More expressive acting: Renee Fleming or a sock puppet?

[IcedNote]

Heebus Jeebus. Honestly. I just watched the DVD of Strauss's Capriccio starring her, Rainer Trost, Gerald Finley, et al. Could she have possibly been any stiffer? Damn...they might as well have rolled around a cardboard cutout of her.

-G

[stenka razin]

IcedNote, if you had that reaction to the lovely Ms. Fleming, I would suggest that you listen, but do not watch this great soprano. Really..........maybe that is why I prefer CDs to Blu ray or DVDs.......I do NOT have to see the performer to apppreciate the performance. Sorry about your bad experience, my friend.

[Chalkperson]

Her voice remains the same no matter who the Composer is, very nice and all that, but, there are much better "performers" out there...

[IcedNote]

IcedNote, if you had that reaction to the lovely Ms. Fleming, I would suggest that you listen, but do not watch this great soprano. Really..........maybe that is why I prefer CDs to Blu ray or DVDs.......I do NOT have to see the performer to apppreciate the performance. Sorry about your bad experience, my friend.

I hear ya. But for now I'm going to watch them so I can follow along with subtitles. I think that's an easier way to grasp the story than to try to read a libretto while listening to the CD. Maybe.

-G

[Lance]

Well, the same thing was said of the great British contralto, Kathleen Ferrier—she was no actress—however, she had a voice so incredible and unique that you don't miss the acting. In that respect, I kind of go along with Mel ... preferring CDs to DVDs. When you watch a pianist perform, for example, the pianist can't do much acting, if at all. You just watch him play and reap the rewards of the musical art.

Heebus Jeebus. Honestly. I just watched the DVD of Strauss's Capriccio starring her, Rainer Trost, Gerald Finley, et al. Could she have possibly been any stiffer? Damn...they might as well have rolled around a cardboard cutout of her.

-G

[John F]

Renee Fleming is not just a pretty voice, but she's less involved in her roles on some occasions than on others. I saw her being Violetta in an extraordinary Met "Traviata" a few years back, with Ramon Vargas, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, and Valery Gergiev conducting; very moving indeed. But I've also seen her smile her way through "Manon." Whether it's to do with the nature of the role (Strauss's Countess is no Violetta), or her mood of the moment, or what, who knows?

[ch1525]

When you watch a pianist perform, for example, the pianist can't do much acting, if at all.

Somebody hasn't watched Lang Lang perform...

I had never thought that about Renée when I've seen her perform. Recently I've been listening a lot to her singing Strauss' Four Last Songs. Wonderful stuff!

[Lance]

There are always exceptions. Most people absolutely detest his antics when viewing Lang Lang play. Others call it "expression." I prefer to listen to him than to view him. "Physical" acting isn't a prerequisite to playing the piano though I certainly don't mind facial expressions as long as they are not too contorted! Lang Lang carries it too far, at least IMHO.

When you watch a pianist perform, for example, the pianist can't do much acting, if at all.

Somebody hasn't watched Lang Lang perform...

I had never thought that about Renée when I've seen her perform. Recently I've been listening a lot to her singing Strauss' Four Last Songs. Wonderful stuff!

[DavidRoss]

If only Lang Lang could sing!

[mikealdren]

Seems I'm in a minority here, I haven't seen her on stage but from her recordings I imagine her as being a wooden actress. Her Strauss 4 last songs are spectacularly beautiful and totally uninvolving and her recent Handel CD is one of the worst CDs I have heard in years.

Lance. I find your comparison with Kathleen Ferrier very interesting. KF did very little opera of course and was a very unusual artist with an extremely distinctive voice, a real one-off. It took me ages to come round to her but now I have, I find she draws me right into the music, for me the only real test of a true musician. Unfortunately I have yet to experience anything like that from Ms Fleming.

As for Bang Bang, well he's more of circus act isn't he? It will be interesting to see how we view him in 10 years time.The only thing that distinguishes him from the likes of Katherine Jenkins and Andrea Boccelli is that he has a fantastic technique. Perhaps Liberace is a better comparison?

