Mortali! il vostro fato è in vostra mano!
“Even if you’re not going to the concert, you can visit the website www.mariinsky.ru and decide Guleghina’s fate.” These words fraught with doleful moment invite you, the cher public, to play at gods with the repertoire of soprano Maria Guleghina (not pictured).
The Mariinsky’s website invites one and all to select which arias (of the daunting array listed) she will include in her program for a July 5 gala concert climaxing the 2010 White Nights Festival. You are thus encouraged to vote early and often!
Blimey, but that could get sadistic… ‘O Patria mia’, I think, followed by ‘Sempre Libera’ followed by the sogno di Doretta…
I votes for the 10 most difficult pieces.
It’s strange that on the website for the White Nights they indicate that for the new production of ATTILA the “roles are being rehearsed by:
Ezio: Vladimir Vaneyev, Edem Umerov, Alexander Gergalov
Foresto: Yevgeny Akimov, Sergei Skorokhodov, Sergei Semishkur
and the performance will be sung by Abdrazakov and Guleghina.
Subsequent performance:
Roles are being rehearsed by:
Odabella: Mlada Khudoley, Irina Gordei
Attila: Sergei Aleksashkin, Vadim Kravets
Ezio: Vladimir Vaneyev, Edem Umerov, Alexander Gergalov
Foresto: Yevgeny Akimov, Sergei Skorokhodov, Sergei Semishkur
and later in the run: “cast to be announced”
So much for ensemble preparation of a new production.
My god, are you trying to kill her?
This reminds me of one thing I’ve wondered. Why do large-voiced Slavic singers (e.g., Ghena Dimitrova) seem to completely avoid the German repertoire? Guleghina’s choices here seem to be all Italian and Russian. Wouldn’t she have (at some point) made a good Ortrud or Elektra?
I think we heard Mlada Khudoley (here rehearsing Odabella) as Sieglinde when Gergiev brought his Ring Cycle to New York; and she was very good, though even better (if I recall correctly) in the Invisible City. . .
You should read the chapter on ethnicity in Ethan Mordden’s Demented. Maybe that is the reason why. One exception to the rule was Eva Marton, who sang plenty of Wagner/Strauss along with Verdi/Puccini.
I’ve always thought Dimitrova could have been fabulous (purely vocally) as Elektra, though she was not a demented artist.
As for the choice of Guleghina’s arias … They will all come out sounding the same anyway.
I would LOVE to see Guleghina in German Repertoire–maybe she doesn’t know German.
Yeah, same with Vishnevskaya. She didn’t sing much German rep, did she?
Anyway, I rushed to the poll to vote for my no. 1 aria choice for Ghuleghina but alas, “O zittre nicht” wasn’t on the list.
Vishnevskaya was a famous Leonore at the Bolshoi, I think. And I have a wonderful recording of her singing ‘Dich Teure Halle’ in Russian.
I had to vote for the I due foscari selection… Tu al cui sguardo onnipossente? I think not.
Likewise the Ernani.
Can we vote for another dress?
yikes. this cant end well
Despite the voice, God, I love this woman! Something about her endears her to me and makes me root for her. I suppose its her gutsiness. God, she has every one of the msot difficult arias in history for you to choose from. Picture it: the bolero from Vespri, followed by Abigaile,then Turadot,then Sempre Libera! The only singer left who seems to openly defy the Gods on a regular basis!