#PIFF Records

[go-bwah]

i remember watching an illegally recorded piff the magic dragon performance that was similar situation where the guy recording and the girl who got called up on stage were like broken up or separated or divorced but still wanting to get back together

[britishhiphop]

Leaf Dog - Year Of The Leaf [Audio]

Prolific Leaf Dog of Real Life Drama Records drops another twelve track LP entitled Year Of The Leaf. Self produced it only features a couple of guests, Jazz T on Dem Times and William Cartwright on No Games, so its a full on Leaf Dog effort. All beats produced by: Leaf DogArtwork by: Smellington Piff Leaf…

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"....singer Grace Cameron, who in September, 1919 sued for an annulment of her marriage [probably why it ran in the Bain News Service.]

She was in a number of shows between 1900 and 1908. 

A biographical sketch taken from the LOC page: "Grace Cameron was born on August 1, 1879 (with the name Grace Kerr) in Storm Lake, Iowa. The comic singer joined the famous touring group called The Bostonians and was in Robin Hood, playing the role of Maid Marian.

She recorded five titles issued on two-minute Edison Standard cylinders and four issued on four-minute wax Amberols. "Adam and Eve" (Amberol 136) and "Whose Baby Girl Are You?" (Standard 10265) had been introduced by Cameron in the 1908 show The Pied Piper.

She was probably a mezzo-soprano though Edison literature identified her only as "comedienne."

Her single Columbia disc featured "Since Dolly Dimples Made A Hit" backed by "I'll Bet I'd Be A Riot Down On Broadway" (A1205), recorded on July 11, 1912. "Since Dolly Dimples Made A Hit," with lyrics by William Jerome and music by Jean Schwartz, is from the 1904 musical Piff! Paff! Pouf!, which was produced by F.C. Whitney for the Casino Theater in New York and starred Eddie Foy, with Cameron cast as one of his daughters. In telling of Dolly, the song alludes to many topical events and stage personalities--Lillian Russell, David Belasco, Charlie Frohman, Leslie Carter, Duse. Dolly is a mere chorus-girl in a musical comedy, but because its author gave Dolly a few lines to speak, she behaves as though she is the show's star:

Dolly Dimples in the chorus She had served her time. She joined it when Kirlafy Brothers They were in their prime. She carried a spear For many a year. Contented in the back row With her eighteen per a week Until the night the author Handed her a line to speak And little Dolly Dimples made a hit. Since Dolly Dimples made a hit There's been an awful change. Her mother really wouldn't know her now. She gives the other girls the icy bow...

In the June 1970 issue of Hobbies, Jim Walsh reports that she was the first theatrical performer to pay, in 1905, for advertising in Variety. The date of her death is unknown. Walsh states in the August 1973 issue of Hobbies that Cameron was said to be living in Long Beach, California, in retirement in the early 1960s."

Library of Congress. LC-B2- 5013-11. hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.29342

[votava-records]

Breathe · Smellington Piff & Illinformed

Roma Supreme ℗ 2022 Real Life Drama Records

[musicforthemassesus]

Martedì ipnotico

[a-dead-mouse]

The Four Owls - Nocturnal Instinct - 2020

[skylaryozora]

Enemies to Friends in an Instant: Riven and Nabu's First Encounter S3 EP21/22 [My Interpretation]

I've been posting comments on S3 episodes on my IG, and at one point I gladly provided a pretty long take on the episodes 21 and 22, where I explained how I have always interpreted the first encounter of Riven and Nabu. I received lots of positive feedback because apparently my view differs from the popular opinions and common interpretations of this scene in the fandom, with which I'm very familiar as well. I decided to post my remarks here as well, since the scene gave me a lot of food for thought.

Disclaimer: This is my subjective view!

