chansondefortunio

[chansondefortunio]

LOL i loved reading this omg! The 1951 review made me laugh out loud.

You are truly the lord of Les Contes d'Hoffmann, i bow down to our immense knowledge

(and sacrifice after going through the Brussels 2019, the Madrid 2014, and ESPECIALLY the Genève 2008 [those are my personal bottom-tier ones, the Genève 2008 holds a very special and personal place of hatred in my heart])

I request a detailed tier list of all the Hoffmann productions you've ever seen 🥺

okay BUCKLE UP

from Best to Worst my absolutely objective ranking of all 48 productions of this opera I've seen. and I am only just now realizing what an insane number of productions I have seen of this opera.

the best

#1. 2009/2015 Metropolitan Opera production (designed & directed by Bartlet Sher my beloved) Hands-down the best. Great vibe, great atmosphere, great casts in both productions, great amounts of gay, and costumes/sets that evoke such a fantastical feel it's like we've actually fallen into some kind of creepy fantasy from ETA Hoffmann's universe! A must see for anyone who loves this opera and a great first production.

#2. 1995 La Scala. The cast is to die for, the costumes and pleasingly straightforward, the sets go smoothly from wacky to eerie at the appropriate times. But most importantly it contains hands-down the absolutely bonkers fantastic amazing GAYEST Hoffmann/Nicklausse team EVER--Neil Shicoff and Susanne Menzter. I lost my fucking mind the first time I watched this one and continue to do so every time I rewatch.

 #3. Munich 2013. Fun and wacky all over with a great cast and excellent amounts of gay. Delightful all the way. Diana Damrau positively slays as the ladies. Rest of the cast is excellent too, no complaints.

#4. Brussels 1985. Surprisingly gay for being so old. A lovely production overall and, as far as I know, the first recorded production of this opera containing the Violin Aria (so possibly the first recorded Oeser edit?) which makes it extra special.

#5. Orange 2000. Two words: Angelika Kirchschlager (okay, four words: The Hair). Production's a bit odd and it is the cursed short edit but it is quite gay and, well, Angelika Kirchschlager. Outdoor stage lends a great atmosphere to the creepy parts. Natalie Dessay reigns supreme as Olympia again.

#6. Hamburg 2021. Very fun (though fairly, and somewhat distractingly, odd at times) production with another to-die-for cast. Very gay. Brower and Bernheim quickly made it to my top 10 (possibly top 5) Hoffmann/Nicklausse pairs. Olga Peretyatko gives fantastic, wonderfully multi-faceted portrayals of all the ladies and Luca Pisaroni is iconic as the villains.

#7. Paris 2002. Not as much a fan of the production, but it makes my top 10 simply because we get Shicoff and Mentzer in these roles again, and you simply cannot beat them. you just can't.

#8. 1970 German film. The costumes and sets for this are very detailed and evocative of the story and the special effects are amazing. There’s a decent amount of added dialogue, especially at the end with the Muse’s speech, so a few story-related liberties taken, though some of them draw from the original play which is interesting. All-around good cast with another dynamic Hoffmann/Nicklausse duo (the way Hoffmann runs offstage calling Nicklausse’s name over and over at the end of the Giulietta act…oh. my. god.)

#9 Zurich 2021. A bit too dark lighting-wise at times (could give Vienna a run for its money) but another fun and eccentric production. No big names but a good cast overall and another wonderfully gay lead pair but the ending has MUCH to be desired. They straight-ified it. Makes no sense. (does not compel me.)

#10. Royal Opera House 1981/2016. A classic. Very gay despite being the abbreviated version. Luscious sets and costumes. Some unfortunate casting in the tenor role but beyond that quite good, and my first production so it’s got a special place in my heart.

the good stuff

#11. Metropolitan Opera 1988. Featuring Adorable Baby Shicoff in yet another delightfully gay performance with an extra sassy (and impeccably dressed) Nicklausse. Olympia’s phenomenal. Some odd bits but a mostly great cast and fun staging make up for it.

