I thought it could be Jess Thomas. It makes sense because the Carl Melles performance has Ludmilla Dvorakova as Venus. But I am still not sure. I've listened to Sawallisch's Lohengrin and the tenor in the film doesn't have the metallic quality of Thomas' voice. But it is definitely a voice I KNOW! If someone has some ideas about that, please share it with me...

In Brasília we presently have a festival of French films. So far I could see only two movies, Michael Haneke's Code Inconnu, an interesting study on lack of communication in big towns (a girl sitting next to me commented that she felt it as a comparative study on humiliation - it is an interesting idea). I am always impressed by the way how Haneke knows how to deglamourize exquisite towns, such as Vienna and Paris. Anyway, Juliette Binoche is marvellous - sometimes I forget that there is really a great actress behind the Academy Award.... The other film is an old acquaintance - Agnès Jaoui's Le Goût des Autres. The film is so perfect that they have Edita Gruberová on their soundtrack (I have to confess that I never cease to marvel on how good she is... ok, I'm still depressed because I couldn't get tickets for her Roberto Devereux in Munich...).

Tuesday, March 16th 2004

• I am always suspicious of Mozart performances in big halls - they were conceived to smaller venues and not only the balance between voices and orchestra is mared, but also the naturalness of emission - which is essential for Mozart singing - is lost. Therefore, a different standard is necessary to deal with today's broadcast of Don Giovanni from the Met - for example, other performances from the Met. A few singers are able to produce big vocalism and stylish Mozartian singing. Alas, they were exception today. The roles of Anna and Ottavio are generally the main victim of the dB approach. I remember Anja Harteros from the Cardiff Singer of the World and she used to have a lovely warm voice, but today she sounded a bit raw and shrieky. There were moments were one could guess she is a sensitive singer, but I had the impression she was mostly trying to make it loud enough for the family circle. On a famous telecast from the Met, Carol Vaness, although she was a bit Verdian, did sound entirely in control of her resources and offered warm rich sound and adept coloratura. In this same telecast, Jerry Hadley sounded entirely out of style, but at least the natural beauty of his voice remained. I cannot say the same of the strained singing of Gregory Turay. As much as Harteros, I imagine that he could do really better in a smaller hall. I believe Hei-Kyung Hong has a far more substantial voice than Dawn Upshaw (I saw Hong as Freia at the Met), but - compared to her - Upshaw sounded entirely at ease and free to concentrate on interpretation, whereas Hong showed an unfocused slightly shrill upper register and limited imagination. Although Thomas Hampson had a grey-toned start, he warmed to a dramatically engaged performance. Most of the naturality is lost and the mannerisms can sound irritating, though. Compared to Samuel Ramey in the telecast, I cannot help considering that Ramey's comfortable yet powerful voice, direct manners and stylishness are far more pleasing. I cannot say I am exactly disappointed with René Pape - sure, it is a beautiful big voice, but the performance was matter of fact to a fault. Here the comparison with the telecast is even more dramatic, since Ferruccio Furlanetto used to be one of the most compelling Leporellos of his generation - and he had no problem about vocal generosity. The performance's saving grace, Christine Goerke, was an altogether exciting Elvira, a bright focused beautiful voice displaying the perfect balance between energy and technique. She owes nothing to the telecast's Elvira, Karita Mattila, whose creamy lyricism contrasts with Goerke's panache. It is difficult to say anything about Levine's conducting in these conditions; my memory may betray me, but I remember more polish in the telecast. All in all, his tempi are more than correct and he has the right sense of drama. The orchestra did sound a bit heavy, but I believe this is inevitable in the circumstances.

A review of Giulini's Nozze di Figaro has been added to the Mozart page.

Finally, Nancy Meyers' Something Gotta Give may have its saccharine moments, but the cast is so good that the film ends on being irresistible, especially if you like Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton (I just love her) as I do.

