psa marriage of figaro

[cahn]

ROH has put up its recent Marriage of Figaro until 8 Aug 2019. Featuring my fave Simon Keenlyside as the Count, my absolute favorite conductor in the world, John Eliot Gardiner, as the conductor (he's a specialized taste, though, and if justplainsavannahd1 is reading you won't like his conducting/casting at all, I suspect -- on the other hand, zdenka, you may well like it), and an actual male (countertenor, Kangmin Justin Kim) as Cherubino, which was apparently rather controversial and I'm looking forward to having severe cognitive dissonance on that :) (Also jealousy, why is it that countertenors sound so great?? Also also, yay for Korean-American opera singers!)

Performers:

Count Almaviva: Simon Keenlyside
Countess Almaviva: Julia Kleiter
Figaro: Christian Gerhaher
Cherubino: Kangmin Justin Kim
Susanna: Joélle Harvey
Bartolo: Maurizio Muraro
Marcellina: Diana Montague
Basilio: Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
Don Curzio: Alasdair Elliott

(Or, I guess, you can wait for me to watch it and tell you my opinion :D )

Comments

[iberiandoctor]

aaa, thank you for linking to this! I'm currently at the break post-Act I, and thus far I have the following to say (probably not spoilery, but just in case, spoiler alert): (1) how amazing is Kangmin Justin Kim, I'd imagine the casting was kind of controversial, but he is adorable and vocally spot on, and (2) Keenlyside just keeps getting hotter and hotter, vocally as well as physically -- on the latter, although these are not the artful rags of costumes past, his Count costume involves a brocade housecoat and, well, let's just say it is my favourite item of stage apparel. Ahem.

In other news, I came across this on another friend's feed: https://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-do-stars-like-adele-keep-losing-their-voice?utm_source=pocket-newtab . Apropos of our previous convo about singing and vocal support! I'm actually considering going back to voice class -- for my job, actually, not just the occasional evening pub karaoke. Will let you know how that goes ;)

[cahn]

Kim is really really good. Also adorable, yes! <33333 ahahaha, I thought of you as I watched Keenlyside in his brocade housecoat and open-necked white shirt :) I have finished it now and have a LOT more to say about it (and him, lol) although I may have to wait until I get done with this work trip, sigh. (Leaving on Monday. Got part of the data I wanted to process THIS MORNING. Ugh.)

That article is really... I think (having no personal experience with losing my voice)... spot on. And blaming Verdi for all these woes seems absolutely right to me, too -- I adore Verdi but I feel like his blasting-over-an-entire-orchestra vocal parts aren't good for a lot of people! Speaking of SK, he had one of those Vocal Events not so long ago (and yeah, probably as a result of singing too much Verdi), and one of the things he stressed for more than one student at the masterclass I went to last year was that they didn't need to be in a hurry to sing the big roles, they had time -- with a self-deprecating reference to his own situation. (I just love that man. He's so nice.)

I'd love to know how voice lessons go! In theory I know more about how to support my voice, but in practice I never ever use that knowledge while speaking for my job -- my voice is pretty loud but has no support whatsoever...