Roundhead roundup
Five newspaper reviews are in for Anna Netrebko‘s Met Puritani, and the score stands at four postive, one mixed:
“With the smoky colorings and throbbing richness of her sumptuous voice, Ms. Netrebko was an unusually vulnerable Elvira. Bel Canto purists may find fault with her sometimes imprecise execution of coloratura runs and roulades. But I admired her way of treating florid passagework as organic extensions of an arching vocal line, not as a series of fast notes to be nailed with cool accuracy.” Anthony Tommasini, New York Times
“She has that bel canto gift of singing like a windswept lark on a bright day, and an acting style combining the natural with the daring.” Clive Barnes, New York Post
“Elvira should be beautiful; Netrebko is. Elvira should be so delicate of brain that the shock of being abandoned on her wedding day unhinges her completely. Netrebko raved gorgeously, but she also expertly controlled the whipping spray of notes and the rainbow colors of her voice. She proved herself a master of extreme opera, that volatile mixture of emotional distress and consummate technique. That’s what we need divas for.” Justin Davidson, Newsday
“And how about the mad scene, one of the greatest stretches in all bel canto opera? From Ms. Netrebko, it was an unshowy tour de force. What I mean is this: It was a tour de force, all right —but it had complete musical and theatrical poise. Ms. Netrebko displayed phenomenal control. And she was pathetic in the original sense — evoking great pity, sadness, and even wonder. This is simply a smart singer.” Jay Nordlinger, New York Sun
“She didn’t sing a false note, but she struck one. It was as if this charismatic performer, whose stage instincts are usually flawless, was overcompensating for the fact that she simply couldn’t conquer all the vocal challenges of one of the most demanding bel canto roles in the repertory.” Mike Silverman, Associated Press
Our publisher JJ hears the production on Saturday night; look for his review in Gay City News next week.
If you want to pick at little notes, that is fine. Evidently, Tommasini liked what he saw of the big picture.
Since when is singing a score correctly and accurately picking at little notes? That’s where it starts, not ends. I never expect perfect singing, and I can certainly forgive singers for missing the occasional high notes, when I can hear them singing the rest well. It happens. But to attack those who who know what they are hearing as “purists” with a litany of excuses is very dissengenuous.
As Zinka Milonov was quoted by Lafranco Rasponi in The Last Prima Donnas, “Acting is all very well, but it does not take the place of the voice. When they say ‘ a great actress’ beware. It usually means there is not much voice there.” How utterly applicable in this case.
Frankly, Netrebko is a gifted, lustrous vocalist and a stage animal.
There is no doubt that she is gifted, has a very nice quality of voice, and moves well on the stage. But it is not reasonable to expect people to be happy with a singer who is musically unprepared, and not up to the task of the moment. In a few years she may be ready, but this is what is today at the Met. This is a merciless opera, yes, but you are expected to stand and deliver, and that starts with the score. And of course they want to gloss over having pushed the lady out on the stage before she was ready, they don’t want to lose the money on the fees and so forth.
She has paid her dues in the U.S. and Europe.
I do not question the lady’s determination, or willingness to work hard, but I don’t know what ‘dues’ she has paid that sets her apart. I tell you a current singer who has paid some dues…Indra. And she sings a heck of a lot better. When I see the same sort of fanfare for her in a new production at the Met, my feelings might change, but I am not holding my breath for it.
For Trebs sake, I hope things do come together for her, because I don’t think she is in control of her career. She knows she is not singing as she should, and it is probably not a happy place for her to be, deep down. Unfortunately, I think the Met will end in destroying her and throwing her out, and then moving on.
There is a reason why some singers like Nilsson avoided the Met, along with those Devia, and wasn’t their lack of singing….
I am just flabergasted! How can 4 major critics view a performance so differently to what was broadcast on Sirius? Is it maybe Sirius’ fault that they manipulate on purpose what is heard on the Met Station and that any listener with critical ears is left looking like an idiot????
It is not even, that one expects absolutely awful reviews BUT one doesn’t expect either, to turn any fault the lead singer has into a virtue??!?
I was not surprised that Netrebko did not know the score at beginning of rehearsal as this is her operatus modus. She, as she said in numerous interviews, learns her music during rehearsals, NOT before. One wonders, however, why she agreed to singing Puritani? Did she even look at the score before she made any descisions? or is she just the “poor” victim of her pushy manager and record company who told her she could sing it?
And as to some critics suggesting that she has faults in her voice (referring to some major artists who made up for it )…. Her voice is an easy voice, especially because it only grew bigger in recent years, and she was viewed as a soubrette in Russia (in comparison to Callas who had a big, rough (flaud) voice to begin with – and we all know that big voices need longer training). her faults are not inherent in the voice but stem from sheer lazyness and also in recent times from singing to heavily and dark in the middle.
So any faults she may have are self-inficted and could be easily overcome and are also not possibly from singing too many Brunhildes or Abigailles.
It just dawned on me… OF COURSE, they are all paid for their positive reviews because the MET is launching their movie-theatre experience today and they could not possibly write a less than glowing review, otherwise people would not flock into cinemas to see the “sensational Russian soprano Anna Netrebko (“Audrey Hepburn with a voice,” according to one critic)” … it all makes sense now!
Simple math. Tommasini = Arts critic for the New York Times. Peter Gelb = Who’s your Daddy?