Mike

[John F]

Quite a few Metropolitan Opera and other telecasts featuring Renee Fleming have been issued on commercial DVD, so you can check out her acting if you like. One is "La Traviata," though not from the same season as the performance I mentioned.

[arepo]

No voice on the face of this earth has ever been more blessed than the one that emanates from the throat of Renee Fleming. The sound is so exquisite and tinged with chocolate velvet that her subpar acting can be forgiven by me.
I am convinced she does a lot of "acting" but, for me, never does she "inhabit" her roles. I am accustomed to it now and close my eyes and grit my teeth when she says her phony "E ta-a-a-ardi" in Traviata.
The lady is a true diva -- she is glamorous, beautiful, she is personable, she's smart, her pipes are holy, and she is able to command (and get) the roles she wants.
I just hope she keeps it up for a long time to come.

[Sylph]

I just hope she keeps it up for a long time to come.

I hope she gets competition so that someone can wipe her off of that pedestal she's on! I'd love to see more diverse singers in world's best opera houses! One person is just annoying. Two (she & Netrebko) even more.

[John F]

I'd love to see more diverse singers in world's best opera houses! One person is just annoying. Two (she & Netrebko) even more.

No problem. The world is full of sopranos who sing their repertoires, and since they can't be everywhere at once, the others get plenty of opportunities.

Renee Fleming has a special relationship with the Metropolitan Opera, and with James Levine, so next season she'll be singing the Marschallin there with Levine conducting, and Rossini's Armida in a new production mounted for her. Even so, that leaves over 20 other operas with major roles for sopranos - "Contes d'Hoffmann" has three such roles - and Fleming won't be singing in any of them.

As for Anna Netrebko, she has lots of fans but no such special relationship with the Met, especially since Valery Gergiev is no longer principal guest conductor there. So she will sing Mimì and one of the three women's roles in "Hoffmann" (if she doesn't cancel) - not exactly a diva's season, and again leaving plenty of principal roles for other sopranos.

Out of curiosity, and not to put you on the spot, but which other sopranos do you believe aren't getting enough engagements at the world's opera houses, or perhaps the leading ones? I'd like to see more of Waltraud Meier, whose performances here have been too few and sometimes with years between them. And I don't mean Santuzza.

[Sylph]

Out of curiosity, and not to put you on the spot, but which other sopranos do you believe aren't getting enough engagements at the world's opera houses, or perhaps the leading ones?

Oh, my remark wasn't about any specific case! I'd just like to see more younger talents, that's all.

But since you've asked me, I could ask you something, too: what do you think about Damrau & Voigt? Will they be in any of Met's productions next year?

[John F]

what do you think about Damrau & Voigt? Will they be in any of Met's productions next year?

Excellent singers. Deborah Voigt will have two major roles at the Met next season, bigger than Netrebko's actually: Senta in "Der fliegende Holländer" and Chrysothemis in "Elektra." (She was to have sung the title role in "Die Frau ohne Schatten," but this elaborate and expensive show fell victim to the bad economy.) Diana Damrau will be Marie in "La Fille du Régiment" and will share the role of Rosina with Joyce DiDonato in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia." She'll also sing in one of the Met Orchestra's concerts conducted by Levine, Strauss songs and "Grossmächtige Prinzessin" from "Ariadne auf Naxos."

For a complete listing of next season's repertoire and casts, have a look at the press release titled "The Met Expands Its Repertory in the 2009-10 Season with Eight New Productions, Including Four Met Premieres," here:

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/ ... px?id=6986

[arepo]

Out of curiosity, and not to put you on the spot, but which other sopranos do you believe aren't getting enough engagements at the world's opera houses, or perhaps the leading ones?

Oh, my remark wasn't about any specific case! I'd just like to see more younger talents, that's all.

But since you've asked me, I could ask you something, too: what do you think about Damrau & Voigt? Will they be in any of Met's productions next year?

