To dye for
The only thing better than knowing that a singer has had the greatest Sternstunde of her career is having that performance documented. Montserrat Caballe‘s Norma at Orange, for example, which is one of truly must-have DVDs for any true opera fanatic. Now, Dame Gwyneth Jones has had many great nights in her amazing career, but it’s hard to imagine she (or anyone else!) could ever top her performance as the Dyer’s Wife in this 1980 Frau ohne Schatten from the Paris Opera. Voice, commitment, acting, and La Jones’s remarkable physical beauty are at their peak: this is a definitive Faerberin. And it’s not as if Jones is carrying the whole show. The luxurious cast includes Hildegard Behrens (Kaiserin), Rene Kollo (Kaiser), Walter Berry (Barak), Mignon Dunn (Amme) and Franz Grundheber (Geisterbote), under the baton of Christoph von Dohnanyi. Unnatural Acts of Opera.
Wonderful. The harder the role was, the better Jones always sounded. Behrens slips a bit on her opening but sizzles after. Dunn sounds as good as Strauss lets Mrs. Danvers (VERY insightful!) get. Even Kollo sounds awake and “aroused.”
Loved Act I, can hardly wait for Act II to download. I think you’re my very first iPod cast, even though I’m listening to it through your bandwidth and not as an iPod download. I’ll go try to figure that out later.
Upon your recommendation, I bought the Monserat Caballe recording of Norma. I used to date this cute Italian who lived in New Jersey who loved Ms. Caballe, so I have heard her singing several parts. I’m looking forward to hearing this one. Thanks for the recommendation.
Now, back to our opera.