tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post369788703045820492..comments2023-04-30T07:36:58.835-04:00Comments on Sonic Labyrinth: Review of Siegfried Live in HD; Long Live the Machine?Jeffrey Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08877911938789999559noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post-137765469082670272011-12-21T05:43:52.869-05:002011-12-21T05:43:52.869-05:00Excellent review, and I agree with you wholehearte...Excellent review, and I agree with you wholeheartedly that the Lepage staging was put to much better use in this production than in Die Walküre. As for Jay Hunter Morris, I think he did a fine job, but then I'm spoiled by being a huge fan of Max Lorenz (and spoiled myself even further by listening to Lorenz sing the part every time I was a driving for about a month in anticipation of seeing this production!) I think he needs a little more power and force in his voice, but he has plenty of time and room to grow ahead of him. He definitely shows great promise! Thanks for this nice review. I had just had surgery the day before but couldn't miss this production, although I was in and out of it due to painkillers! I'll need to see the encore to do a proper review myself, which I'm looking forward to. My review will then appear in LiveJournal's Wagnerdammerung community.DeborahKLAhttp://deborahkla.livejournal.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post-31499074649029518102011-11-06T05:12:09.299-05:002011-11-06T05:12:09.299-05:00Dear Xylotropes,
I also noticed the missing C, bu...Dear Xylotropes,<br /><br />I also noticed the missing C, but gave away her first phrase as an intentional move away from “sleepiness.” Still, in light of Brünnhilde tradition, I have very little argument. I have modified my entry as follows: “Voigt found both power and lyricism in warm colors.” We may still disagree about that, but it is closer to what I meant to say. Thanks for the reality check Xylotropes.Jeffrey Johnsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post-33946256333414436872011-11-06T01:58:27.781-04:002011-11-06T01:58:27.781-04:00Jay Hunter Morris is wonderful as Siegfried. I th...Jay Hunter Morris is wonderful as Siegfried. I think the unrelentless waterfall during the Nothung aria and all that flickering going on in background are distracting from the singing. It's like having something annoyingly repetitive on that just won't stop. We don't need all that stuff for the opera to keep our attention. I think Jay should always dress like Siegfried. It looks great on him!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post-1842803043477692732011-11-06T00:35:13.038-04:002011-11-06T00:35:13.038-04:00Morris was fantastic as Siegfried. Absolutely. His...Morris was fantastic as Siegfried. Absolutely. His characterization was wonderful; my favorite was when Brunnhilde first rejected him.<br /><br />However, what completely and utterly ruined this for me and which left a very very bitter taste in my mouth was Voigt as Brunnhilde. The very first note sounded as if she was someone's grandmother. She slipped and slided her way from note to note and with a vibrato so big, it was hard to tell which note she was aiming for and at times she seemed to be speaking Italian with so many trill Rs. The worse was all the money notes (ie, big high notes) ranged from ok to downright awful. Case in point is the last high C. She should have just whistled it because what came out of her mouth was a 1 second squeal that probably even fell short of the high A mark. I suspect the orchestra went extra fortissimo there to try to cover that up. I don't know what you guys were listening to, but to say she was "fabulous" is a downright exaggeration. Perhaps Voigt is a wonderful person; but as I do not know her, I can only judge her by her performance and it was not good at all.<br /><br />Honestly, if the MET can not find a Brunnhilde, they should have not even think about a Ring Cycle. I will NOT pay to watch the MET's Gotterdammerung and hear my favorite parts destroyed.Xylotrupeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07714508300662815708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post-79054530960892980792011-11-06T00:13:23.104-04:002011-11-06T00:13:23.104-04:00Like the scenery from nature that it was portrayin...Like the scenery from nature that it was portraying during this opera, I think that the machine has its own worms!Jeffrey Johnsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4278536771700162580.post-6402604843386571102011-11-05T22:32:54.159-04:002011-11-05T22:32:54.159-04:00I enjoyed the singing in this Siegfried tremendous...I enjoyed the singing in this Siegfried tremendously. Interestingly, I liked "the machine" less in this opera than I did in Die Walküre. The thing makes me nervous: did Morris actually slip on one of the planks halfway into his journey through the fire? I find myself worrying about the singers keeping their footing, and that distracts me from the amazing voices. The relentless murkiness bothered me a bit, too. When Brünnhilde greets the sun, it looks like the middle of the night. But I found Jay Hunter Morris amazing, and I'd been waiting for years to hear Deborah Voigt sing Brünnhilde and was not disappointed. (Alexandra)Caudimordaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05630244254096489980noreply@blogger.com