things that are amazing

[cahn]

-Le Nozze di Figaro
-Mozart. Da Ponte. Mozart.
-That whole last half of the second act of Nozze. Just the most brilliant ensemble singing EVER.
-The singers at this summer music festival, why did it take me this long to see their live opera? (the festival does one every year, this is the first one I've been to but I'm definitely going every year from now on, they were sooooo good)
-particularly Figaro and Susanna were amazing
-live opera in general, oh gosh it was so great
-"Riconosce in questo amplesso," which is just the most hilarious thing ever
-"Sull'aria," which is sort of terrible in context but such a beautiful duet
-"Deh vieni non tardar," which is also terrible in context but so amazingly beautiful
-this may be the only opera where I actually love the women's singing substantially more than the men's singing
-although Figaro was so great that I also loved "Aprite un po' quegli occhi," which is fine but not usually my favorite
-they staged Basilio so he kept coming out with a different instrument each act, act I was a guitar which sort of made sense, but I laughed pretty hard when he came out with a saxophone in the last act
-that last half of the last act when everyone gets so wound up, LOVE IT
-Più docile sono, e dico di sì. SO BEAUTIFUL. SO MUCH COMPASSION. SO EVERYTHING.
-Something about "Corriam tutti," the way they sang it and the way everyone looked so hopeful and the way the music was so hopeful and happy: I am usually a complete cynic about the Count and Countess being happy afterwards but I found myself thinking, maybe it will all be okay, maybe those crazy kids can make it work!

-but boy it's a long opera, I am not used to staying out that late

Comments

[seekingferret]

FIGARO


Also, those crazy kids are soooooo not happy together in the long run, don't kid yourself. :P

[seekingferret]

Also: https://seekingferret.dreamwidth.org/82955.html

[cahn]

Heh! I must say that of all operas I find it hard to think about fic for Figaro (I'll read it, but even there it's harder for me to read than Verdi fic) because it's so perfect <3 Bartolo and Marcellina are really interesting though!

[cahn]

FIGARO!

I knooooow! The entire opera is set up to make that point! But this was a younger cast, and they were just so bright-eyed and sweet and had such hopeful eyes and probably there was some bleed-in from RL where they were just totally pumped at having just put on Figaro, and I just had a Lot of Feelings :)

[isis]

Sounds amazing! And, we have a music festival here too, and I have not ever gone, but this year I read a write-up and decided it would be fun to go up for one of the performances (it's at the ski resort, so a bit of a drive though not really far) and it was excellent! I listen to classical music a lot at home but haven't been to a real concert in ages. Of course very different from opera (which I've only seen in Live at the Met simulcasts), but I used to see a lot of live theater, and I empathize with your delight!

[cahn]

It was soooo good! Yay, I am glad your concert was good too! I had Met on Demand for a while (not currently because I have a backlog of DVDs from my real-life opera friend to get through first, but I'll turn it on again eventually) and I saw a couple of the simulcasts on my computer/phone, but that's not even the same as seeing it on the big screen :) But gosh, live theater/opera/music, it had been so long since I'd been to anything live that I'd forgotten how different and lovely it is <3 (I also went to a couple of music recitals and a masterclass as part of the festival, which I'll post about soon.)

[zdenka]

Seeing/hearing live performances really does make a difference! Though I don't make it to live performances all that often myself, except the ones I'm in. :P And Figaro is such a great opera.

To me, when the words and music conflict, I believe the music. So I want to believe in the "Più docile sono" moment because the music sounds true, even though the Count's behavior doesn't make it seem like he'll really reform. The only other moment I can think of like it is the "Tamino mein/Pamina mein" exchange in Zauberflöte.

Similarly with "Deh vieni non tardar" -- the music sounds true and sincere, so I've asked myself why. The conclusion I've come to about that is: Susanna knows Figaro is listening, and she's really singing it for him. She's anticipating her wedding night with the man she loves, and the beautiful sensuality makes sense to me in that context. That makes more sense to me than dismissing the whole thing as none of it being real.

[cahn]

Figaro is so great! It is the first opera I ever fell in love with. (And it was the opera my voice teacher made me learn some (Susanna) arias from, back during my abortive efforts at voice lessons, so I know all the words from, say, "Deh vieni non tardar" even though I realized while watching that there are big gaps in my knowledge of how it's translated.)

So -- now you've made me think about what the music is saying -- the Count's "Perdono" is moving, but it's the Countess's "Più docile sono" that really breaks my heart (and also the "Tutto contenti" afterwards, although like I said in this particular production the "Corriam tutti" got me hard) -- so I think maybe the music is saying that the Count may or may not reform (and his behavior certainly doesn't point that way, as you say), but the Countess will, in the end, be all right; she'll find her way. I have to believe that, after listening to her sing that.

"Tamino mein/Pamina mein, O welch ein Glück!" is, I think, my favorite line/exchange in any opera, ever. It's the kind of thing where I almost have trouble talking about it, I feel so strongly about it.

I really like your take on "Deh vieni non tardar" -- that makes a lot of sense, that it means something real, just not what Figaro thinks it means :)

[zdenka]

Figaro is so great in so many ways!

I think it's that to me, the Countess's reply moves the entire opera into harmony and resolution, the way it flows into "e tutti contenti," and part of me can't help believing in that.

"Tamino mein/Pamina mein, O welch ein Glück!" is one of my favorite moments in opera too.

I'm glad you like that take on it. It makes sense to me, but my views can sometimes be eccentric.

[cahn]

Oh, you're right about "e tutti contenti" <3 I just don't know how to reconcile that with the weight of the entire libretto against the Count... maybe I don't need to; human beings can be surprising, after all <3

Oh Mozart. <3333333

(And I feel like I'm usually on board with your views!)

[zdenka]

To be honest, I don't know how to reconcile it either. That's why I can only say part of me wants to believe it, not that I definitely believe it. :)

I'm just used in general to having people thinking I'm weird for caring so much about obscure things or for getting obsessive enough to have this level of knowledge of them. It makes me really happy when I can go to fandom and find people who think my opinions are interesting and that my random obscure knowledge is actually useful.

[cahn]

I think it's really amazing and awesome that you are so knowledgeable and have thought about all these things so much! (I sometimes feel a bit weird for always being all TELL ME MORE ABOUT TRANSLATION AND MUSICAL IDIOM PLEASE YAY! at you. But this kind of thing is absolutely my jam and I totally love it when you talk about it <3 ) Though yeah, I was just thinking recently about how fandom tends to attract people with focused personalities and who appreciate people who have focused personalities. :D