Your pathetic, your loathsome, your despicable majesty!
Dame Kiri te Kanawa embraces her inner Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan for this scene from the Handelian pastiche The Sorceress. Despite the film's 1993 release date, the sensibility is pure '80s: massive hair, voluminous frock, garish lighting design... and don't overlook the multitude of smirking supers! (Just so you know, the aria is "Ah, Ruggiero crudel... Ombre pallide" from Alcina).
Labels: camp, festoonery, this diva looks like that diva
POSTED at
11:20 PM
29 Comments:
I miss seeing Kiri onstage so much. She had one of the most beautiful voices in the world and she knew what worked for her. She never took on Norma and Il Pirata and Il Trovatore. Take a lesson, Renee.
On nights when I have difficulty falling asleep, I compile lists of singers in my mind. In terms of sheer vocal beauty, Dame Kiri always comes at the top of my list, generally followed by Gundula Janowitz. I cannot think of a more beautiful sound: Fleming sounds curdled and vibrato laden in comparison.
I met her once: of all of the CDs I own of her’s, I took her Nelson Riddle crossover CD ‘Blueskies’ to be signed. The cover has a claim to being even camper than the Ombra Pallide LaC kindly brought to our attention. I am afraid I am a sucker for DK’s crossover stuff: her Gershwin disc introduced me to musical theatre, and her Kern disc arranged and conducted by Jonathon Tunick is simply beautiful. Whilst most would keep this sort of revelation to themselves, I bask in the glory of my dubious admiration.
Oh that I had been around to actually see her on stage! Not having seen singers on the stage in their prime is one of the few reasons I have for regretting my youth. However, at least I have seen her in recital several times, and remember her last Contessa from the Met broadcast in about 1996 I think. Dawn Upshaw was also in the cast as Cherubino, but I don’t recall who else. The early-teenage angst comes flooding back at the mere remembrance of that Saturday evening!
Does anybody have an ideas when her farewell tour comes to London? I can’t seem to work it out.
i never really got kiri ... lovely sound indeed but most things she sings seem to be so shallow. i saw her live twice, once as the boccanegra amelia about 10 years go and once in a song recital about 5 years ago. i very much remember the song recital but all for the wrong reasons, there was no communication between her and the audience and her enunciation was so poor that each song sounded as if she sang it in esperanto.
strange that sometimes one doesnt connect with singers and even though i cannot fault the beauty of her instrument (when she was in her prime), i dont rate her highly as an artist...
I actually love her.
Her Marschallin is one of opera’s most sublime moments, and her Vier Letze Lieder with Solti is (I think) the most beautiful recording she ever made. Her crossover stuff is so deliciously ridiculous, but I love it.
She has quite a formidable reputation offstage, but I did a concert with her in NZ in 2005 and she was quite camp and great fun. Any woman that wants to be Tina Turner must have something going for her…
This isn’t her Farewell Tour as such – that phrase was coined by some American promoters as it will be her last appearance in many of those venues. I’ll definitely be at the London performances (I hear that she is doing the Southbank Centre in early 2008). Perhaps you could accompany me Meretrice indegna.
Count me in for the list of those who miss Kiri. Her Mozart and Strauss were truly classy. Actually, her Laudate Dominum from Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, K.339, goes to the top of my list of heavenly singing.
I was fortunate to see her Arabella in SF in 1980. Needless to say, it was perfect. The voice was just gorgeous and she looked beautiful.
I want to recommend a Kiri recording that is a little more un-lauded. Her "Les Nuits d'Été" is one of the best, though I never hear anyone mention it. Jessye doing "La Mort de Cléopatre" is the flip side, and all in all it is one of my favourite discs.
http://tiny.cc/8106d
Sharon Graham:
Nope, Kiri never took on Pirata or Trovatore, she took on Tosca!
IMHO, she is careful with what she sings simply because she doesn't read music nor speak the opera languages well, and often relying heavily on prompters, recordings and coaches. That her repertoire is limited is the obvious result. That didn't stop her from making questionable choices such as her pop albums and West Side Story, sung in a language that she understood.
Renee on the other hand, has solid musicianship and speaks fluent German and French as well as, in her own words, taxi driver-and-opera Italian. Her unyielding appetite to try out new repertoire is therefore just as logical a result. While she has bad days like every other singer, her technique and dramatic commitment is hardly ever questioned, it is only her approach to the various sub-genres of operatic music that is controversial.
