pira pressure
La Cieca has just learned that Salvatore Licitra has withdrawn “for personal reasons” from the Met’s new Trovatore, which opens February 16, 2009. Marcelo Ãlvarez will be Manrico instead, which means he (Ãlvarez) will cancel Adriana Lecouvreur, which opens on February 6. The replacement Maurizio will be announced at a later date once the hysterical sobbing from the Met’s casting office has subsided.
kashania: I do see your point, and I thought about it too, but my personal taste in the part leans toward a much more refulgent sound than Guleghina can muster. Her hysterical, unsettled, screamy sound may be acceptable for Abigaille or Turandot or Lady Macbeth (to some), but a good Adriana goes along the Tebaldi, Scotto, Caballe, Freni lines. There are also quite a few delicate, floaty moments that Guleghina’s vocal technique simply can’t do.
Borodina could be very fine as the Princess, however.
I wonder why they chose to do this right now. In the Met’s history, it has tended to be put on for prima donnas a bit past their prime who have had quite long and very distinguished careers there. Guleghina has certainly sung there often enough over the last 12 years or so, but at least half of what she has done has been controversial, to put it mildly.
Why not Daniela Dessi and her partner Armiliato for Adriana?
Who’s the tenor with Raina?
Tagliavini, I see
La Cieca: You know, I hadn’t given Ghulghina’s chest voice much thought but thinking back to her Lady M., you’re right. And THANKS for that youtube clip!
Jatm: Now that I’ve actually given it a bit of thought (instead of my drive-by comment), I realised that I pegged the role wrongly. Adriana is great for past-her-prime sopranos who no longer have the top notes but have a good command of the rest of the voice and can still sing beautifully. Ghulegina’s voice is past its prime but her problem isn’t high notes (she can still get out the high Cs with variable consistency) but that she has holes peppered throughout her voice. And Adriana is a not a screamy verismo role. I agree with your choices for the role but if you haven’t, you must hear Olivero in the role.
And Borodina would be a dream as the Principessa.
neiln007: or, even better, Aprile Millo, who to my mind has something more of the sacro fuoco, though Dessi is certainly worlds better than Guleghina.
I should of said it when i thought it… cuz i was surprized no one had… i was gonna say Millo too… i thought she was terrif in the OONY… so call Dolora too…
And tell Aprile to wear that fabulous headpiece again…
Millo must be covering the role, no? It’s one of the remaining roles that she can get her voice around. If the Met is still interested in presenting her AND they’re putting on Adriana…
I agree that Borodina is a glamorous voice for Principessa, but not a great actress and I don’t know if it is only me, but I’ve never seen Borodina in 15 years to smile once on stage (in character or by curtain calls). She seems very cold singer alla Toczyska, her last predecessor of Principessa, who at least had a glamorous appearance. It looks to me like Borodina is always bored and just doing her job to get a paycheck. Where is the fire of Simionato, Cossotto, Obraztsova or acting skills of Resnik; or glamour of Bumbry and Verrett?
Caro Cieca: might Guleghina have been cast (however vocally odd a choice for the part) simply because Peter Gelb thinks all the queens will come out to see the bitch fight (both vocal and histrionic) between Guleghina and Borodina?
I have a suggestion for a new parterre feature:
Diva Death Match
You could have fights to the death between:
Cecilia Bartoli and David Daniels
Renee Fleming vs. Angela Georghiu
Elizabeth Futral vs. Anna Netrebko
Deborah Voight vs. Anne Schwanewilms
Diana Damrau vs. Natalie Dessay
Jane Eaglen vs. the MET costume department
Stephanie Blythe vs. a giant cheesecake
etc.
etc.