Happy Birthday Dorothy Kirsten!
The all-American diva was born 100 years ago today!
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Jatm I don’t think you can compare the situations of Dorothy Kirsten and la Divina in any way at all. The two artists can hardly have been more different both in voice and placement in operatic history.
Apart from the fact Dorothy was a spinto, who stuck with a “more modest repertoire” (known to always be the reliable, popular, stand- in, the demands on Maria, right from the beginning were so extraordinary-she was pressured and hounded to do roles at all parts of the spectrum.
From Wagner to Puritani inside a week was just the start- and as the recordings came out, the demands for “Callas versions” of almost everything only grew as each recording (few exceptions) met with critical acclaim.
How many other soprano’s in history recorded Lucia’s and Traviata’s etc while being pressured constantly to record Carmen? I can’t think of too many – although at the risk of being beaten up, there is one I can think of in recent years who seemed (for a while) to be attempting to do something similar, but in her case- it seems to have turned into a case of tears before bedtime
It turned into a case of tears before bedtime for Maria too.
Just because OQs think her life divinely tragic doesn’t mean that her end wasn’t exactly what it is for too many who make bad choices – sad, lonely, and bitter with regret.
Maria squandered her gift. She may have left us with many magical musical moments but she was done at 40. And no one is ever going to convince me that she was happy about that.
luvtennis I don’t think there would be many that would disagree with much of what you say- we know she was sad, lonely and bitter with regret. I would be too if I had been stuffed around and used by a measley, disingenuous, greasy, Greek bastard, but I do have a small problem with the word “squandered.” After all, her output was predigious, extraordinary and second to none for many years – and the vocal problems had already started when her private life took her out of the operatic picture altogether. If squandered suggests “frivolous waste”- it certainly doesn’t apply to the early years and who’s to say that the voice wasn’t already totally wrecked by the time she stopped?
Understood.
Please note that I did not mean that Maria had wasted her gifts, at least not in the sense you mean.
Perhaps I should have stated that Maria was a spendthrift with her considerable gifts. Yes, she blazed like a supernova for 10 years, but I don’t think we should celebrate the resultant flameout.
And the voice was shot by the time she retired. I would argue that the voice stopped being reliable as early as ’56-57. Most telling was the wobble on notes above the staff below high c. I more prudent singer might have taken a break to concentrate on correcting such a serious problem. Maria didn’t and, I believe, paid a huge price due to her resulting loss of confidence.
Just my take.
During that approximate 10 or so year period, it is amazing to think the sheer quantity of recorded Callas material that has been solidly capitalized on, since for a full half Century. Think the commemorative 71 CD Set from EMI, even before we start thinking of all the other recorded pirated live performances, available.
Given that short time span, no other artist’s name would probably be able to lay claim to a similar ‘output’ result.
There was talk that when Callas was finally rushed to hospital with her fatal heart attack……..she was found full of caffeine. If so, another strange paradox.
Video clips of her final London recitals…are just too painful to watch for all sorts of reasons. Added to, of course, by also seeing her besotted fans ‘over the moon’: yet clearly depicted is a totally sad tragedy of a woman ‘what once was’, her voice shredded into tiny fragments. Love, as we say, is blind.
Was just listening to her live broadcast from the Met in Butterfly, 1960 and thinking how wonderful she was in that role. Happy Birthday, Divina
!!
Kirsten was a character named Elizabeth Anders in The Divas — the villainess. The Book is a great gulity pleasure with lines like “She’d sing it all right, she’d sing the balls off of it” [the Steber character on being offered Musetta] or “I was a star in this opera house before you cruised your first john” [also the Steber character -- Gloria January].
Kirsten’s Tropical Nights Album was combined with a Gershwin album and released on CD a few years ago; she could do great American songbook stuff well — having started out as a radio singer. There is also a great recording of DK singing Baby It’s Cold Outside with Sinatra. DK made good recordings of The Merry Widow and The Student Prince; both available on CD.Dorothy Kirsten was a protege of Grace Moore and there are parallels in their careers, although for my dollar Kirsten was the better singer.
Toward the end of her life Dorothy Kirsten became a philanthropist, starting a medical research foundation in her husband’s memory. A fine singer and interesting lady — happy birthday DK.
Callas was not in great voice at the Met in 1956 and 1958?, but in 1957 she sang those superb Bolenas and Amelias at La Scala– and could still sing a great Amina at that time. But that was the end, sadly. Her Pirata in NY was good and the final scene was very exciting.
Her voice was, unfortunately, going well before her 40th birthday–more like her 35th.
