Found object
Well, you can slash La Cieca’s veins, drink her blood and trample her corpse, because she did not see this one coming! According to the very reliable échotiers over at Forum Opera, Placido Domingo will sing his first Conte di Luna in Vienna Berlin in November of this year opposite the Leonora of Anna Netrebko!
But people, please try to understand: performances DO sell out BECAUSE OF Domingo, all over the world, whatever role he may be singing!
Oedipe, Well, that is their problem, not mine.
So you didn’t buy a ticket for the Domingo Nabucco at the ROH! And neither did I! Do you know how much Domingo, and the ROH, and the international opera world CARE about what we think?
But I care about what you and everyone else thinks on this website because of the insightful comments and your love of opera. If money and selling out houses is going to be the only criteria for what is considered worthy then maybe we should focus on hip-hop.
Oedipe dear, I don’t think that the international opera world or the ROH give a hairy rat’s ass about what we think. If they want Domingo as Luna, goody for them; yucky for me.
So it *is* your problem, see?
Jacquino: It’s not my problem. Is it my problem that I don’t want to see any particular singer? Is it my problem that I don’t want to see Les Misérables? Is it my problem that I hate Gone with the Wind?
It is not my problem because I don’t really care that much either way about Domingo’s Luna, as I don’t care about the color of Netrebko’s hair or underwear or what Domingo likes to eat?? ZZZZzzzzzz.
Netrebko and Domingo are also singing together in Verdi’s GIOVANNA D’ARCO at Salzburg this summer — http://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at/opera/giovanna-darco-2013
d’Arco?!!! Ooooof there’s some waste of talent. One of the worst flop ever.
Well.
Why is this a big deal? There is plenty of room in the opera universe for Domingo (a highly intelligent, hard-working, esteemed artist of long standing) to take on baritone roles if he so chooses. Perhaps his baritone singing is not everyone’s cup of tea (nor was his tenor career), but why the vitriol?
Please don’t make the argument that he is “taking roles away from younger, better baritones”. That’s bull -- he is a big name draw and there are hundreds of international venues for the younger generation to populate for a few years until Domingo finally hangs up his vocal cords.
It’s not as if his performances are akin to late career Moffo (or even half the crap Caballe trotted out over the latter decade and a half of her career). Don’t get me wrong -- I’m not a fan of the idea, but Domingo is still able to sing the notes in tune, with musicality, and a deep knowledge of the art form. There is nothing “embarrassing” about his baritone performances whatsoever (at least the few I have heard).
Let the man wind his career down as he chooses and get over it. If you don’t like it, don’t attend. And certainly don’t trash his colleagues for collaborating with him. They’re not stupid people, folks, and I’m sure they believe in him and his ability to get the job done.
On the other hand, if we find out that Bocelli will be the Manrico, well, then we REALLY have a problem…
Maybe I am over obsessing and I’ll stop with this comment but Domingo is already a vocal operatic icon in the minds and hearts of countless people all over the world. His contribution to aspiring singers is also extremely noteworthy. However, this wonderful world of opera must have some kind of criteria if it will last. I strongly feel that changing voice classifications after your career is over in order to pursue another career in another fach is a major misrepresentation of the art form. BTW, Moffo and Caballe….I don’t think, switched to other voice classification. Can you imagine if this started a trend!!! Singers would just switch to a lower voice classification if there technique failed them. I’m sorry, IT’S CALLED CHEATING !!
Can you imagine if this started a trend!!! Singers would just switch to a lower voice classification if there technique failed them. I’m sorry, IT’S CALLED CHEATING !!
Helga Dernesch is waiting outside for you and BOY, is she angry.
How about Varnay, Rysanek, Resnik, Norman, and another several dozen singers who successfully transitioned to lower-sitting roles as they aged.
This constant sputtering about “cheating” is starting to get really, really tiresome, just saying….
Moedl, Vinay, McLaughlin…
I always expect exceptions or objections to the rule on parterre box.That’s what makes this website so incredible.
