The art of the Coloratura…

I recently downloaded Diana Damrau’s new album, after seeing it on Amazon.com and waiting for iTunes to get their act together and offer a dowloadable version (I have some money to burn on my iTunes account). After her latest offering of mostly Mozart, I was eagerly anticipating this one, since it covers an area of the repertoire that Damrau is taking a claim to: the true and tested coloratura roles. I will have to say that I enjoyed the disc quite a lot, but I was also left with a sense of disappointment from her. In her desire to create a wonderful aural experience for the listener, I think she forgot her broad-stroke paint brush. What I mean is that she wanted to bring so many little details to her interpretations that I think she forgot that we, the listener, can (and should) add our own layers to what we are listening. Too many times sections are punched out and pulled appart that we do not get a sense Damrau can actually sing a legato line in which the music, and not her, take precedence.  I am going to go out on a limb and put some of the blame of this trend (no, Damrau is not the first one to do this on disk) squarely at the feet of Renee Fleming, whose bad habit of wanting to put her stamp on every little phrase she sings is apparently causing other artists to feel that is the way to go.

I do understand that a lot of this repertoire has been recorded, and sometimes quite good, but artists lucky enough to get a solo recording need to understand that we are going to buy their recordings, even if we own 30 other versions of an aria (or arias) already. Yes, there is a lot of competition, but by them distorting musical lines or exaggerating the punch line, the impression we get is not one of artistry but of a desperate act on their part, almost  like saying See? I got the joke here.. or See what can I do with this phrase, I bet [inset your favorite diva here]didn’t do this here. Artists, this is getting old and is actually turning us off your recordings and sending us right back at those artists you desperately want to make us forget. Time to trust the music and the text, kiddos; there is no need to all these nonsense show off that is ultimately not doing you any good; or in other words: Quit the fucking around and SING!

OK, now that all that is off my chest, lets do talk about the many good things this recording has to offer. For starters, the varied program (it is listed at the bottom if this review) . It offers Damrau an oportinity to give us a little bit of dreamy, a little bit of comedy, a little bit of resolve, an opportunity to hear what could have been and a whole lot of coloratura.

The disc opens with a effervescent Je Veux Vivre and continues with a Caro nome that doesn’t quite sparkles. I believe that Damrau’s personality might be too strong for some of these ingenue roles, even if her voice is perfect for them. While Juliette might seem just ideal, Her Gilda was a little too willing. Yes, she tried and in pure vocal terms she succeeds, but I was left with the feeling that this Gilda was not all that inexperienced, but remembering some heavy petting that might have occurred off stage. When the tracks reached Zerbinettas aria, I was looking forward mostly because it is not a piece that is usually  associated to heavier voiced coloraturas. I was hoping that Damrau being German would allow her do a lot with the text. Alas, I was left disappointed, not because she sang it poorly, but because the aria’s humor was delivered with a boxing glove rather than with a feather. In this aria more than in any other I wished Damrau would have taken a step back and allowed the music and the text to make the points rather than hear her deliver them in almost anal-retentive fashion.

The highlight of the disc, at least for me, was Anna Truelove’s aria from The Rakes Progress: Silently night…I go to him. In this aria Damraus does allow the music to flow naturally and by doing so she is highly effective in portraying Anne’s disappointment and eventual  resolution to go after the love she knows needs her. I will say that the other highlights of the recording come not far from the Stravinski, this time in the Oscar arias. Once again we get the effervescent way to sing, the smile and the joyeux de vivre that characterizes Damrau’s personality. She handles the staccatos in the  Volta la terra beautifully and the Saper vorreste is full of joy, teasing and (oh joy! finally!) some variations. How wonderful had it been had Damrau would have gone back to the time when coloratura sopranos made something of this aria by  way of ornamentation. Let’s hope that this is the beginning of a trend, since it has been too long since conductors have foolishly dominated the discussion on what proper Verdi style is.

The disc ends with a bang, with 3 numbers that are as famous and loved by coloraturas as Großmächtige Prinzessin. The O Luce di quest’anima starts in an immensely beautiful way; Damrau backs off the pressure that she sometimes puts of her voice and just sings, such simplicity of delivery is not something she is known for, but for a couple of pages she just shines.  I must admit I was not prepared for what I heard. I was expecting more pulling and punching, but what I got was truly beautiful singing, simple delivery, perfect for this aria.  I wish she had kept it up for all the aria, but even with the few times she did, I would say that those who will download single tracks from this disk should seriously consider adding this one to their list. This propably was the best singing of the entire disc. Ophelia’s mad scene from Hamlet finds Damrau in excellent form both vocally and dramatically and the Glitter and be Gay is fabulous in its ferocious intensity, all the way to an F# in alt, even if it is a tad overacted for the dizzy blond the character is.

In summary, the disc is a success, even if i would not call it a home run. Fans of Damrau should be very happy to add this disc to their collections while people who are getting to know her will ne happy to find tracks to sample her singing. Let’s hope that in future releases Ms. Damrau will back off a little from the extreme effects and give us a disc that shows more singing at the level of the O luce di quest anima.

Click on the image to purchase the CD

Roméo et Juliette: Je Veux Vivre
Rigoletto: Gualtier Malde…Caro nome
Ariadne auf Naxos, Zerbinetta: Großmächtige Prinzessin…
Il Barbiere di Siviglia: Una Voce Poco fa
The Rakes Progress: Silently night…I go to him
Gianni Schicchi; O mio Babbino Caro
Un Ballo in Maschera: Volta la terrea
Un Ballo in Maschera: Saper Vorreste
Linda di Chamounix: O luce di quest amina
Hamlet: A vos jeux, mes amis…
Candide: Glitter and be Gay

Carmen est un oiseau rebele

Today we were able to see the Met’s new Carmen in a new production staged Richard Eyre with sets designed by Rob Howell and costumes by Irene Bohan. This production is a welcomed changed from the Zefirelli production for 10 years ago that simply was just ugly. The opera, updated to sometime around the 40s is still very traditional and the stage machinery is used to create locales within a unit set. I know a lot has been said about the production already and many people have come against it because it is too traditional. To those who are pulling their hair because the Met again put out another traditional production I want to remind that the reggie movement now 20-30 years old in Europe (some would say that it started with Wieland Wagner and thus is 50 years old already)  and therefore these kind of productions are not avant garde or provocative anymore. In truth, they are now the new “traditional” productions over there; add the fact that even after these many years, audiences still reject them soundly and you are not going to get too much pity from me. So, in my opinion, cry all you want, bad art might be art, but it is still bad and some things do not need to be imported. So take what I say with a grain of salt, if you are expecting the Met to “finally” take on the reggie productions that have been all  the rage (in both senses) in Europe, then you are going to hate this new Carmen. I fucking loved it.

Now that you have sat through my little moment, I do want to say to those who feel like me, RUN to get your ticket. The sets and the costume design is truly inspired at times. I would say that this production of Carmen improved 100% on the old Zefirelli production. If you are in NYC, or planning a visit, this is the one production this year that I think you should not miss. Truly amazing stuff in my opinion.

I’m going to start with the chorus and the orchestra because I am starting to sound like a broken record: these people can do no wrong. The orchestra sounded amazing! They were sensitive to the singing and their playing made as much impact as the singing upstairs. Same thing for the chorus: are these people capable of poor singing? I believe not. (Angela, you looked amazing by the way). This chorus is such an improvement from the chorus from 10 years ago it is amazing to believe they are from the same institution. Congratulations to the Met for getting themselves one hell of a chorus, I hope you treat those people with as much respect and defference then you treat your soloist, because they are making your starts look a lot better than what (sometimes) they are. Bravi to all, and a big bravo to maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who conducted with the energy of a 20 year older.  The orchestra responded to his fast tempos and the score had an energy and thrust that I had not heard in a while. Yes, some people will say that he conducted like he needed to go pee (or worse), but you know? Carmen the opera  is like having sex, sometimes you do need to do it fast and hard. Bravo maestro; bravi tutti!

