Domingo at the MET last night

[rich...@gmail.com]

I knew you would read this!

Anyway, I am at the Ring this week, and really going for the music and
my reaction to it, and not the singing (or fortunately, entirely the
conducting either this time), and happily am just into the music and
narrative as music.....there must be something wrong with me, since I
am really enjoying it <g>.

I am not really looking at cast lists and so sat in the first act of
Walkere without knowing the cast, except for Pape. I was really
stunned at the end to learn it was Domingo. He sounded extremely (I
will not say unnaturally - that would be wrong) youthful, and there
wasn't a hint of wobble or difficulty, and in fact I thought it had to
be some singer I didn't know in his 40s, I would have guessed. There
was in fact some underpowered singing sometimes at the top fo the
range - the Notungs were not very forceful and sounded far back - but
it was an amazing performance overall, I thought. The only giveaway as
to age was really in the last couple of minutes of the act, where
Levine seemed to put on a bit extra speed to help a tiring singer, as
I think he generally as with Domingo in this opera.

In the second act, I at least heard much more prominently something
one could fairly call a wobble (when Sills did it, I always considered
it a 'beat' in the voice) in the early singing, but that disappeared
to my ears after a while. The only real objection I thought was his
interpretation in the scene with Brunnhilde in Act II. Domingo was
just kind of a cipher, and I think there has got to be more steely
determination, and more of a sense of heroism and defiance, in the
voice and the personality for this scene to be effective than it was.

But overall a quite amazing performance and perhaps the best vocal
performance of the evening, baring Pape (which I wouldn't mind).

[David Melnick]

"rich...@hotnail.com" <rich...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9375c3c2-e155-466d...@d25g2000prn.googlegroups.com...

> I think there has got to be more steely
> determination, and more of a sense of heroism and defiance, in the
> voice and the personality for this scene to be effective than it was.

I kind of like this self-aware, "condemned-man" approach. The first time I
saw a tenor do
it this way, I was like you and felt slightly cheated. But I've changed.

dav

[wagnerfan]

"David Melnick" <dmel...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:AM6Kl.27638$Ws1....@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com...

I think a lot of Siegmunds feelings are there in text and music during the
so called Annunciation of Death scene. As the motives of Annunciation and
Fate inexorably weave their way through the first part of the scene, Wagner
is telling us that Siegmund recognizes Brunnhildes position and mission and
accepts it nobly. Its only when he learns that Sieglinde will not accompany
him that he expresses reluctance and defiance. He goes so far as to
threatening to kill Sieglinde to be sure that she will go with him. (Though
I'm not sure the entrance requirements for getting into Walhalla would
actually permit that, but of course thats not the point). Vickers on the
Leinsdorf recording really sings and acts it beautifully - one of the high
points of the recording. Wagner Fan.

[Zinka Forever]

On Apr 29, 9:02�pm, "David Melnick" <dmeln...@pacbell.net> wrote:
> "richer...@hotnail.com" <richer...@gmail.com> wrote in message

Placido is AMAZING..Imagine 50 years of singing..and all the "
notes that came out of his throat'..anmd still sounds bright and
young..he was not known for a great top..but in this music he is
superb...ch