parterre box

192 comments

• justanothertenor says:

  Wow! Unreal! I am staggered that he had the courage to say it!

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:14 AM
  • Quanto Painy Fakor says:

    Kewl!

    on March 8, 2010 at 4:17 PM
• whatever says:

  well, dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians …

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:28 AM
• BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

  Good show, Sam. Your Momma brought you up right.

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:38 AM
• MontyNostry says:

  There’s Pope for us all!

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:39 AM
• Orlando Furioso says:

  The part that surprises me most is the whole “aw shucks, I had no idea people would care” bit. Honestly, Sam?

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:40 AM
  • BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

    Ever been to Kansas, OF? There’s a lot of honesty out there. Oh yeah, there’s a bunch of bullshit too, but unlike New York it’s fresh from the bulls. (Dances about giddily.) Sam is my he-ro, Sam is my he-ro!

    on March 8, 2010 at 11:47 AM
    • Orlando Furioso says:

      Yes in fact; half my family is in Kansas and I visit there twice a year, thank you. But Sam can’t play the innocent country boy at this point; he has to have known people would notice.

      on March 8, 2010 at 10:46 PM
• La Valkyrietta says:

  I have always liked Ramey, and this makes me like him even more. He told it like it is. Will someone at the Met have some Champagne for him tomorrow, I wonder?

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:44 AM
• Nero Wolfe says:

  I guess this means that the Ramey Retirement Gala is being postponed until after Gelb dies.

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:47 AM
• iltenoredigrazia says:

  I’ve all along been in favor of singers standing up for their art and dignity. The singers is the primary reason for opera to exist. Perhaps now some may reconsider the criticisms of Marcelo Alvarez when he also made some negative comments about the new Tosca. Singers, rise for the art!! Le roi, c’est moi!

  on March 8, 2010 at 11:52 AM
• Lalala says:

  I have to say, I’m shocked that this actually came from Sam but I’m happy that a singer is actually being heard in the press (albeit, he had to produce the information himself through a “response” button on an internet posting of a review–just shows that some singers do read reviews).

  Singers express their disgust and displeasure of productions and other factors of opera all the time in private conversations. They just are not so easily seen by the public in the “press”. I know of a few other productions out there right now (and in rehearsal) where there has been a GREAT amount of complaint from the singers—the worst part is that the opera companies don’t seem to care in the least. When the productions open and are reviewed, then singers often get the “blame” and/or administrators are “shocked” at the criticism. Singers like Sam have been around for a long time—directors/designers should listen to them just a little bit.

  on March 8, 2010 at 12:01 PM
  • Sonofamoll says:

    I have found this whole discussion of Sam Ramey’s comment to be transcendent. At the risk of sounding like a blubbering sycophant, let me say that he has been one of my favorites and one of the reasons I became hooked on opera in my later years.

    I’ve learned much about musical values through this blog, and you all have made me a more refined listener. But I was thinking that part of the pleasure I discovered about opera has to do with the feeling of solidarity with an audience. One of those moments came at the Met in March 1991 during a performance of Nozze. Ramey came to the footlights to sing “Aprite un po quegli occhi,” and as I lifted my opera glasses, I realized that all the women around me, in unison, had done the same thing.

    The subject of speaking out when your livelihood depends on fitting in with a large institution is a pithy one. I’ve enjoyed your comments about that. Much has been written and experienced. For any institution to remain vital over time, those in authority need to hear and respect the warning signs. Dissenters are not always prudent or even right, but bosses, governments, whatever should be grateful for their honesty. Sorry to sound like a teacher, but this is one of my subjects. I can’t believe I now know Sam Ramey’s email address.

    on March 8, 2010 at 12:30 PM
• BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

  Next on the agenda — Let’s all crash the Susan Baker Testimonial Gala and make poopee noises during her acceptance speech. (Lah-di-la-di la, a new world’s a dawning.)

  on March 8, 2010 at 12:06 PM