Anyway,I hope some of you are singers or studied singing. Maybe we could let some voice teachers weigh-in on this discussion. Why would you go through the mammoth preparation of having a career (repertoire,voice preparation, roles,etc.)and change at the end or midstream only to find out that you decided to sing in another range. Wouldn’t that constitute that your technique wouldn’t allow you to continue? I think the voice gets richer as you mature not lower unless you were misclassified in the first place!! I don’t believe you can be two voice classifications and I don’t think voice teachers generally teach that. Voice classification is not determined by range only.
O.K., now we’ll get the discussion about menopause! Never mind.
Interesting. Thanks for the education. I’ve heard the name but did not know that much about the voice. I listened to her on You Tube. It was a freakish sound from top to bottom. I also read she switched 4 times throughout her career. Do you also think her voice changed four times during her career. Maybe she had 4 voice teachers during that time. Or could she possibly be a mezzo who sing in the soprano range? Countless Mezzos have told me that they can sing soprano but not for a long extended time.The top notes on the La Forza were sung with lots of pressure. I’m glad she settled on Mezzo at the end of her career.
I’m not a fan of Domingo’s new career as a baritone, but one can hardly say his technique has failed him. In fact, one can argue that his technique has served him exceptionally well, allowing him to sing for some 45 years and taking on some of the most difficult roles in the repertoire along the way.
And it’s quite common for sopranos to switch to mezzo part way through their career. So, I don’t know how not switching to mezzo constitutes a defense of Caballe or Moffo (who were criticised for the quality of their late-career performances).
I can’t say I agree that his 45 years of career is any kind of evidence of a sound technique. Even in the 70s he was getting through things with a great deal of strain and desperation. He just strikes me as somebody with an incredibly robust instrument that has been able to stand up to the beating it has had, rather than a well looked after one.
Placido’s career is actually well into its sixth decade. He made his american opera debut in Lucia di Lammermoor with Lily Pons in Dallas in 1961 and was singing in Mexico in the late 50s, including Freddy in My Fair Lady. The birthdate has always been questionable. Years ago, reliable sources all claimed he was really born in 1934, which would make more sense if you go back and research his early career, not many tenors sing major roles in an auspicious American debut at 20 years of age. The voice usually is not ready, It is similar to Lily Pons who claimed a 1904 birthdate but made her professional debut as Lakme in 1916, (real birthdate was either 1898 or 1897) Olivero’s birthdate has often been debated but 1910 seems most likely and Licia claims 1913 but there is a youtube video of her 100th birthday party in 2008, and people I know were there.Marilyn Horne and Raina Kabaivanska also have reportedly shaved five years off their ages Yes, as a baritone he sounds light and tenorish. but one cannot criticize the singing itself, the artistry or the musical style. He is truly amazing. and honestly, Domingo made a career on musicianship, intelligence and artistry,and stage presence, the voice in itself was never that exciting, never had the high C and always did better in the lower lying tenor rep.
Yea, but 45 years of career at the top of the heap is evidence that he has been doing SOMETHING right, whatever that something may be.
Are you kidding? Domingo can set a huge auditorium resonating with a mere vibration of his vocal folds. He IS amazing.
El Dominador -- nearly a half century of self-promotion -- jockeying between conductor and singer, changing voice classification -- a living icon with a Name. I remember going to one of Martha Graham’s last performances. She barely did a ten minute sketch and the audience jumped to their feet. Same with Ruth St Denis’ last performance (which I also saw live) -- she strutted out onstage, threw her head back, puffed herself up and lifted her arms high in the air -- and that was it -- the audience was satisfied. A Name is a Name is a Name is a Name is a name is Name …
A name is a name, yes. I have NEVER been a Domingo fan, and, imo, he rates below the following tenors: Vickers, MdM, Kaufmann, Pavarotti, Björling, Di Stefano, Kraus, Tucker, Corelli, Windgassen and others. One reason is (and I have said this 100X) is that there is not one role Domingo sings in which I wouldn’t rather hear three other tenors.
So, when Plamingo makes his big farewell run, I will just say, bye, bye; no crying, no shouting or wringing of my hands. Just a big ZZZZzzzzzz
There goes my girl clita!!!!!!
