booty call
As we approach the new year, La Cieca is gearing herself up to revive the recently dormant Unnatural Acts of Opera. Your doyenne was thinking that an interesting theme for 2009 might be “The Greatest Pirates,” i.e., the most important and impressive live, non-commerical recorded documents of opera. La Cieca is now accepting nominations from the cher public and will open the floor to discussion of the ten most demented and therefore most indispensable of the opera pirates.
I would certainly nominate the Gencer/Verrett Stuarda. Certainly can’t leave the Queen of the Pirates out of this!
the Callas-Corelli Fedora.
the Rysanek Gilda.
the Rysanek Turandot.
the Rysanek Walkure Brunhilde.
Barring those, how about—?
the Olivero-Corelli Adriana L.
the Met-on-tour Olivero-Pavarotti Tosca.
the most-complete Robert le Diable (Miriciou as Alice?) that has the extra added bass aria in Act 5?
the Scotto Maria di Rohan
one of the Caballe La Stranieras
one of the Gencer Lucrezia Borgias.
How about Scotto’s Straniera?
Donna del lago with Von Stade and Blake.
Tales of Hoffman with Sutherland and Theyard (it will never happen, but one can dream).
Geepers. Where does one start?
Callas Lisbon Traviata – but NOT the EMI version. There is a sonically superior version available at operadepot.com.
Caballe/Tucker Trovatore from Florence. I think 1968.
The complete Callas Valkiria released this year on AFR. Pristine sound.
The Welitch/Reiner Salome.
And for fun, “Hildegard’s geschrei” from parterre.
the Olivero-Corelli Adriana Lecouvreur and the Olivero-Del Monaco FRANCESCA DA RIMINI
(come to think of it everything by Olivero)
The following with Leyla Gencer : ROBERTO DEVEREUX, NORMA- la Scala 65
the following with Renata Scotto:
LA STRANIERA
LA SONNAMBULA (prefer the one with Kraus)
The RAI MADAMA BUTTERFLY
all the Rysamek SALOMEs and her FIDELIO from the MET 1970 (like Olivero, all of rysanek’s pirates are important)
and perhaps most important of all SALOME with Lyuba Welitsch from the MET with Reiner 1949.
the TRISTAN UND ISOLDE from London, 1938 with Beecham, Flagstad and Melchior. and the highlights from TURANDOT from the same season with TUrner, Martinelli and Albanese.
and of course anything MAR,
IA sang, especially the LISBON TRAVIATA and the Berlin LUCIA
Other personal favorites include the ALBANESE Butterfly from 46, The Olivero Tosca from 75 with King, The CRESPIN Carmen from the MET 75, the ELEKTRA with VARNAY and RYSANEK
and the TRISTAN with Modl and Vinay from Bayreuth
If we’re going for demented, I full recommend Di Stefano’s ludicrous attempt at Otello in the mid 60s, opposite Gobbi.
Fully. It should say fully. But it doesn’t.
Roberto Devereux with Caballe, Carreras, and Afro Poli (!).
Sonnambula with Scotto and Kraus.
Norma with Callas, del Monaco and Stignani.
Just throwing stuff out there.
Scotto’s STRANIERA
Callas/Bernstein SONNAMBULA ’55
Gencer in ROBERTO DEVEREUX
Verret-Kraus FAVORITA
Scotto-Pav I LOMBARDI
I like the idea of the Rysanek Turandot, it would actually make me want to listen to that opera again.