parterre box

31 comments

• messa di voce says:

  Will anyone hazard a guess to to why Arroyo’s career just about ended when she turned forty? She seemed to have an excellent technique, and the voice always sounded as if it just came out so easily. I remember some bad reviews around that time (Dutchman, was there a Norma?), but nothing more.

  on July 8, 2010 at 6:30 PM
  • richard says:

    This is just my observation, nothing very definitive or scientific, understand.

    I saw quite a bit of Arroyo in the early 70s, she performed at the Met very, very frequently in Bing’s last 6-7 years. After he left, she still appeared at the Met , but not quite with as much frequency. I recall a solid, if not overwhelming MAcbeth and a very convincing Gioconda from the mid 70s. But as the decade ran on, I heard a couple of very rough performances; and Andrea Chenier and Trovatore from 1977 where she sounded worse for the wear. She seemed to fade a way from the Met for a number of seasons.

    Then I heard her (actually for the last time) at the MEt Centennial Gala, she sang the Aida-Amneris duet from act 2 and seemed in solid form again, which was heartening. After that she seemed to have a bit of an Indian Summer career at the Met with some performances sprinkled over the mid 80s and beyond.

    My own conclusion (again, not real scientific) was that she made have gone through a bad patch around 1977-78 and took some time away from the Met to rework things. As I mentioned, it was good to hear her again sounding in reasonable shape in 1983.

    In all honesty, I was never a huge , huge fan and we occasionally got her when a more important soprano didn’t show up. But I came to appreciate her very solid, sincere way of singing. And her personality, which was displayed often on the Met intermission programs was very, very winning.

    on July 8, 2010 at 6:46 PM
    • No Expert says:

      She was one of those great artists with personality plus who helped opera reach folks in the flyover, like me, back in the 70′s. I wore out my La Juive highlights with her, Tucker, and Moffo.

      on July 8, 2010 at 7:16 PM
    • richard says:

      Another consideration was that Arroyo wasn’t terribly magnetic on the stage. She was aware of this but couldn’t seem to do too much about it.

      She could occasionally turn a bit away from her usual very easy going personality over this issue.

      One of her high profile replacements was Bing’s last opening night, the Don Carlo of fall 1971. Caballe was promised and (I think) became pregnant. So Arroyo got the gig. She was criticized for her low key portrayal and for once snapped back a less than humorous retort. “It’s a very static role, what do you expect me to do, roller skate around the stage?”.

      I think very slowly she improved with her stage presence. One of the performances of hers I really responded to was (a bit to my surprise) her La Gioconda where she was able to portray Gioconda’s
      changing moods. This worked well with the honest sincerity she always brought to her performances.

      on July 8, 2010 at 9:10 PM
• MontyNostry says:

  Love her basic sound — I’m not sure there’s any heavierweight soprano around today who sounds as solid and shining as that — but she just doesn’t join the notes together in a memorable way or give the line a particular shape. Clearly a fabulous woman, though.

  on July 8, 2010 at 7:04 PM
• kashania says:

  I have only one Arroyo recording — a live Aida from La Scala (her debut?) with Domingo, Cossotto and Capuccili, conducted by Abbado. It is one of my favourite recordings of the opera and Cossotto and Cappuccili sound better than they do on the studio recording with Muti/Caballe (made around the same time). I think I’ll put it on my ipod tonight.

  on July 8, 2010 at 7:15 PM
  • No Expert says:

    You need to track this one down, kashania. If nothing else for the album cover!

    on July 8, 2010 at 7:43 PM
    • kashania says:

      That is some album cover. And I don’t have a Juive…

      on July 8, 2010 at 9:23 PM
    • callasorphan says:

      That’s a wonderful recording, No expert–I loved it and remember it very well!

      on July 9, 2010 at 8:25 AM
• Sanford says:

  I’m with Montry Nostry on this. She never did it for me, although I adored her on The Tonight Show. Her singing didn’t impress me, but she has always seemed like she’d be fun to know.

  on July 8, 2010 at 8:05 PM
• peter says:

  Listen to the live Macbeth on Sirius with Arroyo. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Not one you usually associate with Lady Macbeth but she’ll amaze you.

  on July 8, 2010 at 8:08 PM
• Arianna a Nasso says:

  Kashania @ 13 – I believe that performance is from Munich when La Scala was on tour and performing at the 1972 Olympics.

  Arroyo was one of those queens of replacements. On disc, her Vespri, Ballo, and Donna Anna were for Caballe, and maybe the Forza too. I believe the DG Donna Elvira also was a replacement but don’t remember for whom (Janowitz?). Does anyone here know?

  The Met Macbeths were replacing Ludwig, suffering from her menopause related vocal crisis. Was the Gioconda run also a replacement? It wasn’t part of her regular repertoire and not exactly her temperament either.

  on July 8, 2010 at 8:36 PM
  • callasorphan says:

    I really tend to think her recording career was as a replacement. I still enjoyed her recording very much.

    on July 9, 2010 at 8:27 AM
  • ilpenedelmiocor says:

    AND I DIDN’T GO!?!?! Domingo? Cossotto? Capucilli? I could kill myself. I’m sure the tickets were outrageously expensive (I was a student at the time) and also restlos ausverkauft, but still, I should have at least tried.

    I did get to see NYCB though, first time I ever saw Gelsey Kirkland perform (very well, if not very happily).

    on July 10, 2010 at 11:44 PM
• kashania says:

  Last night, I listened to the first two acts of that Aida. And I must sadly concur with some of the criticsm about Arroyo’s singing. The voice is very fine. And the delivery is sincere and she is emotionally engaged. However, 90% of the time, there isn’t much going on musically — not a lot of phrasing, not much sense of line. The notes are produced beautifully (and as I said, not without emotion) but the phrasing is lacking.

  on July 9, 2010 at 11:36 AM
  • ilpenedelmiocor says:

    Yeah, it was never very exciting to watch her perform live, but she had a tremendous voice, and I have a lot of respect for her. And just consider, she was the Verdi REPLACEMENT soprano of the day; today she’d be the got-to Verdi soprano. Plus she was so comfortably and hilariously self-deprecating it was impossible not to like her as a person.

    on July 11, 2010 at 12:12 AM
• Olivero is my Drug of Choice says:

  IMHO opinion, one thing that held MME Arroyo back was her inability to produce a true pianissimo above the staff. She just didn’t have it in her voice. Her colleagues at the time, Price-Caballe etc., were known for their floating Pianissimi.

  on July 10, 2010 at 9:10 AM