Saturday, March 13th 2004

• The first time I've heard about Louis Malle's My Dinner with André was in an interview with the director where he was asked "Where have you found those miniature quails?". Since then, I've been curious to see this film - don't ask me why. Today I've finaly done it - and enjoyed it. Unfortunately I've seen it on TV. It may seem weird that a film which is practically made with a camera shifting from one guy to other on a restaurant table would gain something from being shown on the big screen, but I feel that the whole point of having the impression of taking part into a sensational conversation is part of the fun. In my experience, the best thing about the film was catching André's and Wallace's reaction to each other's ideas, also the way they let each other get carried away by trends of reasoning which they don't necessarily agree with. When Wallace is finally on his cab going back home, I somehow could feel the heartwarming sensation we experience when we have had a very unusual, exciting and interesting conversation with someone you don't see really often - generally people who made part of your life but who has not been in touch for a while. In my memory, the scenery to situations like this always have to do with Leblon and Ipanema and how such a conversation would start on a café, migrate to a restaurant then to Letras & Expressões (24-hour café plus bookstore) then probably walking on the streets (where you'll find lots of people - generally people you know - even very late in the night). All this is the core of my emotional memory of being in Rio - and this film just made me be there for a couple of hours. Finally, here's a link to a review with which I entirely agree.

Wednesday, March 10th 2004

• Even more Traviata: Constantijn has sent me an exciting review from Leipzig.

A review of Malgoire's Giulio Cesare has been added to the Handel page.

Sunday, March 7th 2004

• More Traviata: although I've missed the Met's broadcast act I, I can't say I'm really sorry... The remaining acts sounded so unstylish and unpolished that I really found very little pleasure in that performance. Gergiev's jerky conducting and unsubtle transitions did not help the music to sound its best - I guess La Traviata has never sounded so close to circus music as it has today ... For my own discipline's sake, I am always read to change my mind about Renée Fleming, but she does make it difficult. I am sure her creamy soprano and floated mezza voce (as I have myself witnessed live) may entice audiences, but - oh, my God - has ever a famous singer had such bad taste?! She can't sing a straight line without fussing with note values, chest register, glottal attack, not to mention her habit of sliding between notes and trying to make all kind of inexplicable ugly noises to depict a certain sexiness before the lesser predicament to befall her character - picture Mae West playing a Lana Turner role and you'll have an idea of what is going on here. Some may point out that I have praised Mireille Delunsch's exquisite performance despite the fact that her voice is everything but Verdian, but I am sure Verdi himself would like that what the audience hears have some likeness to what is written on the score. I was surprised to realize that Dmitri Hvorostovsky has been contaminated by the atmosphere and offered one of the unsubtlest rendition of the role of Germont, père, I have ever heard. Compared to his partners, Ramón Vargas, in warm voice, seems to be the saving grace of today's Traviata.

Changing the subject, I am most upset - having read on the Bavarian State Opera site that there were tickets available for a Roberto Devereux with Gruberová, I've placed my order and altered my travel plans for July only to discover that, contrary to what it is shown on the website, there are no tickets available... :-((( If someone has an idea of where else I could try to get my chance for July 17th, please please share it with me.

Saturday, March 6th 2004

• The telecast of Verdi's La Traviata from Aix-en-Provence is something really special. I have listened to so many recordings and seen so many videos of this opera that I thought I would never really take any interest on watching through a complete performance again. But this performance is very special. Conductor Yutaka Sado at first seemed a bit clumsy with transitions and sometimes square, but his perfomance developes beautifully. It seems Mr. Sado has a more classical approach to the score, allowing woodwind to blossom in the orchestral sound and building organic structures in a classical way rather than highlighting moments in order to create atmosphere. These decisions make sense if we consider that La Traviata is not late Verdi and deserves to be set in context. The more intimate sound picture also makes sense to a more "indoors" plot and the cast has understood this beautifully. With her blond floaty soprano, entirely even, creamy and comfortable throughout its range, Gluckian diva Mireille Delunsch does not jump to one's mind when one thinks of Verdi - and this is all for the best. She made me re-listen to the entire part as if it were the first time. I cannot connect her performance to anyone else's - not even to de los Angeles' or Caballé's, which would be the names I would try to make some reference to. Her purity of line, perfect technique and naturalness of emission match her very feminine small-scaled view of a woman who is touching because she is no heroine, she is just an ordinary girl with a difficult life. This is probably the most classical performance ever offered of the role of Violetta - and this is no mean achivement considered the acting demands - masterly satisfied - made on her by the stage director. Matthew Polenzani is also a most elegant Alfredo, sung on a pleasant spontaneous tenor voice, flexible and keen on legato. Finally, Zeljko Lucic's Bruson-like baritone is also a treat to the ears. The recorded sound is excellent and Mr. Sado's concern with clarity becomes illuminating therewith. The act II final ensemble has never sounded so transparent to my ears. Regarding the concept of this production, it has as many good ideas as it has some rather disturbing ones. It seems we see the whole action as flash-back from the delirious dying Violetta - and the idea is beautiful, as well as the white Marilyn Monroe-like dress and hair-style and the images projected on a transparent screen covering the whole stage (particularly the raindrops - I don't know why - it fits the music). However, the scenery depicting a road in the middle of nowhere serves neither the room where Violetta is dying nor the places where the action happens. Many of the lines become pointless and the time of the action is impossible to guess. It is such a pity - the Marilyn Monroe idea sounds really nice to me... but here it is entirely dissolved in nonsense.