I have heard both Kiri and Renee live when they stopped over in Singapore; Kiri had a grand gala with the Singapore Symphony but phoned in the concert, marking throughout the show and was mostly covered by the orchestra, whom I heard she later blamed on the conductor for making them play too loud! The hall is much smaller than the Met though. Renee on the other hand, despite a program of lieder, filled the hall and enveloped our ears with her voice alone.
Having said that, I do love Kiri's voice, I just wish I could have heard it that night.
Steven
The Mad Scene
Mrgareth, I have checked the RFH website and there is no mention of her planned appearance next year.
Do let me know however if you hear of anything definite.
Regarding DK's not being able to read music: where has this tidbit come from? I would have thought the rumour mill would have thrown this up by now were it the case. She is certainly often maligned for laziness and a willingness to sing off her interest rather than capital. I think to accuse her of a lack of musicianship is unfair: she has, if nothing else, an unfailing rhythmic sense, and whilst one occasionally feels that she is unaware of the direction the music is going in, this can equally be said of the likes of Nilsson: just listen to her Tosca with Maazel for an example of this.
Oh dear, why am I here?
Oh, and to suggest Renee speaks fluent French is nonsense: it is no better than an average A-level student's ('high school leaver' for those of you over the pond), and those of you who know how badly languages in England are taught will know what that means.
Anonymous--
You can level with me sweetheart. Are you Renee Fleming posing as "Anonymous"? Your criticisms mean nothing.
MrGareth - I wholeheartedly agree about the Strauss, and I don't understand WHY the Met hasn't released the 82/83 performance that they broadcast of her Marschallin to Blegen's Sophie, Octavian, and Moll's Ochs (along with Pavarotti as the singer!). I remember seeing a re-broadcast of that ages ago, and it was a true highlight for me. The Vier Letzte Lieder with Solti too... absolutely sublime.
Steven - Renee HAS had poor technique, as evidenced quite often... Sure, some of it is repertoire choices, but still, when you can't even sing with good tone, clear vowels, and solid breath support, I see that as BAD technique.
In terms of Te Kanawa not being able to read music, I don't believe it. Memory problems though... those she is NOTORIOUS for. She's a prompter's nightmare.
Ooops, meant to put in the Octavian in that last comment... Troyanos.
And thanks for the clip La Cieca of Te Kanawa's Handel... She didn't record enough of it, IMO.
Well, at least she can conduct an interview in French. Although, sadly, speaking three languages competently makes her only below average among her colleagues. What about Karita Mattila who speaks like, I don't know, 8 billion languages??? I think she speaks Finnish, Swedish, German, Italian, and English fluently, and I think she speaks french too - Maybe more? It's slightly insane actually. I was in the bowels of the Met once, walking behind her in a hallway, listening to her stop and say hello to like, 5 different people, and chatting with them each in a different language. It was slightly astonishing.
I saw Dame K's final VANESSA in Los Angeles. She was quite good, if upstaged by the Erika (Lucy Schaufer, who I really like for some reason.)
Sharon: Anonymous left out the best part: how Renee once healed a sick child by singing a jazz version of "My Favorite Things."
Maybe two years ago I was listening to a broadcast from RAI and Renée was interviewed in Italian. Asked about R. Strauss´s Four Last Songs, she answered "Ho cantito quelle canzonette...". The Italian guys couldn´t help laughing at the studio
I was fortunate enough to see Dame Kiri a few times. The "Nozze" Countess. The San Francisco "Capriccio" in the fabulous Versace gown. (The way she POSED in that slinky gown!!!) The frenzied curtain calls had to go on forever because people were sometimes applauding the gown and sometimes applauding her luscious voice. And I loved her "Boccanegra" Amalia. Absolutely bel canto creamy ravishing sounds.
I saw Kiri recently in recital on her "farewell" tour and agree that she really doesn't connect with the audience or with anything she's singing. Everything sounded exactly the same, no matter the language. The only time she showed any animation or joy in what she was singing was during her duets with Flicka.
Sugarmezzo, do tell us which singers speak more than three languages competently. I'd love to know. I would think that's definitely above average.
And, Sharon dear, everyone's critcicism means something.
I, too, loved the Met's Rosenkavalier with Te Kanawa/Troyanos/Moll. Fabulous stuff! I'd love to have it on DVD.
Her Met Arabella is very fine but it is from 1996 (?) and some of the bloom is gone from the voice. I'd love to hear her Arabella from the 80s.
