Buzz
Stepdaughter Sieglinde summarizes the critical reaction in blog and print to Stephen Costello‘s Met debut. No surprises here for La Cieca, who observed equivalent ecstasy in real time during her Monday night online chat:
Cher Public
- ljushuvud: Moderation? 2:27 PM
- Liz.S: It’s going to be on demand for a while, but there’s also Giulio Cesare video streaming from... 2:18 PM
- Camille: Patrick Mack—- Operatic wasteland? How is that? You should have been there in the sixties and... 2:16 PM
- Camille: And the fourth(!) time it WAS Matos and we got to meet you, caro Ercole, a pleasure we hope to have... 1:54 PM
- La Cieca: Says Kaufmann, “It was my intention to stay in the Trojans, but at the last minute I... 1:50 PM
- Ercole Farnese: Well, the first time was to review. Free ticket, and I was there on assignment. The second time I... 1:37 PM
- Buster: Deborah Voigt makes her Belgian debut(!) as Minnie in Liège next season. With Carl Tanner as Dick, and... 1:37 PM
- mrmyster: Here is another kitchen opera: Der Rosenkavalier, Zurich Opra, set Act II in the von Faninal kitchen.... 1:36 PM
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“Stepdaughter Sieglinde”
CLASSIC!
I find it curious that this guy is getting this much notice. I heard his handful of lines in the Lucia on prima evening, and it was good, but not earth-shaking. Is it because he’s pleasant looking (if you’re into that kind of look)? How can Alex Ross devote more lines in his blog on this boy than Dessay, Giordani, Levine and Zimmerman? Something is odd.
I agree. The guy is good and did a very fine job Arturo. And he may well be the next big thing one day. But I didn’t hear anything earth-shattering on the Lucia broadcast.
Well, there is some background, I think–a lot of us were impressed with some stuff posted (by his agent, I think) on youtube, and I believe some people even went to hear him perform at Curtis or in NJ or something. So a few very well-turned lines from the stage of the Met felt like confirmation of a hunch. Plus, yeah, he’s not bad looking. “Opera Hot” is, I believe, the accepted terminology, plus that football-playery build beloved of many confirmed bachelors.
Edgardo is a great leap from Arturo. The bloggers and critics may be making things up in their minds if they’re extrapolating from a few lines of music.
I don’t think all the hype will help promote a promising, unexceptional talent into someone ready to sing one of opera’s great tenor roles on a stage which witnessed the likes`of Pavarotti, Bergonzi, Kraus, Tucker and (most recently) Filianoti singing it splendidly.
I think it would be a kindness to this young “pleasant looking” (good choice of words) singer to ratchet this drooling down more than a notchet.
What is the big fuss, he is a nice kid getting some real nice work? Although I wonder why the MET is so eager to promote someone so young and completely inexperienced. Is that what we pay for? I mean Alagna’s portarayal was magnificent in Romeo? Why? Because he has sung Romeo hundreds of time. Same ticket price as Costello’s Edgardo. HMMMMMMMM???
Now, today we see Oropresa going on, I mean these two kids should be working out their kinks on the stage of City Opera where a young artist should practice their art. That is expected, not at the MET.
I would call Stevie the new “Paris Hilton of Opera” but he actually does have talent and great potential. He actually has been created by the Media. So, if you want to know the potency of You Tube, La Cieca and a greedy agent, Voila!!! You have Stephen Costello.
As well, with Costello there is an obvious push to promote him half baked and that is a shame. He is not technically or dramatically secure. I don’t look forward to seeing the “great” interpretation of someone that has never had a rehearsal on the stage, has never sung a rehearsal with the orchestra in his first essay of the role, do You? Does this sound stupid? To me, it is irresponsible.
Of course, whether he sings poorly or not the blogs will talk about the magnificent debut of the “Kiddie Vocal Porn” star. At $150-300 a ticket I wonder why anyone would want to see this? Prodigy usually comes with magnificent proficiency and I fail to see that here.
Sources say that this was a planned coup anyway. Didn’t baby Stevie say at one point that Marcello is his mentor? So what is new with the mentor secretly knowing that he would drop out of one performance and that said mentee would jump in(Pavarotti did it several times)?
Stevie has a beautiful voice but by 35 he will be washed up because he moved too quickly and into a repertoire too heavy, I actually loved his New York recital. I want to see him succeed but not at this cost, and the cost of my ticket price. We have all seen it happen before. Where is Francisco Araiza?
So Costello stands in line with the magnificent John ALEXANDER, PAVAROTTI, ALFREDO KRAUS, RAMON VARGAS. ARAIZA, ALVAREZ? I would include Giordani but he is sub par to these men as well. Again emphasis on men not boys.
Best of Luck
A voice of reason
“Voice of reason” anonymous: A single warning — further anonymous postings will be deleted. (This one would, except La Cieca doesn’t feel like being accused of censorship.)
If you have strong words, at least have the guts to back them up by speaking without the cover of anonymity.
I saw his Arturo on Thursday. Impressed by his elegant lyric tenor, smallish but carries well. But Arturo doesn’t have the range of emotion that Edgardo has (duh) so it’s hard to see how good he’ll be in the bigger role. Plus, of the sextet in his scene, he seems the most uncomfortable in “theatrical acting”. It would be a contrast to see him as Edgardo with Dessay’s Lucia: she being the new kind of singer, he ostensibly the stand and deliver kind, no matter how telegenic he may be.
Anonymous Voice of Reason, I am astounded at the judgments you feel free to make, and the confident predictions of failure in even his far future career. Most of the things you cite to his detriment could have been said much more severely of, say, Ponselle’s Met début. And we all know how that turned out