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I wished to add to that last line..which formed a question….Didn’t Bonygne’s glitzy engagements as an opera conductor seem quickly to evaporate somewhat?
No, Richard is still conducting. But what are you doing…dishing dirt on parterre.com? Get a life. Why even write such garbage?
yes, Richard. his career as an omnipresent and international TOP HOUSE conductor seemed to have gone capput. where is he conducting now? Sydney, Vancouver. no offense to our brothers down under and up north… but La Fenice you are not.
This is Ericka Sunnegard? Wow. Not only is the singing bad but the voice has none of the weight the role requires. WTF?
I love her. We are going to be friends, I just know it!
I was referring to post #…ah, fuck, who cares.
I saw Erika Sunnegardh as Leonore in “Fidelio” in a scheduled cover performance after the broadcast. She was okay (no memory lapses) but the voice was like an inverted pyramid. Light, empty middle (not good for Verdi) that rose up to a huge, accurate, fresh top range. The kind of voice that works for Turandot because it all lies high and loud. The same kind of voice can work as the Empress, Chrysothemis, Senta, Marie in “Die Tote Stadt” etc. Sunnegardh should be singing Strauss – she has been a successful Salome with a reduced orchestration in the regional U.S.
That really is her meat – Turandot is a trick role for certain kinds of top heavy big lyric voices. That doesn’t mean that they can make that voice work in roles like Abigaille, Lady Macbeth and Gioconda. Lise Lindstrom I hope you are reading this and take note.
The Sutherland/Horne Semiramide no-show at the Met was due to a true scheduling mistake. The dates were entered differently in Bonynge’s and Sutherland’s schedules. Too late to fix it by the time it was discovered.
A real pity because if the Met had the production then Caballe could also have offered her Semiramide to the NY audience.
Caballe had her chance to offer her Semiramide to NY audiences, she was contracted to do a concert version at Carnegie Hall in the early 80s with Horne.
What happened? Why she cancelled, of course. June Anderson, still very young, filled in and was very good.
Sutherland, who was a very impressive Norma in her day (the clips you show are all from around the age of sixty, when no diva is at her best — Callas would have been lousy in the part had she sung it at that age too) was quite right not to try Lady Macbeth or Abigaille or any of the other Verdi voice-killer roles. She knew her fach and so did Ricky. Managers never do — they just want to sell tickets.
In her 40s she could have tossed off Lady M, but it would have sounded like a vocalise, without the fierce edge she could produce but not sustain. Similarly she never sang Elizabeth in Roberto Devereux, and on stage never risked Turandot. Her Leonora (Trovatore) on stage was unfortunate. Those who never saw her Norma on stage have no idea what presence she could project, or what effect that music makes when flawlessly sung, passionately loud.
P.S. I’ve never heard a good Lady Macbeth. Flanigan was interesting, Bumbry was competent. On disk, Ludwig is pretty but (as a Zampieri fan put it) “She’s not Lady Macbeth – she’s a nice Scottish lady inviting you in for tea.” Can’t think of anyone today would be even adequate in the part – Mattila perhaps? And she’s too smart to go near it.
Verrett was about the best Lady I saw. I’m referring
to the Scala performance I saw in DC in 1976 not her single Met performance about a dozen years later.
I saw Josephine Barstow in Chicago and she was stunning.
I love Caballe in the role. But my two favorites on record are Fiorenza Cossotto (with Milnes and Muti), and Sylvia Sass. Sass’ La luce langue is amazing, and her sleepwalking scene is terrific.
Caballe only recorded the 2 main arias. The Letter scene is edgy and strained. The Sleepwalking scene is stunning, but it should be because the scene requires everything that Caballe could do well.
She was offered the part but stayed away from it and for good reason.
Verrett created a great scandale at the Teatro all’Opera di Roma on opening night of MacBeth in 1986 when, ill, she proceeded to recite the aria after reciting the letter.
The irate romani were scandalised and starting shouting “Give us back our money!!” — well, apparently the performance ended. Forever after sorry I missed it. Dimitrova came in to save the day — could not get in there, curses. Finally I was able to see the estimable Elizabeth Connell, who took over the run, along with Renato Bruson. An excellent Macbetto.
One of my all-time favorite memories of soirees avec l’opera is on one of those nights. When the tutti came in at Act One’s finale, all the little old men in the galleria in front of me began to sway, wholly unconsciously, to the driving propulsive Verdian rhythm. It was at that moment I truly understood how it was that Verdi was able to rally a nation back in the 1840′s and 50′s. For a straniera,it was a beautiful and deeply moving thing to witness.
Alas, I have a twofold talent with opera attendance: I’ve always managed to miss the big boo-fests and have only seen Salomes that should have been crushed to death in the first 90 seconds, rather than 90 minutes on.
Hello Hans caro — oh god no, please have Mme Mattila exit the Italian wing (as once it was called) per forza e per sempre, and give us the role of her lifetime: Emilia Marty.
As for a Lady M, I am at a loss. Good question, indeed.
Dolora Zajick would be our best bet for a competent Lady Macbeth today.
Matilla can’t even handle Tosca, she can’t go near that.
Verdilover,
You are probably correct about Zajick, as well, it would be nice if the Met gave her prima rather than the seconda donna role, for a change. It is rather late in the game for this to happen and I am sure The House of The GELB would prefer a Netrebko or another fresher, more charismatic singer. Just pray to all that is holy it is not N. Michael because she makes Guleghina sound good. At least Guleghina did sing it okay in the early ’00′s with OONY or Collegiate Chorale, can’t remember which.
Pieta!
Zagick announced she was learning the role something like 12-14 years ago and then decided not to sing it (or at least that is my understanding) from around that time, here is what it could’ve been:
I remember that she said she had an F in alt at this point and thought she could be a good Lady, maybe she would’ve been back then, but I am not so sure now.
As for fantastic lady Macbeths, how about this no-namer?
Who is this lady?
Ghena Dimitrova – double click on the video and you are taken to YouTube with more details.
Thanks. That was my guess. Wish she had done it at the Met. (Or anywhere else where I could have seen her.)
I’d like to suggest Aprile Millo. I think she’d be fabulous.
Millo’s voice is too supple and rich for La M. I don’t think she’d sound evil and witchy enough.
She WAS fabulous.
In about 1983 she sang a concert in Pasadena in which she sang the Sleepwalking Scene and had the houselights dimmed. Considered eccentric at the time but in retrospect, rather endearingly ballsy of a young singer. There should be a Bernheimer review on file somewhere; that’s wherein I read of her concert.
Yes, it would be nice, but I would have rather had her do Gioconda last year or the Minnie, coming up next year. I am told the Minnie second act was very good indeed (with OONY).
Let’s hope she does make a comeback of some sort, along with OONY itself, because the lady does really have a fine instrument and many fine singing qualities. Let us hope for the joint Medea between she and OONY.
How about Violeta Urmana? What do you guys think?
This gurl thinks we should listen very carefully to her Odabella this spring and see how she handles the fioriture. Not a bad idea…beats the tar outta Nadia Michael.
I cannot recall now how she handled the Veil Song in Don Carlo…does anyone, because that would give a clue.