I don’t think there are any dungeons in Wagner - or am I forgetting.. And the one dragon I can think of - Fafner - isn’t really a dragon at all! He’s a fake dragon, he has giant’s DNA!

On Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 10:32:23 AM UTC+1, Herman wrote:

> Haha, the animal of choice in Lohengrin is, obviously, a swan, big enough to seat a well-proportioned male.
.........................
Silvio Varviso / Covent Garden (5 March 1980) dispensed with the Swan - just a gigantic Egg on stage...HaHaHa....

On Tuesday, August 1, 2023 at 1:23:26 AM UTC+10, Mandryka wrote:
> On Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 5:52:16 PM UTC+1, Andy Evans wrote:
> > Which opera recordings do you listen to again and again?
> >
> > For me it's Meistersinger and The Cunning Little Vixen. I've lost track of how many times I've listened to both right through, end to end. Usually on a Sunday afternoon when it's raining.....
> One Sunday afternoon, when it was raining, back in 2007 or 2008, I killed some time by watching a video of Strauss's Arabella. While it was playing I did some tinkering with a tablet and noticed that amazon.com had a discussion group about classical music. I wasn't aware at all of internet forums at all before. I decided to join -- but then there was the question, everyone had strange names like "Piso Mojado" and "Scarecrow", what moniker do I give myself.
>
> Well, as I was thinking about that, someone called Mandryka started singing in the opera, saying that he loves to hunt bears. I used to love to read "We're going on a bear hunt" with my kids, so I thought "why not?"

I hope you enjoyed your glass of water ...

Andrew Clarke
Canberra

On Tuesday, 1 August 2023 at 12:43:55 UTC+1, frankwm wrote:

> Silvio Varviso / Covent Garden (5 March 1980) dispensed with the Swan - just a gigantic Egg on stage...HaHaHa....

Speaking of eggs, there were plenty of big white ones amongst the chickens in the National Theatre production of Vixen I saw in Prague and again in Brno, which had better acoustics (larger hall). Quite a spectacular staging. Wonderful music......

Getting into Lohengrin today. Listened to a few versions on YT and the one that stood out was Sawallisch on Decca.

Very good sound - vivid and involving. Great singing. Prefer this to Kempe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgO3Ting4Y&t=1655s

Do you guys have any favourites?

On 11/20/23 5:18 PM, Andy Evans wrote:
> Getting into Lohengrin today. Listened to a few versions on YT and the one that stood out was Sawallisch on Decca.
>
> Very good sound - vivid and involving. Great singing. Prefer this to Kempe.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgO3Ting4Y&t=1655s
>
> Do you guys have any favourites?
>

Amazing! I've just also been listening to Lohengrin over the last few
days.. My interest was stimulated by the new production from the Met
which just started streaming.

This has been the Wagner opera I appreciated least, but now I really
like it, particularly the ensemble at the end of Act 1.

I've long had the Kempe on CD, and the singing is uniformly good,
although Fischer-Dieskau can be annoying at times.

But thanks to streaming, I've sampled the Solti, Jochum, and Abbado
versions and they are all more dramatic than Kempe. The Abbado is
beautifully recorded and you can really hear the orchestra clearly, so
that is the one I'd recommend.

(And I appreciate the fact that you are trying to keep RMCR going - we
should all be posting more often...)

On Monday, November 20, 2023 at 11:18:42 PM UTC+1, Andy Evans wrote:
> Getting into Lohengrin today. Listened to a few versions on YT and the one that stood out was Sawallisch on Decca.
>
> Very good sound - vivid and involving. Great singing. Prefer this to Kempe.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgO3Ting4Y&t=1655s
>
> Do you guys have any favourites?

It's funny, I went to a good performance of Lohengrin just the other day, in Amsterdam.
So that's my favorite performance for the time being.

On Tuesday, 21 November 2023 at 00:22:29 UTC, Notsure01 wrote:
<< I've just also been listening to Lohengrin over the last few
> days.. This has been the Wagner opera I appreciated least, but now I really
> like it, particularly the ensemble at the end of Act 1.