Sentiments exactly mine!
One reason is (and I have said this 100X) is that there is not one role Domingo sings in which I wouldn’t rather hear three other tenors.
It would be a great exercise IMO to take Domingo’s roles (and Osiris knows, he has done so many!) and name the 3 tenors you prefer hearing in some of them. Each of us could do the same thing and we’ll see what result we come to. It would be a step forward in the direction of replacing remarks about singers based on gut reactions (whether good or bad) with something a little more specific and substantial.
I agree that the key to Domingo’s longevity has been one helluva durable voice. Those two vocal cords of his have been able to take whatever he’s thrown at them. However, surely, technique must have something to do with it. I don’t disagree that he strains on some high notes (even in his early days) but obviously, he found a technique that worked for his instrument.
I’m definitely an amateur here, my knowledge of Domingo limited to broadcasts, recordings, etc., but I have never understood the anti-Domingo animus of some commentators. Just to stir the pot, I’ll note that I thought his Hoffman and Don Jose were as well done as I could imagine them being done.
Caro oedipe Vickers Vickers and Vickers
Seriously though in Italian: Corelli del Monaco Bergonzi in any role. Not to mention Vickers Otello.
In German of course Vickers King Kauffman Heppner and so on…..
Oedipe:
Otello: MdM, McCracken, Vickers
Faust: Bjoerling, Kraus, Kaufmann
Siegmund: Vickers, Kaufmann, King
Duke (Rigolletto.) Bjoerling, Tucker, Bergonzi, Pavarotti
Radames: Bergonzi, Corelli, MdM, Tucker
And by God I left out the greatest Luciano in any role they had in common except Otello of course where Vickers will rule for ever and ever.
Cavaradossi: Di Stefano, Corelli, Bergonzi, Bjoerling, Pavarotti, Tucker
Rodolfo: Bjoerling, Di Stefano, Bergonzi, Tucker, Beczala
Don Jose: Tucker, Kaufmann, Alagna, Vickers
Are we seriously doing this? I could name literally dozens of great singers who don’t have a role I wouldn’t rather hear another singer do. So?
Let’s take a random example. Tomowa-Sintow was a great singer, but I’d rather hear Della Casa or Janowitz as Ariadne, Crespin or Schwarzkopf as the Marschallin, Price or Callas as Aida, Freni or de los Angeles as Amelia Grimaldi, Steber or Vaness as Donna Anna…
Does that mean T-S wasn’t a great singer? No, of course it bloody doesn’t.
I’d rather hear Verrett as Eboli, Cossotto as Amneris, Tebaldi as Tosca and Ludwig as Venus.
Therefore, by the weird logic of this thread, Grace Bumbry is suddenly not a great singer.
Jacquino, you have a point there. It probably just means that Anna T-S was not as good as the others in that one role??
(didn’t bother naming all three, but you get the idea)
I think there’s a difference between disliking someone’s interpretations and viewing them as a second-rate musician. I don’t think it’s being argued that Domingo isn’t everyone’s favorite -- the point is, he’s not *bad* at singing, or even second rate, and FWIW his technique has worked for him; I find it hard to believe that he simply was endowed with a pair of indestructible vocal cords that could withstand 50 years of supposedly faulty technique in increasingly heavy repertoire.
Amer: There must be a reason why you would rather hear those others instead of Bumbry.
Amer: There must be a reason why you would rather hear those others instead of Bumbry.
Yes, there is. I marginally prefer them. But I’m not daft or solipsistic enough to think that the fact Bumbry is maybe my fifth favourite Eboli and my eighth favourite Amneris in some way means she isn’t a great singer.
Jacq: Did I say that Domingo was not a great tenor? All that I am saying is he is not a favorite and like many others over him. I just prefer NOT to listen to him, he bores me.
Oh, I see. Phew. I was worried that the ‘three singers I prefer’ meme was going to turn out to be a totally pointless waste of time for a moment there.