Tuesday, March 2nd 2004

• Unfortunately I could listen to the Met's broadcast of L'Italiana in Algeri only from act II. I am really impressed by Olga Borodina. I have one of her early discs where she sings Una voce poco fa and Nacqui all'affano (and she did a great job), but today she sounds even more impressive. The amazing feat is that she can get light and flexible while retaining the inimitable lushness, fullness and roundness of her voice. It has been one of the most full-toned examples of Rossinian singing I have ever heard. Full-toned is also the word I reserve for Juan-Diego Florez. I have to confess I have often been left cold by his singing, but I guess this is the first time I listen to his Rossini. In the other repertoires, I usually have the impression that his artistry is about the athletics, but on Rossini his easy, finished frasing and really FULL-TONED top register is something to marvel. Even if Ferruccio Furlanetto is a bit heavy as the bey and Levine could be a bit more light (also a lighter Elvira would be of great help), this performance deserves reaching the DVD catalogue. The audience seemed to have a great time.

By the way, I've noticed that the Academy Awards are taking place today, isn't it? I've decided to share with you who would be my winners among the nominated. In italics, those who should be there.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE - Johnny Depp ; ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Benício del Toro ; ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE - Naomi Watts/ Fanny Ardant (Callas Forever); ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE - Patricia Clarkson ; ART DIRECTION - Master and Commander; DIRECTING - Fernando Meirelles (honestly...); CINEMATOGRAPHY - City of God / L'Auberge Espagnol; COSTUME DESIGN - The Last Samurai / Down with Love; Music (it was difficult to choose among those mediocre nominations) - Lord of the Rings / Master and Commander; Best Picture: Master and Commander ; WRITING (adapted) - City of God; WRITING (original) - The Barbarian Invasions / Dogville

Sunday, February 29th 2003

• British movies on TV - Phil Agland's The Woodlanders. I have not read Hardy's novel and, unlike most reviewers, I didn't feel frustrated. An interesting Italian review points out that Hardy is a difficult author to transpose to the screen and that Agland, a documentarist, concentrates more on atmosphere than on drama. I could agree that the confrontations between characters could be less discrete, but when you have richly expressive actors such as Emily Woof and Cal Macannish, this turns out to be a quality rather than a drawback. And, to my eyes, Agland did made wonders in recreating the atmosphere of a remote corner of old England.
The other film is Paul McGuigan's Gangster no.1, the kind of violent movie with chic photography which is found everywhere those days (including Brazil). It could be an ordinary gangster movie, but the psychological aspects of the film seem to be the "difference". However, they should be more developed in order to make it a really organic work. As it is, sometimes the building of characters through dramatic development is replaced by videoclip. A pity. As it is, I've still watched the film with utmost interest because of the marvelous cast. Paul Bettany offers a thrilling magnetic performance and I have to confess that, even if Malcolm MacDowell (playing Bettany's character as an old man) is the good actor all of us know, I would rather prefer that the voice overs had been made by Bettany and that we had more of him than of MacDowell. David Thewlis and Saffron Burrows (whom I haven't seen since Mike Figgy's Miss Julie) also hold their own in a film dominated by Bettany's sensational performance. Is it possible that this movie's murderer who carries the rage of the world inside himself be the same meditative doctor of Master and Commander?

