Hard cover
“Jessye Norman, the renowned opera singer, will write a memoir about her family and professional life, her publisher said on Wednesday. The book, Stand Up and Sing! is scheduled for release by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in late 2013.” [New York Times]
It’s funny, in a way, for me to read all this–she seems like the kind of singer I would have cared a lot about, and I’m very fond of several of her recordings, but I heard her exactly once (Carnegie Hall, Boston/Ozawa, Das Lied with Heppner, must’ve been around 1998) and it was just the wrong piece or the wrong day and it took her out of my list of singers I could get really passionate about. It just wasn’t good singing that day. God knows I’d love to have heard her as Ariadne, but I didn’t.
Maury: Jessye was not at her best in the late 90s (her singing became increasingly variable as the 90s progressed). I imagine Heppner was in great form though.
She was a great Mahler singer, however, and made a great live recording of Das Lied with Vickers and Colin Davis in the 80s. Not on the same exalted level of Ferrier or Forrester but still very good.
Can’t find the “Abschied” unfortunately.
A mid-eighties Lied von der Erde, with Rattle at the Proms, was maybe the greatest thing I ever heard JN do. The sound she produced at “ewig, ewig” was absolutely cavernous.
Likewise, I remember those “ewigs” (from a performance elsewhere), and a similar effect in the last two songs of the Wesendonck Lieder in a recital. I doubt I will ever hear anything like it again, I can only compare it to sounds I have heard Flagstad make on recordings. One went through Norman’s sound and came out in another world.
Here it is. I saw Norman and Battle with the BSO do Mahler’s Second. I can’t remember the year.
Another memory of Jessye was from the days when all the major American Symphony Orchestras could be heard on various classical music FM stations. In live concert she sang, in order, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, Ravel’s Sheherazade, and Strauss’ Four Last Songs. I noted the steadily rising tessitura, which back then she negotiated with ease.
The night of the MET’s Troyens telecast my younger, pre-teen daughter who was NOT an opera fan, came into the kitchen where I had the TV on, just after Jessye’s part began. She briefly asked who the singer was and what was happening, then stayed for the entire La Prise de Troie, completely focused on Jessye.
I believe The Four Last Songs were composed with the past-her-prime Kirsten Flagstad in mind. A vocal range not going higher than typical for Norman.
They weren’t composed with Flagstad in mind- they weren’t even composed to be sung together. She just happened to sing the premiere.
Aha. Well, I sort of knew there was a link there somewhere.
Recently read that she did not take the high B natural in alt when singing “Fruehling”–but haven’t listened to a recording recently and cnnot recall if she was recorded with or without the high B.
It is pretty much the case, as Armer Jackie says, that she ‘happened’ to just be the singer at the premiere.
Camille chere, you read correctly.
Hope you feel better soon!
Another somewhat rare Jessye, singing Haydn’s Armida:
She did have some facility with the coloratura, and I think I have a CD with her Ravel vocalise,
Camille, Jessye recorded La Mort de Cléopâtre back in the early 80′s, with Barenboim. The LPs were released with Kiri’s Nuits d’eté — it was a tremendously pleasurable recording. Jessye’s sung it many times in concert, I’m sure, although I don’t have any of her live renditions (her one recorded Nuits is to me unlistenable).
But you know, the one Mort I want to get my hands on is with Borodina. Also, Podles.
I’ve always liked that Armida aria and the way she sings it. The voice really was very beautiful at that stage of her career — with a bit more metal than it had later. Her Nuits with Colin Davis is a bit ponderous, isn’t it? But I think he’s a pretty ponderous conductor generally — his Sibelius perhaps excepted.
Montissimo! As usual, you have tremendously good taste (not coincidentally, similar to little petite moi !!!!!!!!!!!!!).
In regards to la Mort de Cleo, there’s always youtube (alas, no Borodina to be found):
Here’s Podles
Here’s the Norman/Barenboim studio recording.
i have CDs with the live Urmana and Dimitrova renditions, both to be avoided…
Knock yourselves silly:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=la+mort+de+cleopatre+&oq=mort+de+cleo&aq=0m&aqi=g-m2&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=3049l5195l0l7656l12l11l0l0l0l0l465l1580l0.3.1.1.1l6l0
Haven’t heard the Meier in a while, my recollection is that it was rather eccentric, and to be avoided as well.
I saw Rosalind Plowright do it once. She kept having trouble with her wrap. Never a natural diva, dear Ros.