Click for more

When this production was announced my first reaction was these guys are doing Carmen without a Carmen, and then Gheorghiu threw her little shit fit, walked out like the spoiled brat she is said to be and opened the door for Elina Garanca. I listened to the performance on opening night via the Met’s free webcasts and I was not hopeful. Her take on the character was described and an ice queen and the performance didn’t sound idiomatic to me. I am happy to say that I have been won over by Garanca as Carmen, hell, not only was I won over but even my friend Ronizetti (who hates Carmen with a passion) did say that she was a fantastic Carmen. No, the performance was still not idiomatic, there were things here and there, but as I said elsewhere, those are things that come with time and experience, so I’m not going to mull over them. What I’ll say first is that none of the alleged ice queen business was in evidence, at least not to me.  She had the passion and the fire in her to do justice to the role, I simply did not see her Carmen as being icy, except in some sections when her treatment of Don Jose needed to be.  Her Habanera had enough sex appeal to be convincing, her Seguidille (unfortunately) missed the mark in the fact that it was much too direct. I missed the inner play, the innuendo and the teasing that could make this piece sparkle with sexual energy. Garanca’s Carmen seemed to come from a place of anger, she seemed more a caged lion than a caged bird. Garanca’s  Carmen was strong, free willed and not about to be bullied. This Carmen certainly packed a punch. Act 2 and 3 found Garanca doing some fine singing and some dancing as well, as her Carmen faced the situations, she hardened her stance and got nastier. I will not say that I agree with everything she did, but I did find her interpretation valid; Garanca certainly thought things through and created a character that was true to herself and her interpretation of her personality.  Act 4 found Garanca rivaling Ponselle as one of the sexiest Carmens in Met history. To say she looked amazing in that dress is to put it mildly. That dress, in my opinion is as amazing as the mythic Valentina dress that Ponselle wore and just as sexy. Ultimately, her Carmen was phenomenal, with enough spunk and Mediterranean flavor to please me and turn me into a convert. Brava.

Roberto Alagna (the only principal of the original cast to actually make it to today’s performance) was a magnificent foil to Garanca’s Carmen. His voice might be a tad light for the role, but he used it intelligently and passionately; ultimately giving us a Jose full of passion and pain. One thing that I also liked about him was his attention to the small moments in the drama. He remained  a committed Jose to the end. His singing showed moments of strain, something that I have come to expect from him. What I didn’t expect was for him to sing the Flower aria so well (and ellegantly), and include the pianissimo Bb. Now, I’m guessing he wanted to create an excuse for the shortness of his Bb (not that he needed, I thought the aria was executed beautifully) by saying that the Bb is actually not written piano but that everyone expects it that way and so on and so forth. I must say that I do not buy it; and I don’t buy it because 1) Alagna correctly pointed out that the orchestra is marked to play piano at this moment. What? did Bizet asked the orchestra to play piano so the tenor could wail that Bb like a calf missing his mother? and 2) There is a long tradition of French tenors singing these passages in voix mixte (some people call it falsetto, call it however you want it) and many French composers wrote passages just like this one in their operas so their tenors could showcase their expertise in voix mixte (Gounod and Massenet come to mind immediately).  As a French tenor, Alagna should know the history of French style, specially when it comes to his voice type. There was no need for Mr. Alagna to feel that he needed to excuse anything about his singing of the aria. Latter on, as the role got heavier, signs of strain did become more visible, but his commitment never wavered. Ultimately his Jose was not an over-sized hero, but more a human being.  I have seen Mr. Alagna in several roles, this is by far the best I have seen him sing in a while.

As Escamillo, we were expecting Mariusz Kwiecien (or the Hot Pole as he is known in certain circles) and we got Teddy Tahu Rhodes (or Teddy Bear as he has admitted he is called).  I have to say that the casting of  Mariusz puzzled me, not because he doesn’t have the physique du role, but because I see him as a Mozart baritone, more at home as the sexy Don Giovanni, Count Almaviva and Guglielmo. I see his voice as much too light for a role that is better served with a bass-baritone. Teddy Bear not only saved the day, but proved that he can be every bit the sexy Escamillo we were expecting and probably better suited vocally to the role. Yes, there was a troubling loss of focus in some of the extreme high notes on the role (let’s hope it was a case of nerves and not that he is trying to beef up the sound) but for the most part Teddy Bear was more than just a satisfactory replacement on the role; he packed his own brand of heat and I loved every second of it too.

I wish I could be so enthusiastic about Barbara Frittoli as Micaela, and believe me, I am up to a certain point. This role is usually cast with young up and comers and it is easily dismissed as a complete bore. The Met has a strong tradition of casting the role with veritable stars and excellent singers as well: Licia Albanese, Lucine Amara, Mirella Freni, Hei-Kyung Hong, Gheorghiu, Pilar Lorengar, Leona Mitchell, Katherine Malfitano, Katia Riciarelli are just a few of the names associated with the role at the Met. The casting of Frittoli as Micaela is not a strange one at the Met and certainly the role is withing the scope of her voice and her abilities. I’ll do you one better and say it is a blessing to see her singing repertoire that suits her voice better than all the Verdi she has been singing elsewhere. The problem is that apparently all that Verdi that has made her a star is catching up to her. She sounded effort-full (as opposed to effortless) and some of the higher passages had a hint of a wobble. Elsewhere, she was a fragile looking and shy Micaela. Her acting was never less that perfect for the character. Frittoli certainly understands what motivates Micaela and presented a role that made me love her, but her singing was not at the same level as her acting. I hope Frittoli will get back to her bread and butter roles (NOT heavy Verdi for sure) and fix the warning signs before it is too late and we are left to lament how such a wonderful singer squandered her talents singing repertoire that ended up costing her too much.

As always, the Met cast the small but incredibly important roles of Frasquita, Mercédès, Remendado, Dancaïre, Zuniga and Moralès from strength. In these roles Elizabeth Caballero (Frasquita), Sandra Piques Eddy (Mercédès), Keith Jameson (Remendado), Earle Patriarco (Dancaïre), Keith Miller (Zuniga) and Trevor Scheunemann (Moralès) showed that these roles need great artists as much as the principal roles or else the opera looses its balance; they all sang and acted amazingly well.  It was such a joy to hear the High C during the Toreador song executed perfectly and without strain. I want to also mention the 2nd act quintet and the Card scene as veritable highlights of the show and they were, no doubt, thanks to their participation. Bravi to all these artists.

It sounds bitchy that after all these compliments I should start complaining, but the fact is that there was one thing that truly bothered me about this Carmen: the edition. I believe the Met has the coaching resources and the clout to present operas in better editions and it is the 2nd time this season that they chose to show an opera in a questionable edition. There is no reason that I can think of for the Met to still be using those damn recitatives they should have gotten rid of 20 years ago. In 1996 they could blame Zefirelli and his dislike of Waltraud Meier and his opinion that her French sucked to go back to the recits. In 2010, what is their excuse? They no longer have Zefirelli and his bitching to blame. Certainly these are artists who have proved a certain affinity for the language, with one of them being a French native.  Moreover, this cast has remained mostly unchanged since the production was first announced, so what is the problem? Why can’t the Met bring themselves to do a Carmen as it was intended, with dialog. They could certainly not blame acoustics as they have very good acoustics, have done the show with dialog before and they also have a state of the art sound system that could be used to amplify the spoken voices and bring some relief to the artists. I certainly do not see a reason for some of the ugly transitions and bad story telling that I saw today. Let me give you an example:

Between the entrance of Remendado & Dancaïre in Act 2 and the quintet a couple of pages latter there is a certain amount of information that is provided that serves as a springboard for the quintet. Remendado and Dancaïre just came back from Gibraltar where they bought some merchandise and they were being expected at Lillas Pastia by Carmen, Mercédès and Frasquita, who are in cohorts with them to smuggle the goods. If you watched the Met’s Carmen today, you were not provided this info and were lead to believe that Remendado and Dancaïre are just a pair of bullies that showed up and slapped Mercédès and Frasquita into submission given the intense fear the 2 ladies had to show due to the lack of background. Not only was the information not provided, there was an ugly cut as well that made the quintet come out of nowhere and the interactions between the characters seem forced and artificial. Was this necessary? I mean, Truly? I applaud the Met for striving to provide productions that are strong, with good singers and actors; but when they package these elements in poorly wrapped musical editions they are still doing the singers, audience and the composers a disservice. Time to join the XXIst century kiddos… There is not need for audiences to have to suffer through the Giraud-composed recits anymore.

Carmen plays in the theaters again in an encore presentation, so check your local movie theaters for the information. The next HD presentation will be Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra on Frebruary 6. This promises to be quite interesting as it has Placido Domingo singing the baritone role of Boccanegra in a first for the opera and the Met. Like it or not, don’t miss it. I’ve been lead to believe it will be an interesting afternoon.

