News from the underworld
A Happy Shade whispers to La Cieca about the Met’s Orfeo (opening tonight):
“This show is awesome. The dancing is really interesting and fits the music very well. Donald Palumbo has really worked tirelessly to make the chorus sound as good as possible, giving notes and comments all through rehearsals. I’m told from long-time members that note sessions during dress rehearsals were quite rare. David Daniels is great in this part, and he sings it so well. Maija Kovalevska is a hottie, and has a beautiful voice. She is tall and striking and pairs physically very well with David. And Heidi Grant Murphy has perhaps the entrance of the season. I won’t give it away, but your jaw will drop. Mine did …. Bring your spyglasses to try and figure out as many of the ‘dead characters’ in the chorus as you can!”
Talking about Bumbry, her jumping from soprano to mezzo was not someting to cheer about. On a Met tour in the 80s, she sang Tosca on Monday and Camen on Friday. Both performances were forgettable.
how does amazing grace’s vocal choices have anything to do with her orfeo? And yes, some of her excursions into soprano territory were unwise, including tosca, but her carmen is in many ways unmatchable, as is her amneris, ebolis, santuzza, azucena, etc. And yes, her salome too.
what’s so unusual about singing Tosca and Carmen? many dramatic sopranos have done it.
have you heard bumbry’s Selika, Norma, Salome, Medea, Abigaille or the Forza Leonora? she put many sopranos to shame.
bumbry’s orfeo was on sirius recently. quite wonderful. and I am afraid I am in the anti-CT camp. I know if you are gay you are suppose to be ohing and ahhing over David Daniel’s but he just sounds like marilyn Horne without the balls. I would rather have Podles in the role.
Well after seeing Saturday afternoon’s performance. I can say that I enjoyed it immensely. I did find the chorus distracting.
Back into the mezzo as Orfeo fray. Of course Dame Janet, but there is a remarkable recording that Shirley Verrett did back in the 60′s. It certainly wouldn’t pass muster with today’s early/baroque music crowd, but the inging is scrumptious.
I will say that even though I am a huge fan of the CT sound; I would like to hear the role live with a mezzo or (hoping against hope) La Podles. Lord knows it’s worth reviving next season – INSTEAD of that hideous Frist Emperor.
Yes, I know that most of my posts mention how much I hated the First Emperor. I was so traumatized by it’s awfulness that I still can’t let it go.
The first time I saw a CT do Orfeo was at Wexford back in the late 60s early 70s. I believe his name was Kevin Smith – I’m packing for my move to Rome and can’t find the programme – and it was a truly dreadful production by Siegfried Wolf Wagner and sadly Mr. Smith was of the hooty schools of CTs. Between him and the production I was turned off a CT as Orfeo. But then I had seen Verrett and Lorengar at Covent Garden with Solti conducting. It was definately not a period production – musically or dramatically – but its 30 years or more later and I still remember it. Those cries of Euridice in Act 1 and the tension of those moments before the glance and Che faro – Verrett had it all. And though I would not have thought of Solt as a conductor of Gluck it was a riveting performance.
I found that missing from the broadcast on Saturday – from the singing and the conducting.
Grace’s recorded ORFEO is no pleasure– better Shirley’s, Marilyn’s or Maureen’s if you’re aiming for that vintage. ( Better Podles or Fink today).
As for FORZA, the late Robert Jacobson was right: “In this repertory Miss Bumbry is a figment of her own imagination”. That holds true for TROVATORE (Met Parks) and ERNANI ( Lyric/Chicago) too.
That said, the Abigaille, Jenufa and Salome are all very creditable.
Dear La Cieca,
Talking about “naturalness” of voice, there are certain differences based on anatomical and physiological givens. The diffrence between female and male vocal cords is lenght and thickness, man’s being longer and thicker. Castrati, due to “arrested” develpement maintained shorter and thinner vocal cords resemling those of a woman, whereas the vocal cords of countertenor are fully developed in size and thikness of a man.
The strings of a violin do not produce sound but simply vibrate. The vibrations transmitted to the body of the violin, which acts as a resonator, produces the sound. A Stadivarius is strung with the same strings like any other fine violin and vibrate the same. The quality and naturalness of the sound can be manipulated by a player to reach the potential of any resonator.
A singer can sing only while exhaling. The diaphragm pushes the air upward and the vocal cords simply vibarate but do not sing. For a singing sound you need a resonator. The entire head- skull, facial muscles, palate, uvula, lips-becomes the resonator and produces a singing sound. A countertenor- like a fiddler by changing the touch on the stings and bowing- can manipulate the resonator and quality of sound. Phycioligically and anatomically speaking, with all repect to countertenos, mezzo-soprano’s voice is more “natural” and as close as possible to castrati’s.
Talking about vibration of the vocal cords, the frequency is beyond human comprehension. It can vary from 400 to 1000 vibrations per second when a soprano hits a high C!
Many thanks for your insight and services you provide to opera fans.
re: La Grace
i don’t know, i have CDs of her live Forza from the met and the chicago lyric’s Ernani, and she sounds pretty good. her coloratura in the Elvira part was quite astounding. on the other hand, i also have another Ernani from hamburg, and she doesn’t quite pull it off as well…
another of her better soprano roles was Gioconda.