#12. Barcelona 2013. Phenomenal cast somewhat dampened by a strange production—does a good job emphasizing the darker parts of the opera, which is a relatively rare (so interesting) take, but a few directorial choices don’t vibe with me at all. Quite gay though and great acting/singing overall.

#13. Vienna 2000. Unfortunately this exists as a highlights-only reel with absolutely terrible image/sound quality but we get Shicoff yet again paired with an equally adorable Kirchschlager in one of the gayest performances on the planet (making their 2005 performance all the more bizarre, but more on that later).

#14. Toronto City Opera 2019. Hoffmann and Nicklausse are such a dynamic duo in this one in the most adorable way. It’s abbreviated even by Choudens standards which is obnoxious but it’s such a cute and fun production it still makes my top 20.

#15. Paris 2016. Same production as the 2002 one so that in and of itself is not my cup of tea but we get a good cast which carries it pretty well.

#16. Las Palmas (?date?) This one is about as close to full-on Oeser as anyone’s tried (except maybe the Genève 2008 one) so it’s remarkable for that. The production is equal parts campy and cool and the cast overall is very good, especially the villains and especially Dapertutto. Chemistry between Hoffmann and the ladies is pretty great. Decently gay. I need Nicklausse’s Act 1 costume immediately.

#17. Macerata 2005. A low-key production with an even mixture of fun and strange. Nicklausse is adorable and off-the-charts gay. Relatively unremarkable besides that.

#18. Orlando 2015. Why, oh why do we not have a full recording of this production?? It currently exists only as a youtube playlist with videos of some of the most important parts and it just looks SO GOOD it makes my top 20 without even having seen the entire thing.

#19. Regina Opera (NYC) 2011. Straightforward and fun and lots of ingenuity for a tiny space. Olympia and Antonia are particularly good. Hoffmann winds up in Nicklausse’s lap at the end. Nuff said.

#20. St. Petersburg (Florida) 2017. Another highlights-only reel but it looks really good and I’m mad we don’t get the rest of it. Refreshingly straightforward sets/costumes and engaging performance.

#21. 1951 film. This movie is so extra. There’s really no other way to describe it. Everyone is gay. The sets are gay. The room is gay. The air is gay. Ironically though Hoffmann and Nicklausse don’t get much gay time together. A lot of Nicklausse’s stuff is cut and I don’t like how they do the ending. The final trio in the Antonia act is fire though (pun intended—watch it and you’ll see).

#22 Miami 2017. Another highlight playlist on youtube. I like the “pour conjurer le danger” in particular. Nothing else terribly exciting though.

#23. Las Palmas 2022: WHY, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2022, ARE WE STILL USING THE CHOUDENS EDIT FOR THIS OPERA?? At least Nicklausse is adorable and Hoffmann has good chemistry with him and the ladies (especially Antonia), but this fun and quirky production is absolutely wasted on the abbreviated edit. Come onnnnnnnn. (Especially after already attempting the Oeser one a few years back???)

decent

#24.  Skanderbeg 2005. Production doesn’t do much for me—looks like it came out of a bad sci-fi movie—and most of the acting isn’t great but it’s got a really cute Hoffmann/Nicklausse dynamic that made it worth the watch. Antonia was pretty good too.

#25.  Parma 1988. Unremarkable but pretty cute and gay.

#26. Avignon 2009. Only the Olympia act is available sadly but from little there is you can tell it’s a really fun and adorable production with good acting and signing all around.

#27. Paris 2000. Same production as the 2003/2016 one but the acting is less compelling except poor Kirchschlager who really does her best but it’s hard to sing to a wall and this Hoffmann is pretty much a wall. Nicklausse does get to slap Hoffmann though which is excellent.

#28. Royal Opera House 2000. Same production as the 1981/2016 one but the acting is overall less captivating.

