Plácido as Simon Boccanegra

Just typical that the weekend that the world's Greatest Tenor takes on a truly* baritone role, I am stuck somewhere with no internet**, so short of googling on my phone in bed, I really had little idea of what was going on in Berlin on Saturday. The disadvantage - this blog didn't contain news and reviews hot off the wires. Advantage - I can collect a wealth of stuff and pick and choose what's worth blogging!

A selection of rehearsal photos, taken from Plácido Domingo gastiert auf Berliner Bühne

El gran sueño de Plácido Domingo

"Pre-match" interview from last Saturday - not actually saying anything new!

And the reviews

Placido Domingo tries out Verdi baritone role - Associated Press

To be sure, the sound of Domingo's voice — even miscast — ringing out at full cry in an opera house is something to be treasured, especially now that he is cheating time with every performance. So it was natural that the first-night audience responded with foot-stomping enthusiasm and curtain calls for him and his fellow performers that lasted 20 minutes.

After 50 years as a tenor, Placido Domingo turns baritone for Verdi - The Times

Suddenly Domingo can hope to compete for key baritone roles and broaden his market appeal. “We look forward to the day when he plays the super-bad Iago, baritone of course, in Verdi’s Otello,” says the Rheinische Post critic Wolfram Goertz. “And if his tenor colleague playing Otello should lose his voice, I am sure that Domingo could jump in and play both roles.”

Clamor por Domingo en Berlín - El Mundo

Domingo parecía un coloso en escena. Le arropaba un manto púrpura de terciopelo y agradecía los clamores con la sonrisa de un debutante. Tiene 68 años, pero la frescura de la voz y la fortaleza escénica desmienten cualquier atisbo de decadencia.

Just as a note on audience appreciation of productions, this reports that the production booing was for the conventionality, predictability and vulgarity.

Berliners Boo Director, Cheer Domingo as Baritone: Review - Bloomberg

he found vocal happiness in Verdi’s somber (sic) opera...has aged without losing his sex appeal...exuded alpha- animal charisma throughout. This is no tectonic shift in voice type or technical miracle. Domingo simply sang as he always does, with crackling presence, musical intelligence, fastidious attention to detail, and bold imagination. The low notes are not always the loudest, but the high notes are effortless, and everything in between is utterly compelling.

Singers weighed down by proto-Renaissance robes, brought to mind “Batman” and “Shrek.” Domingo sang his final death scene in a floor-length gold frock with matching tea-cosy hat, while his daughter stood about in white lace (costumes: Giovanna Buzzi). Perhaps the more conservative and differently fashionable Milanese will love the show

Jubel für Plácido Domingo an Berlins Staatsoper - Zeit

Doch mit seiner Bühnenpräsenz schafft er die richtige Mischung aus Autorität und Zerbrechlichkeit. Nach mehr als einem halben Jahrhundert Karriere dürften wenige Sänger das Publikum so stark beeindrucken.

Brokatkugel und Flatterkleid - Zeit

in which the Stage Director gets torn apart (if there was a German word for 'Met Trash' it would surely be in this article!)

Der reife Debütant ist die einzige lebende Bühnengestalt in einer grotesken Veranstaltung

Plácido Domingo überzeugt auch als Bariton - Welt

Plácido Domingo gibt dieser durchaus zwiespältigen Verdi-Figur Kraft, Würde und Wärme, er ist leidenschaftlich und souverän bei der Sache, mit herbstlich strahlenden, rotgoldenen Tönen

Simon Boccanegra - Guardian

Conveying the near Shakespearean journey of the soul suffered by Verdi's troubled doge was never likely to be a problem. He achieved it beautifully. The surprise was seeing him play a man his own age, knowing he could just as easily play the young hero, Gabriele Adorno (perhaps even better than Berlin's somewhat uneven Fabio Sartori).

Yet his voice still has a lightness which meant that the impact was strangely reversed: top notes which frighten a baritone were golden and resounding, whereas the lower notes, though confidently negotiated, seemed slightly underpowered. By the end of this year, he will know where his voice has landed. With dates booked until into his eighth decade, this adored singer, who won a 20-minute standing ovation, is in a fascinating state of flux

Domingo Excels as Boccanegra- New York Times

Mr. Domingo’s burnished tone was deeply moving when urging peace and love. In sterling form throughout, he brought a deft touch to the final word, “figlia” (daughter), of the recognition duet with Amelia, a problematic moment for baritones.

And thanks to Rossignol for the only blog post I can find!

Plácido Domingo: Simon Boccanegra

If anyone knows of other blogposts, or would like to write their own, for posting here, in any language, please let me know!

And a short YT clip of the Sixth Curtain Call...

* we know that he has taken the baritone part in several duets, and that Oreste is a slightly-adjusted-for-tenor baritone role

** My mother's several neighbours helpfully call their secured wireless networks by easily identifiable names; she wasn't keen on me going from door-to-door asking for passwords!

Comments

[Anne]

There is also a boatload of photos here:

http://www.samoyedskaya.com/simon-boccanegra-udl-24.10.09.html

[Sheri]

One drawback to Placido's career being so long is that so many reviewers who were born yesterday review him! Fiona Maddocks in the Guardian: " . . . recently pushing himself to heavier roles such as Verdi's Otello and Wagner's Parsifal . . . " Okay, he began singing Parsifal in the early 1990s, or about 15-18 years ago. I guess that qualifies as "recent" if you're a Gen-X reviewer for the Guardian. But Otello? He only began singing that role in 1976! That's only recent in the sense that it took place after the Renaissance. Talk about grabbing miscellaneous factoids out of someone's career arc in order to make a dubious point!