This is hardly verismo in the Puccini style. What I love about Francesca is that such gorgeous, perfumed phrases, however brief, suddenly, magically grow out of nowhere. Not everything in this opera is of the same quality, but those intensely beautiful parts make it all more than worth it. Fran’s entrance, her duet with her sister, the rapturous ending of Act I, the third act duet, and the incredibly sizzling fourth act duet are fantastic. This opera should be done more often with the right singers. Never mind the snarky critics at The NY Times et al.
No final do Ato III da ópera Francesca da Rimini, de Riccardo Zandonai, o dueto de amor interpretado por Roberto Alagna, no papel de Paolo, e Svetla Vassileva, sendo a Francesca, os artistas fazem a leitura do romance de Lanceloto e Guinevere, escrito por Galeotto. [FRANCESCA DA RIMINI da obra ESPETACULAR, de Fernando Pinheiro]
To me this Francesa's beauty is like Monica Belluci's. I hear people go on about singing voices all the time, that are crystal clear, like rich gold, burnished bronze etc, and never myself can hear it. But I think her soprano really does shimmer with silver. And all these tender expressions on her face!
The playing time of "Francesca" is only about 2 hours 15 minutes or so, not four. The Met chose to have intermissions between each act, which does extend the evening a little, but not to four hours. I attended it at the Met last Tuesday. I think the problem is principally that people these days flock to titles that they recognize.
Kerasotes theaters have The Met at 12 noon EDT 3/16/13. One problem for Francesca da Rimini is that it has to compete with the likes of Magic Flute and Carmen for stage days. And where Flute can run nicely at 2 hours and 30 minutes including the intermission, this unedited FDR will go 4 hours in the no-cuts Met version. Lovely, lovely romantic work. But I can't believe that Zandonai expected the whole thing to be staged with every performance. Stretching an hour's story to four? No-no-no.
Believe it or not, I will take Francesca over Magic Flute any day. Yes, FDR has some bombastic, 3rd rate writing (mainly the 2nd Act) but it has many pages of rapturous, sensuous beauty. This duet is soooooo moving. Flute is endlessly silly pitter-patter. And Alayna and Vassileva make a most compelling case for it.
We'll see about the Met today. Hopefully it will be wild and heart felt, fittingly a visit to the Second Ring of operatic Hell and, like Dante, we will have reason to faint from pity.
I wholly disagree. Zandonai's musical language is far from that of Puccini--it is more modern, more influenced by Strauss, Debussy, and others, and lacking the big tunes that are characteristic of Puccini. I'd also disagree that it is less skillfully orchestrated. Zandonai was a virtuoso orchestrator, and his orchestration is filled with vivid color. It's just different.
Well... I perform this work two times, and this sound just like the score, much better the Met version (Levine) with lack of musical rehearsals. But thanks to post this.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
This is hardly verismo in the Puccini style. What I love about Francesca is that such gorgeous, perfumed phrases, however brief, suddenly, magically grow out of nowhere. Not everything in this opera is of the same quality, but those intensely beautiful parts make it all more than worth it. Fran’s entrance, her duet with her sister, the rapturous ending of Act I, the third act duet, and the incredibly sizzling fourth act duet are fantastic. This opera should be done more often with the right singers. Never mind the snarky critics at The NY Times et al.
No final do Ato III da ópera Francesca da Rimini, de Riccardo Zandonai, o dueto de amor interpretado por Roberto Alagna, no papel de Paolo, e Svetla Vassileva, sendo a Francesca, os artistas fazem a leitura do romance de Lanceloto e Guinevere, escrito por Galeotto. [FRANCESCA DA RIMINI da obra ESPETACULAR, de Fernando Pinheiro]
Délicieux !!! Merci pour le partage :D
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing this.
To me this Francesa's beauty is like Monica Belluci's. I hear people go on about singing voices all the time, that are crystal clear, like rich gold, burnished bronze etc, and never myself can hear it. But I think her soprano really does shimmer with silver. And all these tender expressions on her face!
Incrível.
Amazing, a rambling but stunningly beautiful duet. This opera is a neglected masterpiece.
BTW......has Roberto shaved his chest?
The playing time of "Francesca" is only about 2 hours 15 minutes or so, not four. The Met chose to have intermissions between each act, which does extend the evening a little, but not to four hours. I attended it at the Met last Tuesday. I think the problem is principally that people these days flock to titles that they recognize.
I wholeheartedly agree. I hear no Puccini in Zandonai's tonelanguage, but more the ''dark'' beauty in the vein of Richard Strauss.
Thankyou for this.
When can we have a Region 2 dvd of this inspiring production if the work?
With Giordani singing the lead? LOL. I doubt it. This role is so sensual, and Marcello doesn't have "it."
Kerasotes theaters have The Met at 12 noon EDT 3/16/13.
One problem for Francesca da Rimini is that it has to compete with the likes of Magic Flute and Carmen for stage days. And where Flute can run nicely at 2 hours and 30 minutes including the intermission, this unedited FDR will go 4 hours in the no-cuts Met version.
Lovely, lovely romantic work. But I can't believe that Zandonai expected the whole thing to be staged with every performance. Stretching an hour's story to four? No-no-no.
Believe it or not, I will take Francesca over Magic Flute any day. Yes, FDR has some bombastic, 3rd rate writing (mainly the 2nd Act) but it has many pages of rapturous, sensuous beauty. This duet is soooooo moving. Flute is endlessly silly pitter-patter. And Alayna and Vassileva make a most compelling case for it.
We'll see about the Met today. Hopefully it will be wild and heart felt, fittingly a visit to the Second Ring of operatic Hell and, like Dante, we will have reason to faint from pity.
I believe it is from Paris.
I wholly disagree. Zandonai's musical language is far from that of Puccini--it is more modern, more influenced by Strauss, Debussy, and others, and lacking the big tunes that are characteristic of Puccini. I'd also disagree that it is less skillfully orchestrated. Zandonai was a virtuoso orchestrator, and his orchestration is filled with vivid color. It's just different.
Well... I perform this work two times, and this sound just like the score, much better the Met version (Levine) with lack of musical rehearsals. But thanks to post this.
Svetla Vassileva est une soprano d'origine bulgare...
This is on tomorrow Met live HD. Sounds like Puccini influenced, but less skillfully orchestrated.
So beautiful 🥺