She’s no longer a gypsy, part deux
Angela Gheorghiu will not sing Carmen at the Met this season. Says the diva:
“To make so important a debut as Carmen, I want to be as prepared dramatically as I am musically. Therefore, I will postpone my role debut until a later date when I can work intensely with the Richard Eyre production.”
Kate Aldrich will sing the performances on April 28 and May 1. More big news after the jump!
UPDATE: Gheorghiu family news always seems to travel in pairs, doesn’t it? Well, here’s the other shoe dropping: La Cieca hears that Roberto Alagna will sing next season’s Met production of Don Carlo, replacing the previously cast Massimo Giordano.
I echo Bill’s sentiments. I’ll gladly serve as the — sole — target for her attacks if that will allow others to continue partaking of her erudition.
As a much cleverer poet than I once put it,
Parto, ma tu ben mio,
Meco ritorna in pace;
Sarò qual più ti piace,
Quel che vorrai farò.
She’ll be back. What diva can resist the stage, even when it isn’t her own?
Yeah I don’t know if it’s innate or rather she’s made a close study of Scotto’s recordings.
gnomes?
Well, Ms. Gherkins is not the only one who shows up in the morning for interviews in cocktail attire: Kathy Griffin said the same of Ann Coultergeist, who looked like she wandered in from a “1980s Robert Palmer video.”
Does anyone remember ‘Lucia’—the social queen of an English
town (Rye), much portrayed by E. F. Benson in his Mapp & Lucia
series of four or five novels? The more I think about it the more
Lucia and Angela are the SAME persona; it’s remarkable.
Luciaphiles will know what I mean!
Au Reservoir
MrM/sfe
though Benson’s actual opera singer, dear Olga, is perfectly delightful
But an artist ISN’T an artist unless he or she occasionally pushes the envelope, takes risks and does something both unexpected and a bit dangerous. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t but if there is no impulse from within to explore new territory, any kind of artist will sink eventually into dull routine.
Very true, Parpignol, in fact she was just about the only sane one
in the stories — and we know how unlikely that is for a singer!
But, on the other hand, she was American, no? Born in Maine
I believe. Mr Georgie once accompanied her on a concert tour
of America! My, Fred Benson was a rascal, yes? His mother slept
every night with a woman named Ben, while her husband, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, slept down the hall. Ah, them
wuz the days!
MrsJC: You have much to contribute to the discussion and often display brilliant insight. But please spare us your weekly farewell announcements (not to mention the regular digs at other posters).
Another farewell tour?
How touching!
Melba reincarneated?
I’m sure most people are tired of Carmen for this season, but is anyone else listening to the Sirius broadcast at the moment? Borodina is singing pretty well tonight, although she didn’t warm up until after the “Habanera.”
I’m listening too. Actually, the whole cast seems to be better than the one of the HD broadcast. BTW, is this Will in the intermission? I can’t understand half of what he’s saying (well, i’m not trying too hard) and his French (was he quoting Bizet’s directions for the torreador song? I’m not sure I understood correctly) is really dreadful. Shouldn’t a radio guy speak clearly?
I think they’re generally singing better than the HD Broadcast cast, although it seems to me that Garanca’s voice is more agile than Borodina’s, but it might be due to the latter’s being a “true” mezzo (as I’ve seen her described here). I don’t know how that works, to be honest, but I’m giving Borodina the benefit of the doubt because I (generally) like her.
That is Will next to Margaret. Others usually describe his voice as having a “drunk” quality, which might explain why he’s hard to understand.
Back to the singers: I like Jovanovich, but I think Alagna could communicate madness and desperation better, at least so far tonight.
Isn’t it quite late for you, Liana?
Actually, it’s early
; 4 a.m; but this long winter has brought some kind of contagious insomnia, and the met provides a nice pastime (well, a friend of mine says that she discovered the best sleeping pill possible – assessing students’ tests, but i definitely prefer Carmen). I like Ivanovich’ singing more than Alagna’s, but you’re right, Alagna communicated the passion, and Jovanovich doesn’t. But Rhodes improved dramatically from the HD; actually the torreador song was quite good. I like Borodina’s singing, but again, I can’t find much passion or seduction or whatever in it. And I like Micaela very much, apart from her bad French. Don’t you think that she’s better than Frittoli? Oh, and Will simply mumbles.
I agree that tonight’s Micaela is better than Frittoli was in the HD Broadcast (I’m sorry, I don’t know tonight’s singer’s name).
