What I learned from my Barcelona trip in July 2009

Read carefully what it says about your hotel. Use Google maps (maps.google.com), and print it out so that you really know where your hotel is. That Shuttle bus to the hotel can be expensive (Oslo Airport hotels), ask what it cost. Not to trust the hotels website about how easy it is to find your hotel. And it so many things that you would not think about until you are there. In Barcelona in was just a baldakin with Hotel written on, and then there was an elevator up to the reception floor, and always dial nine to the reception.

My hotel in Oslo was Quality Airport Gardermoen and I liked it a lot except that it was a bit cold in the hotel room and I thought the shuttle bus was a bit expensive with 60 NOK each way. My Barcelona hotel was Hotel Continental Barcelona which I found OK except that it was hard to find and all the electric doors executed from the reception that was a bit odd in the beginning. It was a hot hour in the Placa Catalunya until I found my hotel.

I still like to book my hotel via HRS.de. But sometime a phone to the hotel can make your trip a better experience. Like if you have a real heavy luggage and when you phone you find that the hotel have steps up to the lobby and maybe you have to use the stairs to come to your room, then you really should try to get a better hotel unless you are very fit and find that exercise to your liking. Many hotels ought to have warnings for things like that, what you were handicapped and needed your chair there and because of the steps and such you would need help all the time. How people can build new buildings without universal availabity is beyond me. Don't they know the cheapest time to make it work well is in the planning and building period. Of course my hotel in Barcelona was in an old building but it had an elevator but I do not think it still would be wheel chair friendly environment. My hotel in Oslo was new and I would guess better for wheel chair users, but really, how would I know who don't need it.

I am just happy I don't have a disability that could make travelling a nightmare, but it should have been unnecessary for me to be happy about that. All should have the same access. I cringe when I read about somebody who offers travels and accommodation for all but at the same time take no responsibility for things like giving you your correct diet or other things. They really can't be bothered. So if you really want that vacation but really need the your diet to be the right for you, you might need to give that up. On my flight from Barcelona or to B. did I find such a travel brochure with you can ask for everything but WE will not take responsibility for giving it to you. I could go to these kind of travel just because I am lucky to not NEED things that THEY deem unnecessary. It should not be luxury to give people what they need for health and availability.



For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Turandot in Barcelona July 2009

If I had started my travel from my home instead from my parents' home I would not have had to stay the night in a hotel near Oslo Gardermoen Airport. And the shuttle bus cost more than I thought, 60 NOK each way from/to the airport. The hotel was OK. And I ended quite liking even my hotel in Barcelona. More about that later

July 30th, 2009 Turandot (I quote my website as it is when I write this post)

It ends with a suicide.

First I thought the whole opera ended with Liu's death. Then came a curtain of the sky filled with stars in the night. A wonderful duet started. And Turandot killed herself after "I know his name. His name is LOVE". And Turandot killed herself because he was Love, and she was Death. A night filled with horror had drowned her white dress with the blood of inhabitants of the city. Nessun dorma, he sang dreamily of glory and love, not caring that his nobody shall sleep would mean torture and death to others. Calaf only cared when his own father and Liu was threatened. And Turandot herself: fascinated by Calaf and by the sacrificial love of Liu, but in the end not willing/capable to step out of her death cult and into becoming a loving woman.

Vocally it was never any doubt about Marco Berti's Calaf. A clarion voice with both Non piangere, Liu and Nessun dorma with the closest to perfection I ever heard live. He was no tempted to hold the last tone in Nessun dorma as long as possible I am certain he would have won that contest. But it is opera and no contest. Ainhoa Arteta was wonderful as Liu. Stefano Palatchi as Timur was not so demanding a voice as he should. But acted wonderfully. Ping, Pang and Pong was Ok when one got over the costumes in the act 1 and start of act 2. Ping was Gabriel Bermundez who sang Silvio in Zurich on July 8. Sadly he was often the weak link. But in the 3rd act he was wonderful.

Maria Guleghina as Turandot, what can I say about her. She is definitely more of a Tosca than a Turandot. But maybe it was the production and director's fault. I wonder how it had been had Guleghina been able/allowed to put all her energy and acting skills in the role. She was best vocally and all when she could step free from the robotic Chinese choreography.

But other than that, I liked the production and the choreography (of the dancers)

July 31th, 2009 Turandot (I quote my website as it is when I write this post)

I hoped that this time it would not end with suicide. But this Turandot died too like on July 30th.

Still, it was another Turandot. First the performance did not start until 30 minutes later. That was because Daniela Dessi was not well but she still came. It was not possible to hear that she was not well except that she was singing softer in 3rd act and the orchestra was gentle with her. But for normal ears all was well. Not just well but splendid. And her husband-tenor Fabio Armiliato was a great Calaf. Giorgio Giuseppini was great as Timur.