To give you some context, Winx girls, Sky, Timmy and stowaway Nabu (at this point known as Ophir) go to a place called Red Tower along with pixies to acquire Water Stars. Unfortunately, they crash their ship and are attacked, first by some monsters and then by Red Tower's pegataur guardians. Nabu eventually turns out to be of help to them, even though the group is still quite wary of him. But before they crash, Flora sends a recording to Helia who stayed at Red Fountain... just to say hello. Riven sees the recording too, and notices that Musa stands weirdly close to Nabu whom Riven has never seen before. He jumps to a conclusion that she might be kissing the unknown, suspicious guy, which sparks his anger. Moments later, Riven sets off to join the group. He encounters Timmy trying to fix the ship, and with Piff's help, he manages to catch up with Winx and Sky but finds them unconscious, and sees Nabu holding Musa. And so, here we go.

Riven: Look right there, see that? Who's that guy? And why is Musa about to kiss him?!

This shot of Musa and Nabu does look kinda ambiguous, it's a bit weird though that she seems to be looking straight at him instead at his hands because apparently she's putting handcuffs on him, but I guess they needed to draw them as suggestively as possible to trigger Riven. Helia also appears to have a sneaking suspicion as to what is going on there.

The question remains whether Riven's reaction is adequate. Riven's development from S2 is said to have been thrown away and he apparently came back to being a jerk... which I don't think I agree with, to be honest. I mean, you could have done some personal progress and still battle with some issues, and frankly speaking, I wouldn't find it credible if Riven started acting all nice and polite all of a sudden. He tends to be viewed as possessive and jealous here, yet I don't find his reaction to be that exaggerated, I believe such scenes are likely to cause some tension, especially when people have abandonment issues and tend to jump to conclusions. I would also ask the following question: how would other characters behave in his place? Still, I have to agree that his impulsive decision to follow them was extra, but what also bugs me is that for some unknown reason he knew in which direction they'd gone. Did they all know the location and the way to Red Tower? Or did he acquire the coordinates of their ship? I like transparency and logic, and I think it is kind of missing here.

I also asked myself how I would write this whole scene, and this is my alternative suggestion: imagine if Helia and Riven got to know from Flora or anyone else that Nabu is a stowaway and he'd been stalking Aisha, but the recording cuts off suddenly with some disturbing glitches when the squad loses control and crash lands. This would leave Riven and Helia utterly concerned, and they would both consider an option that it might be Nabu's doing since he looks sketchy and it would explain his timing. Having traces of coordinates from Flora's recording for example, both guys decide to set off and rescue their friends. Let me know what you think about it, and if that could make more sense.

At the beginning of EP22 we have a shot from above, showing girls lying unconsciously on the ground, and Musa apparently lies the closest to Nabu and that's why he soon runs up and lifts her up. My questions are the following: why exactly are the girls unconscious (and Sky too)? Apart from Aisha, who was thrown on the ground which could understandably cause loss of consciousness, the others were just pinned down to the ground by big forks (pegataur guardians' weapons) which disappeared all of a sudden for no specific reason. If you go a few scenes ahead, you see that they all wake up by themselves and move as if nothing happened, which confuses me to say the least, but the bottom line is that they didn't really need any help after all. Also, Nabu didn't really care about others earlier; let me remind you that he jumped over Tecna and ignored girls falling from the museum's roof, apart from Aisha for whom he made an exception and prevented her from falling. But now instead of looking for Aisha, he goes to save Musa which feels random, unless he got to know that Musa is Aisha's close friend, and he felt it could help him get Aisha's trust if she saw that he tends to her best friend too. That's a possibility, I guess.

Riven: Put her down.

Nabu: Look, she needs help.

Riven: I won't tell you again. Put my girlfriend down, NOW. / Get your hands off my girlfriend.

It's also unclear to me how Nabu intended to help her, unless he possesses some healing abilities, but at this point pretty much everyone appears to need help even though, as I've just pointed out, they're all perfectly fine later on (they're not visibly injured or on the verge of death, and none of them is bleeding). Yeah, I know I'm nitpicking right now but if I am to understand a scene, I do try to pay attention to details and scrutinize if they make sense.

