tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post4424886290778111364..comments2023-03-25T08:38:04.563+00:00Comments on Ims Fire - the blog formerly known as Imogen's Creative Fire: The Muse, or, Voglio Turandot!Imogenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12811393485894960485noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-77455369864378518882009-01-21T09:24:00.000+00:002009-01-21T09:24:00.000+00:00Enough already...Enough already...Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811393485894960485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-53004793166490863532009-01-20T10:38:00.000+00:002009-01-20T10:38:00.000+00:00DSC back...Imogen, sorry I wasn't clearer. I tho...DSC back...<BR/><BR/>Imogen, sorry I wasn't clearer. I thought Calaf took the initial comments personally and should have specified that comment was focused on only one of the posters. You have been most balanced in your commentary.<BR/><BR/>I certainly agree that any two individuals sitting side by side at an opera can walk out with vastly different impressions on the performance. Obviously, that happened Wednesday evening. Again, I will merely state that I don't go to opera solely for the singing but for the entire experience, which includes voice, acting, and interaction. FA had a good, clean voice with all the prerequisite notes; for me, that voice filled the void but nothing else and on both the acting and interaction he failed completely.<BR/><BR/>But I accept that some want the voice only and can disregard the rest. If that is the standard, FA had the notes in his voice and obviously, as a native born Italian, was able to offer the words appropriately. <BR/><BR/>Take care.Deb and Kirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03481204919125711774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-52050837145099751262009-01-20T09:39:00.000+00:002009-01-20T09:39:00.000+00:00Dsc-nova, I'm puzzled that you say I took your com...Dsc-nova, I'm puzzled that you say I took your comments personally - I didn't. I have looked back at my earlier response trying to see what you could have interpreted in that way, and I can't see it. Honestly: Horses for courses - we can't all like the same things, and the world would be boring if we did. I'm sorry to disappoint you by not wailing protests at your critique, but I'm not that bothered. <BR/>You say<BR/>"Sometimes alternative truth hurts, though I can't imagine why comments about FA's performance would be taken so personally by you." <BR/>This is really a mystifying thing to read; who's getting hurt? No-one. We all have different tastes, and there is nothing wrong with that, and no need for anyone to get hot behind the ears... <BR/>And Tika - greetings to the US on this very happy day.Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811393485894960485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-15179517920419371512009-01-19T23:56:00.000+00:002009-01-19T23:56:00.000+00:00Tika from the US here.I am just back home after se...Tika from the US here.<BR/><BR/>I am just back home after seeing Fabio Armiliato on Wednesday and Jose Cura on Saturday. I have to say that even though I thought Armiliato was adequate in the role, his performance wasn't nearly as strong as I expected and paled in comparison to Cura's. I guess, if we were voting, I'd have to come down on DSC's side. Does that make me mean, too?<BR/><BR/>IMHO Armiliato had the notes and he used them well and for a short term substitute he was fine. But really, I have no memory of his voice right now, a couple of days after the performance. Yes, the voice handled the notes all right but you really do need more than that for greatness. And I don't think he has the stage presence to sell out a theater. That's just my opinion, of course.<BR/><BR/>Oh, two more things about his voice: he was FREQUENTLY drowned out by the orchestra and he occasionally broke the vocal line with unnecessary breaths. THat's not so much opinion as fact. <BR/><BR/>Now, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Turandot. I have traveled around the world for performances of it. It is one of my most favorite operas. Did I mention I loved it? So, knowing that, can you imagine I FELL ASLEEP during Wednesday's performance, Armiliato was that weak? I kicked myself for it, but I lost a lot of Act I and struggled with the other two acts. The gentleman next to me slept through the final two acts, and we were sitting right on top of the percussion! I could not believe it!<BR/><BR/>You mentioned applause: I've been to ROH when there has been a whole lot more applause for a performance than on Wednesday night. We were here in September and that was true. We were here Saturday for the second performance of Turandot and that was true. It that is your gauge,sorry, the applause wasn't that great for Armiliato.<BR/><BR/>So, we can all agree to disagree but from my perspective, Armiliato is second rank, and that's how I will think of him. <BR/><BR/>Best from the US, where we celebrate a brand new president on Tuesday! Hurrah!<BR/><BR/>TikaAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06397196679878313283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-90882920521240695982009-01-19T23:01:00.000+00:002009-01-19T23:01:00.000+00:00Back again--just to report on the second performan...Back again--just to report on the second performance at ROH with Cura as Calaf; what a difference! Like Cura's voice or not, the stage vibrates with electricity when he steps into a scene; sorry Calaf, Mario, and Imogen, but that CANNOT be said about Fabio, who instantly got lost in scenes. There was intelligence and focus in Cura, fidgeting and vacancy in Fabio.<BR/><BR/>You like FA's voice; good. I certainly can't say a word to change your preference but I stand by my statement that his voice is good in quality but generic in tone. I could no more pick his voice off a CD now than I could before I spent almost three hourse with him at Covent Garden. Generic, undistinguished, bland. Sorry. Just an honest opinion.<BR/><BR/>The performance I saw FA in was his second performance, so he had time to adapt to the theater and the role. I won't buy that we should give him a lot of leeway because he hasn't been a frequent visitor here, in part because of how he conducted himself on stage. I'm one of those folks who need to be inside the drama and not seduced by a voice,so I watch as well as listen, and FA was NOT convincing in portraying Calaf. He is not a novice to the role so he wasn't trying desperately to think of words when he staring with vacant eyes during those periods when others were front and center; he simply went inert. <BR/><BR/>Example: first act, the recognition scene: FA stolss along the back of the stage, jerks to attention, and from the back of the stage, staring at the back of the prone figure of a man lying on the ground a fair distance from him, he recognizes him instantly. Compare that to Cura, who sees a man who has fallen and rushes to help,turns him over, and THEN recongizes him. A world of difference, but in that world you can see the difference between a singer who thinks that is all he needs to do and a singing actor who is thinking and experiencing.