down low
Katherine Jenkins apparently has already begun her vocal studies with Placido Domingo! In fact, the legendary tenor has gone so far as to lend the Welsh songbird his own personal orchestra parts for “Nessun dorma!”Â
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re 107
Think Keith Lewis a New Zealander
re Annas
Very few can beat Birgit in the opening of “Or sai…” (not of course in the coloratura!)
Very few are worse than Birgit in “Non mi dir”. Possible exception of Dame G
I strongly disagree! I fully expected Dame Gwyneth’s Non mi dir to be a disaster, particularly all the ‘sentira’ stuff, and was very pleasantly surprised. She even interpolates mordants in the first phrase of the fast section which are stunningly accurate, on the live ’74 recording I have. She is absolutely up to all the little notes in the ensembles too.
Indeed Lewis is a Kiwi, I had forgotten! “A Commonwealth singer.”
Well, he was certainly a good Ottavio and Ferrando. A bit monochrome, but stylish and fluent.
Donna Anna was the best thing Vaness ever did, I would say. Really imposing.
Young Broderick has a touch of the Rita Hunters about her, I find – that ‘in the mask’ sound, very English in some ways, carried on quite a marked, but even vibrato that gives her very strong projection. There is something a bit old-fashioned about her style, but in a good way. She is very at ease on stage too. Knows exactly what she’s doing.
Cocky, you’re right about the image consultant thing. She’s nice and bonny, though I saw her in concert the other week and the dress was maybe not ideal. The singing was terrific, though.
Thackeray – you asked way back (103) who were the Don G and Leporello. Don Giovanni was Mariusz Kwiecien (solid, dashing) and the scene-stealing Leporello (the night I and hab mir’s went) was Levente Molnár, promoted from Masetto. I’m not sure who the replacement Masetto was, some young, chunky, long-haired chap. He made a sweet couple with Rebecca Evans – after the elegant Robert Gleadow and Miah Persson they looked like a pair of hippies.
She put me in mind of Rita Hunter too, although I’d say the sound is a bit more relaxed, the vibrato is slightly slower (in a good way). And I see what you mean about her old fashioned style, something about her way with words, and the way she settles into a note. I really think she could go very far. The voice has so many possibilities at the moment.
cocky, i hate to correct you … but levente molnar was the masetto. the leporello was alex esposito, who was originally to sing masetto in that cast but when the original leporello (i think it was lorenzo regazzo or so) dropped out due to illness, alex esposito was ‘upgraded’ to leporello and the masetto was a new addition to the cast.
Levente Molnar was one of the finalists at last year’s Cardiff Singer of the World. A bit OTT and singing repertoire he’s not big enough for yet (eg Pagliacci Prologue), but tremendously exciting and communicative. I loved his performances, even if (or maybe because) they were rather alarming.
I think he has sung Don G himself in Budapest.
Hab mir’s – I also like Ciofi’s Anna even though it would have been better at Glyndebourne or a smallish Italian house such as La Fenice or Bologna. I know what you and Cocky mean about Rebecca Evans’s Zerlina – she has sung the role perhaps once too often now and probably should be looking at Elvira. She is doing her first Figaro Countess and a repeat Mimi for WNO later this season. I have a HUGE soft spot for her. She is a delightful woman and her husband has multiple sclerosis which is why she has cut down her international engagements and is singing so much in Wales. I think she still sings beautifully for a woman well into her 40s already
In fact she was 45 in August.