La Scala SALDI-SALES-REBAJAS-ΕΚΠΤΩΣΕΙΣ!

I was killing time at the La Scala website the other day when in order to fulfill my curiosity i tried the ticket prices for two recitals that i found very very very interesting...For Diana Damrau and Joyce Di Donato...What i found out??? Max ticket price for these concerts:

Zone 1

€ 34,80

Then i jumped to the Easyjet site...

Athens to Milan Malpensa

Sat 06 October
€40.99*

incl. taxes and charges

This is how your fare is calculated:

easyJet flight:	€11.99
Airport operator charges and government taxes:	€29.00

dep. 16:25, arr. 18:00

Milan Malpensa to Athens:

Mon 08 October
€22.99*

incl. taxes and charges

This is how your fare is calculated:

easyJet flight:	€11.99
Airport operator charges and government taxes:	€11.00

dep. 12:30, arr. 15:55

Total: 98,78 eur
that includes the most expensive La Scala ticket and aller-retour tickets Athens-Milan
Hmmm...Any volunteers?

Macbeth, Athens 15 March 2003

Keeping on with the same subject, the acoustics in various theatres, here's a Macbeth from the petit Athens Lyric given in 2003. I'm not sitting at the platea, i'm actually sitting at the second balcony, center. The sound is not distant at all and there's barely any hiss (well, the original mini-disc has a crystalline sound...)

The performance is pretty good! Tatjana Serjan was quite unknown back in 2003 and her excellent Lady Macbeth came as a surprise! Robert Hyman is also a very good Macbeth and Dimitri Kavrakos delivers an impressive Banquo...I can't say the same thing about the Macduff sung by Stamatis Beris (**Parsifal blashes but has to admit that he booed severely Beris after "Ah! la paterna mano" that same night and of course the booing has been removed from the recording**)

Macbeth - G. Verdi

Macbeth: Robert Hyman
Lady Macbeth: Tatiana Serjan
Banquo: Dimitri Kavrakos
Macduff: Stamatis Beris

Excellent direction by Chrisanthos Alissafis

Athens 15 March 2003

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Waiting for your comments...

Tosca, La Scala, 20 April 2006

It was commented on the Anne Sofie Von Otter recording that there is too much echoe, it sounds as if it is coming from the bottom of a barrel. Saying something like that to Parsifal is a deadly sin and makes Parsi sad :( So in order to defend myself i replied that the fault is not mine but it's all a matter of the acoustics of the various concert halls. For example, the two greek "Megaron", the one in Athens and the other in Thessaloniki are vast and the acoustics are bad. (Well, the one in Thessaloniki is actually terrible) while other, smaller theatres (opera houses, not concert halls) produce a fantastic result. And to prove myself right i 've uploaded a performance i recorded at La Scala last year (sshhhhh....Lissner might be around) : Tosca with Hui He replacing Daniella Dessi (dammit, she claimed illness but Hui He was quite good actually), Fabio Armiliato (the hubby without the wife) and Carlo Guelfi. Above all these, Lorin Maazel with his fabulous, dazzling, crystal clear direction and an amazing La Scala orchestra...Listen to it and judge for youselves...

* Act 3 missing, Damn you SONY MD! *

Tosca - G. Puccini

Tosca: Hui He
Mario: Fabio Armiliato
Scarpia: Carlo Guelfi
Angelotti: Enrico Iori
Sagrestano: D. Colaianni
Spoletta: Mario Bolognesi
La Scala 20th of April 2007

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Enjoy, write your comments and dub be good to me.

Untitled

How many times can one listen to Natalie Dessay singing "Tornami a vagheggiar" in a roll at MAX volume while cleaning the house, doing laundry etc? 50? 60? I don't know....ask my neighbours. (I think it's been about 2 hours that i 'm repeatedly listening to this magnificent brilliant masterpiece with the most exquisite of renditions by Natalie...).

Roberto Bolle on the Sacred Island.

"The Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, as part of its program for the promotion of Greek culture in Greece and abroad, presents a major cultural event entitled Delios Apollon, on Saturday September 1st 2007, on the island of Delos.

The event features participants of international acclaim, namely the Filarmonica della Scala and soloists of the Teatro alla Scala Ballet. Delios Apollon will consist of two parts: Igor Stravinsky’s Apollon Musagète, choreographed by George Balanchine, with Roberto Bolle in the leading role, and Gustav Malher’s 1st Symphony. The Filarmonica della Scala will be directed by Daniele Gatti."

You will be able to watch the performance LIVE on this site. Register for free in order to receive notification before the event, and in order to view the webcast on the day of the event.

The event will also be available for viewing for seven (7) days after the premiere in Delos.