Same here - it's growing on me! I'll check out your choices.

> (And I appreciate the fact that you are trying to keep RMCR going - we should all be posting more often...)

Thanks! I'm making a small effort to help contributors to feel wanted and valued here. Raising the motivation to post new threads through positive thoughts and feedback.

On 20 Nov 2023 Andy Evans wrote:

> Getting into Lohengrin today. Listened to a few versions on YT and the
> one that stood out was Sawallisch on Decca.
>
> Very good sound - vivid and involving. Great singing. Prefer this to
> Kempe.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgO3Ting4Y&t=1655s
>
> Do you guys have any favourites?

So I am not the only one here who is getting into Lohengrin. Last week I
listened to the 1971 recording by Kubelik c.s. on DG, with the glorious
voice of Gundula Janowitz as Elsa. Even if you don't really like Wagner or
(t)his Lohengrin it's worth hearing because of her singing, imho of
course.

I am now looking forward to hearing Wagner's Meistersinger conducted by
Kubelik with Janowitz as Eva (1967 recording). CD releases were on Calig
(1996), Arts Archives (2003) and Myto (1992).

Chris

On Tuesday, 21 November 2023 at 10:00:59 UTC, Chris J. wrote:

> I am now looking forward to hearing Wagner's Meistersinger conducted by
> Kubelik with Janowitz as Eva (1967 recording). CD releases were on Calig
> (1996), Arts Archives (2003) and Myto (1992).
> > Chris

I've been round the houses with Meistersinger, which i listen to often.

I keep returning to the more recent Solti. Singers, sound, everything. Does it for me.

"Andy Evans" wrote in message
news:7a488e25-a0f6-4876-b825-439c4dce2fc8n@googlegroups.com...

>Getting into Lohengrin today. Listened to a few versions on YT and the one
>that stood out was Sawallisch on Decca.

>Very good sound - vivid and involving. Great singing. Prefer this to Kempe.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgO3Ting4Y&t=1655s

>Do you guys have any favourites?

Ravel: l'Enfant. Maazel's performance is probably my favorite, but I also
like Previn's DG recording,
probably for the very vivid sound.

Ed Presson

Il Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:18:40 -0800 (PST), Andy Evans ha scritto:

> Do you guys have any favourites?

Wozzeck, natürlich.

> Il Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:18:40 -0800 (PST), Andy Evans ha scritto:
>
>> Do you guys have any favourites?
>

A few weeks ago I was intensely listening to Peter Grimes. I last heard
it many years ago and liked it then, but this time was much more
enthusiastic - it has memorable melodies, great orchestration, superb
ensembles, is dramatically effective - definitely one of the greatest
operas.

Have other folks also gotten much more enthusiastic about a work years
later?

And I haven't heard any other Britten operas - any suggestions for the
one to try next?

Thanks in advance!

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 3:11:34 AM UTC+1, Notsure01 wrote:
> >
>
> And I haven't heard any other Britten operas - any suggestions for the
> one to try next?
>
Try The Turn of the Screw.

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 2:11:34 AM UTC, Notsure01 wrote:
> > Il Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:18:40 -0800 (PST), Andy Evans ha scritto:
> >
> >> Do you guys have any favourites?
> >
> A few weeks ago I was intensely listening to Peter Grimes. I last heard
> it many years ago and liked it then, but this time was much more
> enthusiastic - it has memorable melodies, great orchestration, superb
> ensembles, is dramatically effective - definitely one of the greatest
> operas.
>
> Have other folks also gotten much more enthusiastic about a work years
> later?
>
> And I haven't heard any other Britten operas - any suggestions for the
> one to try next?
>
> Thanks in advance!
The last time I listened to a Britten opera was when a friend got me to watch this video of Death in Venice.