Tuesday, February 24th 2004

• I don't know what to say of Tim Burton's Big Fish - it has beautiful images, some scenes flirt with Fellini, but there is a sense of obvious in the story and the characters are so cardboard that it is impossible to use the word Felliniesque. It does have a glamourous cast - Ewan McGregor is excellent as always and I'll never see enough of the marvelous Helena Bonham-Carter. I just wonder why Hollywood has been casting the Southern characters with British actors?! Is it globalisation?

Monday, February 23rd 2004

• A review of the Bavarian State Opera's Rinaldo on DVD has been added to the Handel page.

Saturday, February 21st 2004

• I was entirely taken by surprise by Peter Weir's Master and Commander, a gem of a film. To start with, the images are beautifully and elegantly conceived - the magnificent atmosphere of the oceans with its blue and grey shades, the golden lighting of the night scenes - the eye of a painter must have produced them. However, the most striking feature of Peter Weir's film is the sense that an adventure story is told by sensitive and intelligent people. The plot is very simple and the script concentrates on the peculiar claustrophobic feeling of being in a ship and at the same time subject to the immense powers of the elements. Also, the film explores the allegoric relationship between action and thought, represented by the capitain and the doctor - beautifully portrayed by Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. This double-faced entity is also represented by the violin and the cello. Thus, the soundtrack only confirms the aesthetic refinement of this film. For the first time Bach music for solo cello is used to portray the great and the unfathomable, which is - despite the intimate idea of a solo instrument - the very nature of these pieces. Also, it was a wonderful opportunity to re-discover the charming music of Boccherini.
I must point out, however, that it is quite improbable that the ship would find Indians with traditional body painting in the Brazilian coast in the XIXth century, especially around the SE region (I was made to understand that this was the place where they came ashore). Of course, they used to be all around the coast in the XVIth, but if you come to think that in the same year in which the events described in the film take place (1808), due to the Napoleonic invasion of Portugal, the court has been transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro (one year later, the French Guyana would be invaded by the Brazilian Portuguese forces - aided by British navy) as a reflex of the Napoleonic wars).

Wednesday, February 18th 2004

• I just don't get Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain. You have probably seen this film before with Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert or Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift or with Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable.... Considering the amount of films made in Hollywood on this issue, one tends to expect a different point of view in recent productions, such as Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil or even Edward Zwick's Glory. Anyway, Minghella's Southern Patient has a starry cast (the leading couple looks a bit "grown up" for their roles but they look good), even in minor roles and everybody offers beautiful performances. They are the only reason I would consider to recommend this movie. An interesting detail is the unusual appearance of the word "conundrum" uttered by a small town vigilante before a hit-or-miss situation.

Sunday, February 15th 2003

• While still in Rio, I was able to see an "alternative" staging of Mozart's Die Schauspieldirektor. The whole idea was to set the action in present times as if those singers were actually auditioning to sing Mozart. As all the singers were good actors and the whole show was beautifully directed, it was really entertaining. I just don't know if I like the idea of the insertion of the "arie di baule" so to say. Every singer had a kind of ad libitum choice of arias to transplant into the action. So Mme. Herz sang the Queen of the Night's revenge aria, Mme. Silberklang sang Kurt Weill and (beautifully) a song by Schönberg, Herr Vogel sang Frisch zum Kampfe and the Buff sang Ha, wie will ich triumphieren! All the singers were excellent musicians, but the men were more disctinctive than the women. Marcos Lissenberg's Peter Schreier-like is pleasant enough and Pepes do Valle was impressively at ease in the Osmin aria. I had seen two years ago at the Theatro Municipal another staging of the Schauspieldirektor set in the 20's and it was also very funny - the casting also very distinguished. My friend Mônica Maciel took the role of Mme. Herz and offered a sensational performance crowned by her easy and powerful in alt's. Mariana Bittencourt's light and velvety soprano was also very charming as Mme. Silberklang. Anyway, today I found a broadcast from 2002 - Harnoncourt conducting. Eva Mei not at her best, but still technically impressive, while Patricia Petibon was quite irregular as Sliberklang.

