Anna as Anna?
La Cieca is loath to scoop dear Bradley Wilber, but rumors are swirling once again about future seasons at the Met. Perhaps the most controversial (among the cher public, at least) of these plans is a new production of Anna Bolena to open the 2011 season, with Anna Netrebko's pretty head on the chopping block. Further casting at this point is not set, though La Cieca is confident that speculation will run rife in the comments section.Now, La Cieca is just going to suggest that we all don't go off the deep end instantly and unanimously here, despite what at least some of may regard as perfect justification for doing so.
It does seem apparent that if Netrebko is determined to do bel canto (not saying "should be doing" mind you), then Bolena does make more sense than, say, Puritani or Lucia. Anna (Mrs. Tudor, I mean) relies less on vocal brilliance qua brilliance than those two roles, and the "fiery" character of the rejected queen is the sort of dramatic type that appeals to Ms. Netrebko's lively theatrical instincts. We should also keep in mind that she now has more than three years of lead time and the availability of Scotto as a coach; as such she does have the opportunity to delve beyond a superficial reading of the music. (Again, no guarantees...)
It will also help, I think that the only "obligatory" sopracuto is the D at the end of the first act, a high interpolation so relatively that even Carol Vaness used to sing it.
But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Need La Cieca remind any of you that the duration from 2008 to 2001 is the equivalent of a century in Gelb Years. By that time we may end up with Christine Ebersole opening the season in Pikovaya Dama.
Your doyenne further has heard that the title role in Simon Boccanegra (2010-2011?) has been reassigned to Placido Domingo, with Thomas Hampson shifted into a revival of Macbeth -- opposite whom, La Cieca cannot venture to guess, though it's a safe bet the cover will be Cynthia Lawrence. Domingo, La Cieca hears, is already preparing an "out of town tryout" for Verdi's noble corsair with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
But speaking of Macbeth, La Cieca regrettably has a previous engagement and so will not be able to take in this evening's Lawrence/Ataneli version of the Scottish Opera. Any volunteers to serve as Guest Critic?
Labels: 2010, 2011, domingo, guest critic, la cieca ci guarda la cieca ci vede, met, netrebko
POSTED at
4:19 PM
91 Comments:
Honey, I'd lurv to go, but I gotta catch Linda Darnell in Forever Amber at the Preminger Festival. I'm sure you understand....
Old news. Costello as Percy. Garanca as Seymour. Kate Lindsey as Smeaton. John Relyea as Enrico VIII.
Oh my, La Cieca, you are a tease. For a moment I thought I was admiring the delights of Jonny Rhys Meyers as 'Enery with the lovely Anna. But look again and I think it's the equally gorgeous vision of el Schrott after his most recent visit to the hair salon.
I think Domingo is amazing. I think taking on new roles at this stage in his career is brave and must be exciting for him as well. And I am looking forward far more to his Simon than her Anna Bolena. Although, She'd be pretty good, I think, as his daughter in the Simon. I sang the big duet for Simon and Amelia/Maria/whatever her name is/names are when I was in college. Back when the opera was new.
Talking about Netrebko, has anybody
read Opera Chic today? Apparently her Violetta at the Royal Opera was a triumph.
"Shaken, stirred, and still quivering at the knees, I'm an altered man," wrote Richard Morrison of The Times. British critics have been rather restrained in praising Anna in the past. Did she fanally cast a spell on them, too?
I just looked at Opera Chic. What did the reviewer mean when he said that "Kaufmann didn't impress so much, or Angela'd be jealous and there'd be hell to pay"? Is Angela dumping her Orfeo?
sanford,
Angela, of course, is jealous. Netrebko, once and for all, has eclipsed Angela's star. Georghiu is the only soprano who publically has said that Netrebko is over-rated, whereas Anna is always very supportive of her fellow singers. Angela and Roberto need each other as never before, and my 'uneducated' guess is that they'll never split.
Well, Garanca will look nice on the DVD, but only fools would hire her over Joyce DiDonato to do Seymour (or, for that matter, Nicklausse/Muse), and that makes Master Friend and Mistress Billinghurst fools.
Commenting on the MACBETH casting- I would always have liked to have heard Carol Vaness give LM a try- or did she? Don't know if I would necessarily want to hear it at the Met- maybe a smaller theatre- but there was something chilly in the voice that I always thought would be effective. Wonder if she is up to it now?