#29. Beijing 2013. Unremarkable production with okay cast and annoying edit but the chemistry between Hoffmann and Nicklausse?? The Violin Aria blows it out of the park. They practically kiss at the end. It’s glorious.

#30. Buenos Aires 2019. I have a visceral reaction to this one and severe love-hate relationship with it. The edit sucks (no Violin Aria) but the cast is great. The sets are cool but the production/staging is questionable. Individual performances are good but there’s not much chemistry between anyone. And finally, despite the fact that we get next to no chemistry between Hoffmann and Nicklausse (and may I remind you NO VIOLIN ARIA) they decide to have Nicklausse and Hoffmann kiss at the end. I ranted about this for a full day once so I won’t go into any more here. But seriously. Come on.

#31. Met 1973. Super old, terrible sound/picture quality, but iconic thanks to the one, the only Dame Joan Sutherland singing all three heroines (not four, no Giulietta act in this one. It’s a really terrible edit).

questionable

#32. Genève 2008. Weird and downright unpleasant at times. Phenomenally gay but Hoffmann is a total jerk. Villains are quite good but the production takes away from pretty much everything. I’d like the heroines a lot better if it wasn’t for that awful bob cut (and Olympia’s costume…or rather lack thereof…). Giulietta somehow makes the hair work. My favorite edit so far—just wish it had a better production to go with it.

#33 Mexico City 2020. They tried, they really did, to do a Kaye edit but they tripped at the finish line. Also the production is kinda “?” Actors are pretty decent but I can’t get over Dapertutto and Giulietta kidnapping Nicklausse while Hoffmann does nothing. Matching outfits are a win but there’s not much else.

#34 Seoul 2019. Interesting production with good acting. Some really odd directorial choices. Edit is awful.

#35 Monte-Carlo 2018. I hate this one for making Juan Diego Flórez one of my favorite Hoffmanns but giving him a terrible production to work with. We get a nicely devious set of villains and Olga Peretyatko is great as the ladies (thank goodness she gets another shot in the Hamburg one four years later) but I don’t even want to talk about what they do with Nicklausse here.

#36 Lyon 1993. I was hyped for this one, I really was. Reviews kept praising it for the cast (which is great) and the fact it’s the first recording to use the Kaye edit, but…it doesn’t really? The edit is practically unrecognizable; aside from some parts of the orchestration I really couldn’t tell you which edit it was using. The production itself is…wild. Disturbing almost. I have no idea what’s going on, it’s almost like some kind of fever dream.

meh

#37. Moscow 2019. Unremarkable to the point of being forgettable. Odd and not compelling. Stop using Choudens people.

#38. Nagoya 2010. Okay production. Odd at points but Hoffmann is really cute and I do like the Antonia quite a bit.

#39. Hagan 2020. I don’t even know what this is supposed to be. I don’t think the director did either.

awful

#40. Berlin 2015. Edit is atrocious and production is equally bad. Nicklausse is pretty good and some of the Hoffmanns are decent (because, yes, there are multiple performers playing Hoffmann) but it’s just…I don’t even know.

#41. Dutch National Opera 2018. Do you know how much I’d give to see (most of) this cast in a Hoffmann production? One that’s not this one because it’s awful? They try to modernize it but it just doesn’t work at all and they make Nicklausse a girl for the entire show and just. Wow. No thank you. John Osborne and Erwin Schrott deserve so much better.

#42. Madrid 2014. I couldn’t begin to tell you what they are trying to do in this one. Another terrible interpretation of Nicklausse and the rest of the characters don’t seem to know what they are doing. I don’t think anyone working on the show did.

#43. Brussels 2019. You could barely even call this Les contes d’Hoffmann because of all the ridiculous stuff they add to make it something it really is not. The production is just plain confusing. Is it the opera? Is it a movie? Is it them trying to film the movie? There’s no consistent reality. They throw the gay out the window here too with another girl Nicklausse. And Hoffmann is quite a piece of work himself.

