Random Music

The Proms

I first attended a Prom at the age of 13 - it was a Tchaikovsky night full of popular stuff as I wasn't too au fait with much classical music at that age - and I loved it.  From the age of 15 I had a season ticket and went to practically every single concert. I had a Saturday job at the time which helped fund this and it was worth every penny as my musical education took place at the Albert Hall.  My lifelong love of Beethoven started here as each Friday night was Beethoven night; we had  Gilbert & Sullivan night and a Viennese night all great fun, Glyndbourne opera used to put on a semi staged performance of one of their operas in their repertoire that year (I still remember a radiant Elizabeth Soderstrom performing the Letter Scene in the night they did Eugene Onegin which still remains one of my favourite operas); Solti came and conducted a concert performance of  Rheingold with four percussionists hammering away at anvils at the back of the stage for the descent into Neibelheim; I heard my first Gerontius with Richard Lewis singing and Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting; was there for the first performance of Shostakovitch's Fifth symphony in this country conducted by Leopold Stokowski; was thrilled to the marrow by the sounds of the trumpets ringing around the Hall in a performance of the Verdi Requiem; introduced to Mahler by a sublime performance conducted by Haintink; watched performers such as John Lill, Shura Cherkassky, Joshua Bell, Rostropovitch, Janet Baker, Joan Sutherland....the list is endless.

I am writing at length because I wish you all to knbow just how much my musical life has been bound up with the Proms and how much I love them, but and there is a but I find myself agreeing with quite a lot of what has been written in a post over on one of my favourite blogs Gertsamtkunstwerk.  The lady who writes this blog is witty, amusing and holds very strong opinions about music and, in particular, opera. She is a huge fan of Domingo and has been to far more opera performances than I have, she is years younger than me and it is highly unlikely that we share the same political ideals. But I always enjoy reading her blog and her trenchant views.   I could take issue with some of her comments on the Proms, but it would be nit picking as, essentially, I think she is right.  However, I must mention in response to her comment about those people who 'always go to the Last Night of the Proms' as if they were going to Henley or Ascot or part of the season, drive the regular prommers barmy. Whatever you may think of the front row of the prommers in the arena (more of that in a minute), most of those crowded into the Albert Hall on the last Saturday have attended many many concerts, if not all and they deserve to be there. They have earned their place and resent very much the 'in crowd' who just turn up and hijack the last night with their flags draped over their boxes.  You have to attend four concerts, I think, before you can apply for tickets to the last night but that is a drop in the ocean compared to those who come to most of the season.

OK now back to the front row and I am speaking with the voice of experience here having been part of that group.   Huge fun being at the front and being so close to the artistes, the orchestra and the action but there is a pecking order and woe betide you if you sit or stand in  somebody else's place.  I remember doing that one year, when I had been attending for some time, and got a blast that sent me reeling.  I have witnessed so many squabbles and arguments between the Regulars and the Newcomers who arrive and, quite rightly, think they can move forward and watch the concert. Wrong.  I decamped after one season back to the third or fourth row and stood at the left hand side on the violin section where I remained for the rest of my promming days.  If somebody happened to be in the spot I used, well no matter, I moved three or four feet somewhere else.   So be warned if you are thinking of promming, don't think you will be given a warm welcome by the Regulars - you won't.

Then there is the dressing up at the front and the behaviour which is all a bit silly and pathetic considering most of those on the front row won't see forty again.   The BBC are always going on about how the proms are for young people, so how come we don't see any of them? Because the Regulars hog their places and make sure they don't have a chance of being near the front.that is why.  The antics of some of the Regulars on the last night drives me demented.  This year we didn't have the Henry Wood Sea Songs but they were played at an earlier concert and, as usual, when the cellist is playing the beautiful solo of Tom Bowling, all those in the front row whip out hankies and pretend to weep and cry into them, causing their sycophantic friends to laugh and thus ruin the mood.  This year they had them all on a long string which they whipped out and passed along.   Somebody had spent time doing that - unbelievable.

I love the Last Night - it is enormous fun and it is, or at least the second half, a party to have a laugh, let you hair down and celebrate what is a simply wonderful music festival.  Sadly, this last night is seen as representative of the Prommers and the Proms as a whole which is a huge shame and every year we get comments and snide letters in the Radio Times about it all.  While part of me agrees with these comments, the other half wants to say Oh Lighten up.   If you have stood through two months of music, paid attention, which prommers do, to all the music the proms has to offer, then you are entitled to a little fun, but sadly what you, as a member of the In Crowd, may think is wildly witty and amusing, merely looks silly and childish to others.  Might be worth remembering.

As a final note, I will disagree with Gertsamtkunstwerk on one thing - Renee Fleming.   She sang five songs by Richard Strauss in the first half and they were quite sublime. The first one was called Seduction and left me in a heap by the time she had finished.   In the second half she sang an aria from Dalibor and Dvorak's Song to the Moon from Rusalka, usually a show off piece for a soprano, but she sang it seriously and I have never heard it sung so beautifully.   She made a slightly ill advised little speech saying How Wonderful you all are etc which I could have done without but overall, I thought her performance was magical.  Not sure about her hat in Rule Brittania though......

