parterre box

93 comments

• Lindoro Almaviva says:

  Are we sure? I mean, the woman got away with taking nearly 10 years off her age for so long.

  on July 6, 2010 at 6:50 PM
• Lindoro Almaviva says:

  is that Callas’ tiara? OMG, the man who owns all these vids must’ve been well connected. there is shit on those vaults that could change the rotation of the earth.

  on July 6, 2010 at 6:52 PM
• armerjacquino says:

  One of the many things I would never have done were it not for Parterre is read Robert Merrill’s potboiler novel ‘The Divas’.

  Am I right in thinking that the one who is not a thinly-veiled Moffo or a thinly-veiled Steber is a thinly-veiled Kirsten?

  Whether or not, her radio broadcast of Butterfly on the Met Player is absolutely gorgeous.

  on July 6, 2010 at 6:54 PM
  • PirateJenny says:

    oh my goodness – I had forgotten all about that book!And what a hoot it was with the thinly-veiled Moffo and thinly-veiled Steber. What was the name of the Moffo-like’s porn co-star? I remember it was hilarious. And if I remember right, the book was the recipient of my personal award for worst first sentence ever: something along the lines of “The general preferred the missionary position”.

    on July 6, 2010 at 8:44 PM
    • jatm2063 says:

      That was a terrible book. I actually thought that one of the characters was a thinly disguised Callas (or possibly Suliotis). I remember a scene where the woman knew she coudn’t get through La Mamma morta, so she gets through on temperament up to that point, then “faints” and then announces the next day that she is pregnant (she isn’t). Something that Callas would have done.

      on July 6, 2010 at 10:34 PM
      • PirateJenny says:

        Yes, an absolutely dreadful book. My younger self was apparently willing to sacrifice significant chunks of time in celebration of all things ironic. I occasionally miss those heady cheesefests and coups from Value Village, but these days I don’t think I would have the time or inclination to get beyond the first paragraph.

        I remember getting a Callas-vibe from that character too.

        on July 6, 2010 at 11:22 PM
      • iltenoredigrazia says:

        Moffo did that at La Scala at Merrill’s debut there in Traviata. She fainted at the end of the first act; could not continue; and found out the next day that she was pregnant. I don’t think that she had any children, however. And if memory serves correctly, Kirsten finished the performance. A real American night at La Scala.

        on July 7, 2010 at 2:39 AM
  • mrmyster says:

    jacquino, Steber in the Merrill book is Gloria; Kirsten is the one who
    smashes up all the fotos of her old diva mentor — Grace Moore.
    The book is a piece of junk, of course, but there are some
    funny moments.

    on July 6, 2010 at 11:42 PM
    • MontyNostry says:

      That book sounds fantastic. Has anyone ever read ‘Aria’ by former Angel Records chief Brown Meggs?
      I read it in my teens and, out of curiosity, got hold of a second-copy a couple of years ago. It’s trash, but quite high-class trash, if overlong.

      Its centrepiece is a recording of Otello. I always assumed the sexy soprano (Didi de Campo) was based on Moffo, but I don’t think anyone in particular was the model for the young Afro-American tenor, Ezekiel Laframboise. Great names!

      on July 7, 2010 at 3:06 AM
      • Harry says:

        Yes,MontyNostry I read the book ‘Aria’ too. At the time, I thought the soprano was Moffo and the over ambitious tenor character wanting to do Otello was in fact ‘little Jose’ -. Being of course, thinly disguised in the book, as being Afro-American.
        Rumor had it this miniature yowling version of ‘a 3rd tenor’,actually did want to record Otello (Verdi’s -that is!)……spare the thought!

        on July 8, 2010 at 11:36 AM
• Arianna a Nasso says:

  Pretty amazing for someone going on age 69.

