A favorite Verdi performance from Niel Rishoi
Tebaldi, at La scala, in one of her nights of glory, where the voice poured out effortlessly, singing with utter conviction, and no soprano ever appealed to God more fervently.
Niel Rishoi
Niel Rishoi fell in love with the high soprano voice when he was 6 years old with Marni Nixon when he heard her sing on a Disneyland record of Hansel and Gretel, the story with the music of Engelbert Humperdinck. Julie Andrews, Jeanette MacDonald, Kathryn Grayson, and Beverly Sills led him to Edita Gruberova in 1983. In 1996 his book on Gruberova was published in German, with subsequent Japanese and Slovak translations following. In between writing reviews, recording booklet notes, and programs, he trains as a bodybuilder, a decades-long passion. A true vocal aficionado, his other favorite artists are Cesare Siepi, Perry Como, Renata Tebaldi, Fiorenza Cossotto, Piero Cappuccilli, and, yes, Doris Day. Niel resides in Metro Detroit with his spouse Ron and their crazy menagerie of dogs and cats.
A favorite art song performance from Niel Rishoi
Hans Hotter masterfully captures the poignancy of this sublime Brahms Lied.
Heaven is a place on earth
As part of Bass Month at the Box, Niel Rishoi considers six versions of “Vi ravviso, o luoghi ameni” from La sonnambula for Perspectives on an Aria.
HMS Indomitable
For Niel Rishoi, a new CD of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi by Eleonora Burrato for Pentatone can’t help but invite unflattering comparisons
A most finely Huwn art
Huw Montague Rendall’s new release Contemplation has been spinning in both my car and home players repeatedly for months now.
The new Norma
In a splashy new recording of Norma, Marina Rebeka “is doing something very untoward, and it appears destructive to her voice.” It has Niel Rishoi worried.
Ace of bass
On February 10 of this year was the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great Italian basso Cesare Siepi. I found that this milestone was scarcely noted in the opera press.
Ever-present
Edita Gruberová was one of the most fascinating individuals I have ever known.
Her favorite roles
Edita Gruberova considered her greatest pride and loves not her career but her daughters Klaudia and Barbara and grandchildren Cris, Denis, and Alyssa.
The rest is silence
Despite the diminishing returns of her vocal means, Edita Gruberova‘s last years of her career were if anything more successful than ever.
A fantastic four
These are my findings and opinions (and I welcome rebuttals)!
Edita Gruberova enters the 21st century
The worst criticism perhaps was the gleeful Schadenfreude noting Edita’s voice wasn’t as under her command as it used to be.
Como crosses over
I feel that any singer attempting crossover would do well to listen to Perry Como to hear how it should be done.
The many faces of Perry Como
To give an idea of how well Perry Como was able to “assume” different vocal identities, here he is doing his mega #1 1953 hit, “Don’t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes.”
Perry Como: a Postscript
In observation of the 110th birthday of Perry Como, May 18, 1912.
Crowning achievement
Sondra Radvanovsky is very special here!
The ultimate 101 course on how to handle fame and success
Artistic temperament she had, but not including self-centered megalomania. She was one of the most fully human individuals I have ever known.
Close as pages in a book
I had no idea whatsoever of the reality of the life of this strong, vibrant woman I had gotten to know, the traumas she suffered; the extent and the horror of her experiences was all very surreal to me.
Star quality
The 1990s effectively signaled a new phase in Edita Gruberova‘s career with her undertaking more demanding, heavier roles, while still essaying Zerbinetta and Lucia.
Out of the repast
The entire dinner was spent discussing conductors.
Suspended in time
You know in some of those old Jeanette MacDonald movies where she plays a prima donna and receives applause in a public setting? That’s just what happened when the three of us walked into that restaurant, one patron calling out “Brava!”
An idea so bold and crazy
I proposed to Edita that we turn my 20-page paper into a book, a musical biography.
A life-changing LP
I never fathomed I’d be writing words as these this soon.
The curious case of Benjamin Bernheim
Who’s been hiding tenor Benjamin Bernheim from me all this time?
I’ll take the fall
The days are getting shorter, but you can keep the prattle going this fall’s Talk of the Town! You will, you can, you must join in the discussion about: Great mezzo soprano performances (October),
Gained in translation (November), Teleport me back to… (December).
Win a Free Ticket to Opening Night at the Met!
Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen star in the Met's new Macbeth. We're giving away one ticket, so screw your courage to the sticking place and enter now!