Callas’ ’65 Tosca at the Met was an exciting experience, but the voice was shot. She did sing very well when the voice wasn’t strained.
The concerts in the 70′s were for me sad and disturbing–that was NOT Maria on the stage. She was gone.
I’ve always heard how Callas was not in great voice for her sole Met Broadcast (Lucia, 1956). Nonsense. It’s been broadcast on Sirius several times. She doesn’t take any E flats and she had problems with the high note at the end of the baritone soprano duet. But everything else is wonderful. No, it was not prime Callas but it’s so beautifully sung. Paul Jackson in Sign-off for the Old Met describes her performance in great detail. Apparently, she was ill and almost did not sing the broadcast but thank Heavens, she did.
What I have heard is that she was in middling voice for the whole 1956 Met engagement, particularly the debut Norma which is when all the movers and shakers got to hear her for the first time. The “Callas experience” didn’t really happen in New York until the 1958 Violettas, which everyone who was there still raves about.
Cara Cieca, you mean those “lousy” Traviatas? I have never been able to see that word again without thinking about La Maria sneering at Sir Rudolph!
On a very related subject, I saw this morning on the CUNY TV station a program that seemed to indicate that they have discovered a new video of Act IV of the Lisbon Traviata, is that true or did I hear wrong????? I was in a hurry to leave so not paying full atention
. anybody know if there is any validity to that?
What happens in Act IV? I thought Traviata had 3 acts.
For some people, the second act’s two scenes constitute two acts. I’m not one of those people myself.
Hmmm. Thanks, kashania.
yes thanks Kashie, don’t know why I have also always seen it as a 4 act opera, eventhough I am quite familiar with the 2 scene in Act II denomination Maybe because it makes no sense to play them together? she doesn’t run from the countryside to the party on the same day now, does she?
So what’s up with the video of the Lisbon Traviata? anyone knows?
When Christos Lambrakis dies last year, I thought a lot of new stuff would surface, up to and even including the Tristano e Isotta from La Fenice. Could this be it????????
Errata: When Christos Lambrakis dieD last year
MMII: I always interpreted the 2 scenes of Act II as happening on the same day. Violetta receives a party invitation from Flora in Act II, scene 1. Afredo runs out to catch up with Violetta at the party at the end of this scene. Then, in Act II, scene 2, the party takes place that night.
Violetta tells us it’s the same day.
‘Ah ah, scopriva Flora il mio ritiro! E m’invita a danzar per questa sera! Invan m’aspettera’
Two scenes in an act don’t have to happen the same day. What is clear from the way Traviata is divided is that the first scene of Act 2 (i.e., the country house) is meant to be a fairly shallow set, and the immediately following scene (Flora’s party) is revealed as a set the full depth of the stage. The “gambling” scene is indicated as “Finale of Act 2″ and it should follow immediately upon Alfredo’s exit (with perhaps only a brief pause for applause.)
And it’s really no different than a scene change in a movie.
Gorgeous Cruz, hmmm…. maybe you are right, and I am sure someone in this august cher public, knows the specific answer directly from the Verdi specs (or Dumas’). My Traviatese is a bit rusty as I have not seen it since Dame Kiri’s last try at the Met, when, in mid-80s? I have not even heard La Maria in at least a decade, though this morning’s clip of Parigi o Cara has me itching to get home to listen to La Maria again. But let’s see, Violetta has to rush to Paris in a horse-drawn carriage (at least a few hours?), get home, take a shower, sorry a bath, to get all that dust off, look for a ball gown and lots of jewels, contact the Baron Douphol, sorry no cell phone, not even desk phone, and then meet before the party so they arrive together? Even if the events of Scene I are in the early morning that would be seriously straining a schedule, right?
BTW, I’ll be in san Francisco within the next month, how about meeting in front of the Napa Valley Opera house?
*sigh*
Invisible again.
Cara Cieca I had not seen you erudite answer when I wrote mine. So I guess the specs do say it’s on the same day then, but I have seen lots of productions where the country set is not shallow, but rather very elaborate and requires a massive change for the equally elaborate grand salon set. In fact that’s the case with the Zeffirelli, right?
Tell that to Franco!
Sorry sorry ArmerJ, I did not mean to ignore you, I did not see your also very erudite answer, yes “questa sera”. Any time near the Napa Valley Opera House
MMII: I don’t visit the City of Napa as often as I ought, I’m afraid.
As you note, it might strain Violetta’s abilities to freshen up in just, say, 6-10 hours time. I might argue that a person of Violetta’s expertise and stature would be expected to have freshening down to a science, but that is really projecting a lot of subtext into Verdi’s and Piave’s work.