#44. Salzburg 2005. Another monstrosity that attempts to un-gay the opera and totally demolishes the Hoffmann/Nicklausse dynamic. I can’t believe this is actually McVicar. Why would a gay opera director decide to direct one of the gayest operas ever only to mutilate it to this extent.

#45. Antwerp 2000. Same production as above so same level of terribleness.

#46. Klostenberg 2019. What. Just what. I can’t even.

#47. Bregenzer Festspiele 2015. I’m convinced everyone working on this was high on shrooms while they made it because I can’t think of any other explanation for how bizarre it is.

#48. Mexico City 1987. Didn’t even watch this one because Nicklausse is a tenor which is an unforgiveable sin.

and there you have it! Now I just need to watch two more to make it an even 50!

thank you for letting me rant about this opera yet again:) I never get tired of it!

#stan offenbach!!! #after les brigands you cannot CONVINCE me that this man was not rooting for the gays a little bit #opera #les contes d'hoffmann #the heterosexualization of this opera is it's biggest downfall

[chansondefortunio]

When I was in undergrad getting my English degree I took a creative writing class where the professor forbid us from saying "I like it" or "I don't like it" or "it's bad" or "it's good."

We had to say "it works for me" or "it doesn't work for me" and explain why.

I think internet discourse about media would lose a lot of vitriol if people started doing this.

I'm tired of saying I enjoyed something for xyz reasons and someone else just responding "it's bad."

Like, it's okay if something doesn't work for you. And you have the right to express why it doesn't work for you. But I also have the right to say something does work for me and neither of us can really claim that as an objective critical stance.

(unless it's something clearly bigoted or offensive, but that goes beyond simply "working" or "not working.")

And another thing, if you see someone posting about media and saying how it "works for them," but it doesn't work for you? You have every right to just keep scrolling and not say anything. I don't post about things I enjoy because I want someone to come cut me down. Let people enjoy things.

#!!!

[chansondefortunio]

Le Flem: Le Rossignol de Saint-Malo

ok i promised a dissertation but in the mean time here is one of the funnest operas I've ever listened to, released to the world for the first time in a long time.

The story is WEIRD, described as a tragedy-comedy.... how does that work?? Kind of well i guess? let me break it down for y'all, as best as I can since I don't have the libretto and I don't super understand the whole story.

To start off you should know that their entire story is being narrated by three gossiping women outside their house. I don't really know what's up with that.

So the young Azénor is married to an old fart named Jacquemin, and her habit of getting up in the middle of the night is starting to really piss him off. So he demands to know why she's not sleeping next to him, and she gives him a few excuses. Each time he goes away, one of the gossiping women warns him that she's lying, and he eventually comes back pissed at her having realized that. The situation gets depressingly violent, and Azénor finally tells him the truth: She was coming to the window to listen to the Nightingale in their garden. Jacquemin is, as always, a horrible person. He vows to kill the Nightingale and force her to finally sleep next to him. She begs him not to, but he doesn't listen.

Anyways, remember how I said she was telling the truth about the nightingale? I have no idea what's happening anymore, because a "young and handsome servant of love" comes to her window and serenades her. APPARENTLY, he's really the one that's been coming her window every night. huh?? (I guess he's somehow tied to the nightingale, but I haven't figured that out yet.)

Jaquemin comes back, having killed the Nightingale, and this is the part that kind of loses me. I have legitimately no idea why but she's happy about something, and then everyone sings about how everything is good because she's happy.

I'm sure I'll just need to listen to this more and figure it out.

IN ANY CASE...