Now, I have seen people mentioning this scene as an example of Riven being ridiculously possessive, blinded by jealousy, and not caring that his girlfriend needs help...

Oh, boy, I strongly disagree with that.

Let's think about Riven's POV. He arrives there knowing there's an unknown guy who looked as if he had got too close to his GF, which made him upset, and he finds his friends knocked out, while this unknown guy, suspiciously the only one standing and appearing fine, is holding unconscious Musa. At this point Riven has no right to know who Nabu is, and what his intentions are. His squad scattered around and not moving a muscle looks very much like Nabu's doing, because the poor guy's timing puts him in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'd say that Riven's reaction is very much justified, as from his point of view Nabu could be a villain who just pretends to be helping Musa. Like, what else is he supposed to assume? At that moment, there's nothing to back up the fact that Nabu does mean well. If Riven actually knew that he is a stowaway and he'd been stalking Aisha, I imagine heads would roll even quicker.

If you think about it, Riven's reaction is kinda natural, because survival instinct is in general much more likely to suggest that someone is a threat rather than a friend, and Riven looks like the type to rely on this kind of instinct.

Besides, let's assume you find yourself in the same situation: you arrive to a place where a random person towards whom you already feel animosity is standing among your unconscious friends and holding your significant other, claiming they're here to help. Are you sure you'd believe them and be like "Oh, thank you so much for taking care of my S/O, are they okay?" which apparently is what people expect from Riven...? I'm afraid that such naivety might be deadly if you meet someone evil, assuming the best of people and not taking into account that they might take advantage of your gullibility and hurt you too can get you in serious danger.

Riven: Nobody takes down my buddies, and nobody hits on my girlfriend!

Nabu: You got it all wrong, man!

Here Riven clearly emphasizes that it's not only about Musa, he actually thinks Nabu hurt all of them, and so he attacks him. Nabu tries to tell him it's not how he thinks it is while fighting back in self-defence, but Riven is not likely to believe him anyway.

On this occasion I would like to say that you absolutely don't have to like Riven, we all have our preferences, interpretations etc., but please refrain from cherry-picking the bad (and what you consider as bad) in him without understanding the context and his POV as well as without remembering he does have issues and insecurities, like every human being. In his case, there seems to be a panoply of rough life experiences which has shaped him the way he is.

Off-topic, but I genuinely love their fight, the whole sequence is well animated, dynamic, and lively, I could watch it all the time.

Sky: Riven, Ophir's a good guy!

Riven: Hey, I thought you were all out cold. (...) Okay, and what about him and Musa?

Riven expresses my point, and after Sky assures him it's all good, Riven inquires about the relation between Musa and Nabu, still with suspicion, but without aggression.

Nabu: What? If anything, it's... Aisha. Uhm, look, nothing's going on with me and Musa.

When it becomes clear that Riven misinterpreted the situation (but honestly, how could he know?), he looks apologetic and relieved when Musa walks up to him. In the original Italian dub he actually says "I'm sorry", so he is aware that his reaction was way too extra, and I don't like that they cut it out in Rai, because it shows that Riven knows how to take accountability and be humble. Also, he believed Nabu right away and didn't even question his statement, or ask Musa the same question (!), which, in my opinion, isn't something an insanely jealous and possessive person would do.

Musa: Nice to see you go to bat for me, Riven.

Riven: Really?

Musa: Yeah. I'm so glad you decided to join us.

Riven: Me too.