I just returned from the Met and I was very pleased with Cynthia Lawrence's performance. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Mr. Ataneli. His performance was uninspired and he was even booed (alright, 1 person booed) following "Pieta, rispetto, amore".
Also, nerva, I agree DiDonato is fantastic, but have you seen Garanca in Barber? She is a MAJOR talent. And maybe DiDonato is unavailable...
Vaness did what was supposedly a fabulous Lady in Amsterdam several years ago, in the period where she would be great for a show, and then disastrous for a show, and you never knew what you were going to get till you got there. The reviews were very good, however.
i wish flanigan sang it at the MET.
Now, is netrebko going to sing bolena before or after singing norma, which she apparently has been working on?
Why still no Flanigan at the MET???????
and by "it" i meant Lady M....not bolena obvs
Domingo's first "tryout" of Boccanegra will be at the Berlin Staatsoper next season. I believe he will sing it at Covent Garden shortly thereafter, before taking it to the states.
flannigan is horrid. do not know what you la la's see in that hag.
That Vanessa was the worst singing, but oh the acting. She is so over it isn't funny.
as for domingo. Is there no curtain heavy enough to fall on that thing yet? Who wants to hear him in boccangera? I mean really.
Go away already.
does no one find all this a bit much.?
what was that critic thinking writing such an oversexed review of a person singing Traviata, Has he lost his perspective? was he paid? Wished he oculd see her in the red frock of another show because she would be free-er to dash about? they are embarrassing. Be impressed by all means, she is lovely, to look at. seems to be growing in what she has to say on stage. But really, this is just too over the top even for what I consider the stupidiest staff of critics writing in europe. They like anything.
I have not heard Flannigan in a while but the last time I saw and heard her, she was very very good.
As for Domingo in Boccanegra, well I welcome the chance to see that. He is the right age and what a coup for an arist who has given the public so much over so many years to be now moving into another type of repertoire. I think it is a treat.
Trebs is singing the Bellini Guillietta at Covent Garden next season, so she is making bel canto her fach.
Agastia
You're so wrong about Richard Morrison at the London Times. He used to literaly hate everything Covent Garden did. But it all changed last year with Dessay in La Fille about which he wrote an equally demented and hyper review. Put it down to male menapausal hysteria.
agastia,
Do you think that other critics have been also paid or are stupid to be over-taken by Netrebko's Violetta at the Royal Opera House?
Andrew Clark, from Financial Times and critical of Netrebko in the past, wrote,"Once in a generation a prima donna takes ownership of a role in a way none of her peers can do. Anna Netrebko has achieved this as Violetta."
Edward Seckerson, from The Independent, wrote "A stellar Violetta steals the show. The five stars belong to Netrebko."
Some on this blog will never accept Netrebko even if she sings walking on water!
you just confirmed my worst suspicion.
besides, they created the monster of Angela G the same way...looked what happened there. It smacks of the heavy handed crap that Tomassini does here in NY for his girls. TOO MUCH.
They always go bonkers then think about it later.
The New Moffo. I hate the british. I like her even but this is too much. THIS good I do not find her to be.
you know what it is for me?
she isn't demented enough. the straight men are running the opera house. they are ruling it.
tis a pity.
Yawn.... It's hate the Brits week again on Parterre box. You're not related to Kunoslav are you?
Dreary little provincials.
No I am not KUNOSLAV but I will search him/her out.
Off with their britty little heads.
Back to the Anna Bolena theme then....
Waldvogel said...
Yawn.... It's hate the Brits week again on Parterre box. You're not related to Kunoslav [sic- not a British monniker so that's all right then] are you?
Dreary little provincials.
That's right, wogs and provincials start at Calais-- the beastly people have had no direct experience of such talents as Jo Davies, John Hudson and Cynthia Buchan!
Constantine, I understand why Angela would be jealous of Anna (except that Angela is much better singer), but I don't understand the reference to Kaufmann.
As for Ms. Flannigan, she has sung at the met, including a Live From The Met Broadcast. She was in Ghost of Versailles 91 - 92 (7 perfs), Rusalka 93 (1 perf), I Lombardi 93-94 (8 perf, including telecast, radio broadcast), and La Boheme 94 (2 Perfs, including debut of Ainhoa Artoa). As I recall, her Lombardi was astounding. She could have moved on to Lady Macbeth, I guess.
The sad thing is that that damn woman would be a spectacular Butterfly since it suits her voice type so well ... but she doesn't get it. Who knows why.