Rest assured that Voigt will be in Der Fliegender Hollander and Elektra this coming season and Walkure the following year, and in 2011-2012 in both Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.
As for Damrau, she will be quite visual too in Barbiere di Siviglia & Fille du Regiment this coming season and Le Compte Ory and Elisir d'amore the following season and Rigoletto in 2011-2012.

BTW: You can't possibly mention those 2 stunners, Fleming and Netrebko without adding the 3rd of the triumvirate: Angela Gheorghiu.

[Sylph]

Thank you, John and arepo!

I am very sad that Voigt won't sing in Die Frau ohne Schatten and that Damrau will sing in Italian operas. But hey, I'll take whatever I can get!

BTW: You can't possibly mention those 2 stunners, Fleming and Netrebko without adding the 3rd of the triumvirate: Angela Gheorghiu.

Don't remind me...

[Chalkperson]

BTW: You can't possibly mention those 2 stunners, Fleming and Netrebko without adding the 3rd of the triumvirate: Angela Gheorghiu.

Don't remind me...

Agreed...

[John F]

the triumvirate

Say what?

[Cyril Ignatius]

No voice on the face of this earth has ever been more blessed than the one that emanates from the throat of Renee Fleming. The sound is so exquisite and tinged with chocolate velvet that her subpar acting can be forgiven by me.
I am convinced she does a lot of "acting" but, for me, never does she "inhabit" her roles. I am accustomed to it now and close my eyes and grit my teeth when she says her phony "E ta-a-a-ardi" in Traviata.
The lady is a true diva -- she is glamorous, beautiful, she is personable, she's smart, her pipes are holy, and she is able to command (and get) the roles she wants.
I just hope she keeps it up for a long time to come.

I think this gets to the heart of her charms. First, she has a fabulous voice; she is in that small circle that includes Netrebko. And she looks good on stage, well, like Netrebko, but different of course. Maybe the best way to approach Fleming via DVD would be recordings of her in concert, rather than a dramatic opera role that plays an especially heavy emphasis on actors. I think its important to cut them some slack on acting, since they fundamentally are singers, and we fundamentally are lovers of music.

Of course the other thing that I do take consideration of is the sometimes gorgeous opera staging/scenery. So what if they aren't great actresses! Put them in front of that gorgeous staging in long gown and it's a terrific experience! But some of these modern stagings: Forget it! Well, unless it is Anna Netrebko and that great red outfit she wore for the Verdi opera in Salzburg a few years ago, and boring staging notwithstanding, it's still a nice trip!

[dirkronk]

When you watch a pianist perform, for example, the pianist can't do much acting, if at all. You just watch him play and reap the rewards of the musical art.

One thing a pianist CAN do is grimace...make faces...whatever. I still recall watching the A&E network back in the early to mid 1980s (back when they really were about arts as well as entertainment) and seeing the video of Michelangeli and Giulini doing Beethoven concerti. I think I would have enjoyed the experience much more if my wife hadn't been there next to me, doing a play-by-play on ABM's every facial contortion. "Why does he move his mouth that way?'; "I guess that's supposed to be some kind of impressive emoting, right?" and other, similar remarks. Luckily, I still have the DGG vinyl of those performances, but it video tape or DVD was ever put out of the performances, I would NOT have purchased them. No way would I risk a round two.

Oh, and another thing pianists can do is "attack the keyboard" in grandiose manner, a la Liberace and other showmen. I was reminded of this last weekend, when my wife and I went to see Pink Martini, whose keyboardist definitely has that part of the show down pat.


Dirk

[Chalkperson]

One thing a pianist CAN do is grimace...make faces...whatever. I still recall watching the A&E network back in the early to mid 1980s (back when they really were about arts as well as entertainment) and seeing the video of Michelangeli and Giulini doing Beethoven concerti. I think I would have enjoyed the experience much more if my wife hadn't been there next to me, doing a play-by-play on ABM's every facial contortion.

I have a couple of Michelangeli's DVD's, what amazed me was that his body stayed absolutely rigid and from the side he was kind of sedate and passionless, but, when they shot him straight on from the front of the Piano his face reflected every note, unlike your wife I found it fascinating to watch him...