This opera is just sooooooo..... soooo.... exquisitely boppy...

and Jean Mollien is DREAMY in this one PLEASE listen to it 🥺

#SO SILLY I LOVE IT #AND JEAN MOLLIEN IS HEAVENLY DFHJDHFGJHSF #I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY CHOSE HIM FOR THIS LOL IT SEEMS LIKE MORE OF A LIGHT TENOR KIND OF ROLE BUT IM NOT COMPLAINING #so soft....... #paul le flem #opera #opera tag #fortunios one stop shop #Youtube

[chansondefortunio]

FROM MY SOLITUDE FROM THE WORLD OF OPERA TUMBLR I COME BACK TO ANNOUNCE THAT I HATE WAGNER EVEN MORE THAN I REALIZED

I am so sorry. I truly do not want to hate his music. I wish I could be cool and intellectual and progressive like y'all but the universe does not allow me that pleasure.

explanation to come soon (with visual aids) to prove my involuntary anti-wagner disposition

#im so sorry #operablr #stan offenbach tho no regrets about that

[chansondefortunio]

I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO WATCHING LA VIE PARISIENNE (théatre des Champs-Élysées 2021)

(shout out 2 @ardeacinerea for getting the 2021 recording to me like a whole year ago... )

It is certainly... a contemporary french production.... They are always particularly fond of scaffolding I've noticed.

(to note: I

Right off the bat, La Vie Parisienne is 2 things;

(when I first wrote this, this first point said that La Vie Parisienne's story was kind of a lackluster miss. i take it back now, its grown on me. )

desperately dependent on the quality of actors interpreting the role

And this production faces an interesting problem. Under all the make up and costumes,

which I either really love: - The Baron on account of cool and dynamic character design or that I really hate: - La Gantiere on account of having a dress that tried to be quirky is actually just ugly. Hey queen! this is just a random arrangement of stuff on a body

For as crazy and whacky La Gantiere's fit was, I was getting maybe 30% of a personality coming through. Ultimately the costuming turned into clothes and makeup that was certainly on the actors, but didn't really do anything for anyone. the clothes wore THEM.

I would like to say that I recognize and appreciate the time that clearly went into the costuming and sets. However every single pattern, material, texture, colour and accessory seemed to have been stolen from a textile dump by someone who was sleepwalking. It didn't work in the worst way possible. I hesitate to call them hideous because I can understand they're supposed to be ridiculous, ugly and crazy. but then again, that doesn't really work when almost EVERYTHING is ugly and there's not enough to juxtapose the craziness against.

Also to note on the visual mess: I'm sure If i saw this in person my eyes would find it incredibly harder to focus on anything.

The actors did really well though! They were funny and very physical, which is always a good thing. Each actor was strong, unique and there was decent chemistry between the cast. My favourite is probably the baron. Everything was perfect about him and his performance. I wish it was a little more down to earth, but that's a personal preference if anything. The stage direction was definitely a highlight, inspired and always giving the most!! I loved the elevator, it was such an easy way to add another layer of dynamics to the scenes. and MAN were there dynamics, from the lighting to the sets! it was great!

But I didn't like how the dancers were incorporated. This production seems to have an issue of doing things just to be quirky. The dancers act in a way that's wacky and weird, but it becomes way too much of a performance... It makes sense for the dancers, who in act 2 act as the very silly and undignified guests of Raoul, to be silly. But here, it's not used to emphasize the baron's confused perspective. I felt like they were directly addressing the audience and saying ;

"WE ARE WACKY AND SILLY DANCERS!!"

Which is just about where the joke is lost for me. There was no lead up, no real internal logic or reason for the guests to be acting that way. This is where I feel a little down-to earthness would have helped to make the absurdity hit harder. At the moment, it feels like unmotivated and performative chaos. That's just something that always turns me off.

So all in all: a little bit too try-hard quirky for it's own good, but still a solid interpretation and entertaining.

I definitely appreciate all the work that went into it and I'm sure others will enjoy it!

(I had to watch this in like, 6 increments it is 3 hours long)

#Offenbach kinda slayed with this opera #la vie parisienne #this is NOT the three hour offenbach production we deserve though

[chansondefortunio]

oh sulpice do you think love can bloom even on a battlefield

#LOVE!!

[chansondefortunio]

Mussorgsky: Boris Godounov Extraits

Boris Godounov acte III extraits (ORTF 1967)

Micheline Grancher (soprano) Bernard Demingny (tenor) Jean Mollien (baritone)

this is such a silly little recording!!

