parterre box

70 comments

• Quanto Painy Fakor says:

  The more the Philips kid imitates Leonie the better she is. Go for it kid, that’s what we’re waiting for, but learn how to modify your vowels so your voice really soars.

  on May 3, 2010 at 10:27 PM
  • mrmyster says:

    “Phillips kid?” Hee hee. Kid? Try age – 48, 50……?
    That lady’s been around a while; otherwise I don’t think
    she would have survived tonight. She turned in an
    acceptable performance. I enjoyed the opera in spite of
    certain hazards concerning tenors, bassos and OhNoNo
    conductors. Some of the conducting was not bad, some
    was quite a puzzle. Could the Steersman sing Erik? I
    wish he had.

    on May 3, 2010 at 10:48 PM
• mrmyster says:

  Poor Mr Gould! What a frigging mess his voice is!
  Whoa! He and Uusitalo should join hands and
  walk into the sunset!

  on May 3, 2010 at 10:35 PM
• Quanto Painy Fakor says:

  First they should deport that Kazushi creepo, whop can’t even accompany either of Erich’s arias and could not even find the inherent phrasing of the melody in Erich’s last act song. I’m willing to bet that he does not have every word of the text in his head when he conducts this piece.

  on May 3, 2010 at 10:43 PM
  • BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

    Sorry, QPF, you can’t “deport” an American citizen. Best you can do is hire a hit man.

    on May 4, 2010 at 12:29 AM
    • Bianca Castafiore says:

      QPF is not only a retard, but a racist too! Che bello.

      on May 4, 2010 at 12:59 AM
• Belfagor says:

  Lori Phillips is on the Botstein recording of Dukas’ ‘Ariane et Barbe-Bleue’ – and anyone who can get through THAT role deserves a medal. Alas – it seemed efficient to me and capably handled, but a bit devoid of colour, freshness on top and nuance. I’ve not heard her elsewhere and never live……

  on May 3, 2010 at 11:41 PM
• jrance says:

  I was at the Met tonight. Phillips was underpowered for the House, the top has no bloom, she was a bit flat here and there, and she sings in one color. Uusitalo was dullish and likewise lacking in volume. Both seemed at the outer limits of their voices. Gould and Konig have authentic Wagnerian voices though Erik calls for more lyricism than Gould could deliver. Ono was not as bad as I had been expecting but it was dutiful rather than inspired. We left after the “Act II” trio.

  on May 3, 2010 at 11:50 PM
  • operaddict says:

    Not true. Her voice filled the Met with glorious tone. The audience roar at her curtain call spoke volumes…voluminously. She inhabited the part of Senta vocally, dramatically and visually. She deserves to be cast in heroic roles from now on…and not just cover others who are incapable of receiving such responses.

    on May 4, 2010 at 5:35 PM
    • jrance says:

      Are you her husband or her manager perchance? Your post reads like a publicity release.

      on May 5, 2010 at 10:25 AM
      • operaddict says:

        No, neither of those things, but I am a professional in this field and know a thing or two. If someone goes out and kicks some serious butt, there is nothing wrong with stating that fact.

        on May 5, 2010 at 11:33 AM
• Clita del Toro says:

  I fell asleep during Senta’s Ballade. Thought the baritone was nothing special.

  After Leonie’s and Regine’s Senta, who needs Debbie or Lori?? Not to mention London!
  So, I watched most of Moon Over Miami.

  on May 4, 2010 at 9:28 AM
• peter says:

  I would like to hear Phillips again. I think she gave a very respectable performance last night, at least from what I heard on the broadcast. The ballad was rough but she got better as the evening progressed. Her final scene was very exciting. It’s no small feat to make a debut on short notice in the role of Senta where so much of her music is very exposed. She was leagues above the tenor and baritone. Of course, they weren’t anything to write home about.

  on May 4, 2010 at 11:01 AM
• lauretta anna phillipi says:

  You tired, catty, have no life….live vicariously through other, opera queens….try singing the role of Senta on 3.5 hours notice, after a day of looking after a very head strong 8 year old………….THE BOTTOM LINE IS THIS……..LORI PHILLIPS SANG THE ROLE OF SENTA WITH VOCAL STEEL AND BEAUTY….if there was any trepidation at all in her opening ballade, it was simply nerves…wouldn’t you be a bit nervous? Lori Phillips the human being is as kind as genuine as anyone walking the face of the earth…and Lori Phillips the singer, is, and will continue for many years, to be rare commodity….a singer with the goods and not someone who looks good in HD for the closeups…you know…the kind that Gelb is fond of promoting….Rudolph Bing is rolling over in his grave right now…in large part, the Management at the Met does absolutely not understand their medium…the that is the VOICE…end of story…the ONLY reason that opera is worthing patronizing (unless you prefer schlock like Moon over Miami, that is) Lori is destined to become a major star and one of the few dramatic sopranos working today, who does truly have the goods.

  on May 4, 2010 at 3:10 PM
  • mrmyster says:

    Well, lauretta anna, you may have over-stated it a little bit,
    but I thought she did very well — and god knows she was
    an improvement over the house florencefosterjenkins, as
    Senta. I heard her as having excellent pitch, a full soprano range
    though a solid high-B and plenty of strength and tone. If they
    had given her several performances and let her settle in, she
    might have scared d. v. back into the studio to work on her
    scales. Good luck to Ms. Lori Phillips. I hope she gets the
    next performance. How old is Phillips, 45? Older?

    on May 4, 2010 at 5:52 PM
    • lauretta anna phillipi says:

