Netrebko + Villazon = Teh Seks

dear anna+rolando plz send me sum pix of teh h0t lurve u got goin on & i will *heart* u 4evar <3 <3 <3 *~*OC*~* ps that would rilly b teh :rawkz0rz: tia ^.^

Please enjoy some images from rehearsals of the forthcoming (this Sunday) Massenet's Manon at Berlin's Staatsoper. Daniel Barenboim will conduct this racy, triple-eKs er0tic hawt mess of a staging (although Netrebko is sporting an unflattering wig...homegirl must have borrowed it from Britney).

(vvvvvvvvvvvvv wtf???? vvvvvvvvvvvvv)

Comments

[Benedict]

10 euros say Rolando got wood

[MillyVanilly]

See, it's not even provocative anymore. They're old news to me now...NEXT!

[fignaz]

OC--
I think you should have a caption contest for that next to last photo. I'll start it off: "Ah fuyez douche image"

[Donna Anna]

According to a friend who saw this production in LA and then watched the Vienna production with Rototo, teh seks was in the Vienna production--she said this one looked like kids at play. Uh huh. The kids are alright. And I wouldn't even have to put 5 euros on Rolando. Just wait until the end of Act II.

[Crewmantle]

What izit with this guy and his legs in the air??? Somebody needs to inform his lightness that in order to wear a wife beater, U minimally need guns, and pecs.. NOT man bewbs.

Netrebko on the other hand need no improvement.

[Corey]

Or, "Manon: The Playboy Channel Production"

[Swiss-Sherlock]

Well, we all *knew* that opera was not just about singing, didn't we? It'a Gesamtkunstwerk and should touch all senses. ALL of them. :-)

And yes, MillyVanilly you're right: It's no news that our beloved Anouschka has a deep throat and that Rolando "If I can't sing anymore I will step in as Mr Atkinson's double" Villazón doesn't lack basic instinct...

Anyway. Arte will broadcast this production live from the Staatsoper on May 9, so prepare your recording devices. In a few scenes they will probably blur the picture, but the sound should be fine. :-)

[Orfeus]

Someone has been watching too much desparate housewives.

[Siris]

Thanks 4 the pics, OC! Regret only saw this production 2x here in LA(and that my female companion kept holding on to the binoculars!) This Manon is meant to be a "tribute to movie classics" so you'd see Treb dress/undress like Loren, Hepburn, Monroe etc...

Any pic of her doing those pole dance(@Act4 casino scene)?

[ellie]

Well, Paterson´s conception is fine in principle, but IMO neither of them are attractive enough to pull off something in the likes of a movie scene. And what two opera singers should be? So it basically has no place in opera. They both look incredibly sleazy and since their singing is also not worth paying a dime for, I might as well watch "Eyes wide shut" (have actually never seen it, but you catch my drift). Manon in Vienna was pathetic. I have heard lots of positive feedback from people in L.A., but I still don´t buy it. Cheap thrills. Go to Blockbuster.

[Swiss-Sherlock]

For those who missed the Vienna Manon at the Staatsoper (I did, alas) or on TV (I didn't...! I even recorded a DVD, and the good thing is that it doesn't wear out as ye olde tape did... so you don't feel guilty watching it over'n'over again), here's a quintessential clip. Teh seks definitely is in it, and it will be kinda, ehhm, hard to top at the other Staatsoper. But soon we'll see :-o

[giorgia]

(erm...am I the only one thinking Rolando Da Brow Villazon is dead ugly?!?)

[flipstinger]

hmmm! the pics look pretty erotic! BUT he doesn't appeal to me, sooweee...

[IheartTaft]

They are a one note act by now. Almost every produciton they do is LA MEME CHOSE! it's all "modern" and "sexy" and "minimal".

To quote a very wise person and fellow blogger: They make out to make up for what's missing.
Hey, the bachelor with the ten sport's cars doesn't always mean he's a great driver, he may just be compensating for something...not so good.
Oh Trebs and Villy, your defrockage won't make us forget your not-quite-laudable voices! Naked people+ pillow fight doth not an opera singer make.

Giorgia- I find Villazon to be of a most unappealing face as well. Seriously, my dog even looks away when his face comes up.

[Mona lissa]

That wig on Netrebko is haenous!

[Siris]

Singers with better voice/technique are always welcome. But Treb is TRAP and many will fall... Now if it wasn't for her+Bean IMO this 1/2 baked production would have been quite forgettable.

Their Act3 church scene was intense, maybe more erotic than pillow fight.