Ms. Flanigan has of course sung Lady Macbeth with some success, at City Opera with Mark Delavan and at Opera Company of Philadelphia with Gregg Baker-- who BTW sang and acted rings around the likes of Lado Ataneli in the part.
Krunoslav,
not to mention Doris Doree, Norman Phillips, Morley Meredith, Patricia Brooks, Brenda Boozer, Michael Molese, William Johns,Clarice Carson, etc etc
Flanigan killed herself at the Met, as she has done at other houses, by not being prepared. In the famous Lombardi she was hired as the cover, Millo crashed and burned, and when they needed to replace her Flanigan didn't know the role. They had to beat it in to her head in about 5 minutes, causing much consternation among the musical staff. That killed her future at the Met.
You would be surprised how many people show up to rehearsals on the professional level- I am always sitting there thinking how I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.
left out unprepared-sorry. specifically talking abouot a FAUST I just did- with a big company no less-where the soprano was walking around at the first read with acd player and earphones trying to learn the final trio 5 minutes before we started
Some people will NEVER accept that Netrebko is developing into a great singer-- let's remember she is still very young, in operatic terms. Here are some of the other critical hosannas she has received for her Covent Garden TRAVIATA. Some of these are from reviewers who have been quite critical of her in the past. Maybe she paid them all off this time....
http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2241232,00.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=atUHpLtXG4EY&refer=muse
http://www.musicomh.com/opera/roh-traviata_0108.htm
One more rave for Netrebko's TRAVIATA...
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/show-23380336-details/The+Royal+Opera%3A+La+Traviata/showReview.do?reviewId=23432481
A few comments:
I think Flannigan tried to organize and unionize the singers at the MET, a veritable Norma Rae, that is the reason she has had a CONSPICUOUS absence.
Industry insiders have said that there has been a scandalous affair between Gheorghiu and Kaufman that is the reason for the reference.
And don't expect that wedding bell to ring too soon. A cunning little vixen was found in a stairwell locking lips with a famous fellow countryman at the Lincoln Center mecca which explained her tardiness for a rehearsal of her star turn as a star crossed lover. Now she and "Daddy" share the stage which may not go over so well with a hot blooded latin lover.
If I remember well, there are perilous rising trills in copia iniqua which are not interpolated (though Monserat, if not coloratura queen at least bel canto queen omited it at La Scala) but well written. Anna, beside all due love and admiration , never had any real trills. It can be learned though...
It must have been a very expensive exercise for Trebs, this CG Trav. From the reaction to Monday's performance (another "debacle" I'm sure, according to the geniuses at Opera-L) I personally witnessed, she's apparently had to bribe -besides those 10 newspaper critics- around 2,200 normally sedate Brits to give her a standing ovation and 5-6 curtain calls.
And to think that I also stood up and cheered with the rest of them but didn't get a penny from those bribes...
Everyone - a bit of context purlease! Covent Garden hasn't had a top-flight Violetta since Gheorghiu in the mid 1990 - we've had a sequence of Rost, Kelessidi, Loukianetz, Bonfadelli, Villaroel, Vassileva, Takova, Mula (where are they now?) and - perdonami - Ruth Ann Swenson, who I couldn't take beyond Act I. So no wonder the critics and audience went bananas. Rupert Christiansen in the Telegraph has written the most convincing review of Netrebko - he says she is good but not great. So stop this Brit bashing! Tony Tommasini isn't beyond this kind of drooling and gushing in the NYT.
Everyone - a bit of context purlease! Covent Garden hasn't had a top-flight Violetta since Gheorghiu in the mid 1990 - we've had a sequence of Rost, Kelessidi, Loukianetz, Bonfadelli, Villaroel, Vassileva, Takova, Mula (where are they now?) and - perdonami - Ruth Ann Swenson, who I couldn't take beyond Act I. So no wonder the critics and audience went bananas. Rupert Christiansen in the Telegraph has written the most convincing review of Netrebko - he says she is good but not great. So stop this Brit bashing! Tony Tommasini isn't beyond this kind of drooling and gushing in the NYT.
Sanford,
You said "Angela is a much better singer than Anna!" I'm glad that my auditory canal, acoustic nerve, and perception of sound are diffrent and probably not as sharp as yours.
Re Gheorghiu and Kaufmann - surely Kaufmann has better taste than that. Isn't she a bit old for him?
Bolena, Norma????
Netrebko has no business singing bel canto.
