Motionless on my throne
Thrill to double-barreled diva excitement as that most regal of Kennedy Center honorees Grace Bumbry converses with always awesome Anne Midgette! [Washington Post]
Thrill to double-barreled diva excitement as that most regal of Kennedy Center honorees Grace Bumbry converses with always awesome Anne Midgette! [Washington Post]
This quote on Bumbry from Arroyo is great:
“She’s always in character onstage,” Arroyo said of Bumbry. “During periods when she wasn’t singing, she kept you involved with her, involved in what she was thinking. During the whole period when [Salome] was deciding that she wanted [Jochanaan's] head, her face was the face of a pouty brat: She was going to get what she wanted. I’ve seen that on her in person as well,” Arroyo said, chuckling.
Loves it!
She stills looks very good. Black don’t crack.
All hail to The Grace!
Recently heard her Venus in Tannhauser on Sirius in which she seriously sang circles around any other Met Venus, well maybe excepting Troyanos.
St. Louis should be mighty proud of this grande dame.
“Recently heard her Venus in Tannhauser on Sirius in which she seriously sang circles around any other Met Venus, well maybe excepting Troyanos.”
I heard them both and loved both of them in the role,. but would not care to go on record that they were superior to Fremstad, Thorborg, Nordica, Lilli Lehmann, Matzenauer, Homer or Leider. :}
Troyanos at the Met in 1983 is still the best Venus I have heard live. I never heard Bumbry, but the role is generally undercast these days. I imagine Ludwig was pretty hot in the role, too. The next best I have seen is Waltraud Meier. We are getting a new Tannhäuser at the ROH next year – presumably Petra Lang, who is okay but rarely thrilling. I read that Frau Michael sings both Elisabeth and Venus these days, probably the first A-list-house singer to do this since Dame Gwyn.
Venus is far “sexier” when done in the Paris version, which calls for a full blown Wagner mezzo. The Dresden version is more for a dramatic soprano, and often goes to a “seconda donna”.
That said, the MET has stuck to the wonderful Paris version for every performance since 1977, when the current staging premiered – with Bumbry. Later exponents have included Troyanos, Dunn, Randova, Meier and DeYoung.
Bumbry broke into stardom at Bayreuth in 1961, singing the Dresden version(!). Most European productions meld the overture and ballet music (from Paris) into the Venus scene from Dresden – so Jones in her Bayreuth hat-trick doesn’t deal with the elaborate, post-Tristanesque Venus, for example. I think David Alden’s Munich staging is Dresden (Mehta conducts), and the video shows Waltraud Meier capable of anything. She remains my favorite Venus, though Troyanos and Bumbry ( have a tape of her only MET broadcast) are wonderful.
Viva le Paris version. And viva Grace Bumbry for a richly deserved honor.
To the Laird of Byrnham Woode:
Wow! Everything I’ve ever wanted to know about Tannhauser and been afraid to ask.
Very grateful to have this information at last. Bravo and well done.
To say nothing of the gallant Marjorie Lawrence!
Gallant and extremely brave, especially in that Elektra toward the end. What a wonderful voice that woman had! I love her Ortrud en francais.
Cher Monsieur Krunoslav,
I congratulate you on your good fortune.
Did Frieda Leider sing Venus as well, and if so, which one? Also, regarding Nordica, except it shouldn’t suprise as this marvelous woman nearly sang everything. I have a wonderful recording of her Suicidio, recorded twice and very interesting to compare.
In the end, however and with all due respect to the other divae, we all know that The Immortal Olive will never be surpassed in the role of Venus, n’est-ce pas, Monsieur?
I’m not sure Grace would be happy with all this discussion of even more legendary divas on a thread that’s meant to be about **her**.
Quite right!
May Her Graceship forgive me for my digressions. Cast me not out from Venusberg!
Just consider yourself lucky that it’s a while since she demanded anybody’s Kopf.
Of course, such casts are not to be compared with the telegenic, pert, Twitter-savvy,buff, strapping ones we glory in today, like the should-be-D-list Frau Michael:
Met tour, Boston, Massachusetts
April 4, 1934 Matinee
Tannh?user………….Lauritz Melchior
Elisabeth……………Elisabeth Rethberg
Wolfram……………..Friedrich Schorr
Venus……………….**Frida** Leider
Hermann……………..Emanuel List
Conductor……………Artur Bodanzky
(The Met did the Paris version from 1889 to 1953.)
Never said I heard any of thee pre-Bumbry Venuses, but would not however make claims that Her Grace outshone all of them.
A cast to die for. Rethberg AND Leider, plus Melchior!
Frau Michael is “F”-list for me. The San Francisco Opera should have included air sickness bags in each programme. Nausea-inducing sham of a performance.
Thank you very, very much for this Tannhauser information, Count Krunoslav.
OMG, I am so very glad that Grace is being honored. I had the thrill to hear her in recital in Denver in the late 1970s. I and my friends screamed our lungs out. We then went back stage and met the Diva who was just lovely along with her very sexy male accompanist. My only regret is that I did not have the nerve to ask them out for a late dinner–I now feel that they would have said “yes”. SIGH! By the way, Grce Bumbry remarked how loud our ovations were; she liked all the noise I and my companions made–we had front-row seats.
Yes; the MET stuck to the Paris version by and large until 1953, when Bing had George Szell lead a new staging that used Dresden. It was widely thought Bing was just saving on the ballet since he had the likes of Varnay, Thebom and Resnik for his soprano Venus. The production was revived the next season, again in the Dresden mode, but when it returned in 1960-61, it was Parisian, with Dalis doing most of the honors. Nilsson and Rysanek shared Elisabeth that year, and Prey, Wächter and Solti all made their MET debuts. Oh yes, Hans Hopf was Tannhäuser.
The famous “Nilsson in both parts” revival was in spring 1966, just weeks before they left the old Opera House. It was a Dresden affair, with Pekka Nuotio subbing for an expected Windgassen. At the last couple of nights, Rysanek and Välkki took over for Nilsson.
And as I said, every performance at the new MET has been of the superb Paris version, starting with McCracken, Rysanek and Bumbry in 1977.
I was listening to the podcast of LC in honour of La Bumbry and have to say that both Salome and Klyt’s items were pretty exciting. And the acid test of a diva in the interview is def passed with flying colours!