I'm delighted to see that, as part of the Biennale Massenet marking the centenary of his death, the Opéra Théâtre in the French city of Saint-Etienne is mounting two concert performances (details here (http://www.operatheatredesaintetienne.fr/otse/saison-12-13/spectacles//type-lyrique/le-mage/s-138/)) of the five act grand opera Le Mage. No doubt its scale and the fact that there is a ballet in the fourth act precluded a fully staged production. I do hope that this leads to a recording, or at least a broadcast, of the opera which remains an unaccountable gap in the Massenet discography. Preceded by Eslcarmonde and followed by Werther and Thaïs, arguably their creator's greatest operas, Le Mage promises to be a wonderfully enjoyable experience. I only wish that I could be there.
Cor! What a prospect! Let's hope someone's on hand to record it...
The long-awaited Le mage will be broadcast on Radio France Lyrique on November 17th 2012 at 19:00!
As well as Saint Etienne's Le Mage there are a few more Massenet rarities in performance in the current opera season to tempt Massenet aficionados away from their CD-players. As well as the usual fare of Manon and Werther a few adventurous opera houses are producing some nice mouth-watering rarities: Cleopâtre in Marseilles (16.6.2013), Esclarmonde in Desssau (26.5.2013) and Thais in Lübeck (17.5.2013).
Can anyone record the broadcast? Pleeeease!!!
I intend to, Alan, but really the more the merrier...
Has anyone else the facility to do so?
Quote from: Alan Howe on Monday 08 October 2012, 07:50
Can anyone record the broadcast? Pleeeease!!!
Let us know if this particular opera has an overture, too? I'd download the whole thing and throw the rest away just to get an unsung overture!
Quotethrow the rest away
Words fail me >:(
...but you'll be saved this act of sacrilege as, judging by the vocal score available at IMSLP, there are only 20 bars of
Andante lento orchestral introduction before the first vocal entry. A substantial ballet begins Act IV, which I doubt will feature in the St Etienne performance being broadcast, but in any event that includes an occasional choral interjection.
You know my rules about opera - it was meant to be watched, not just heard. :) An overture, on the other hand, can be used to start just about anything, even a concert.
I'll watch it - with the eyes of my imagination. It's almost bound to be better than what some clever-clever director comes up with.
Wow! Le Mage - not to be confused with Dame Edna's mate or Madonna - one of my Holy Grails!
Aren't they La Madge?
For Massenet fans who cannot go to France, The Guildhall School of Music in London are doing La Navarraise and Le Portrait de Manon at The Silk Street theatre on Nov 1, 3, 5, and 7. They will be sung in French. Tickets are £25.
I'm just resurrecting this thread in the hope that someone is going to record Le Mage on 17th...
I intend to, but it is always better if at least a couple of us have a go...
It's marked in big, thick red letters in my diary!
If anyone is interested in the complete Chabrier Le roi malgre lui (including dialogue) from Wexford this year I now have it - 3 CDs 55, 58 and 38 minutes without splitting the second act!
I'm very grateful!
It would appear that the broadcast will be on 1 December - and I'll try my best to record it:
http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/soirees_lyriques/emission.php?e_id=26&d_id=515002897 (http://sites.radiofrance.fr/francemusique/em/soirees_lyriques/emission.php?e_id=26&d_id=515002897)
1er décembre 2012 19:08
MASSENET : Le mage.
Enregistré le 09 novembre 2012 au Grand Théâtre Massenet à Saint-Etienne.
Opéra en 5 actes. Livret de Jean Richepin. Création le 16 mars 1891
Nouvelle Production, donnée en version concert.
Distribution :
Catherine Hunold, Anahita
Kate Aldrich, Varedha
Luca Lombardo, Zatastra
Jean-François Lapointe, Amrou
Marcel Vanaud, Le Roi d'Iran
Julien Dran, Prisonnier Touranien
Florian Sempey, Chef Touranien
Florian Sempey, Hérault
Chœur Lyrique et Orchestre Symphonique Saint-Étienne Loire
direction : Laurent Campellone
chef de chœur : Laurent Touche
Partenaire associé Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique Romantique française
Ces représentations font l'objet d'un enregistrement discographique, avec le soutien du Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique Romantique française.
Quote from: Wheesht on Saturday 10 November 2012, 10:29
Ces représentations font l'objet d'un enregistrement discographique, avec le soutien du Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique Romantique française.
I note that the performance is to be issued on CD...
QuoteIt's almost bound to be better than what some clever-clever director comes up with.
Oh, how I do
so agree, Alan.
Ah, but do please be careful, gentlemen!
True, I have witnessed some productions that were so dumb or silly that one wondered how anyone could possibly dream them up. Two examples: first, a Don Giovanni where the whole of the back of the stage was some gigantic female torso, complete with all the stuff one expects to find on such a delectable thing. Poor Leporello at one point was required to somehow climb up the outer thigh and then to sing having perched himself in a huge thicket of pubic hair several metres across with his head just barely sticking out. And next a Rigoletto, where the Duke of Mantua had to sing the Act 3 canzone 'La donna e mobile' furiously pedalling on an exercise bicycle in a coal cellar with lumps of coal (hopefully black polystyrene rather than the real stuff) cascading down a coal chute onto his head.