Armerjacquino reminds us that Flora’s invitation is to a party that same night. Of course, as La Cieca cautions, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the party of Act II, scene 2, is this same party of Flora’s invitation.
My, this is a lot of noting, reminding, and cautioning, isn’t it? Time for a lunch break.
Gorgeous Cruz, it doesn’t have to be in Napa, I’ll be staying at San Jose/Palo Alto. So downtown San Fran would do too
And no strain in freshening up, have at least as much expertise as Violetta 
Seriously though, it took a phrase of less than one minute to remind me how glorious La Maria was as Violetta, really even after several years of ignoring her, Maria demands your attention, she really was from heavens…….
MMII: contact me at: cruzzer68@yahoo.com
Indeed. More people should sing that well with a flu.
Clita:
That is exactly what I meant when I wrote that the vocie was already unreliable by ’56-57. Yes, the Bolenas were tremendous – the role fit her voice perfectly – but the great Verdi roles, the ones that require all those As, Bflats and Bs, were nearly beyond her at that point.
That’s the thing about Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini, they wrote music that flatter the voice, offer numerous transposition opportunities, and can be tailored to suit the singer. Mid-late Verdi roles typically are much more “instrumental” in nature. Moreover, many of those roles have exposed moments that simply cannot be ducked (or miffed) without creating a “scandale.” Especially given audience expectations . . . .
Is there any role more frightening for a soprano than Aida? Maybe QotN, but very few sopranos are ever have the notes to sing that role comfortably.
Ms luvtennis, if you are keeping your argument specific about italian opera, your statement may have “some” validity (Abigaille anyone?) but if you are talking about “soprano repertoire” are you seriously saying that Aida is more difficult than Elektra? Brunnhilde in Goetterdaemmeung? never mind the length, have you ever seen those 2 octave leaps with syncopated rythms in Act II? or the fiendishly high tessitura of the final pages of the Immolation?
I didn’t write difficult MMII. I wrote that it was maybe the most frightening.
Let me put it this way:
I can name any number of singers who have sung Brunnhilde quite successfully despite not having a reliable high B or C. Traubel, Flagstad, Marton, 80% of the Brunnhildes since Birgit. . . .
For some reason, in these roles, we tolerate the fact that a note or three might go missing.
But a soprano who leaves out the high C in O Patria Mia on a regular basis does not get asked to sing Aida for very long. And if she does it more than once or on the wrong occasion, she might find her career opportunities severely limited.
By the same token, no one can complain if a soprano leaves out the eflats in Lucia or Traviata since they were never there in the first place.
BTW, I am most definitely not a Ms.
Well since I am a Ms Thang, I thought you were too.
NP. I am surprised that you say that Brunnhilde can be sung successfully without a reliable B or C, notes which are integral for an accurate delivery of the part. Let’s pick apart the names you mention, Traubel is famous for Walkuere with very stressed out Hoyotohos but a gorgeous tone and plenty of musicality for the all important Act III (up to high A only, no Bs or Cs). I am not familiar with her having sung Siegfried or Goetterdaemmerung. Flagstad when starting her career had EVERYTHING, perfect even scale up to high C and a radiant gorgeous tone perhaps unequalled, so obviously had ALL the qualifications to sing the part. As she got older she lost the top notes, but people still wanted to hear the glorious tone and the musicality, and there weren’t many rivals around, but she WAS heavily criticized for her failings. Marton was never considered a great Brunnhilde despite her many outstanding qualities as a singer, and the other great roles she excelled at, such as Ortrud and Gioconda (to talk about my favorites) or Turandot. Marton had neither the musical phrasing, nor really the stamina to sing Brunnhilde successfully over a long period of time, and besides the new production in San Francisco in the mid-80s, in what theater of note did she sing it with any success? We know who was the reigning Brunnhilde at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayreuth, Munich, Vienna, Berlin, Buenos Aires and even made a huge debut in the very Marton production in San Francisco, during that same period, right? And boy DID she have blazing Bs and Cs. But quite frankly Brunnhilde is quite a bit more than just Bs and Cs. To me a Brunnhilde who cannot negotiate successfully the octave leaps in Act II of GD has absolutely no business singing the part. Likewise, if the strain of Act II leaves the soprano too exhausted to give a radiant account of the final pages of the Immolation, she should simply not attempt the part anywhere. I mean Jessye Norman at the NY Phil in 1994 was excruciating in those final pages, about two tones below pitch, that’s not serious musicianship in my view. It’s a fetish to do it and just say, I want to do it anyway because I am famous (so I get hired to do it) and most people won’t know the difference anyway.