The Decade in Review

Yes, I know that for many the decade is not over because there-was-no-year-0-and-because-there-was-no-year-0-a-decade-never-ends-on-the-year-0. You can spare me because the Gregorian calendar was 4-7 years off and therefore we are not really in 2010 but more likely in 2017, plus traditionally the beginning of decades have been celebrated on years ending in zero (0), so we could argue that the first decade of the modern world began in the year 10 and what happened before that was just 9 years.

That being said, a celebrated blogger asked in her blog for people to come up with end of the decade lists of important events that shaped or changed the opera world. In tongue in cheek fashion, I came up with the following 10 events and i wanted to share them with you as well. Happy belated new year and Happy (even advanced if you want) beginning of a new decade.

Decade in review: 10 events that gave the opera world a lot to talk about:

• Villazon enters and exists (and enters and exists and enters and exits) and enters again the world of opera. We are still waiting to see if this one will stick…

• The Met replaces its Zefirelli Tosca with another traditional production. Some people bitch because it is too traditional, some people bitch because it was not traditional enough, some bitch because it is not by Zefirelli. So the Met has to make peace with the fact that the unifying theme of the new Tosca is the fact that people went  out of their way looking for reasons to hate it.

• Peter Gelb takes over the Met. Some people bitch because he is not traditional enough, some because he is too safe and some because he is not Volpe; once again proving that not everyone will love you for your pretty face. His marketing strategies prove that he is a genius and he changes the face of entertainment for years to come. His ability to recognise talent (outside a set of double D’s) is still under review.

• For the first time in nearly a century, an opera house actually leads the way in the entertainment business. Yes, I am talking about the Met in HD series. At first people said it was a loosing proposition, now it is seen as the first of its kind and performers everywhere in the world from the Jonas brothers to Celine Dion are elbowing their way to cash in with their own Live in HD transmissions. Rummors of a 3 Tenors Reunnion Concert in HD sweep the world, but no confirmation as of yet…

• We get a 3rd British invasion. The invasion starts in the late 90’s when the Commonwealth sends artists like Sarah Brightman & Charlotte Church. It reaches critical mass with artists like Paul Potts, Susan Boyle, and Katherine Jenkins. The imitators are not far behind and we get Bocelli, Josh Groban, Il Divo, Opera Babes, Amici and the rest. The effect is swift, half the world is giddy and the other half believes that it is not true what they say about the education system in the USA being the worst in the world.

• After a year of fierce battle, Blue Ray wins the format war. This means that opera nuts the world over can let a sigh of relief as they trash their DVD’s and start over their collections with the new format, just like collectors from generations past did when the 78, the 10 inch, the LP, the 8 track and the cassette died a brutal death at the hands of newer technologies.

• iPods and the iTunes store signal the beggining of the end for the CD. With the introduction and worldwide acceptance of the iPod, digital music is seen as a force to be reckon with and sales of traditional CDs plummet. This causes panic in the upper circles of opera conousieurs because, in their words, the new generation will not know where to go to find their music.

• The economic environment of the new Millenium propels the death of opera houses in places as varied as Baltimore, San Diego and NYC. Others are sent to intensive care and others are just relieved Mortier never came to NYC, the health of the company be dammed; we dogged that bullet.

• Maria Callas’ widows all over the globe celebrate the 30th anniversary of her death. Worldwide sales of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Cymbalta skyrocket as Sopranos all over turn to medication to deal with the fact that they still have to hear that bitch’s name as a reason why they will never measure up.

• A new crop of younger, thinner singers emerge. The backlash is swift and brutal. Charges of singing the wrong rep, or too early or too heavy are thrown like popcorn at a bad movie premiere. Calmer voices try to bring some sense into the discussion but are quickly shoved against a wall (and against their will) by opera nuts. Expert sociologists are called in and they discover that the fans are always 20-30 years too late to see the singers of the golden age. Counter experts say that it doesn’t matter now that Callas is dead and that the level of teaching and taste is worse than they have ever seen; proving that either a group of people have found the fountain of youth or that audiences will never change and in 10 years we will be having the same old fights with the same old terminology.

Rosenkavalier in HD

Click on pic for more

Today, like every Saturday during broadcast season, was opera Saturday; add the fact that it was an HD simulcast and I was exited, add to that the fact that I had never seen Rosenkavalier from start to finish and I could not contain myself. As a strong bel canto lover, XXth century opera and music does not come easy to me and Strauss (and for that matter, Wagner) have been composers that have taken some time for me to warm up to them. As a matter of fact, about a year and a half ago, I attemped to watch the opera on a fantastic DVD from the Salzburg production with Anna Tomowa-Sintow (a soprano I adore) and I made it all the way to about half of Act 2 before I lost interest. I knew I was not ready and decided to put it away and l come back to the opera when I felt like I was mature enough in my tastes. This time I knew I was ready.

Let’s start with the actual production. The Merril production with sets by Robert O’Hearn debuted on Jan 23, 1969 and has been a staple of the Met ever since. O’Hearn’s sumptuous sets and costumes have hosted a myriad of Octavians, Marschallins, Ochs, and Sophies. The HD cameras were not consistently flattering to the sets,unfortunately. Yes, the design is just marvelous and they still retain some of their beauty, but they are starting to show the wear and tear of 40 years of storage, travel to and from the house, settings and strikes (not the labor kind). I thank the Met for preserving the sets once again on video after 20 years, but the production as it stands really can not take another coat of paint. I think it is time to either replace the production or do a rebuild from scratch. Unlike other opera fanatics, I see the use and beauty of traditional productions and understand if the Met were to keep this beautiful work of art, but can you imagine another 10-15 years of wear and tear on this production and it being showed again in a medium that would be even more detailed (and unforgiving) than HD?

Click for more

I make no secret of the fact that Renee Fleming has been a continued source of frustration and disappointment for me over the last 5-8 years.  Her ghastly bel canto assumptions have ruined several of my nights and the absence of Mozart in her schedule is specially frustrating given how much his music suits her voice. That being said I must admit that I am about to fall over offering the same tired superlatives that her most adoring fans use when referring to her.  This woman had no issues passing for someone nearly 20 years her junior. Her singing was solid, ravishing even, her musicality impeccable and her tendency to pull musical phrases like they are toffee all but gone. In other words, she was (for this picky reviewer at least) the embodiment of perfection in this role. Hardly have I ever left a theater (or in this case a movie theater) feeling that a performance I witnessed could not be bettered in one way or another. Yes, I could quibble about this or that gesture, or a way of handling a musical phrase, but in the end I was left convinced that Renee Fleming is capable of inhabiting the world of the Marschallin.  I understand how people who grew up with Schwartzkopf’s, Rysanek’s and the many wonderful Marschallins  that have graced this opera would complain about Fleming’s interpretation.  Having never experience any of the mythic Marschallins, I was able to come to Renee Fleming’s interpretation of the role with an open mind. I did not mind her impetuousness in the role, or her movements, or her perceived lack of regal bearing in the role. Seeing it for the first time, I can see a Marschallin who is younger and probably not all that far removed from the country, wide-eyed girl that was fooled into this life of seclusion.  This interpretation might not work for some people, but it worked for me; I found it possible and believable.

Susan Graham as Octavian was less successful in making this reviewer suspend belief but I do not see her as her fault. HD is not kind to anyone who does not have perfect physique (or age) du role. I am sure given some space, her interpretation worked just wonderfully. I should have not expected to suspend belief when we have a lady in her 40s portraying a 17 year old boy with an HD camera basically mounted of her back.  With that in mind, her acting was wonderful, even when scrutinized at levels that would make some of us scream sexual harassment.  Her singing showed some effort in the upper reaches, but how could you be surprised?, Octavian is basically a soprano role. That notwithstanding, she conquered the role once again and showed why she is one of the most celebrated Octavians of her generations. We should feel lucky that her Octavian has been preserved along those of Anne Sofie von Otter, Tatiana Troyanos and Brigitte Fassbender. Overall, I believe that Susan Graham was a lot more effective in the house than she was for the camera and ultimtely that is exactly where it counts. Brava.

It took me a moment to warm up to Christine Schäfer’s Sophie. Some people will call her miscast in the role and I will not dispute the experts. The presentation of the rose found me wishing the Met had given us Lisette Oropesa in the role instead. Schäfer at first sounded a little too mature and knowing for the role; I missed the silvery top that has come to epitomize this role and the piece.  Had Schäfer’s recent adventures in heavier repertoire (Violetta, Donna Anna, Konstanze) rendered her too mature for this fresh-out-or-the-convent little girl? As the opera progressed I was able to believe her as a 15 year old girl and appreciated what she brought to the role. Through out the opera her character grew in standing and her singing demonstrated the qualities of a once fabulous Sophie who can still bring it home; and that is nothing to scoff about. Her singing of the trio was beautiful and the final duet with Graham was ravishing. Would I have preferred to see Oropesa or Mia Persson? Sure! But I no longer lament the fact that we got Christine Schäfer. At least Mia’s Sophie is preserved on a performance from Salzburg in 2004 and it is not too late for Oropesa to be cast in a production somewhere and have her Sophie preserved on video as well.

