parterre box

65 comments

• armerjacquino says:

  I think a lot of this debate is about a sense of ownership on the part of fanboys- ‘How DARE my diva ruin my lovely memories of her by making a less than impressive noise’

  Fact is that being a performer involves two imperatives- the need to perform, and the need to earn a living. In this clip, Bumbry is doing both. More power to her.

  on April 29, 2008 at 8:44 PM
• jatm2063 says:

  naaaah! I just like to get all of your panties in a wad and then laugh at the commotion.

  The old gray mare she
  ain’t what she used to be
  ain’t what she used to be
  ain’t what she used to be
  the old gray mare she
  ain’t what she used to be
  many long years ago.

  on April 29, 2008 at 10:37 PM
• thomas says:

  jatm, you need to fucking grow up.

  on April 29, 2008 at 11:35 PM
• BeauBoi says:

  Oh Mildman, you’ve got me wrong…

  Pipsqueak…LOL….riiiiight.

  My whole point was that instead of acting like a bunch of bitter, jaded old opera queens, maybe we (me included, because I’m critical too) should try and look past the shortcomings. ANYONE with half a brain can point out the obvious and say, “oh she’s old”, “oh her hair looks bad”, “oh she doesn’t sound so hot”, etc. It doesn’t take any knowledge of opera or singing to recognize that.

  Personally I’d rather listen with a truly critical ear and notice the subtle things about the performance that are still wonderful and beautiful. It takes GUTS for her to do what she’s doing. Even if I didn’t already like her so much I could respect that. And, FYI, I’m not comparing her to her former self. What on earth would be the purpose of that? To say she’s not what she used to be? Well duh…

  on April 29, 2008 at 11:50 PM
• Ms. Creant says:

  oh, thacky, abigaille refined? never!

  speaking of abi, what’s going on with andrea gruber? years ago, she gave a kickass perf. as abi at the met, then she disappeared…

  on April 30, 2008 at 12:13 AM
• virginblogger says:

  I hope that this doesn’t sound horrible. The one time I hear Bumbry live was in Hartford, CT, when the Connecticut Opera did a production of “Salome” somewhere around 1980. My only experience of the opera to that point had been the Nilsson recording, which is still one of my favorites. Two things struck me about the Bumbry performance. She did her own dance, and looked pretty respectable. She filled the Bushnell, which is a fairly cavernous hall, with a predominantly black audience. Having only experienced old ladies in pearls to that point at the opera, I thought the evening was exciting.

  on April 30, 2008 at 1:53 AM
• laviata says:

  I saw Grace sing Turandot and Tosca in Sydney last century. She was then beyond the average retirement age for a prima donna and the notes above top A didn’t really belong to her voice, but the authority of her presence excused everything.

  on April 30, 2008 at 6:44 AM
• Cocky Kurwenal says:

  I see nothing wrong with aged divas continuing to work if people still enjoy it. I’m also exceedingly grateful that they do go on a bit too long sometimes too – I saw a late Freni performance which was my only opportunity to hear her live. Attending that, rather squawky though it was at times, allowed me to gain a far more real understanding of what she was really like in her prime, and so I enjoy my recordings of her even more as a result.

  And take Adelina Patti – she made her recordings something like 56 years after her (rather precocious) debut, by which point she was waaaaay past it. But because she did, we get to hear an absolutely legendary singer who is featured in Tolstoy, who Rossini admired, and who Shaw reviewed on many occasions. I would be the first to agree that some of it is downright terrible, but there are moments in those records where you really do hear some of the most beautiful sounds you’ve ever heard, you get a glimpse of the most fantastic legato and, in short, you are able to see exactly why she remains such a celebrated figure in the history of opera.

  If Bumbry turned up in London any time soon to do a recital, I’d be there like a shot. She was Amneris on my very first complete opera recording, and I would love to get some sense of the scale of the instrument, raddled though it may be.

  on April 30, 2008 at 7:54 AM
• Thackeray Gnomey says:

  Cocky, did you miss Grace’s Wigmore Hall recitals in 2001/2/3 and 7?

  They were real events. 2002 was the best – she was magnificent in the Wesendonck-Lieder and a selection of Duparc, and a sexy Seguedille was among the encores (as it had been the year before). There was no need for the listener to do any indulgent ‘filling in’ for deficiencies in the voice, since it was pretty much all there. Her vocal estate was noticeably more fragile by 2007, but she still pulled things off with customary aplomb and elan.

  Do you have her as Amneris with Price or with Nilsson?

  on April 30, 2008 at 9:04 AM
• Thackeray Gnomey says:

  PS
  She also did a Wigmore masterclass in 2002, which afforded still impressive glimpses of her Lady Macbeth.

  The student there was Miriam Murphy, a name to watch out for, who replaced an ailing Violeta Urmana as the Lady at Covent Garden in 2006,

  on April 30, 2008 at 9:05 AM