Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.classica.mod
Titolo: Un po' di Schadenfreude: debacle del Trovatore al Met

Ki aveva già scommesso 1 milione di $ sul trionfo del Trovatore al Met
di NYC  (mi pare fosse Lomi do IAMC...) contrapposto ad un fallimento
di quello mutiano alla Scala ha di ke divertirsi  leggendo i post
inorriditi dei frequentatori di  Opera List e sul NG rec.music.opera.
Può anke leggere qualcosa dal sito La Cieca del noto "Queer Opera Fan"
James Jorden:
http://www.parterre.com/lacieca.htm
Buon divertimento!
LUX
P.S. 
L' art dell' Associated Press ke potete trovare al 
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001208/en/opera_trovatore_1.html
ve lo incollo io:
Friday December 8 2:35 AM ET
Graham Vick Production Draws Boos 
By MIKE SILVERMAN, Associated Press Writer 
NEW YORK (AP) - There was never a dull moment at the Metropolitan
Opera's new production of Verdi's ``Il Trovatore,'' as gales of
unintended laughter greeted the most dramatic stage effects and the
curtain calls were cut short by savage booing.
It seemed hard to imagine, before Thursday night's premiere, that the
Met could fail to score a success after its last production of this
tuneful warhorse was critically trashed. That 1987 eyesore was
dominated by a dingy staircase leading nowhere and big black pillars
that slid around to no purpose.
At least the new production by Graham Vick with sets by Paul Brown
shows imagination - feverish imagination, perhaps, but what other kind
befits this overheated tale of two brothers separated at birth who
fight to the death over the fair Leonora? Add to the mix the gypsy
Azucena, who has raised one brother as her son after mistakenly
throwing her own baby into the very fire where her mother had been
burned at the stake. You get the idea - things end miserably for all
concerned.
Vick has moved the action from 15th century Spain to the Italy of
Verdi's era, a time he described in a New York Times interview as ``a
theatrical 19th century, a world of heightened passion, of drama and
romance.''
The none-too-subtle plot lines are underscored by Brown's set, which
is dominated by two flat panels, a white one representing the good
brother, Manrico, and a black one that stands for the evil Count di
Luna. The panels, both of them flecked with ominous clouds, move about
to form various angles depending on the scene. The moon looms very
large, too - sometimes a crescent through which Leonora appears,
sometimes a full moon in which one character or another is reflected.
The first of two big theatrical coups - or miscalculations, depending
on your viewpoint - comes at the end of Act II, as Leonora, believing
Manrico to be dead, is about to enter a convent. The Count rushes in
and tries to kidnap her when Manrico appears - descending on a
crucifix-shaped gangplank that suddenly opens from the black panel.
Much guffawing greeted this effect on opening night.
Even more astonishing is the end of Act III, when Leonora and Manrico
are about to pledge their wedding vows by climbing a white staircase
shaped like a crescent moon. Manrico has already stepped aboard when
an aide interrupts the ceremony by rushing in to announce that the
Count has captured Manrico's mother. Suddenly the staircase - carrying
our bewildered hero - lifts high into the air, revealing a black
underside and leaving him there to belt out the stirring ``Di quella
pira.''
In the midst of all this scenic excitement, the singers are bound to
get a bit lost, and that's too bad, because ``Trovatore'' is really
about nothing more than great singing.
Dolora Zajick as Azucena was the only one of the four leads who was
fully up to the challenge, her huge voice filling the house in the
best tradition of Verdi mezzos. Soprano Marina Mescheriakova has a
lovely high pianissimo and considerable power in her upper register.
But her low notes were hard to hear and she occasionally sang flat.
Of the men, tenor Neil Shicoff did surprisingly well considering he
was recovering from a flu bug that kept him out of the final dress
rehearsal. His voice grew stronger as the night wore on, though he
seemed ill-at-ease performing acrobatic maneuvers on the sets. As the
Count, baritone Robert Frontali used his moderate voice with vigor.
With their matching beards and drooping mustaches, the two men really
looked like brothers.
It didn't help matters musically to have Carlo Rizzi in the pit. His
conducting was frequently on the sluggish side and he had trouble
coordinating with the chorus.
Rizzi got the first boos when he came out for his curtain call, but
the audience reserved its greatest scorn for Vick and Brown, who
smiled bravely as they took their bows with the cast.
Met audiences have a habit of loudly hating adventurous productions of
well-known works. Robert Wilson's minimalist production of Wagner's
``Lohengrin'' was reviled when it premiered a couple of seasons ago,
only to be cheered in revival less than a year later.
We'll see if the same reversal of fortune awaits ``Il Trovatore.'' 

Opera's new production of Verdi's ``Il Trovatore''
Insomma pare ke Vick stavolta sia andato a far danno a NYC. Solo ke
invece del malefico cubo del Macbeth scaligero ha proposto un Manrico
del secolo scorso ke durante la scena del rapimento di Leonora scende
da un crocifisso. Poi canta la Pira da una scala libratasi
improvvisamente in aria. C' era xò la luna.
La Mescheriakova ha avuto dei bei filati pianissimi (ma quelli ce li
ha pure la Frittoli) e x il resto ha cantato piattamente.
La migliore in campo, come a MI, è stata l' interprete di Azucena, ke
in questo caso era la Zajick.
Neil Shicoff non aveva voce essendo reduce da un' influenza e stava x
dare forfait. Non è dato sapere se ha fatto il do... Rosario, non ci
dici niente?? Sei anke tu un "do-ologo"?
Roberto Frontali, l' unico italiano insieme al direttore Rizzi è stato
modesto (ma 2° Innauarato era sotto cortisone...).
Sembra ke Rizzi abbia diretto male ed abbia avuto serie diffcoltà col
coro. E' stato il + buato, dopo Vick e lo scenografo Brown.
LUX