#John Macurdy
Text
youtube
Don Giovanni (1979)
My rating: 6/10
Fuck Around and Find Out: The Opera: The Movie
This is quite lavishly produced, with great costumes, sets and locations, though it still feels a bit stagey at times, and I know you don't go to the opera for the plot, but I can't help but feel that the whole "haunted statue sends the protagonist to hell" bit could've been set up a bit better - as it is, it feels like a bit of a diabolus ex machina, if you will. Also, I would've rather liked to actually see the bastard suffer a bit, but that may just be me.
The music is great, though, and I gotta say, when the guy is like "Don Giovanni is a WHORE, and I have PROOF" and then unrolls that giant list of women he's slept with? That is a solid bit.
#Don Giovanni#Joseph Losey#Lorenzo da Ponte#Francis Savel#Patricia Losey#Ruggero Raimondi#John Macurdy#Edda Moser#Youtube
3 notes
·
View notes
Note
Another Paramount Plus production coming is the 4 part documentary QUIET ON SET: THE DARK SIDE OF KIDS TV which delves into just how toxic things were at Nickelodeon when Dan Schneider was around. Thoughts on how we're finally getting the full truth of how horrible Dan was to the public?
We've already got SOME of it, as Janette Macurdy was very foreward in her book which I intend to read, but heard a good chunk of it from Quinton Reviews (though I do want to both support her and suppor ther telling her story), I do like it as a big docuseries (which i'll likely watch), gets more eyes on it. Janette opened the door this jams it open.
The good news at least is doc or no doc... dan Schinder's career seems dead and he seems like one of the handful of people who cancelation has well and truly stuck to. His netflix deal fell through, his last announced project hasn't happened, and while Nick's still making a lot off his creations, they also try as hard as they can to wash him out of their history, just like Butch Hartman , John K or Chris Savino.
That said... now having watched the trailer after the first two I had NO idea there were MULTIPLE pedophiles besides schinder and John K, on multiple shows. Jesus.
6 notes
·
View notes
Photo
Films Watched in 2020:
34. Don Giovanni (1979) - Dir. Joseph Losey
#Don Giovanni#Joseph Losey#Ruggero Raimondi#José van Dam#Kiri Te Kanawa#Edda Moser#Teresa Berganza#Kenneth Riegel#John Macurdy#Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart#Mozart#Films Watched in 2020#My Edits#My Post
14 notes
·
View notes
Text
Going Down the List #4: ‘Les Huguenots’, Montpellier, 1990
As any of you who have been following me for a long time know, this is one of my favorite operas and I am on a quest to find and watch every available filmed production of this opera. As such, this is my eighth production of Huguenots, and I think the best one I've seen. Here goes:
First things first, any review of a production of this opera has to include some commentary about cuts. I’m happy to say that there are very few of them, the most notable of which is the entire Act III ballet, which still isn’t a huge loss. There are minor cuts elsewhere, such as a section of the Raoul/Marguerite duet that I frequently forget exists (the section, not the whole duet), a small cut in the Act I window scene, a couple tiny cuts in ‘O beau pays de la Touraine’, and some of the Act III finale. Urbain’s Act II aria was omitted as well, but since it was an insert aria in the first place, I don’t see it as that huge of a loss even though I do love it and prefer when it is included.
Also, a warning: the video quality is not great. It’s not horrible, but it’s definitely not ideal. It’s still decent, though, especially for what I’m assuming is an upload of a video ripped from a 1990s TV broadcast of an official in-house recording. There are no subtitles either, which really stinks.
With that out of the way, the production: I’d overall describe it as ‘traditional minimalist with really wonderful direction’.
The sets are where the ‘minimalist’ part comes from: there are only really two sets, one of which is almost entirely white and the other of which is almost entirely black. The sets are slightly modified for each scene, but the first set is essentially ‘huge staircase (most of the time also featuring a couple long tables and a ridiculous number of chairs)’ and the second is essentially a huge open space with black walls, a lot of graffiti that is mostly illegible, and some cut-out door openings. Although personally, I’d prefer a little more detail and variety, I do overall like the sets and I think they work well.
The costumes are beautiful period fashion; the problem with them, however, is that apparently the costume designer thought it would be a good idea to dress large groups of people exactly the same. This is especially a problem with the various Catholic noblemen, to the point where it took me a few minutes to figure out who was playing Nevers because all the Catholic noblemen in Act I wore the exact same outfit. (Perhaps this would have been less of a problem if the video quality were better.) Still, they are gorgeous costumes.
