You’re going to scoop just what you sow
You know how you have this old friend you’ve known for 20 years now, who’s always been a little nuts, or gets a little high, or just is, you know, eccentric, but in a way that is so clueless that it’s kind of endearing? Someone you can count on for a laugh, because you always can say, “Oh, no, not that again?”
And then one day they get married or get religion or get a job or just, you know, grow up, and, while, in absolute terms, obviously there’s a lot more peace and contentment there, and you’re happy for them, really you are, but at the same time, deep down in your heart, you go, “Oh, but I do miss some of the shit that crazy bitch used to do!”
La Cieca is not talking about Lou Reed.
LOVE it! What’s wrong with Renee’ enjoying herself. At least she is not like all those other po-faced opera singers that think ‘making it look a big big effort’ when singing is ‘the big deal’.If she choose to really crossover anytime proper, she would make probably bigger dough. Her perfume would go through the roof and sell by the gallon load. And she would not have to put up with bitches’ comments …on parterre! How frustrated they must be….Renee’ does not appear to even have any over weight problem for them to mention or snark at! Poor things!
HOORAY FOR HARRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Harry, I ask just as a point of information: Who do you imagine is going to pay her those millions for her crossover performances?
Our moms.
I only have two daddies, but, yep, they’ll buy it.
You may be right, but I see no sign of it. Publicists, and other people who are paid to enthuse plus the occasional fangurl are, so far as I can see, her giddy base. The mostly dependable work she does in opera productions is the source of her very, very large income. It takes an awful lot of sales to make up for that, and the kind of sales she garners don’t even make a ripple in the pop world.
Well, I guess Lou Reed and his Perfect Day makes a change from Louise and hers (as in Depuis le …).
A couple of days ago, there was a webcast of Renee’s recent concert in Spain, and she was very good. She sang from Verdi’s Otello, some Strauss songs, and then a lot of arias from her Verismo CD. It was a very good concert for an enthralled audience. She was on her very best behavior vocally, especially during the Strauss. And who else these days would sing an aria from Zandonai’s Conchita as an encore? One strange thing: the big Armida aria was listed as being performed, but we didn’t get to hear it.
I just heard the verismo CD and she is, indeed, on good vocal behaviour most of the time. Fewer gulps and sobs than she sometimes adds to the Four Last Songs. But it’s a strangely dull album.
I thought she sounded great–this is one lady who seems not to be having a circa 50year old vocal crisis–and that her styling was just fine for the music. HE was the one whose voice was shot. I’m happy to second harry and rysanekfreak on this one.
La Cieca is not talking about Lou Reed, but she damn well should be. I bow to know one in wanting to walk on the wild side, but, let’s face it, watching him up there is painful, pitiable. Like Leonard Cohen’s recent tour. Please, leave my very cool memories alone. Go back to the retirement community and play bingo.
should have edited before posting. Obviously I mean “no” one, not “know” one. Embarrassed but not bowed.
Lou sounds horrible but Renee sounds great. She was invited because she a favorite of the former president of the Czech Republic because he adores her Rusalka. She did not choose to sing this song, and you can tell from the fact that she’s reading the score as she goes along that she probably had to learn it that very same day.
rysanekfreak is right about the recent radio broadcast. She was in fine form but we didn’t get to hear the Armida. There are a few short videos of the Armida out there on the internet, but not complete. From the video clips I thing she sounded even better than she did when she sang it last summer. Armida at the Met should be a real success because she can still sing this opera, which she first sang 17 years ago, surprisingly well.
Renee also sang Song to the Moon and an aria from Dalibor at this concert in Prague, but, of course, La Cieca only posts the crossover selection. How about some credit where credit is due?
The Rusalka is on youtube, but is the Dalibor? She recorded the Dalibor aria for her Age of the Diva recording and it is great, at least in the recording studio. I’ve never heard her do it live.
I actually thought she sounded great!
looks to me like Havel is enjoying it, Madeline Albright maybe not so much; La Cieca, can you tell us a little more about the event? and what else was on the program for the two of them to sing?
sorry, I post too slowly; the question is already answered by the posts above me
Who knew Katie Couric was so talented?
I think she looks like an older Gillian Foster, which isn’t bad at all.
I like the way she got off stage in a hurry to collect her fat pay check. There’s no other explanation. Both she and Reed looked so uncomfortable, with good reason. Major embarrassment for both.
Sorry, something about Fleming in this kind of music makes me want to puke. I had to stop after less than a minute.
