barcelona boheme

a couple of weeks ago, i saw, in the movie theater, a boheme from barcelona -- great -- a much better production than the previous one i saw at the movies, from vienna, with maps of the city, all over the stage

the liceu's promo is on youtube, at http://youtu.be/VYh8pYqREcI -- i couldn't include it here

they have another trailer -- charming -- with the four leads, inviting people to attend...and introducing themselves and the opera -- in three languages...maybe four -- at http://youtu.be/J53NgS8CL_I

[i just looked on wikipedia, and it appears that ainhoa arteta, the musetta, is basque]

here's el periodico's video -- clips from the opera, the house, and an interview with the mimi, fiorenza cedolins, who was wonderful -- perfect, for the part

here she is, singing si, mi chiamano mimi

vargas seemed a little off, though -- didn't...'turn it on,' till the last act, when he was back in the apartment, with mimi

the colline, carlo colombara, looked so familiar

he might have been the colline in the vienna production, from the previous year, starring anna netrebko and piotr beczala

he was great -- as were the musetta (arteta) and the marcello (christopher maltman) -- his duet with rodolfo was great -- she did an unbelievable trill (if that's what it's called), at the end of quando m'en vo' -- she really 'turned it on' -- the charm -- the sex appeal -- not to mention, the voice -- i wish i had a video...audio...of it

here she is, singing it at the met, in 2008 -- the video goes all the way to the end of the act, into the curtain call, and beyond -- it starts, though, right with her, singing -- we don't get the music...leading up to it

here's another version, which starts with the music lead-up, but cuts off, abruptly, as she finishes her...main portion -- the picture is bad -- the sound is great -- and we've got subtitles

yup -- i just found him -- it was salzburg, though -- not vienna -- colombara is in the green top

the blog around the world with irina has pictures from the barcelona production, with angela gheorghiu and saimir pirgu in the leads -- instead of fiorenza cedolins and vargas, whom i saw

two casta divas: radvanovsky & zanettin

i just found this rendition of 'casta diva'...by sondra radvanovsky -- i was preparing an e-mail to my opera 'list,' in which i wrote about my recent trip, and a production of 'norma' in which she starred -- in spain -- i was in barcelona, and my taxi driver told me that this production was happening, an hour outside the city -- it would take place (in peralada), two weeks after i left the city -- i love the conductor, here, leading the applause

i then saw this version -- spine tingling -- monica zanettin -- and this is a huge...outdoor arena