A good surprise for me has been Robert Benton's The Human Stain. I was totally unwilling to see it - "Nicole Kidman as a cleaning woman AND having an affair with Anthony Hopkins??!!", but my friend Deborah recommended - albeit with reservations - and I've decided to take a look. While I still believe that this is not a "top list" movie, it did have the elements to be one. Basically the story has two tempos (past and present) and some misteries to be solved in between. Although Kidman takes part in the second tempo, I have to blame it for the blemish in the whole structure. The second story has the "selling" elements of the film - sex, suspense, mistery and some dramatic overkilling. However, the touching element of the story lies in the first tempo - when we have a quasi-tragic setting (quotations included) involving family, pride, honour and the challenge to destiny which is the most important of every (classical) tragedy. If the rather slower but more emotionally intense atmosphere of the past plot could prevail also in the present, in which things are quite more artifficial and spectacular - this would have been a great film. As it is, it is still a good one. The cast is excellent - Kidman is very good in a bit over-the-top part, Anthony Hopkins seems really connected for an American movie (I have the theory he tends only to make money at this side of the Atlantic) and offers an anthology scene - where he dances in his porch in a kind of Zorba-like fit of bliss. There is also Wentworth Miller, a very promising actor who sustains admirably the sense of underlying tension without ever resorting to tricks.

Saturday, February 14th 2004

• Brasília is a town with a supernatural power - whenever you mention a movie, either cable TV or a film festival presents it. Sometimes we play "name a movie" and there it is. I've been back for only a couple of days - and it has happened again. I've read about a movie called "Too Much Flesh", directed by Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr, starring the latter, Élodie Bouchez and Rosanna Arquette. First of all, compared to this one, Dogma films look like "The Ten Commandments". I've taken some time to realize that what I was watching was not a reality show. It looks as if there is no director of photography and also the naturalness achieved by the cast is amazing, especially if you keep in mind that the plot has a splash of weirdness. The plot centers around Lyle, a farmer in a very small town in the USA, who keeps a chaste (in the sense of no sex ever) marriage, until he meets a French girl who helps leads him into a journey of sexual awakening. But that is too much for the small town people. I've read some angry reviews from the USA, but I do agree with those who pointed out a sort of egotrip from Jean-Marc Barr. Rosana Arquette's character, for example, deserved a bit more time for her. On the other hand, Barr and Bouchez's are too often having their sexy moments and eventually the viewer asks him/herself if they're really working or just having fun...
I've already mentioned that I love those films in which some guys make an unbelievably complex plan to steal anything - but John Duigan's The Parole Officer seems to be a totally non-serious attempt of making fun of this genre. It is a light comedy with some sitcom-like jokes and a nicest cast, including Omar Shariff playing a cameo role.

Saturday, February 10th 2003

 

• Sometimes I wonder if movie reviewers really like movies or if they are just trying to show off. Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams has received some tame reviews, but it actually is a faultless film. First of all, the script counts with believable characters, a touching story, the right splash of action and an interesting edition which makes the understanding of who are the characters portrayed in the film more interesting. Also, González knows how to build beautiful scenes, aided by discretely ellegant photography. Finally, the cast is splendid. Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Charlotte Gainsbourg deal with their characters with amazing depth and intensity. In their first appearances on the screen, the whole impact of their personalities is produced, compelling us to follow their predicaments to the last scene. The remaining actors - whose names I cannot remember - are also excellent, including the children. Speaking of children, P.J. Hogan's Peter Pan is a complete charmer. The story is presented in its most faithful to the original work, with its complex web of meanings preserved in a way that adults are able to have the same share of interest as children do. The highly stylized images are exquisite and the cast is lovely. Predictably, Lynn Redgrave, Jason Isaacs (a great performance) and Olivia Williams are excellent in the adult parts, but also the children are impressive, relishing their interesting dialogues as experienced actors. The Darling childrens are particularly good - Rachel Hurd-Wood, who plays the part of Wendy, seems to be destined to great things.

