Step by step
Some sunny diversion (and perhaps a little threaded conversation) on a grey Saturday afternoon: a rebroadcast of the March 9, 1974 performance of I Vespri Siciliani from the Met. The stream begins at 1:00 pm EST here, or if you’re feeling adventurous, you can delve further into Oslo, Norway’s NRK P2 radio.
Elena: Montserrat Caballé; Arrigo: Nicolai Gedda; Guido di Monforte: Sherrill Milnes; Giovanni da Procida: Justino Díaz. Conductor: James Levine.
Details for this broadcast are derived from the invaluable Operacast.
Correct me if I’m wrong but this was the cast which was supposed to record the opera and on which Martina Arroyo subbed for Caballe.
Aren’t we all supposed to be at the Live in HD Simulcast at the same time?
Yeah, I saw this on operacast as well. But Maria Padilla is also being broadcast on Saturday…so I’ll pass on Caballe.
It seems to be your function here to “pass” on great singers. It must meet some deep emotional need.
How right you are Alto. Bravo for calling it like it is.
You are right. And Arroyo was wonderful. Ah, but Caballe had been — to use an overused word, but appropriate here — sublime. Those incredible pianissimo descending scales still ring deliciously in my inner ear.
javier, you have got to be kidding me!
Beatrice et Benedict is also on with JDD. But I’ll stick with Caballe.
Yeah, I’d pick Barbara Quintiliani and Marco Caria over Caballe. Not.
I never acquired a taste for Ms. Arroyo. But I remember her being a very funny guest on Johnny Carson.
Well, I’ve heard her Elena before.
Yes, I do tend to pass on the so called greats because I have my own definition of greatness.
Err, Vespri is a Grand Opera, a distinguishing feature of which is that they tend to go on for considerably more than 4 minutes and 28 seconds.
Err. The opera is longer than 268 seconds? I didn’t know that. Thanks!
Don’t you just love that they’re digging this one up on La Stupenda’s birthday…?
Oh well – Happy Birthday, Dame Joan!
Speaking of greatness of La Stupenda:
Her bolero is much better than Caballe’s.
hmm. i dont really think you can compare joanie and montsie. joan never sang Vespri on stage so comparing the 2 is actually quite inappropriate.
btw. last night’s aida was sooooo good.
squirrel, wherever u are….i’ve found something to replace boheme. lol. jk
Gedda as Arrigo: Jimmy, what were you thinking?
I love Gedda as Arrigo. So much better than Domingo. Now, the Caballe performance I prefer is the one with MacNeil. I never really enjoyed Milnes, but I only know these performances from pirates. Before my opera going time. Thank god for pirate recordings!
I agree with Javier. Caballe never did it for me. She reminds me of the dog I had as a child. Whenever I had something tasty to eat, the dog would do the same trick over and over. Kinda like Monsti throwing in the same pianissimi trick just to impress. She was a lazy singer with pianissimi, folks. Nothing more, nothing less. I’d take third rate singers of the time over Caballe….at least they’d show up….
Not exactly. As it ended up, the only casting that the broadcast and the recording has in common is Milnes (and Levine conducting). Raimondi was the bass and Domingo was the tenor on the studio recording.
Wow!
I’m not sure what language the announcer is speaking (Norwegian?), but it’s rather pretty. Lilting, even.
Are you a psychiatrist?
This is bad? Would that we could hear such singing at the MET today!
It is indeed Norwegian. Every bit as pretty as quite a few of the natives, and goodness knows I ain’t got eyes for Senta. The new opera house in Oslo alone is worth a visit, despite the stratospheric cost of living up there. You’ll find they all speak English to a higher standard than many an Englishman, too. [Sorry, Vicar.]
Caballe just rocked the house with “Arrigo, a parli a un core”. Sublime.
Meanwhile, I am listening to Devia as Lucia on Sirius, and loving it. What a great cast, what a great performance.
Devia is really the last great bel canto diva: fearless, stylish, impeccable phrasing, astonishing high notes and a plangent middle voice.
LOVE HER
I was working today so I didn’t listen to this. But I have a recording and I listened to it a few years ago.
I remember Monsty being good in this but doesn’t she sing the simplified cadenza in Arrigo, a Parli? Although that 2 1/2 octave downward scale is almost impossible…
To everyone who would rather listen to Caballe yesterday, this is what you missed:
I think I have way better taste.
Hey, Javier:
I missed the listing for “Maria Padilla”, yesterday…damn..!!
Any chance that you ..err..”immortalized” it..?–please let me know..!
thanks!
There’s a listen again feature you can use to hear it.
Go here and click on the “listen back to most recent program link”.
rte.ie/lyricfm/operanight/
Javier:
Thanks so much for the info—very much appreciated!!
justanothertenor,
I listened to the Lucia as well. I agree with everything you write about Devia, except that I find her singing boring.
I think Gedda had to be talked into doing Vespri, but I remember an interview at the time where he called the opera “a work of genius”, though later in his autobiography I believe he says it was a mistake. He was my first Arrigo, and you know what they say about the first time. He threw himself into it heart and soul(something he could sometimes do a little too much of, risking looking a bit ridiculous, especially if he was over parted, and he was as Arrigo), but I too loved him. You knew going in that he was overparted and his tone was not Italianate, but he was a master of languages and a superb musician, and I felt he had a love for the music and knew how to communicate that. I also vividly remember his Riccardo in Ballo…well, actually I should say his Gustav, because he took his cue from the famous Swedish production where he was played as a flaming queen (apparently somewhat historically acurate). Unfettered, he pranced around in an ermine trimmed cape and some sort of strange high heeled shoes; for once, the ridiculous was sublime. Oh…and he sang very well.