CCCP music factory
After decades of acclaim both as a People’s Artist and as an international monstre sacré, what is left for a diva but to join in that hip-hop all the youngsters are doing these days?
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Self-deluding, yes, but it made great inflammatory reading … and there are probably elements of the truth in there. Shame she’s lost it, because 15 years ago she really did have a splendid voice.
Thanks for posting that French and Saunders video, La Cieca. Love the reference to Mimi’s little hand being frozen.
That Gorchakova interview is FAB.
‘Callas is in a cemetery’ is a line that no creative writer would ever dare to venture when writing an embittered diva character.
I saw Gorchakova in The Fiery Angel in San Francisco way-back-when, and the role of Renata has got to be one of the worst of the voice-killers. It was like she was shrieking full-volume in her upper register all night long. I knew at the time that poor Gorchakova’s once-beautiful voice was not long for this world.
callas’ ashes were strewn in the Aegean Sea, therefore you pompous bitch, she is not in a cemetery.
her remarks are fanciful and ugy. Never thought she had a great sound, sang well, but not great.
Jeez, Galina Gorchakova! Talk about burning bridges!
That interview may not show Gorchakova in a very flattering light, though a lot of it rings very true. Her opinion of Gheorghiu is widely shared, though less widely expressed, and she is right that Gheorghiu is not a natural Tosca – too light indeed.
And as for Gergiev, I have never heard him in anything I liked except Russian music. His Mahler is execrable. And the schedules of the Mariinsky tours are indeed mad beyond belief – there seems to be very little respect for the voices, and also, judging from some of the casting of non-Russian projects he does that are not Mariinsky projects (the recent Mahler 8 in London for example) he has little understanding of voices outside the Russian tradition….
I should have said shame on me and anyone else trying to show off our Russian skillz. I’m wondering how my comment rated a comment, when someone just a few above me suggested bringing pack the pogroms?
I like the ring of Callas…cemetery. A nice bit of poetic license.