Bolena could be great for Netrebko, if she takes the time to get it in her bones. It is a big sing, but it sounds more plausible than some of the stuff they think she should do. But the part requires a lot of vocal and dramatic control, and she might be a tad too impulsive (which is part of her appeal) to really get it right. I don't doubt it will be a great public success. We shall see about the rest. And 36 is not young for an opera singer, especially a soprano. If she is lucky, she won't have to negotiate too much the change that comes with menopause. She could have fifteen more great years or so, and then it will be time to get smart about her vocal capabilities. Again, we shall see. Not everybody can be Mirella Freni. It is kind of sad, but at this point I think opera needs Netrebko more than the other way around.
I love Domingo, but his forays into the baritone repertoire have left me completely nonplussed. He just sounds like a tenor without high notes. In the Iphigenie I missed the urgency of Orest, especially in the Dieux qui me pursuivez. All I heard was a tenor negotiating the break very carefully. A baritone doing that music well has a brilliance Domingo didn't have because he would be singing near the top of his range. I don't see him conveying the gravitas of Simon, and the stuff with Amelia is going to sound incestuous. I don't need a big dark Warren voice in the part, but Domingo just doesn't have the right color for this. Nevertheless, I will take him over Hampson preciousness any day.
regina delle fate:
I didn't catch her here in Trav, but Kelessidi ain't all bad. I saw her the other day as Mimi in Athens and I thought her pretty good.
But that's a bit beside the point: we haven't had any decent Toscas for yonks either (and, no, Gheorghiu and Urmana weren't all that), but that doesn't stop CG trying almost every year, and the punters keep coming to see it (and keep applauding).
BTW didn't we also get Amsellem and Martinez in the last Trav revival? Didn't catch them (sadly, like most of the 2005 season, damned work) but I don't recall too much moaning on the grapevine about them.
Anyway, Monday *was* rather good, hence the enthusiasm. Perfect? Perhaps not, but what ever is? But rather good, at the very least. Exceptional, more likely. And, most definetely, the last bastion of resistance to Trebmania has now fallen. Which is going to make it tough for us old(er) hands to find tickets for her perfomances in the future without having to go the black market route. Can't have everything.
Vocally speaking, if Netrebko works at it, she'll be a good Anna Bolena. Not one for the ages -- she'll never be a great bel canto singer -- but good nonetheless. Remember that her Elvira at the Met started poorly and ended up strongly as she settled into the part througout the run. She just needs more hard prep work. Add to that her brilliant stage presence and it could be a great show. Donizetti's lines aren't quite as long as Bellini's and the part doesn't sit as high as Lucia. It should work out well.
I wonder who her Giovanna will be.
I agree that Domingo sounds like a tenor without high notes. He definitely won't be an ideal Simon but he always has tricks up his sleeve. Either way, I think that at this point of his career, he can pretty much do whatever he likes. He's earned the right.
domingo's ego cannot take retirement.
he will go one day.
Simon will not be easy. it is for a real baritone.
Anya, arrived not knowing Puritani, musical staff was insane trying to teach it to her. Gelb stood firm. Star after all.
Gheorgiu arrived faking parts of or scared or whatever for Simon B. Music staff went crazy trying to get some semblance of connectivity with the furious maestro. Star after all.
Flannigan was universally hated at the Met.
Millo got sick, and withdrew after two sub par performances, the rehearsals before she got sick, were really very good. I was in the show, one of the honored supers, walking walls. dreaded going to rehearsals, then things got dicey.
I shudder when I remember the Jeanette McDonald sounds of the "cover" that didn't know it. No one was happy to see Millo get sick except maybe Lamos who is the great buddy of Lauren F.
I think Netty will be a fine Anna. Hope she learns it well enough.
Woo hoo! "if Netrebko is determined to do bel canto (not saying "should be doing" mind you"...
Waldvogel said...
Krunoslav,
"not to mention Doris Doree, Norman Phillips, Morley Meredith, Patricia Brooks, Brenda Boozer, Michael Molese, William Johns,Clarice Carson, etc etc"
Sorry, Waldvogel, but Morley Meredith and Clarice Carson are Canadians-- "Commonwealth Singers" in the late HDR's phrase-- just like those other matchless Ingpen imports to the Met, Nicole Lorange and Joseph Rouleau.
Incidentally none of the Americans you mention had much of a notable Met career- Molese and Brooks never sang there at all, and Phillips ws only jobbed in with scores of other Juilliard students to be the Russian Father in 1974's DEATH IN VENICE.
Carry on!
