The Inner Bark
“Her quirky personality shines through once she gets to know you . . . . In the home, she is very sweet and quite affectionate, however she is not clingy or needy for your undivided attention at all times . . . . She’s not a hyper or noisy girl, but she has a wealth of energy and stamina and she loves to go for long walks in the park . . . . All she needs now is someone to whom she can give all that love and devotion. All she wants is someone to love her and spend time with her.” Oh, and her singing voice “could rival Renee Fleming,” which is pretty impressive, since this bitch seems to have it all over Renaay in the personality department.
Update: on the other hand, maybe I’m misreading this. What if the dog sounds like this?
I would like to comment on a completely different subject: Chicago’s Lyric next season.
More specifically on the “Dialogues” production. Look at that casting. Yum. Felicity Palmer as the old Prioress, LOVE IT! Lorraine Hunt Lieverson as Mere Marie – if she shows she will tear it up. Anna Christy as Constance – delicious. That girl showed pizzazz and high notes for days in “American Tragedy” and I am delighted that she is getting beyond small roles in major opera houses. Her small stint as Hortense in “Tragedy” was truly noteworthy. Pat Racette as the new Prioress… hummm.. interesting. I think she is a fabulous artist. I loved her Blanche, so it is a bit of a surprise to see her move up but I guess she could pull it off. I mean, if she can pull off a Butterfly… She has the intelligence and musicality to get through what is normally cast with a Wagnerian proportion sized voice.
Now that leaves… Blanche de la Force, sung by… Isabel Bayrakdarian. I had to read that about ten times before it started registering. Given her past performances I attended, notably a barely audible Susanna in Paris (and I am being kind, and won’t go into the digusting overacting cutsey prancing that was just so tacky), and a f*cking abismal performance in “Benvenutto Cellini” at the Met, how the hell does she think she can pull this off.
Somebody, please explain this one to me. Dawn Upshaw tried the role, and it proved a couple sizes too big for her (she pulled it off with grace and charm, and fiery intelligence though in Paris) – can’t this girl learn anything from the past?
On another note – Debbie is singing Salome. Guess where I will be for all nine perofrmances? Any sugar daddies want to sponsor a trip to Chicago?
Also Erin Wall as Fiordiligi? I think she has a BEAUTIFUL instrument, a lovely presence, and a winning charm. However, I couldn’t hear any of the low notes she sang in Cosi last September in Paris – and that was Garnier (ie: great accoustic and tiny house). How is she planning on making them come out in the cave of the Chicago Lyric (and there a lot of those low notes!)
Just another tenor, Note that I replied to your question under “How deep is your throat”.
Thank you for your response. i am a little bit baffled by the need for amplification.
Let’s wait and see what happens at Carnegie Hall…
Anyone attending Dimitri’s concert at Carnegie Hall? Let me know what you think…
On the dog subject, I never heard any dogs sound quite like the sound sample, but I used to have two poodles who always joined in if they heard me sing…although maybe they were telling me to stop! A beagle I used to have was sitting near my stereo when I had on an opera broadcast with Joan Sutherland many years ago. When Dame Joan hit a dead-center high E-flat, the dog looked at me as if to say, “Was that YOU?” I laughed and said to the dog, “Why, you flatterer!” A cat I had would curl up contently near the speakers when he heard Wagner…
nothing else seemed to do it for him like a good dramatic soprano!
The cat is long deceased, but perhaps he is now enjoying the company of Birgit Nilsson in the hereafter, since he loved to hear her when he was on this earth!
Maybe nobody has any pets who sound like Ms. Fleming or any other prominent opera singer, but perhaps some other people here have pets who like to listen or sing along!
Some voices are surprisingly well suited to Lyric, Bayrakdarian and Wall being two examples. Isabel B gave us a beautiful, completely audible Marzelline, and Wall was every bit Rebecca Evan’s equal as Pamina this season (fortunate enough to see both, and Corenlia Goetz’ ravishing turn as the Queen twice). Racette should make a nice Lidoine — certainly better than our dear Goerke’s troublesome take on it at the Met a few years ago.
Hunt and Palmer will run the show, though.
Nice to see so much FRENCH opera (Dialogues, Iphigenie, Romeo) in one season. Makes me very happy.
Surprised no one has joked about the Renee “Subscriber Appreciation Concert” yet.
I held back on the “Fleming Appreciation concert” it was just too easy!
As far as the other two girls are concerned: Pamina and Fiordiligi are opposite roles vocally, and Marzelline is tantamount to a nice clean light lyric, which is not what Blanche calls for. As far as Bayrakdarian is concerned, I am not a fan of the instrument, but knowing the opera very well, I just don’t think her Susanna/Marzelline sized voice can pull of a Blanche: the role is LARGE.
We just did Dialogues at Vancouver Opera… It was an all Canadian Cast (except for the Mere Marie who was Australian)…
Judith Forst was the Old Prioress, and Kathleen Brett was Blanche… she was divine….
Also, Measha Bruggergossman sang Lidoine and she is still in her 20′s! All in all, it was a very satisfying show — very different from VOA’s first opera – Turandot.
And speaking of Erin Wall, she is singing Marguerite here in Vancouver in May… I am very excited to hear her!