[virginblogger]

I saw all the Netrebko/Villazon performances in Los Angeles. Granted, this is not your Beverly Sills, extended coloratura top, trilly Manon; Netrebko has a weightier, more steely sound than that; her French isn't perfect. I'm not sure that she ever made it to the top of the cadenzas, but she never backed off - she bravely went for them every time. The thrilling thing about them is that they are totally uninhibited; they throw themselves at the performances, come what may. Villazon cracked one night on "En fermant les yeux," and the eight bars that followed were thrilling - the audience roared. LA did a great job of publicizing the two of them, and they brought people to the opera who were not regular attendees. I'm sure that's vital for the longevity of opera. Not to snipe, but I saw the DVD performance of their "Traviata" from Salzburg after having seen Fleming in Los Angeles, and I would pay for Netrebko's any day, comparitively...

[justanothertenor]

Ok, is Rolando singing at her private parts in some of the pictures? It really looks like he is serenading her general groin area... I find it quite comical actually! Do you think she is wearing underwear?

[giorgia]

IheartTaft - I am currently pondering on about adopting a pug - y'know, one of those little dogs with a lot of wobbly wrinkles and big eyes... well, I think they're abso-f00kin-lutely cute, but everybody keeps telling me they're too ugly, and all I reply to them is "you've never seen The Brow, then..."... :D

[Swiss-Sherlock]

Justanothertenor: He actually is. It's called Belc*nto for a reason.

[Crewmantle]

HEH @ SS

I find Miss Netrebko to be a vision of willowy maidenlyness at any time... Her modesty and purity is an example for all virginal women to follow.

M. Villazon should stick with the red crushed velvet lamee jackets he boyishly apes on his down time....

[Donna Anna]

And just wait till you see Rolando sporting the pencil mustache, Anna in a blonde Marilyn wig and the pole dancing in the Transylvania scene.

[Swiss-Sherlock]

@Crewmantle: Oh, please don't get me wrong. I unconditionally adore Anna, and exactly for the reasons you indicated. Besides, she has the most beautiful, round, warm voice of all the sopranos which in the lower pitch has that wonderful give-me-the-heebies-jeebies darkish color. Highly addictive stuff, all she does.

But I just *had* to make that, well, corny joke. :-)

[Les Mitchell]

I think there are a lot of rather jealous and vindictive posting here, which, in the world of opera, is very common. Villazon and Netrebko are both outstanding artists. Netrebko is a beautiful woman, and Villazon is, while not handsome in the usual sense, extremely unique and charasmatic. Artists like these two, along with Juan Diego Flores, are the best thing to happen to opera since the days of Callas, Corelli, etc. To love opera is a beautiful experience, but to embrace jealousy and to become an opera fanatic is to acquire a disease. I'd like to know if any of these jealous people have accomplished as much in their respective lives as have Netrebko and Villazon.

[Esther]

Comaparing these two singers to Callas and Corelli is not only ignorant but insulting. Vocally, don't even mention them together in the same breath. On top of that, Callas and Corelli would never lower themselves to act like this. People seem to confuse sex with love, and being beautiful with being a slut.

[Les Mitchell]

Esther: Now that I have read your post, I feel kind of stupid. You are right about both Callas and Corelli. Neither one of them would appear in anything that passes for a "production" today, especially in Europe. Moreover, no one can compare to Callas anyway - no matter who they are. I admire both Villazon and Netrebko, and think that both are very, very fine singers. Most unfortunately, stage directors seem to dominate opera today, and we are all forced to countenance their "innovative" productions, most of which I think are horrendous. I am a traditionalist, and I don't like updatings, and wierd sets. But this is what we are getting. What I fail to understand are how artists like Netrebko and Villazon allow themselves to be part of such goings-on. I still think that they have done a lot to stimulate interest in opera ----- but perhaps for the wrong reasons???
Anyway, I see your point, and you are right. I got a little carried away.

[Grazyna Kopij]

I had a blast reading all the comments.I just jumped on the wagon. Oct. 30, 2007.
Without clothes or fully clothed if you wish, they are unbeatenable at present time, as long as look as they are and sing as they do, no one can deny the obvious; together they create a magic.
They are the best thing which could possibly happened to the opera. We had all the the great voices and personalities behind them before;Maria Callas the ultimate and unquestionable DIVA af all times; Pavarotti and many,many others predeccesors or contemporary artists but nobody else creats such a magic
on the stage like those two. You may compare the voices, the interpretations and cololraturas
etc.; but in the end they are the ones you watch and listen to with pleasure and amusement and you can not get enough of them.
I wish they would sing every opera ever written,so I could enjoy not only listening to the music and voices but also had a pleasure to watch the perforamnce. I only wander who will surpass them in the future beacuase, I think, there is no way of going back to the past after them. One can complain and lament over the "great deads" and lost of innocence but on the other hand, as we evolve as a human beings, we all have these days internet to express our sorrows and opinions.
And what do you think about the fact that Rollando Villazon actually signed up for priesthood in his youthfull days? It is always amazing to me how the things sometimes turn out. The hottest tenor..., hhmm