<BR/><BR/>Second example: the death of Liu: FA stood with his guards and adjusted his red coat while Liu died, then waited until she was on the ground and the guards let him move before he moves to her side. Cura breaks free of the guards once he realizes her intent and manages to get to her in time to catch her as she sinks. Different sensibilities but my what a difference it made in understanding the characters.<BR/><BR/>Also, FA spent much of the night stroking his chin and making funning faces, tugging on his costume and generally being completely removed from the action.<BR/><BR/>And, sorry again, but FA's Nessun dorma was the most self-indulgent and over-wrought rendition I have heard live. The folks I attend with agreed,barely refraining from laughing aloud and she strained to make it ever more emotional. Glad you liked it, but it was a stand and sing effort for FA and not integrated at all into the performance or the character. <BR/><BR/>Yes, FA might be an excellent concert feature but in an opera where it is expected that he both sing and act, I have to give him weak marks. Good,dependable GENERIC voice,capable of filling in for the first line but not quite able to take his place among the best of the best. <BR/><BR/>Again, glad you liked him and as I said it is just different strokes for different folks. I want meat on the plate, not just a pretty dish. FA did not give me that meat, but it appears he did for you. If you find these sentiments mean, then I am sorry. Sometimes alternative truth hurts, though I can't imagine why comments about FA's performance would be taken so personally by you.<BR/><BR/>Oh, BTW, the applause he received on Wednesday evening was PALE compared to the ovation that swept the audience on Saturday. Sorry.Deb and Kirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03481204919125711774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-11254586398414360042009-01-19T11:09:00.000+00:002009-01-19T11:09:00.000+00:00Well, my dears, horses for courses, as they say - ...Well, my dears, horses for courses, as they say - you can't please everyone. A world in which we were all exactly the same and wanted the same things would be pretty boring. After all, Maria Callas was probably the most famous singer of the twentieth century, but many of us don't like her voice. (Go on, lynch me!).Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811393485894960485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-23173492198783152492009-01-18T17:43:00.000+00:002009-01-18T17:43:00.000+00:00Excuse me, dsc-nova, but I was at the same opera !...Excuse me, dsc-nova, but I was at the same opera !!!<BR/>Fabio Armiliato in TURANDOT at ROH was really impressive endeed, totally envolved and delivering a stunning and impressive vocal performance.<BR/>I heard he's been called for this performances only one day before and I read in his web site last time he sang this opera it's been almost two years ago in Baden-Baden conducted by Gerghiev and with another incredible success.<BR/>I only agree with dsc-nova on the fact that he delivered the most impressive NESSUN DORMA I ever heard live....<BR/>For the rest dsc-nova wrote in his message: I don't really want to be polemic at all....but I found words like "annoying, generic and forgettable" for this tenor's performance really unfair, improper and a little bit mean. Sorry.<BR/>I don't remember having heard at the end of a performance such a big ovation for a tenor since looooong time at ROH, and this DOES mean something more then our words and opinions on this blog.....<BR/><BR/>I totally agree with Imogen's post who wrote the same words I'd like to express about Fabio Armiliato's performance at ROH ! Thank you Imogenen and thank to Fabio Armiliato for the wonderful evening!!!calaf09https://www.blogger.com/profile/08442694977975031967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-82946048759650275842009-01-17T01:37:00.000+00:002009-01-17T01:37:00.000+00:00Hi! Just wanted to ask--were we at the same opera?...Hi! Just wanted to ask--were we at the same opera? Fabio fidgeted, made faces, adjusted his garmets when he was supposed to be in distress, went vacant when he wasn't center of the action, and moved in hurky jerkey moves when he was. He sang downstage to maximize his projection AND he offered perhaps the most overly dramatic, over-the-top Nessun dorma I have ever heard live. His tenor is good and serviceable but totally generic and forgettable.<BR/><BR/>Sorry, I have heard good things about him but in theater on this nght, I just wasn't that into him. I found him annoying.<BR/><BR/>Sorry to be so off target with your opinion. To each their own, I guess.Deb and Kirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03481204919125711774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-20388559773533158002009-01-16T16:16:00.000+00:002009-01-16T16:16:00.000+00:00Mario - if you're still there - I don't speak Ital...Mario - if you're still there - I don't speak Italian beyond tourist and opera-libretto level, but with a mixture of this plus Spanish and courage I have managed to struggle through the review of the ROH "Turandot" on your "Dolci Baci" blog. <BR/>I'm bemused that none of the British press seem to have batted an eye on getting a tenor they should have been itching to hear suddenly turning up on their doorstep singing Calaf. <BR/>(Well, not literally on the doorstep, though it's a nice thought... I'd be very happy to be serenaded by a man with a voice of that quality!)<BR/>Ciao!<BR/>Imogen.Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811393485894960485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-27944151667627522312009-01-16T14:55:00.000+00:002009-01-16T14:55:00.000+00:00Mario, if you are really a dead ringer for the lat...Mario, if you are really a dead ringer for the late, great Franco Corelli, may I offer my congratulations?! <BR/><BR/>All joking apart, it was a great evening at CG, though, wasn't it?Imogenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811393485894960485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883554250280529997.post-11409899120482843512009-01-16T00:43:00.000+00:002009-01-16T00:43:00.000+00:00Hi! There was also me to see this Opera in RHO! I ...Hi! There was also me to see this Opera in RHO! I posted this link on youtube: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc8-2kHR09s ...I think Fabio is the best Calaf in our days!Mario Cavaradossihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11049805113409856952noreply@blogger.com