Ivan Kozlovski
Enrique Eskenazi
ears (and soul). In the meantime I've already enjoyed his complete
Werther, his Lenski in the Orlov's Oneguin, his Lohengrin and his Idiot
in the Reizen's Boris (and in the film with Pirogov). How I love his
exquisite singing, his freedom and creativity, by instance when taking
those long held high notes, his extraordinary diminuendos, specially
when done with taste and style (not always, indeed...)
In this Recital 2 disc there are fragments of Faust, Romeo, Hoffmann,
Lakhme, Manon or Orphee (Gluck). I know no singer comparable today. And
without a Gedda, a Simoneau, a Kraus, a Vanzo...what is left? Alagna,
Kunde? (Vargas I haven't heard yet)... but with these efficient singers
I miss those breath-taking details , as when in the last verses of 'Ah
leve-toi soleil", Kozlosky sings (in Russian, of course) the last 'Ah
leve-toi! parais! parais!" with an incredible and slow diminuendo on the
high note, to add then softly "astre pur et charmant" is breath-taking.
That's the difference between greatness and efficiency, IMO
And listening to Kozlovski's Werther, I cannot avoid feeling some sort
of sorry for those who (surely) will enjoy Bocelli's in that role.
Regards
---
Enrique
eske...@mail.sendanet.es
Io chi sono? Eh, non lo so.
-Nol sapete?
Quasi no.
Cfehlandt
Ridente. What is that high note he sings towards the end? Eb? E? And then the
descent to, what, almost 3 octaves lower. A jaw-dropper.
Carl F.
Mike Richter
high F in that - but it is still remarkable and remarkably
tasteless. In general, Kozlovsky was indulged on recording and
displayed his remarkable voice with less taste than one would hope.
But the thrills are all there, and for that much can be forgiven.
Mike
b-n-dpatters wrote:
>
> I'm sorry, Sir, but I am fairly sure you are wrong about this. The Myto
> collection the original posting referred to contains the following note:
>
> "... Kozlovsky's cadenza at the end of the early "Ecco ridente" recording:
> This incredible - and incredibly tasteless - vocal hat trick takes from
> from the F above the top C to bottom F sharp or thereabouts. But Kozlovsky
> was a young man when he recorded this aria and someone must have whispered
> to him whatever the Russian equivalent is to: 'If you've got it, flaunt
> it.' "
>
> So the recording referred to by the first posting is not, in fact, taken
> from the complete Barbiere. It is obviously a very early recording and one
> review of the Myto issue labeled it Koslovsky's first. Myto provides no
> dates other than a note that "Recordings date from the 1930's, 1940's and
> 1950's." I have some of Koslovsky's complete recordings, though not
> Barber, and the sound alone of both the voice and recording convinces me
> this Ecco ridente is in fact a very early recording; as does the rather
> unmusical showing off of the performance itself.
>
> Benjamin Maso <benj...@euronet.nl> wrote in article
> <7alb4o$il4$1...@beast.euro.net>...
> >
> > b-n-dpatters wrote in message
> > <01be5c67$66a181c0$e7f7...@patterson.att.net>...
> > >I'm not sure - I think it's actually an F. That's a very early
> recording
> > >of his and very flamboyant, perhaps even ill-advised, but worth hearing,
> > >especially along with the rest of his recordings.
> >
> >
> > It's not an early recording, it is part from a complete Barbiere di
> Siviglia
> > (or rather Sevilskij Chiryulnik), recorded in 1953, when Kozlovsky was
> > already 52.
> >
> > Benjo Maso
> >
> >
> >
--
mric...@mindspring.com
http://mrichter.simplenet.com
CD-R http://resource.simplenet.com
b-n-dpatters
of his and very flamboyant, perhaps even ill-advised, but worth hearing,
singer today.. So assured in his technique and musicality that he take
risks and really deliver the goods. Incidentally, the new Vargas Italian
Songs (+ 4 Mexican encores) for $4.99 is a terrific live recording, well
worth hearing.
Cfehlandt <cfeh...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19990219144517...@ng24.aol.com>...
