Today brings the third act of Siegfried by Wagner, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler in 1950 at La SCALA in Milan.
The first side opens up to possibly the most epic overture for an act since the Ride at the opening of the third act of Die Walkure; but quickly descends into what feels like deep emotional thought. Wager finally begins to break through epic tonal prison he has built around him throughout the last 2 and 2/3 operas. He brings dual violins, who wander up and down their register, culminating in a long luxurious notes at the high end of symphonic sound that grab ones ears and turn until tears of emotion leak from the listener's eyes. Not that I cried or anything...Because I'm a manly man, yes I am *grabs tissue* *sniffle*.
I wish I could say more about the second side, but I did lose interest quickly, I had not committed my full attention to the piece and quickly found my mind wandering, or being force at claw point to feed my cats treats until content. I will say that the entrance of a soprano with about 20 minutes to go, did give a feel of depth to the tonal complexity that had been missing. The acts wanders around, rearranging tempos and themes, but ends in true Wagner fashion with an epic duet between a tenor and the soprano. There is even a moment where the famed ride is revisited, cementing it further as the cornerstone of this cycle.
Showing posts with label siegfried. Show all posts
Showing posts with label siegfried. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Day 7
Today was the second act of Siegfried by Wagner, directed by Wilhelm Furtwangler, in 1950 at La SCALA in Milan.
The first part of the act was much more subdued that I would have expected; since reading the synopsis states that the main charter (Siegfried) kills a dragon. But hey, maybe killing a dragon to him isn't all that big of a deal for him? The strings play a vital tonal role here, and are often set in the background, leaving the bellowing tenor free range to tell his tale.
The second side starts with a hollowing brass solo (baritone, trombone, french horn not certain which), which leads to a discussion between vocals, which quickly lost my attention. I will say by the end of the record I needed to jump in the shower to rid my self of the large amounts of perspiration that had collected on my skin. But this was do more in part to the 90 degree weather and the airlessness of the room where my stereo is located than the emotional intensity of the music.
Lessons learned in the first week of my 10,000 days: opera is not as bad as I once thought, though still not as good music written without the intention of telling a tale. Wagner does dramatic well, and subtle not so well. My cats now jump on the dining room table as soon as the needle hits the vinyl, knowing that it is time for a brushing and attention. No matter how hot the weather, the neighbors will still point and dial the cops when you lay about the room naked listening to German opera on full blast. And finally, it still feels weird picking up removing a copy Bowie's Diamond Dogs and replacing it with Die Walkure.
The first part of the act was much more subdued that I would have expected; since reading the synopsis states that the main charter (Siegfried) kills a dragon. But hey, maybe killing a dragon to him isn't all that big of a deal for him? The strings play a vital tonal role here, and are often set in the background, leaving the bellowing tenor free range to tell his tale.
The second side starts with a hollowing brass solo (baritone, trombone, french horn not certain which), which leads to a discussion between vocals, which quickly lost my attention. I will say by the end of the record I needed to jump in the shower to rid my self of the large amounts of perspiration that had collected on my skin. But this was do more in part to the 90 degree weather and the airlessness of the room where my stereo is located than the emotional intensity of the music.
Lessons learned in the first week of my 10,000 days: opera is not as bad as I once thought, though still not as good music written without the intention of telling a tale. Wagner does dramatic well, and subtle not so well. My cats now jump on the dining room table as soon as the needle hits the vinyl, knowing that it is time for a brushing and attention. No matter how hot the weather, the neighbors will still point and dial the cops when you lay about the room naked listening to German opera on full blast. And finally, it still feels weird picking up removing a copy Bowie's Diamond Dogs and replacing it with Die Walkure.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Day6
First Act of Siegfried by Wagner, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwangler in 1950 at La SCALA in Milan.
Not quite sure how much of an interlude there was between the composition of Die Walkure and Siegfried, but the first act has a completely different feel from the prior opera. Perhaps a more modern feel; but I could also be hallucinating from the heat and lack of AC.
Tomorrow calls for more Siegfriend and more hot weather.
Not quite sure how much of an interlude there was between the composition of Die Walkure and Siegfried, but the first act has a completely different feel from the prior opera. Perhaps a more modern feel; but I could also be hallucinating from the heat and lack of AC.
Tomorrow calls for more Siegfriend and more hot weather.
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