https://www.youtube.com/feed/history?query=venice%20

On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 5:19:34 AM UTC, Mandryka wrote:
> On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 2:11:34 AM UTC, Notsure01 wrote:
> > > Il Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:18:40 -0800 (PST), Andy Evans ha scritto:
> > >
> > >> Do you guys have any favourites?
> > >
> > A few weeks ago I was intensely listening to Peter Grimes. I last heard
> > it many years ago and liked it then, but this time was much more
> > enthusiastic - it has memorable melodies, great orchestration, superb
> > ensembles, is dramatically effective - definitely one of the greatest
> > operas.
> >
> > Have other folks also gotten much more enthusiastic about a work years
> > later?
> >
> > And I haven't heard any other Britten operas - any suggestions for the
> > one to try next?
> >
> > Thanks in advance!
> The last time I listened to a Britten opera was when a friend got me to watch this video of Death in Venice.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/feed/history?query=venice%20

That link may be wrong, try this if it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXlTDoV3oRE

On Wednesday, 22 November 2023 at 13:45:45 UTC+11, Herman wrote:
> On Wednesday, November 22, 2023 at 3:11:34 AM UTC+1, Notsure01 wrote:
> > >
> >
> > And I haven't heard any other Britten operas - any suggestions for the
> > one to try next?
> >
> Try The Turn of the Screw.

I agree with this too. Turn of the Screw is quite creepy and like in many Britten operas the marriage of the lyrics with the music is genius level stuff. Another opera in a lighter vein, is Albert Herring. Both operas on Naxos. Others also say that Billy Budd is well worth it, and one I haven't heard yet. I don't find Britten's operas as loveable as say Vixen, but the sheer craftmanship is superb.

Ray Hall, Taree

Il Tue, 21 Nov 2023 21:11:27 -0500, Notsure01 ha scritto:

> And I haven't heard any other Britten operas - any suggestions for the
> one to try next?

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960) is beautiful.

I plump for the Glyndebourne Death ion Venice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXlTDoV3oRE

Thanks to all for the Britten opera suggestions!

On Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 9:52:16 AM UTC-7, Andy Evans wrote:
> Which opera recordings do you listen to again and again?

Berlioz -- Les Troyens:
https://youtu.be/-fuzTVlb8qE

Rossini -- Guillaume Tell:
https://youtu.be/K8UJmCaw5D4

Verdi -- Don Carlo:
https://youtu.be/cXa45Xx_H9Q

Saint-Säens -- Samson and Delilah:
https://youtu.be/NZ74OPLg4kQ

Saint-Säens -- Henry VIII
https://youtu.be/7J3NBuzojDA

Tchaikovsky -- Evgeny Onegin:
https://youtu.be/70TpS_nvnrM

Holst -- Savitri:
https://youtu.be/5meFq1hxfDI

Prokofiev -- War and Peace:
https://youtu.be/i38w_5oewaw

Any Richard Strauss operas.
Any Respighi operas.
Any Puccini operas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

On Friday, November 24, 2023 at 4:14:23 PM UTC-8, Dan Koren wrote:
> On Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 9:52:16 AM UTC-7, Andy Evans wrote:
> > Which opera recordings do you listen to again and again?
> Berlioz -- Les Troyens:
> https://youtu.be/-fuzTVlb8qE
>
> Rossini -- Guillaume Tell:
> https://youtu.be/K8UJmCaw5D4
>
> Verdi -- Don Carlo:
> https://youtu.be/cXa45Xx_H9Q
>
> Saint-Säens -- Samson and Delilah:
> https://youtu.be/NZ74OPLg4kQ
>
> Saint-Säens -- Henry VIII
> https://youtu.be/7J3NBuzojDA
>
> Tchaikovsky -- Evgeny Onegin:
> https://youtu.be/70TpS_nvnrM
>
> Holst -- Savitri:
> https://youtu.be/5meFq1hxfDI
>
> Prokofiev -- War and Peace:
> https://youtu.be/i38w_5oewaw
>
> Any Richard Strauss operas.
> Any Respighi operas.
> Any Puccini operas.

Dvorak too!