The Mysteries of the High Baroque

Or we could call it: “Getting a Grip on Handel” but then even less people would take it seriously.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Big mssn in s big wig: the composer George Frideric Handel.

As is the case with many of the good things in life, I came to Handel late.

Oh sure, I knew who he was. German guy who lived in England. Wore a wig. Wrote the album of flute concertos I cherished as a kid--judt about the only classical cassette I had before I turned 16. I had even visited his grave in Westminster Abbey when I was maybe 14. I was impressed!Here was the grave of a real composer, a famous one. But he remained an enigma. He had written Messiah and he was famous for that. But when I grew up, we didn't go to Messiah at Christmas and it had never occurred to my parents to take me. We sang "Hallelujah!" at Easter. Sometimes.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: The Enchanted Island

It's time to go back to the Island as the Met revives its baroque pastiche.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Underwater love: Danielle de Niese (in drysuit) and Plácido Domingo (with trident)
in a scene from Act I of The Enchanted Island.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

(Editor's note: As this is the Met's revival of a pastiche, this preview is largely built from the January 5 Superconductor review of The Enchanted Island "Down With the Ship (Slight Return.)" You've got to have your fun when you can get it. )

"Pastiche, the art of pasting together songs by different composers to make a new, playable work of art, has a long history, from the Shakesperean masques of Henry Purcell to Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge!. By combining Shakespeare's The Tempest with characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mr. Sams and Mr. Gelb (working with baroque conductor William Christie) created a sampler platter of the genre.

Concert Review: Martyred, Then Returned to Life

The English Concert presents Handel's Theodora.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

A man and his harpsichord: English Concert conductor Harry Bickett.
Photo by Richard Haughton © 2013 The English Concert.

Sometimes a composer's best work escapes the notice of his public. Take, for example Handel's late oratorio Theodora which bombed with the London public after just three performances. On Sunday afternoon at Carnegie Hall, Harry Bickett and the period ensemble The English Concert made a case for Theodora as one of Handel's most compelling stage works.

Opera Review: The Queen, Suddenly Promoted

Danielle De Niese steps in at the Met's Giulio Cesare.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Danielle De Niese swoops in on an east wind as Cleopatra.
Photo by Tristram Kenton © 2005 The Glyndebourne Festival.

Danielle De Niese was only going to the opera last night.

The Australian soprano is not on the Metropolitan Opera's roster of singers this season. She was planning on attending the second performance of the company's new production of Giulio Cesare last night, sitting in general manager Peter Gelb's parterre box and watching the baroque extravaganza starring David Daniels in the title role and Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Giulio Cesare

The Met imports a British production of Händel's most famous opera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Cocktails in Egypt: David Daniels (right) and Natalie Dessay as Caesar and Cleopatra
in the Met's new production of Giulio Cesare. Photo by Dan Rest © Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Metropolitan Opera continues to showcase the performance and production of baroque opera. Here, the company imports David McVicar's 2005 production of Giulio Cesare (alternate title: Giulio Cesare in Egitto) to the big stage as a vehicle for countertenor David Daniels (in the title role) and soprano Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra. This is the last new production of the 2012-2013 season.

Despite the British origin of this work (it premiered in London in 1724) the plot of Giulio Cesare has nothing to do with Shakespeare or the ruler's assassination on the Ides of March. Handel's opera retells the doomed romance between the Egyptian queen and the Roman military leader. The two leads have great opportunity for florid vocal display, with eight arias each.

Giulio Cesare is not some rarity dusted off by historical archivists. The work is considered to be Händel's finest, with musical invention, multiple orchestras at one point and other innovations that made it the most popular  stage work in 18th centiry London. It was one of the first baroque works to be revived in the 20th century (in a version using a baritone Caesar.) The Met will present an authentic 18th centurty style performance, conducted by Harry Bickett.

Giulio Cesare opens April 4, 2013.