As for Musa being impressed with what Riven did, I find myself asking if she, like, understands the whole picture. She appears out of nowhere, doesn't even ask why and how Riven got here, and doesn't know what Riven assumed when he saw the recording, and that he was fighting with Nabu because he thought he took all the group down. But it's implied she knows all of that, or at least that he was mainly fighting for her, and that she appreciates it. Here her reaction is interpreted as unhealthy because it romanticizes jealousy (and allowing it now might be to blame for all the jealousy drama in S4). Speaking from my personal experience, jealousy to some extent might be desirable for some people, because it ensures them that their partner doesn't take them for granted and is uneasy about the possibility of losing them. Several episodes earlier Musa admits that she doesn't feel like she had got closer with Riven recently (I won't go into details now, but that scene confused me as well, since apparently a lot of things in their relationship happen off-screen...), so I guess she considers Riven's behavior an evidence of him not being indifferent about their relationship after all. Still, I do admit that S3 Musa is quite a mess (unnecessary bike drama flashbacks), and it's sometimes hard to follow her train of thought. However, I'm inclined to think that this might be an option why she likes what Riven did.

Nabu: So when you see me trying to get over your defence, it's just an illusion, I'm actually trying to come from under.

Riven: Nice!

Nabu: You see, the trick is: never let your opponent anticipate your battle moves.

Riven: You're a cool dude, I like your style, where'd you learn all this?

Nabu: Well, I grew up on this island where there were no kids my age and I had no friends to play with, so you see, I spent a lot of time hanging out with the security guards who taught me all the battle tricks.

Riven: Sounds kinda lonely.

Nabu: It was.

A minute earlier they were like enemies, now they're already spending their free time together and enjoying it, which is honestly so cool to watch. They clicked right away, Riven got rid of any prejudice or animosity towards him, to the point he even admits that Nabu's style appeals to him, and doesn't mind actually being tutored by him (he would never allow that if it was someone like Sky)! Riven doesn't like losing, and yet he smiles brightly when Nabu "defeats" him, while Nabu feels comfortable enough to disclose his tricks to a brand new friend and share his childhood story. I mean, isn't that crazy, but in a good sense? They seem already kind of attached to each other, Riven gets to know about Nabu's feelings for Aisha and promises not to spill the tea (together with Bloom and Sky), and to top it all, he shields Nabu from Icy's spell!

To sum up, if Riven had been salty, distrustful, and passive aggressive towards both Musa and Nabu still after all the explanations and discovering the truth, that would have been very nasty and I wouldn't like it at all. But instead he did a 180 degree turn immediately, and got himself a good friend as a result. If you remember his first impression of Nabu, who would have expected what might happen later? Friendship does sprout in unexpected contexts, and that's what I truly adore about their unique, maybe I'd say even wholesome, relation.

Thank you for sticking until the end of this short essay <3

[robynivy]

One of those lazy/productive days...

[bluesdesk]

REFERENCES!

---Chat, 19, she/they. She ended up on the Surface and because of her potential (communication) she can find shortcuts in no time, she can "talk" with the environment near her to know tips and facts. She knew Demise was distracted by bug nets for example, or that Goddess walls give different items depending on what's drawn. She ended up there when Sky was still looking for Sun so she helped him during his quest, not always following him but "appearing out of nowhere" from time to time.

---Thun, 17, she/her. Thun can be found in Hyrule Town when Four is 16 to 17, some time before going into LU. She has a little tailor shop in town, and she sews clothes for both people and minish! When she arrived there, she couldn't see the minish. She was once picking mushrooms and Four stopped her right before she could destroy a minish house. That's how they met! Then Four told her everything about the minish and she offered to make them some tiny clothes. Because of this, after some time she was gifted the ability to see the little creatures and she started working with them at her shop. Her potential is "order", that stands for tidiness, but also for mental order, and this makes her sew clothes in record time

---Ami, 15, she/her. She ended in Lon Lon, but Time and Malon were already living together and they were about 30 years old! Ami's potential is "nature", she's an awesome gardener, she can heal plants, and she's a farmer too. So, she spent her time there helping Time, Malon and Talon with the ranch, doing some errands around Hyrule, and helping Time in ((an headcanon adventure I have for him))

---Piff, 13, she/her. What a cool time to end in Twi's era... Twi is in the middle of his quest, he's sleep deprived, and he has just been conditioned by the crystal ((like in the manga)) and saved by Time. Her potential is "sleep", and she can easily create potions for relaxing/sleeping, and also she creates some magic keychain and charms! She wandered a bit before going to Castle Town, where she met Twi!