I just like saying “Flemingova.”
i’m with kashania.
eventually all famous singers, when they get famous enough, are peter-principled into crossover.
Annie Lennox, maybe. Just maybe. Ms Fleming – I am ready to throw up.
antidote to renee
Enzo Adorato!
What a phenomenal example of true greatness.
Grazie.
I’ll grant that Renee seems to have dialed back the mannerisms, but singing pop in this style? She should really know better. When using a mic, she should think of it as a vocal tool and dare to sing unoperatically. The challenge isn’t technical, but mental. I know because I’ve done it. So did one of the greatest singers of the 20th century: vhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p40R1TtLJo&feature=related
Here’s the right clip:
They should erect a statue to Eileen Farrell on Staten Island, on the way to the ferry!
I spoke to her in the Met opera shop one time, and she was such a genuine, square kind of gal, absolutely delighted to autograph my score of Tristan. a role she desperately wanted to sing at the Met and didn’t.
She was one of a kind. A friend of mine made a tape of her singing Rossini’s Desdemona in “Otello”, sometime back in the 1950’s. Beautiful! It comes to mind upon hearing this clip, ’cause how in the hell could any one human voice do all THAT?
Yeah, Eileen Farrell does rock. Thanks for the great clip.
I’ve heard about how good Farrell was at cross-over but this is my first time hearing it. Absolutely wonderful. One doesn’t need to make any allowances for her being an opera singer singing out of her comfort zone.
Eileen Farrell wasn’t crossing over. To me, cross-over is a bit of a pejorative. To me, it means someone is attempting to sing music they love but may not be appropriate for and may not sing very well, such as REEENNAAAY, and that clip we had a while back of Karita. But Farrell not only loved this music, she was as good at it as she was at opera and completely idiomatic in both. She probably could have done Broadway had she chosen to.
What a great voice she had (though I prefer my standards a bit more understated). Funnily enough, Susan Bullock looks a bit like her, though her pipes ain’t the same league.
Sandra Bullock could lipsync a la Jessica Lange in “Sweet Dreams.” Bullock has played salty dames before, too, so La Farrell would fit into her œuvre.
This is the Bullock I meant. Not my idea of an Elektra (and she will insist on singing “Er-lein”), but a gallant attempt.
Re: Renee’s clip: she looks like she’s having a good time, doing her own thing. But the two of them together? To me, they look like they’re both sentenced to community service.
Enzo! Thank you for reminding us about Rosa!
Farrell and Corelli in Gioconda at the old Met…unforgetable.
I love all the remarks about Fleming. If she is as bad as some of you say, why are you always talking about her on this site?
Fleming has become a curiosity because of the endless hype that she has created around herself while projecting a disingenuous ‘diva next door’ persona, so we feel obliged to comment on her as a marketing phenomenon rather than simply (?) as a singer.
As I’ve said on here before, I saw her do a recital in London in 1995 and no-one was really that interested (apart from her agent, who was in the audience and tried to contrive a standing ovation for her — without success). She did make a beautiful sound, that’s for sure, but she didn’t have that extra magic. I still don’t think she does, though the voice and technique can be extraordinary, when she’s not messing about with the line and notes.
Well, that’s art and that’s criticism — and that’s PR.
Yeah, Farrell was really something. And her pop/jazz outings were even better than this clip when she had a real jazz group behind her, rather than this soupy erstaz Nelson Riddle/Montavani ensemble. My favorite Farrell anecdote (and I hope it’s true, not apocryphal): asked what she liked to do best, she replied: “Fuck, eat, and sing.” Rock on, Eileen.
I was wondering when the “F”-word would come up regarding Farrell. Every oldtimer I have EVER spoken to has always had a “When Eileen Farrell said F@@k” story to tell me. The time she didn’t like the dress in Ariadnen etc. Ad infinitum
In the aforementioned tale of my meeting with her, she did NOT employ that verb, much to my relief. Knowing she had that tendency toward this word made me keep the dialogue within rather tame.parameters.
Come to think of it, she did curse out the Staten Island ferry, though.
No blarney stone for Eileen!
Here, watch this.
Her French is strange — combo of sophistication and basic mistakes. And her accent is very good at moments and then slips into American tourist. As ever, the woman puzzles me!
Well, I’m amazed. Imagine the confidence it takes to have a conversation with a native speaker. Whenever I speak to a native speaker, in a language that is foreign to me, I feel naked. She looks very comfortable.
There’s no doubt that the woman is a professional. And she ain’t dumb. She runs a very successful business, after all.