Acting honors for the performance, the women I hope will agree, have to go to Kristinn Sigmundsson as Baron Ochs. Jesus, Mary and Joseph what a piece of acting this man did! As the chaos around him got bigger and his behavior nastier I just wanted to jump in the screen and put one of the swords through him myself. Kristinn Sigmundsson’s Ochs was everything any production could wish for; he was an absolute chauvinist pig! His behavior was so reprehensible I was feeling embarrassed for him and was delighted when he was shamed into submission and retreat. I know it is a source of joy for any performer to render an audience member incapable of differentiating between reality and fantasy. Kristinn Sigmundsson did exactly that today and he should revel in that knowledge. Vocally the role of Baron Ochs is a bear. It is composed in a weird place: too high for a true bass, but with notes that baritones and Bass-baritones could find too low (it reaches down to a low C in act 1 and low Eb E in act 2). The problem with a role like this is that short of a true vocal freak, you have to decide whether to cast a singer that can rock the low notes that end 2 separate acts but would struggle with the upper notes or cast a singer who can manage the high tessitura and compromise a little on the low notes. Kristinn Sigmundsson is on the latter category, and I found the compromise just fine. I would rather hear a singer struggle with a low note than with high ones. Mr. Sigmundsson had no issues with the higher passages and while his low notes were not booming in a way that we’ve come to expect from, say, a Sparafucile, he did not embarrassed himself either.  When the dust settled, if there was one performer standing victorious on the stage today, that was Mr. Sigmundsson, hands down.

As his father in law, the recently ennobled Faninal, we had the pleasure of having Thomas Allen. This former count Almaviva and Don Giovanni is still going strong in the sunset years of his career. Not only was his singing a marvel of beauty, his characterization as the father desperately to fit in with his recent “equals” was all in itself at the same level of Sigmundsson’s. If Sigmundsson’s Ochs was the noble who is too broke, or cheap to admit it, Allen was the commoner all to rich to let that go to waste and they would have made a perfect pair.  I kept thinking that if this was Broadway, they should have encored the White Christmas number Sisters and walked arm in arm at the end.

I think one of the glories of what I hope will be an eventual DVD release of this performance is the many wonderful singers cast in the smaller parts. There was such a plethora of them, it will be impossible to name them all, yet is seems offensive that I do not try, they all seemed like luxury casting to me. There were so many wonderful artists on stage that it was hard to keep up, and the enjoyment their solid performances brought was a lot indeed. I think place of honor must go to Wendy White as Annina, Rodell Rosel as Valzacchi and Erica Strauss as Marianne, they were perfection in their roles. Not only was the singing solid as a rock, they inhabited their roles with energy and conviction. The Met is very lucky to have artists of such caliber to cast in these roles.  The same must be said about the contributions made by Bernard Fitch  and Ronald Naldi as the Major-domos, James Courtney as the Notary, Belinda Oswald, Lee Hamilton and Patricia Steiner as the 3 Orphans and Jeremy Galyon as Police Commissioner, their parts might’ve been small, but their presence and artistry loomed large on that stage. Bravi to all.

I wish I could be just as enthusiastic about Eric Cutler’s Italian singer. He got through the piece unscathed, no mean feat given how easily you can crack on it (Go ahead, click the link and watch what happens between minute markers 4:25-4:30) there was something in his singing that left me cold. I can appreciate the fact that he walked in a sort of vocal tight rope and came out the other side with no bruises, but at the same time I expected more bloom and less metal in this aria. The other thing that bothered me about his performance was his characterization.  In this role it is too easy to turn into the typical tenor and give the international sign for va fan culo on the way out. Easy as we might find it, I think it needs to be avoided given the fact that exhibiting such behavior would have found you in deep do-do faster than you can close your score. Add to that the fact that if this had been 100% representative of the historical period (the madrigal singer in act 2 of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut for example) , it would have been a castrato singing the piece and a young castrato would have not behaved in such reprehensible manner in front of the same nobility whose support he sought. Congratulations to Mr. Cutler on getting through the piece, I think he is owed at least that.

Conductor Edo de Waart brought his considerable experience in this opera (He conducts the recording with Evelyn Lear and Frederica von Stade). The orchestra played magnificently and the chorus (surprise, surprise…) could not have sung better. Overall, I don’t think this production could have been in better hands.

If you missed it, check your local movie theater for an encore and try to get to it; I have no doubts you’ll enjoy the performance as much as I did.

A Christmas Concert to Cheer

On Dec 19th I attended a Christmas concert put together by the Indianapolis Children’s Choir. As a rule, I don’t attend choral concerts because the kind of singing required for a good choral balance grates my nerves. The concert had the added benefit of having Indianapolis’ own Angela Brown as a guest artist. The last time I saw Angela perform was as Elisabeth di Valois in Don Carlo in Cincinnati. I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd concert as one of Angela’s guests. Boy am I happy to inform she sang gorgeously. Could you imagine if she had sung poorly and me having to write it for all the world to see, after she invited me to attend? Thank Heavens I will not have to do that.

To see a full version of the program click on the pic

The concert was titled Angels Sing and it served to showcase the several choirs that form the Indianapolis Children’s Choir family. We had performers from elementary school level all the way to junior high. I was astounded at the high level of performing I heard all night. Songs were performed in English, German, Hebrew and Russian; they were all sung with skill and poise. Yes, there were a couple of suspect vowels here and there, but try to keep up with all those languages when you are doing them in the same evening; I can tell you from experience it is hard to do. So first kudos for having the courage to expose the kids to music in other languages and further kudos to the kids for digging in and making their language coaches proud with their skill. Second Kudos to all ensembles because the sounded like one voice. Whether performing as individual ensembles or as part of multiple ensemble numbers, the quality of the sound and the blending of the voices impressed me quite a lot.  The Vienna Boys Choir might have the fame, but those kids have nothing on these little Hoosiers. Bravi to all…

The concert was a blend of traditional carols (like Silent Night, performed in German and English), Negro Spirituals like Mary Had a Baby (sung exquisitely by Angela) to more popular fair like Silver Bells. I think whomever did the programing deserves a great big hand because it had a little bit of everything and I can not honestly say I got tired or bored once all night.

The concert started with several carols performed by the Kantorei, Lyric and Chamber choirs. Of those numbers, the stand out was for me Baruch J. Cohon’s (as arranged by Blanche Chass) Hanerot Halalu (A song for Hannukah). Through the evening, other songs for the Jewish holidays were sung. Of all the carols that were sung, these continued to stad out not only because they were not known to be but because they were performed at a consistent high level. It also brought to conscience the beautiful quality and yearning Jewish music has. Even though I am not jewish, hearing those songs made me yearn for home. Bravi.

The fabulous singing and the gorgeous music was coming to us at a maddening pace, even the audience got into the action by being invited to sing in 2 different occasions: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and God Rest You merry Gentlemen. This made the evening quite enjoyable for me because not only did i get to hear great holiday music, but got into the action a little bit.

Another favorite moment from the concert was provided by the Indianapolis Youth Chorale and their rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel in an arrangement by Jay Rousse than included a gorgeous cello solo played by Ross Mappes (an ICC member, I believe). Not only did they sang it beautifully, the arrangement was quite beautiful. This is one 0f my favorite carols and the only thing that would have made it even better for me would have been to have the first verse sung in the original Latin, as the words in that language are incredibly powerful and beautiful.

Along the way, we were also treated to some spectacular singing by Angela Brown. This woman continues to make me proud with her poise, her loving attitude (she signed autographs at a table for over an hour and never did I see her get tired or not smile) and her spectacular voice. She can produce some of the most gorgeous pianissimi you have heard this side of Caballe. She employed those gorgeous pianissimi to wonderful effect in her rendition of I Wonder as I Wander (accompanied by Cantates Angeli & Bel Canto Choirs) and in the climax of a goosebumps-inducing Oh Holy Night where she was joined by all the choirs. I wanted to join in and sing so bad I had to bite my tongue.The music making was just wonderful and the sound of all those choirs singing as one voice was truly awe inspiring. I was hoping for an encore of the piece with the audience invited to join in, I would have let out a Bb the size of Texas. A great ending to the concert.  Angela also got down to her roots, as already pointed out, in a fabulous rendition of Mary Had a Baby. All in all, her participation not only added luster to the events, but she also proved how generous a performer she is by acknowledging the kids with a broad smile when her ovations came; and then tending to them so lovingly during the reception.

