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Those of you who are enjoying La Cieca’s video clips, as presented on Google Video and YouTube now can have a copy of your very own. A new web-based service called KeepVid lets you download any video on these sites to your hard drive. (Note that many of these videos are in the .flv format, which means you’ll need to install an FLV player in order to play them. Enjoy! Share! Information (see below) wants to be free!
by his own count (if we can believe him) Domingo was only 19 when he made that appearance in Dallas with Pons in Lucia. by the way Lily always claimed she was born in 1904 (the true date, 1898, was revealed after her death) but made her debut in Lakme in 1916-talk about your precocious 12 year old.I cannot recall any other major tenor who had a major engagement before they were in their late twenties( Corelli, Del Monaco, Pavarotti, )
That looks like a very young Leech. His international career started in the late 1980′s and Lorengar died in 1996, so I guess they did overlap a bit.
She was one of my favorites and can’t believe that I didn’t recognize her on the clip. She was a great Mozart singer, although some were put off by her fast vibratto.
I saw Leech several times and always liked him. Last time I think was as Don Jose at the Met perhaps two or three years ago.
saw Lorengar only once (in recital in madrid in 1990) she was a lovely and terribly underrated artist.
I think the Huguenots was in 1987. I saw Leach in Pittsburgh around that time in Rigoletto and Hoffmann and he was excellent.
Caro Cieca, thank you for letting us know we can download all of these wonderful videos. I am sure the first one everybody will want to save on their computer is “Sempre Fleming”, and also, the one overdubbed with Bette Davis…..
I got to see Studer doing Odabella in Attila with Ramey fifteen years ago or so. Have never forgotten about her. These two recorded the work memorably for Muti, on CD and on video. As for Leech, his recording of Faust with Studer is another one of those few benchmark and legendary performances committed to disc. More so, now that complete opera recordings have practically dried up.
Can I get something off my chest?
I love this site (and you all) to death, but there’s one thing that really is starting to get on my nerves: The Fleming-bashing.
Look, I’m no fan of the Devine Renay, as some call her, but I’m not sure if she deserves the amount of vilifying she gets here. Don’t get me wrong, It’s fine not to like someone, but some of the comments posted here really cross the line.
While I agree she isn’t the great singer the record companies have made her out to be, and she has some swooping, scooping problems and a problematic chest range, she really doesn’t merrit the amount of hatred generated amoung some of the members of this site (such as comparing her to Peter Anders Jr.)
Renee may have her problems with her voice, but she’s given us several wonderful performances. I know I would not want to be without my memories of her Flordiligi, her Countess, her Thais, her Ruskala and her Violetta. Sure, she’s not ideal for much of the repitore she sings, but point me to a soprano and I will give you at least three roles they have sung they’re wrong for.
I’m not asking that everyone join the We love Renee club, I’m only asking that people take a step back and consider what they post before they post it. Disliking a singer is one thing, being mean is another.
This has been a copyrighted Baritenor rant. I am available for weddings and Bar-Mitzvahs.
Why do I remember the duet being sung in Francais? Opera Alzheimers?
I propose that the Phlegming-bashing will cease once three conditions are met
1 – Renay stops singing, sounding and moving like a drunkard
2 – Her fawning fans, the media and the operatic establishment come to realize and actually stop trying to convince us that the overexposed Renay is the best thing since double-cum
3 – The record biz realizes her records are nonsensical and garbage and stop documenting her scat and filthy, jazz-inflected “classical” rep, for good
Only then.
blog terrorist