This US vs Brit stuff is very, very boring. Shame on those of you, on both sides of the pond, indulging in it. Some poor quality American singers have sung at the Garden, some poor quality British singers at the Met. Deal with it.
The reviews of Traviata I've read have lavished every bit as much praise on Kaufmann and Hrovstovsky. I shall be queueing up to see it from the cheap seats.
Having seen Amsellem's placid and vocally blah Micaela on the BBC broadcast of Antonacci's Carmen over Christmas, I'm not that keen on catching her Violetta.
When I saw amsellem as gilda i was horrified. It was SO bad! I cannot understand how she gets such high profile engagements. There is certainly no competition between her violetta and trebs. Netrebko should sing both puccini and massenet's manons next season instead of lucia, now THAT woudl be a feat. Or she should sing butterfly so they will finally do an HD bcast of the gorgeous production! (though racette deserves an HD bcast for it) It certainly merits it more than the lucia.
Whoever said it about Anna turning into a great start and still being young in opera world, I agree.
It's not her fault that everyone has been referring to her as the second coming since the day she appeared, and that its hard for anyone to live up to that kind of hype.
If she had been appearing in slightly smaller roles as a "young artist" everyone everywhere would be falling all over themselves.
I think she is charming, and if you ever see interviews with her, you will notice that she is very aware of where her voice needs work, but she's just GOIN' for it, and its so often VERY successful.
I am on Team Anna.
So, more please about Garanca - haven't seen it. Please give details. Thank you.
Constantine, I wish you the best in regards to the healing of your auditory canal. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Perhaps some Q-tips would help? :-)
Oh, please, what bs!
If she doesn't have control over her PR, then she's dumber than she comes across in her interviews.
Garanca is good looking, has a strong, but not very distinctive sound - a bit like Urmana, I find - and I think she will grow into some of the heavier roles in due course.
She doesn't do much with her words, though. This makes her performances rather anonymous. I found it a problem when she competed in Cardiff Singer of the World 6 years ago and I still find it a negative.
Joyce DD is a much classier, more inspired bel canto singer, though unlike Garanca she is likely to stick with the lighter parts (though her Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda in Geneva was apparently quite something. Some of it is on YouTube).
Belle -
I disagree about the size of Garanca's voice: she certainly cannot be compared with Urmana from the standpoint of vocal amplitude. She and di Donato are in fact very similar in vocal size and repertoire choices. Garanca has proven her brains in selecting repertoire carefully (she recently withdrew from a debut as the Composer in Ariadne at CG) and this is a good thing.
To my ears, Garanca is one of the classiest singers on the stage today (ditto di Donato), so I don't understand how you find her lacking in that respect. Her diction and verbal acuity are also outstanding. While her aria CDs may show a touch of the bland (more than anything, I think the evidence of a young artist still developing), one can see Garanca on several outstanding DVDs including Clemenza and Werther. And to address bel canto rep, she is one of the very greatest recorded Adalgisas (alongside Gruberova on Nightingale): she sings all the original, higher keys to boot. If Katherine is correct (and I do mean IF, since I think it is very doubtful), then Garanca will probably make a huge success as Seymour.
What we need to discuss (re: Katherine's fantasies) is the disaster that would be Relyea as Enrico (shudder).
armerjaquino said...
" Some poor quality American singers have sung at the Garden, some poor quality British singers at the Met. Deal with it."
It's a question of the wild disproportion of less than stellar British and British-endorsed artists working in the States versus not great Americans working in UK theatres. Especially given the relative size of the pools of talent, it's extraordinary. And it is constant- the other poster had to go back to Doris Doree in 1948 at the Garden (plus, if in the 70s Pat Brooks sang in London it was surely because Andrew Porter wrote worshipfully of her.)
But we have, all the time, things like the over the hill Rosalind Plowright singing new productions at the Met (and next year Seattle) the mysterious use of the likes of Ashley Holland, Philip Joll, Anne-Marie Owens and on US stages.
Again, we're delighted to have the Cootes and Keenlysides and Felicity Palmers. And many more.
But anyone denying the imbalance, or its source in the placement of British artistic adminsitrators in US companies is simply kidding him- or herself.
I'm sorry Krunoslav, but we've had Kallen Esperian - remember her???? - for several seasons and major roles, Diana Soviero as Butterfly and Nedda, Paula Galliati (?), never Millo, alas, and several other non-event US sopranos over the years. So it's definitely a two-way thing. And Anne-Marie Owens isn't singing at the Met. I wish she had been Amneris in the Zandra Rhodes ENO production rather than the risible Jane Dutton. On the plus side, we had Jill Grove as a rather wonderful Marfa in Khovanshchina. I'd love to see and hear her again in London.