MMII: I don’t know if you’ve make a successful argument that it is absolutely necessary for Brünnhilde to have high Bs and Cs, especially in Walkürie, where those notes don’t appear again after the hoyotohos. I’m willing to cringe at a couple of lacking high notes if a soprano can deliver the rest of the role well. Not so much in Siegfried, mind you, where those high notes are more crucial to conveying the ecstatcy her character is feeling. As for Jessye’s ’94 NYP concert, that was not a good night for her at all. Even her “Cacille”, which was a standard for her, was sung mostly off-key.
Kashie, I think I very specifically DID make the argument that for Walkure it was not needed to have blazing Bs and Cs if one can tolerate a strained set of Hojotohos. Act III which to me is the crux of Walkure does go only to high A (felsen) indeed. But I was using Gotterdammerung as an example of a fiendishly difficult and hence frightening role, and you agree that GD is full of Bs, Bbs and lots of As besides the big C in Act I. The tessitura of Act II is nearly impossible, those huge As and Bs and then the plunges into the bottom two octaves lower, and then right back up again.
I did think of you when writing about Jessye, but sorry, sorry sorry, she had many talents but I don’t believe she could really ever SUSTAIN the tessitura of ihn zum slingen und schlossen von ihm in maechtichter Minne….. even in her greatest day. Remember what Simionato said to some idiot who told her, you are a soprano, you have a high C. And she responded all well-trained singers should have a reliable high C, but it is a question of tessitura, where the voice feels comfortable, and I am a mezzo soprano. Christa Ludwig said something similar after singing Leonore in Fidelio. How many times did she do it?
MMII: OK, we agree on Walküre. I misread your post. GD is a bit different. I’m willing to tolerate a soprano ducking the high C in the prologue as long as she can sustain the tesstitura act II.
I agree that the tessitura of the final lines of GD were not kind to Jessye. It’s been years since I listened to her Wagner album from the 80s (with Tennstedt) so I’ll listen to it this weekend and let you know. But generally speaking, if Jessye were to sing any part of Brünnhilde, it should have been Walküre. I can imagine a very regal and moving Todesverkundung. But it really wasn’t her role.
Highly enjoyable exchange, you lot! Thanks!!
I saw Callas’ Norma twice, and Tosca (with George London) during her first season. The Tosca was excellent. Apparently her Lucia received the best reviews at that time.
During her latter season, I saw her Lucia (with Bergonzi)–the best I have ever heard, and her Traviata–wonderful. And then the Pirata in 1959? at Carnegie Hall.
I wonder if she was nervous singing at the Met??
She didn’t exactly get royal treatment there. Old productions and less than stellar supporting casts.
Peter: you are right about the productions–the Norma and Lucia were pretty bad, not that the Tosca was anything to write home about.
BUT, the casts were good to great:
Norma: Del Monaco, Siepi, Barbieri
Tosca: Metropoulos cond; London, Campora, Corena
Lucia: Tucker, Campora, Valentino, Sordello, Mascona
————————————————
Traviata: Barioni, Zanasi (not that great)
Tosca: Tucker, London, Bergonzi, Cassel
Clita: I guess I was thinking of the Lucia broadcast with Campora and Sordello. Not exactly stellar. Although, I’m sure they had their fans.
Yeah, it’s too bad the Lucia broadcast was not with Bergonzi or Tucker.
I just went to the Met Archives and read all of the reviews for Callas’ performances at the Met. The only one that was an unqualified rave was for Traviata. The reviews for Lucia, Norma, and Tosca were pretty midling.
Thanks Sanford. I forgot those were on the archives. It’s such a pleasure to read Irving Kolodin. I like his take on the audience response.
A few comments on the Traubel and Flagstad Brunnhildes….
First, Traubel certainly sang both the Siegfried and Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes; at the Met she sang 15 performances of the first and 25 of the second. This is easy to find information in the Met archives. Presumably
she left out lots of high notes, she even transposed ho-jo-to-ho in some performances. She recorded the Dawn Duet from Gotterdamerrung under Toscannini and evidently he insisted she sing the high c but it is very flat.
Flagstad first undertook Brunnhilde when she came to the US. Her first Walkure and Gotterdammerung Brunnhildes were in her first Met season. She was also supposed to do the S Brunnhilde but was indisposed and so made her role debut at the SFO instead where she sang regularly. But this point in her career, she was already ducking certain high Cs. Her Siegfried Brunnhilde braodcast from the Met 1938 lacks the final high C as does her 1939 Gotterdammerung broadcast. She made a recording of the Gotter prologue duet under MacArthur and sounds glorious but the high C is slightly underpitch. Even by around 1940 she was also ducking one of Isolde’s high Cs.