If I had to describe the direction in five words, they’d be, “nuanced, vivacious, and emotionally intense”. I especially love how much the chorus actually moves! That may sound silly, but it’s nice to have an actual street riot in Act III or a frenzied, whipped-up mass of Catholic nobles declaring anathema on the Huguenots in Act IV instead of having the chorus just stand there and sing prettily. The chorus also does an excellent job of reacting in general: they laugh at Nevers’ witty comments, they enthusiastically respond to the calls for a massacre, they recoil in horror when Raoul details the scenes of death and destruction. And the way the ending was staged─ you just had to rip out my heart, didn’t you? That’s all I’ll say about that.
There are some togetherness issues between the onstage forces and the pit; however, these are relatively minor. The orchestra (and its soloists) are very good; the chorus is amazing. Whether it’s a particularly fortuitous sound balance or just a really present chorus, they are always a force to be reckoned with on a scale I don’t think I’ve even heard on any other recording. And as I mentioned earlier, they’re not just great singers, but also great actors. Same goes for the various small roles, with a special shoutout to the six supporting Catholic nobles, who all sound good, look good, and work together very well.
Now for the seven leads:
Danielle Borst was a very adorable Urbain who happened to be dressed like she was from The Addams Family or something (including what appeared to be a very unfortunate black bobbed wig). Regardless, she was all cheer and enthusiasm in the classic trouser-role mold (along with the obligatory flirting with everyone) with a really, really fantastic voice, and she lit up the stage whenever she was on it, whether she was standing on a table or chugging a bottle of wine (during ‘O beau pays’) or spying on the ladies-in-waiting from under a sheet. Her ‘Nobles seigneurs, salut’ in particular was one of the best I’ve ever heard, and I think it’s really a shame she didn’t get a shot at ‘Non, vous n’avais jamais, je gage’.
Marc Barrard was a fantastic Nevers. His voice is really nice and lyrical and beautiful, although owing to the fact that the role is a) relatively short and b) doesn’t have any big solos or even small ensembles, he didn’t get much of a chance to show it off. As a result, as with all baritones playing this role, whether his performance succeeded or not depended on his dramatic skill. He delivered. Depending on what was happening, he was extremely flamboyant, official, gentle, and/or morally outraged— and he managed to do that without overacting, which I appreciate.
Jean-Pierre Courtis absolutely nailed it as the Comte de Saint-Bris. His voice is not particularly subtle, but then again, the character isn’t either. What his voice is is commanding and surprisingly beautiful. Seriously. It’s gorgeous. As he should, he absolutely dominated the Conspiracy Scene and came across as very cold, no-nonsense, but still intensely devoted to his country, his faith, and his own ideas about how they should be─ in short, absolutely fanatical. And I said earlier I wouldn’t give away any details about the staging of the ending, but I will here: after discovering his dying daughter, he did something I haven’t seen any other Saint-Bris do that just wrenched my heart: he walked (or to be more precise, backed) offstage. It was pretty ambiguous, but I think it’s the only portrayal I’ve seen that suggested he didn’t really regret anything he did.
Anyway, they were both awesome.
Ghyslaine Raphanel definitely did right by Marguerite de Valois. Her voice is very light and may take some getting used to (it did for me), but overall it’s a beautiful sound that I think works well for this part. In particular, she has some serious coloratura chops, which she took every opportunity to display (including by far the longest ‘O beau pays’ cadenza I have ever heard). She’s also very good at playing the young, charismatic, beautiful royal who wants peace and love but is completely detached from reality, to the point where she still can’t believe what’s happening even when Raoul tells her about the massacre in Act V, scene 1 (the scene ends with her climbing the staircase, turning around, and looking at all the Huguenot noblewomen as if to say ‘…I have no clue what the hell just happened’).
I really loved John Macurdy’s performance as Marcel. His basic voice isn’t my favorite by any means, but I can absolutely say it’s a good voice, with particularly strong low notes. And he’s a great actor! I especially loved his ‘Piff, paff’, for this exact reason: you can hear the hatred Marcel has for Catholicism and women in the way he sings every word. And he has amazing stage presence: even just a little thing, like a gesture at Raoul or the way he put an arm around Valentine and walked her back into the church in Act III, said so much. In other words, he may not be my favorite bass, but he’s a good singer and a virtually perfect dramatic match for the part.
