Previewing the Gelb era
La Cieca, ear to ground as always, has picked up some reliable-sounding scuttlebutt about the incoming Peter Gelb regime at the Met. The first decade will probably be known as “All Villazon All the Time” since (per our source), Rolando Villazon has inked a pledge to sing two operas a year at the Met for the next ten years. A major highlight of this package will be a new Contes d’Hoffmann in ’09, with RV opposite Anna Netrebko, Diana Damrau and Rene Pape. Gelb is ready to put his mark on the house as early as opening night of next season, which he hopes will showcase the new Anthony Minghella production of Madama Butterfly in lieu of the “Tenors” gala currently skedded. (Gueswork on La Cieca’s part: Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Cio-Cio-San opposite Marcello Giordani or Salvatore Licitra?) This project is supposed to inagurate a new policy of unveiling a new production each opening night, e.g., Lucia for Natalie Dessay in 2007 (assuming she pulls Romeo off this year, we guess) and Tosca for Karita Mattila in 2009. In the nearer future? Aprile Millo‘s first staged Gioconda next season, alternating with Violeta Urmana.
What were the two roles that Bing wanted Callas to alternate at the Met, causing her to find a way to get the contract cancelled?
Lady Macbeth and Lucia?
Lady Macbeth and Violetta?
THAT would be the problem of singing two roles at the Met in one season — if it also turned out to be two different roles in one week!
But Callas got international headlines early on by alternating Wagner and Bellini in the same week, right? Was it Elvira and Isolde?
Callas learned the daunting role of Elvira for Serafin (in a few days nonetheless) while she was performing Brünnhilde in Walküre.\
As a side note, make sure you pull out your Solti Ring and pay your respects to James King who passed away today at age 80.
Oh, and speaking of too many roles/fächen, supposedly Cheryl Studer suffered a minor heart attack before a concert in Spain!
Thank God for my young life that she’s reported to be alright! (Yes, La Studer is my guilty pleasure!)
Since I’ve decided to blab without checking my facts, I figured I would correct myself before someone else does:
James King passed away on Sunday, November 20, 2005 at his home in Naples, Florida.
I think that was just an excuse for Callas. When Bing “fired” her, she went on to Dallas to alternate Traviata with Medea. And concert programs from that same time show her following “Vieni! t’affreta” with “Una voce poco fa” and “A vos jeux, mes amis.”
My respects to James King. I met him years ago and he was quite a fine gentleman. A great Emperor in Die Frau.
Here is the information that I have about Callas and Bing and her time at the Met – most of the information comes from Stelios Galatopoulos’ book “Maria Callas: Sacred Monster” which is very thorough in detailing her performances and repertoire.
First, please take note that Mr. Bing (the man who began the whole – anti-fat singer thing by firing Helen Traubel because she was too fat to look the part of Brunnhilde) overlooked Callas’ talent before she lost all her weight (not that there was really all that much! She wasn’t ever a Two-Ton Tilly!). He offered skinny Callas to sing the following roles at the Met: Violetta, Santuzza, Tosca, Aida, Amneris, Gioconda, Amelia (Ballo), and what’s-her-face in Andrea Chenier. He said that he did not want to pay her more than $750 per performance, but would be willing to increase to $800 if she agreed to sing.
She and her husband Meneghini did not agree to these fees and she was contracted with Chicago Lyric at $2000 per performance for the 1st and $2500 for the second yr. Bing exclaimed that he couldn’t afford her and that she was demanding more money than the President – to which she replied “Let him sing then!”
He finally offered her to pen the 56-57 season with Lucia at $1000 a performance. He also wanted her to sing the Queen of the Night in English – which she utterly refused to do.
Ultimately, she sang the following roles at the Met:
1955 => Norma, Tosca, Lucia
1958 => Violetta, Lucia, Tosca
1965 => Tosca
Interestingly enough, a dear friend of mine, a former head of the Met’s Costume dept told me this past summer when we worked on a production together, that when he was hired at the Met in 1965, it was his very first gig doing costumes. He was fresh out of college and he didn’t know much about opera at the time. He said his very first assignment was to dress the woman who would be playing Tosca. He said he recognized the name, but it really didnt’ mean much to him until he finally met her. His first opera singer to don with garments was none other than La Divina herself. His next assignment was dressing everyone for Anthony and Cleopatra the following season. I have even held Miss Price’s boddice as Cleopatra in my hands! Also, he is in possession of the jewels that Madame Scotto wore for her Tosca (the very same ones on the album cover) – my friend singing Tosca this summer got to wear them.
Rysanekfreak: I think what you may have been thinking of is that Callas turned down the Met’s first offer to her because she was opening La Scala’s season with Lady Macbeth instead. The two roles that she and Bing fought over were the Lucia under the baton of Fausto Cleva and the fact that he wanted her to sing Queen of the Night at a lower fee because it was a ‘smaller role.’
As for the incident that got her ‘fired’ I have not taken the time to read that far into Mr. Galatopoulos’ text and didn’t see a definitive answer from skimming the volume. Perhaps another poster will have more details about that incident.
I want to say on record that Ophelia’s mad scene, ‘A vos jeux, mes amis’ from Thomas’ Hamlet is one of my FAVORITE arias in the world – I do sing it because I love it so much!! I may sing it on a recital one day in the future, hopefully I won’t be chastised too much for singing a soprano aria!! I just love it! If only tenor arias were written like that!!!
Bing’s biography is another good source if you’re interested in the other side of the story. Naturally everyone wants to present themselves in the best possible light, so you have to take it with a grain of salt. But still an interesting read.
Also, I would like to make clear what it is that I inferred when I said that ’2 operas per year for 10 years at the Met sounds like exploitation and an oncoming burnout.’ Perhaps if people read the following phrase they would have better understood what I meant. Certainly, that is a desirable contract for each performer…however it is LIKELY that they would be looking to cast him in a different opera each year – granted, there is no way to know this and I’m not stating that that is what the Met intends to do. What I a merely suggesting is the likely possibility that out of a total of 20 roles in 10 years, they may be planning to have few repeats for the performer. It would be most wise for him to sing, lets say a Rodolfo one year and then again in the next year and that the other opera each season was something different – or perhaps, to sing a role like Des Grieux one year and then come back to it 4-5 years later. What I am saying that makes such a contract sound like ‘exploitation’ – it would only be such and would cause him to wear himself out if it was a total of 20 DIFFERENT roles – especially if they are roles not suited to his vocal capabilities.
Just to clarify. If anyone wants further clarification, let me know.
It is a very good point that you bring up Il Tenore di Coloratura Superba, but I would venture to assume it also has to do with the artist. Does one want to have a relatively short, phenomenal 10-year career as Callas did, or one of longevity such as Bergonzi? In the end, I guess it is the decision of the artist alone.
Then you have the case of Rosanna Carteri who had one of the most exquisite Italian instruments, but chose to stay at home with her family instead of perform.
We’re all aware of the fact the Mario del Monaco was doing supreme damage to his voice, but what a sound he made.
So, “exploitation” or not, it’s just singing after all…one can’t sing forever!