Metropolitan Opera Announces 2012-2013 Season

This is last year's post. For the Met 2013-2014 Season visit this link.

A slate of seven new productions--and no Strauss.
by Paul Pelkonen.

(Ed. update: Full details of the coming season are available at the Metropolitan Opera Season Preview.)

Caesar (David Daniels, l.) woos Cleopatra (Natalie Dessay) in Giulio Cesare. Photo © 2005 the Glyndebourne Festival.

The 2012-2013 Metropolitan Opera season is being released today in an online presentation. This is what is known in the industry as a "news dump." No fanfare, press conference, speeches or free lunch for us hard-working members of the gutter press. Besides, this preview is going up while I'm heading to Carnegie Hall to see the Berlin Philharmonic. 

Having a cybernetic season announcement is an attempt to create viral Internet buzz on hip, irony-laden opera publications (like this one) or our good friends over at Parterre Box. The schedule leaked on that site last week. Maybe the company is running short on those little sandwiches and panini that they serve at intermission.

Anna Netrebko opens the season in L'Elisir d'Amore.
Photo by Nick Heavican © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

Another possibility: General Manager Peter Gelb is experimenting with William Gibson's concept of "anti-marketing", releasing the schedule in the worst possible way to create the maximum amount of Twitter/Tumblr traffic over the weekend. And maybe then he'll fly to London in search of a bespoke denim jacket.

It's also possible that doing the season announcement this way was the Met's way of hoping that no-one would notice their DRACONIAN NEW SUBSCRIPTION POLICIES. Read more about them here.

Looking at the slate of 28 operas, counting Der Ring des Nibelungen and this year's "family" (English-language, edited) version of The Barber of Seville, the reason might just be that this year's schedule isn't all that exciting. 

Oh, well. Here's the list. And here's the season brochure.

New Productions:

The Met offers SEVEN new productions this year.

The season opens with the Sept. 24 premiere of Bartlett Sher's L'Elisir d'Amore. This is the Broadway director's fourth show to premiere during the Gelb administration. Mr. Sher's version of the opera will star Anna Netrebko as Adina and Matthew Polenzani as the smitten Nemorino. No word on whether the smashed pumpkins of The Barber of Seville will be matched by an onstage grape-stomping.

Tattooed love god: Simon Keenlyside is Prospero in The Tempest.
Photo by Anne Deniau © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

On Oct. 23 the Met returns to the...ahem...enchanted island with The Tempest by British composer Thomas Adès. The good news: this will have more to do with Shakespeare than last season's baroque confection. Simon Keenlyside takes the role of Prospero and the fabulous Isabel Leonard is Miranda. The bad: the staging is by Robert Lepage, who (at six operas) has now done more works onstage at the Met than Mr. Sher. Word is that "the machine" will not be involved.

Nov. 8 is the opening of the company's new Un Ballo in Maschera which moves the action of Verdi's Swedish court drama back to Boston, Massachusetts (as per the censors' direction at the opera's premiere in 1859.) The production is by modernist/revisionist David Alden (whose twin brother Christopher is directing the City Opera's ongoing cycle of Mozart/da Ponte operas.) We expect the assassination to take place in Boston's Public Garden following the Patriots' second Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. Or something. More details to come.

On New Year's Eve, the Met unveils its new staging of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda by David McVicar, with the mighty Joyce DiDonato as Mary, Queen of Scots. This is the Met's second installment of Donizetti's "Three Queens" trilogy, which is like the Ring Cycle with better arias and more decapitations. Anna Bolena was staged last year. Roberto Devereux is planned, but I'm not supposed to tell you that.

Anti-fashioni: Jonas Kaufmann in Parsifal.
Photo © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

Following the negative reception of Luc Bondy's 2009 Tosca, Mr. Gelb reversed his decision to import the French director's critically derided version of Verdi's Rigoletto from Vienna. Instead, the new Rigoletto (bowing Jan. 28, 2013) will be directed by Broadway baby Michael Mayer, whose resume includes shows like Spring Awakening and the current NBC TV series Smash. (He also made a direct-to-video film of My Friend Flicka, which did not star Frederica von Stade.) Željko Lucic stars as the troubled jester, with Diana Damrau as Gilda.