---Diggi, 11, they/she. They're just a kid but already a pretty good fighter! In HW (Legends, more specifically) they use their potential "electricity" to fight, along with bombs, rods, a boomerang, and their loyal skateboard. They can't use a sword, nor crossbows, nor arrows though. They often travel with Linkle and then together with Wars and Artemis!

---Locky, 9, she/they. She's the youngest and she ended in botw! Her design is kinda similiar to the kids in the stables, but with an Hateno style tshirt! Her potential is "key": she can find lost or hidden things like a sixth sense, she can create a "magical key" from time to time, and she can create some portals to known locations! In botw the last ability is kinda useless but let's say they use that to go to high places!

[go-bwah]

i watched an audience guy’s recording of a piff show recently (during the spring?) and he was great as always

[cocareefrecords]

@cocareefrecords Album: War Lord 2 Artist: Piff x Pennywise Jr @darealpiff Produced by Adwerdz @adwerdz OBI Curator @cocareef Designer Anthony Calitxo Distributed by: Cocareef Records @cocareefrecords Physicals 👇 Limited Edition Physical Vinyl /CD/ (50 w/25 OBIs) LINX IN MY BIO 🎵 .. #Physicals #CDs www.Cocareef.com www.cocareef1.bandcamp.com . #PiffRec #pennywisejr🎈  #culture   #quarantine #baltimorehiphop  #nchiphop  #hiphop #hiphop  #boombaphiphop #warlord2 #nchiphop #worldstar #youtube #mtvunplugged #dmvshit #cocareef #cocareefrecordsdistro #cocareefrecords #warlord #artist #killerclown #piffrec #pennywisejr🎈 #90shiphop #fyp #it https://www.instagram.com/p/CT2h5MbFyUK/?utm_medium=tumblr

[emsartwork]

The pixies!!! the weirder outfits are what i think they would wear in the average pixie culture, and the more normal clothing is stuff stella designed for them all.

amore, piff, lockette, chatta, digit/caramel and tune/cherie 

lore and stuff below the cut

pixies are about 12 inches tall at the most but average in 8-10 inches.  They have large, single colored wings, that are physically attached to their back, and they literally can’t “de-transform” or get rid of their wings. they also have skin patterns that can change but only after severe trauma. pixies are technically genderless and sexless, but a lot of them use the pronouns of whoever they end up bonding with.  Some pixies like to mimic human clothing before they really interact with human society. 

Pixies are born from the tree of magix, which besides producing pixies, also syncs up with the magical energy of female magic users, having a “record” of every one born(how they found roxy in season 4). Whenever someone unlocks magic winx for the first time it sends a surge through the connected thread of magic through the tree of magix, opening the flower representing the fairy and causing the birth of the fairy’s bonded pixie. Until the fairy and pixie meet in person the bond is not super strong. The fairy can’t feel it but the pixies can, and some pixies choose to seek out their fairy on their own by following the thread. the first thing a pixie does after their matter finally settles on a form they announce what they are “the pixie of”, then after a couple days they pick their own name. 

