The Met Saturday Morning Broadcasts are back.....

Sadly, the opera is still going on and I am afraid it is a disaster. The duet between Adalgisa and Norma was fraught with problems.
I am sad.
I am waiting for In mia man but have a feeling I should give it up and leave.

VitellioScarpia said:

Today they started earlier than 1:00 PM because tonight's performance is Lohengrin which starts earlier than the usual 8:00 PM.

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Ah, yes. It's always Wagner's fault.

nina foresti said:

Sadly, the opera is still going on and I am afraid it is a disaster. The duet between Adalgisa and Norma was fraught with problems.
I am sad.
I am waiting for In mia man but have a feeling I should give it up and leave.

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Don't leave. If Norma and Pollione can face being burned alive, you can get through this.

Woodduck said:

Ah, yes. It's always Wagner's fault.

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Sempre il tedesco...

Woodduck said:

Don't leave. If Norma and Pollione can face being burned alive, you can get through this.

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The end is more effective. Mr. Benini, however, should not be re-engaged as he spoils many moments with his erratic, non-sensical conducting.

VitellioScarpia said:

The end is more effective. Mr. Benini, however, should not be re-engaged as he spoils many moments with his erratic, non-sensical conducting.

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Who was saying that conductors don’t matter in opera?

MAS said:

Who was saying that conductors don’t matter in opera?

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Someone in self-imposed exile.

MAS said:

Who was saying that conductors don’t matter in opera?

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The man nearly wrecked the whole performance. He was of no help to Ms. Dix in Act I. The trio finale was caterwauling by all provoked by the insane speed. Admirably, the orchestra kept up but I am sure the violinists are going to soak their wrists in warm water to be in shape for tonight's Lohengrin.

U R Right. The end is more effective. They both sound urgent. However, I am in the minority when it comes to Spyres voice. I am betwixt and between, but I have to hear more because he has a wobble.
Dix was better in the last act. I give her credit for doing this difficult role as well as she could at a last minute calling. And she does have a pretty voice -- it's just a killer role that was thrust upon her.
I still wonder about the radio transmission vs. the house.
I hope the audience welcomes her with decent applause because she deserves it.

nina foresti said:

U R Right. The end is more effective. They both sound urgent. However, I am in the minority when it comes to Spyres voice. I am betwixt and between, but I have to hear more because he has a wobble.
Dix was better in the last act. I give her credit for doing this difficult role as well as she could at a last minute calling. And she does have a pretty voice -- it's just a killer role that was thrust upon her.
I still wonder about the radio transmission vs. the house.
I hope the audience welcomes her with decent applause because she deserves it.

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I agree with you. Spyres sounded with a wobble up on his high notes. Perhaps too much bari and less tenor these days. I think that The Barn is too much for him and the forced amplitude he's seeking may not work up on high. He sounded too dark. However, as you say, the microphones may be amplifying sounds that one does not hear live in-house.

I wanted to like Dix more than I did. I think that she lacks vocal amplitude and forces her high C's which sound screechy at forte and less so when sung mezzo forte or piano.

Whew! It's over. I need a drink!

VitellioScarpia said:

... Mr. Benini, however, should not be re-engaged as he spoils many moments with his erratic, non-sensical conducting.

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I first misread that as "Mr. Bellini should not be re-engaged"

Dix doesn't have a voice for Norma. There isn't enough solidity to the tone. It sounds like a smallish voice inflated. She has a chest voice and uses it with enthusiasm, but it's a shallow, querulous, unpleasant noise, and the midrange above it is weak and bodiless, so that when she shifts into head voice the bottom just falls out of the sound. She floated a few nice soft high notes. Coloratura was hit-and-miss. Vibrato too prominent in general. Give her credit for throwing herself into the role, as well as simply stepping in with little notice. She sounds like a fine performer, even though her voice falls short of what she'd like to do with it.

I still found Spyres the most enjoyable, despite some tightness and wobble at the top. For most of his range he's solid, and his strong low voice and dramatic commitment made as much of the character as can probably be made. Which isn't much.

ewilkros said:

I first misread that as "Mr. Bellini should not be re-engaged"

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So did I. Then my brain went to "Bernini," but I didn't feel ecstatic so I knew that had to be wrong.

Woodduck said:

So did I. Then my brain went to "Bernini," but I didn't feel ecstatic so I knew that had to be wrong.

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What exactly are your visions of Bernini, when you are extatic ?

The conductor was really in bad sync with the singers.

Unlike @nina foresti I liked the Norma - Adalgisa duet and regretted that my maternal duties prevent me from listening in peace. But also, that is the part of the opera I know comparatively less, so my expectations are not very specific.

The finale felt dissatisfying. There, on the contrary, I know the lyrics by heart, and sometimes, the words simply did not appear where they should be. Especially by Helen Dix. She is Australian, hmm..., maybe after she stays in Italy a few times, it will get fixed.

I like generally like Spyres as Pollione, but here not that much. I recommend his part in this recording from the French festival: Norma de Bellini avec Karine Deshayes au Festival d’Aix 2022

Woodduck said:

I still found Spyres the most enjoyable, despite some tightness and wobble at the top. For most of his range he's solid, and his strong low voice and dramatic commitment made as much of the character as can probably be made. Which isn't much.

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I admit i didn't listen to this one, but i did listen to his other run with Yoncheva. I find the color very much a Wagnerian tenor, but there's not enough thrust behind it, and it sounds very throaty too me. Like the sound doesn't seem to "fly out" in a free and spinning manner. For Pollione, i personally prefer Del Monaco.

tsquare07 said:

For Pollione, i personally prefer Del Monaco.

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He is dead, but Stefan Pop, the contemporary singer, sounds like he had been listening to the Del Monaco's recordings. Similar accents and it feels very satisfying to me. He is my favorite. Why is he not better known ? Any terrible fault which I do not catch as an amateur ?

I also would like to know, how much time did Helen Dix have to rehearse Norma. Her words were beyond a bad diction, I came to conclusion she simply couldn"t have known her text well. But she did sing Norma somewhere else before, didn't she ? And at Met - was it her first or second time ?

BBSVK said:

He is dead, but Stefan Pop, the contemporary singer, sounds like he had been listening to the Del Monaco's recordings. Similar accents and it feels very satisfying to me. He is my favorite. Why is he not better known ? Any terrible fault which I do not catch as an amateur ?

I also would like to know, how much time did Helen Dix have to rehearse Norma. Her words were beyond a bad diction, I came to conclusion she simply couldn"t have known her text well. But she did sing Norma somewhere else before, didn't she ? And at Met - was it her first or second time ?

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I'm not familiar with Dix career (in fact this is the first time i actually heard of her) and i don' find that much info on operabase or her website so we have to wait from someone who knows to chime in.

Yes, Pop is better than Spyres to my ears, just more open and free in general. And that clips seems like from the 2000s or something. And why were people facing away from the Norma for the first half and then suddenly turn to the center of the stage?

BBSVK said:

Her words were beyond a bad diction, I came to conclusion she simply couldn"t have known her text wel

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I haven't heard this broadcast so i can't say. I just want to add that i don't think pronunciation and diction are not the same thing. You can speak very fluently without much of an accent but it doesn't guarantee the clarity of the vowels when singing operatically. It is the clear and stable core of the sound that gives definition to vowels and maintains the legato despite the consonants, regardless of the language. Most people nowadays don't focus on diction like the old school singers, which is contradicted to what Verdi, Wagner and Toscanini wanted.