I agree too about Rhodes. To be honest, I didn’t understand the hype about Rhodes when I saw/heard him in the HD. He seemed to have a wide-eyed fear throughout his entire first scene, and his voice in the Toreador song seemed pushed. (But that might have been due to the 3 hour notice he was given that he’d be on stage.) He’s much better tonight (more natural, I really mean) and seemed more comfortable in Acts III and IV of the HD performance.
Oh, Liana! My friend is here for dinner so I must go. Enjoy the rest of Carmen.
Just checked, it’s Kovalewska. And the interview with Nina Stemme is quite interesting. How does this woman cope with tree children and an operatic career??? That must be really tough. BTW, I showed to an opera-hating friend of mine this extraordinary Carmen duet posted by Monty; he found it great and said that if there was more of it in the opera, he would become a fan. And was very disapointed when I told him that there was little chance that an opera singer appears drunk (or whatever it was) on the Met’s stage and can’t get one phrase correctly, even given the sometimes weird casting…
Who is tonight’s Micaela? Jennifer Black? Better than
Frittoli – you cannot be serious.
The Italian soprano is a distinguished international singer,
now older and a bit frowsy. She should not have been
cast as Micaela in this production. BUT Miss Black would
be second rate in the NYCO production of anything.
Forget it.
Kovalevska.And she is better.
I saw Carmen in the house with Frittoli and although I enjoyed her performance, Kovalevska sounds wonderful and more youthful. Borodina is very good tonight – but she sounded out of breath during the dance sequence.
No wonder
. I really admired Garanca for not sounding out of breath then.
Indeed, no surprise, since Borodina dances and Garanca does not. Foolproof way of not getting out of breath in a dance sequence, that.
Ah…so. I heard Acts III and IV. In the earlier run the conducting seemed better; tonite the conductor would let singers take over the arias and slow down the pace and the shape — and it just lacked excitement. For me there was Boradina — and then everyone else. She remains an elegant singer, beautiful tone, beautiful attacks, nice phrasing, sometimes a bit of drag and she must have tried the conductor — but she was consistent; she has been a great singer, and you surely could hear it tonight against all those younger amateurish singers. Miss K. was tremulous and fluttery as Micaela – about at the Jennifer Black level — and the voice so monochromatic; TTRhodes is really not a good singer — the voice has no edge, it is rough and inconsistent; I don’t know what to make of Jovanivich — sometimes it was good, often he sound pushed and strained, with ragged releases. The voice does not sound well lined up, and sometimes it seemed unsupported. Once again, there seemed to be too much vibrato. As a very wise and famous old (late) voice teacher pointed out to me, and I paraphrase: You hear a great many young singers today with far too much vibrato, instability in the tone — that is because they have not sufficiently consolidated the voice and built support before taking on big roles. And….I would say that just about sums up what we heard tonite, save for Olga from the Volga and she remains a mistress of her art, even in later maturity
I am so pleased to have heard her again! G’nite.
Better than….? Miss Black? To my ear, about the same
level.
Than Frittoli? No way. Frittoli had no business singing in this
New York production, but she’s a distinguished singer and she
has had an accomplished career.
Borodina deserved a better cast and definitelly a better conductor who seems unable to keep the orchestra and chorus together even in an opera they know extremely well.
The tenor sounds like he should be singing roles such as Aegist and Herod in provincial houses in Germany, in fact he seems to have ALL the problems the old McCraken had and absolutely none of the virtues (including the powerfull ringing voice). The baritone was already getting hoarse during the Toreador Song, or perhaps he calls himself a bass, not sure, but terrible anyways. Micaela did not offend, which in this cast is already a very good thing. Frasquita yelled, but at least some voice came out, Mercedez is below criticism.
Oh, the guy singing Zuniga did well for Zuniga. Wonder how he would fair in bigger parts (probably not as well…)
BTW: Low point for me was the children’s chorus. These kids need to eat some oat-meal or something before singing or is everyone being trained to sound like an unmiked Charlotte Church?
Divas should NEVER lick their lips! The presentation is not introverted enough.
In the Callas Paris-debut video, Maria seems to be in an interior monologue.
All that notwithstanding, I rather liked Angela.
who was the conductor? when i saw it two weeks ago, with altinoglu, vizin, jovanovich, frittoli and kwiecien; the cast, chorus and conducting were all pretty good (with the caveat of mariusz being too underpowered in my opinion).
Altinoglu, I think. After the comments above, I think like I should apologize that i liked it. Or blame it on the very late hour
Pierre, it was Alain Altinoglu – about whom I know zero.
He did a few nice things, esp. in the purely orchestral moments,
but over all I wonder if he is really a theatre conductor. Shape
and drama, architecture and tension — to use the jingoistic
words, were not much in evidence.