The concert had the added bonus of having a fantastic ensemble of artists ready to accompany the singing. Peter Meyer in his clarinet part during the Mi Yitneni Of was evocative and was played gorgeously. Same thing for the Brass Quintetof Larry Powell, Mark DeGoti, Gall Lewis, John Huntoon and melissa Williams; and keyboad (piano and organ) players Anna Briscoe, Martin Ellis, and Rebecca Eddie. Steve Dawson in percussion instruments was also a big part in the success of this ensemble. Lastly, I must mention the great work Richard Prather did all through the night. He didn’t play any instrument, not did he sing a note, but his interpreting in Sign Language, many times in sink with the music added a deeper layer of enjoyment and involvement, at least to this attendee. Thank you.

My last words must go to the people who glued this evening together and who allowed (and guided) all the voices through the music making: I am talking about the choir directors Henry H. leck, Joshua N. Pedde, Ruth E. Dwyer & Cheryl E. West. Their firm baton and guidance resulted on a night where the singing went from strength to strength.

By the way, WTHR (Channel 13) will be telecasting a recording made on the first night of the concerts. If you are in the Indianapolis area on Dec 25th, tune in to Chanel 13.2 at 1:00 PM to enjoy the concert as well.

An even better Hoffmann

Today the Metropolitan Opera showcased their new Hoffmann on movie theaters across the world. While the show is basically the same that I reviewed just a couple of weeks ago, this time there are 2 elements that are different: the artists have had a chance to rest and we now have added the visual elements to the production.

The production, by Bartlett Sher with sets by Michael Yeargan and costumes by designer Catherine Zuber promised a lot more than it delivered.  Much was made of the whole Jewishness of Hoffmann and his struggles as a Jew in a non-Jew world; very little was delivered in bringing that aspect to our eyes. Maybe it is me, but we see a lot of these concepts on paper, and the directors talk a great game, but when it is time to bring it on, they fall far short of all the conceptual ideas they so loved to talk about. That been said, even if Sher failed to show a Jewishness to this opera what he did deliver was quite good. His stage direction was direct and for the most part free of directorial “look what I can do” concepts that so many directors use to call attention to themselves.  Michael Yeargan and Catherine Zuber created sets and costumes that were both practical and beautiful to look at (again for the most part). In my opinion, Zuber was the most successful of the 3; her costume designs were stunning.

As Hoffmann Joseph Calleja acquitted himself quite well. This role is the Tristan of Lyric Tenors. I have seen several tenors crash and burn by the 3rd act because the role requires almost superhuman stamina. Calleja was able not only to make it through to the end (no mean feat all in itself) but do it with still plenty of voice left. I bet he will spend the rest of the night soaking in a bath. Vocally the role is probably a tad too big for him right now, but Mr. Calleja proved that he is an intelligent artist by managing his resources quite well. His prelude had the necessary mad energy that Hoffmanns need, his 1st act showed him to be quite the lover, and while the 2nd (and 3rd) act taxed him a little bit, he still sang with passion and great tone. His intonation never faltered and his French could use some work, specially since he has a very Gallic vibrato. This is a voice that will grow into this kind of repertoire and will do it well. Thank God we have someone who can take the mantle of Kraus in this role; we have been missing someone like this. Let’s hope that he will get to Paris soon and coach his French style and diction. We finally have a tenor who can sing the French rep and do it well.

Kate Lidsey as the Muse/Nicklausse improved over the opening night’s broadcast. I find her voice a little uninteresting and her French, while not embarrassing, is not a model to live by. For some reason, after it was all said and done, I was left with the impression of the whole being lesser than the sum of its parts. Could it be that Nicklausse is just not a role that showcases Ms. Lindsey to her best advantage? She didn’t do a bad job, in fact, I think she gave it a good shot and sang well, but somehow still failed to get me exited. Her voice seemed a more natural fit for Mozart. Maybe she would be a better Idamante, Cherubino, Annio and Dorabella. As Niclause she just left me cold.

Kathleen Kim’s Olympia was a huge success. On my review of  Dec 4th I said that she failed to make an impression; boy did she make one today. The voice was limpid and the stress on her high notes was all but gone. Her Olympia was cute, perky and adorable. As a singer, her coloratura was accurate and her trill secure. I am inclined to say that her poor showing on opening night might have something to do with exhaustion, because she sounded fabulous today. My friend Ronizetti, who was in the house reported to me that he heard hints of vintage Pons, no small compliment coming from him. The one misfire I found in her interpretation was actually in her staging. Her jumping like a spoiled brat broke her legato and made her voice heavy and the production labored (In my review of opening night I said that she was unable to cope with some of the demands of the role: the coloratura was labored…) Today I realized that the problem was those jumps getting on the way. I also found her doll movements to get a little repetitive, more work is needed on those to make them more fluid and marry then to the wonderful singing she gave us today. One last comment, and this one is a matter of personal taste: Ms. Kims ornamentation was wonderful. Still, I found it a little repetitive and (strange for me) excessive. May I suggest working with a different coach?, get a fresh set of ears on it and see what works, what doesn’t and what can be changed or deleted.  Artists should have the liberty to continue experimenting with the music they sing, and Olympia’s aria is fertile ground for that. Brava Ms. Kim, You were the best of all the female singers today. You impressed a very tough dog, make that 2 of them.

Anna Netrebko as Antonia failed to impress me. Now, while that should not come as a surprise to anyone, I will say that her Antonia is a vast improvement over her recent assignments at the Met. Her Elle a fui, la tourterelle was well sung, but just that. What I continue to find lacking in her performance is a forward placement to her voice.  The voice continues to move farther from the mask and in its journey away, it prevents Ms. Netrebko to give us singing that is firmly based on the text; and that brings me to my next complaint: Ms. Netrebko’s French continues to elude me. Acquaintances and people whose opinion I value keep telling me her French as improved over the Juliettes from several years ago. If that is the case, kudos to Ms. Netrebko for improving her French; but let’s not get carried away, her French is in desperate need of continued work. Hopefully as she works on her French, she might also find a way to bring the voice to a brighter and more forward placement, as French singing and style requires the voice to stay very forward so the vowels and nasals can be done accurately and fast. The one wonderful aspect about her Antonia was her acting. Yes, she is famous for her acting, although she is certainly not the first soprano who is famous for her beauty, her acting skills and the beauty of the voice (Moffo anyone?). She created an Antonia that was strong and vulnerable at the same time (if such a thing is possible). If her singing was not up to par to her acting, she still gets credit for the great piece of acting she did today. Now girl, get to your voice teacher and fix some things…

This moviecast gave us a chance to see a side of Ms. Netrebko that the public usually does not get to see. I have to say one was quite charming while the other one left me scratching my head. Fans of the blog This is photobomb will know what I am refering to. At the end of the 1st intermission, while Debby Voigt interviewed Bartlett Sher, we saw Anna Netrebko officially do the Met’s most funny video bomb in HD history.  We saw her stretch and dance while Sher remained either unaware of what was going on behind him or trying to maintain composure. Her interview with Voigt was a disaster of epic proportions. She started well with her incredibly kind words about Calleja but things deteriorated quickly when she was unable or unwilling to answer other questions (say it girl, Antonia might be a short role, but she is a bitch to sing) and while doing so left Voigt scrambling. Her handling of the 2nd question might be open to interpretation. Netrebko said she was exited about wearing real chinchilla on stage and Voigt’s face was worth a million. When Voigt corrected her and said that the chinchilla was not real, Netrebko with a straight face corrected her and said that it was indeed the real thing. While I am sure the comment will make the rounds and much will be made about this (God help the Met if PETA gets a hold of this. Pamela Anderson organizing a protest in front of the Met) I am not sure it will all be 100% deserved. While it is true that many Americans feel that fur coats are inhuman and a poor use of our resources (and let’s not even touch the many species now in the brink of extinction), as La Cieca reminded us in her site, Netrebko IS NOT American and therefore her views and values on the matter are completely different. Rather than focusing on a perceived faux pas, I will chalk it up to a cultural difference. I am happy to say, I would rather wear a fake or a recycled/re-cut vintage fur than buying a new one; but Netrebko is entitled to her opinion, no matter how misguided I believe it is.  What I can not get over is how poor an interviewee she was. I felt horrible for Ms. Voigt.