      Ms. Phillips is 41 years old (and yes, I’ve FOILED her birth certificate) Ms. Phillips and her very talented twin sister Mary, were born April 17th, 1969…..the perfect time for a dramatic soprano voice to begin singing roles like Brunhilde and Senta on the Worlds stages….on another somewhat unrelated note…I recently heard the Met’s over rated Violetta for the first time…I walked out after the the duet with Germont……….I was bored to tears…and after wathing the evenings notoriously bitchy soprano make a mockery of Sempre Libera….I simply wanted to vomit….I walked from Lincoln center that evening towards Grand Central, and ended up going to Carolins Comedy Club…only 15 bucks and a two drink minimum…now that was a good time. Yes, Lori should have the opportunity to sing Senta more than once…once she has a chance to settle in…instead of her being bombarded by BRAVAS and brava divina, as was the case after last evenings perf. You’ll have all the all the opera queens standing and screaming for this potentially historic singer, for minutes at at time. PETER GELB AND HIS CRONIES ARE WELL ON THE WAY TO KILLING OPERA…THE LATEST CASTING OF THE BROADWAY BARITONE IN THE NOSE, WHO COULD NOT BE HEARD BEYOND THE 2ND ROW, IS JUST ONE OF MANY EXAMPLES. LATER GATORS!

      on May 4, 2010 at 6:30 PM
      • peter says:

        Lauretta, are you, by chance, the secret child of Robert Merrill and Robert Peters?

        on May 4, 2010 at 6:32 PM
  • jrance says:

    Wow, you have access to people’s birth certificates!? Please post copies of Barack Obama’s and Trig Palin’s birth certificates here, it will help clear up several pesky questions.

    on May 5, 2010 at 10:23 AM
• operaddict says:

  It is always tragic when a singer is obviously approaching the “lost it” catagory and no longer can deliver the goods. Whether because of age, dramatic weight loss, serious illness, or some misguided vocal technique which no longer works even a little bit successfully, all singers, even the greatest, eventually have to step down. I find it amusing that posters here say they would prefer dead singers to those who are alive and kicking and trying their damndest to make an impression. Kirsten, Leonie and Birgit are just not available these days.
  A cover who must “jump in” and save the show with never having sung the role on the set, or with the cast, conductor, chorus or orchestra, and in that costume and shoes, and who can pull it off in such fine style as Lori Philips did on Monday night, deserves the highest praise. Of course she could have been better!!! Who wouldn’t be, if they had had the many rehearsals, coachings and support which the principal got, not to mention all the hype, money and promotion? This being the case, Miss Philips might have proven herself to be the obvious new Wagnerian star soprano we need so desperately. If she is able to sing another performance or two, I think this singer might just do that, and would improve dramtically over what already was an amazing performance. Managements seem to forget that audiences love to witness a star being born. They are thrilled when an understudy gets a big break. Some of the most exciting nights in a theatre are those when the underdog gets his chance and truly dazzles the audience. People still love the “Rocky” story as much today as they did many years ago…such as when the adorable Roberta Peters stepped in and showed herself to be the new coloratura star.
  I also find it puzzling that certain singers…divas in particular…who are no longer what they once were, still get a pass for their ever more apparent shortcomings. In fact, barely a mention at all concerning their inability to sing on pitch, or with the bloom and beauty, power and grandeur of former years. Great singers are and should be held in high regard for what they are, and were, and of course it is painful and perceived as disrespectful to say ANYTHING negative regarding a beloved singer’s vocal denoument. But ignoring the truth is neither fair to the singer, or to the public, who have paid for and deserve to get the greatest performance possible, regardless of who gives it, or to that singer who needs to be told the truth…a truth which when offered kindly and constructively, might indeed prod them to rework their voice and rethink their technique and role choices at the stage they are at in their careers.
  I do believe that dramatic weight loss can indeed confuse a singer’s technique and support, but more likely, the desire to be thin often translates to the voice, and the desire for a thinner, leaner body usually results in a singer having a thinner leaner voice as well. For more dramatic singers, this is more often than not the kiss of death. Big, fat, plush, plummy voices needn’t be surrounded by bodies fitting the same description, but usually are. In some famous cases, vocal placement is lost along with the physical support which was easier when the singer’s girth aided in giving the singer a stronger sense of fullness and appoggia in their support of their voice. The loss of support and vocal placement is really a technical issue, and needn’t necessarily mean the end of a great career after a dramatic weight loss, but tragically, as in some current cases, this is the case.

  on May 5, 2010 at 8:38 AM
  • lauretta anna phillipi says:

    You are a well informed and articulate poster. Thank you for your intelligent and thoughtful comments. Although, I sincerely hope Ms. Voigt is feeling better, I hope Ms. Phillips has the opportunity to sing Senta again, to better “settle in!” I actually heard Ms. Phillips sing the role of Senta with the small regional Hawaii OPera a couple of years ago in Honolulu and because she was the diva and not the cover…and very comfortable with the production…she was even better in some ways than she was at the Met on Monday Evening….and believe me, if you were in the house on Monday, you’ll agree…that’s really saying something! As for the right wing Moron, who is curious to peruse Trig and Barack’s birth certificates….blow me, you’re an idot!

    on May 5, 2010 at 10:37 AM
• mrmyster says:

  lauretta anna … I can only urge you on and wish you well!
  Your Lori P. is the one I heard on Sirius radio and I was
  well impressed. She does need to be taken into the Met’s
  regular casting and given some roles that need fresh
  casting, not only Senta. Who sang Isolde in that Hawaii
  opera Tristan a few years ago? Was it L. P. ???

  on May 5, 2010 at 11:00 AM