The event will be repeated at the Odeon Of Herodes Atticus on the 3d of September. The performance is already (almost) sold-out, only 20euro (upper tier) tickets left.

*UPDATE*
Parsifal has finally bought his tickets for the Herodeon performance! I will definitely get an autograph for OperaChic (and myself)....

UPDATE: Cancelled due to National Mourning

Emotional Puccini Part 2

Download this file. It´s a cd of piano transcriptions of Puccini´s greatest pages. From La Rondine to Turandot and from Butterfly to Tosca...Totally recommended!!! Enjoy!

Download HERE

Due furtive lacrime...

I' m sure that you don't expect me to tell you this, but i just wanted to share it with you:

Puccini was T-H-E master of human emotion.

And to make myself clear:

The past few days i watched two different performances of Suor Angelica. No.1, this year's telecast from the Met with Barbara Frittoli, No.2, a 1987 performance from Madrid with Diana Soviero. Both excellent performances, both Frittoli and Soviero give us amazing interpretations.

To the point:

In both performances i would catch myself moved to tears at the finale. Final curtain would find me devastated. And imagine that Suor Angelica is not a favourite (well, mine it is), it's a rarely performed opera that has not been performed in Athens -for example- for ages (was Maria Kalogeropoulos the last Suor Angelica in the Greek capital?...to find this out we would have to do some research).

So, if you 're in a mood, pour yourselves a glass of wine, sit in front of your TV-set (big or small screen, flat, plasma or LCD, cheap or expensive, with a 5.1 Dolby Digital surround system or not, believe me, the emotion will be the same..) and enjoy yourselves to tears...

Maestro get well soon!

Parsifal has had enough with bad news during 2007. NO MORE PLEASE!

MAESTRO GET WELL SOON!

(Luciano Pavarotti has been hospitalized in stable condition with a fever in his hometown of Modena, in northern Italy, officials and his manager said Thursday.The 71-year-old tenor, who underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer last year, was brought to Modena's Polyclinic on Wednesday and was being kept under observation. Doctors were expected to release him in coming days, according to separate statements from the hospital and his manager, Terri Robson.)

Questo é il popoloso che appellano Parigi???

Fotos from the 2004 Graham Vick production of La Traviata at the Arena di Verona. You can watch it live throughout August at the Roman Amfiteatro... (Well, i would just for Inva Mula and Ambrogio Maestri)


I'm a Barbie girl, in this Barbie world...


A Carribean touch, some Casino Royal, a bit of grass
and voilá.






Some crazy costumes...I think only Patricia Field would be happy with those...

Post-Mykonos depression...

Of course i' m depressed....Too many strawberry daquiris...







Shots of the house that hosted Parsifal



By the pool...



...reading Opera News...



...watching the sunset...




It was short, but it was great. See for yourselves...

Dedicated to OperaChic!! Roberto Thorpe!

Just an idea of what you 're going to watch...

Yes dear friends, this is Roberto-hunk-Alagna in speedos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parsifal will hit the road!

Well, it's officially August. And poor soldier Parsifal is tired of being en garde at the greek borders (well if Athens can be considered such) and has decided to take the weekend off (plus Friday) and visit friends. Where? Here are some foto-hints.

Still? Ok, try this one:



Still? Maybe you need to see the trademark of the island.



You've guessed right, by 13.00 on Friday i will be at Mykonos, visiting friends (yeaaaah, right) and ready to spend a hell of a weekend.


Little Venice


Elia is my second favourite beach on Planet Earth (first one is Ballos, Crete)


Most fotos taken without permission (naughty boy!) from this excellent site

I know i owe you people some uploads, some DVD's etc etc but gimme a break! K, thanks.

Per request: Turandot, Athens 1996

Dear Mahler (not the dead one you fools) requested an old Turandot from Athens. Soooo, Parsifal sneaked into his 200 m2 cd-room (i'm kidding, its no more than 10 m2) and after 15 minutes of search found it. An open-air Turandot from the Odeon Of Herodes Atticus back in 1996 with a very good cast! Francesca Patane had caused a great sensation as Turandot back in the 90's due to her wonderful dramatic soprano but also due to her looks. Next to her, the veteran Nicola Martinucci singing the role that made him famous worldwide.

Turandot G. Puccini

Turandot: Francesca Patane
Calaf: Nicola Martinucci
Liu: Althea Maria Papoulia
Timur: Julian Konstantinov
Mandarin: Panayotis Athanasopoulos
Ping: Tassis Christoyannnis
Pong: Antonis Koroneos (!!)
Pang: Makis Gabriilides
Altum: Thanos Petrakis

Lukas Karytinos
The Greek National Opera Orchestra
Athens, Odeon Of Herodes Atticus
June 1996

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Enjoy and write your comments!