Armerjacquino
Last time round, Norah Amsellem made a bit of a pig's ear of Violetta's Act I cabaletta, but she was more moving than Netrebko in Act III. She looked - and sounded - really gaunt and sick. I agree her Micaela was vinegary, but her Traviata might be worth catching.
Whenever talking about La Traviata and Violetta, Moffo comes to mind. On her Website is listed that she sang Violetta 900 times and Lucia 500 times! Are those numbers verifiable or pure fiction. Does anybody know?
Regina--
I have never seen nor heard a better Nedda or Cio-Cio-San live than Diana Soviero, and I have heard many of both.
Esperian never got it together, agreed. Neither did Plowright. How many times do I have to say this? It is not that there have never been subpar Yanks at the ROH (don't forget la Stottler)-- it is that the subpar Brits are much more frequent and appear on virtually all of America's top 10 houses- often in new productions cast or produced by their countrymen. I frankly doubt most British opera fans are aware of this fact.
Anne-Marie Owens I have had the ill luck to hear at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Come to think of it, it was Catrin Wyn-Davies and Mary Lloyd Davies at the San Francisco Opera. These are two of America's top international class stages and none of these singers remotely belonged on them.
Krunoslav - we get the picture. You don't have to go on and on bashing the Brits ad nauseum. We realise you have got it in for them.
I'm sure I speak for a lot of posters when I say I wish you would stop your parochialism and get a life! There are much more interesting things to put one's energies into.
No you don't get the picture, Ruxton, evidently neither do the other staunch lads who go on about Brit-bashing, not one of whom has ever ackowledged that the phenomenon I describe actually exists. May Glanville and Joll grace your next few operas!
I do post, and happily so, on other subjects. The idea of anyone who posts on and reads parterre telling someone else here to "get a life" is beyond amusing.
Other topic:
John Relyea as Enrico VIII gives one some idea of what the current casting situation is at the Met. His hair will look nice.
A Netrebko/Garanca/Relyea/Costello/ Lindsey BOLENA-- it's the "slim and trim BOLENA"- well, Kate Lindsey should be good, and also Stephen Costello, if he hasn't blown it out doing Devereux.
Thanks for your response Evenhanded. I only said that Garanca's **sound** was a bit like Urmana's, not the size of the voice.
I see that Garanca recently did Carmen in her native Riga.
It will be interesting to see if Joyce DD ever takes on the role.
krunoslav - Since you are receiving so little support in your cause, I will emerge just this once from lurkdom to second your call to arms against the well-documented "British phenomenon"
And how right you are about Relyea, who should never have been anything but a comprimario. His continuing popularity at the Met is inexplicable.
I am a little baffled about the remarks about John Relyea. I always considered him to be a wonderful singer and actor. Can you explain objectively why you think he is second rate?
Josephine -
"Objectively" is an almost useless term when it comes to singing, don't you think? Since I was the first (in this thread) to mention the silliness of casting Relyea as Enrico VIII, let me mention a few things. First, Relyea tends to sing out the side of his mouth (he is not the first to do this), but not only does it make him "look" idiotic, but it gives his sound a snarky, somewhat hectoring edge that is not appealing. (IMO, he does this to boost the volume of his very lyric sound.) Second, his singing tends to lack "profile" - i.e., he doesn't use much dynamic variation and he does very little with the text. From what I have heard, he always seems to be most concerned with producing a steady, homogeneous stream of sound - not a bad thing, but his voice just isn't interesting enough on its own without an intelligent performer behind the sound. Third, he is absolutely cardboard on stage: this man couldn't act his way onto a third-rate sitcom.
Now, these are just three criticisms and I have been as objective as possible, but still, the are others who may disagree 100%. However, as far as I'm concerned, these demerits (along with others) will KILL any chance for a vital, interesting, dominant Enrico VIII.
Evenhanded
I had not thought about some of those tecnical things that you mentioned about Relyea. Thanks for bringing them up. I will think about them. Now, I saw Relyea in Macbeth. He had a fight scene right before his murder scene. I thought he did that scene very convincingly. So the image of someone who has that much body awareness and control does not match the image of a cardboard figure. But maybe I am taking his side because in some way I find him incredibly sexy. See, that is where I am not being objective.