Benjamin Maso
>of his and very flamboyant, perhaps even ill-advised, but worth hearing,
>especially along with the rest of his recordings.
b-n-dpatters
collection the original posting referred to contains the following note:
"... Kozlovsky's cadenza at the end of the early "Ecco ridente" recording:
This incredible - and incredibly tasteless - vocal hat trick takes from
from the F above the top C to bottom F sharp or thereabouts. But Kozlovsky
was a young man when he recorded this aria and someone must have whispered
to him whatever the Russian equivalent is to: 'If you've got it, flaunt
it.' "
So the recording referred to by the first posting is not, in fact, taken
from the complete Barbiere. It is obviously a very early recording and one
review of the Myto issue labeled it Koslovsky's first. Myto provides no
dates other than a note that "Recordings date from the 1930's, 1940's and
1950's." I have some of Koslovsky's complete recordings, though not
Barber, and the sound alone of both the voice and recording convinces me
this Ecco ridente is in fact a very early recording; as does the rather
unmusical showing off of the performance itself.
Benjamin Maso <benj...@euronet.nl> wrote in article
<7alb4o$il4$1...@beast.euro.net>...
>
Benjamin Maso
alike, in the complete version he doesn't do the vocal hat-trick, but ends
the aria "only" with a long-sustained fortissimo topnote.
The difference was probably due to teh conductor Samused, one of the few
conductors who from time to time managed to domesticate Kozlovsky - up to a
point. Another was Melik-Pashayev, and it's a great pity that Myto didn't
choose his Jewgeni Onegin (from 1948), but the Orlov's recording from 1953.
There is a world of difference between the wonderful disciplined Lensky of
1948 and the self-indulgent poet of five years later.
Benjo Maso
b-n-dpatters wrote in message
<01be5c8c$eb499f00$96d2...@patterson.att.net>...
Enrique Eskenazi
<benj...@euronet.nl> wrote:
(speaking about Kozlovski)
>There is a world of difference between the wonderful disciplined Lensky
of
>1948 and the self-indulgent poet of five years later.
>
As I've already answered in the corresponding thread, I do love
Kozlovski's 'indulgences' when they were made with taste (not always,
alas!). And this connects with the *freedom* to sing without a blind
attachment to the score, a very contemporary exigence that IMO kills the
creativity of the more gifted singers and leaves us with those
'disciplined' but somehow boring interpretations. Really I don't care
-rather I enjoy a lot- when Miguel Fleta sustains unendlessly a high
note, even stopping the show. And I cherish the 1904 Caruso's rendition
of 'Una furtiva lagrima', by instance, much more than his latter -or
former- versions. Maybe I'm old fashioned :-), but I miss the freedom of
the singers of other times, and I am really glad when Alfredo Kraus ends
the Kleinzach song with a high note that is *not* in the score. I was
listening Smirnov's interpretation of 'Se il mio nome' (1913) from
Rossini's Barbiere; he sings it 'alla De Lucia' and I don't know if it
would be wellcome by a nowadays strict Rossinian... But I have listened
to so many good and disciplined versions of this aria (by Palacios,
Araiza, Blake, Gimenez, etc... and lately by Bruce Ford),that I greet
Smirnov as a fresh and unforgettable piece of art.
And talking about Smirnov, I've read that Puccini said that nobody could
sing better the tenor part in Il Tabarro. In these days where we are
accostumed to ask for more spinto tenors for that role (Del Monaco, by
instance) it is a sort of surprise. And indeed, I rather like his 'Hai
ben raggione' (1921)
Enrique Eskenazi
>There is a world of difference between the wonderful disciplined Lensky
of
>1948 and the self-indulgent poet of five years later.
>
Ah, but most of the time (not always, alas!) I love Kozlovski
self-indulgences. When made tastefully I call it freedom and creativity,
two points lacking in today's more disciplined (but boring) performances
IMO
Benjamin Maso
Enrique Eskenazi wrote in message <7anv6o$20q$1...@diana.bcn.ttd.net>...>(speaking about Kozlovski)
>
>>There is a world of difference between the wonderful disciplined Lensky
>of
>>1948 and the self-indulgent poet of five years later.
