the art of the euphemism
La Cieca never knows quite how far to go in repeating what she “is told,” but since some of it seems to be leaking out anyway, well, she’ll try to be tactful. Apparently sometimes opera companies choose to use terminology like “laryngitis” and “knee injury” in order to avoid having to say “exhibited bizarre behavior at rehearsals” or “arrived obviously unprepared.”
There has been quite a bit of speculation about Christine Brewer’s performing credits, or in some views, the lack of them. Here is a list of her concert and opera performance schedule (from the archives of her website) for the past 2 years. To the best of my knowledge the only dates on this list she canceled were the two Handel concerts on December 19 and 21, 2008. This cancellation was due to a family tragedy. All of these appearances were in major venues with world class orchestras/opera companies in the United States and Europe. You don’t have to like her or her talent, but one simply cannot deny that she has a major career on two continents.
Some of you bitchy queens really need to take a LONG vacation.
08 March 2007
Alban Berg – Seven Early Songs
23 March 2007
Beethoven’s Opera “Fidelio”
25 March 2007
Beethoven’s Opera “Fidelio”
27 March 2007
Beethoven’s Opera “Fidelio”
12 April 2007
Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde (Tristan Project) Act I
13 April 2007
Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde (Tristan Project) Act II
14 April 2007
Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde (Tristan Project) Act III
18 April 2007
Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde (Complete)
24 April 2007
Richard Wagner Tristan und Isolde (Complete)
02 May 2007
The Tristan Project
05 May 2007
The Tristan Project
11 May 2007
Britten – War Requiem
12 May 2007
Britten – War Requiem
13 May 2007
Britten – War Requiem
19 June 2007
Tribute Concert Honoring Colin Graham, O.B.E.
07 July 2007
Zemlinsky: Lyric Symphony, Op.18
11 July 2007
Zemlinsky: A Florentine Tragedy
20 July 2007
All-Beethoven Program, Tanglewood
21 July 2007
All-Beethoven Program (Open Rehearsal) Tanglewood
21 July 2007
All-Beethoven Program, Tanglewood
12 August 2007
Wagner Gotterdammerung (Brunnhilde)
17 August 2007
An Evening at the Opera
18 August 2007
An Evening at the Opera
28 August 2007
Bank of Scotland Queen’s Hall Series Recital
01 September 2007
A Celebration of Francis Poulenc
16 November 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
20 November 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
26 November 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
30 November 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
04 December 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
08 December 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
12 December 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
16 December 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
20 December 2007
Die Frau ohne Schatten
21 January 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten (Première)
24 January 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten
28 January 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten
31 January 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten
03 February 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten
07 February 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten
10 February 2008
Die Frau ohne Schatten
14 February 2008
Wagner Concert
15 February 2008
Wagner Concert
24 February 2008
Richard Wagner – Wesendonck Lieder
25 February 2008
Richard Wagner – Wesendonck Lieder
26 February 2008
Richard Wagner – Wesendonck Lieder
14 March 2008
Richard Strauss – Vier Letzte Lieder
20 March 2008
Verdi – Requiem Mass
21 March 2008
Verdi – Requiem Mass
25 March 2008
Cellofest 2008
28 March 2008
BEETHOVEN Fidelio (in concert, no dialogue)
30 March 2008
BEETHOVEN Fidelio (in concert, no dialogue)
03 April 2008
BEETHOVEN Fidelio (in concert, no dialogue)
05 April 2008
BEETHOVEN Fidelio (in concert, no dialogue)
24 April 2008
Verdi Requiem
25 April 2008
Verdi Requiem
26 April 2008
Verdi Requiem
01 May 2008
Mahler Symphony No. 8 (Sop. 1)
02 May 2008
Mahler Symphony No. 8 (Sop. 1)
03 May 2008
Mahler Symphony No. 8 (Sop. 1)
06 May 2008
Mahler – Symphony No. 8 (Philadelphia Orchestra)
08 May 2008
HENRYK GORECKI: Symphony No. 3
09 May 2008
HENRYK GORECKI: Symphony No. 3
17 June 2008
Four Last Songs & Summer of 1915
18 June 2008
Four Last Songs & Summer of 1915 @ McKendree U.