And one more thing Evenhanded:
I do agree with you totally that there is no such thing as objectivity when one talks about singing. I guess what I meant was if there is someone putting a well known singer down because they themselves have not been able to have a successful singing career, to me that kind of opinion does not count. By the way, I did not think you are in that category. You offered a very sound explanation for your opinions and I appreciate it.
evenhanded,
While I disagree with you about Relyea's acting abilities, there is no denying his various technical issues. Those of you on parterre who heard him as Figaro a few years ago will notice that his "troubles" have increased significantly since that point. At 35, there is no way he should be singing with such a darkness to his voice, and one can't help but wonder how much time he has left in his career if he continues to sing in this manner.
That being said, he is an incredibly nice guy and someone who is very easy to work with, and I am sure that is why he is continually reengaged at the Met. Also, he brings a presence to roles such as Raimondo thanks to his height and build...I just don't think a 5'8 Raimondo has the same effect.
I vote for Rene Pape as Enrico. I saw him as King Philip last year and I thought he was so moving and wonderful.
Krunoslav - Soviero "the best Butterfly and Nedda I have heard" - blimey - you haven't lived! Well she was pretty dire at Covent Garden and we've not had many world-class Cio-Cio-Sans there in the last 30 years.
Evenhanded - thanks for your words on Relyea. He hectors and judders and pushes for volume at the expense of tone. He may have presence but he is not an interesting actor. Okay I can see why he sings at the Met, but not at Covent Garden.
Anna has cancelled tonight's Traviata at Covent Garden - Ermonela Jaho is going on? I've only heard her sing coughs and spits on Florez and Calleja records. Is she any good?
Anna has cancelled tonight's Traviata at Covent Garden - Ermonela Jaho is going on? I've only heard her sing coughs and spits on Florez and Calleja records. Is she any good?
I saw the Macbeth simulcast at the movies and Relyea was not singing out of the side of his mouth. Someone probably told him that wouldn't look cool in hi def closeup.
regina delle fate: Your most recent comment pretty much defines the word "insular." A wonderful artist that you happen to hear on an off night or (more likely) quite late in her career (Soviero) is one thing; a second-rate and drab singer in what for lack of a better term one has to call her prime (Amanda Roocroft, say).
[continued] ... is something else again.
Krunoslav, who was that impossibly awful woman who sang Salome at Glimmerglass around 2000 or so -- the one who looked so much like Charles Busch?
I don't think that Relyea is second-rate. However, I do agree that his singing lacks personality and he needs to grow as an artist.
Cieca, dear, It was Elizabeth Byrne who sang that blowsy Salome at Glimmerglass; she more recently di the Kostelnicka there. She sang at the MET as on of the Walkuere, a Serving WOman (Elektra), and one performance as the Duchess of Parma.
Indeed Anna has cancelled tonight's performance and after Erwin cancelling his four Wien performances as DG.
Thomas -
I did not go to the Macbeth (I didn't have the time), and so I cannot comment on Relyea there. I DID see the Puritani last season in which he sang consistently out of the left side of his mouth. It was a very poor showing. If he has corrected this fault, then that's great. One down, many to go.
Kashania - if Relyea has "growing" to do, then perhaps he shouldn't be singing such major roles at a house like the MET. It's a tired old argument, I know, but there is some validity to it.
Cieca - I luv ya - Soviero was one of the greats, and to dismiss her is a mistake. And GOD ONLY KNOWS how that sub-mediocre Roocroft maintains a career. She is in the same class with Martinpelto - another favorite on British stages. Add Kelessidi to that list. Perhaps these latter two are not British singers, but they have made their careers (scary) on British stages. So, there's more than enough mediocrity to go around, sad to say.
Evenhanded: I sympathise with your point. However, by that same argument, most young singers shouldn't be singing at the Met, since many tend to come into their own as artists in their 40s. I think that if a singer is vocally accomplished and has a voice that can carry at the Met, then they should be singing there.
I haven't heard enough of Relya's recent singing to address the interesting technical arguments made earlier in the thread but I think that his voice is strong and makes a good impact at the Met. I heard him live only once, as Raimondo a few years ago, when RAS sang her last Lucia. He made a very good impression and showed that he deserved to be there.
Also, he's not exactly singing roles like Boris or Fillipo.
No, but Banquo needs a big Verdi bass and Relyea hasn't got one.
The TIMES senior critic clearly likes his "sturdiness", though.
Relyea actually was very good indeed when he started at the Met in CENERENTOLA. He is musical- just not very interesting, and as others have noted, technical faults have crept in.