Nelly Miricioiu was a wonderful Valentine de Saint-Bris. Personally, I love her voice although there are some things about it I could see people not liking. Nevertheless, it’s a gorgeous voice that fits the role well, and she’s amazing at everything she does, especially in her two big duets and the final scene. She’s also a very, very good actress who does one of the best acting jobs I’ve seen in this role, and that is no shabby feat, especially in the eyes of yours truly (who once wrote several pages about her character development and posted it on this very blog, although almost no one read it lol). That development I talked about, from very anxious, fragile, and shy to boldly defiant? She absolutely got it.
Gregory Kunde was absolutely phenomenal as Raoul de Nangis. His voice is pretty much perfection in this role, which is especially an achievement considering how many ways the part is demanding─ he has lyric moments and huge dramatic ones alike, and let’s not forget all the insanely high notes! But he nailed it, especially the two arias, which are both very hard in very different ways. Also, his acting was on point: I got all the little bits of his personality─ the romantic dreaminess, the idealism, the moral outrage, the impulsiveness, the stubbornness, all of it. There are so many good little details, from his frequent hesitations at drinking to the fact that even though there’s a massacre going on and he’s trying to rescue the Huguenot nobles, he still takes a few seconds at the end of his Act V aria to bow to Marguerite (and be like, ‘uh, sorry for ruining your big party’) before rushing out. Bravo!
Overall Verdict: Definite recommend; this would be a great first production for anyone wanting to watch this opera, albeit with two caveats: one, there are no subtitles (but I’d be more than happy to send anyone the French-English libretto I have on Google Drive), and two, this production may ruin you for others that are…not of the same quality. 😉
Up next: Due to ongoing difficulties with the Internet at my house, I am going to have to suspend this series until further notice, but as soon as I can, I’ll be doing the 2019 Il trovatore from Beijing!
#opera#opera tag#les huguenots#meyerbeer#giacomo meyerbeer#this was GREAT#going down the list#sorry everyone this series is being suspended until further notice because technical difficulties#but oh well!
1 note
·
View note
Text
Aida, directed by Georg Solti (1963)
Aida: Leontyne Price
Radamès: Carlo Bergonzi
Amneris: Rita Gorr
Amonasro: Mario Sereni
Ramfis: Cesare Siepi
King: John Macurdy
Messenger: Robert Nagy
Priestess: Janis Martin
#leontyne price#carlo bergonzi#cesare siepi#rita gorr#aida#giuseppe verdi#star studded cast people#Spotify
0 notes
Photo
"John Macurdy, Stalwart Bass in Roles Large and Small, Dies at 91" by BY ANTHONY TOMMASINI via NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2XuD7bY