  Anyone know the story of how she came to sing that performance? According to the Met archives, Verrett sang the first 10 performances of the season, then one had Rysanek, Zylis-Gara twice, Kirsten, and Cruz-Romo. Smells like a cancellation to me since by 78-79, the Met was no longer rotating casts as in the Bing era.

  on July 6, 2010 at 8:34 PM
  • celmo says:

    At that time I was taking an opera class at the New School on 14th Street lectured by Francis Robinson. I overheard him saying before class started that Kirten was to sing Tosca that night due to a cancellation. Well to hell with the lecture. I ran to the subway and got up to the Met minutes before the curtain. The night was magical, with a lot of Kirsten fans in attendance, shocked to get a chance to see their Dorothy once again at the Met.
    So a very Happy Birthday to one of my favorite divas. A wonderful Butterfly, Tosca, Mimi and my favorite Minnie. Also for those who think her singing rather reserve, try to hear of her Louise from New Orleans when she and the very great Treigle go head to head in Act 4. Awesome.

    on July 6, 2010 at 9:21 PM
  • operadent says:

    I believe Rysanek was scheduled to do all of the perfs after Verrett. But unfortunately, Leonie sang an extremely bad first performance ( with Domingo ) and the next day she canceled the remainder of the run. Thats why we got Z-G, Dorothy and C-R. I was at one of the perfs with Z-G and Bergonzi on a very snowy evening, and they were quit good together.

    on July 6, 2010 at 10:12 PM
• PirateJenny says:

  One of my prized possessions is a microgroove recording of Dorothy Kirsten, called “Tropical Love Songs”. It is the best background music for a Tiki themed cocktail party EVER. I love the gorgeous, effortless singing and idiomatic style she brought to her popular music recordings. Here is one of the tracks I found on youtube:

  on July 6, 2010 at 9:00 PM
  • jatm2063 says:

    Loved this clip PJ. Thanks for posting.

    on July 6, 2010 at 10:29 PM
  • Conny says:

    Yes, quite irresistible.
    In a similar vein of early cross-over, two other recordings she made, the one of songs of George Gershwin, the other of songs of Jerome Kern, wonderful material for her lovely voice, her interpretation full of warmth, deft phrasing and clear diction; – btw reissued by Sony in 1997. A treat !

    on July 7, 2010 at 4:23 PM
• jatm2063 says:

  An interesting video of Kirsten as Tosca. The voice is in amazingly good shape for a woman of…whatever age one chooses to believe she was at the time. A smart woman too, who knew what did and did not suit her voice, and stuck to only those things. Callas should have taken a lesson or two from Kirsten in terms of how to choose things for one’s voice and temperament. One does not hear recordings or see videos of Kirsten singing things that were incorrect for her voice. And Kirsten was still singing (well) at 70 odd years of age, while Callas was done at 40 or so, with the last several years being disastrous.

  As for the picture at the top, I suppose that was for a production of Louise, just as she is about to sing “Depuis le jour” at age 70 or thereabouts.

  on July 6, 2010 at 9:36 PM
• WindyCityOperaman says:

  Dorothy lasted a long time because her usual reply to Bing was “No”. Said no to the Wozzeck Marie, Barber’s Vanessa, Elisabeta in Don Carlo, and German operas. Remember Dorothy’s semibio? I had a copy and gave it away to a pal, silly me. She was generous with her compliments for other divas, including La Divina, Lee Price and Bubbles.

  Still don’t know why domestic MGM Video hasn’t gotten The Great Caruso on DVD, and along with that Ann Blythe, Lucine Amara and Lanza’s son interviewed in extras. Dorothy was wonderful in that, I thought, and a good dramatic actress as well.

  on July 6, 2010 at 9:53 PM
  • jatm2063 says:

    Exactly. Marie, Vanessa, Elisabetta, and pretty much anything in German would have been unsuitable for her. So she said no, as any smart person will.

    Was there any Mozart in her career? I would imagine that the Italian roles would have been okay for her, although I have never heard her sing anything even remotely florid, so maybe the coloratura for a Fiordiligi or Donna Anna wouldn’t have worked for her.