Please don’t tell me that the name Gelb doesn’t still have some influence at the Times. Fear can influence any writers opinion, which may account for the lapdog interview last week that praises her “candor” about being too lazy to learn her roles (or recital programs). She should go the Pavarotti route and stick to the 6 roles she’s bothered to learn. At least that’s one thing you can’t slam Fleming for.
I haven’t seen Bernheimer’s review yet, but when (if) he reviews it, he will be blunt if he doesn’t like it- I was verbally scorched by the man (justifiably- it was a really off night) years ago and have followed his writing ever since then, just to make sure it wasn’t just me! His track record for candor is 100%.
Ewwwww. I dont’ think Netrebko is an Elvira but a passable substitute for what we are lacking in opera. it is an insult to the composer to sing anything less than the music that is written on the page. Interpolated high notes……to be or not to be, but flubbing melissmas etc, is inexcuseable. I suppose I am one of those “bel canto purists” but I believe in musical integrity not some poor substitute. I think Netrebko is great, but not in this repetoire.
Mr. Davis from Musical America has some differing Opinions from “lick Ass” Tommasini and I quote “I Puritani” returned once again to the Met repertory on Dec. 27, and this time it turned out to be pretty much of a dead loss. The sole raison d’être of the performance was apparently the star power of Anna Netrebko — a gifted singer, no doubt, and a very pretty one too, but a soprano whose talents are perhaps not on best display in bel canto opera.
Netrebko’s unblemished soprano and confident manner match her good looks, but she doesn’t have a clue how to apply these assets to poor mad Elvira, her music, or her predicament. She goes at the notes with a sort of generalized energy that barely hints at the expressive power of Bellini’s music. Coloratura passages are lazily articulated, diction is cloudy, melodic lines are delivered with little or no nuance, and all those interpolated climactic notes above high C do not lie comfortably in her voice. Netrebko should also rethink her dramatic portrayal — delivering the mad scene on her back with her head dangling into the orchestra pit looks more comical than touching. Possibly this sketchy, half thought-out performance is a work in progress; if so, it should have been tried out elsewhere.”
The Globe and the Mail writes as follows:
“Netrebko does not have the most beautiful voice in the world. In fact, her high tessitura is just this side of thin. Her brilliance is in what she does with her instrument. First of all, Netrebko has formidable technique. Perfect placement of pitch is accompanied by exact coloratura ornamentation. She is also fearless in going for her money notes in singing that is totally without artifice.
When this magnificent talent is coupled with a beautiful singing actress who is never out of character, one can understand her diva status. Netrebko’s interpretation of the text is acute, and she manipulates her voice in stunning fashion. The delivery of her fragile Elvira bemoaning the loss of her love contained everything from hysterical laughter to pathetic whimpers to powerful ravings.
The nuance and colour that this superb singer brings to her character is staggering, not to mention that whatever she does on stage is completely natural. The thunderous applause and cheers following Netrebko’s two great arias went on and on and on.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061230.MET30/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Music/
unfortunately no reviewer mentioned!!!!
Also from the Sun review:
“Yes, there are problems: The voice can be a little cold, a little stifled, a little unbending — lacking in pliancy. This is unfortunate, perhaps especially in bel canto. Where sweetness is called for, you can instead find steel. And Ms. Netrebko seems to scald without really meaning to. Also, there is a stubborn tendency to sharp.
The soprano made one significant misstep on Wednesday night: This was her handling of Elvira’s Act I aria, “Son vergin vezzosa.” It was rushed, mechanical, and thoroughly unenjoyed. Moreover, the coloratura was unclean. The rushing and musical indifference could have been the fault of the conductor, Patrick Summers. But Ms. Netrebko, of course, is responsible for her own coloratura.
You may wish to know about high notes: In the course of the evening, Ms. Netrebko sang a couple of Ds, and they were okay. The one that ended the opera sneaked sharp. And the one E flat was very, very flat — though not as flat as one that Ms. Netrebko tried in the Met’s “Rigoletto” last season. That was so bad, it became almost legendary.”
With raves like this….
As to the Globe and Mail:
“First of all, Netrebko has formidable technique. Perfect placement of pitch is accompanied by exact coloratura ornamentation.”
LOLOLOLOLOLOL! This writer loses all credibility in just two sentences!
Looks like the level of music criticism has dropped as low as the quality of singing we are getting from some of our ‘superstars’.
Listening to the broadcast of Puritani I found myself longing for good old Ruth Ann. She can’t act, but she can sing the shit out of Elvira. Trills, high notes, limpid coloratura, liquid phrasing, she had it all. I was amazed at how thoroughly unexciting Trebbers was — when “vien diletto” fails to catch fire, you know something is wrong. I tend to think that the ladies doing belcanto at the MET aren’t cutting it. Listening to Renee’s Pirata last night I was by struck how hideously self indulgent her singing of the final scene was — sloppy, out of tune cooing, with the occassional full throttle chest note for “dramatic effect”, BIZARRE.
Oh, and can we talk about Kunde! The voice was pure burlap, and that attept at the high F was truly frightening.
Paula Citron in the Globe and Mail are puzzling. She’s usually not afraid to criticise when necessary. And it’s not as if she’s a New York critic and has to worry about Gelb’s influence. There were some lovely things about Netrebko’s singing but “exact coloratura ornamentation” was not one of them. I do agree with her assessment of Kunde.