Elizabeth Byrne was a replacement Salome for Glimmerglass, but thar they brought her *back* for Kostelnicka... well, that's what I am talking about. the general director and Artistic Administrator were both Brits. They also gave us the truly awful Jonathan Peter Kenny in one of Dr. Miller's choose the Brit designer and you're done stagings-- Miller is known to ask for colleagues from home even when they aren't needed-- and apparently considered that Kenny, and not David Daniels- some of whose arias were cut-- would be the star of TAMERLANO.
I just came back from the Netrebko-less Traviata at Covent Garden. I liked Ermonela Jaho a lot.
[My experience of Netrebko has been limited to recordings - audio and video - and I have no real views on her: it sounds like a good, distinctly Slavic voice to me, but not used with any great finesse, and her diction is mealy-mouthed.]
Jaho really looks the part (Anna looks a bit too saftig at the moment, to judge from the production shots) and is a fine, relatively restrained actress. The voice is not de luxe quality, though it is an attractive lyric sound with a rather Lorengar-like flutter. It is very well controlled and particularly appealing at lower dynamics. Her performance was musical, genuinely touching and not a piece of prima donna grandstanding. She didn't seem to put a foot wrong and the audience was very appreciative -- not just because they were being British and cheering the underdog!
Apparently, there were standing ovations at the end of each act for Anna; I say, what, old chaps, we are getting as bad as those damned Yankees!
Sorry for the typo in my moniker above!
According to some people on Opera-L who were actually there, there were no standing ovations at the end of each act for Anna.
LaShacka Uppa,
I agree wholewheartedly. And see she already has Erwin cancelling his engagements. Anna is what they say "A leopard who cannot change his spots".
She eats people up and spits them out. There is no reason why she should be cancelling shows right now. She is obviously not properly trained to do a full run. She wears herself out or she is just doing too much partying. Either way it is not good for her or anyone who is with her.
Rolando went on sick leave...probably because he was tired of singing to her crouch and not getting fufilled. I think she strung him along as much as she could. And Erwin better be on his guard or he is going to end up as just another one on her long string of accomplishes. He really deserves better.
But then again, he could be in it for his own reasons. Just think how many stories, covers, etc. he will be getting now that he is with her? It must be heady for him.
He was not always "Hot Schrott". Let's admit it folks he was portly. She has worked with him in the past so why is he suddenly this "gorgeous hot lover" of hers? She is pathetic. Sorry not impressed with her in the least. I don't care if she thinks she is talented by singing upside down.
I looked up Ms. Jaho on Youtube and there is a fair ammount of Traviata with her. She is indeed lovely and sings rather well. However, she appears to have lower back problems as she spent all of Ah, Forse Lui ben over at the waist.
As for Mr. Relyea, I thought that I was imagining that he sang out the left side of his mouth, until someone else mentioned it here. It may not have been noticible on a movie screen, but on my flat screen TV, it was glaring. i think it's clever of the Met to try and disquise it, though, with that horrible moustache.
Dottore Grenvil:
Thanks for the review of yesterday's Trav. I am going again on Weds and although I am holding my fingers crossed for Trebsie to recover (I'm converting a close friend to opera and I thought that a Trebs extravaganza in an rather more accessible work such as Trav should do the trick; he's flying in from abroad too), anyway, it seems that Jaho isn't too shabby either. Good to know.
A word about the ovations from Monday, because I see a lot of nonsense both in the papers (too extravagnt) and in Opera-L (predictably, too idiotically anti-Trebs). I was sitting in the stalls, middle of row L, so I had a perfect view of the auditorium. At the end of Act 1 there was roaring applause (deservedly) plus bravos and the like and some people did stand up; however I don't know if it was to rush to the bar or to applaud. Although I am a fan of Nebbie, I did not stand up. At the end of a (brilliantly done by all) finale of Act 2 there was more roaring applause but no standing up, either for dashing to the loo/bar or otherwise.
At the final curtain (riotous applause of course) the principals came out with the crowd mostly sitting down. Indeed, at the initial curtain call of each principal nobody got up. Some people started giving a standing ovation from the second curtain call onwards, and by the fourth (there were something like 6 or seven) amid foot banging (!) and rythmic applause, the whole of the stalls (including me) did stand up and give a full standing ovation. I haven't seen such an excited Covent Garden for yonks. And it was absolutely fair enough too, everybody was truly brilliant, the two Russians being the best of the lot.