Days of the diva
The magazine to which I no longer subscribe has for years celebrated divas each November; Chris’s Cache follows suit offering favorite sopranos and mezzos in live-performance rarities every Tuesday this month.
This week, in Pique Dame Karita Mattila is scolded by Leonie Rysanek and pursued by Ben Heppner and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, while Valerie Masterson, Patricia Kern and John Brecknock have a three-way in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory.
I’m hoping not to duplicate anything available on YouTube which has become increasingly difficult as the years pass. I will simply say that the 1995 Pique Dame remains one of the most memorable performances I’ve attended (I went earlier in the run; this pirate recording preserves the final one with this sterling cast). Later this month Lyric Opera of Chicago presents Ory starring Kathryn Lewek and Lawrence Brownlee.
Tchaikovsky: Pikovaya Dama
Lisa: Karita Mattila
Countess: Leonie Rysanek
Paulina/Daphnis: Birgitta Svendén
Chloé: Marie Plette
Governess: Ludmila Filatova
Masha: Emily Pulley
Gherman: Ben Heppner
Prince Yeletsky: Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Count Tomsky/Plutus: Nikolai Putilin
Chekalinsky: Peter Kazaras
Surin: Julien Robbins
Master of Ceremonies: Anthony Dean Griffey
Plutus: Nikolai Putilin
Chaplitsky: Tony Stevenson
Narumov: Kurt Link
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Metropolitan Opera
16 November 1995
Rossini: Le Comte Ory (in English)
Countess Adèle: Valerie Masterson
Isolier: Patricia Kern
Ragonde: Anne Collins
Alice: Sandra Dugdale
Count Ory: John Brecknock
Raimbaud: Alan Opie
Tutor: Harold Blackburn
Conductor: Hazel Vivienne
English National Opera
11 June 1973
Broadcast
Both works can be downloaded by clicking on the icon of a cloud with an arrow pointing downward on the audio player above and the resulting mp3 file will appear in your download directory. Come back next Tuesday for more diva delicacies!
Christopher Corwin
Christopher Corwin began writing for parterre box in 2011 under the pen name “DeCaffarrelli.” His work has also appeared in , The New York Times, Musical America, The Observer, San Francisco Classical Voice and BAMNotes. Like many, he came to opera via the Saturday Met Opera broadcasts which he began listening to at age 11. His particular enthusiasm is 17th and 18th century opera. Since 2015 he has curated the weekly podcast Trove Thursday on parterre box presenting live recordings.
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Topics: chris's cache, days of the diva
