Something to give thanks for
La Cieca hears that our dear Aprile Millo (who recently had to cancel a Teatro Grattacielo appearance due to illness) is ready to bounce back big time in 2008. Word on the street is that Millo will join longtime colleague Dolora Zajick for a bel canto duet in OONY's spring gala, followed by a return to the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the 2008-09 season.
While we wait, here's some prime Millo via YouTube.
POSTED at
1:29 AM
32 Comments:
After a quick glance at the Met Futures page I'll guess that she's going to venture Santuzza and probably cover Guleghina in Adriana L. I don't see much else that is suitable for her that season. She's got plenty left to give so I'm glad to hear she'll be back at the Met.
Perhaps she'll be covering Voigt in Gioconda too?
Adriana and Gioconda it is- no Santuzza, at least not yet.
"Alles weiss ich..."
This is something to be thankful for? LOL
nerva nelli: Aprille is going to be 50. How much longer can she wait before it's time for the role??
What do u mean due to he illness? What was wrong? I saw her in some recent pics and i think she has gained a lot of weight, maybe this has something to do with it?
I heard that she will be singing a french modern ópera called Cecilia by Charles Chaynes, not too sure if this is true either. I also think that if she sings already Gioconda she is more than ready to sing Cavalleria.
What a nasty comment. She's REBUILDING her career. Also, she is losing weight, having gained a lot during a period of crisis. If she's a joke, I don't know what's serious. She is practically the ONLY soprano left with a real Italian sound and style. I've heard her Gioconda twice and would much, much rather hear her sing it again than Voigt (no offense to her, a great singer in other repertoire). I hope she is so successful next season that they use her for the Fanciullas the next year.
This may not pertain to Millo, but some sopranos at 50 and beyond are still at the peak of their career. I saw Olivero in Tosca, age 69 at a Met tour (1979), and she was phenomenal. At any rate and for various reasons, personal or vocal, Millo has never a "house" singer at he Met, but rather a "filler in."
This post has been removed by the author.
You might want to check the MET'a wonderful data base site. She gave 150 performances, mostly of Verdi operas, 1985-1995.
http://66.187.153.86/archives/frame.htm
opera south,
My definition of a "house" singer, and I may be wrong, is someone like Domingo who has become the staple of the Met, with new productions, etc. Many a singer have sung at the Met for ten years or so, like Millo, but they never became indispensable or irreplaceable, like Freni or Pavarotti. Millo, with all her vocal or other attributes, whatever they may have been, she never attained a superstar status.
OK. I think of a "house" singer as someone like Hong or Swenson, who can be counted on season in and season out to give solid performances of repertory staples. Millo sang almost all the Verdi roles in this period, as Leontyne was gone She lost a few to Sharon Sweet (!), but had several new productions, one of which (I Lombardi)proved her downfall, and I've never understood exactly why.
Anyway - for me, "house" singer and superstar are two very different things. Chacun a son gut...
I've never "gotten" Millo, and unfortunately my lasting impression of her comes from a live "Lombardi" at the Met (with Pav) where she made all sorts of atrocious sounds, and the audience still applauded her like she was the second coming. A recent Tosca was also distinctly unimpressive. I guess that "real Italian sound" (emanating from someone with a fake Italian name) just doesn't do it for me.
L'il Stevushka--
I was not being prescriptiive: I wish Millo *would* take on Santuzza and also Giorgietta, two parts in which being a sylph is hardly of the essence and to which she would bring a great deal.
I was merely stating what parts it is for which the Met has offered her contracts.
Again: "Alles weiss ich"...
Technically, you are both wrong. A "House Singer" is someone who is on a weekly contract at the Met, who is engaged on said contract for at least 22 weeks a year (or something like that, I might be wrong about that number) is eligible for health insurance, etc. Those folks are DAMN GOOD singers - they sing smaller roles, cover bigger ones, etc, and do rather well for themselves. AGMA used to have rules about the number of House Singers the company was required to engage each season.
Or at least, that's how it was under Volpe's watch. Perhaps it's changed.
I agree completely about Voigt in Italian roles. Judging from what I heard Tuesday evening, the voice is in fine shape - terrific top, better-than-ever chest tones - but there's less warmth.
Though I believe her Lyric Minnie will be great, I do believe she should rethink her decision to sing more Italian roles right now. It's simply not an Italianate sound.
Now, Christine Brewer is another story. She should be phenomenal as Gioconda. Top to bottom, the notes are there and effortless. No break in the voice and so much warmth, you could break bread. Still, I wonder if Volpe would hire her unless she lost weight. She is a very, VERY big girl. What's sad is, post-Eaglen, I don't think anyone would hire her as Brunnhilde yet the voice is PERFECT for the role.
Millo was probably the hottest singer at the Met in the late 1980's. She was a true Italian spinto who very quickly went from covering roles to stardom. She opened a season as Aida and starred in revivals of Luisa Miller, Don Carlo, Ballo, and Andrea Chenier. She also did some terrific Leonora's in Trovatore, as well as Desdemona's. She got a lot of press at that time.
