Metaphor, thou mighty monster
“Marianne Cornetti‘s Amneris…. gives the audience a heart attack every time she opens her mouth, possessing an ability to literally drown out the orchestra.” La Cieca has a new favourite opera critic, and his name is Jamie Tabberer.
Cornetti is on the DVD of Trovatore in Robert Carsen’s very spectacular production from Bregenz. She is a solid singer — with a proper top C — but the voice is not distinctive and her acting is very low key – a world-weary refugee rather than a, um, fiery gypsy.
Monty, might that approach not be the result of a character worked out with the director? I can easily imagine an Azucena who’s “had it” and zones out between the big outbursts.
I think it was indeed a part of the interpretation, but she still lacked the intensity that goes with the role, even in the big moment. Not a bad performance, but not memorable.
That very early take of Sutherland I suspect from around the very early 50′s show up several things.
(1)-The announcer speaking in what is called ‘old world Aussie English’. When people tried to speak PRECISELY like they had a plum in their mouth and their head up what was then Mother England.
Australian people today listening to him, would laugh the announcer off the planet.
(2) It shows how Sutherland ONCE had diction. Forget the ratty Aida translation, one can hear and understand the words. After her headline making 59′ Lucia appearances , from then on slowly but to maintain that unique Sutherland sound she is so famous for, diction was progressively thrown out the window. First was the ‘mooning’ period …till finally we got then, transposed down versions of her same roles, with contorted vocalizations and an incessant beat and wobble as bonus extras.
Here are a bunch of photos from that Aida. Boy, I hope it’s released on DVD.
http://intermezzo.typepad.com/intermezzo/2010/04/royal-opera-houses-new-aida-in-pictures.html
Sorry girls (mean, old ones) but this early clip of Sutherland is really very interesting and not to be dismissed as just plain awful or funny. If you know anything about the voice it clearly shows a great voice in the making.
As my dear old friend harry (gulp) says, it was done in a bye gone era- where the cultural cringe demanded singers often had to forgo singing in the original language to struggle with the awful indignity of “English version” which never sounded quite right. Joan Hammond’s “Oh My Beloved Daddy” (yukk) etc are just further evidence of this era.
Sure Joanie’s voice has got flaws still in this early rendition, -wtf did you expect? …but it also shows there was a very fine instrument there just waiting for developement…and now we know that happened.
I think the productions pictures look incredibly interesting. Aida is an opera that can and has been able to survive tinkering so long as it is done faithfully. there is an Aida DVD that was set in Thailand during a period of unrest in that country’s history.The singing is not that good, but the setting is quite interesting. I had it in my Netflix list and watched some of it and thought was a nice reinterpretation.
Furthermore, the Video with Nina Stemme is another non traditional production that is quite well done. The Egyptians are now the invaded and Aida is an Egyptian princess and the British are now the invaders. I thought this production was quite well done.
This production at CG, by the pictures, seems to have a strong tribal influence. I hope it translates well, but what scares me is the fact that Ameris looks like an African princess, Radames like a samurai and Aida like an Egyptian. This kind of mishmash I don’t find it particularly interesting or revolutionary. Has anyone seen it? Could they conform my suspicions?
The whole idea of Radames as a Samurai would be very interesting for an Aida set in that area of the world and have it been predated. I think that setting would bring some interesting ideas and the possibility of some beautiful costumes.
I got through about 60 seconds of this and what it reminded me of was Anna Russell (Or Flott) singing about fairies in the bottom of the garden.