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Jessye is dressy, but Curtis is pertest

by | 11:21 pm | Oct 30, 2007


Curtis Rayam as Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, directed by René Jacobs.

11 Comments

11 comments

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  • Tenorguy says:

    Honey, you better WORK those paniers! Makes perfect sense, well sung and not overdone; I say Curtis communicates Monteverdi very well indeed.

    on October 31, 2007 at 2:59 AM
  • Constantine A. Papas says:

    tenorguy,

    Well sung? You must be kidding! Cacophonous vulgarity at its best, with violation of all aural and visual aesthetics. I couldn’t stand it.

    on October 31, 2007 at 4:13 AM
  • bernal says:

    This surely brings back memories of pre-baseball era SE Washington DC.

    on October 31, 2007 at 6:33 AM
  • R. says:

    Eddie Murphy playing Curtis singing Monteverdi. Rad!

    on October 31, 2007 at 9:28 AM
  • michael farris says:

    “Cacophonous vulgarity at its best”

    I’ll say!!!!

    Ok, that’s probably not what you meant. But Poppea is a _very_ long opera and the function of Arnalta is not to please visually or aurally. Not that well sung Arnalta’s are necessarily bad, but it’s not a part that cries out for vocal cream, there’s plenty of other roles that can be sung real purty like.

    Above all, Arnalta is supposed to be vulgar, bawdy fun. She’s also supposed to liven things up a bit and Curtis seems to get those jobs done very well.

    on October 31, 2007 at 9:40 AM
  • bolshoipavel says:

    Oh, I do miss “Ella Fitzgerald” at Ziegfield’s in SE DC! Nice to see she’s found new work.

    on October 31, 2007 at 9:48 AM
  • Baritenor says:

    I agree. Arnalta isn’t a part that has to be sung well, though it would be nice if someone who can sing performs the lullaby in act two. The best Arnalta I’ve ever seen is Christopher Gillet; he did sing well, but at the same time had a great deal of fun with the character.

    on October 31, 2007 at 10:22 AM
  • Delphimi says:

    Wish I’d been a stitcher in THAT costume shop.

    on October 31, 2007 at 1:23 PM
  • mrs John Claggart says:

    Probably by Cavalli (a lot of the surviving Poppea possibly is), this should probably be done just with a keyboard. Best sung Arnalta, Oraliza Dominguez on the Leppard EMI (wrong in so many ways and on so many levels it’s insane) but she is superb in lullaby and this number, it helps that she has an idiomatic grasp of Italian and one can live through Ray’s arrangement alla Couperin (dueling harpsichords and all — a rare queenery of the keyboard), Funniest I ever saw was Dominic Visse who didn’t try too hard. Ray’s queeny version also has the greatest Magda Laszlo as Poppea. Best I’ve ever seen Delunsch, entirely deranged by engorged sexual organs.

    on October 31, 2007 at 8:32 PM
  • NYCOQ says:

    The Ella Fitzgerald reference is hilarious…Is she even still alive, let alone performing.

    on November 2, 2007 at 6:29 PM
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