No cure for the common scold
Every time La Cieca says she’s through once and for all reading Norman Lebrecht, that middlebrow minstrel of the maestro myth soars to new heights of noisomeness. This time (yet again) it’s about how utterly callous those silly opera singers are for canceling (imagine!) when they’re too sick to sing.
Besides creating out of whole cloth the notion that Rolando Villazon was supposed to sing a Strauss opera earlier this summer, Lebrecht manages to insult Joyce DiDonato by implying that her current success is based not so much on talent but simply her willingness to show up on time, broken leg or no. (“That is why she is now every opera house’s mezzo of choice, taking the prime roles that were once Cecilia Bartoli‘s.”) You will not be surprised to hear that along the way he takes a detour to piss on Luciano Pavarotti‘s grave. [The Telegraph]
Lebrecht has failed to do his homework again. From his review of the Bolshoi’s guest ‘Onegin’ at Covent Garden.
“Few of the singers are known outside Russia. Tatyana Monogarova seemed to be playing Ophelia rather than Tatyana in the first two acts, but woke up in the third. Onegin was Mariusz Kwiecin, a sweet-voiced Pole. Alexei Dolgov as Lensky was the one who could act and the best musical moment came from Anatoly Kotscherga as Gremin.”
What a shame that unknown young Kirov floor-cleaner hasn’t taken on Tatyana yet, but maybe that undiscovered Siberian baritone with the funny name and the thick grey hair could be prevailed upon to appear as Onegin.
Monogarova sang Donna Anna years ago at Glyndebourne and Maria in Mazeppa with Welsh National Opera. Kwiecien needs no introduction to anyone who goes to the opera regularly and Kotcherga recorded Boris for Claudio Abbado in the 1990s. You call it “homework” Monty, but it’s deep-rooted ignorance from someone who considers himself an expert in his field.
Haha @ the Nebs and Hvorostovsky references!
This was the ‘name’ cast (Kotscherga, Kasrashvilli) whereas the 2nd cast really was made up of singers only known in Russia. Many London operagoers were caught out by a switch of cast. All the pre-publicity was about Ekaterina Shcherbachenko, and when booking opened, she was rostered with Kwiecien. Less than a fortnight before the opening night, Monogarova was substituted so, to hear Shcherbachenko, a lot of people had to buy tickets for the ’2nd cast’.
The most worrying thing in Lebrecht’s review is his remark that ‘the best musical moment came from Anatoly Kotscherga as Gremin.” Kotscherga’s voice was in ruinous condition, and he struggled with his aria.
Increasingly, it seems that NL only uses his ears for gossip.