Comments on: Girl of the moment

By: Ruxton

Ruxton — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 23:40:21 +0000

Oh Dear! Thank you guys! Now I must write 100 times- I must not go on a Friday night red wine binge then comment on Parterre! Of course I meant Bastianini. Lordy..Lordy- what an idiot- so sorry. Thankfully Mr Taddei isn’t half bad either.

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:15:57 +0000

It seems to be fashionable at the moment to suggest that Aida somehow isn’t a very viable piece — this is probably a knock-on from the fact that there are: i) very few singers around who can deliver the required combo of power, beauty and delicacy and ii) very few directors who can negotiate its combo of formal spectacle and more naturalist intimacy. As I’ve said before on this site, Act III of Aida is surely one of THE great acts in all opera. I love the piece, and the final scene is genuinely moving.

By: Noel Dahling

Noel Dahling — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:56:36 +0000

Aida “totally unbelievable”? I would think it is relatively beleivable, espescially compared to other opera plots. There aren’t all those crazy coincidents of a Forza, for example, with people who are trying their darndest to not run into eachother acros Sapin, yet somehow cant avoid one another.

By: Nerva Nelli

Nerva Nelli — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:54:39 +0000

In 1950 Thebom sang 2 house Met Ortruds with Melchior (including his farewell) and 2 on tour with Svanholm.

The Herrufer was Frank Guarrera, hardly the hairdresser type.

By: Nerva Nelli

Nerva Nelli — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:49:42 +0000

Thebom ( …ya know…) in fact sang 80 Met Amnerii — after Louise Homer, with 97 to her credit, more than anyone else has done. Zajick has 71 so far and is set for three more this season…

By: Nerva Nelli

Nerva Nelli — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:44:09 +0000

Joke, right? The wonderful Taddei will turn 94 in June.

By: armerjacquino

armerjacquino — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:39:55 +0000

Eh? He is still alive and was singing Falstaff at the Met at age 69.

Are you sure you’re not thinking of Bastianini?

By: Ruxton

Ruxton — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:33:03 +0000

Cerquetti – if Taddei ever did anything second rate I’ve certainly never heard it- to me he was always first class… truly an amazing singer. Such a pity he died so young.

By: sterlingkay

sterlingkay — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:57:34 +0000

I don’t know if this will make any difference in terms of his stage presence but I am told that after seeing himself on the HD, Brownlee decided to drop some weight and looks much better now.

By: Krunoslav

Krunoslav — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:09:12 +0000

“It took the Metropolitan Opera decades to catch up with the rest of the world and finally stage La Cenerentola. Gioachino Rossini’s opera buffa”

Meanwhile New York City Opera was doing it from 1951 on, often with Frances (“Dyke, ya know!”) Bible. Later Angelinas included Susanne Marsee and Judith Forst.

By: perfidia

perfidia — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:14:26 +0000

Opera is not the cinema or TV, or even the straight stage. It does benefit from these art forms, but it should never adopt their sensibilities (especially those of TV. Talk about suspension of disbelief). Fortunately for the lookists the state of training if so dismal today, and the industry is so geared towards looks, that the exceptional voices that can challenge people to listen a little less with their eyes are not likely to come around. I have a feeling Horne would have never been able to make a career today. Too zaftig. And yet the woman could be a riot on stage. They would have to pry my DVD of her Isabella from my dead cold hands. Good looks help acting, but talent is all that counts in the end. If a singer sings with authority and insight, and has reasonable acting skills, I am more than willing to overlook his/her looks. Am I the only one who loves the pictures of fat Callas with arms like hams in “Norma”? She looks like a caryatid that could have Netrebko and Garanca for lunch, but I am sure it was dynamite on stage.

By: traumgekront

traumgekront — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:46:04 +0000

Only kind of off topic: I just saw a commercial for a nasal spray called “Omneris.”

By: Dawson

Dawson — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:24:55 +0000

Well written. Truly. La Cieca has found a true belcanto connoisseur. My only disagreement is that I dislike the production. Perhaps Garanca could sing Aida in a very small European opera house, and not in the very near future. In any case she is already a major star. Brownlee is very good singer, but I want to hear him only in recordings. On stage he is way too gawkish, almost painful to look at, and Juan Diego so elegant and graceful. No wonder he gets the best gigs, and Browlee is going to get whatever Juan Diego can’t or doesn’t want to accept.

By: traumgekront

traumgekront — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:09:58 +0000

Interesting…

By: BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK

BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:00:17 +0000

“Thank you” to Nerva Nelly

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:53:21 +0000

Probably there is no DVDs of Garanca’s Vienna Oktavians yet as she sang in regular repertory performances there.

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:39:15 +0000

Really?

By: Nerva Nelli

Nerva Nelli — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:37:04 +0000

…. ya know…”

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:55:09 +0000

http://www.angelfire.com/art/rapunzellonghair/rapunzellonghairarchive/portrait5.htm

Did Blanche ever sing Ortrud? If so, who took the role of the Hairrufer?