>>
>
>Kozlovski's 'indulgences' when they were made with taste (not always,
>alas!). And this connects with the *freedom* to sing without a blind
>attachment to the score, a very contemporary exigence that IMO kills the
>creativity of the more gifted singers and leaves us with those
>'disciplined' but somehow boring interpretations. Really I don't care
>-rather I enjoy a lot- when Miguel Fleta sustains unendlessly a high
>note, even stopping the show. And I cherish the 1904 Caruso's rendition
>of 'Una furtiva lagrima', by instance, much more than his latter -or
>former- versions. Maybe I'm old fashioned :-), but I miss the freedom of
>the singers of other times, and I am really glad when Alfredo Kraus ends
>the Kleinzach song with a high note that is *not* in the score. I was
>listening Smirnov's interpretation of 'Se il mio nome' (1913) from
>Rossini's Barbiere; he sings it 'alla De Lucia' and I don't know if it
>would be wellcome by a nowadays strict Rossinian... But I have listened
>to so many good and disciplined versions of this aria (by Palacios,
>Araiza, Blake, Gimenez, etc... and lately by Bruce Ford),that I greet
>Smirnov as a fresh and unforgettable piece of art.
>And talking about Smirnov, I've read that Puccini said that nobody could
>sing better the tenor part in Il Tabarro. In these days where we are
>accostumed to ask for more spinto tenors for that role (Del Monaco, by
>instance) it is a sort of surprise. And indeed, I rather like his 'Hai
>ben raggione' (1921)
I think there are two reasons why the freedom of singers to take liberties
with the score has become almost non-existent or is frowned upon.
In the first place, the shifting "power-balance" between composers and
singers, which permitted composers from Rossini on to require more and more
that their scores should be performed "as written".
In the second place, the sad fact that the opera repertoire consists for
more than 90 % of works composed before 1925. When Caruso was engaged at the
Scala, the oldest work in the program for the season was "Tristano e Isotta"
from 1866. At present even a production of of work from the 1930's as
Schoenberg's Moses und Aron is considered as a "modern work".
The consequence is that modern opera singers almost all of the time have
to sing in an idiom from the distant past. In the beginning of the century
Puccini and even Verdi were living composers, and the proper style to
perform their works came naturally for the singers of those days. After all
they had grown up with their music, which for them, in a manner of speaking,
was their "mother language". Because of that they could permit to take the
liberties every native speaker can take with his of her language - in this
case the diminuendi, grupetti, appogiuaturi, small cadenza's, etc., which if
properly applied can make the music so much more alive. Take Mattia
Battistini, who is always making small embellishments, but so perfect and in
so perfect taste, that they almost always seem spontanuous and natural. For
instance, Battistini never sings a repeat the same way as the first time,
with the result that even an usually boring aria like "Di provenza il mar"
begins to sound interesting.
For the singers of the generations after Battistini, the music they were
singing became more and more a "foreign language", which made it almost
impossible to follow his example. Nowadays even early Verdi is almost always
sung without the necessary embellishments which Verdi expected, and if
singers are permitting themselves some freedom, it's mostly to show off:
long sustained top-notes, spectacular morendi, etc.
Smirnov and Kozlovsky can be considered as examples of singers in the
transition-period. Sometimes their "licences" are admirable, but sometimes
simply bad taste. Smirnov's "Se il mio nome" is indeed beautiful, but
compared to De Lucia his fioriture are already a little bit too eleborate.
On the other hand, his "La donna e mobile" is clearly "over the hill".
Kozlovky, in some way the last great belcanto-tenor, is often fascinating
and always interesting, but has often to be "disciplined" to a certain
extent to lose himself not in self-indulgenges. In a recital it doesn't
matter much, but in an almost perfect work like Jewgeny Onegin it's a pity,
especially because he didn't need such tricks to be a great Lensky.
regards,
Benjo Maso
HenryFogel
This is a great posting -- but I would like to offer some additional (not
necessarily differing) views. I believe that what has also contributed to the
current emphasis on "purity" or "faithfulness to the written score" is a
critical climate that has grown up in the post-Toscanini age, and which applies
not only to operatic singing but to all classical performing (conducting, solo
instrumentalists, etc.). There is plenty of evidence to indicate that
performer liberties, within limits, were an expected part of 19th century
performance tradition, and that the composers didn't write these liberties in
because they actually expected each performer to supply his own, to some
degree.
