The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| What the devil? Royal Opera stages Meyerbeer rarity Posted: 06 Dec 2012 05:36 AM PST  This undated handout photograph released by the Royal Opera House, shows Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea singing the role of Bertram in ROH's production of Giacomo Meyerbeer's rarely-performed grand opera Robert le Diable in London December 06, 2012. — Reuters pic They will witness German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1831 grand opera "Robert le Diable" (Robert the Devil), a work so rarely performed that virtually no one has seen it, let alone sung it or played it. In fact, the last time Britain's prestigious Royal Opera House put on the epic work was in 1890, by which time it had fallen out of favour, never to recover fully. "I think the piece still works today," said Laurent Pelly, the French director with the Herculean task of staging a work that turned Meyerbeer into a superstar when it premiered in Paris nearly two centuries ago. "I hope they will be taken by the story and the music and the singers," he told Reuters backstage on the eve of opening night. "It's a huge piece." The chorus is 80-strong, there are 10 dancers, and the principal singers face roles among the most demanding in opera. Adding to the stress was a last-minute casting change for the key role of Isabelle, which was to have been performed by American soprano Jennifer Rowley in her Royal Opera debut until she was replaced less than a week before the premiere. "It was a musical problem," Pelly explained. "We were doing five weeks and in the end it was not possible to do, so it was very important to find somebody else," he added, speaking in English. Italian Patrizia Ciofi was brought in with the advantage that she had worked with Pelly before and, crucially, was one of the few sopranos who had previously performed Robert le Diable. "Three days is very short of course, but I know Patrizia," Pelly said. Ciofi will sing the first four performances (Dec. 6, 9, 12 and 15) and Russian soprano Sofia Fomina will take over for the final two shows on Dec. 18 and 21. Paris triumph When Meyerbeer started work on Robert le Diable, he set out to create a hit. Pelly likens the opera to a Hollywood blockbuster, light on subtlety but rich in action, special effects, stirring music and melodrama. Set in the times of knights, jousting and chivalry, the story follows Robert's quest for the hand of Isabelle and his dangerous dance with the devil, and contains the once notorious scene of nuns' ghosts dancing provocatively by their tombs. The effect on audiences in 1831 was sensational. They fell in love with the opera, which quickly became a favourite around the world and was deemed a masterpiece by Frederic Chopin. Degas captured it in paint and, according to Pelly, its influences can be traced to popular works by composers including Bizet, Offenbach and Gounod. Why it had fallen from grace by the 20th century is not clear. "During the 19th century a lot of composers were inspired by Robert le Diable and by Meyerbeer, and 60 or 70 years after it seemed very old fashioned, there were too many performances and everybody knew it," said Pelly. "I think the opera-goer wanted to forget it." Other factors included the expense of staging such a large work, the emerging talents of Wagner and Verdi and its running time of over four hours. Except for Sunday's matinee, there are, unusually, plenty of tickets left on the Royal Opera website. Some experts link its decline to Wagner, who was heavily influenced by Meyerbeer early on but turned on the composer and sought to disassociate himself from him. — Reuters |
| Indie group fun. scoops Grammy nominations Posted: 06 Dec 2012 03:35 AM PST Indie group fun. scoops Grammy nominations Ruess performs with Janelle Monae during the Grammy Nominations Concert in Nashville, Tennessee December 5, 2012. – Reuters pic NASHVILLE, Dec 6 – It was all 'fun.' yesterday as the New York indie pop band with the oddly-spelled name picked up no fewer than six Grammy nominations in its breakout year. During a gala nomination ceremony in country music's hometown of Nashville, fun. found itself in the running for best album ("Some Nights") and best record (the morose hipster drinking anthem "We Are Young"). It also picked up nominations for best song, best new artist, best pop duo/group performance and best pop vocal album ahead of the February 10 awards presentation in Los Angeles. Asked in a livestreamed backstage interview how they'd celebrate, the trio fronted by Nate Ruess — which earlier played "We Are Young" for the Bridgestone Arena crowd — gave a jovial one-word response: "Drink." Rap artist Frank Ocean scored four nominations, for best album (the critically acclaimed "Channel Orange"), record of the year ("Thinkin Bout You"), best new artist and best urban contemporary album. Ocean caused a stir in the macho and sometimes homophobic realm of hip hop when he revealed in a Tumblr blog prior to the release of "Channel Orange" that he had been involved in a gay relationship. The Grammys are the premier music industry awards in the United States, with no fewer than 81 categories ranging from pop and country to jazz, gospel, Latino and world music. Winners are determined by voting among members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Also vying for best album are three-time Grammy winners The Black Keys for "El Camino," British rock-folk group Mumford & Sons for "Babel" and rocker Jack White for "Blunderbuss." Record of the year contenders also include the Black Keys' "Lonely Boy," Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" and Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Swift co-hosted the nominations—televised live on CBS—alongside hip-hop statesman LL Cool J. Passing mention was given late in the broadcast to the death earlier in the day of jazz maestro Dave Brubeck, of "Take Five" fame. Last year's Grammys were dominated by British soul songstress Adele, who collected six awards, including album of the year for "21"—only the second woman in Grammy history to collect so many awards in a single go. Nominated for best song this year were British balladeer Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," Miguel's "Adorn," Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" and Clarkson's "Stronger," alongside "We Are Young." Both Gotye, born in Belgium and based in Australia, and Jepsen, from Canada, were fixtures on American pop radio this summer, with their singles enjoying heavy rotation along with fun. and Maroon 5. Failing to get any nominations in major Grammy categories were veterans Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Lionel Richie, R & B diva Rihanna, teen idol Justin Bieber and Brit boy band One Dimension. Nominees for best world music album included Mali's Amadou & Mariam for "Folila," South Africa's Hugh Masekela for "Jabulani" and Indian sitar legend Ravi Shankar for "The Living Room Sessions Part One." Up for best Latin pop album were "Independiente" by Ricardo Arjona, "Ilusion" from Fonseca, Kany Garcia's self-titled outing, Jesse Y Joy's "Con Quien Se Queda El Perro?" and Juanes' "MTV Unplugged Deluxe Edition." – Reuters pic |
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