Well, to the extent that a singing career is made of specific interpretations of specific roles, and not some general, abstract criteria of technique and voice quality (and size), then yes, the notion of the best singer(s) for a given role does have a meaning.
What about Domingo’s Hoffman? I haven’t heard it myself but I know that it is highly regarded (even by a friend of mine who is not a big Domingo fan by any means).
BTW, I don’t think this exercise is pointless; it’s rather fun, actually.
Domingo’s Hoffmann? It’s good, as long as one doesn’t mind transpositions.
If the singer produces a compelling rendition of the music, it isn’t called “cheating”; it’s called “good singing”--no matter what his or her previous repertoire might have been.
BTW Dernesch as a great mezzo. (I never heard her live as a soprano.)
You’ve obviously missed by point re: cheating and misquoted me. Also, if you look on You Tube you can hear her La Forza rendition (Dernesch).
Yes, I obviously have missed your point. What is it?
The point, QTM, is that unless Kennedet approves, a singer is no more than a narcissistic hack with good public relations and a disdain for vocal technique.
But voice classifications aren’t set in stone the way, say, clarinet classifications are. They’re after-the-fact more or less averages developed to cope with the infinite gradations the human voice is capable of. After all, not all roles fit snugly into one Fach or another--and this is particularly true for the boundary between soprano and mezzo(e.g. Santuzza, Dorabella, Didon) Not to mention that bodies themselves, that is the very instrument a singer performs with, change as singers grow older--menopause isn’t the half of it. Imagine if a clarinet changed so drastically over a period of twenty years!
Indiana--well said and so true.
Every trained voice technician should be aware of the “gradations of the human voice and what it is capable of” and therefore will make a judgement about the student’s classification based on that reality. Classification is one of the most controversial subjects in classical voice training and I knew it would draw heated responses. After all voice development is not a science (yeah!!) and there are infinite theories about how to accomplish a professional sound. Let’s give the voice technicians,coaches and conductors the credit and responsibility of making the decisions where the voices fit and also knowing the roles. Dorabella has and can be sung by a Mezzo but she should have good high notes because the range of the role demands it. Yes,bodies change as we age…. the voice usually grows richer and the stamina is not what it used to be but it doesn’t change that drastically unless the body is sick. A good technique will keep you going without changing your fach.
Kennedet, I hope you realize that you have contradicted yourself in that post. If every trained technician should make judgements based on what individual voices are capable of, then how can you make sweeping generalizations about “cheating,” if all voices are different? You said it yourself -- a Dorabella can be sung by a mezzo with good high notes, just like how a soprano with a strong middle and lower can successfully sing Carmen (De los Angeles, Crespin, Ponselle). For that matter, would you consider it “cheating” that De los Angeles (a Marguerite, Manon, and Violetta) sang Rosina in the original key (a contralto role)?
All of those singers I mentioned straddled their respective fachs, and were able to transition from one to the other with varying success. I am not talking about a Roberta Peters or Lily Pons taking on Erda; nor am I talking about Juan Diego Florez losing his top and taking on Leporello. I am talking about singers that were never easy to define, and who chose repertoire based on how their own instruments developed.
Yeah, like Renaay recording with Bocelli.
There’s no money in that for Bocelli -- he makes much more than Phlegmming and she would do nothing for his fan base.
My initial comments vociaccia had to do with Domingo ONLY. Therefore the replies and comparisons should be comparable to the same circumstances. What I have been dealing with is sentence fragments from what I have written. Obviously, it’s too late to set that straight based on the replies.
I cast a soprano for the role of Dorabella after looking at the role and her range throughout the score. Her aria is in the Mezzo anthology.The operatic scores call her a soprano. Go figure… another debate for voice classification. However,you are correct,
singers have been straddling fachs probably since time began but it seems that we will never have a consensus about the concept of voice classification but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter… like some have written. It is of utmost importance that voice teachers know about the voice and where to establish its range when training a singer. It can destroy a singer if not attended to properly.
BTW,I heard De los Angeles give one of her farewell recitals years ago and she sang the entire lieder recital in Mezzo keys. I’m too tired to take on another post re: whether she is a Mezzo who mastered the soprano range or whether she was always a soprano who decided to change in the last days of her career. Peace.
