tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post7205278149348651617..comments2024-03-18T09:22:11.316-04:00Comments on OPERA OBSESSION: Goerne and Andsnes: Death (and life) at Carnegie HallLucyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02549302523503271428noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post-79769368785238380702012-05-10T00:00:03.112-04:002012-05-10T00:00:03.112-04:00Glad to broaden the conversation. I do hope that m...Glad to broaden the conversation. I do hope that more female singers continue to take on the <i>Winterreise</i>. Fassbaender is indeed extraordinary, and I love both her interpretation and Christa Ludwig's quite different one. I'm quite jealous of your chance to hear Coote; we don't get enough of her in NYC. You make me want to revisit Christine Schaefer's recording; to be honest, I run hot and cold on it. I couldn't say I'm holding my breath for Kaufmann's recording, but it should be interesting, at the very least (and who knows, maybe I'll be surprised and devastated in the best way.)Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549302523503271428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post-9603622307783779762012-05-09T17:15:22.741-04:002012-05-09T17:15:22.741-04:00The topic seems now to be Winterreise, so I have t...The topic seems now to be Winterreise, so I have to chip in...... Check out the women - Christine Schaefer's is the one I keep going back to - hauntingly beautiful, ethereal - a sort of detached passion. I was at Alice Coote's Winterreise at the Wigmore Hall in January - quite different - very angry, almost scary - you would not have wanted to meet her on the road.... There's a surreal youtube video of Brigitte Fassbaender singing Der Lindenbaum, which makes me want to get the whole recording - she is unique. <br />Back to the men: Henk Neven's new CD is great. And are we holding our breath for Jonas' recording, as he is starting to sing it in Munich this year? Given that he is well enough by then - Inshallah - it should be good. But for me, it will be hard even for him to beat Christine Schaefer's for beauty and cool spookiness.shapta-dakininoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post-46885318807523824192012-05-08T10:14:48.526-04:002012-05-08T10:14:48.526-04:00Ha! I also really like Bostridge's Winterreise...Ha! I also really like Bostridge's <i>Winterreise</i>, although I've yet to find an account of the cycle which I decidedly prefer to all others. If a tenor named Shawn Thuris ever ends up in the D.C. area, though, check him out; I heard his <i>Winterreise</i> live and it was both powerful and introspective. I haven't heard the Boesch; I'll have to look it up!Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549302523503271428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post-89892276033201023832012-05-07T16:31:33.817-04:002012-05-07T16:31:33.817-04:00Winterreise marathon! It can only end in lots of ...Winterreise marathon! It can only end in lots of dark clothing and eyeliner and writing bad poetry. Of course, I'm the weirdo who prefers Ian Bostridge's Winterreise - though I just listened to a bit of Florian Boesch's recording (I seem to remember Alex Ross or Nico Muhly raving about it via blog...), and it it wonderfully intimate.Caitlin Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18132854002277349197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post-16044204986570931402012-05-07T08:35:41.748-04:002012-05-07T08:35:41.748-04:00My first instinct is to say "Lucky you!"...My first instinct is to say "Lucky you!" but I'm sorry to hear that the <i>Winterreise</i> was a less than satisfying expereince. On this evening, Goerne and Andsnes seemed very connected to each other as well as to the music, which was a big part of the recital's standout success, for me. Goerne's singing was indeed very physically engaged (and my post-recital YouTube binge would seem to suggest that this is characteristic.) I did find it interesting... and on this evening, not distracting at all. I'm not sure how this would have affected a more "narrative" recital. On Tuesday, Goerne's sound was consistently gorgeous, but I thought that his coloring of sound and (a thing I could only judge in the German) use of text brought plenty of anguish. It's an interesting interpretive question, though! I'd suggest a marathon of <i>Winterreise</i> recordings, but I'm not sure that would be psychologically healthy.Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549302523503271428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2665236978084294968.post-35072964650549734682012-05-06T22:53:05.198-04:002012-05-06T22:53:05.198-04:00I saw Goerne perform Wintereisse at the Kennedy Ce...I saw Goerne perform Wintereisse at the Kennedy Center this past January (or February?). He sang very beautifully, and was very deeply focused on the act of singing; however, I found that I didn't find his interpretation totally convincing. The sounds he made were always very elegant and well-executed, but I think the emotional content kind of suffered for it. I would have preferred a more broken, less attractive sound in places - something more hollow and worn out on "Der Leiermann", for example. And, of course, his focus on the quality of the sounds he was making really affected his physicality as a performer. I don't know if it was the same for you, but he could be very animated at times as he engaged his body in the process of producing (and manipulating) sound. I tend to think that's actually really interesting to watch in a recital (provided the singer isn't TOO awkward), but I think I would have appreciated it more if I hadn't had my interpretation issues! <br /><br />I also thought Eschenbach seemed to be having a little trouble keeping up on the piano - he seemed a little rushed (or under-rehearsed) at times, so that didn't help.Caitlin Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18132854002277349197noreply@blogger.com