Anna Shafajinskaia was Turandot. I almost thought that she had been replaced by Maria Guleghina. But Anna did not have Maria's specialties. Anna S. was in a more steely voice which was perfect for Turandot. But after Maria Guleghina's Turandot it was not enough for me even if singing and acting was more than perfect. But with Guleghina there is an extra tension, personality and charisma.

The main thing, the duet between Calaf/Turandot was acted so differently that I really hoped to the last that Turandot would choose life. But no Happy Ending. Great opera performance, but ...

More about my Barcelona trip later...

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Agnes Baltsa back in Herodion Amphitheater 2009

Foto © APA

On September 15th Agnes Baltsa will sing her Greek songs in the Herodion Amphitheatre of Acropolis, Athens.After 25 years she is back. Last time was Carmen with Jose Carreras. The Amphitheatre can take 5000 in the audience. This is a new experience for me, says Agnes Baltsa, I have to use microphones something I have never done before. From Kleine Zeitung 30. July 2009.

Α. Μπάλτσα - Στ. Ξαρχάκος μαζί στο Ηρώδειο

Στη μοναδική αυτή συναυλία, που έχει τίτλο «Τα τραγούδια της πατρίδας μου» θα ακουστούν δημιουργίες των Βασίλη Τσιτσάνη, Μάνου Χατζιδάκι, Μίκη Θεοδωράκη και του Σταύρου Ξαρχάκου

Στις 15 Σεπτεμβρίου

Κορυφαία λαϊκά κομμάτια από την ...Αγνή Μπάλτσα στο Ηρώδειο

Αθήνα - Πέμπτη 30 Ιουλίου 2009

Σταύρος Ξαρχάκος και Αγνή Μπάλτσα στο Ηρώδειο στις 15/9

Τεταρτη, 29 Ιουλιου 2009 10:39

«Δεν υπάρχει σοβαρή και ελαφρά μουσική, αλλά μόνο καλή και κακή», τονίζει η διεθνής μεσόφωνος Αγνή Μπάλτσα

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Summer days, travel to Barcelona and plans for my blog

Hi again.

Summer days are here. Not all good weather in Norway but still I should have written more on my blog. Anyway, now I am soon off to Barcelona. My parents collect all the news about the possible pandemic flu. And I was getting nervous for my Barcelona trip. It is only two nights in Barcelona and then home, hopefully with two wonderful performances of Turandot in the Liceu. First Maria Guleghina as Turandot on July 30, and then on July 31 with Fabio Armiliato as Calaf and Daniela Dessi as Liu.

Before Barcelona it is my father's birthday on July 29th. 81 years. Hurrah, pappa!!!

My father's day is the same as the only Norwegian Saint and so my dad share his name. Since Norwegians is traditionally Protestants (and so am I ), we only mention Saint Olav to be clever and show that Norway is great.

Plans for my blog: continue my series Opera vs. Reality, write more news items as I get them and more travel tips as I stumble in my travels. And maybe something more about myself that is not so opera/travel related.


For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Season 2009/2010, tickets in Zurich

Monday 13th July the ordinary ticket booking started in Zurich. Liederabend Agnes Baltsa, Elektra w/Agnes Baltsa, Nabucco w/Juan Pons & Maria Guleghina, La Boheme w/Jose Cura and Il Corsaro. That's all I bought. I almost typed the how much it cost me but the number shocked me too much. What is Mastercard for anyway?

November 28, 2009, I will be in Zurich for Il Corsaro. I am still thinking about buying ticket for the Agnes Baltsa Opera Concert in Vienna Konzerthaus on December 1. What should I do? Tell me in the comments, please.

Then it is December 12, 14, 17 and Oslo Opera House with José Cura. I'll be there. Not alone...

And 2010...
January
2010-01-29 Elektra (Strauss), Opernhaus Zurich
Klytämnestra = Agnes Baltsa
Elektra = Eva Johansson
Chrysothemis = Emily Magee
2010-01-30 Nabucco (Verdi), Opernhaus Zurich
Nabucco = Juan Pons
Ismaele = Boiko Zvetanov
Abigaille = Maria Guleghina

February
2010-02-20 Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni), Wiener Staatsoper
Santuzza = Dolora Zajick
Turriddu = José Cura
Alfio = Alberto Mastromarino
2010-02-20 Pagliacci (Leoncavallo), Wiener Staatsoper
Canio= José Cura
Nedda = Nicoleta Ardelean
Tonio = Alberto Mastromarino

March
2010-03-28 La Boheme (Puccini), Opernhaus Zurich
Mimi = Barbara Frittoli
Rodolfo = José Cura
Musetta = Eva Mei

May
2010-05-13 Turandot (Puccini), Deutsche Oper Berlin
Turandot = Maria Guleghina
Calaf = José Cura
Liu = Manuela Uhl
2010-05-15 Carmen, Wiener Staatsoper ??
2010-05-16 Luisa Miller, Opernhaus Zurich ??

