La fanciulla del West

Puccini La fanciulla del West opera to a libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini. Directed 2011 by Giancarlo del Monaco. Stars Deborah Voigt (Minnie), Lucio Gallo (Jack Rance), Marcello Giordani (Dick Johnson or Ramirrez), Tony Stevenson (Nick, the Bartender), Keith Miller (Ashby, the Wells Fargo Agent), Dwayne Croft (Sonora), Hugo Vera (Trin), Trevor Scheunemann (Sid), Richard Bernstein (Bello), Adam Laurence Herskowitz (Harry), Michael Forest (Joe), David Crawford (Happy), Edward Parks (Larkins), Philip Cokorinos (Billy Jackrabit), Ginger Costa-Jackson (Wowkle), Oren Gradus (Jake Wallace), Jeff Mattsey (José Castro), and Edward Mout (Pony Express Rider). Nicola Luisotti conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Donald Palumbo). Set and costume design by Michael Scott; lighting design by Gil Wechsler; musical preparation by Gildo di Nunzio, Donna Racik, Steven Eldredge, Joseph Colaneri, Carrie-Anne Matheson, and Milos Repicky; fight direction by B. H. Barry; assistant stage direction by Gregory Keller, Jonathon Loy, Louisa Muller, and Elena Sacconaghi-Marzoni; dramaturgy by Paul Cremo.  Directed for TV by Barbara Willis Sweete; Music Producer was Jay David Saks; Supervising Producers were Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park; Producers were Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik. Released in 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: A-

La fanciulla del West had its world premiere at the Met in 1910 with Puccini in the audience and Toscanini conducting. In 2010, the Met celebrated the centenary of of the premiere by reviving a 1991 production from Giancarlo del Monaco with extremely beautiful traditional sets and costumes.  This staging  probably follows the original libretto and score as closely as current taste would allow. If you don't know the opera, this is the version to get first. It's easy to follow; after you have seen it several times, you will know the work well. Then you can better enjoy the updated version of La fanciulla from the Netherlands Opera, which gives you some different things to think about and is a hoot to boot. By the way, Lucio Gallo plays sheriff Jack Rance in both shows.

Here's an odd YT clip that's a series of "slides" about this production. Activate the CC button for commentary by Deborah Voigt:

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Eugene Onegin

Tchaikovsky Eugene Onegin opera to libretto by the composer and K. Shilovsky based on the verse novel by Alexander Pushkin. Directed 2011 by Stephan Herheim at De Nederlandse Opera. Stars Bo Skovhus (Eugene Onegin), Andrej Dunaev (Lensky), Mikhail Petrenko (Prince Gremin), Krassimira Stoyanova (Tatyana), Elena Maximova (Olga), Olga Savova (Larina), Nina Romanova (Filipyevna), Peter Arink (A Company Commander), Roger Smeets (Zaretsky), Guy de Mey (Triquet), and Richard Prada (Chorus Leader). Mariss Jansons conducts The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera (Chorus Master Martin Wright). Set design by Philipp Fürhofer; costume design by Gesine Völlm; lighting design by Olaf Freese; choreography by André de Jong; dramaturgy by Alexander Meier-Dörzenbach. Directed for TV by Misjel Vermeiren; BD production by James Whitbourn; produced by Coby van Dijck. Sung in Russian. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-

Gordon Smith and his L'OperaDou jury gave this an A-.

David Shengold in the August 2012 Opera News (page 61) called this Onegin a "moving, important release." Shengold discusses in some detail the extensive updating and reorganization of the libretto by director Stephan Herheim. (Yes, this is the one where cosmonauts in moonsuits appear as characters!) It seems Herheim is trying to relate the Onegin story to the history of the Russian people since the birth of Pushkin in 1799. Pushkin was a member of the Russian nobility. But he was an advanced thinker interested in the future of Russia. After his death, Russia lost about 80 years during the collapse of the Russian aristocracy and another 90 years to the Communists. Russia then awoke in the modern world in 1990 after almost 2 centuries of sleep. So if you are a Russian today, where do you start as you try to build a new culture for your country? Maybe you start with Pushkin and subject title take on Eugene Onegin.

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La Bohème (Gerzmava)

Puccini La Bohème opera to a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Directed 2009 by John Copley at the Royal Opera House. Stars Teodor Ilincai (Rodolfo), Hibla Gerzmava (Mimì), Gabriele Viviani (Marcello), Inna Dukach (Musetta), Kostas Smoriginas (Colline), Jacques Imbrailo (Schaunard), Jeremy White (Benoit), Donald Maxwell (Alcindoro), Alan Duffield (Parpignol), Bryan Secombe (Sergeant), and Jonathan Coad (Costums Officer). Andris Nelsons conducts The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning), the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Renato Balsadonna), and the Tiffin Children's Chorus (Chorus Director Simon Toyne). Designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman; lighting design by John Charlton after William Bundy. Directed for TV by Robin Lough; music direction by Frances Whitaker; produced by David Groves. Released 2011. Alert! this disc may be restricted to Region A. Grade: C+

This Japanese market version of the title appears from product descriptions on the Internet to have exactly the same music as that published by Opus Arte in 2010. The difference would be, of course, other artwork and the addition of package information written in Japanese.  It also appears that the sound on this recording, while excellent by general consumer standards, was not recorded with 96kHz/24 bit technology that is often used by Denon. So this would not be one of the audiophile recordings we have been enjoying from Denon. We give the same grade to the works on this title that we gave earlier in our review of the original Opus Arte version.

We would be happy to hear from anyone in Japan would could tell us more about this title.

It appears this title is still available now (May 2020) from www.amazon.co.jp with ASIN  B005MJVNGY.

Hansel and Gretel

Engelbert Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel opera to libretto by Adelheid Wette (Humperdinck's sister). Directed 2008 by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier at the Royal Opera House. Stars Angelika Kirchschlager (Hansel), Diana Damrau (Gretel), Elizabeth Connell (Gertrud), Thomas Allen (Peter), Anja Silja (Witch), Pumeza Matshikiza (Sandman), and Anita Watson (Dew Fairy). Colin Davis conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning) and the Tiffin Boys' Choir and Children's Chorus (Director Simon Toyne). Set design by Christian Fenouillat; costumes by Agostino Cavalca; lighting by Christophe Forey. Directed for TV by Sue Judd. Released 2011, disc is restricted to Region A. Grade: B+

This Japanese market version of the title appears from product descriptions on the Internet to have exactly the same music as that published by Opus Arte in 2009. The difference would be, of course, other artwork and the addition of package information written in Japanese.  It also appears that the sound on this recording, while excellent by general consumer standards, was not recorded with 96kHz/24 bit sound sampling. So this would not be one of the audiophile recordings we have been enjoying from Denon. We give the same grade this title that we gave earlier in our review of the original Opus Arte version.

It appears this is still available (May 2020) from www.amazon.co.jp. Look for ASIN B005MJVMHE