Not keen on either of them – they both sound like they’re having a tough time. Fleming wins because at least she isnt’ entirely deadpan.
I think she deserves credit for that interview in French – sure, the accent comes in and out of focus, and she makes mistakes, but she is perfectly understandable and it’s nicer to watch than it would be if she spoke in English and they have subtitles or a voiceover.
I don’t really understand this ‘Diva next door’ thing people accuse her of trying to be – most of the time, she seems to be wearing couture and is plastered in jewels that must cost something into 6 figures, and she speaks intelligently about her art, rather than reducing it to the lowest common denominator.
Love that Farrell clip – like Kashania, I’ve read a lot of times how great she was at this repertoire, but that’s the first time I’ve ever heard it. Wonderful.
Cocky, I am with you on not understanding the ‘Diva next door,’ or ‘America’s
diva’ thing. It has all the earmarks of a PR stunt. And it is not needed and adds nothing. In recent years Fleming has calmed down and is singing exceedingly well and behaving herself musically. I think she feels Time taking a hand, and she wants to end honorably — which for my money she is doing, in spades.
I will offer a minority view of Farrell. I did not like her in the least. She was a bulldozer singer — all sound and no art, or very little art. I heard her Gioconda live in Chicago – boring, no spin, no anguish — nothing, just loud rich sound that carried no message. The voice lacked a good dynamic — she would most often go from f. to pp. with nothing in between — it drove me nuts. You hear it on all her recordings. IN addition to all this, she was a really dumb woman, and used vulgarity and dirty jokes in place of charm. I have little to say for her as an artist, but this is undeniable — like it or not, she had one helluva voice.
So now Renee’is being canned for speaking French like ‘an American Tourist’? THE LADY IS SHE NOT, – AN AMERICAN! JJJEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
SO do we go back now and expect all those other ‘foreign divas’ that ever arrived on some shore…. to speak the most ‘Perfect English’ with no asides to cross terms / ‘quick short cuts with colloquialisms /phrases from their own native language’. Gee some people are f##king hypocrites here, it is like watching someone enjoying tearing the wings off a bird! It is SICK!
Then they want to accuse Renee’ Fleming ‘of creating the girl next door’ diva. Just exactly HOW did she personally achieve THAT? If anyone is familiar with opera training, study and a career – they do not have the time to go around personally ‘creating such images’.
Some may say they ’see nothing’ in her voice: well I am sorry to inform: that there are others like myself that hear and feel a great deal more of what she conveys in singing. Yes genuine human emotion – far more than some of the other current divas, they may care and rave about, to mention.
I will let those that don’t know… into a simple childish fact. It is the detractors that snark and ridicule singers,that reinforce some ‘particular image idea’ to grow ;and for it to be then used – against them. Renee’ does not have a weight problem , her voice (regrettably to some posters) is standing up extremely well to the rigors of being a 50 year old singer!), she does not ‘have a news press’ of anything but graciousness to the public, she doesn’t fly into fits of rage and walk out and cancel…..now then- I would like to know ‘what’s the ‘bug’ down their strides, making those detractors frustrated and so irritable’?
Fleming is also criticized with ‘appearing with the likes of ‘downmarket Reed’….A person like some many other geriatric rockers of the protest days who gave ‘their last performance’ the day they started. Now they belatedly have to earn their retirement home fees ; hand to mouth with ‘every gig’ they get. Well opera singers are sometimes for all sorts of diplomatic reasons asked ‘via polite invitations’ to help out and appear at functions that are normally not ‘their bag’……..or some music charity event mixing with ‘extremely less talented people’. Do you expect them to ’stack on a temper turn, and scream that they will not mix or be associated being on the same stage as ‘that musical filth’?
It is part and parcel of ’steady as it goes’ not just an operatic artist or someone who is a crack violinist or conductor, or pianist BUT in any career you care to mention.
I>E ‘Strange associations’? Let’s think back….: Take the classic case of George London when he was appearing in Boris Godounov in Russia at the time of the October Missiles crisis………… Bet you are all glad now that he was willing to do more, than ‘just sing on the stage’. Look it up… if you are too young to remember.
You’re going to scoop? Just what, you sow?!!
Brilliant!
“Youuuuuuuuuu’re gunnna reaaaaaaaaaaaap wuuuuuuut ya sooooooooow!AH!”
Considering that Renee Fleming probably doesn’t use French to communicate all the time, this sounds fantastic. Remember all the non-English speaking divas and divos she interviews at the Met broadcasts: their English is certainly not any better than her French.
On a separate note, this was filmed in her flat in Paris.