#operaposting

[johnny1note]

I forgot to post for the 75th anniversary of this performance (July 3, 1951) and I am mortified:

Callas's high E-flat at 2:28 that swallows the entire orchestra and chorus is the most astounding feat of vocalism on record. The one guy in the audience who just starts screaming before she even finishes is literally me.

[noughticalcrossings]

Ah! But that’s your job;

You’ll watch over us, and we’ll laugh for you.

We won’t lack anything, I think;

For I wisely chose

My companions for pleasure,

And my governor for prudence.

Le Gouverneur, Le Comte Ory, Teatro alla Scala (2014)

The lecherous Count Ory is determined to win the key to Countness Adele’s heart, or rather her bedchamber, and to this end has set up in the countryside as a hermit of enormous power - wooing all the local peasants with his wisdom and “spiritual” prowess. But crashing onto the scene comes his long-suffering governor who has been hunting him hither and yon, and who does not hesitate to reveal his true identity in front of the countess.

But Ory has another trick up his sleeve; if the castle is closed to all men, then what better a prank than to disguise himself and all his knights as nuns escaping from a storm? The governor, powerless to actually go against his titled master, would really rather he stayed out of trouble. But if that won’t work, then the least he can do is get in on the action of drinking his way through the castle’s copious stores of wine.

Such is the profit and honour of being a governor.

[noughticalcrossings]

The world is one large theatre

And we are all actors

We can change characters in an instant

Alidoro, La Cenerentola, Opéra Paris (2017), Bayerische Staatsoper (2024), Dutch Nationale Opera and Ballet (2019), Torino (2016) and Teatro Real (2021)

La Cenerentola is the story of cinderella with a few key changes, and one of these is the character of the fairy godmother being exchanged for the prince’s tutor Alidoro.

He is a man of many guises, appearing first as a beggar to test the hearts of the prospective brides, a registrar to question where the third sister of the household is, a benefactor of enormous supernatural power, and a wise friend to both the prince and Cenerentola.

Apart from being a character I deeply love, I also love the sheer variety of his characterisation in different productions. By turns paternalistic, fae, sombre, mischievous, wise, and chaotic, he’s just as comfortable causing a miracle as he is causing an injury to Cenerentola’s abusive stepfather.

[isaddeos]

non-exhaustive list of Woman's Name operas bc i was bored and curious

Carmen (Bizet)

Alcina (Händel)

Lakmé (Delibes)

Elektra (Strauss)

Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea)

Massenet:

Thaïs

Cendrillon

Manon

Puccini:

Manon Lescaut

Tosca

Madama Butterfly

Suor Angelica

Turandot

Verdi:

Luisa Miller

Alzira

Giovanna de Guzman/I vespri siciliani

Giovanna d'Arco

Aida

Rossini:

Semiramide

Ermione

La Cenerentola

Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra

Armida

Zelmira

Adina

Matilde di Shabran

Adelaide di Borgogna

Bellini:

Norma

Zaira

Beatrice di Tenda

Donizetti (got the memo):

Pia de' Tolomei

Linda di Chamounix

Maria di Rohan

Emilia di Liverpool/L'eremitaggio di Liverpool

Lucia di Lammermoor

Rosmonda d'Inghilterra

Gemma di Vergy

Gabriella di Vergy

Maria de Rudenz

Sancia di Castiglia

Zoraida di Granata

Francesca di Foix

Imelda de' Lambertazzi

Alina, regina di Golconda

Maria Padilla

Anna Bolena

Maria Stuarda

Caterina Cornaro

Lucrezia Borgia

Parisina

Rita

Adelia

Fausta

Elvida

Betly

Chiara e Serafina two of them!

Dalinda

[monarch-ambrosia]

“nobody cares about opera” bold words from a guy who looks like he’d be played by a mezzosoprano and be upset about it

[johnny1note]

Thinking about this version of this aria constantly...Zeani is the only one who convinces me that she would actually jump off the bridge if she can't have her man

[noughticalcrossings]

@parmandil I would like you to know that my phone glitched and for a good thirty seconds I had to contemplate that I had wildly misinterpreted the sound design of Benamor

[denisglillie]

Women from My Opera.....