#also jumpscare warning its in french #i love jean mollien's voice i do i do i do #I BOUGHT THIS RECORDING COMPLETELY BY ACCIDENT #fortunios one stop shop #:) #opera #mussorgsky #boris godounov #Youtube

[chansondefortunio]

my opinion on opera recordings (1.)

Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers

┕━━━━━━━━━✿━━━━━━━━━┙

Réné Leibowitz with the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra

Violette JOURNEAUX (L'Opinion Publique)

Claudine COLLART (Eurydice)

Jean MOLLIEN (Orphée)

André DRAN (Aristée/Pluton)

Simone PEBORDES (Cupidon)

Monique CHALOT (Venus)

Janine LINDENFELDER (Diane)

Bernard DEMIGNY (Jupiter)

Luciens MANS (Mars)

André JONQUERES (Mercure/Morphée)

Anne Marie CARPENTIER (Junon/Minerve)

Jean HOFFMANN (Jon Styx)

1951

★★★★★★★★★⭐︎⭐︎ 8/10

This is the first in Leibowitz's (awesome) series of recordings of Offenbach's most famous Operettas, and the second opera I ever listened to. At least willingly... It's one of Offenbach's earlier works, filled with more meaningless farce compared to his later operettas (that still manage to be quite substantial despite the genre). I mean, most story lines lead nowhere aside from a few jokes and none of the characters are really fleshed out. However, the music is bombastic enough to make me ignore all that. After not listening to Offenbach for a while, going back to this made me realize how energetic his music is compared to other composers. It got my adrenaline going wild!!. What can i say, its early Offenbach!! Orphée aux Enfers is not literary or comedy genius, but it's fun anyways.

This cast suits the opera perfectly, nailing the range of characters and the comedic timing without fail. You can trust the french to do their own comedy well. Even just the dialogue sweeps me up with it's smooth frenchie rhythm. Most of it is cut though, so we were robbed!

Dialogue highlights:

- Claudine Collart delivering this line probably exactly as Offenbach intended: "Je quitte la maison Parce que je suis morte. Aristée est Pluton, Et le diable m’emporte." .btw. I want that on my tombstone? . - Jean Mollien saying this line: "Je ne lui conseille pas de folâtrer dans les blés que voilà, comme il le fait depuis qu’il est venu, je ne sais d’où, s’établir dans mon voisinage" in a SINGLE breath!! im not JOKING!!! wtf?!!!

This recording was where I had my first impression of Jean Mollien's voice. I very distinctly remember that one of my first thoughts was; "oh, he should definitely be in a more dramatic opera". This is not to say that he doesn't fit the role! Jean Mollien has nice control over his voice when it comes to characters. Here, as Orphée, he makes his voice nasally and stiff. And he reuses this same voice in characters like Achilles (La Belle Hélène) and Guillot de Morfontaine (Manon). I call it the the "disagreeable man" because that's all it really is. A little pathetic, a little annoying, and seemingly always upset about something... I would say his interpretation here is pretty tame (especially compared to the absolute AMOUNT Collart is giving in their dialogue) and he also sounds like he's trying to speedrun Orphée any% gitchless. In any case, although he isn't really outstanding, Jean Mollien a perfectly enjoyable Orphée.

Claudine Collart is pretty much perfect as Eurydice! She has the comedy, the melodrama, the coquetter-ry... everything is on HIGH in the best way possible. She's bringing everything to make this character super fun and I'm sure Offenbach would be satisfied with her performance. "J'ai vu le dieu Bacchus" and her fly duet with Bernard Demingny's are some of my favorite parts of this recording. All the absurdity of the story and the charm of Offenbach's music can be found there. Collart and Demingny do a wonderful job, especially with the buzzing. I've heard other versions where the buzzing falls flat, or doesn't sound fly-like at all! Which is understandable. I can't imagine they teach you projection for optimal buzzing in music school.

