Now here's a little-known opera....

[Neil McGowan]

... I wonder if any members are familiar with this one?   :o

Lady Bumtickler's Revels

'Anne Nicole' pales by comparison...

[guest2]

. . .
Lady Bumtickler's Revels . . .

Written by John Hotten, the founder in 1855 of Chatto and Windus.

[Neil McGowan]

the founder in 1855 of Chatto and Windus.

 ;)

[guest2]

Hmm . . . according to the admirable Mr. Lebrecht, Mascagni's Isabeau, first put on in Buenos Aires in 1911, is "a peek-a-boo nudist opera." (I leave it to members to look it up and find out why he says that.)

[Neil McGowan]

Hmm . . . according to the admirable Mr. Lebrecht, Mascagni's Isabeau, first put on in Buenos Aires in 1911, is "a peek-a-boo nudist opera." (I leave it to members to look it up and find out why he says that.)

What a marvellous opportunity for a second-rate director to make his reputation :)

[note to self: 'must look that up and pass it off as my own find' ;) ]

[t-p]

I never heard about Szymanowski opera King Roger.

It is strange opera. They talked about Szymanowski and his opera in particular on Music Matters today.

[Neil McGowan]

It is strange opera.

You're not kidding there ;)

[guest2]

And here one gets the drift despite the slips:

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/817664

"Margaret remarried a Scotsman Ian Douglas Campbell, Duke of Argyll. The new husband was not at once, but suspect that something was wrong, was to conduct a search in the house of Margaret and found Polaroids of his wife, delivering oral pleasure to a certain man, whose head was not included in the frame. Thirty years later, when all persons involved in the case moved to another world, Margaret admitted that there were two men - Douglas Fairbanks, and Sandis Duncan, the then defense minister and son of Winston Churchill, as Britain's first camera "Polaroid" belonged to just the Department of Defense. . . . Perhaps, "Powder her face" today the world's only opera, where there is a scene of oral sex. And is not there between some secondary people - takes over the main character in one of the central scenes of tempting the clerk. This dramatic turn slippery Ades skillfully uses, based on the classical postulate: the greater the artist the outer limits, the frisky his imagination. The vocal line of the Duchess, is not really singing, and orchestral parts are written with an inimitable sense of humor and are natural to the point of pornography. Not surprisingly, many radio stations refused to broadcast the opera with a scene, and some theaters do not have to put it in spite of the outstanding quality of music."

[Neil McGowan]

Aha, now there is a good piece :)  POWDER HER FACE is a neatly-written bit of music-drama.  Of course it has gained a certain notoriety for the scene with the Room Service waiter...  but there is lots of excellent stuff in it beyond that too.

It gained enormously from having a special stage-to-television transfer production directed by David Alden, with an excellent cast.

It's gone on to have numerous subsequent productions too

[ahinton]

It is strange opera.

You're not kidding there ;)

But what wonderful music it has! I saw two performances of what I think was its first UK production back in the 70s and was enthralled on both occasions; the part of Roxana was taken on those occasions by a then almost unknwon soprano by the name of Felicity Lott who, most sadly, seems to have sung no Szymanowski since...

[t-p]

Yes, Szymanowski's music is very interesting. I liked it very much. I meant that staging was somewhat strange to me .

There are two very good songs cycles – Love songs of Hafiz and Songs of a Fairy Tale Princes  I had opportunity to hear them. I feel somewhat more familiar with Szymanowski.


It is strange that the same operas are being staged. I am always happy to see more unusual operas. I just heard Tales of Hoffman in English National opera. I had my doubts about it before going. I thought that Offenbach is associated too much in my mind with operetta , but I enjoyed it very much.
To me it was unusual opera to be staged. I don't think it is done very often and I was happy for opportunity to see it.

I thought cast was very good. I liked tenor Barry Banks and mezzo soprano Christine Rice very much. Georgia Jarman .  She is soprano and sang three roles. Other two parts were also good. (Clive Bayley and Graeme Danby  were very good). I really enjoyed the whole production.

[Neil McGowan]

Yes, Szymanowski's music is very interesting. I liked it very much. I meant that staging was somewhat strange to me .

There are two very good songs cycles – Love songs of Hafiz and Songs of a Fairy Tale Princes  I had opportunity to hear them. I feel somewhat more familiar with Szymanowski.


It is strange that the same operas are being staged. I am always happy to see more unusual operas. I just heard Tales of Hoffman in English National opera. I had my doubts about it before going. I thought that Offenbach is associated too much in my mind with operetta , but I enjoyed it very much.
To me it was unusual opera to be staged. I don't think it is done very often and I was happy for opportunity to see it.

I thought cast was very good. I liked tenor Barry Banks and mezzo soprano Christine Rice very much. Georgia Jarman .  She is soprano and sang three roles. Other two parts were also good. (Clive Bayley and Graeme Danby  were very good). I really enjoyed the whole production.

Although of course TALES OF HOFFMAN was the serious opera he spent his whole career composing - quietly and steadily working on it :)  Yes, Graeme Danby is really excellent in that kind of material :)

Of course sometimes rarer operas are staged.  A little bird just whispered in my ear that the Bolshoi are going to stage a new production of CHARODEIKA ("THE SORCERESS") :)

[ahinton]

Oedip?

Montezuma?

Karl V?...

[Neil McGowan]

Oedip?

Montezuma?

Karl V?...

Oedip - you mean Enescu's opera?  I saw it performed once by the Romanian National Opera, touring to Moscow in the 1980s.  It managed to clear the stalls by the end of Act I.  I was one of a tiny number of people who sat through to the bitter end.  In truth it had a truly woeful and static staging, which probably didn't help.

All of Graun's operas deserve to be better known!

And so do Krenek's.... but as I have ruefully remarked before, Krenek's grasping relations have put most of his work beyond the means of many companies with performance-fee demands beyond all reasonable limits.  I'm sure it's why his music is so little heard.  They pursued a friend of mine for a fee of 500 euros for a single song-cycle to be given in a private recital for an audience of 60 - she abandoned the idea of performing it at all, but they still threatened to send lawyers to check!   Menotti's work has now fallen into the same trap...   when Francis Menotti inherited his adopted dad's back catalogue, the performing fees went up four-fold! 

[t-p]

Enesco is very much neglected now.
I have to say that the topic of Oedip is very heavy. I don't know how many people will like to see it. It is interesting to know that he wrote an opera. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6KuUUe63Pw&feature=related