04 July 2008
Community Concert – Patriotic Favorites
26 July 2008
Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand
09 September 2008
Mahler’s 8th Symphony (Sop. I)
11 September 2008
Mahler’s 8th Symphony (Sop. I)
03 October 2008
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
18 October 2008
WAGNER Götterdämmerung: Brünnhilde’s Immolation
19 October 2008
WAGNER Götterdämmerung: Brünnhilde’s Immolation
25 October 2008
Benjamin Britten, War Requiem
26 October 2008
Benjamin Britten, War Requiem
01 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
02 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
03 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
04 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
05 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
06 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
07 November 2008
BBC Symphony Orchestra TOUR – Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
09 November 2008
Britten War Requiem
28 November 2008
Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder
29 November 2008
Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder
30 November 2008
Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder
07 December 2008
Poulenc, Gloria & Christmas Favorites
19 December 2008
Handel, “Die ihr aus dunkeln Gruftenâ€
21 December 2008
Handel, “Die ihr aus dunkeln Gruftenâ€
11 January 2009
Verdi Requiem
14 January 2009
Verdi Requiem
22 January 2009
Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder
25 January 2009
Strauss, Vier Letzte Lieder
05 February 2009
Strauss Opera Excerpts from Die Frau, Elecktra, and Salome
07 February 2009
Strauss Opera Excerpts from Die Frau, Elecktra, and Salome
13 February 2009
Verdi’s Requiem
14 February 2009
Verdi’s Requiem
Brewwer admirer….BRAVO!!!!
Brewer Admirer
Well done
Think you may have also missed the First Night of the Proms last year when she stepped in at 2 days notice to replace Mattila in the 4 Last Songs (televised live and probably on YouTube).
Among other opera credits (in concert) Rezia in Oberon and the Strauss version of Idomeneo
The Ariadne at ENO was absolutely spellbinding.
Wish her a speedy recovery.
Brewer also stepped in some years ago in London to replace Mattila in the 4 Last Songs at the Barbican, and I felt quite the opposite of short-changed. There is an essential honesty and integrity about her singing that makes it very moving, with the expression coming out of the music and the text rather than through applique emoting and special effects. There is a core of calm to her art: in that respect she reminds me of two other fine American singers, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Arleen Auger.
By the way, talking of singers who know what they’re going, there’s an interesting interview with Margaret Price here
http://www.classicaltv.com/videos/20
Strange that Solti didn’t like her at the beginning of her career. Do you think it might have been because she didn’t succumb to his attentions? She was a very pretty little thing in the early 60s… (Still pretty too — just not so little!)
Inquest O’Redger ,there was talk that at least one stage of Margaret Price’s career she could throw a ‘pretty’ temper as well. I heard of at least one conductor – and it was not Solti- that let her carry on wildly. Then quietly threatened her if she did not stop he would make sure she would not have any further career. By the way, it is also noted Solti would not stand for ’shit’ either, out of performers. Others that know more, may wish to contribute on the subject.
my impression is that some people who “spill” on this board (la cieca excepted and a few others) are trying to give the impression that they are more connected than they really are. i think 3-4 people have reported that they are brewer’s best friend
and every other post has been from someone who has sung with her. (hyperbole)
one person who claims to know brewer is probably still insisting that christine is svelte.