Te Kanawa was really good in a small repertoire (I know someone who walked out of her Violetta out of sheer boredom) but there's nothing with that. I'd rather have a soprano who knows her limits and specialises in certain rep rather than singing everything that comes her way.
It's funny how impressions of a singer can change from performance to performance. I've heard Kiri three times live. In 1991 at the Met in Figaro I thought she was sublime. Then in Arabella at the Met in 94 she was all but inaudible (so was Wolfgang Brendel), and I had one of the most boring evenings of my life. When she did Vanessa at Washington Opera in 2002 I thought it was going to be dreadful, but she ended up thrilling me both vocally and dramatically. Go figure.
I know that Lucia Popp was a master linguist: about 8 languages I think. Callas was also impressive: now her French and Italian were really quite good. It always charms me that in her recording of Turco she sings 'IL zucchero' rather than 'LO zucchero'. A small point, but goes to show that even the finest are capable of lingustic errors.
Can't believe how Renee referred to le quattro utltime canzone: wish I could have heard it! Ah, poor love, must've been tough being brought up on a trailer park.
Her Countess on the Solti Figaro remains one of the most sublime, for me, performances I have ever heard.
Over the years, I have a chance to see her in a number of roles, hey what d'ya know, she seemed to like performing to us un-cultured Brits. The Desdemona with Solti was a bit of a strange affair, which did not seem to ignite, though it comes across better on the tv. Her Arabella was wonderful, I enjoyed her Donna Elvira, Amelia and in Capriccio.
The cross-over albums and open air concerts seemed to be a distraction.
Her last recital in London was a great disappointment.
I actually liked Renee in this one with William Christie.
And now, yes, go ahead, start throwing the stones...
The Malde virus is catching. There is fan gush and then somewhere there is 'reality'. I realize quantum mechanics teaches us that 'reality' is different for each and every one of us, but some of the above is just rot.
I saw Kiri be great (not just pretty looking and sounding in a nice gown) twice, so I know she could do it. One was her last minute debut as Desdemona at the Met, a silvery voice but large and very beautiful, a manner that was simple yet sincere, she was actually moving in the last act. Then two years later there was her Donna Elvira. She demanded a red wig and eccentric costume, fought with Edda Moser and put the role across like a she demon, including singing a stunning 'Mi tradi'.
That was it. As far as I can tell the rest of the career was a cop out. She had it in her, but didn't want to bother. The first Arabella run at the Met (where she fought with Battle) was beautifully vocalized, but crooned with no real words and no character. When she came back to it she was past her prime. Someone may have fled her Violetta, so did she. She got through one performance (barely) at the Met, and was on the first plane anywhere. Poor Maliponte, a marvelous singer but slightly past it then, was flown in.
How many Marschallins have you seen? Compared to Zylis and Tomato Syntax and Gesendorf to take three less than legendary interpretations, she seemed an amateur, and all three sang more fully and confidently throughout -- she may have had the most glorious voice in her. Where was it?
I'm told she was a terrific Capriccio Countess in San Fran, at the Met she was a total bore -- in comparison Janowitz in Vienna was divine (but they booed her), Gesendorf was very good and Phyllis Curtain had a touch of magic.
The last time I heard her make a good round big sound was as the Countess at the Met around 1980 -- but it was a poor revival (Stafford Dean was the inaudible Figaro) and she seemed bored (in that case a little hard to blame her). Renee and Flott were a lot more positive in revivals.
I went to three recitals, only three, and she forgot words and music at all three. The worst was when she tried to fake her way through a Strauss song and got completely addled. I don't know if she can read music but that carry on was unmusical.
Caballe could do the same thing, in fact the first half of her concerts was usually of music she hadn't prepared or knew only casually and she'd make a mistake and giggle. But in the second part, Caballe would give a big party and pour out the sound, do some flamenco (!), float some unbelievably beautiful and large pianissimi, and at the best concerts give 8 or 9 encores, sometimes of the most difficult arias (I was at one concert when she sang Pace, Pace and O Patria Mia like somebody from the golden age and people roared -- Bidu Sayao leapt up screaming and almost had a stroke). My point I suppose is, Montserat definitely had her limits especially on stage and could be feckless, but she had a drive in concert at least to deliver in a big way. Kiri never seemed to care.
The Renee hate is tiresome. I know for a fact that she is a fantastic practical musician, and she has delivered more than Kiri in my experience, I mean starting with the Sonnambula dress rehearsal with Qualuude, the La Straniera with Qualuude and the incredible Armida with Qualuude, also six fantastic Fiordaligis -- tossed off with unbelievable elan and brilliance. I have seen her be great in concert -- and she'd kill herself rather than make a mistake.
