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12-16-2007 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
Romy the Cat


Boston, MA
Posts 10,049
Joined on 05-28-2004

Post #: 1
Post ID: 6133
Reply to: 6133
Placido Domingo... conducting.

Yesterday MET broadcasted Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” with Plácido Domingo on podium leading the Metropolitan orchestra and Chorus with singers: Anna Netrebko, Isabel Leonard, Roberto Alagna, Nathan Gunn and Robert Lloyd.

Although Domingo is trying to conduct for over 30 years I think for the last 10 year he does it more and more frequently. I never paid attention too much for Domingo’s conducting and the last MET broadcast I did pay attention to it. The Metropolitan played no better then they uselessly do but also not too much worse then they do in the hands of “famed conductors”. In fact, this time, during some moments MET was very good. So, I think the attention should be given in future to Domingo as a conductor.

The MET performance of “Romeo & Juliette” in general was OK, not great by OK. The Netrebko did her Netrebkonisms that I am not too thrilled, the orchestra was OK, the compression of the broadcast was s usealsy too high... This Metropolitan production was not at the level of the transcending Metropolitan’s “Romeo & Juliette” with Bidu Sayao and Jussi Björling lead by raised in Odessa Emil Cooper. It was more like MET- dally performance. Still Plácido Domingo’s with baton left a pleasant feeling. The Metropolitan orchestra is strong with high performing inertia and it does require some skills do not ruin it…

The Cat


"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
12-29-2007 Post does not mapped to Knowledge Tree
dazzdax
Netherlands
Posts 32
Joined on 10-22-2005

Post #: 2
Post ID: 6233
Reply to: 6133
Domingo as conductor
I've heard this performance of Roméo et Juliette during a live broadcast on Dutch radio. Placido Domingo as a conductor: a reliable conductor but further nothing special. Placido is of course singer in the first place. It becomes clear to me that he is treating the orchestra as one big voice generating apparatus with giant vocal cords. But a singer is a singer and an orchestra is an orchestra: they require different techniques and method of phrasing. I think Placido phrases his orchestra in the same way a singer does when he is singing: it is sometimes too "belcanto" and too "pretty" for me.

Chris
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