So my point is both ladies were significant Brunnhildes and both made as little as possible with the character’s high Cs, pretty much to luvtennis’ point.
I’m curious about the difference in range between the Hoch dramatic soprano and the Jugendlich dramatic soprano. We know that Brunnhilde and Isolde have a high C. What about Eva, Elsa, Senta and Elisabeth? If they don’t have a high C, why is that Wagner gave the heavier roles the higher note?
I think it’s more a question of vocal weight and power than range. I’ll leave it to those who know the scores more intimately to eloaborate, but off the top of my head, I know that Elsa goes up to a high C in the third act. And Senta just gets higher and higher as the role progresses. By the last scene, the tessitura is quite high.
I understand that it’s more a question of vocal weight and power but I think it’s interesting that the high C is less likely to be found in the heaviest of Wagner soprano voices.
If that is the case (the high C appearing less in Isolde/Brünnhilde than in Elsa/Elisabeth/Senta), it is entirely appropriate. Generally, the heavier the voice, the less ease with high notes (Nilsson being a great exception of course).
OK, someone with a score. What are top notes of Elsa, Eva, Elisabeth, Senta, please?
I think the top note for Elsa is a B-natural in the Bridal Chamber scene. I don’t recall seeing a high C in the score. Elisabeth also tops out on B-natural.
Exactly. Thanks La Cieca!
Thanks, La Cieca. To go back to Peter’s original post, it seems that Wagner was a bit of sadist when it came to Isolde/Brunnhilde and Tristan/Siegfried. Am I correct that Siegfried is the only WAgner tenor role that has a high C? Far more lyric roles like Walther and Lohengrin don’t. And Isolde and Brünnhilde each have more than one high C while lighter roles like Elsa and Elisabeth don’t go above a B.
It does seem though that the High C is definitely a requirement for a Hochdramatischsopran. The classic Wagnerians are Isolde, Brunnhilde and Kundry, all three have a high C, and plunges to the bottom. The more lyrical jugendlich Elisabeth Elsa and Eva go to B or A (in the case of Eva if I am not mistaken) but with high tessitura. Senta is a special case as is somewhere in between, the final pages are very dramatic with a huge edge, i.e. very hoch. In that sense it is very similar to Leonore in Fidelio, which is considered a hoch role but has been sung very successfully by many jugendlich. In Strauss, the two hochs are Elektra and the Farberin, both with high Cs. The jugendlich Chrysothemis and Salome only up to B natural but very high tessitura. Am I missing any other Strauss, other than the late stuff which is very lyrical and neither hoch nor jugendlich?
Thanks, MMII. I didn’t Kundry went that high. And I guess the only Strauss role you’ve left out is Kaiserin which is similar to Chrysthemis in terms of weight and tessitura.
Yes of course the Kaiserin, pure jugendlich as Chrysothemis, except a big exception to the rule, because the Kaiserin has a D flat (in the dream scene) or C sharp (can’t remember which one it is) so it would be a jugendlich with a high C!!!!!!!
Pter, well Hoch means High, right?
Seriously though, I believe the hoch refers both to high in the sense of high note, as well as high in the sense of elevated, the maximum, the top of the line. So the Hochdramtisch was the summit of what a singer could/would aspire to and hence had to be prepared for anything and everything, any demand or difficulty had to be met, hence the requirements for a high C as well as plunges to the bottom of deapair as in Act II of Gotterdammerung. Those requirements are met only by a technique of the highest order, hence Hoch.
Kashania, Senta only goes to B but is written brutally awkwardly, and hence it is extremely difficult. Behrens told me many times that Senta was one hell of a lot more difficult than Gotterdammerung. And of course Elektra is vocally the MOST difficult role in the soprano repertoire, bar none. Talk about exposed high Cs!!!!!
Thank you MSMII!
richard, thank you for your informative post. I was not aware that Traubel did sing Siegfried and Gotterdammerung at the Met. I did own the Toscanini reocrdings, so I knew about the GD duet, etc but I didn’t know she sang the complete operas. I also didn’t know how early Flagstad was ducking the Cs, but Kirsten is an exeptional case in any event, as a voice THAT glorious you’d probabaly want to hear in anything, everything and in between. I do not believe the point raised by luvtennis was only regarding high C versus high C, as I alluded to many other difficulties associated with the [specifically] Gotterdammerung Brunnhilde, that I have also detailed. Afterall the Gotterdammerung has only a total of ONE high C. But it does have a punishing tessitura, all over the place, and the unique stamina requirement. But this is not a court of law where we have to agree on so fine a point, right?