Heaven knows what such things were supposed to be about.
But against such awful things I have seen many superbly intelligent, imaginative, and quite spellbinding productions that have stayed in my mind for many many years afterwards. Quite a few came from either English National or Welsh National opera companies in the good old days.
I suppose the truth of the matter is that within the opera house things can be amazingly good... or amazingly b*****y awful. I'm convinced that when it all works coherently then, in terms of production, great opera can be streets ahead of theatre at its very best.
Likewise when things go wrong in the opera house then, invariably, they go amazingly and hilariously wrong. Example, I once saw a Tosca where a rather sheepish looking platoon of soldiers was suddenly shoved onto the stage at the end of Act 3. The dumbfounded looks and quickly muttered inaudible conferences between them suggested they were following the instruction to line up, take aim, and shoot. But clearly no-one had bothered to tell them who to shoot. Between them they came up with the idea that it was a tragic opera....so clearly we shoot Tosca. Whereupon loud bang and Cavaradossi suddenly drops to his knees, red stuff spurts from his chest, and he then expires falling backwards. The audience hoots with sheer merriment for Cavaradossi is positioned well behind the line of soldiers (who, sensing they've done something not quite right, scramble off the stage as fast as they can).
Thus, gentleman, no somewhat sneering puritanical scorning of opera directors please. Sometimes they are pretentious fools or sheer clots. But sometimes wonderfully gifted people who can bring an opera to life in quite magical ways.
The problem, Peter, is that the good is often very good and the bad is invariably awful - and ruinous of a good production musically speaking (Wagner suffers particularly badly in this regard). I've been pretty lucky, I suppose, and hardly ever seen anything silly. As with conductors and their craft, it's when a director shines the light upon himself and his clever ideas rather than illuminating the work of the composer that things go badly wrong. A bit like Norrington and his silly Mahler 9...
More Massenet for lovers of the same.
Next year's turning out to be a good year for Massenet fans. Cléopâtre in Marseille, Esclarmonde in Dessau, Thaïs in Lübeck as well as Hamburg (Opernloft) and the double bill of Thérèse and La navaraise in Wexford.
Here's another one to add to the list. From March 6th to 9th 2013 Den Fynske Opera in Odense, Denmark are hosting a visiting opera company's double bill of Massenet's La Grand' Tante and Donizetti's Il campanello.
All tickets are one price and there's no seat allocation - go early for the best seats!
Den Fynske Opera's home page is http://www.denfynskeopera.dk
Ticketing is via an online agency with postal delivery. I have mine :).
I was there for the performance a few weeks ago and loved it. The tenor was ill but was serviceable and I thought the first three acts were amazing....he tended to repeat himself a bit at the end. It will be bcast and also issued as a recording under the Palazzetto Bru Zane sponsorship, and their site is worth checking out for a lot of romantic pieces. Have to run but look forward to participating more on the group shortly.
Welcome Richergar!
A shame that the tenor was ill, but otherwise hugely encouraging. The broadcast is next weekend, on 1 December, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will record it as I can't. The Palazzetto Bru Zane website (http://www.bru-zane.com) is very interesting, as you say. For example, there is what appears to be the complete third movement of Rabaud's Second Symphony from the recent Timpani CD available to listen to here (http://www.bru-zane.com/?pubblicazioni=symphonie-n-2-la-procession-nocturne-eglogue&lang=en).
Welcome, Richargar and thanks for pointing the way to that website. I discovered the chamber works of Tombele which I promptly ordered from Amazon.fr. Another pleasant surprise- Amazon accounts in one country apparently are good for any Amazon order worldwide. So thanks for that, too.
Jerry
Through an acquaintance I have discovered that the previously mentioned double bill of Massenet's La Grand' Tante and Donizetti's Il campanello in Odense is only with piano accompaniament >:(. Apparently it's quite normal with this particular visiting opera company. It's a real disappoinment and we can only hope that some other opera company will take it up and give us a proper rendering.
Le mage lived up to my expectations yesterday evening and I managed to record it, but for some inexplicable reason there's some very slight interference throughout and a five second drop out at one point.
Acts 1 and 2 amount to just under 1 hour and acts 3, 4 and 5 to almost 80 minutes.
I'll post it if no one has a better copy.
Berlin Expat
Do post it - we can always compare recordings if someone else managed to capture it...
Many thanks to BerlinExpat for uploading the opera!
BerlinExpat, belated thanks for recording this opera, which I was worried I'd miss out on as I've been away from home for a few days. It sounds splendid. Vintage Massenet!
The sound of nobility! Something we may never hear again in opera. Rosenthal's Children is more the style this century.