    The one role that sticks out from the rest that she did sing was Minnie in Fanciulla. I know she sang it pretty regularly for a while. Many other singers of overall greater stature have come to grief in that, but I guess the way it was written just worked naturally for her instrument.

    on July 6, 2010 at 10:16 PM
    • mrmyster says:

      jat: In Kirsten’s own book (A Time to Sing, or something like that), she
      admitted she longed to sing Elsa — and that and Eva would have been
      the two German roles I would have thought possible for her. She wrote
      that Bing said no to her idea, and in the end she admitted it was right
      not to sing it. I asked Kirsten once, around 1951, after an opera in
      Hartford, CT, why she did not sing Mozart. She said, “What? And be
      with all those other women on stage? (said with a little chuckle), but
      later she did sing Dialogue of the Carmelites in SFO. She mainly sang
      roles where she was, however, the only important female on stage.
      Think about it! It’s largely true.

      on July 6, 2010 at 11:47 PM
      • Arianna a Nasso says:

        Your point about Kirsten’s repertoire choices reminds me how savvy she was in marketing her career. Without the first class vocal resources of a Ponselle, Tebaldi, or Steber, she realized that she needed to develop everything else about her if she was to have a major career – musicianship, looks, repertoire, creating an aura of glamor. Like her singing, I find it all a bit calculated, but I nonetheless admire her intelligence and artistry.

        on July 7, 2010 at 12:30 AM
• Tim says:

  And let’s not forget her wonderful Manon Lescaut with Jussi Bjorling. Great stuff.
  Tim

  on July 6, 2010 at 9:59 PM
  • Harry says:

    There was also a Columbia recording of her in The Desert Song with Nelson Eddy, I remember.
    Definitely a voice that was very much under -recorded. Just consider her standard as a soprano and then think of some of the ‘ratty’ things today being held up as ‘stars’. Makes one want to scream!

    on July 8, 2010 at 11:51 AM
• papopera says:

  Hardly Louise in the first photo, why should she be wearing a tiara ??

  Kirsten was my love. Beautiful woman. Remember she appeared in The Great Caruso and some broadcasts from the Met with very little voice left as Minnie.

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY DARLING……….

  on July 6, 2010 at 11:03 PM
  • Regina delle fate says:

    Is she still alive?

    on July 7, 2010 at 3:45 AM
    • BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

      No, honey, but we need a good reason to party.

      on July 7, 2010 at 3:50 AM
• parpignol says:

  she was my first Tosca; and I also love the Tropical Love Songs album . . .

  on July 6, 2010 at 11:58 PM
  • Regina delle fate says:

    This thread has whetted my appetite for Tropical Love Songs – I don’t think I have ever heard a recording of Mme Kirsten. Did she make any notable complete recordings or are they all off the air?

    on July 7, 2010 at 3:46 AM
    • BETSY_ANN_BOBOLINK says:

      Closest she came were the Butterfly and Tosca for The Met Opera Record Club; both were a bit abridged. There were also a handful of operetta querrschnitt albums for Columbia.

      on July 7, 2010 at 3:55 AM
      • PirateJenny says:

        Naxos has re-issues of the complete Manon Lescaut and Faust (both with Bjorling) and an abridged Merry Widow. These will be my background music for work today.

        on July 7, 2010 at 8:15 AM
      • richard says:

        There were also some opera arias recorded in the 40s and 50s as well as some pop songs.

        Many of the opera arias have been collected on a Preiser CD
        http://www.amazon.com/Lebendige-Vergangenheit-Dorothy-Gustave-Charpentier/dp/B000B41JPU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1278520258&sr=1-6

        Of these , my favorite has always been her Death of Thais scene with Robert Merrill

        on July 7, 2010 at 12:35 PM
      • Batty Masetto says:

        Golly what a difference the right style makes. She’s wonderful in this, and though I never cared all that much for Merrill, he’s bang on the nose too. A great antidote to the recent mistreatment at the Met. Thais is so underrated.

        on July 8, 2010 at 2:19 PM