Two days, two countries, two operas: Tosca in Vienna with Jose Cura as Mario Cavaradossi was an old production, really old. Elektra in Budapest with Agnes Baltsa was a brand new production and I was there, at the premiere.
I did get some fine photos of the singers after the opera from stage. Jose Cura had already gone when we stood at the stage door, but I have already plenty of photos of him. Budapest with Elektra, premiere day so I did not wait in the cold for Agnes Baltsa. It was freezing cold (for me) so I went to my hotel. Lucky not far from the opera house.
I must up early in the morning for my flight back home. So I will not write much now about the operas. Except:
Tosca, the conductor was slower than Jose Cura sometimes, I do not blame the conductor. Nizza made her debut as Tosca in Vienna. She was better than in Verona as Aida (I think), but she has some old fashioned ways sometime. And Jose Cura he was really acting like a modern man when this should be Napoleatan time. And I missed Ruggero Raimondi as Scarpia. Vratogna was not Raimondi, otherwise he was good.
Elektra, I liked the production. It is set in modern times in a swimmingpool/sauna atmosphere. I guess a lot of people was happy when they finally could get dressed instead of with bathrobes and less. Beautiful Agnes Baltsa, wonderful Nadine Secunde. This production would almost be perfect if only Orestes did not shoot his two sisters with a machine gun in the end. No Greek tragedy this, only cynismen that won.
No comments:
Post a Comment