Of course it's not all roses; Renee has taken some bad turns, and while I thought the first run of Manons was spectacular vocally, I'm not sure she 'got' the role, and I didn't care for her as much when she got back to it. I didn't care for the Pirata or the first run of Violettas, but in both she gave far more than I saw Kiri give, save in those few performances.
Kiri sang a more gorgeous Arabella the first time around, but Renee tried much harder to create a character (no, it wasn't Lisa Della Casa -- who was just magic, or Janowitz who was excellent and booed again). Renee 'read' the Marschallin text infinitely better and more intelligently, but she had no more magic than Kiri -- I thought each was a loss for different reasons.
But for my reality Kiri was someone with an immense gift, who made it big, and then shrugged it off. Renee misfires, sometimes spectacularly, but it's a great talent and nothing she does is done indifferently or casually (sometimes that's her problem).
te Kanawa was frequently superb in London around 1980 - great Fiordiligi, Elvira, Pamina, Arabella, and the most beautiful fulltoned and carrying soprano singing I have ever heard as Amelia Boccanegra. But she could also be maddeningly indifferent on stage - underprojecting and, well, bored. As in a really insipid Violetta. From reports, the unengaged, underprojected stuff seems to have increased with time. A friend who heard both her London Elviras and then one she did in Auckland, NZ, in front of an audience only to willing to adore was appalled at the inaudibility and generla lack of committment in the latter.
I second a vote for the Nuit d'ete (and the first 4 last songs). Really lovely singing and a reminder of how good she could be.
Dear Mrs. John Claggert
I respect your statements and I can see how all these deragatory comments directed at Renee Fleming could become too much. But I still disagree with you on many points. I believe the reason so many of us are truned off by Fleming is because she is a part of a publicity machine that overlooks technical and taste issues in a world class opera singer. I personally am disappointed in Fleming because she used to be such a lovely singer and she opted for becoming a persona. For the publicity machine in opera to work, the singer has to bring genuine technique and musicality to the table, or elese the whole thing is empty. It is only a matter of time before the publicity machine for Renee Fleming stops to work. Singers of the past (Pons, Callas,etc.)no matter how glamorous could not get away with what Fleming gets away with. She belongs to that part of the opera world where she gets rewarded for more than she puts out. There is a difference between being an opera star these days and being a great artist. And that is the truth. Karita Mattila is a great artist and singer who does not operate out of that publicity machine...even when appears nude in Salome. You see the difference?
Maybe if I had heard her initial mid-70s performances in Mozart and as Desdemona... the voice on record then and for a few years was certainly gorgeous. I started hearing her live in 1983 and do not have much use for my memories of having done so.
MJC is correct-- the initial Met Arabellas were well-vocalised but inexpressive ( Leinsdorf was infklexible, she had ZERO chemistry with Weikl, less with Battle- a big disappointment to anyone with taste enough to see it wasn't the Big Event the TIMES had promised.
I saw one of those Met Violettas in 1983 of which there were in fact EIGHT before Maliponte saved their asses on the broadcast. kiri knew neither words nor music and couldn't begin to embody the part. Maybe the worst-prepared performance I have ever seen by a recording star.
After that I avoided her, waiting for Lear before going to ROSENKAVALIER the telecast year -- though she did sing a very good if coldly acted Contessa at San Fran in 1985.
Both the 1990 ("Versace") and 1995 (Non-Versace) Countess Madelieine outings in San Fran were dull, with her on autopilott until the well-sung final scenes- *if* singing in that scene can be divorced from textual understanding. The Bay Area queendom, and indeed the rest of the sometimes easily corralled Bay Area audience, worked itself into a lather about the Versace frock-- it got a lot of non-opera loving queens to buy tickets-- but good as she looked hers was a near-meaningless performance in the theatre.
Amelia/Maria in 1995 at the Met was OK but showed vocal dimunition and after Adriana and Aprile one wanted more italianita.
I though she was surprisingly good as Vanessa in DC in 2002, although she was mainly coasting on upper voice alone.
Never a superstar I could get worked up about, and almost always disappointing live, even if many fans made a frenzy as happens now for another Rolex spokesmodel ( whose hits and misses balance out a lot better than Kiri's).
Come to think of it the Non-Versace SFO CAPRICCIO was in 1993, because the sublime Tatiana was still with us and was the Claiton. The big news of that revival was in fact Mr. Keenlyside as Olivier.
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