Otto Schenk's Wagner productions continue to bite the dust. The Met replaces the transforming trees and boing-ing flowers with François Giraud's Opera de Lyon production of Parsifal, premiering Feb. 15, 2013. The good news is that Jonas Kaufmann will sing the title role. The bad: advertising images from that French company have included a river of blood, so expect some sort of grim, post-Apocalyptic version of the Grail legend. We'll know more after the Lyonnaise staging takes the boards on March 6 of this year.

The last new production of the season is a new version of Handel's Giulio Cesare with super-countertenor David Daniels singing the title role opposite the Cleopatra of soprano Natalie Dessay. The production is imported from the Glyndebourne Festival. Directed by Mr. McVicar, with sets by Richard Jones. It opens April 4, 2013.

Living on a prayer: Joyce DiDonato in Maria Stuarda.
Photo by Brigitte Lacombe © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

Here's the regular season,  (what we opera types call the generale) in order of premiere. Two dates indicate different runs with different casts for each. More details to follow in the Superconductor 2012-2013 Metropolitan Opera Preview, currently on sale at a Borders™ bookstore near you.

Turandot opens Sept. 26, with runs in Oct., Nov. and Jan. 2013.

Carmen, opens Sept. 28; Second run opens Feb. 9.

Il Trovatore, opens Sept. 29; Second run opens Jan. 9.

Otello opens Oct. 9; Second run (Domingo conducting) opens March 11. 

Le Nozze di Figaro, opens Oct. 29.

La Clemenza di Tito, opens Nov. 16.

Aida, opens Nov. 23.

Don Giovanni, opens Nov. 28.

Les Troyens, opens  Dec. 13.
La Rondine, opens  Jan. 11.

Le comte Ory, opens Jan. 17.
Don Carlo, opens Feb. 22
Francesca di Rimini, March 4
La Traviata, March 14, (with Diana Damrau.)
Faust, opens March 21.

Les Dialogues des Carmélites, opens May 4.

Holiday Offering: 
The Met offers an annual opera aimed at parents and kids. To their credit, this is the best opera to get youngsters started on a lifetime of loving the genre.

The Barber of Seville (shortened and in English), opens Dec 18. 

Der Ring des Nibelungen

The Met will be mounting three complete Ring cycles in 2013. For a breakdown of the company's new multi-million-dollar version of Wagner's epic, visit this link.

Das Rheingold, April 6

Die Walküre, April 13

Siegfried, April 20

Götterdämmerung, April 23

Opera Review: Down With the Ship (Slight Return)

The Met unveils The Enchanted Island
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Marooned: The cast of The Enchanted Island. L.-R.: Plácido Domingo (Neptune, with trident), 
David Daniels (Prospero), Luca Pisaroni (Caliban), Joyce Di Donato (Sycorax).
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

In recent weeks, there have been a number of articles and commentary (on this blog and elsewhere) as to whether the Metropolitan Opera should have mounted The Enchanted Island. Upon seeing Peter Gelb and Jeremy Sams' baroque mash-up on January 4, the verdict is that this is an aural feast and spectacular entertainment. But the flaw in this "Baroque Fantasy," is the creative team's decision to ignore Shakespeare's earthy sense of humor.

Opera Review: High Notes From Underground

David Daniels as Orfeo. Photo by Marty Sohl.
© 2007 The Metropolitan Opera

Orfeo ed Euridice at the Met

Friday night at the Metropolitan Opera marked the welcome return of David Daniels as Orfeo in the company's Mark Morris production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice.

