Ups and downs of my season in Berlin .

Summary from Berlin:
one up, one down!
Up:
Benefit Concert
Impressive concert with Daniel Barenboïm and the Staatskapelle orchestra with varied intonations, always striking, appealing to the heart and imagination. Then a gorgeous singer, whose voice has such intense glowing center and blazing tops!It was extremely over powering when she launched herself in Boïto 's Marguerite. She appeared in two dazzling dresses, gave two encores, this time from the Russian melodies,(album 'In the still of night N°1 & 6 LINK), and that was fabulous. Daniel Barenboïm accompanied her on the piano like in this famous album, the violonist leader turned the pages, it was very touching. That was quite a treat after the whole orchestral concert. Then at the many curtain calls, Daniel came, hiding a huge white bouquet behind his back and was really moved by the Diva, when presenting it! I cannot blame him! Need I mention her name?
I admire her generous qualities in her singing (this special way she has to turn while singing to face the audience at the backstage) and the way she greets her audience, then her fans after the show.
She is beaming with joy and it is catching!
Down:

L'Elisir d'amore at the Schiller theater, opening night. LINK
Once the pleasure of seeing Rolando Villazon faded, I realised the production was excessive on the farcical side, the clown-masks useless to the plot and after a while all the fuss and jokes tiring. Rossini sounded heavy in the pit transformed in a band most of the time. The crowd on stage behaved like it was written on a board at the front of the stage:'grande mascarade'!
But it is not only a farce, at one point the heart and feelings are part of this farce, but that night this turning point did not show or I did not feel it in the singing of Adina and Nemorino. Dear Rolando did his best to make it funny, overacting for my taste, but the singing was not that easy. It sounded often harsh from both Anna Samuil and Rolando Villazon( I loved her so much twice in Tatiana!) I hardly recognised her here. This role does not suit her type of voice and singing. As for Rolando even with his clown mask he likes so much, he did not manage to be moving because the musicality in his voice was not there that night. Of course I laughed a lot but I would have liked to keep in mind a better rendition of
Rossini's Elisir d'Amore.




It was not an Elixir at all. It was more like a rough house red....
But here is the voice, the artist, who is still so moving at times.

Many thanks to the youtube uploader Heildirgunther.