La Cieca: do you believe that the Met offered Polaski $35,000 per performance to jump in as Brunnhilde, as one “insider” reported.
and, at most professions today, security is paramount. so indiscretion is strictly to be avoided.
i know i angered people because i suggested that brewer did not have a full-fledged opera career. although, i certainly wasn’t the only one who held that opinion (note spelling nerva).
between mrmyster, wotan, visconti and nerva nelli i’ve been subjected to a heap of abuse. i’ve never referred to anyone on this board as an “ignoramus”. i guess the homophobic tone of the Sonnambula chat should have alerted me to where this board was going.
well, the last thing i want to do is to get into something with anyone (especially the moderator) on this board. remember, this is the place where people were making jokes about sanford being hiv+ and the word “queens” was flying all over the place yesterday.
la cieca:
since you took the time to respond to my tongue in cheek post, i was wondering when you were going to respond to mrmyster’s post:
“Pres. Obama says he does not govern from anger. Brian were you aware of that? I recommend, with all due respect of course, that you dwell on that point and not post from anger/snark/pure bitchyness/ignorance/an excess of gay bile — or whatever your problem is. If you have new information or a constructive idea – then, say it! Otherwise, just shut up, be nice and vote Democratic. [And listen to your very wise president.]
Thank you” or this one “Brian sure is one opiniated ignoramus” from something called nerva nelli.
Kisses to Brian.
I’m listening to the Margaret Price interview now and it’s fascinating. I think she makes a good point about Wagnerian conductors and the problems singers have trying to sing over the wall of sound
LEARNING vs. KNOWING NEW ROLES
Great discussion on the in’s and out’s of coming prepared to rehearsals. The greatest role model has not been mentioned, MC. If every principal singer in today’s hurly-burly, jet-setting opera world had the foresight to follow in her footsteps in striving to be an ARTIST first instead of allowing opera management push and pull them; we might all be better off. The exceptional gift and ability to learn roles quickly has only been granted to person that we all love and admire, PD. (122 and still counting)
I’d also like to add, that, with a few exceptions, I find that those truly “in the know” often don’t say anything, out of respect for the artists or organization. For instance Met archivist Robert Tuggle (great guy) works in a charmingly messy office right beneath the Met rehearsal rooms. I’ve been there, and you really can here everything. So he would probably be a gold mine for gossip, including any and all rehearsal fights, diva tantrums, who is sounding great, who is sounding awful, etc. But he doesn’t do that sort of thing.
PoisonIvy, we need to give Mr Tuggle a series on ‘unnatural acts’!
I apologize for calling Brian an “opiniated ignoramus”.
I meant, of course, an “opinionated ignoramus”.
Fanciulla:
MC was well-known, at least in the first part of her career when she was singing frequently, for going blank on the text while singing.
Some of her greatest triumphs (Puritani, Armida) were drilled into her brain in a matter of days, up to and including opening night.
Wouldn’t it depend on the director? If (s)he has set an “open rehearsal” policy, then anything goes. But often a “closed rehearsal” is declared; that means “what happens here STAYS here!”, in which case leaks would be cause for dismissal.
brian: I could believe that the net cost of engaging Polaski to jump into three performances could esaily top $100,000. First there would probably be some premium or bonus built into Polaski’s fee, then presumably the Met have to cover at least some of the costs of finding a replacement Kostelicka for Munich’s Jenufa, the production Polaski would have to abandon to go into the Met’s Ring.
I would guess, though, that the speculation is moot, because it’s a new production in Munich, to be repeated in that company’s summer festival, a very high-profile assignment for Polaski. Plus, world-class Kostelkickas don’t exactly grow on bushes. Surely, too, Polaski understands that her Brunnhilde days are mostly behind her, and that whatever future she has as a singer will be in roles like the Kostelnicka.
gosh, nerva it took you long enough to get the spelling right.
Brian, it’s taken me a while, but I’ve got to say you delight me. You’ve got a “chips-fall-where-they-may” attitude which is both abrading and exhilarating, like those Finnish saunas.
But that doesn’t mean you can call on me to pick up your broken bleeding body out of some alley.
caballe also could show up unprepared. her ariadne at the MET was famous for having the score pasted all over the set. she did not remember the role at all.
Ahaha–I was at a concert recital of Caballe’ in 1988 [9? 90?]–she gave “O Mio Babbino”–as an encore, I think–and sang “GRAN DIO, VORREI MORIR.” Awesome, right? I could not have made that up XD
136
“Dyke, ya know.”