Listen, for example, to De Lucia's recording of "L'anima ho stanca" from
"Adriana Lecouvreur." He indulges himself quite a bit, but the pianist
accompanying him mirrors and reflects those indulgences perfectly. And the
pianist is Cilea -- the composer of the aria! De Lucia was known for his
liberties, and yet composers like Puccini and Mascagni sought him for their
premieres.
Mahler's favorite conductor of his own music was Mengelberg -- one of the most
flexible of any.
We have many recordings of singers who were alive and active during the lives
of Puccini and Verdi, as well as the verismo composers, and the variety of
interpretive approach and details is astounding -- again indicating that such
liberties were an acknowledged part of the performance practice of the time.
We have done much to make our operatic and concert life more "intellectual" in
the 20th century, particularly in the past thirty or forty years. We have
removed much of the fun and pleasure, because we feel that it must be an
intellectual experience -- and in the process it has become more sterile. Yes,
I know this is a generalization -- but while there are exceptions to this, I
believe it to be generally true. Note the disappearance from "serious" concert
repertoire of pieces now relegated to Pops concerts -- Suppe Overtures, Liszt
Hungarian Rhapsodies, Danse Macabre, etc. -- all pieces that used to appear in
"serious" subscription concerts by some of the greatest and most famous
conductors of an earlier era.
All of this is, I believe, related -- this "seriousness of purpose" tends to
bring critical complaints down on the head of any artist who "indulges
himself". I think we are much the poorer for it. I recently listened to a
live off-the-air recording of "E lucevan le stelle" from a complete Tosca
performance with Franco Corelli (perhaps the last tenor who can be said to have
been a throwback to that earlier, freer style). His long-held diminuendo on
"dai veli" may not have been in the score, but I have no way of knowing for
sure, in my gut I believe Puccini would have loved it. I know I did. I cannot
believe that Puccini would have wanted his aria sung the same way, virtually,
in every performance.
As for Kozlovsky, whom I love and whose records I collect, I agree that he can
go "over the top" -- but I think we have to admit that every person's
definition of "over the top" will vary -- that is what makes music so
wonderfully personal and interesting. I do not find his Lensky, in either
recording of Onegin, "over the top" -- but I know some do. That's fine. I wish
we had someone today about whom we could have the same debate!
Henry Fogel
TomKauf2
During much of the nineteeth century singers, if they were important enough,
took any number of liberties with the score--not only in terms of how they
would sing a given aria, but in terms of substituting arias from other operas
when it suited their fancy. This is still occasionally done, even at the Met.
But not necessarily by the singer.
As the nineteenth century came to an end, the balalnce of power shifted from
the singer to the conductor. Some conductors used the "come scritto" argument.
Did they do so because they wished to follow the composer's wishes, or because
they wanted to gain greater control? I think that would have to be examined on
an individual basis--but, let's face it---many of us have both a good reason
and a real reason for a course of action. My guess is that the real reason was
power rather than loyalty to a composer;s wishes.
Cheers
Tom
K. Howson-Jan
other ng's), it occurs to me that he did take textual freedom with
orchestrations. I don't know if he took any with the notes, at least obvious
deviations from the score such as an exposed solo line. Of course in matters
of tempi and note value, the freedom must have been very slight. In singing,
the freedoms we tend to notice usually have to do with the notes, both the
pitch and the note value. Interestingly, not many singers get taken to task
for changing the words, such as Vickers in Peter Grimes (though that was
remarked on by many, it seldom was a reason for a critic to state that it
lessened the performance).
There's probably something here that I can't summarize yet, but it struck me
while I read Benjo and Henry's discussion.
Kang Howson-Jan
(khows...@zdnetmail.com)
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: Sun, Feb 28, 1999 13:11 EST
>Message-id: <7bc0q9$2...@falcon.ccs.uwo.ca>
You are absolutely right about Toscanini. He took liberties with LA TRAVIATA.
He essentially revised the orchestration of "Deh mieui bollenti spiriti"
deliberately discarding the delicate pizzicatti Verdi demands of the upper
strings. Then, Toscanini jettisons Alfredo's aria, "O mio rimorso" and adds an
orchestral splash to provide for the modulation that is lost because the aria
was deleted.
