“questo e il bacio di pierre!!!!!”

After that he comments further on the expenses of costuming and says (I’m paraphrasing) “clothing Montserrat Caballe takes effort and the effort isn’t inexpensive”
So then, no real jewels or furs but the costumes weren’t cheap none the less.

He always leaves me “hotter than a half-f**ked fox in a forest fire!!!!!!

As for stage business, that differed more substantially. For example, the second cast engaged in extended rather amusing shtick during “Freddo e immobile, come una statua,” almost none of which the first cast did last night: Figaro manipulates Bartolo’s limbs into multiple positions, plants Basilio’s hat on Berta’s head, and sticks Basilio’s finger up his nose — which was pretty funny, given that McKinny played Basilio as fastidious and OC.

I can find much to admire in his singing though.

Anybody else?

Nebby gave it a good shot, but then the Frantz walked in and in the space of a single verse of his aria, he also stole the show from Nebby. His perfectly executed crescendo on the high A in his aria was the stuff we should be hearing from an artist who gets so much attention and press and Nebby does. Alan Oke sand with a lot more technical assurance in his small role than Nebby.

Thank god Camlle had exited from another doorway, as she had just purchased her new FURRY* winter chapeau, and her pelts remained unpelted by PETA.

No Netrebko in sight!!

*no SQUIRRELS were used to create Camille’s chapeau.

I love an even vibrato (in string instruments too — Maud Powell, Guilia Bustabo — fabulous, young Kreisler anyone? Uneven – ala the great but not always reliable tenor Anselmi and the fabulous but somewhat hectic sounding Mafalda Favero — means pitch issues. However much as I respect Renee’s courage and intelligence in the Zaza ENTIRE final scene on the as far as I’m concerned must have Verismo CD, Mafalda’s reading, in abysmal sound ends with her and the entire audience sobbing). A vibrato always works better live, for it gives a voice a special glow and sensuality — the greatest Pilar Lorengar was an example of this, a quality not really caught on a lot of her records, though some of them are desert island (the two Decca recitals on LP are to die for — I think they were combined on CD with omissions needed, alas).

Perhaps if I got used to the sound I would appreciate it more, but it’s the first time I ever heard it and it sounded wrong to me, as if his voice were under stress.

Still, learn something new every day.

i met taymor once, before she was famous, at a play of hers in the early 90′s. she was very cold and unfriendly… oh well.