Magdalena Kozena's disc of French arias reveals some interesting choice of repertoire (Gounod's Nuit Resplendissante a true find) and she doesn't disappoint with her customary good taste, beauty of tone and sheer musicianship. However, beautifully as she deals with the whole thing, I cannot cease to wonder why one would make this lyric high mezzo to deal with Massenet's Cleopâtre, Carmen and Eboli, in which her Fach prevents her from achieving the full exuberance of a Grace Bumbry, when there is so many niches of repertoire where Kozena would be simply unbeatable, such as German Lieder or Mozart?

Tuesday, January 29th 2003

• Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation is a pleasant film. There is something Felliniesque in the way she leads her characters though those journeys into the night in which we see unusual people in apparently routine situations. I suppose this is not accidental since the two main characters are ticking over their lives' dead-ends while watching La Dolce Vita in one particular scene. It is nonetheless interesting to notice how Ms.Coppola is determined not to leave any bitter - or even bittersweet - afterthoughts. In this sense, even if Lost in Translation is mainly a nocturne film, it is quite sunny in its showing the best side of everything. On TV, a nice Dogma film - Soren Kragh-Jacobsen's Mifune. It is charming and unpretentious - I would call it a perfect afternoon film if there weren't some scenes children would have lots of question to ask about.

Although I couldn't listen to the whole of the Met's broadcast, I could listen long enough to notice Veronica Villaroel's sensitively crafted performance. Even her tone sounded younger and lighter in order to her character. I don't know, however, how it may have sounded live at the theatre. Sometimes her top register seemed a bit cautious. Her Pinkerton sounded healthy enough - only his top notes could be more spontaneous, but it is certainly better than what most opera houses have been casting in parts like that. However, the Sharpless was painful... I can't comment much on the conducting. I'd need to listen to longer passages to have the right picture.

Sunday, January 25th 2004

• Lars von Trier's Dogville is a difficult film. If we understand that high art is more edifying than entertaining, the Danish director's fable is a true masterpiece. Since I've left the theatre, I've been reading some reviews and have noticed that people see many different things in it - a story about a small town, an attack on North American values or a study on human nature. Maybe I've had done too much homework about Human Rights, but to me the film is an allegory of the exploitation of innocents in the name of "civilization". If you haven't seen the film, I recommend you not to read the next lines. With the intent of proving how civilized the small town of Dogville, USA, is, Tom Edison, a soi-disant philosopher proposes that they should receive Grace, a fugitive from gangsters. In order to prove herself worthy of the favour, she is encouraged to work for the inhabitants. At first, everybody seems to acknowledge how nice she is, although her work is still considered as unnecessary (even if she is bound to accomplish her duties without failing). Then they discover that there is a reward on her and, in order to make herself worthy of the new favour, she is made a slave. Then she is brutalized and discriminated. Finally, although she has to do all the dirty work nobody wants to do, they decide that they have to get rid of her in order to regain their "peace of mind". Then we come to the extreme moment, where we finally know that the barbarians (the gangsters) to which the town decides to surrender her are actually her family. Instead of being civilized and sparing the town, she realizes that being civilized was the bonds that have made her a slave. There is much more to comment - such as the fact that the "philosopher" who does not take profit of Grace and says to love her is just a coward and deserves no mercy, but that would make this post too long.
It sure is a wonderful story - I just don't know if it is a wonderful film. The justification for the idea of not using a scenery - only chalk lines on the ground explaining what each place is - has not convinced me. If this is an image of the "impossibility of hiding secrets" or the "absence of individuality", then it is too obvious for such a sophisticated plot. If this is supposed to be an aesthetic decision, then it should look beautiful or visually interesting at least. If this is supposed to make the story telling easy, then it is a bad move - I took like 30 min to get all the concentration I needed to know where characters were. Besides, camera movements made me feel a bit sick... I could say that the film is overlong with some repetitive scenes, but I guess the director was carried away by the idea of having such a talented cast with people like Lauren Bacall, Ben Gazzara, Patricia Clarkson, Stellan Skargård and - of course - Nicole Kidman.