The Giulietta of Ekaterina Gubanova was a puzzle to me. Not only was her singing unsophisticated and incredibly un-sexy. Her casting, to start with, should be raising brows. Yes, she is a woman of undeniable beauty but with the recent (if by recent you mean something like 10 years ago at least) discoveries of Hoffmann scores dating to the time of composition no longer support the continued tradition of casting a mezzo soprano as Giulietta. Having 2 mezzos singing the Belle nuit is boring and in today’s case not very pretty. Having a high voice and a lower one in the duet (as opposed to 2 low voices where one happens to be singing higher) balances the sonorities much better than what we were given today; plus Ms. Gubanova’s voice didn’t blend all that well with Ms. Lindsey’s.  Overall, the Giulietta act sported what was probably the best set design, the best costumes and the least interesting singing of the entire show.

As Lindorf, Coppélius, Dappertutto & Dr. Miracle, the 4 villains and Hofmman’s nemesis, the Met brought Alan Held; a veteran of more than 10 productions of Hoffmann. I have to say Mr. Held looked incredibly sexy as the villains (What is going on? Is the Met moving into casting sexy bears as villains these days?).  While his singing showed poise and commitment, his voice showed a lack of a secure top and lack of luster in the bottom register. This was truly a shame, as Mr. Held’s middle voice  is in perfect shape and it has some interesting colors. His acting, like his middle register was never anything less than secure. Overall, I think he acquitted himself with these roles.

In the 4 comic roles of Andrès, Cochenille,Pitichinaccio and Frantz, Alan Oke shone bright. He showed perfect comic timing, incredible stage presence and commitment. He also showed exactly what he (as Franz) lamented he didn’t have: technique. The mezza voce that he sang in the 1st verse of the aria, and the crescendo that he added was impeccably executed. As far as I am concerned he stole the show right out from Netrebko with his perfectly executed Jour et nuit je me mets en quatre. When this production is released on DVD, and I hope it is, this will be the interpretation to watch. Perfection in every sense.

Other small roles were also cast from strength. Dean Peterson as Luther, Rodell Rosel’s Nathanael, Mark Schowalter’s Spalanzani and Michael Todd Simpson in his dual assignments of Hermann and Schlemil all sang with great assurance and showed plenty of stage presence; specially Michael Todd Simpson who proved to be a sexier than usual Schlemil. I will say to the powers that be that more stage rehearsal is needed for his duel with Hoffmann. They both looked clumsy in it, but that can be resolves very easily. The chorus, as usual, continues to gather more than exceptional notices in this blog. The orchestra sounded terrific under the baton of James Levine.

As enjoyable as the show was, I do have to take exception to the poor job the Met has done by Offenbach and Hoffmann. They failed to stage a true representation of Offenbach’s Hoffmann. As pointed out earlier,  the past decade has seen a discovery of material closer to the composition and premiere time. While it can not be said that it is exactly what Offenbach would have wanted, surely it is closer to it than the musicological mess the Met put on this afternoon. Surely at this point it has been determined that several of the compromises Choudens and Oezer had to make are no longer sustainable or excusable.  Yes, the cast has seen more changes than a busy dryer has seen socks, but if the Met had the time to teach Calleja the role from scratch (a proposition so daunting it would make the tenor and the coaching staff run for the Prozac), I am sure a better job could be done in presenting a more faithful version of the score.  Presenting a completely new edition with the many changes the  cast has seen is, I know, unrealistic, but an effort should have been made to present a more faithful edition within the time constraints.  If this were not possible, then a compromise should have been reached to postpone the HD transmission to a time when a cast could be assembled and coached in a better edition of the score; this was done for Hildegard Behrens’ Elektra after all… That epilogue seemed to go on for days, and the music was not all that interesting, to say the least.

The next HD presentation (save for encores of Hoffmann) will be Robert O’Hearn’s sumptuous Rosenkavalier on Jan 9th with Renee Fleming, Susan Graham and Christine Schäfer. They recently posted pictures of the cast here, take a look at this beautiful production and buy your tickets ASAP.

Vivica + Vivaldi = Ecstasy

To listen to excerpts and/or buy click here

I finally got my copy of  the new recording of Vivaldi arias  with Vivica Genaux and Europa Galante under the baton of Fabio Biondy. The album is appropriately titled Pyrotechnics; and OMG, there is enough pyrotechnics delivered to fill a  4th  of July celebration.

The recording showcases Genaux’s ample gifts in a collection of 13 opera arias, some recorded for the first time, all revolving around the art or coloratura as a means of expression. Genaux delivers with such gusto, bravura and poise the recording is a joy to to listen to.  Is this artist capable of putting out a bad recording? Like Arlene Auger before her, it seems impossible. This recording is so fantastic, I am going to run out of adjectives quickly and fall into cliches, mostly because they work.

Now, before I fall over singing praises for this wonderful artist, I must talk about the other artists who also participate in the recording. Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante are just as impressive as Genaux. I loved the sound that Europa Galante makes!  In contrast to other conductor’s (and ensembles) thin, unsupported orchestral colors delivered in an earlier than thou attitude, Europa Galante’s sound is full, luscious, gorgeous. They sound like a full out orchestra; I would have never guessed I was listening to 15 players. They played with such care and love I am sure making this recording was not a chore for Genaux. These are artists of a high level and their contribution to the success of this recording should not be taken for granted. BRA – VI.

As a rule, I do not necessarily believe that music from the Baroque  and XIXth century should be performed with too much of a contrast, save for stylistic differences, like the approach to ornamentation. Romantic music did not spring fully formed in the XIXth century after all. Composers of earlier times did not make a distinction when casting their works. There was no early music scene during Handel’s,  Mozart’s or Vivaldi’s time. They used and cast the best available opera singers of the time. This doesn’t mean that I do not see a benefit in having specialists in this area of the repertoire, specially given the fact that many conductors who specialize in the music of the ottocento are completely incapable of realizing that music is so much more than what is written on the paper.  Vivica Genaux is the perfect example of an artist who can navigate both sides of the divide. She does not adopt a different sound for when she sings Rossini or Vivaldi. As singers of the past did, she uses her voice and adapts the style to her voice. I can only wish that we would get more artists like her, who can do both styles credibly without a need to go off the voice or adopt a mannered, unsupported or cutesy sound just because they are singing Bach, Handel, Vivaldi or Mozart.

The disc opens with Come in vano il mare irato, a bravura aria from Cantone in Utica. Right away the voice grabs you with its eveness and accuracy in passage work. Lemme tell you, the aria is a bitch. Passage work comes at you fast and furious; mercilessly exposing anything that could be wrong with any singer. Vivica more than singing it, conquers it by means of great articulation and expression alone. You can hear how hard she worked at the aria, you hear her gasping for air in some sections, a reminder that singing this aria is no easy feat. At the end, like an athlete winning a gold medal in the Olympics, Vivica throws her arms up in the air and you can almost hear her say I did it!

Now, don’t believe that the recording is all about fast and furious. There are also moments of introspection, like in Il labbro ti lusinga (Opera unknown), in which Vivica employs her beautiful voice to apparently turn down a lover who, despite the attempts to gain the character’s love, (s)he realizes it is impossible, and sings My eyes flatter you, my eyes promise love, but this ungrateful heart burns with another passion. Vivica sings it beautifully, expressing the characters pity towards the rejected one perfectly. What a way to get dumped. I already have my number and await in line…

Through the recording, several things are apparent to me, and while I have mentioned them here, I do want to summarize them. Vivica’s voice is incredibly even from top to bottom. I find it refreshing that we have mezzos like her singing with such evenness of tone. It is way too easy for mezzos to believe that they do not need to have both good high notes and low ones. Thankfully, artists like Vivica Genoux and Joice DiDonato sing with technical expertise to spare. Let’s hope the mezzos in waiting will listen to them and imitate the many wonderful qualities they have. Another thing that I absolutely love in this artist is how good her sung Italian is. I have gotten tired of listening to singers who can not sing in a foreign language without making unacceptable mistakes in their diction and their declamation. Just because a singer is American (or French, or Romanian, or German), it does not mean their recordings or performances have to be marred by accented delivery; Vivica is a testament to that. Her Italian singing through the disc is fantastic. She avoids the pitfalls of adding wrong accents on words by  singing note values rather than text (a mistake all too common in these, the latter days of the come scritto era). How refreshing to have a singer (not the only one mind you) who can use the text to inform the music making, rather than letting the note values in the page be a straitjacket that limits the expression. Truly I tell you, music making of the first order.