Gimme a break!
Opera is art and business. While parterrians may be just interested in discussing the artistic merits of singers or productions, at the end of the day, if $$$ don’t come in, the entire industry will be kaput. I have many friends who think Bocelli is great, as they do with Charlotte Church or Sarah Brightman. I say nothing. If they ask me my opinion, I say, I am glad you like them, but they just aren’t for me. Oftentimes, people’s interest in pop styled classical music leads them to what we, here, would call the real deal, and then better art can be supported.
Someone told me; You know what God thinks about money…..look who he gives it to.
The past years of PBS offerings of opera and classical music have been squandered by an influx of pop music with smatterings of opera periodically. There is a reason for this! The argument is always whether the the public wants it or the bosses make the decision. Nevertheless, we lose. Don’t you think that we know the importance of money and what it means for everything in this world?? Does this mean we prostitute our love for opera and classical music and settle for what the general public wants. Don’t you understand that we are in the minority just by loving opera in today’s world??
Sometimes you need to speak up against the status quo. Yes, and sometimes you lose but you stay true to your principals. I’m too old and set in my ways to even accept the term pop styled classical music. It’s either pop music or classical music. This is crazy!! Basta!!!!
I’m sure the sold out house for Bocelli’s next MET engagement will be a night to remember.
This was actually my experience as a teenager — I’d seen Jane Powell or Jeanette MacDonald sing various arias in old movies, and it piqued an interest in that music and opened the door to opera. I still find Powell’s voice quite lovely in timbre (though not so much in the operatic pieces). And I know La Cieca has in the past posted that beautiful version of the 2 ladies singing Grieg’s “Springtide”
Thank you, decotodd, for validating my feelings
I really hope that Netrebko’s Leonora is successful and expect that it may be. If so, I would also hope that she brings it to New York (with, of course, a different baritone).
Do you doubt for a millisecond that Netrebko’s Leonora won’t be successful?
ROTFLMAO
Do we really need to go back to discussing as nausea the whole trills and coloratura/bel canto thing?
Nebby, I am sure will do her best. For some, it will be the second coming of the young Caballe, for others, it will be the second coming of Florence Foster Jenkins. Others will sleep through it all.
Hi Lindoro!
I’m REEEE-ally hoping that you won’t take this the wrong way or consider me impertinent in doing this, as the last thing that I want to do is offend… but I just wanted to correct you on something- the correct phrase you should use is “ad nauseam”, it’s from the Latin, of course, and means ‘to the point of nausea’. (You used it perfectly, of course… just the actually spelling of the phrase was erroneous).
Lots of people make the same or similar mistakes, actually- they know the phrase and know its meaning, as well as what it sounds like… but how it’s spelled is another story altogether, a fact which is perfectly understandable considering how lamentably low our exposure to, and ability to increase our knowledge of, latin is nowadays…
Anyway, all my best to you.
Oh,don’t worry, I am not offended.
Trebs and Placido BOTH in “Il trovatore” AND “Giovanna d’Arco”? Well, La Cieca has it right: you could slash my veins, drink my blood, and trample my corpse before I’d pay good money to go to either one. She doesn’t have enough bel canto technique for either role; he doesn’t have enough voice for ANY role. There are good singers in the world available for these operas. Too bad that no one in Berlin or Salzburg will get to hear them.
Avantiaouie: But, she will be a smashing hit in both! Isn’t that all that counts? :+)
Avantialouie, in my view you are somewhat exaggerating the bel canto technique necessary to be a good Leonora. I know the part quite well and it is, in my view, much less demanding in bel canto technique than many of the other parts Ms Netrebko has sung (Lucia, Elvira, Anna)- even if I will happily admit that her bel canto technique was probably on the “low side” for these true bel canto part. You can be a successful Leonora even if a few runs are not perfect or a trill less than ideally executed. As I can see, a part like Leonora is exactly the right direction for Ms Netrebko at this point.
I think Trebs has well enough coloratura technique for Leonora.
