Opera Question

[shostakovich]

I was listening to a record called "Italian Opera Intermezzi". It contains 3 excerpts from Catalani's La Wally: 2 preludes and Dance of the Water Nymphs.

The question is, "Does any opera company ever mount La Wally?" Anybody know?
Shos

[Bones]

It's usually is on a double bill with "La Beaver."

<small>[ 09-26-2004, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: Bones ]</small>

[The Great Carouser]

La Wally is a very interesting opera, Shos, especially for those who love 'ridiculous plots,etc. This is the only opera I'm aware of with yodeling. The tenor despises the soprano til the very end of the opera (how's that for a twist!) and he's so dumb he falls off a cliff.....TWICE. It's been a vehicle for Tebaldi and Callas and contains some beautiful arias and I'd be surprised if it's disappeared from the repertory.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by Bones:
It's usually is on a double bill with "La Beaver."

Shame on you, Bones! Ice water all over my screen!

[piqaboo]

Beautiful, Bones!

[bignaf]

there's an avalanche, pre-verismo...

[treebeau]

Very funny, La Beaver !!

It might not be very good, what with all of those people "hollerin'" on the stage.

Regards,
Tim B.

[Shapley]

RE:La Wally is a very interesting opera, Shos, especially for those who love 'ridiculous plots,etc. This is the only opera I'm aware of with yodeling. The tenor despises the soprano til the very end of the opera (how's that for a twist!) and he's so dumb he falls off a cliff.....TWICE.

Sounds like a perfect venue for "Opera in the Ozarks"!

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

I had to look up the libretto for "La Wally". Never saw a dumber plot in my life, not even in DJ&S. "See Spot Run. Run, Spot Run!" beats that stupid thing.

They deserved the avalanche.

[shostakovich]

It's usually is on a double bill with "La Beaver."

Yeah, that was great.


And GC, thanks for a serious answer to a serious question.
Serious Shos

[barfle]

Originally posted by Selma in San Diego:
I had to look up the libretto for "La Wally". Never saw a dumber plot in my life, not even in DJ&S. "See Spot Run. Run, Spot Run!" beats that stupid thing.

They deserved the avalanche.

As I've noted, people attend opera for the same reason they attend porno movies. Not for the story, but for the way it's told.

<small>[ 09-29-2004, 08:52 AM: Message edited by: barfle ]</small>

[owlice]

Shos, you have, so far as I can tell, two opportunities to see La Wally this season. Get yer tickets now! It's being done in Dusseldorf and in Bern in the spring.

[Catmando]

I heard that Wagner's Ring Cycle opera are being performed in Toronto.

I keep hearing that it is rare to have the Ring Cycle performed in its entirety. I know knowing about the Ring Cycle, or much about Wagner for that matter, but I find it intriguing.

What is the Ring Cycle and how long does it run for?

[piqaboo]

Its looooooooooong! (hows that for a useful answer?)

The LA Opera is also planning to do the Ring Cycle, and plans to stage it over 6 days, if I remember the details in the article correctly.
I believe it is 4 separate operas, and each one is intermineable... (I mean, rather long).

[GreatCarouser]

"I can't listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer Poland."
Woody Allen

"Wagner's music is better than it sounds."
Edgar Wilson Nye

"Wagner has some lovely moments but awful quarters of an hour."

~ Gioacchino Rossini

[OperaTenor]

Something to keep in mind:

The "Here comes the bride..." wedding march is from Lohengrin.

A lot of tuneful, powerful music buried in those operas.

[FlyingSorcery]

Uh-oh. I hesitate to admit that I love Wagner, and especially the Ring Cycle.

In the early 90's, PBS showed a production of the entire Cycle with James Morris as Wotan, and I taped it. (back when Great Performances was actually both) I thought Morris was absolutely perfect, as was Siegfried Jerusalem playing Loge. My then first grade daughter almost wore out the tape of Das Rheingold.

I wish I was closer to LA and could afford to see the entire cycle. Seeing the entire cycle in succession is on my list of "someday I'm going to do_______".

[piqaboo]

wikipedia weighs in:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen


whos who in the series
http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/opera/a/aatheringcycle_3.htm


From http://www.cbc.ca,

There’s nothing in music quite like Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelungs. The length – four hefty operas – is grand. The characters include gods and mortals, giants and dwarves, valkyries and other mythological creatures. The story itself is cosmic; it embraces love, power, incest, murder and the end of the world. Wagner scores The Ring with Freudian ingenuity and a new sound in the orchestra, a new style of singing, and a whole new stage presence.

Why do opera companies consider The Ring of the Nibelungs to be a grand cause for celebration? Because in music there is simply nothing like it.

Its both grand music and something of an exercise in endurance.[/url]

[piqaboo]

Flying Sorcery - is it the ticket price that stops you?
LA is a pretty reasonable drive, but I dont see myself giving up 4 + vacation days for the Cycle.

[OperaTenor]

I think FS needs to host a Random event where we all come over and watch that taped Ring cycle.