The disc moves along with expressions of rage, love and desperation, all carefully selected to display Vivica’s expressive voice and way with the text. I know that there are other mezzos who have recorded a Vivaldi album and more recently a castrato-inspired album as well. Not to make comparisons between artists, as I find both marvelous in their work; I find Vivica’s way with coloratura far more expressive and a lot less mechanical. To my ears, her phrasing a lot more natural, musical and ultimately pleasing . Other artists dazzle us with the speed of their coloratura in this repertoire, Vivica not only sings it just as fast and just as accurate, she adds the expression and thus triumphs in areas where other artists don’t. With other artists we are marveled at what they can do with the music, how fast can it be sung, how difficult the music is and accurate their articulation is. In this recording we marvel with Vivica at how expressive this music can be in the hands of a musician ready to make these arias something deeper than just pyrotechnics.  The recording triumphs because in spite of being called Pyrotechnics, it delivers both the pyrotechnics and the emotion in equal portions.

Lastly, I want to comment in something that is completely unrelated to the singing in this release: the picture on the cover. It is so refreshing to see an artist put a recording out with her picture, HER FACE, no photoshopping until you are completely unrecognizable and unrealistic. Whoever made that decision, thank you for taking a stand. Vivica is a beautiful woman and seeing her for the gorgeous woman that she is in the cover is a great thing for people all over the world who are succered into believing in unrealistic beauty standards.

A Great Start to the Season

I just finished listening to the Met’s Trittico on what was the 1st of their brodcast of the season. before i start talking about my impression I must thank the sponsors of the season: Toll Brothers. Thanks you for taking over when Texaco thought they were too special for the opera. Thank you for your gift to many who can only receive opera through the radio. Than you for your support and your dedication. No matter what happens through the season, there will always be a winner: the audience and that is largely because of you. A standing ovation for Toll brothers and all their staff.

Needless to say, the afternoon belonged to Patricia Racette. She pulled one hell of a tour de force today. Her Georgietta was the best thing of an otherwise lackluster Tabarro. Her Suor Angelica was a towering characterization and her Lauretta was simple and beautifully sung. After the Angelica, I was astonished that she could still sing Lauretta and that she could deliver her in such simple terms. She definitely deserved the ovation she got. Brava!

Further honors go to Stephanie Blythe reprising the roles of Frugolla, Zia Pricipessa and Zita. This artist continues to make one fabulous move to another. She characterized the roles marvelously. Her singing was solid and ultimately proved to be a perfect foil to Racette’s 3 heroines.  I know that it was Marylin Horne’s dream to sing these roles on one night and that dream was left unfulfilled. How lucky are we that we got an artist of the same caliber to do it for us.

The afternoon got off to a rocky start with the announcement that Salvatore Licitra, the afternoon’s Luigi  had a cold and begged indulgence and understanding. I’ll try… You know? I didn’t hear any difference between how he sang in Chicago’s Ernani and today. If he was suffering from a cold, I understand, but how come he sounded exactly the same? I’m sorry, but given the fact that he sounded the same I will take the “cold” announcement with a grain of salt and still say that cold or not, he delivered yet another performance that showed no elegance and no restraint. His career continues to baffle me as I do not hear anything artistic coming out of his throat.

Zeljko Lucic’s Michele had his moments, but for some reason it reminded me of Juan Pons’ Michele from the last time Il Trittico was performed. No, that is not meant to be a compliment. Michele is an ungrateful role, short, unsympathetic and it has no truly showy moments. I think Zeljko Lucic did his best with what he was given. Stephanie Blythe didn’t sound pretty as Frugola. Needless to say the chat room where I was exploded with unkind comments. During the interview in the first intermission, she talked about how the role sits in an area of the voice that doesn’t make it sound pretty and how she believes that it is exactly how Puccini intended it. One way or another, I still think that she is luxury casting as Frugola and I thought that overall, she was fantastic in the one mezzo role that is sympathetic from start to finish.

The Trittico reach the high point with the Suor Angelica performance. To say that it was divine is to put it mildly. Racette was obviously in her element and Blythe was singing a role that allows for her beautiful voice to be heard to best advantage. Their confrontation reached levels of heat not seen yet at the Met. This was singing and characterization of the first order. For the most part, Racette sang the role beautifully. She encompassed everything you come to expect in an Angelica. My only quibble is the fact that she allowed herself to get caught up during the Senza mamma. This make for thrilling outward expression (albeit a less successful high A at the end) but it somewhat altered the arch of the opera. With such an outward Senza Mamma, there was nowhere to go in the final scene. The opera had reached its climax with the aria and building on top of that was hard, plus the hysteria seemed misplaced. Let’s hope that Racette hets to sing this role more times, as i believe her characterization of the role will grow and she’ll prove to be an Angelica to make you cry and cry…

The afternoon ended with a magnificent Gianni Schicchi. This time Racette took a back seat to Alessandro Corbelli’s Schicchi. Given how wonderful a Schicchi he is, both vocally and in acting, how could you not take a back seat and enjoy him?  Corbelli has matured  to a great singing actor with an uncanny sense of commedy. His Schicchi was beautifully vocalized and if the acting was anything like the telecast, he was the perfect foil for the Donato family. As Zita, once again Blythe put to use her wonderful voice and also her marvelous comic timing and created the perfect leader for the pack of wolves. I have do doubt that Blythe’s Zita and Corbelli’s Schicchi will make a wonderful couple when they get married (if you didn’t know, there is a sequel to Gianni Schicchi that hints that the hatred between Zita and Schicchi is due to their attraction to one another. It also hints that they will end up hooking up)

Racette was once again perfect in the role of Lauretta.  After having sung her heart out as Angelica, she came and sang Lauretta with simple delivery and a hint of childish charm that I am sure would have melted the heart of any Schicchi. She also sang the treacherous unwritten high C at the end with no showing of getting tired. As Rinuccio, Armenian tenor Saimir Pirgu in the role of his house and broadcast debut (he debuted on 11/20 in this production) showed much promise. His Rinuccio was a vast improvement over last year’s Massimo Giordano. Let’s hope for more wonderful things from Mr. Pirgu.

As always, it is easy to take for granted the orchestra and chorus at the Met. The same could be said for the magnificent set of supporting artists the Met secured for this production, so fantastic is their playing and singing that you just seem to forget them. The ensemble singing in all operas was top notch. Every small role was filled with wonderful artists too many to name but none the less for it. The orchestra under the baton of Stefano Ranzani played wonderfully and solidly. Bravo to all of you. This afternoon was a huge success in great part because you were there to support your soloists. Bravi tutti.

Next week we get the HD transmission of Hoffman. If you have a theater close to you, go see it. If it is not in your budget, you’ll have the opportunity to hear it free of charge thanks to the Toll Brother’s Company and the Toll Brothers International Radio Network.

A Farewell to Mary Curtis-Verna

While the name Mary Curtis-Verna will immediately bring memories to hardcore collectors and those who still long for The Golden Age, her name might not mean a lot to younger opera goers. Hopefully this corrects some of that…

Born in Salem, Massachusetts on May 9, 1921, she studied at Hollis College in Virginia, and in Italy with Ettore Verna, whom she latter married. She made her stage debut in Milan (at the Teatro Lirico), as Desdemona, in 1949. She sang in theaters throughout Italy, and made guest appearances in Vienna,  Munich and other important venues through Europe in repertoire as varied as Norma, the Marschallin, Senta, Eva and Elsa, all in Italian. Her American debut took place in Philadelphia, in 1952, and the same year at the San Francisco Opera, as Aida. She debuted at the New York City Opera, as Donna Anna, in 1954, and at the Metropolitan Opera,as Leonora in Il trovatore, in 1957.

At the Metropolitan Opera, the presence of famous divas like Tebaldi, Milanov, and Lentyne Price; all famous for singing the roles she sang, relegated Mary Curtis-Verna to the rank of cover and utility singer.  Given the  attention she was already enjoying in Italy, this must have been a hard pill to swallow; but her husband’s failing health did not afford her the luxury of spending entire seasons away from home, so stability won over super stardom.  Opera lovers of a certain age still talk about how they used to complain when they got Mary Curtis-Verna instead of Madame Super Diva X.  Those same people insist that a singer of her talents would have been more celebrated and appreciated today, given the scarcity of singers naturally endowed to sing her repertoire and, furthermore,  those who can sing it with command of the style and distinction.

