Late 2017, early 2018: Rodelinda at ENO and Rinaldo at the Barbican
photo credit: hdvdarts.com
Now that venues are posting their 2017-2018 offerings it turns out that ENO is bringing out their 2014 production of the beautiful Rodelinda in Oct/Nov, whilst the Barbican is airing Rinaldo on 13 March, with a few features from the Glyndebourne production – Iestyn Davies 1 in the title role and Pisaroni as Argante + the addition of Jane Archibald as Armida. I have to say my £15 was for Pisaroni’s Sibilar gli angui d’Aletto. I hope the trumpets live up to the hype all the way to the balcony. I’m not sure about Rodelinda (Io t’abraccio in English) just yet, I might pull a Partenope-move and book at the last minute if I can’t get it out of my mind long enough.
- He sang in the recent revival which I missed because he’s not Prina. ↩
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Posted on May 3, 2017, in barbican, baroque, ENO and tagged barbican, eno, handel, rinaldo, rodelinda. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
opera, innit? 
vomit, on the not casting Prina
well, what can ya do? ID is having his moment in London these days (saw him yesterday in contemporary opera) and he’s good but he’s not Prina. It’s one of those things, like no other Sesto is VK.
Maybe this is another sign of altos getting pushed out of Handel by countertenors….. I hate this. I do love Iestin Davies, though.
It could be also that Prina is engaged elsewhere. She is singing in the current Ariodante, and she is coming back to Wigmore Hall this winter, has been in London for recitals twice last year, as has Stutzmann (both to great acclaim), so it’s not like they aren’t getting work. But it seems apparent that in staged work you do get a lot of countertenors in roles thus far associated with contraltos/mezzos. I still hope things will get balanced in the future.
part 2: I don’t want to have to pick, I like some CTs a lot and there are mezzos who I don’t like so much. There are certain roles where I like women better (Ruggiero, Polinesso, all Vivaldi) and some where it’s not so important who’s singing – like I said, I really liked Mehta’s Bertarido.
Yes I also have many countertenors that I absolutely adore (Christophe Dumaux, Bejun Mehta, Tim Mead). I also liked Mehta’s Bertarido a lot, and, honestly, Dumaux’ Polinesso rivals Prina’s in my heart.
What I don’t like is the trend. I mean Fagioli is singing Rossini on stage! As we speak! It is blasphemy, it’s just WRONG.
I kind of see a general trend “mezzos are bores, CT are cool” and I hate that. Call me an old-fashioned feminist, but I see it as men trying to occupy one of the few spaces where women really shine. I HATE IT.
part 2: I just looked at the season at the Opera de Lausanne. We have Yurij Minenko as Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, and Max-Emmanuel Cencic as Malcom in La donna del lago, by Rossini.
I rest my case.
well… yes. I have heard Fagioli’s Sesto and as much as I love him just no. Minenko sang Annio in that same production. I think we’ve seen with Fagioli’s Idamante at ROH that CTs in late Mozart (early seems fine) is not quite working (though Idamante in general is a tricky role).
But Malcolm? Seriously? I’m thinking of Barcellona and imagining Cencic. Most odd. Have they done Arsace in Semiramide as well?
Fagioli is singing Arsace in Nancy as we speak. As much as I love him I just can’t condone this.
Nancy loves him. I agree with you, it’s getting ridiculous. Poor mezzos.
well, as we all know, I love Fagioli and I think everyone has roles they would like the sing but normally wouldn’t get to, so when they can they go for it. I don’r quite know if these ventures are good for him voice-wise and it would be terrible if he hurt himself with a repertoire that’s just beyond him. I mean we’ll know he’s jumped the shark if he wants to sing Octavian 😀
It really comes down to your conclusion, the delibreate pushing away of mezzos. There should be room for everyone and there should also be common sense. But it is quite obvious that we live in a time when feminism has taken a few steps back in general and for opera it’s mezzos/contraltos that are feeling it most (though I think the recent obsession with very good looking singers is another effect).