Sunday, January 18th 2003

• Even more films. For mysterious reasons, whenever I tried to see Kubrik's Barry Lindon, something impredictable would happen preventing me from watching this movie. Now I have bought the DVD and spent a whole night watching it. It doesn't fail its reputation - it is a gorgeous sequence of exquisite scenes - living Gobelin tapestries. Although the director has had some wonderful Fellini-esque ideas for his cast, I couldn't help thinking that Ryan O'Neal and Marisa Berenson are not up to the task of giving real life to Thackeray's multi-layeredl characters. On cable TV, more Woody Allen. I had found Bullets over Broadway wonderful when I saw it in the theatre, but now - after my experiences with theatrical production - it is even more funny. The cast is gorgeous, of course. As for Another Woman, I used to find it my very favourite film. It still has a fantastic script, a wonderful cast, Sven Nykvist's marvellous photography, beautiful soundtrack - it is a perfect work of art. It does speak less to me now than it used to do, but that's maybe because I've seen it hundreds of times... Also, I am inclined to think that, in the 70's, the difference between "European" and "North American" films were less clear than today. The aesthetic treatment of images, the sincerity of scripts, the sheer energy of actors those days. It is a pity that market has started to give pride of place to production (special effects, for example) from the 80's on. Today I've watched Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge. A great cast - Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, Ann-Margret and - surprisingly - Art Garfunkel, the singer. An unpretentious but interesting plot, powerful dialogues and truly beautiful images. Ann-Margret sat on a bed with her head leaned against a shadowy wall would be a poster I'd really like to hang on my wall.

I have forgotten to mention that I've seen Denys Arcand's Les Invasions Barbares and found it intelligent, beautiful and entertaining. This week I could see Le Declin de L'Empire Américain. It is curious how pessimistic the 15 year-old film sounds compared to the new one. It seems that people - as in the Romantic age - believe again that sentiments are going to save humankind.

I've been to the theatre this week too. First, Daniel Besse's "Les Directeurs", staged by the Grupo Tapa. An interesting play which counts with a strong plot and witty dialogues - a kind of scherzo with a tragic ending. Then David Rabe's Hurlyburly staged by Ivan Sugahara. Excellent acting from Bruce Gomlewski in a play with intelligent dialogues, although I don't know if it will stay in my memory for long (and the play is a bit overlong for its material too). Finally, I've seen Jacqueline Laurence's staging of Molière's Tartuffe, in which my good friend Emilia Rey plays a wonderful Dorine and André Valli is a marvellous Orgon.

Saturday, January 17th 2003

• More films: François Ozon's Swimming Pool. I expected more of it, but Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Saignier make it worth while watching. Costa-Gavras' Amen has received some bad press, but it is a visually interesting film and has a good cast. The story is interesting enough and it didn't feel as long as it indeed is. On cable TV, I was glad enough to see again one of my favourite movies - Woody Allen's Interiors, one of the most perfect films I have ever seen. All the elements are chosen with masterly hand - it is a film that really concentrate on the essential and, therefore, has an untimely sense of beauty.

A review of the Classics for Pleasures highlights of Don Giovanni and Rosenkavalier has been added to the Mozart and Strauss pages.

Tuesday, January 13th 2003

• I've been listening to Böhm's La Clemenza di Tito these days - an admirable recording which can still hold its own in the days of historically informed performances. The majestic quality of the Staatskapelle Dresden's playing and the Rundfunkchor Leipzig's singing is the sound image of Imperial Rome. Even if Böhm's tempi are slower, they sound so integrated into a sort of rhythmic mainframe that you cannot fault them while listening to the performance as a whole. Also, the young Julia Varady and the mature Teresa Berganza - those are really special singers who always bring something interesting to their performances.

On cable TV, Liv Ullman's Unfaithful. I've probably seen this film five times and each time I like it more. It has a richness of meaning that has nothing to do with hermetism and artifficiality - it is really a masterpiece. One of those days, I've been talking to some friends and someone said that all the good films have already been done. I cannot agree with that - "Unfaithful" is an evidence of the opposite.

A review of Levine's Fidelio has been added to the discography.

Tuesday, January 7th 2004

 

 

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