2010-05-31 Liederabend Agnes Baltsa, Opernhaus Zurich
Agnes Baltsa, mezzo
Achilleas Wastor, piano

June
2010-06-13 Otello (Verdi), Deutsche Oper Berlin
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Anja Harteros
Jago = Zeljko Lucic

For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Real verismo in Zurich on July 8th, 2009

What have I learnt from travelling this year: Always look at where your hotel is, and whether the reception is open, HRS.de is very friendly and helpful when you want to change hotel (need to have their phone number, mobile phone is a must), Never take a taxi from the airport to the hotel (it is too expensive).

56 Swiss Francs to be exact. Taxi from Flughafen Zurich to Hotel Leoneck. In the evening. Yep. Walked a lot in order to "save" money.

So tuesday 7th: late flight with Swiss from Oslo to Zurich. Wednesday: first finding the way from hotel to opernhaus to collect my ticket, then going to Hauptbahnhof (HBF, main train station) and so back to my hotel. Breakfast at McDonald's. Lunch/Dinner at Chinese Take Away in HBF. Stomach ache, why? I didn't eat too much.. Any way, I had to take some pain killers (only one).

Met my JCx friends in the opera house. Many had seen several performances of this Cav/Pag with José Cura.
I had seen Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci 7 times before: Vienna 2000/2008, Hamburg 2003, Berlin 2005, Miskolc 2006, Verona 2006, Genoa 2007. What can I then say about this production?

It was Real Verismo where every choir member had a role to play, nut as simply a chorus, but as real persons with their own individual lives. There were no masses, only individuals. Wonderful to see such attention to detail in an opera production. Paoletta Marrocu was Santuzza, I wish I could really describe how she acted and sang but nothing, except that she was Santuzza, really. Alfio and Lola, Cheyne Davidson and Katharina Peetz, was the good-looking and wealthy couple. Everybody in the village except Alfio and mamma Lucia knew about Turriddu and Lola. But wealth has it privilege, Lola was still excepted. Santuzza, not. Mamma Lucia, Cornelia Kallisch, was a much deeper role, more sympathetic especially in the end towards Santuzza. José Cura was Turriddu. He was great, even deeper understanding to the role. No wonder he was killed by Alfio, having been drinking a lot, and Alfio had not been drinking alcohol.

Pagliacci started with a disappointment. The Prologue with Carlo Guelfi (Tonio) was boring, and he was already dressed up as a Commediante player. It really made me think skip the prologue, let's have the opera allready. Finally it started. Again it was the attention to detail and that every person on stage had personality and a life that impressed me. Martin Zysset as Beppe was nothing special here, why? Was it that it was the last performance of Cav/Pag in the season. As he did not excell here, Beppe (Martin Zysset) was the clue that fitted all together. Gabriel Bermudez as Silvio was a real good-looking, muscular man. No wonder Nedda fell for him. Especially since this Canio was more of drunkard than anything else. But when José Cura plays the drunkard one does feel sympathy for him. No sympathy for Nedda, Fiorenza Cedolins, the adulteress. Shameless... And then how would one feel for Nedda, the character does not have a forgiving feature. Only in Genoa, where Nedda/Canio had a daughter this I feel for Nedda, Svetla Vassileva. And then Carlo Guelfi in the opera, was better than in the prologue...


After the opera it was Signierstunde José Cura. We could buy his photography book and a 3 CD-set (Aurora, Dvorak, Rachmaniov). And many photos was taken. For me, only 2/3 photos was good of JC, the room was full of people.


Midnight at my hotel. Slept better this night. Had breakfast as Burger King in Zurich HBF. At the airport at 1200, and my flight was 1650. 1905 in Oslo and 2130 at my parent's.


That's it from travel 7-9.July 2009


For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com

Jose Cura cancels two concerts

** PRESS RELEASE **

from JoseCura.com

CANCELLATION OF TWO EVENTS FROM JOSÉ CURA'S OFFICIAL CALENDAR.

We inform that José Cura's participation in the following concerts has been cancelled:

- Pula Arena Gala Concert, scheduled on the 5th of July 2009 due to technical and production problems caused by the breach of contract of the intermediary agency;

- Ohrid Colosseum Gala Concert, scheduled on the 12th of July 2009 due to the breach of contract of the intermediary agency.

We want to emphasize that the Artist, José Cura, is free of any responsibility and that he is truly affected by this event. In these sad circumstances, Mr. Cura expresses his great respect and consideration for the audience of these two concerts and for the people of Croatia and Macedonia.

We point out Cuibar Productions S.L.'s (Spanish company representing José Cura) continuous efforts to solve this problem until the last minute and we regret any inconvenience caused by a situation beyond our control.

dott. Emanuele Destrini (Mr.)
PR & Marketing Department
Cuibar Productions S.L.


For more reviews from my travels, see www.operaduetstravel.com