Mr. Daniels is a countertenor, a voice type that sits close to the range of male alto castrato, the vocal type which Gluck had in mind when he wrote the opera in 1762. But his powerful, thrilling voice possesses none of the reediness or watery timbre that is so often heard in this kind of singing.

As Orfeo, Mr. Daniels spends this production clad in black and slinging an acoustic guitar, a Greek mythological equivalent of Johnny Cash, or perhaps, given the singer's good looks: Elvis Presley. He has a rich and flexible instrument has a full, round sound, akin to an alto flute, but more robust. He is also capable of feats of vocal agility, as displayed last night in his high-flying arias and long Act III duet with his Euridice, played by British soprano Kate Royal in her Met debut.

The opera follows his quest to retrieve his wife Euridice from the Hades, aided by Amor, (Lisette Oropesa) a high-flying represenatation of the God of Love. Mr. Morris' dancers make the most of Gluck's extensive, inventive ballet music, aided by the Met chorus in the depiction of Furies and heroes who block and aid Orfeo on his Chthonian quest.


The best part of the evening was the long duet between Ms. Royal and Mr. Daniels. Their voices intertwined perfectly, capturing the very human drama that Gluck was intending: a husband and a wife struggling to reunite under nearly impossible circumstances. When Orfeo finally brought himself to look at Euridice--an act which returned her to the underworld, it was a potent, moving moment that illustrated the dramatic power of this simple opera.

The action of this 90-minute opera takes place in front of a set of three tiered balconies, with 72 members of the Met chorus decked out magnificently as historical characters from disparate eras, from Genghis Khan to Abraham Lincoln and everyone in between. But given the crucial role played by the chorus in this opera and the high quality of their singing, they would have sounded great if they were in burlap sacks.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Orfeo et Euridice

David Daniels as Orfeo.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2006
The Metropolitan Opera

The Met presents a late-season revival of this Gluck opera, featuring David Daniels' return to the Metropolitan Opera stage in the role of Orfeo.

When Christoph Willibald von Gluck's adaptation of the Orpheus myth arrived on a Viennese stage in 1762, it signalled a new way of composing opera. Gluck's flawless fusion of music and text eschewed the baroque style, emphasizing storytelling over ornamentation.

This is a signature role for this fine American countertenor, one he created when this production premiered in 2006. Kate Royal is Euridice, and Lisette Oropesa is Amor, the winged representation of love. This performance uses the original version of the opera, with the Italian libretto.

Mark Morris' production features an astonishing array of costumed historical figures, arranged on tiers above the stage. These choristers help chronicle the story of Orfeo's grief at the death of Euridice, and his determination to go down into the underworld to get her back. Spectacular ballet sequences and astonishing images are reasons to see this innovative staging.

Part of the problem with recommending a recording of this particular opera is that most of the ones on the market are of different versions of the many revisions. This can be catnip for a collector but difficult to sort out at first. Here's a quick guide to the complexities of Orfeo on CD.


Recording Recommendations:

Orfeo ed Euridice
Munich Bach Orchestra cond. Karl Richter (DG, 1968)
Orfeo: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Euridice: Gundula Janowitz
Amor: Edda Moser
This intriguing recording of the 1862 version of the opera offers a unique solution to the problem of casting Orfeo. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the dark-voiced baritone reknowned for his interpretation of German lieder, offers a powerful interpretation opposite the soaring voice of Gundula Janowitz.

English Baroque Soloists cond. John Eliot Gardiner
Orfeo: Derek Lee Ragin
Euridice: Sylvia McNair
Amor: Cynthia Sieden
One of John Eliot Gardiner's two versions of this opera on disc. Here, the English period performance expert pairs Sylvia McNair with countertenor Derek Lee Ragin with glorious results. This is the closest recording to the version of the opera being performed at the Met.

Orphée ed Eurydice
In 1774, the opera was rewritten for Paris, with the part of Orfeo changed from a castrato to a high tenor. This performance uses the original version of the opera, with the Italian libretto and a countertenor in the male lead.