Zinka, Price and Stella had less. Callas had MORE!
Tebaldi had none! lol
You have the mostest&thebestest!!!!!!!!
Cheers, darling Clita la Coloraturissima
xxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxxoooxxx
CCC
But she had enough self-awareness not to sing Leonora except on records, and even if the coloratura passages are a trial, that glorious sounds is to me what a great Leonora is about.
I don’t really get why she did Traviata in the theatre but Leonora only on record. I’d have thought the other way around would be more sensible. With no coloratura chops and a dodgy high c, her sempre libera must have been just awful, and I think the size and bite of her voice would have seemed de trop for the rest of the role.
Leonora, however, doesn’t have anything as challenging in coloratura terms as sempre libera, and overall to my mind can take more of the grand Tebaldian sweep in its lines. I guess the very top of the Act IV cavatina would have been a bit of a scream, even without the d-flat.
Cocky, I think that Trovatore has much more coloratura passages than Traviata and sprinkled throughout the opera, not just one cabaletta.
When Tebaldi sang Traviata at the Met she lowered the Sempre Libera by a whole tone; on her early studio, by a 1/2 tone. And with that, her Sempre was only so-so and cackly.
Tebaldi’s thing was verismo, Puccini and the later Verdi roles such as Aida, Desdemona, the Forza Leonora and Amelia (Simon). The closer she got to bel canto, the worse she got.
I agree it comes more frequently, but it’s never as challenging.
Cocky, you are right, but for Tebaldi any coloratura was challenging. For Tebaldi a simple turn could be a problem.
I do wonder why Tebaldi never sang Amelia in Ballo other than on recordings. Or did she??
Another thought. Leonora’s most challenging bit of coloratura comes at the end of “Tu vedrai” after the “Miserere”, a section that used to be cut in Tebladi’s time anyway. But there’s no cutting “Sempre libera” and “Un di felice”.
How am I the first to post Anna singing this music? I am not her biggest fan by any means, especially in bel canto rep. And its in those sections where she struggles the most. Though weirdly its her clunky descending scales that are the most painful, not the trills (though you don’t quite realize just how important landing like a feather is to the beauty of the piece till you hear Trebs stomp her way down the stairs). And OK, there are a couple of weird legato problems, but the vast majority of this is great singing. Who else can sing the aria this well today?
Well it was posted back when the concert took place--summer 2011. I seem to recall joy on Parterre at the improvement in Netrebko’s singing (“she trills!”)and anticipation for her assumption of this role.
Maybe she’ll be the Einspringer(in) in Munich this summer if Harteros has to cancel.
If you want to see as well as hear:
OK, rats that didn’t work. Please delete.
http://youtu.be/YSXDQSpZ6Ng
Video from YT.
Thanks for this. It is also in better sound. (FYI, when posting youtube videos, you have post the complete link plus the “v”. The short-form link that you posted was the problem).
Thanks kashania! Although I am seeing a big grey blank space where I assume the vid is?
I know!! WTF? LOL
NEW GAME ! NEW GAME ! Name three singers who were not as good as Domingo in any particular role. I mean ANYBODY can remember performances that were BETTER, but when a performance is “eminently forgettable,” then that’s what you do — you FORGET it. Only the TRUE dyed-in-the-wool aficionado can dredge up the dreadful.
I’ll start the ball rolling with three entries:
1. I would rather hear Domingo as Di Luna than Gino Bechi, Carlo Tagliabue, or whatever it was that Dmitri Hvorostovsky was doing a couple weeks ago.
2. I’d rather hear Domingo as Otello than Luciano Pavarotti, Johann Botha, or late-career, pre-baritone Ramon Vinay.
3. I’d rather hear Domingo sing Tosca two octaves down than ever listen again to the recordings of Vasilka Petrova, Zinka Milanov, or Maria Caniglia.
BONUS POINTS to anyone who can name three Lady Macbeths who were worse than Nadja Michel.
“I’d rather hear Domingo sing Tosca two octaves down than ever listen again to the recordings of… Zinka Milanov”
hahaha
me too!