But something happened after that. She was featured in the new production of Lombardi with Pavarotti but withdrew after the first performance. Her career sort of went downhill from there.
She had been almost exclusively a Verdi soprano (Liu being a Puccini exception) but then moved on to the Verismo repertoire, where she could cover vocal problems with dramatic intensity.
What caused the problems? Too much exposure in a short time? An emphasis on dramatic and/or loud singing? Lack of coloratura technique? Lack of discipline? I have no idea. In the mid-90's I saw her in Boccanegra and Mefistofele and she was quite disappointing. Who coaches her now, or guides her ?
i saw Millo's Trov Leonora at the met in the 90's. she was not in good form that night, and should have cancelled. tiny voice, no warmth, no color, no agility. when the Azucena (Zajick) and di Luna (Chernov) get the biggest ovation, you know it's not a good night for the soprano. heck, even the Manrico (Kristian Johansson) was better.
the met is doing Fanciulla? with whoM?
Yes, the Met is doing Fanciulla with Leontyne Price...and as for April Miller, she is not so much a house singer and a "hausfrau" singer
Sydney Morning Herald-
NEW YORK OPERA COMING TO YOU..
A PREMIUM ticket to a performance by the world-famous Metropolitan Opera in New York will set you back about $420, plus airfare. From next month, opera lovers can experience a Met performance for $25, plus popcorn.
After a successful year of high-definition live broadcasts in cinemas in the US, Canada and Europe, Australian cinemas are joining the party and will screen the operas within days of the New York performances.
Eight operas will be shown in nine cinemas around Australia over the next six months, starting on December 29 with Gounod's Romeo Et Juliette, starring Anna Netrebko and conducted by Placido Domingo. Other works include Puccini's Manon Lescaut, starring Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde, with Deborah Voight and Ben Heppner, and an acclaimed new production of Donizetti's La Fille Du Regiment, starring Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego.
Natalie Miller, the joint managing partner of the art house Cinema Nova in Melbourne, said the deal came about when they were searching for material to show on the complex's digital-only screen.
"The Met would only come on board if there were eight other cinemas in Australia, so we looked for partners in each state," she said.
The NSW cinemas are the Chauvel in Paddington and the Showcase City Cinemas in Newcastle.
A test screening this week of The Magic Flute was a resounding success.
"The quality was just amazing," Ms Miller said. "When the audience was clapping at the end, I honestly thought I was at a live performance. After watching this screening, I feel like I want to see every one of these."
Ms Miller expects an enormous response to the program, and believes it could provide the perfect introduction to a sometimes intimidating art form.
"I think it's going to be a great way of bringing opera to people who are interested but don't necessarily get around to buying tickets," she said.
Opera Australia will no doubt hope for a repeat of the overseas experience, where opera companies from cities where the transmissions were seen enjoyed increased interest in their live performances.
The Met began its live broadcasts a year ago using satellite-based high-definition digital projection systems. They were an overwhelming success, playing to sold-out houses.
The Los Angeles Times said the experiment had created a new art form and might be "the most significant development in opera since the supertitle".
Tickets will be available from the cinemas.
Sometimes queens are acute, or at least cute, and sometimes they are foolish. Millo is a case of 'the queen's throat' -- Marisa Galvany, career made mostly in rest stops along the New Jersey Turnpike, was one such -- some of the idiots at RMO go all aquiver over her -- there have probably been worse, and Marisa certainly hated Bubbles Sills and tried to out sing her in a few Stuardas, meaning she was willing to risk her life for her ego, and that's certainly part of being a diva. Alas, it is only part of the story...
Millo, who hasn't an Italian gene in her, was hyped by Will Crutchfield as a "second Tebaldi" -- he's too young to have ever heard Tebaldi live. Like Millo he heard the latish records, and she imitated them. That was Tebaldi below her best in several senses, but still Millo wasn't the real deal. Big Renata circa 65-70 made many the unpleasant noise, but then the voice would kick in and you'd have that huge, glorious, enveloping tone for a little, more or less in tune. Millo sounded like a little girl in comparison.
But Crutchfield (not a queen) provided the confirmation they needed (he was the Times after all) and Millo pushed on into a spinto rep. The best role I thought she had was Liu, though even there sometimes she cracked. It was hard for her to get through an entire role without cracking, but I thought that was because she was putting too much pressure on a good, interesting sounding voice, and pushing the sound out. The second best performance I heard was a Lombardi with Quaalude and Carlo, where she had a heavy cold and sang lightly -- the tone was bright and forward and mostly secure. Sure she could sing Aida, probably better than anyone singing it today (the scale was not large though if one considers Toni Starr, Birgit and Molnar Talajic), but that isn't saying much really, and I think it was too heavy a sing for her, I remember too many nights when Delora would just bear down on her -- Delora had plenty in reserve, Millo did not.
I bet had Millo moved slower, doing Mimi and other lyric roles, and singing more lightly, she would have lasted better. In any case, I thought only one of three Trov Leonoras was good (and to be fair it was very good), otherwise too many iffy evenings for a young singer. There were rumors about her being erratic with her teacher etc., but I bet she just sang too heavily too much.
