Witchy woman
“The Met’s first production of Rossini’s supernatural opera Armida was supposed to be a showcase for star soprano Renée Fleming…. But by the time the opera ended Monday — four hours after it began — only a few of the less-than-capacity audience were left to applaud. The magic wasn’t there.” [NYP]
Fabbriccini makes it “work” for her despite having a voice in tatters. But Serafin seems to me to work from ‘inside’ the grand tradition, while activating the text and musical line in a wholly personal and convincing way. And she is a great actress as well.
You can see that in the Tosca rehearsal clip, she is clearly ‘inside’ the role even during rehearsals:
1:55, 5:40
And musically she is as equally convincing and glamorous in the best sense of the word, in the lighter german rep. A conductor friend told me she was a supreme Sieglinde in his Walkuere.
I’m sorry to say it, but it looks like with his review, JJ seems to be following in the NY Post tradition–so well established by Peter G. Davis–of putting personal (and well known) bias before objective observation. Each to his own.
I think Serafin’s voice is harsh and shrill on the top, but I wouldn’t exactly call Fabbricini’s voice “in tatters” either…
i downloaded the whole album. i agree that Rad needs to work on phrasing. but the quality and lushness of the voice is just too good for me to get caught up in all the complaints!
I like what I’ve heard and seen of Serafin on YouTube (and did you know her father has sung more than a 1000 performances of Danilo?), but I somehow doubt she is right for Lady Macbeth, with which she makes her official Covent Garden debut next season, opposite Keenlyside (!) as Macbeth. (She stepped in for Voigt as Tosca last season, I believe.)
Clita @60- it was Betsy, not me, who first made the ‘curdling’ comment; I merely referred to it.
Baltsamic @61- I believe the phrase is ‘bite me’.
Sorry, ArmerJ, I didn’t mean to leave you in the line of fire, but I missed seeing this.
Yes, ’twas I — HAH HA HA HA HA ! — Curdle curdle curdle — Ye he he he he heeeeeeeeh!
Actually, in my original post I meant that the deterioration occured in the same decade, not at the same age, so that the public lost its three most visible exponents of the fach within a few years of each other. Which is such a stupid comment I would like to take it back, except that it gave me the opportunity to use the word “curdle.” CURDLE ! Curdle curdle, which rhymes with girdle which stands for POOL !
Karin Ott is not just one of opera’s most celebrated sopranos, but perhaps its most convincing actress. A consummate artist, her one and only role when she stands in the spotlight is to breathe so much life into the opera’s main character that audiences lose themselves in her unforgettable performances. That is the passion of Karin Ott.
Just listen to yourselves: you dis Fleming’s Armida because it isn’t quite perfect, but cant WAIT to hear “Anna Bolena” performed by a soprano who can’t begin to sing it. (And it isn’t just that she has no trill: she has no coloratura technique PERIOD.) I have a standing $50 bet with a friend that Trebs will never sing one note of “Anna Bolena” at the Met. She will be so bad in rehearsals that she won’t dare set foot on stage in it.
#79 Avantialouie: I wish that I shared your optimism.