0 notes
Text
March 18 in Music History
1657 Birth of composer Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni.
1734 Birth of composer Joseph Schmitt.
1756 Birth of composer Johann Christoph Vogel.
1781 Birth of composer Gustave Vogt.
1814 Birth of soprano Caroline Grünbaum in Prague.
1818 Birth of soprano Maria Nau in New York.
1831 Birth of tenor Jose Dupuis in Liege.
1844 Birth of Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in Tikhvin.
1850 Birth of baritone Josef Staudigl in Vienna.
1866 Birth of composer Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu.
1870 Birth of composer Frank Hoyt Losey.
1876 Birth of mezzo-soprano Liva Järnefelt in Vanersborg.
1881 Birth of French composer and music critic Paul le Flem in Paris.
1882 Birth of Italian composer Gian Francesco Malipiero in Venice.
1884 Birth of Dutch-American violinist, composer, and conductor Willem Van Hoogstraten.
1884 Death of soprano Anne Bishop.
1886 Birth of German tenor Rudolf Laubenthal.
1888 Birth of tenor Louis Graveure in London.
1898 Birth of composer Otto Jochum.
1889 Birth of Russian-American pianist Alexander Borovsky in Latvia.
1898 Birth of soprano Ofelia Nieto in Santiago di Compostela.
1901 Birth of composer Piotr Perkowski.
1902 FP of Arnold Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht for string sextet in Vienna.
1904 FP of Anatole Liadov's symphonic poem Baba Yaga in St. Petersburg.
1905 Birth of American pianist John Kirkpatrick in NYC.
1909 Birth of composer Ljubica Maric.
1914 Birth of composer Cesar Guerra Peixe.
1916 Birth of composer Louis Toebosch.
1923 FP of Anton Bruckner's Study Symphony in F minor in Klosternenberg, Germany.
1925 Birth of baritone Jean-Christoph Benoit in Strasbourg.
1929 Birth of bass John Macurdy in Detroit, Mich.
1929 Birth of soprano Lotte Rysanek.
1929 Birth of composer Ctirad Kohoutek.
1930 Birth of American conductor Maurice Peress in NYC.
1937 Death of French composer Mélanie Bonis.
1940 Death of soprano Lola Beeth.
1943 Birth of Japanese violist Nobuko Imai.
1944 Birth of English Opera administrator Nicholas Snowman.
1947 Death of Dutch composer Willem Pijper. b-8 SEP 1894.
1949 FP of Peter Mennin's Symphony No. 4 The Cycle in NYC.
1950 Birth of American conductor James Conlon.
1950 Birth of German bass Jan-Hendrik Rootering.
1956 Birth of Argentinian composer Eduardo Alonso-Crespo.
1957 Birth of Bulgarian composer Gheorghi Arnaoudov in Sofia, Bulgaria.
1961 Birth of Polish composer Hanna Kulenty in Biaystok, Poland.
1961 Death of soprano Mizzi Gunther.
1966 Birth of American composer Stephen Lias.
1966 Birth of American composer Donald Reid Womack.
1967 Death of mezzo-soprano Hedy Gura.
1970 Death of tenor Giordano Paltrinieri.
1970 FP of Roger Sessions' Rhapsody for orchestra, in Baltimore.
1972 Death of baritone Gunther Ambrosius.
1980 Death of American soprano Jessica Dragonette
1994 Death of American composer William Bergsma at age 72, in Seattle.
2001 FP of H. Birtwistle´s Tango for Betty dedicated music patron, Betty Freeman. Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting.
2002 Death of tenor Gosta Winbergh.
2004 FP of Augusta Read Thomas´ Tangle. Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Robertson, in Chicago, IL.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
John Macurdy Death | Obituary - Cause Of Death | Dead - Passed Away
John Macurdy Death | Obituary – Cause Of Death | Dead – Passed Away
John Macurdy Death – DeadDeath learned May 28, 2020. John Macurdy Cause Of Death | Dead – Obituary | Passed Away
Tributes and condolences are outpouring all over social media timelines as the death news of Macurdy hits online. Concerned individuals are gripped with sadness as they mourn the passing of their beloved who has just passed away.
DeadDeath is yet to observe the family’s statement on Jo…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Link
During a 38-year career with the Metropolitan Opera, he sang 1,001 performances, drawing notice for his performances in Wagner, Verdi and Mozart.
0 notes
Video
Opera: Don Giovanni/Mozart-LOSEY 1979
Trio des masques Protegga il giusto cielo-
- Don Giovanni (Don Juan), opéra de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, en deux actes et en italien, sur un livret de Lorenzo da Ponte. Créé à Prague le 29 octobre 1787. - Adapté par Joseph Losey en 1979 dans un film somptueux tourné en décors naturels, dans les villas palladiennes, notamment la villa Rotonda à Vicence, qui figure la demeure de Don Giovanni. Avec Ruggero Raimondi, José van Dam, John Macurdy, Edda Moser, Kiri Te Kanawa, Kenneth Riegel, Teresa Berganza. Orchestre et chœur de l'Opéra de Paris dirigé par Lorin Maazel. DVD Gaumont 1979/2006. - Dans le finale « Presto, presto » de l'acte I, Elvira, Ottavio et Anna arrivent masqués au bal organisé par Don Giovanni. Le septuor "Bisogna aver coraggio" est suivi par le sublime "Protegga il giusto cielo" ou "Trio des masques" chanté par Anna, Elvira et Ottavio.
0 notes
Text
John Macurdy Death | Dead - Cause Of Death | Obituary
John Macurdy Death | Dead – Cause Of Death | Obituary
John Macurdy Death| Obituary – Dead | Cause Of Death – Passed Away
John Macurdy has died, DeadDeath learned about the death on May 13, 2020 — Friends and families of the deceased are broken by the passing of their beloved one. It is with a deep sense of grief that affected individuals mourn and shared the heartbreaking news on social media.
Condolences and tributes are been shared across…
View On WordPress
0 notes
Last Seen Blogs
cyjaned
Unbetitelt
cibern-yt
CREADOR DE CONTENIDO
vmsonline
Victor San Andres
solutionmindfire
Mind Fire Solutions
