Finished the lovely Fleming CAPRICCIO but can't upload my review due to a site glitch. So am now working on choral arrangements. No rest for the weary and/or wicked.
Well... I guess Fleming's Capriccio would weary anyone. ![Wink ;)](http://www.haineshisway.com/smf/Smileys/XarSmilies-1/wink.gif)
Really? I thought it was a wonderful production.
Well... Late Strauss can be a bit of a long haul for me - especially
Capriccio. So... And, alas, to my ears, Ms. Fleming's performances of late have beenconcerned with more of the "beauty of the
voce" rather than any true dramatic involvement. And I'm amazed that she no longer sings Mozart, and keeps trying to pass herself off as a coloratura specialist - at least at The Met. Her "Bel Canto" album still gives me some good hearty laughs from time to time. (Here comes a run... lets slow the tempo down a couple of ticks...) *There are some great clips of her on YouTube from earlier in her career, when her technique was more, well, "precise", singing some of the more fiery selections from Bellini and Rossini operas. It's a total night-and-day to how she's been singing the same repertoire the past few seasons. Yes, singers get older, voices changes, and technical adjustments need to be made. However, I think her whole "hype" machine has turned into one of those "she can do no wrong" singers in some people's eyes and ears.
Just my two cents.
As for this production of
Capriccio, I think it was beautifully designed, played and sung. However, Ms. Fleming's portrayal was filled with too many moments of looking inward and into the distance which weren't necessarily reflected in her singing.