Over the last four years the queens say she 'has it back' -- but I hear mainly an imitation of the old big girls, with more pitch problems, and difficulties on top than they had, and a sound that is apt to be worn in the middle. Meanwhile she hasn't been getting the kind of routine a high level professional needs -- a couple performances here and there don't do much for your stamina, and I think the sagging pitch is probably not curable.
The queens can do some damage too -- Soviero I think suffered from the hysterical claims. She was treated brutally by Sills and by Pigpen at the Met, and lost years from her prime because of it, then she was ill for a time. But she came through it all -- she was terrific and really accomplished at her best, and that was in the verismo, as far as I'm concerned she wiped the floor with Stratas when the latter's nuttiness choked her and Soviero did all three roles, thrillingly (not quite Scotto but close enough), she was also a wonderful Manon (with a lovely Jerry Hadley, this after first Malfalsetto, then Vanish had killed the role), and her work in other operas of that school was always distinguished. The only iffy performances I saw her give were as Juliette with the greatest Alfredo Kraus, she recovered for the last act, but earlier seemed to be in trouble. But I don't think she has ever gotten the respect she deserved because of the hysterics...
millo is well over 50. I knew someone who worked with her with the Shreevsport Symphony Orchestra in the 70s, also met one of her teachers from high school. She is closer to 55 now. The real story behind Millo's failure to get engagements (and I enjoy her performances ) is that the voice is basically in tatters She screwed up the Vissi D'Arte in four out of the six Toscas I have seen. In addition she is impossible to deal with backstage, She is the perpetula victim, blaming everyone else backstage for her vocal problems, and has in the process made her self most unpopular backstage with her fellow singers and the crew. In short she could give Kathy Battle a run for her money as the impossible diva.and I heard yes she is getting one Adriana and one Gioconda performance
Millo was born in 1958 which DOES NOT make her 55 years old. I hope the rest of your info about her is not as tenuous.
Check out the Aprile Millo entry in Wikipedia. It's a glowing report of one triumph after another, with no mention of any setbacks of any kind. Makes you think it was written by her publicist or by Aprile herself. I wonder how much of it is true and how much is fantasy.
As usual, Millo sparks opposite reactions. Let's face it. In the late 80s to early 90s, Millo was indispensible at the Met. She was the Met's Verdi soprano and quickly established a big following.
And regardless of her age, her voice doesn't have that many years left. I've heard a tape of her Maddalena from this past season. The basic quality of the voice is golden but she has great difficulty wielding her voice and getting it to do what she would like. Unless she's been working on her technique, she's only going to get worse, and eventually, neither the rich timbre nor the classic Italianate phrasing will be enough.
I do think that, considering that she has a few good years left, the Met should let her share at least one role per season (doing half the run) as opposed to these single performances. It would be nice if she could do, say, 5 performances in a run.
Looking at it from the Met's view, however, they probably love the current formula. They give her one (maybe two) performances out of a run. The house is guaranteed to sell well because all her fans flock to those rare performances. They don't have to put up with as much of her attitude. Lots of buzz is created. The audience cheers as if it's the second coming. And her performances all achieve a semi-iconic status, whether they deserver them or not.
Anyway, I would certainly go to hear her in some verismo roles. She's not consistent but at least, she's not boring.
A very timely re-issue of her 1988 Verdi recital:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2007/Nov07/millo_Verdi_7473962.htm
she claims she waS BORN IN 1958. this does not mean it is so. Lily Pons claimed to be born in 1904 and made her professional debut in LAKME in 1916 (She was born in 1898) Singers lie about their ages all the time.(Soviero conveniently claimed she started her professional career in 1980, I saw her at Lake George Opera all through the seventies) A flutist who worked with the Shreevport Symphony worked with her in the 70s, she wasn't a teenager. Her teacher also remembered when she was in his class. and unfortunately, many of the people I know who have worked with her have said she is impossible to deal with. Ms. graham -are you really Millo, let's face it she has alot of free time on her hands these days
Based largely on the comments of her devout fans, I went out of my way to hear most everything she sang in New York for quite a few years, starting with the disastrous prima of Lombardi. I am willing to believe that I missed her prime, but as someone who can't get past her now chronic intonation issues I have a serious (and respectful) question for her remaining fans: Do you not recognize the pitch problems or is it that her itanlianate sound and phrasing somehow compensates?
We are asked to believe that (i) she was born in 1958, and (ii) she was past her prime by the time of Lombardi in 1993-4, when she was allegedly 35. I know we are supposed to believe in virgin births and all sorts of other amazing things, but there's something about April Mills that just does not compute.
tryingtounderstand - they probably don't even hear it. Most people - rabid opera fanatics included - seem not to be able to hear when someone is off pitch. Millo is a particularly extreme example of this - someone who is out of tune close to 100% of the time.
Miss Millo came to Caracas in 1990... when she appeared on stage many people thought we were tricked and she was the Divine Miss M... that would had been a lot BETTEr than what we heard... The singing was not on the level we were expecting... I don't mind how old she is, you can sing bad at any age.
How can I post a picture of the program?
Post a Comment
<< Home