Considering her size and her indeed considerably flourishing concert career, Brewer has a more than creditable record in opera: Donna Anna, Haydn’s Armida, Ariadne, Ellen Orford, the title role in Gloriana in St Louis, where she has continued to sing because it’s near her home. Both Donna Anna – which she recorded with Sir Charles Mackerras around concert performances at the Edinburgh Festival – and Countess Almaviva at Covent Garden (who stopped using her because of the size issue). Ariadne at ENO, the Met, and, I think, Santa Fe. Ellen Orford at Santa Fe. Fidelio, Isolde in San Francisco, Färbersfrau at Lyric Opera and the Opéra de Paris. In London – which I realise is a village compared to New York – she is regarded as a much greater singer than Renée Fleming. Every orchestra wants her, all the leading British conductors ask for her and she is an annual fixture at the Proms, Wigmore Hall and Barbican Hall, often making several appearances per season. Singers can actually have major careers outside the Met. Brewer is one of them. Of course, the big record companies won’t use her because they can’t get her pictures into the glossy magazines. It’s easier to sell Danielle De Niese. Brewer is a wonderful singer. If you consider that she is now 52 or 53, her voice is in amazing shape. She should lose weight, however, and I think Cassandra is wrong saying she is smaller than Blythe. She’s been pretty obese for at least 15 years and it may be that now the chickens are coming home to roost. It’s a great shame.
# 142 I highly recommend Brewers new English language recital on Chandos. Maybe the voice is just too opulent for Mozart, but the emroidery aria from Grimes and Magda’s big scene from “The Consul” especially had me cheering. That would be a great role for her on stage.
Ugh…I really wish people would learn to de-fang themselves before speaking or writing. I know Christine and she is a consummate professional. You can ask the artistic department of the Met for the test results from the Dr. that Miss Brewer was sent to here in NY (by the suggestion of the artistic dept.). If you only knew how upset she was about not being able to perform in this cycle. There was lots of crying and a lot done to try to have her sing any portion of the cycle, but as she is not allowed to walk for a week, must swim to exercise and then walk with a walker per the Dr’s orders, I doubt that this is a “rumor” as some have called it. Christine has been preparing for this cycle for the better part of 3 years and is devastated to say the least. Let’s not add to her misery and disappointment by spreading untruths.
#144 – Anon. Thank you for your posting on Christine; I really felt better seeing that on here after all the inuendo and snark, some even from La Cieca, who does not usually adopt that style. “Six weeks recovery at home,” is what one opera official told me. I would say six months recovery at home, during which she loses 75 lbs (just as a beginning), and that would reassure her and insure another good five years of a big-earning career. Otherwise, I have my worries. Once the knees start to go for big girls there is rarely any turning back. She is as you know, and I say this affectionately, ‘German as all get out,’ and that includes stubborn. So, this terrible Met episode may help her, finally, make up her very strong mind to do something wise concerning weight. Have you seen a photo of her at age 30? She had a fabulous figure and was beautiful. She did not have a reliable top voice until about ten years ago when the whole thing fell into place and took on that very rich tonal lustre; now if she’d take off just #100, all would be very very well and the Met could let Miss V. go out to her well-earned pasture. Hold the fort, Anon, and keep bringing some decency to this, um, er … Palace of Operatic Discussion. How do you say that in German?
Ein Palast der Opernhafte Diskussion.
Although that implies that the discussion itself in operatic in its scope, but not necesarily about Opera. To make it clear that the palace is for the discussion of opera, one would need to say: Ein Palast wo es alles um Oper geht.
Thank you, Lad; I shall use that at my next opera cocktail party.
(care to attend?)
To Miss Brewer: God speed and good luck with your healing process, and will you please come back to us in the following Ring Cycles to show everybody what you are, i.e., a SUPERB vocal talent!
From that first Ariadne, I felt you held the potential to be the greatest Brunnhilde of this era, and it is my fervent hope that you will have that opportunity, if not at the Met, then in another important cycle.