Comments on: Une femme de mon nom

By: Byrnham Woode

Byrnham Woode — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:29:05 +0000

I love the Vicar of John Wakefield’s marvelous postings almost as much as his own fine performance in Davis’s first MESSIAH recording.

What astonishes me is that I’ve either heard (if only on records) or at least heard of most everyone he name drops. Frightening.

By: Baritenor

Baritenor — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:38:16 +0000

You also misspelled his name. It’s ROUND not ROUNDS.

By: Baritenor

Baritenor — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:37:34 +0000

Vicar -

AH-HAH! You’ve betrayed yourself as a Fraud! Thomas Round didn’t sing the Duke of Plaza-Toro, he sang MARCO! Turn in your badge, sir.

By: The Vicar of John Wakefield

The Vicar of John Wakefield — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 12:30:43 +0000

“– this is apparently Geoffrey Dolton…”

Best since Thomas Rounds!

By: manou

manou — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:14:54 +0000

5 and 18 – this is apparently Geoffrey Dolton (as Duke of Plazatoro). I am ashamed of myself for having found this out (obviously not enough to do…)

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:40:56 +0000

Orlando (#5), in case your research didn’t reveal it, Ann Murray is pictured there in The Gondoliers at ENO as the Whatever of Plaza Toro. I think she’s with an extra/dancer there. Not that I saw the show.

By: Sanford

Sanford — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:37:24 +0000

He looks pretty cute. He could be up and coming something in my house. Which brings me back to “Penetrating Wagner’s Ring”.

By: Quanto Painy Fakor

Quanto Painy Fakor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:15:18 +0000

Up and coming tenor:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Blake-Friedman/3701857

By: Quanto Painy Fakor

Quanto Painy Fakor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:33:28 +0000

By: Avantialouie

Avantialouie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:25:48 +0000

Meredith Arwady, during her tenure at the Ryan School in Chicago, gave performances as Tisbe in “Cenerentola” that almost stole the show (not that the show as all that difficult to steal from the wooden Karsarova.)

La Cieca gets only a C grade for her “Fille” casting. The ONLY truly worthy sub for Palmer in this role would be Ian Bostridge.

By: CruzSF

CruzSF — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:29:43 +0000

I agree with others’ assessment of Meredith Arwady’s performance as the Marquise in SF. She is in fine voice and a good comedic actress. I did think she lacked the inherent dignity that Felicity Palmer brought to the role when I saw the HD broadcast 2 years (?) ago. Instead of an underlying sadness that contrasted the comedy and paid dividends during the finale’s revelations, this Marquise enters on a high comedic note and really stays there. She does, however, have good chemistry with her Sulpice (Bruno Practicò), rendering their growing affections very credible.

By: judycadanna

judycadanna — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:44:46 +0000

Opera directors- can someone please put them in a sack and throw them in the river? Where is the happy medium between a chorus standing still and staring with no involvement, versus the above mugging, shuffling, swaying and general pointless movement that only distracts from the soloist?
This is like highlighting every word in a textbook- you have a garish yellow page that hurts your eyes.

By: Cocky Kurwenal

Cocky Kurwenal — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:38:43 +0000

It’s also a b-flat Podles emits around 40 seconds in – 3 octaves lower than the top one with which she finishes, which is even more remarkable, given that Hvorostovsky and Hampson sound close to their lower limits on that pitch.

By: Sanford

Sanford — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:21:39 +0000

Here’s a word I never though I’d associate with Podles…. adorable!

By: aulus agerius

aulus agerius — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:14:07 +0000

That’s a Bflat Ewa emits at the end there! Amazing. I just saw her in Boston Opera Tancredi and she covered herself with glory.

By: kashania

kashania — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:11:13 +0000

Oh Poodles…

By: Harry

Harry — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:39:13 +0000

We must nominate the Vicar as the Agent search engine for all those vaporous British and Commonwealth things. Index -listed in one’s memory, as ‘unlamented & lost, long ago in opera’s jungle’. Poor things they all are / were – being such vulnerable prey – always threatened by quick extinction – by those more accomplished. And alas, so it came to pass. Part of ‘Music’s Darwinian Evolution’ at work …with a vengeance, one would say.

Now Vicar, tell this Parterre congregation what the Opera Lesson is for next week’s pulpit. I think his audience has just walked! Folks, can you believe it! Out, before the collection plate was meant to be passed around, to pay his paid group of choristers – you know the ones he touts for – quotes their individual names here, one by one – trying to get them a ‘gig’.

By: irontongue

irontongue — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:25:56 +0000

Meredith Arwady sounds like a Podles-in-training in this role. Seriously.

By: Orlando Furioso

Orlando Furioso — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:25:01 +0000

OK, I’ve searched a bit and I give up… who’s the partner in the photo?

If Ann Murray can pull this off, there’s a whole new category of roles open to her in late career.

By: squirrel

squirrel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:15:50 +0000

is this a bad sign for dame felicity?

By: The Vicar of John Wakefield

The Vicar of John Wakefield — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Where is Katherine Pring, where Gillian Knight?

By: jumping clapping man

jumping clapping man — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:45:49 +0000

Arwady absolutely brought down the house at SFO…she has great comedic chops for such a young performer!

By: Baritenor

Baritenor — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:42:01 +0000

Any reason for such an in-advance cancelation?

Meredith Ardwady is doing the Marquise in San Francisco right now (same production). She’s very funny, sings wonderfully and plays the piano terribly.