Quoting "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>: Quoting "Lloyd W. Hanson" <lloyd.hanson@n...>:
> Dear Dr. Hanson and Vocalisters: > > Your points are well-taken. The one time I had the good fortune to attend a Metropolitan Opera performance of La Boheme in New York (way back in 1983), it turned out, to our surprise, that Placido Domingo was not singing but conducting the opera! That opera is one which I'd thought could never be dull or lifeless, especially in the hands of the "experts." To our dismay, it was both dull and lifeless, as if the music never left the pages of the score. What a disappointment. The quality of the musicians was top-notch. Domingo "looked" as though he knew how to conduct. All of the best tools of the trade were there, just not the drama or the music! The very life which Domingo can breathe into pieces he sings was the very dimension which was lacking. This could have occurred for many reasons, under-rehearsal no doubt, being a major contributor. That Boheme is something of an old warhorse should not have mattered. As a former professional chorister with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, we did such "war horses" as the Beethoven 9th EVERY season. And yet, when Maestro Masur, for example, was guest conductor, he infused us with such depth of understanding and feeling for the text and music, that it remains one of the most exhilarating musical experiences I've ever had, as he was able to get us to perform it as close to his vision as we were able--with very little rehearsal. It must still always be about the music and drama--the theater of it. My two cents. Erica Zweig
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