-
Toscanini plays fairly -- even scrupulously with OTELLO and FALSTAFF.
-
And maybe I am just old-fashioned, but I have yet to hear any conductor manage
the Beethoven symphonies (particularly #7) better than the Maestro. I was
fortunate enough to attend a Toscanini rehearsal of the Pastorale Symphony.
After all these years, it is still the greatest musical treat I ever
experienced.
-
==G/P Dave
Enrique Eskenazi
Howson-Jan) wrote:
>Interestingly, not many singers get taken to task
>for changing the words, such as Vickers in Peter Grimes (though that
was
>remarked on by many, it seldom was a reason for a critic to state that
it
>lessened the performance).
I didn't realize that Vickers changed the words in Peter Grimes, and
would like to know in which case (phrase,scene, etc). On the other side,
I've been to many performances where some words are changed in order to
fit the staging or to make a theatrical effect. In the last Liceu's
Elisir, instead of 'bourbon' we had 'Calisay' -which is a typical drink
of these latitudes... and when the performance ended, they distributed
little bottles of calisay to the audience. It was a nice gesture and a
funny occurrence.
solovoice
>Toscanini plays fairly -- even scrupulously with OTELLO and FALSTAFF.
>-
Well, I seem to remember that a childrens' chorus line is sung by solo
soprano even though a childrens' choir can be heard in the recording.
John
"They that can give up essential liberty
to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety"
-- Benjamin Franklin
K. Howson-jan
>I didn't realize that Vickers changed the words in Peter Grimes, and
>would like to know in which case (phrase,scene, etc). On the other side,
>I've been to many performances where some words are changed in order to
>fit the staging or to make a theatrical effect.
I _knew_ someone would ask and I would have to look it up. I will try to find
a reference for it, unless someone else posts it first. I seem to recall the
Penguin Guide mentioning it. It was just a little phrase somewhere.
Kang Howson-Jan
(khows...@zdnetmail.com)
Benjamin Maso
Enrique Eskenazi wrote in message <7bcjam$jp9$1...@diana.bcn.ttd.net>...
>In article <7bc0q9$2...@falcon.ccs.uwo.ca>, k...@julian.uwo.ca (K.
>Howson-Jan) wrote:
>
>>Interestingly, not many singers get taken to task
>>for changing the words, such as Vickers in Peter Grimes (though that
>was
>>remarked on by many, it seldom was a reason for a critic to state that
>it
>>lessened the performance).
>
>would like to know in which case (phrase,scene, etc). On the other side,
>I've been to many performances where some words are changed in order to
>Elisir, instead of 'bourbon' we had 'Calisay' -which is a typical drink
>of these latitudes... and when the performance ended, they distributed
>little bottles of calisay to the audience. It was a nice gesture and a
>funny occurrence.
>Regards
>---
>Enrique
>eske...@mail.sendanet.es
>
>Io chi sono? Eh, non lo so.
>-Nol sapete?
>Quasi no.
I shudder at the thought that the next Elisir will be sponsored by
Coca-Cola!
Benjo Maso
Linda B. Fairtile
<benj...@euronet.nl> wrote:
>I shudder at the thought that the next Elisir will be sponsored by
>Coca-Cola!
Back when I used to run props for a small opera company in Providence,
that's exactly what we used for "wine" on stage.
--
Linda B. Fairtile
Astoria, New York
ta...@bway.net
Enrique Eskenazi
henry...@aol.com (HenryFogel) wrote:
>
>All of this is, I believe, related -- this "seriousness of purpose"
tends to
>bring critical complaints down on the head of any artist who "indulges
>himself". I think we are much the poorer for it. I recently listened
to a
>live off-the-air recording of "E lucevan le stelle" from a complete
Tosca
>performance with Franco Corelli (perhaps the last tenor who can be said
to have
>been a throwback to that earlier, freer style). His long-held
diminuendo on
>"dai veli" may not have been in the score, but I have no way of knowing
for
>sure, in my gut I believe Puccini would have loved it. I know I did.
I cannot
>believe that Puccini would have wanted his aria sung the same way,
virtually,
>in every performance.
