Proms 2005

Not listened to any yet, but I'm off to see Prom 16 next week, City of Birmingham SO playing....
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
Henri Dutilleux - Correspondances* London premiere
Stravinsky - Scherzo fantastique
Musorgsky, orch. Ravel - Pictures at an Exhibition

Steve

that looks like it wiill be a great evening - hope you enjoy it.

quote:

Originally posted by Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus:
wot, no one watching/Listening? Watched Die Walküre last night - slightly odd watching them sing there souls out in regular(ish) duds and no props, but thought it worked pretty well. Well enough to watch acts one and two anyway, too tired for the third, so recorded it.
Paul

The performance of Die Walkure was simply thrilling - one of the best I have heard. I thought that the way it was staged made it more immediate than a fully-staged performance, to be honest.

I'm hoping to get to the Tippett / Shostakovich concert next week.

The bits I watched of it were very good indeed. As was the singing/music when I saw the production at the ROH (terrible, terrible production, but good otherwise). Of course, sadly when I saw it Terfyl (sp?) was ill and Domingo wasn't singing, but it was great none the less.

I also listened to a bit of Mackerras conducting various Gilbert and Sullivan on Saturday, most of which sounded excellent. I taped it and am looking forward to a proper listen.

The highlights I'm really looking forward to are the Cleveland Orchestra under Wesler-Most (I saw them in Edinburgh last year and they were absolutely stunning) and Jansons and RCO. Both come late August, early September.

Steve - is it Oramo conducting the CBSO? I saw them a few months back (playing Sibelius and something else) and they were stunning. I also saw them under Ades at Aldeburgh last month playing a mix of new music and Beethoven 4. For my money they're one of the best orchestras in England.

regards,

Tam

Tam - yes it is. Full team-sheet here.

My knowledge of orchestras is mostly limited to the home team: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra who are playing a prom of their own the following evening.

Happy listening.

Steve.

quote:

Originally posted by DJH:

The performance of Die Walkure was simply thrilling - one of the best I have heard.

Absolutely. I've written a brief review here.

Hard to follow, but I'm due to see the Haydn late-night concert tomorrow.

duncan

Steve,

Thanks for the links.

The Bournemouth are damn good too, and were my home orchestra until very recently (I think Alsop is outstanding).


regards,

Tam

managed to watch the 3rd act last night - it was fabulous stuff, indeed it is hard to imagine showcasing the opera in a better way. I think it probably opened a lot of peoples eyes as to how accesible and enjoyable Wagner can be.
Watched the RVW London Symphony also, was suprised to see a lot of spare seats. Is this normal?
Paul.

Regarding empty seats, yes, it is fairly normal if the programme is anything 'challenging'. Bear in mind that the RAH is an absolutely huge house.



regards,

Tam

quote:

managed to watch the 3rd act last night - it was fabulous stuff, indeed it is hard to imagine showcasing the opera in a better way. I think it probably opened a lot of peoples eyes as to how accesible and enjoyable Wagner can be.

Cletus,
DG are due to release the 1980 Ring operas with Boulez conducting and Donald MacIntyre as a mesmerising Wotan. When these were broadcast on BBC TV in about 1981, my children (including a 3-year old boy) watched spellbound. For me, they defined The Ring and their accessibility speaks for itself.

They are due for release in August in the US - don't know about Europe.

Regarding the Prom, I thought that Meier and Domingo were wonderful, Terfel OK but some of the soprano singing was not at all to my taste.

Just noticed - there's another thread "Which Ring", in which someone says that he is working through the Boulez set. Looks as though it is already available.

I think the Boulez are either out, or about to be.

They were available for many year on VHS and later DVD under the philips label but were deleted sometime around new year. They were then reissued on DG.

Just one correction though, the Boulez production dates from 1976 not '80, it was the centenary production and Bayreuth.


regards,

Tam

Tam,
You're right. I was relying on my memory. I now see that the DVD set is available from Europadisc for about £85, so I think I'll invest in it. The Levine set is good to listen to, but Jessye Norman is visually unconvincing (to me, at least) as Brunnhilde.

My biggest problems with the levine set are that I find the production excessively conservative and that he takes the ride of the valkuries far, far too fast.



regards,

Tam

my biggest problem with all operas is that I dont have time to listen to one all the way through. Let alone a Cycle. As to different versions...
I've had the Levine DVD set since Christmas and watched only Das Rheingold and half of Die Valkure!

Paul

Paul,

I agree with that. I'm making similarly slow progress through the cycle. Operas on cd also sit on my shelf for far longer than, say, a symphony, before I get around to listening.


regards,

Tam