Opera in Ireland - general discussion thread on all things opera in Ireland

For this year I might do a bit of "oblique" preparation.
As the work in question is Salome, I might get to know the Strauss opera a bit better. There's a full version on Youtube (from Covent Garden).

Was anybody here at "Nixon in China"?
I might go on Saturday if impressions are positive.
Thanks.

Spectacular staging, brilliant dancing, excellent playing. I happen to like Adams's music very much, it's straightforward to hear (not to sing or play!), but there are some nice pastichey moments as well as Adams's usual shifting repetitions. The soloists a little uneven and not always resembling their originals, but the two wives (Claudia Doyle as Pat Nixon and -- best of all -- Audrey Luna as Chiang Ch'ing) were outstanding.

The house -- at least as seen from the stalls -- was surprisingly full, perhaps because it was first night and a weekend, but encouraging.

Go. This is not traditional opera material but you won't see its like in Ireland for some time to come.

I was at last night's (Wednesday 14th) performance. I had booked a seat in the Upper Circle and borrowed a pair of opera glasses because I thought I would be far away from the stage. When I collected my ticket I found I had been upgraded to the stalls. I had a brilliant seat with a perfect view. As far as I could see during the breaks, the upper balcony was not in use and I guess they shoved everyone into the stalls to make it look less empty. Great for me but tough for anyone who paid top dollar for the best seats.

The performance itself was superb. Everything, the set, the singers, the choreography, the sound, the orchestra, was outstanding. Audrey Luna as Madame Mao received the biggest cheer at the end. She was excellent but my favourite performer was John Molloy in the role of Henry Kissinger. The lead female ballet dancer in Act II was also brilliant in what was the most moving part of the entire work.

As for the opera itself, the music is quite eclectic, combining the minimalist rhythms of Philip Glass with sometimes very lush, romantic passages from the strings, and punchy playing from the wind section, redolent of the big band era. Somehow Adams welds his influences into a coherent whole that is unmistakably his own creation.

I was less happy with the structure of the opera. After the initial excitement of Nixon's arrival in Air Force One, the first act became really boring after a few minutes as the protagonists made a series of lengthy speeches. In fact, this highlights the real problem, for me at least, which is Alice Goodman's libretto.

Unfortunately, every word of her script is displayed on a board above the stage. It is therefore impossible to avoid the terrible lines being sung by the performers. These vary from the utterly banal to the wilfully obscure. In fairness, Adams himself believes Goodman's libretto to be 'one of the great as-yet-unrecognised works of American theatre'. So my criticism is a matter of personal taste.

But, overall the Wide Open Opera production of Nixon in China is a tour de force and not to be missed. Judging by the attendance last night, anyone who wants to go on Saturday, and has not got a ticket, should have no problem getting one.

Incidentally, this production is long! It started bang on 7.30 and finished just after 11.00pm. There are two generous intervals though.

The whole shebang is on Youtube if you want a preview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMHfs06sJ5Q

I saw this last Friday. I enjoyed it, but others clearly didn't. I don't think I've ever heard so many seats snapping up in the course of a show.

Though I'm certainly no expert, the singers and musicians seemed excellent. The staging is another matter, but you can make your own mind up about that.

Enjoy the show.

Funnily enough I'd always thought of the Gaiety as a smaller theatre relative to the Olympia, but according to a Google search the Gaiety has 2,000 seats to the Olympia's 1,240.

I think though, that the cramped feel to Mahagonny was due to part of the audience being seated on stage. This reduced the acting space to parish-hall dimensions. Like you I was in the balcony and couldn't see everything, though.

Still, between last month's Nixon in China and now Mahagonny, we can't complain that we're only getting the usual old warhorses - not that there's anything wrong with them either!

Hi!
I have one ticket for Salome in Wexford on Saturday October 25th (8pm), in the Circle, Row D Seat No 9, but I'm not able to go as I will be out of the country.
The ticket cost €115 and I'm willing to sell it for €100.

Very excited for this. http://bordgaisenergytheatre.ie/index.php/artist/la-traviata-glyndebourne-tour-2014

I was taking lessons with the principal double bassist and he says the staging and production is excellent.

Hello!

I just wanted to let the thread know about Glasthule Opera's upcoming production of A triple bill of one act operas at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire on Thursday, 18th and Saturday, 20th of September 2014.

Le 66: Music by Jacques Offenbach in a newly translated libretto by Helene Montague.
Cast includes Brendan Collins - Baritone, Sarah Shine - Soprano

Susanna's Secret: Music by Wolf-Ferrari with English translation by Claude Aveling is one of fifteen operas he wrote between 1895 and 1943. This whimsy Tyrolean caper features Sarah Power - Soprano, Owen Gilhooly – Baritone and Elliott Moriarty - Actor.

A Hand of Bridge by Samuel Barber with a libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti is a little gem - "little" being the operative word!! At ten minutes long it's the shortest opera in the repertoire. Cast: Sarah Power - Soprano, Raphaela Mangan - Mezzo and Brendan Collins - Baritone.

See Pavilion Theatre or Glasthule Opera website for more details.

Joan

Is anybody going to the Youth Opera production of "The Rape of Lucretia"?

I'm toying with the idea, even though I'm not particularly a Britten fan.

All the info is here in this link:

http://www.irishyouthopera.ie/event/the-rape-of-lucretia/

Really enjoying Wexford this year and today is my last day , so this afternoon we have Trial By Jury and The Wandering Scholar and Don Bucefalo this evening.

Anybody else go this year ?

westtip wrote: »

Can't comment because didn't go - partly a financial decision partly do I want to pay a lot of money to hear operas that aren't in the repertoire for good reason. I sometimes wonder if Wexfords Raison d'etre has less appeal now - they have uncovered some gems over the years but is the voyage of discovery running out of steam. I suggested about ten years ago to them that they should think about reviving some of their revivals - operas they have revived in the past but still didn't make it past the post in terms of getting their place in the regular repertoire but perhaps need a second boost, the idea fell on deaf ears. I might try going next year....

I agree with you on the finance side , it is becoming frighteningly expensive .

Main operas 100 euro each . scaled down opera 25 euro , lunchtime concert 15 euro.

I am off to the WNO in Birmingham at the end of the month and it is half the price for William Tells, Moses in Egypt and Carmen.

I may rethink next year myself.

westtip wrote: »

Exactly, WNO top prices about €65 for best seats in house; Will Tell and Moses are not performed very often what is a better deal, these or Wxfd. You can get a really decent seat in the ROH if you plan ahead for the same. I've just become a little cynical about Wxfd, for a lot of people its cheaper to fly to the UK for the likes of WNO or a night at the ROH than to traipse to Wxfd for a hit and miss opera.

Indeed, I am getting to train down to the ROH's production of Idomeneo after Birmingham and I have a great seat in the circle for only 65 sterling.

Happy New Year everyone .

Just a heads up to some treats coming to the cinema in January.

January Saturday 17th Omniplex New York Met The Merry Widow with Renee Fleming

January Thursday 29th Odeon & Omniplex ROH Andrea Chenier with Jonas Kaufman

January Saturday 31th Omniplex Les Contes D'Hoffman New York Met

Can't wait for Andrea Chenier .The full opera is on youtube from Paris with Marcelo Alvarez as Andrea - simply magnificent .

What a wonder youtube is !! http://youtu.be/RuVEQeI3rKg