By: traumgekront

traumgekront — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:24:37 +0000

I’d never heard of Blanche Thebom so I googled her and all I have to say is WOW. She’s like the epitome of glamor. Now scouring youtube for clips…

By: traumgekront

traumgekront — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:57:51 +0000

Scusate, Ercole Farnese, I just realized this was your review. Ben scritto

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 19:57:27 +0000

She wouldn’t be the first glamorous Amneris. Gals like Bumbry, Verrett, Thebom (who I assume sang the role — with her hair down, of course) and Obraztsova weren’t exactly short of physical appeal.

In the flesh, Garanca’s voice actually sounded surprisingly blowsy to me. Not loose, but not as classy as I had expected.

By: traumgekront

traumgekront — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:18:44 +0000

I also felt that during the Carmen HD, which I saw twice, that Garanca didn’t completely inhabit the character, but on the other hand there were several moments that did convince me that I actually was watching a Spanish gypsy blessed with some recessive genetic makeup that allowed her to have blue eyes. I thought she rocked it. Mostly though, her fault in this role was her elegance. Which makes me curious to see her in Strauss. Does anyone know if there is a dvd out there somewhere of her Vienna Rosenkavalier?

Another thing is that she’d DEF have to wait awhile before she does Amneris. I’d love to see what she’d do with it, even though I think her portrayal would make the totally unbelievable story that is Aida become even more unbelievable just because Radames would be nuts to ditch a knockout like her.

By: Liana

Liana — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:18:33 +0000

My feelings exactly. I think she’s a very good singer, but not a great artist. I saw her live once, saw both HDs, and every time it was just that – very good, nothing more. It’s nice to listen to a singer hitting all the notes, but somehow, afterwards I never have a feeling “that was fantastic, I’d really like to see it again”. And watching the HDs, I had the impression that she never really inhabits the character, rather very consciously plays it. Nice to hear, beautiful to watch, just boring.

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:03:16 +0000

Does anyone feel strongly enough about her to be fervently anti-Garanca? She’s very pretty, very well-schooled and highly efficient, as far as I can tell, but not an artist to fall in love (or hate) with.

I’ve only seen her live once, in concert with the Concertgebouw and Janssons, and she didn’t exactly capture my imagination. Funnily enough, I did feel that the voice has the potential to grow into Amneris or Eboli, but I don’t see her temperament setting Egypt or Spain alight.

By: Ercole Farnese

Ercole Farnese — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:57:37 +0000

I don’t see a very large anti-Elina crowd out there, possibly because contrarily to other current beauties (divette DDN) she can actually sing, and so far has not raised eyebrows in terms of repertoire choices. Now, if she really sings Amneris as she repeatedly said she intends to do, then I am afraid it will be open season on her.
Yes, she is truly hyped, but in her case her talent is large enough that her publicists and handlers don’t have to put perfume on a stinking bomb (I like this phrase. I read it recently referred to Gustavo Dudamel).

By: Bluessweet

Bluessweet — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:34:56 +0000

Sometimes I think that the anti-Garanca crowd is just put off by her beauty and fabulous figure. ((The Elina knockers don’t like her knockers?). Honest, she sings very well. I picked up on her only last year, having skipped the Cenerentola HD. I did so by seeing the Netrebko “Souvenirs” album. Fortunately, I got the enhanced edition, the one with the DVD. She cut poor Anna to shreds in the Barcarole duet. Vocally superior and visually very comfortable, while Trebs looked as if Henny Penny had given her the word and she was waiting for instantaneous disaster. I like Netrebko all right but Garanca was really all there and in control in a warm and relaxed way.

Her HD Carmen was about perfect. For a singer, her dancing was quite competent, no matter what a professional dance critic might say. Her acting and the characterization she adopted were, to me, quite real. I’ve dated women like that (Not for a long duration, except once!)

As far as acting ability and looks go for opera singers, well, why not demand them? We do on stage , in the cinema and on TV. (CerquettiFarrell- You tell us about that, if you please!) I was recently at a recital at the Academy of Vocal Arts and one of the performers, very lovely soprano, at the after performance Hors d’ Oeuvres, told me that in spite of training at one of the greatest schools in all the world and a reasonable performance resume, she had SO MUCH competition that she knew she would have to be able to produce what I would call a “signature” image or be very lucky. The woman had her summer booked at festivals and had been successful at regional Met auditions. With that kind of talent available, facing that kind of competition, why have a matronly Michaela in Carmen? (Did your mother come in person Don Jose?)

On the other hand, there was carping about another of my favorites, Karita Mattila, as being too old to play Tosca but her MET Cavaradosi was an age match and nobody can say (or even imagine)that a singer of Tosca’s stature might not have some years under her belt. Old people can also be passionate lovers, take it from me!

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:45:31 +0000

In fact, Sir Peter has made visual drabness something of a Hallmark at Glyndbourne.

By: MontyNostry

MontyNostry — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:42:22 +0000

It’s just a shame that Hall has made visual drabness (presumably in the name of supposed verisimilitude) such a theme in his Glyndebourne productions. That Don Giovanni in the rain, for instance. I’m not saying we need bandbox colours, but does everything have to be muted and a bit grubby?

By: parpignol

parpignol — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:13:01 +0000

I very much liked Garanca in this role last year, but am I the only one who (unexpectedly) really liked Borodina in this role a few years back? no Rossini specialist I suppose, but (unexpectedly) skillful with the runs and ornamentations, and (unexpectedly) very funny in comedy, and the voice, well it’s always been a sumptuous voice with plenty of character. . .