The first singer in doing that long diminuendo in 'dai veli' (and much
looooonger than Corelli) was Miguel Fleta, who had some troubles
-because of this sort of 'freedom'- with Toscanini. And Puccini
certainly felt that Fleta was too fancy in his rendering of 'E lucevan';
nonwhistanding, Fleta sang Calaf at the premiere of Puccini's Turandot,
conducted by Toscanini. And it is reported that Gavazzeni recalled years
later: ' With due respect to other Calafs in history, I have never heard
anyone singing the 'Non piangere Liu' like Fleta did that night'
I also do love such freedoms and whenever I re-listen to Fleta's version
it always makes me hold my breath in awe and delight. I also enjoy
Corelli's refinements. B.i., the way Corelli ends the 'Celeste Aida',
making a wonderful diminuendo at the last 'vicino al SOL'
Is Corelli, as Henry guesses, *the last tenor who can be said to have
been a throwback to that earlier, freer style*? Is Corelli, so to say,
the last heir of Fleta?
Christopher James Quinn
Enrique Eskenazi wrote
>I also enjoy
>Corelli's refinements. B.i., the way Corelli ends the 'Celeste Aida',
>making a wonderful diminuendo at the last 'vicino al SOL'
I just read recently that this diminuendo was written by Joe Green
himself, and that Corelli was actually following the score unlike most
other tenors who take on the role.
Can anyone with the score confirm this?
Christopher James Quinn
Brooklyn, Earth.
-----------------------------
1985 Honda VF1000R=> "It'll do a hunnert!"
"A force of Nature, an act of God, the vocal equivalent of
an earthquake, volcano or hurricane."
- Harold C. Schonberg on Franco Corelli
JDavis6627
Yes, anyone with a score can confirm this.
Jon Davis
The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody
appreciates how difficult it was.
solovoice
<Christoph...@OUTatt.net> wrote:
>
>Enrique Eskenazi wrote
>
>>I also enjoy
>>Corelli's refinements. B.i., the way Corelli ends the 'Celeste Aida',
>>making a wonderful diminuendo at the last 'vicino al SOL'
>
>
>I just read recently that this diminuendo was written by Joe Green
>himself, and that Corelli was actually following the score unlike most
>other tenors who take on the role.
>
>Can anyone with the score confirm this?
>
Actually, I prefer the tranlation to be Joe Greene (since verde is
actually the color green, non so?).
John Greene
Deborah Overes
solovoice wrote in message <36dff7b1...@news1.lig.bellsouth.net>...
>On 5 Mar 1999 01:02:55 GMT, "Christopher James Quinn"
><Christoph...@OUTatt.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>Enrique Eskenazi wrote
>>
>>>I also enjoy
>>>Corelli's refinements. B.i., the way Corelli ends the 'Celeste Aida',
>>>making a wonderful diminuendo at the last 'vicino al SOL'
>>
>>
>>I just read recently that this diminuendo was written by Joe Green
>>himself, and that Corelli was actually following the score unlike most
>>other tenors who take on the role.
>>
>>Can anyone with the score confirm this?
In my score, "morendo" is written above the final high note. However, the
approach to this note is marked pianissimo, which would indicate to me that
the note is sung softly and then gets even softer.
Deborah Overes
"I think I saw him in Rent or Stomp or Clomp or SOME piece of crap"
- Homer Simpson
A T
Joe Green eh?
must have been Mean Joe Greene of pittsburgh steelers fame
piannissimo and morendo... ouch!!!!!
Enrique Eskenazi
Overes" <dov...@sprint.ca> wrote:
>
>solovoice wrote in message
<36dff7b1...@news1.lig.bellsouth.net>...
> the way Corelli ends the 'Celeste Aida',
>>>>making a wonderful diminuendo at the last 'vicino al SOL'
>>>
>>>
>>>I just read recently that this diminuendo was written by Joe Green
>>>himself, and that Corelli was actually following the score unlike
most
>>>other tenors who take on the role.
>>>
>>>Can anyone with the score confirm this?
>
>
>In my score, "morendo" is written above the final high note. However,
the
>approach to this note is marked pianissimo, which would indicate to me
that
>the note is sung softly and then gets even softer.
Yes, Deborah is right. That's the way Bergonzi ended the aria, by
instance.Different from Corelli.