Bud despite all the above and all the caveats, I love the Proms, always have and always will. They have been part of my life and will remain so.

Rigoletto - Placido Domingo live from Mantua

It is a trait in opera lovers to be overly critical and to say when a performance is lauded 'oh, yes but you should have seen Callas/Sutherland/Tebaldi they were the best' as if the only good opera singer is a dead one.  I am guilty on occasion of doing this myself though I try very hard not to and I had to strain every sinew last weekend to not fall into this trap when watching the live broadcast from Mantua of Rigoletto with  Placido Domingo in the title role.

Rigoletto is one of Verdi's greatest operas, in my opinion, and one of my favourites.  I learned to love this opera from a very old recording with Tito Gobbi as Rigoletto, Giuseppe di Stefano as the Duke and Maria Callas as Gilda.  I played it so often as a teenager I wore it out. Now of course I have it on CD and still listen to it and, even though I have heard many other recordings and seen other performances, this is still my first choice.   Tito Gobbi is one of my all time favourite opera singers and I have posted about him here back in 2007, so will not repeat myself and, for me, his performance of Rigoletto is THE one and nobody else, no matter how hard I try, can replace him for me.

This does not mean that I do not enjoy seeing and listening to other interpreters of the role and I was looking forward to seeing what Domingo made of it.  Rigoletto is stuffed full of the most glorious music. I know that can be said about most Verdi operas but this opera was written when Verdi was at the height of his powers and is a stream of fantastic arias, duets and choruses without let up - totally sublime.

I watched the live broadcast of Tosca some years ago from Rome, also with Domingo and remembered just how thrilling it was so my expectations were high. Perhaps too high, as I found the use of the location in Mantua somewhat disappointing.  OK we saw some beautiful interiors and some good long shots of galleries and rooms, but on the whole the camera work was limited and it seemed to me that the producer was using a stage eye rather than a filmic one.  Far too many close ups - most opera lovers are used to viewing from a distance and it can be preferable as we don't really want to see the sweat dripping off Domingo's nose or the spittle flying out of the tenor's mouth, both of which are the inevitable consequences of the heat and the effort.

So from that point of view I did find it a little lacking.  How about the performances?  Gilda was sung beautifully, she is a Verdi heroine for whom I have little sympathy and most of the time want to shake her and Caro Nome, beautiful though it is, goes on far too long.   The Duke's role is a killer. Every single time he is on stage he has a huge sing; Questa Quella in Act I followed by El Sol del anima and a duet with Gilda followed by an imnpassioned farewell Adio, adio when he leaves; Parmi verde la Lagrime in Act II followed by a cabaletta and a chorus and then in Act III, La donna e mobile. Jose Carreras once said in an interview that when he sang this role, he would take a few days of afterwards as he was exhausted. The tenor who sang the Duke was pretty damn good and he looked pretty damn good as well. I would think that even if you were the best tenor in the world, but were bald or plump, there would be no point in auditioning for this particular performance, you had to look good also for the millions of viewers.

And so we come to Domingo.  I love Domingo and think he is a wonderful artiste.  The state of his voice is quite amazing, not sure how the sound balance may have helped but I am pretty sure that the strength and beauty of his sound did not need much   I last saw Domingo sing live about three years ago in Die Walkure at Covent Garden and I was pole axed when he opened his mouth and sang Siegmund's opening phrases.  It was like listening to a golden trumpet and every hair on my neck stood on end.  He was quite simply magnificent and the baritonal quality of his boice was perfectly suited for this part.    Therefore, his taking on Rigoletto and, before this, Simon Boccanegra, is perfectly understandable and they are two great roles and a challenge to any singer.

Domingo was totally committed to the part, that comes as no surprise, his acting and complete involvement is always there and the role is well within his range and grasp.  I thought he did really well and his raging at the courtiers in Act II followed by his plea to them to return his daughter is one of the highlights of the opera for me, and he brought a lump to my throat which is always a good sign.   The final duet with Gilda in Act III is one of the most moving Verdi ever wrote. HIs plea of Do not die, I will be all alone and begging her to stay with him always reduces me to tears and this time was no exception.

All in all a marvellous evening and experience, but and yes there is a but, where does Domingo go from here?  He has essayed two of the great Verdi baritone roles so what will be next?  While enjoying this late flowering of his singing career I am beginning to wonder if he is, perhaps, doing too much and what it is that drives him on.   I am not complaining, believe me, the longer he is with us and performing the better as far as I am concerned and I would happily pay good money to see him do this in the theatre but I felt at times, particularly in Act I that he looked a trifle uncomfortable and his gasping in distress was not just acting.  No doubt in his heavy costume it was incredibly hot and tiring but I did feel a little bit worried.

The difficulty now is finding other great baritone roles which he might want to sing.  Apart from the two he has already sung, most of the other Verdi baritones are supporting, rather than starring, roles and I cannot imagine Domingo doing these.  I almost feel that if he did it would be unfair on the rest of the cast as no matter how good they would be, the attention would be on Placido though I daresay the honour of singing with him would make up for that.  I am not sure that he really should go down this route and my worry is that he will try to sing the last great Verdi baritone part, Falstaff.   Yes, he could do it, no problem but not sure that it would really be suitable for him.  We shall see.........