Speaking of which, Bernard Demingny is absolutely great as Jupiter!!!! He's a hilariously flawed character of course, superficial and sleazy and very not self-aware, but Demigny gives him a little sass and relatablility which really makes it fun to follow his character through the story. He has so much energy and character, absolutely nailing every scene without overpowering the other interpreters. The dialogue with the Gods in the second part of act 1 is just a hilarious mix of perfect executions and (the so often neglected!!) reactions to one another, and because Jupiter is at the center of the dialogue I feel a lot of that chemistry depends on him. Instantly they communicate this sense of being this bored and dysfunctional family who just so happen to be gods. Demingny is, at the end of the day, a very strong force in this recording.

André Dran's Pluton has all the superficial sweetness of a Disney princess and the nerve of a spoiled teenager. That youth really comes out in his dialogue with Jupiter. it's an interpretation I haven't really heard before, but it sure makes this opera feel more like a dysfunctional family comedy. Not sure about how this aligns with the real mythology... But above all, he's very charming!

Finally, I'd like to say that Jean Hoffmann is O.K. as Jon Styx. I would never find enjoyment from this character, god forbid any comedy. But that's because I generally dislike those thin, absolutely flaccid comic tenor roles that seem to always reappear in Offenbach's operas (see: my anger with "jour et nuit" from Hoffmann). Jon Styx and similar roles are very one note and almost purely exist as pathetic men for the audience to ridicule. :/ . Jon Styx is handled here by Hoffmann with enough grace, just enough to stop me from skipping his aria during a casual listen.

⊱ ────── Final thoughts.────── ⊰

I cannot oversell how much listening to this recording feels like this:

═══════════════════════  

if you like:

Offenbach, Operetta/Opera Bouffe, the 1997 Opéra National de Lyon production (<3)

then this recording will be enjoyable 4 you!! (probably)

═══════════════════════

#stan!! offenbach rn. #this recording is painfully abridged.... #opera #opera tag #offenbach #I'll have you know that I like the dialogue! these guys absolutely killed it! #opera memes

[chansondefortunio]

i love you green. i love you forests. i love you smell of damp earth. i love you feeling before the storm breaks. i love you moss. i love you rivers. i love you streams. i love you thunderstorms. i love you sunlight shining through leaves.

[chansondefortunio]

Boieldieu's Le Nouveau Seigneur du Village

I TRIED UPLOADING a recording ON INTERNET ARCHIVE!!!

It's Boieldieu's Le Nouveau Seigneur du village, very lovely i do recommend it. Boieldieu is super fun.

Idk if I'm gonna keep using Internet Archive.... but I have so many recordings at this point and I'm just itching to share them!!!

#crying #opera #boieldieu #the need to make obscure things available to the public... #fortunios one stop shop

[chansondefortunio]

thoughts on pelléas et mélisande

omg.... ok so I did really want to get into this opera.... but I'm very sorry to say that I can't stand dry or melodically-detached recitative. which UNFORTUNATELY seems to be the musical basis of this entire opera!!

its all terribly wagnerian, and I just can't tolerate that man in any capacity (even if i'd really like to.) Like D'Indy's Fervaal, the wagner fanboy opera. I really would like to like it, because Jean Mollien has sung the title role and the music is gorgeous, but i find the recitative so insufferable that I never want to come back and listen to it.

It's like the music moves separately from the voices, that are themselves warbling around in indiscernible melodies. and then sometimes they come together and youre like wow!! this is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard!! and then it ends. Which I understand people do like, and I can totally see the appeal!! but its not for me.

Maybe someday I'll get into it... but for now Pelléas et Mélisande lies in my "regretfully uninteresting" category.

#I like loud and overwhelming and constant!!! #Also sorry this took so long to reply to I forgot it in my drafts... #opera

[chansondefortunio]

Nubian houses in Egypt and Sudan

#reminds me of the traditional designs painted onto ukrainian houses #architeture

[chansondefortunio]

A selection from the series Orpheus and Eurydice by Hokyoung Kim.