Meier sang Cleopatre with the CSO & Barenboim. Rather stiff, and she looked very bored. The best Cleopatre for me was Anna Caterina Antonacci for Yannick – luckily that is out on CD now.
Why, Bianca, are you not able to get the Borodina Mort de Cleopatre, I only bought it a few years back, and I would gladly lend it to you so that you may burn a copy.
Olga did it in Carnegie Hall in May 2003 with Levine, et al., and she just blew the roof off, it was splendidissima and one of my cherished concert going experIences. Surely there were many other parterre partisans there as well.
In two weeks I shall be returning to New Yawk City and I will make sure to get the recording to you. It is, naturally, with Gergiev and not quite as good as the live Levine performance. Gooodness, is there a pirate of that May 2003 performance, I wonder…?
Anyway, Bianca, antibiotics are the answer and I am now following a course. Hopefully I will be fully recovered by the time I leave so I will be ripe for another batch of germs!
Thank you again to all parterriani who kindly wished me well with my health. I truly appreciate the kindness of strangers.
Much sisterly love,
Camille
La Cieca, how much would I have to pay you to get rid of this horrible threaded comments system? Please advise so I can start saving my nickels and dimes.
Shicoff is doing Alfredo in Traviata next season as the recently announced Zurich brochure says:
http://www.opernhaus.ch/de/programm/detail.php?vorstellID=10334103
Your link goes to a performance that took place in September of 2011. The La Traviata taking place in the 2012/13 season in May of 2013 feature Saimir Pirgu as Alfredo.
What a mess that website is. Here’s the brochure link:
http://www.opernhaus.ch/de/index.php?book=1#/1/zoomed
Another formerly very interesting opera house that could be counted on to do more than the standard rep with a very Top 20 lineup. They’re doing Eötvös’
Three Sisters and some rare bel canto stuff, but the rest is so….LA Opera.
Oh. Yes I see that it does. It is very confusing because I thought that I was looking at the current season. I cannot figure out how to use that site.
Every year starting in January, I go to the website of every major opera house and symphony orchestra and performing arts palace in America and Europe that I can think of (or that’s listed on Operabase) seeing if there’s anything interesting worth traveling for; I put it all on a database and if there’s enough interesting stuff in short time, I consider it. I’ve been doing this since 1994, when I got my first computer.
And in that time, I’ve been amazed at how awful most of those entities are in making the most basic information (pieces being done/performers/all the dates and times) readily accessible and obvious to find.
HH: Eotvos is currently in Toronto, curating a series of new music programs with the TSO. Here’s an interview:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/musician-peter-eotvos-never-give-what-the-public-asks/article2354177/
Every boy has his diva, and Jessye is mine.
I spent hundreds of hours listening to her Schubert recital album, her “Urlicht”, her “Four Last Songs”, her MET Sieglinde, etc.
httpv://youtu.be/8noeFpdfWcQ
(Love this over-the-top video of Erlkoenig.)
Her Carnegie Hall recitals with James Levine about 8-9 years ago was not her at her best, but she still had the voice, and I was in heaven.
Whoops -- sorry -- here’s the Jessye Erlkoenig video:
Jessye Norman’s voice and career are so distinctive that she vaulted into immortal divinity quite some time ago. Who cares if she made a blind person take their dog out of a concert because she was allergic? If I was a Fabulous Diva, I’d probably do the same thing.
For those who are interested, you can hear the Sublime One in person this month singing John Cage, of all things, along with Joan La Barbara and Meredith Monk, two other immortals. This is part of the American Mavericks Festival being put on by the San Francisco Symphony, with performances on March 10th and 14th. They are then going to be taking the programs on tour to Chicago, Ann Arbor, and finally Carnegie Hall, where Jessye will be repeating her performance on March 27th. Be there or be square. Here’s the program for Carnegie Hall on the 27th:
CAGE Song Books
COWELL Synchrony
JOHN ADAMS Absolute Jest for String Quartet and Orchestra (NY Premiere, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the San Francisco Symphony)
VARÈSE Amériques
Yes, divas will be difficult. I like the story from Joe Volpe’s book, Toughest show on earth.
Another demanding though less tempestuous diva was Jessye Norman, who had quite a list of special requirements during her years at the Met. She once insisted on having a dressing room without a carpet it in because she was worried that any lint would go straight to her throat. We put Jessye upstairs in a converted storeroom, and she occupied it like a queen.
Man, Norman singing Cage AND a John Adams premiere. I’d kill to see that.
I wonder if the bio will include a humorous treatment of the “ain’t got no sideways” kerfuffle?