parterre box

20 comments

• Sanford says:

  She’s going to “step back” from opera? Um, didn’t that happen some time ago? If she steps back any further, won’t she fall off the planet?

  on September 2, 2009 at 2:25 PM
• javier says:

  Opera singers should start off fat in their primes and then shed the pounds as they age so we can conveniently attribute their vocal decline to all the weight loss.

  on September 2, 2009 at 2:42 PM
• Alexythymia says:

  AFAICR, Kiri’s reputation for emotional shallowness in interpretation, stupidity (learning everything from tapes), and lack of discipline followed her in to the ’90s. I certainly caught it from musicians for being a teenaged fan. I was embarrassed by the crossovers (some of them), by things like the Tosca with Aragall and French arias disc, and I self-consciously and self-congratulatorily “graduated” to other singers.

  But you know what? I’m no longer ashamed of being a fan, and I wish I’d kept up with her. She was a damn good Mozart and Strauss singer, with a lovely voice and a sympathetic stage personality. So what if by contrast to earlier manifestations she wants to keep tabs on her image at this stage? So what if she tries to control what gets said about her in the press? She’s been through a lot, evidently, and she is still working and guiding her foundation. I say, good for her. She’s earned her divatude AND her right to act her age.

  on September 2, 2009 at 4:36 PM
• operaguy says:

  The thought of Te Kanawa “guiding” young singers makes me shudder. What is she going to teach them? “Oh, don’t bother going over that pesky Mozart aria before a historic broadcast – James will always cover for you!” “Be as slow as possible in learning your music – you get more attention that way!” – It was a great voice, and she had her share of hard knocks (though I’d love to hear the husband’s side of that divorce sometime), but being lazy and unprofessional is NOT the lesson today’s singers need to be taught. And they already, mostly, have that “cold as an iceberg” part down too.

  on September 2, 2009 at 5:05 PM
• Harry says:

  If I was to say the same negative things about Eerie T Cannawah, gee, I will be accused of trolling.. However observing a few of the points made and of others slightly touched on, i have to agree they are on the right path, and smack on the mark if they read and think between the lines of what others here, have said.

  on September 2, 2009 at 5:22 PM
• Alexythymia says:

  Maybe she regrets those things, you know? I didn’t say she was perfect, far from it But wanting people to remember the good, wanting to whitewash the past, wanting to redeem herself through current pursuits … these to me are very human and understandable impulses. Of course, I forgot that everybody else here is perfect, or at least has perfect taste …

  As to the divorce issue, I think it’s pretty moot to your valid points on Te Kanawa qua singer. People and Entertainment Tonight might school one to think one can get in Brad’s head, or Jen’s, but there’s no way of knowing what goes on between any *given* two people, I don’t think :/

  on September 2, 2009 at 5:24 PM
• MontyNostry says:

  Te Kanawa is no favourite of mine (even though the voice was so gorgeous and she could turn a decent phrase), but she made a bloody good career and at least she’s doing some work for young singers rather than just playing golf, which is what she probably likes doing best. From what she says in that interview (admittedly a shoddy piece of journalism), she is more interested in helping them manage their lives than in acting as some kind of artistic svengali.She probably wouldn’t make the most insightful of teachers, and she probably knows that.

  on September 2, 2009 at 5:40 PM
• Harry says:

  One could tell a very funny story heard, about Eerie T Cannnawah and why ‘knickers’ probably are a blank out ‘hit – red button’ code in her head.

  To be fair: all of us though,in some way use such mental ‘kill button’ ourselves with our own memories, and sense of peace of mind.

  on September 2, 2009 at 5:41 PM
• mrmyster says:

  KIRI “doesn’t like to talk about” retirement? I have to wonder if that is accurate. Here is why: I happen to share a friend with her — he knows each of us well, but I do not know her. However, he reported twenty years ago that she would far rather be “on the tennis” court than the operatic stage, and there have been many details since to suggest the truth of this comment. I gather the only reason she is there at all, or any stage for that matter, is that she does like the money. Not that she’s impecunious, but she’ll gladly accept her checks. So….I do think the comments above about “lazy” and “unprofessional” do bear upon her case, and I will never forget that night at the Met concert when she forgot where she was in “Dove sono.” Levine almost imploded; at times I wish he had But that’s
  another subject.

  on September 2, 2009 at 6:46 PM
• Alexythymia says:

  I’m not defending any lack of professionalism, but lassitude is harder to pinpoint when you’re looking at someone from the outside. Hard to say if a mistake is just laziness or has deeper psychic roots. I’ve always wondered about Te Kanawa, from her public persona and from that funny combination she showed of intelligent and unintelligent singing. Sometimes when someone is labelled as lazy or stupid she will respond by developing a huge chip on her shoulder and feeling and acting stupider. She was labelled that way from a young age, I think, and young women are especially prone to this behavior (the smart, undereducated ones I teach certainly are). I take it there is also an undertone of racial stereotyping in her case I’m not defending her, I’m just saying … I could understand if any of this shaped her personality from a young singer.

  Anyway, as a study in change, I find the following fascinating:

  In an interview from another decade, you would have seen completely different thoughts and personal traits. On a side note: damn, it’s hard not to love Flicka.

  on September 2, 2009 at 9:43 PM