Saw Mozart's Mass in C Minor last night from the TSO and the MacMillan choir, with Gigi and Victor Emmanuelle. And you know what, I didn't like it. The Slovakian soprano, Simona Saturova, was absolutely divine and struck deep into my heart with the first note, but she was called on by the score to do things that simply weren't nice. Other things in the score also simply weren't nice. With starts and stops and galloping things out of nowhere.
And I don't blame Mozart for that. I never blame Mozart for anything, of course. I blame Robert Levin, the editor. I'm going to listen to an edition done by someone else before I get too judegemental, but, you know, last night I wasn't impressed. Levin did give a talk before the Mass about how he went about finishing an unfinished Mozart mass. It was interesting in a boring sort of way and could have been shorter - he has an undue fondness for simile.
Also, I didn't appreciate Lauren McNeese as the mezzo at all. Maybe it was where I was sitting but her volume seemed misjudged and intrusive so I kept wishing she would shut the fuck up - not my typical feeling for mezzos.
That's alot of complaining, but I'm pretty sure I mean it, as my hormonally induced desire to blow up the universe ended around eleven yesterday morning. It was especially helped by a wonton soup from Spring Roll's express restaurant. Goddamn, those were good wontons. If I had balls and wasn't deathly allergic to their dietary staples, like peanuts, I'd move to Thailand and try learn their whole. Other. HUGE. school of cuisine. As it stands I might move to Korea.
Otherwise, last night's miniscule baritone part featured Philip Carmichael, the guy who'd just owned Don Giovanni in the student-y production I saw awhile ago. That was cool - I love a decently good looking baritone, and even a fucking pig-ugly one, I might add - but his part was so. Small. Snooze.
11 commenti:
Oh, definitely try and listen to another recording. Mozart does such wonderful things with the minor keys...
...moving to Korea?? Oh dear, that's so far. :( No more weekend trips to Ottawa. Would you teach?
I don't know what I'd do. My plan, such as it was, was to hang around being cool, drinking their hard liquor and eating.
You could try and see their '12 Wonders' (something like that)..one of my friends is there right now and her goal is to see one a month!
We'll see. Now might be a good time to get cheap flights . . .
When I was in Thailand there was a pregnant lady staying where we were staying. It was an isolate community of bungalos far from the only small town on a small island. I thought that if I got knocked up by some rich dude that's the way to spend a pregnancy. Get the midwife her own bungalo and drink mango or pineapple drinks and eat green curry every day. Mmmmm. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be able to afford that if and when I get knocked up. My dude is not rich.
I've read somewhere that spicy food is bad for pregnant women. Is it true?
But I remember the pregnant lady. She was beaming with happiness.
My midwife sis-in-law ate spicy through her last pregnancy, so I'm going to say it's okay.
Sometimes when a woman is newly nursing they recommend to stay away from spicy food for a bit so that it doesn't upset the baby's digestive system. But if you ate spicy throughout your pregnancy I'd imagine the baby would be used to it?
I'd imagine. We should ask a nursing lady from a culture that doesn't eat bland things. My sis-in-law is Cantonese and nursing so I'll ask her.
By the way, I've just heard Levin's edition of the Requiem is excellent, so, there's that.
I started to rehearse the Levin version of the C minor mass and although I was so much looking forward to singing the mass again after several years, I am quite disappointed by the numbers composed by Levin now. We started with Et vitam venturi and everyone had to feel it - this has nothing to do with the Mozart way of composing brilliant music! Sorry, Mr. Levin, you are thousands of miles behind the skills of the man who you were trying to "substitute"...
I'm glad it wasn't just me being cranky, then.
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