Review of The Nose at MetOpera with Paulo Szot

[AndrewAndrew]

Posted: 10/2/13 at 5:20pm

Shostakovich's The Nose, now at The Metropolitan Opera, is an absurd satirical opera about Soviet bureaucracy and runaway nostrils, sounds wacky enough to simultaneously woo the oprea-adverse and annoy the opera-lover. Find out which we are and how we feel after two hours noses run in our official report.


Click Here for Video Review of The Nose Updated On: 10/3/13 at 05:20 PM

[vf]

Posted: 10/2/13 at 7:30pm

Several great reviews for this production and for Paulo Szot's performance in the leading role (also the folks above really recommend The Nose)
http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=11385
http://observer.com/2013/10/anna-norma-and-a-giant-nose-protesters-stole-the-opening-night-of-onegin/ (that reviewer also reviews for the New York Post, so I assume there will be a longer positive review there too)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/arts/music/in-the-nose-shostakovich-puts-music-to-gogols-tale.html?src=me
I listened to the live stream Saturday and really enjoyed it. Loved it, great fun music. I'll bet the orchestra really likes performing it, it's so different, lots of unusual musical instruments. There are only 6 more performances left, but at least it's not sold out like it was the last time it was performed. And it's only 2 hours! I know that's shallow, but some of those operas are looong. Remaining performance dates and a trailer are at the link. It must look amazing, artist William Kentridge is the director. This opera was the big hit of 2010 when it premiered and is frequently cited as the best or one of the best productions during Peter Gelb's tenure at the Met.




The Nose at the Met Updated On: 10/2/13 at 07:30 PM

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/2/13 at 10:04pm

This is the the same physical production that I saw at the Lyon Opera in France two years ago. It's very clever and I enjoyed it greatly.

[vf]

Posted: 10/2/13 at 11:35pm

Could you add to the title of this thread that Paulo Szot stars is this? Might make this topic of more interest to people on this board. Thanks

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 10/3/13 at 12:11am

Or put in off-topic

[nycmusical]

Posted: 10/3/13 at 1:55pm

I saw the show on Saturday and it was incredible.
We are not used to see such high quality productions.
I was amazed! Paulo is the most talented singer I know and what he does on that stage is incredible.
Such power and stamina. This is a production that The Met should keep for years to come...

[tytonius]

Posted: 10/4/13 at 9:57am

Great show. Paulo's voice is HUGE! He never sounded better, his sound fills every single corner of the Met with resonant and beautiful sound.

[NYC4Life]

Posted: 10/4/13 at 10:31am

It is a great production and Paulo is fantastic in it. He's voice is hardly "HUGE" though. It does nicely fill the house with this music though. In an opera house the size of your voice sometimes has nothing to do with if your voice fills the house. It has to do with acoustics, the ping or squillo ones voice has, how dense the orchestration is and how much sound the set absorbs. He was a bit of a disaster as Escamillo in Carmen and Lescaut in Manon. He withdrew or was removed for both of the runs of of those productions. In Carmen I gave up trying to hear and understand him.

[vf]

Posted: 10/4/13 at 12:21pm

I saw him in the HD of Manon, he seemed fine to me and he got fine reviews for that. Here's part of the NYTimes review that talks about his performance: "The role of Lescaut cannot be that rewarding for a baritone, but Paulo Szot made the most of it. In the novel Lescaut is Manon’s brother, who, in effect, pimps her out to an older man. The opera turns him into Manon’s swashbuckling cousin, whose biggest flaw seems to be an addiction to gambling. Mr. Szot sings the role with robust sound and vitality." http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/28/arts/music/a-striver-comes-to-an-ignoble-end.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 True, he did not finish the run of Manon. A couple of years ago he was scheduled to sing 3 Carmens at the Met, he missed the first one and sang the second two. I read an interview where he said his voice has continued to change, like it's higher now, um, can't find that now, we'll that's what I thought I read. Operas are mostly scheduled years in advance, which seems kind of nuts. Escamillo is for a bass/baritone as I understand it and is supposed to be really difficult, Teddy Tahu Rhodes cancelled all his Carmen perfomances at the Met last year coincidentally (?) right after appearing in South Pacific in Australia. Here's a youtube of Szot singing Escamillo's big aria, Votre Toast, years ago, I love that youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-AuAz_gukg

Szot's scheduled to appear in Fledermaus this year too. The Met is huge, I think it may be the biggest opera house in the world?.

Updated On: 10/4/13 at 12:21 PM

[nycmusical]

Posted: 10/4/13 at 1:05pm

His voice is very big now and I cannot imagine another baritone sounding so good in this role( or able to learn it...) He is such a great performer and very talented musician.
I follow his beautiful career since South Pacific and he sounds better and better each time I see him.
It was known, at the time he was doing Manon, that he got a horrible flu and stayed for several days at St. Lukes Hospital, which made him cancel the rest of Manon( they never fired him, please don't spread lies all over!!) I'm happy he could sing the HD broadcast which he sounded great.

This guy mentioned Escamillo! Everybody cancels Escamillo. The worse part ever (actually the worse Escamillo I ever heard at the Met was Marius Kwiecien- the actual Onegin, he looked and sounded like a mouse...he still does...)
Two days ago I heard an interview at Sirius and they mentioned that The Met has hired Paulo for the next 2 seasons!!! Also, La Scala, Australia, UK, etc....
Thanks God. The Met needs talents like this!





Updated On: 10/4/13 at 01:05 PM

[carlotta2]

Posted: 10/4/13 at 6:10pm

I saw him perform at the NY Philharmonic Gala...at one point he said to the audience "please don't tell me how much you liked me in Manon,I was hospitalized and missed most of it" so the 'firing'story is patently untrue.