#aw aw ow

[chansondefortunio]

An Animated Scene From Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole

:) I love this silly opera!

ty @notyouraveragejulie for being the first person to watch this!!

#l'heure espagnole #omg yes I do love these singers #opera tag #ravel #animatic

[chansondefortunio]

@that-stranger-in-paradise thank you so much !!! for letting me know your thoughts on these recordings. I love the Edwards 1987 one :D Anna Steiger's Concepcion is an absolute force...

Listening to the 1965 Maazel rn!! a lot of familiar faces in there... Its freaking awesome! and I'm only partway through! the voices and music are all absolutely wonderful. immediate 10/10.

Looking forwards to listening to the Jordan 1987 :)) . UPDATE: i listened to it. it slays!!!!!

tyty so much again

(btw: I am also picky. [i literally only listen to french opera !!! D:])

Top 05: Opera Couples?

omg. I am embarrassingly late to this ask! sorry about that…

5. Gonsalve and the clock, Ravel’s L'Heure Espagnole

No context!

4. Helene and Paris, Offenbach’s La Belle Helene

i am exclusively referring to the relationship displayed in this operetta and not in the original myth.

Paris got himself a hot older woman… i support it

3. Hoffmann and Nicklausse, Offenbach’s Les Contes d'Hoffmann

i just think theyre CUTE together! and the symbolic interpretation is cool too ! artist and the muse

2. Francesca and Lazaro, Bachelet’s Scemo.

i support Francesca cheating on Giovann no I will not elaborate (unless someone asks me to)

1. Fanny and Jean, Massenet’s Sapho

THEY ARE TOXIC! they are BAD FOR EACHOTHER!

Jean can’t let go of the past… Fanny wants to run away from it…

but there is something very beautiful and naive about their relationship… the best part about this couple is that Fanny knew that it was best to end it.

thanks so much for the ask :)

#:) #omg I love hearing other ppls opinions on things that i know. omg! #l'heure espagnole #ravel #opera

[chansondefortunio]

I'd have to say that the first books I really wanted to read on my own were the dear dumb diary books... my parents did not approve of it...

@the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @superkingofpriderock @faintingheroine @chansondefortunio @softlytowardthesun @themousefromfantasyland @amalthea9

I have a question for people: wich was the first book (can be traditional book, picture book, comic book, etc) that you remember choosing to read out of your own curiosity (i.e without parents or teachers pushing you to read)?

[chansondefortunio]

And speaking of Sophia Tolstoy, her diaries are just so depressing. 

“I am to gratify his pleasure and nurse his child, I am a piece of household furniture, I am a woman. I try to suppress all human feelings. When the machine is working properly it heats the milk, knits a blanket, makes little requests and bustles about trying not to think […].“

She wrote this when she was 19, one year into her marriage to Leo and as she was pregnant with the first of his 13 children.

A few years later, when she was 25 or so:

“I am so often alone with my thoughts that the need to write in my diary comes quite naturally … Now I am well again and not pregnant—it terrifies me how often I have been in that condition. He said that for him being young meant “I can achieve anything”. For me […] reason tells me that there is nothing I either want or can do beyond nursing, eating, drinking, sleeping, and loving and caring for my husband and babies, all of which I know is happiness of a kind, but why do I feel so woeful all the time, and weep as I did yesterday? I am writing this now with the pleasantly exciting sense that nobody will ever read it, so I can be quite frank with myself […].“

During her 12th pregnancy she wrote about taking scalding baths and jumping from high pieces of furniture to try and miscarry.  And at one point while reading her husband’s diary (which he told her to read) she found the sentence “There is no such thing as love, only the physical need for intercourse and the practical need for a life companion.” In her own diary she wrote “They ebb and flow like waves, these times when I realise how lonely I am and want only to cry…”

A few years before her husband’s death, she published a cycle of prose poems titled “Groans”, under the pseudonym “A Tired Woman”.