Brava Betsy, OK I’ll play,
1. I’ll take Domingo any day over having to listen to Nadja Michael
2.I’ll take Domingo any day instead of having to ever again having to listen to the Met 1980 Don Pasquale
3. I’ll take Domingo any day over having to listen to Luvia Boodai again
Livid Booty?
I just realized the typo carisssima Clitissssima, I wonder what the meaning of Luvia is????
I’d rather hear Roberta Peters sing Lady Macbeth off pitch than Maria Callas, Leonie Rysanek and Shirley Verrett.
I’d rather hear Zinka Milanov sing Otello in chest voice than Renata Tebaldi, Lily Pons and Ossie Hawkins.
I’d rather hear Domingo screech the Priestess in Aida than Bette Davis, Dustin Hoffman and Birgit Nilsson.
I’d rather hear Dimitrova sing Ping, than Maria Montez, Lisa Gaye and Pretty Yenta.
I’d rather hear Naja Michael as Lady Macbeth than Elsa Lanchester, Elsa Maxwell and Elza with a “Z”
BONUS POINTS to anyone who can name three Lady Macbeths who were worse than Nadja Michael.
This was a toughie but I think I’ve got it:
1. Eilert Pilarm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPHiCCbcsHE)
2. My neighbor’s wood chipper.
3. The love child of Max the Wonder Horse and Minnie Pearl.
How much do I win?
Sheesh1 There’s always somebody who can’t play by the rules. Max, the Wonder Pearl NEVER sang Lady Macbeth; she was Guleghina’s cover but never went on.
LOL
You win my Love Eternal.
Impossibile.
Nadja IS the nadir.
No bonus points for me for the Lady M. challenge. Papian come close to NM but no banana.
I would rather see Domingo do Canio than Dessay do it in her clown outfit.
ok, my turn
1. i’d happily hear birgit nilsson sing anything, from adele to erda, rather than listen to domingo (who i rather like) sing rigoletto. hell, i’d rather listen to birgit sing rigoletto!
2. i’d rather have ewa podles play edith piaf in a revival of the eponymous musical rather than listen to debbie voigt cackle through ‘hojotoho’.
3. i’d happily hear anyone sing seigmund (from windgassen to neil patrick harris) rather than listen to MdM shout the thing as if Siegmund is a recovering crack addict.
BTW, why the Maria Caniglia hate? That Tosca movie was Corelli wasn’t that bad, we’ve all heard much worse Toscas.
An interesting question on numerous levels. I’ll respond with nary a trace of tongue-in-cheek, as I have learned never to kid with a kid named “Kid.”
“Why the Maria Caniglia hate,” you ask, but I must answer with another question; “Where do you find any ‘hate’ in what I said?” While it may not seem so, most of us can prefer without hating. There seems to be what I consider a disturbing trend — e.g. Facebook’s choice of ‘like’ or ‘don’t like’ -- which reduces everything to absolutes. Look, I adore Vassilka Petrova’s Tosca, but I adore it as one of the worst series of sounds ever to emit from human throat in the guise of opera performance. Maria Caniglia was a perfectly competent mid-Century Italian soprano, who had an illustrious career, but whom I find bland and unexciting. Zinka’s Tosca was committed to disc (and subsequently offered for sale to an unsuspecting public) at a time when she should have been learning to knit instead. In all three cases, I would probably find more to enjoy if Placido sang the role in drag. That’s what I said and that’s what I meant.
Please, young’n, don’t put words in my mouth in an effort to reduce me to an easily digestible social media statistic.
dear BAB: amazon.com said that my sackcloth and ashes are on the way. in the mean time, you’ll excuse me if i wonder what makes you compare caniglia, who had a long and (probably unjustified) career as a notable verismo soprano, to petrova, who, with all her advantages, falls a few notches below caniglia in her reputation and her vocal attributes. i am perfectly aware of the world being a little more complicated than a social networking site, and i apologize for the use of the term ‘hate’. however, i still refuse to admit that maria caniglia’s interpretation of tosca was at par with petrova’s. i am sure my infantile choices will be excused by the wise.