Coro y Orquestra Sinfonica de Madrid cond. Jesus Lopez-Cobos
Orphée: Juan Diego Flórez
Eurydice: Ainhoa Garmendia
Amor: Allesandra Marianelli
When you're casting a high tenor in an opera, there are few better than Juan Diego Florez, who just completed a run in the Met's first-ever production of Rossini's Le Comte Ory. Mr. Florez' performance makes a compelling case for the French version of this opera, in this live recording under the experienced baton of Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

Orphée ed Eurydice (Berlioz version)
San Francisco Opera cond. Donald Runnicles
Orphée: Jennifer Larmore
Eurydice: Dawn Upshaw
Amor: Alison Hagley
In 1859, Hector Berlioz revised the opera further, rewriting the part of Orphée for a mezzo-soprano to sing and modernizing the orchestration in accordance with his own theories of instrumentation. Berlioz was a brilliant orchestrator, and his version is well worth hearing. Recommended for those who prefer their 18th century operas with a 19th century orchestration. Donald Runnicles leads an excellent cast.

Orfeo et Euridice opens April 29.

Concert Review: The Alchemy of Handel

David Daniels and Dorothea Röschmann at Carnegie Hall

Soprano Dorothea Röschmann

Sunday afternoon's concert at Carnegie Hall paired two performers steeped in the repertory of the 18th century: the soprano Dorothea Röschmann, and the countertenor David Daniels. The two singers were expertly accompanied by the Juilliard 415 Ensemble in an all-Handel program that showcased each voice to mesmerizing effect.


In baroque opera, a strict division exists between recitative/plot development and emotional reaction. The latter is expressed through arias, which put an emphasis on development of emotional truth and embellishment second.

Ms. Röschmann, a singer heard often in Mozart, sang with stellar technique, soaring to heights with a clear, firm line that allowed equal balance between the meaning of the words and the starry flourishes that come in the recaptulation of the text. She shifted moods ably throughout the recital, from the erotic charge of "V'adoro, pupille" *from Giulio Cesare) to tragic loss in the excerpts from Rodelinda.

Countertenor David Daniels

Mr. Daniels first sang for New Yorkers as Arsamene in Handel's Xerxes at City Opera in 1997. Those performances, opposite the late Lorraine Hunt, triggered that company's renaissance as a haven for the performance of baroque opera. He then moved on to the Met, rising to heights with appearances in operas like Orphée et Euridice, a role that he will bring back to New York in May.

Although he sings from the "head", Mr. Daniels' voice is radically different from most countertenors. He is equipped with a round, viola-like resonance that is rare among his ilk: producing powerful, fully formed tones that never sound flutey or forced. This formidable technique was best heard on the elegant "Crede l'uomo ch'egli riposi", and the moving "Perfido, di a quell'empio tiranna" from Radamisto.


Jory Vinkour and Monica Huggett led the Juilliard 415 ensemble, which takes its numeric name from the tuning pitch of the note A (415) in baroque period performance. Using theorbo, hautboys, harpsichord, and old-style bassoons, the Juilliard musicians provided expert accompaniment to the arias, including the complex antiphonal passages from Giulio Cesare. The orchestra also had its time in the spotlight, playing engaging accounts of the Rodelinda overture, a Handel passacaglia and a lithe account of the second Concerto Grosso, Op. 3.

The individual excerpts were exceptional, but they paled compared to the molten alloy of these two voices together in the three duets on the program. The first was "Io t'abbraccio", which featured Mr. Daniels and Ms. Röschmann's voices melting together in a complex weave of sound. "Scherzano sul tu volto" (moved earlier in the program) and "Per le porte del tormento passan l'anime" showed that this fusion of voices was no accident. The encore too, featured a gorgeous duet: "Pur ti miro, pur ti godo" from Monteverdi's L'Incorinazione di Poppea, a perfect, intimate end to an extraordinary afternoon.