As the Marschallin in Genoa, with Margaret Maz as Octavian

As a house soprano and cover artist, her resume at the Met is a mishmash of roles that would make a soprano’s head spin: Mimi, Violetta, Amelia (both the Ballo and Boccanegra), Alice Ford, Santuzza, Adriana Lecouvreur (a single performance), Gutrune, Aida, Turandot, Elisabeth di Valois, Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Leonora (both of them), Maddalena di Coigni, and both Donna Anna & Donna Elvira (sung to Leontyne Price’s Anna). Now, don’t for one moment think that this artist went unapreciated by the Met management. For what I could gather she was given at least one new production (Boccanegra) , 3 broadcasts (Aida, Don Carlo, Gotterdammerung) , and 2 recordings that I discuss latter. She was also a staple of their yearly tour through the country. Surely the management saw the benefit of having such an artist ready to jump in at a moment’s notice in the house and gave her the opportunity to perform the roles while on tour.

Curtis-Verna sang at the Met for nearly 10 years. It encompassed 10 seasons, 96 performances and the 19 roles listed above.  Her career with the company ended the day they said farewell to the old theater. After her retirement in 1969, she chaired the voice department in the University of Washington for 20 years.

Her recording output is shamelessly small and hard to find. Arkiv Music lists 3 complete operas; Borders.com lists none Amazon lists the most. Seems that she made a solo recording and it appears to be available.  Collectors who want to buy her recordings need to go off the beaten path.   Earlier in her career, she did a series of broadcasts for RAI (Don Giovanni,  Ballo in maschera & Aida)  that made their way to the Cetra  Catalogue. These recordings were available for a while in the USA, and are still available through Amazon.com but at a steep price. The Don Giovanni was sung opposite Giuseppe Taddei, Italo Tajo & Cesare Valletti. The Ballo in maschera, opposite Ferruccio Tagliavini & Giuseppe Valdengo;  the  Aida was sung opposite Franco Corelli, Miriam Pirazzini & Giangiacomo Guelfi. Not bad company for a girl from Salem, MA.

The fact that at the Met she was seen as more of a house soprano (and maybe because of it) did not prevent them from using her for their own recordings. In addition to the recordings listed above (and the several live recordings that you can probably find) she is heard in 2 recordings made under the auspices of the Metropolitan Opera Record Collector Club (MORC). These were recordings (some of them abridged beyond recognition) made in the late 1950’s, and offered to club members at reasonable prices. Many of the singers used in the recordings, like Curtis-Verna, were seldom recorded commercially.

For the MORC, Curtis-Verna recorded Andrea Chenier with Tucker (his only recording of the role), and Il Trovatore with Kurt Baum and Rosalid Elias.  These recordings remain unreleased and are prized by collectors everywhere. Several years ago, a collector by the name Mike Richter took it upon himself to digitize all the MORC recordings from LPs and  out of his own pocket published the whole collection on CD-Rom. Thanks to his labor of love, you now have an opportunity to download the complete MORC  Chenier and Trovatore. The links are below the musical examples below.

If you are unfamiliar with Mary Curtis-Verna and want to wet your appetite, here is a full serving:

1962 Manon Lescaut Philadelphia Lyric Opera with impresario Ray Fabiani & Julius Rudel

From Don Giovanni: Or sai chi l’onore and Non Mi dir

From Il trovatore: Tacea la notte placida & the Act IV scene starting with D’amor sull’ali rose

From Un ballo in maschera: Ecco lorrido campo

From Andrea Chenier La mamma morta

If you want to download the complete MORC Chenier click here: Andrea Chenier

If you want to download the complete MORC Trovatore click here: Il Trovatore

As we bid farewell to this wonderful artist, let’s leave the last words to Curtis-Verna herself in 2 very different times during her career:

As a young singer in 1953 she told Opera News:  Perhaps if one were to list the requirements of a career, ‘patience’ would follow directly after ‘talent’ and ‘preparation.’

In 2005, in an article for the same magazine, she told Richard Dyer about the advise she always gave her students: I tell my students how hard it is to have a career. Your voice is in your body, and it is affected by your health and by your emotions, but the public must never know that. You need to learn how to have strong shoulders. You cannot take anything personally. You need to have a flame in you that nothing can extinguish.

Well, nobody will extinguish that flame now…

Hoffman Opening Night: Success!

Well, I wish I had been in the house, but being in the heartland, I had to content myself with the Metropolitan Opera’s free webcast (Link will take you to La Cieca’s post of the complete 09-10 Sirius schedule, including the free ones)  of their opening night Hoffman. I have to say I am glad I skipped Grey’s Anatomy and Private practice and heard this instead.

Now, I will not consider this a full review since I am missing the visual aspect of the production. Those I will get on the Dec 19th HD moviecast and I will share my views then. In the meantime, here are some of my views of what happen on stage as relayed by the radio:

Calleja continues to impress me. His vibrato reminds me of French singers from before the jet age and it lend an aura of credibility to Hoffman. His voice seems to be ideal for the role and he performed it quite well. Yes, he sounded tired towards the end and there were some less than pretty notes and some pushing; name a tenor who didn’t tire in Hoffman (besides Kraus). Overall I thought Calleja did a fabulous job and merits the place of honor in this performance. Bravo!

Kathleen Kim’s Olympia is definitely a work in progress, and a voice in progress.  I understand that the Met is wanting to give her some exposure and they are to be commended for it. I am not sure Olympia was the best role. She sounded shrill at times and unable to cope with some of the demands of the role: the coloratura was labored, the trill a little sloppy. Overall, while she failed to create a strong impression in the role, I will say that I would love to hear her in roles like Zerlina, Susanna, Rosina and other roles more suited to her voice. I know she wants to be considered a coloratura, so let’s hope she is continuing her training in that department so her Zerbinetta will leave us with a better impression. For being a good team player and putting out a good effort, you get this Atta Girl!

Stop the presses! Ana Netrebko is finally home! After witnessing some disastrous performances in several bel canto roles, Anna Netrebko and the Met have finally found a role in which she can shine and showcase he very considerable talents. Antonia is the perfect role for Netrebko and lets home the Met will get out of their denial and admit once and for all that Netrebko is not a coloratura and they start casting her in lyric soprano roles. Those are plentiful and she should be a lot better in them: Liu, Antonia, Mimi, Michaela, Susanna, The Countess, Lauretta and many more. As Antonia, Netrebko unleashed her now famous plush tones to great effect.  True, her intonation was suspect at times and there is not trill to be found but the overall impact was favorable. One last quip: one of the qualities that separate great artists from mere singers is the ability to sing in ensemble. There was no need for Ms. Netrebko to ride the last ensemble the way she did. A little more discipline in that area would be welcomed.

Kate Lindsey and Ekaterina Gubanova failed to impress me. Maybe there is a visual aspect that I am missing to fully get their appeal. What came over the web was (in both cases) a faceless voice and a lukewarm performance. These 2 roles give the singers  the possibility of walking away with the performances in the absence of a strong Hoffman and so-so Olympias and Antonias.  I got the sense that they didn’t even try. Ms. Lindsey’s muse was definitely not a muse, there were moments of shrillness and suspect intonation; same for Ms. Gubanova. She is portraying the role of one of the most famous courtesans ever and she did not sound plush, sexy or convincing. The Barcarole was an utter disappointent from both singers. Let’s chalk it up to opening night nerves and see what comes out on the 19th…

Alan Held, Alan Oke and Michael Todd Simpson all shined in their multiple personality disorders. Mr. Held held his own (no pun intended) against the monsters he faced on stage; singing with gusto and individuality. Bravo. Mr Oke and Mr. Simpson both brought a lot of character to their interpretations. Fantastic job you guys. I am looking forward to experience the visual part of your interpretations on the 19th. The vocal part was top notch.

Lastly, Maestro Levine steered the boat with distinction and security. It is good to have him in the podium and knowing he is recovering. Please don’t overdo it. The orchestra sounded fabulous and the chorus, oh my goodness, the chorus was spectacular. Overall, the Met in-house forces were more than support, they were artists in their own right and a huge portion of the success of the night is due to them. Bravi. By the applause heard for the production team, seems we have a winner here.

So there you have it. If you are close to NYC while Hoffman is playing, seems that you need to get your hands on a ticket. If you are not, you will have a chance to experience it on Movie theaters across the world on Dec 19th (check here for USA theaters and here for international venues) and also on the Toll Brothers international radio broadcasts.