The pixie’s special talent(yes im stealing that term from the tinkerbell movies shut up) cannot change, unlike fairies, who can adjust their “fairy of” title should they need to. the pixies talent is rarely super similar to their fairy’s preferred magic. Pixies are kind of hoarders when it comes to objects related to their talent, dressing themselves in these materials and hiding them away in various secret spots. A pixie’s talent and personality are theorized to support and provide a counter point for their fairy. but the method by which this is chosen is currently unknown by the magical science community. 

personality wise, my pixies are..... not as nice as the canon ones lol. They are obsessive, possessive, and self absorbed. they don’t like dealing with things that aren’t related to their talent. they don’t like it when people take items related to their talent. they don’t like other pixies. like at all. pixies are usually very solitary, nesting at least 10 yards from any other pixie. Pixie “village” is a meeting place for pixie celebrations and ceremonies, but its rare that more than one or two pixies live there at the same time. a lot of pixies had to tolerate each other during the fiasco with lord darkar, and it is NOT remembered fondly. Bonded pixies are very possessive of their fairy and dislike anyone who is a perceived threat to the fairy or the relationship (this includes boyfriends, friends, siblings, parents, pets, etc because tiny angry wasp babies attacking everybody is a HILARIOUS idea)

for individual pixies!!!!

Amore: Pixie of (romantic) Love. Collects things related to love(roses from bouquets, gift jewelry, chocolate boxes, etc) Amore is naive and a little ditzy, she is one of the only pixies who enjoys interacting with humans who are not her bonded fairy. She is known around alfea campus for giving the best romantic advice and for AVENGING BROKEN HEARTS SWIFTLY AND MERCILESSLY. Stella is balanced by Amore, who is outrageously loving towards everyone she meets (unless they have broken some one else’s heart or if they threaten stella), prefers to make the best of bad situations, and stay out the spotlight.

Piff: Pixie of Rest. They collect fluffy pillow and blankets mostly. they have the most nests in alfea out of the bonded pixies. piff is selectively mute, only speaking while in one of their nests or with Aisha, piff can be very lazy and apathetic with basically everybody/everything else. Piff balances Aisha with their even temperament and need for sleep, which forces aisha to actually slow tf down every once in a while.

Lockette: Pixie of Portals. Collects maps, locks, and keys. actually the youngest of the pixies since bloom was the last member of the winx to transform. Lockette is still a scaredy-cat, but only in physical fights or of monsters, in personal relationships lockette is hard headed and combative. bloom is balanced by Lockette’s cautious approach to conflict and strong stance towards personal problems(instead of running away like bloom always does lmao)

Chatta: Pixie of Language. collects book pages, pen nibs, anything with words on it, including voice recordings. she’s the only other pixie who likes to interact with humans who aren’t her bonded fairy. chatta is hyper hyper hyper and a little bossy. She and lockette clash a lot over who “leads’ the pixies, even though most of the time Chatta is just thinking outloud. Flora is balanced by Chatta’s upbeat energy and belief in expressing herself!!! She loves to talk!!!!!

Pixel: Pixie of Images. collects colored pencils, markers, and any kind of image printed or digital or whatever. theyre scattered and unpredictable, jumping from one thing to the next. They will leave little drawings all over alfea. tecna is balanced by pixel’s creative problem solving and emotional expression. (Side note: I always thought digit being tecna’s pixies was a little redundant, and i never really liked caramel? so Pixel was a good “technological” sounding name that referenced art. Pixel’s design is a combo of digit and caramel though.)

Chene: Pixie of Atmosphere. collects kites, tuffs of clouds, and wind chimes. Chene prefers her own company almost more than musa’s. Chene and musa clash the most obviously in the group, as both are herd headed and temperamental. however, while musa flares hot and pursues a fight, chene is cold and standoffish. despite their problems Musa is actually balanced by Chene’s calm attitude and independent spirit. (side note: Chene is a direct combo of tune and cherie, i don’t remember exactly how i connected them but basically “manners” create a “mood” which could also be an “air” about a person+ weather= atmosphere. boom. her design is a combo of cherie and tune’s.)

[a-dead-mouse]

Leaf Dog - Live From The Balrog Chamber - 2020

[alnisarecords]

Here is the dat piff version of Transient Times Vol 1. Alnisa Records. ENHANA Sound Custom. EnhanSoul. Enhanincontrol. We are going international. Galactic. Worldwide. And Multi Dimensional in reaching one and all here. 

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

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!

[hshouse]

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