okay so might have gone a bit overboard with the gifs tonight :) but I have come full circle (or maybe 180 degrees rather) in my feelings about the 2015 Il Trovatore production. It was the first version of Trovatore I had ever seen, when the Met aired it during their first week of free streams. Incidentally, that was the first time I saw Dima (or any member of that cast, though it would be Eugene Onegin that Sunday that would turn my world upside down and turn me into, as one of my dear tumblr friends accused me tis week, a Dima fangirl) (though most importantly a Renée fangirl, though that is for another post :D) what I mean is, I absolutely did not appreciate him and could not foresee he would soon become the #1 musical artist I listen to, oops. (Okay, competing with Renée and Sondra but that’s a given, right?)
Ayways, I was absolutely scarred as I watched that stream! I couldn’t appreciate the opera the way I do now, though I was unable to tear myself away from it. What can I say, it’s a thriller. But watching it again this week was completely different. I’m not sure I’d watch it again and again like the 2011 version, but
I could understand why I wanted to laugh during “Di Tale Amor” (I actually quite like Anna in certain productions - esp. Lucia di Lammermoor; I do think she can sing and I have seen her act, but after seeing Sondra Radvanovsky sing Leonora, it simply isn’t fair to compare, because she makes it sound effortless, is so smooth and clear I can’t even.) Anna’s Leonora is lovely, but that’s about it - I much prefer this character to have a bit more spark/fiestiness/pushback especially in scenes with di Luna, and even a lightness - Sondra even brought straight-up laughter to the role in almost every act (uh oh, I’m comparing again). I believe part of the reason I was repulsed/could not get over the plot the first time I saw this opera was due to Anna’s portrayal (I SHOULDN’T BLAME HER I’m sure directing had much to do with it because Anna can act, I will argue with you) of Leonora is so static and serious without much personality, and reads almost as hopeless, which just dragged a first-time viewer like me down into the pits of dispair. Which of course is one directing choice but not one I would make with such a.... wild opera. Let Leonora be the LIONESS her name reveals her to be.
I found myself loving Yonghoon Lee’s Manrico (I really...um...couldn’t get over how angry he seemed the first time around but duh, that’s just Manrico. Now I love his facial expressions, and that voice... the end of Di Quella Pira... oh my GOD!!!!), and Hvorostovsky, Zajick, Zifchak, and Kocán were all like old friends.
This time I noticed Dima was definitely much less dynamic/active for obvious reasons (and different directing) but the more outwardly restrained and dignified his di Luna was, the more the inner rage was channeled through (basically growling “Io fremo!’“ for instance; lots of other little instances were the lyrics and facial expressions seem more pointed than in 2011, when more of di Luna’s madness seems to come through being physically unhinged.
I need to make an Azucena appreciation post, but I feel similarly about Dolora in the 2015 version - if anything, there is more sharpness and venom that came through, in a way. And... can I just say, I am super jealous of her little knife-throw-catch thing during Mal Reggendo. I look forward to it every time.
The 2011 version is still my favorite (although both versions would have been in better taste without THAT SCENE if you know what I mean) but I appreciate this version on its own now. I clearly now appreciate the opera (a lot) (really perhaps an unhealthy amount) (i’m fine)
