tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post4112422912223671124..comments2024-03-05T10:14:38.181+00:00Comments on CLASSICAL ICONOCLAST: Real Rheingold?Doundou Tchilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-58983774231325594922010-10-11T22:26:15.300+01:002010-10-11T22:26:15.300+01:00I guess "greatest" is a loose term. Grea...I guess "greatest" is a loose term. Greatest publicity, market share, media interest etc. or artistic merit, insight, influence. Unquantifiable terms.Doundou Tchilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-85095284660235115782010-10-11T22:07:03.743+01:002010-10-11T22:07:03.743+01:00Of course it's marketing hyperbole, but the ph...Of course it's marketing hyperbole, but the phrase "one of the greatest" is inclusive, and is intended to say that he is as great as the conductors you name. And presumably also in the same class as Knappertsbusch, Krauss, Toscanini, etc.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-3161896761128555692010-10-11T21:55:25.953+01:002010-10-11T21:55:25.953+01:00Guess it's marketing hyperbole. But still, it ...Guess it's marketing hyperbole. But still, it assumes no awareness of Furtwangler, Karajan, Solti, Boulez, Bohm, Klemperer, Haitink, Barenboim etc. whatever their individual merits. Even before this, I was worried about Terfel, who tends not to push himself too much these days, but one man can't save a show where everything seemed on autopilot.Doundou Tchilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07469682216179706743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-61964735951585656562010-10-11T16:31:09.622+01:002010-10-11T16:31:09.622+01:00That was Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager...That was Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager, and what I heard was "one of the greatest Wagner conductors," not <i>the</i> greatest. The line about Terfel being a great new Wotan was what truly killed me, since he is so obviously not that.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-416983732847060845.post-59450568470459288172010-10-10T01:24:36.635+01:002010-10-10T01:24:36.635+01:00It sounds perfect for the Met. Typical Lepage: Zef...It sounds perfect for the Met. Typical Lepage: Zeffirelli with a bit of 'technology' thrown in, nothing to frighten the dowagers. We have much to complain about over here, but at least a deplorably insufficient level of subsidy leaves us with a little defence against the execrable 'tastes' of idle rich donors. At least Otto Schenk did not claim to be doing anything more interesting.<br /><br />You hit the nail on the head with regard to meaning. Why would these people want to be encouraged to change their lives by a revolutionary socialist? (Some of these people even think Barack Obama is a socialist: if only!) They prefer to pretend, perhaps even to delude themselves, that the Ring is somehow 'about' dragons and rainbows. But what do we Europeans know about opera...?Mark Berryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17693194967620507933noreply@blogger.com