Simon Estes

[Steve R. Van Dien]

What do all you opera afficianados think of Simon Estes? I've heard him
several times, though never live -- saw his Amonasro in the '82 San
Francisco Aida telecast with Pavorotti and Margaret Price, and also in the
'85 Met telecast with Leontyne Price (her last Aida) and McCracken; also
heard his Saturday Met broadcast of Porgy in (I think) '90; have his Verdi
album; heard him in a couple of concerts on PBS.

I think Estes' voice is a good one -- warm, always handsome and often
beautiful, and especially impressive on top. But I don't think it's quite
first rate. It isn't particularly distinguished in timbre, has some
tendency toward wobble, and seems a bit stiff, perhaps even tense. (That
impression was strengthened when I saw him on the tube; I've never seen a
male singer with a worse chin wobble.) And some of the critics who have
heard him live say that the voice is a little small for the repetoire he
sings. I wonder, too, whether he's a true bass-baritone, or simply a
baritone with a good low range and not quite as comfortable a high tessitura
as Merrill and MacNeil, not to mention Milnes and Warren. I guess, though,
that depends on whether you define a bass-baritone as one who can sing
some roles in either Fach equally well (like Bohnen, certainly, maybe
Morris), one who is right in between the two (as Morris describes himself),
or whether you use the term interchangeably with basso cantante (in which
case Pinza, Tozzi, Ramey qualify). His stage presence is somewhat stiff as
well. Purely on vocal quality and ability, I think he is rather below
Morris in the roles they share. I also thought his Porgy inferior to those
of Lawrence Winters and Donnie Ray Albert. I saw Albert's Amonasro in
Milwaukee a couple of months ago, and thought him vocally and histrionically
superior to Estes in that role as well --

Steve Van Dien

[j...@trentu.ca]

In article <21stk4$2...@post.its.mcw.edu>, svan...@post.its.mcw.edu (Steve R. Van Dien) writes:
writes:

> What do all you opera afficianados think of Simon Estes? <

I saw Estes as Wotan at the Met in 1983, opposite Hildegard
Behrens, with Vickers and Johanna Meier as Siegmund & Sieglinde. I also
saw Estes as Porgy opposite Roberta Alexander sometime in the late 1980's

I was very impressed with his voice at the time --- warm,
expressive, and generally musical. You are absolutely right questioning if
he is a true bass. I find his low notes weak while the top opens up
impressively. He lacks impact on stage as Wotan, particularly when
compared to the finest exponents of the role. In the half dozen Walkure
performances I have seen with Behrens, Jones, Altmeyer as Brunnhilde, the
Wotan (McIntyre, Sotin, Mazura, Morris) all managed to lift Brunnhilde in
their arms and carry her to the rock in Act 3. Estes was the only one who
did not. I guess I am so used to that little bit of staging that Estes'
performance left me a little disappointed! (I might also add that the
voice, while beautiful, was a touch underpowerd for Wotan).

In recent years, Estes seems to be going through a bad patch
vocally, and seems to be singing very little the last couple of years. His
recording reviews the last few years have almost been uniformly negative.
Does anyone know where he is singing these days?

Cheers,
Joseph So
Toronto, Canada

[David Fox]

For what it's worth, I think your take on Simon Estes absolutely matches my
own. I would only add that I have seen him in opera, and despite his good
looks and regal bearing, I find his acting also to be inexpressive.

David

**********************************
David Fox
University of Pennsylvania / College of General Studies
df...@mail.sas.upenn.edu
**********************************

[Sacha Kalchofner]

I've heard him this year as Escamillo (Carmen) and as Orestes (Elektra)
and both time I was very disappointed and in Carmen even upset to
have such a monotone singer next to Agnes Baltsa and Neil Shicoff. He
lives in Zurich as I do and for tax reasons he has to sing in our opera
house from time to time, unfortunately.

[Braden Mechley]

In article <21stk4$2...@post.its.mcw.edu> svan...@post.its.mcw.edu (Steve R. Van Dien) writes:
> What do all you opera afficianados think of Simon Estes?

[Steve's comments deleted]

First-class instrument, but not all that much else in my admittedly limited
acquaintance with his voice. I understand he was upset at not being invited to
sing Wotan/Wanderer on the Met/DG RING recordings, but I'm not at all sur-
prised. My most recent encounter with Estes was the Teldec SALOME video with
Catherine Malfitano in the title role, and I had the same impression of him
then as I've pretty much always had -- i.e., not much.

A choral conductor of my acquaintance participated in a performance of the
Beethoven MISSA SOLEMNIS over 20 years ago at Fredonia in which Estes was
slated to sing the bass solo under Lukas Foss' direction. Regrettably, Estes
showed up quite unprepared and attempted to sight-read at the dress rehearsal.
Foss suspected that this was his plan and cruelly (?) started with the "Agnus
Dei" to prove the point right away. Estes was not successful. Foss informed
him in front of chorus and orchestra that "one does not attempt to sight read
the MISSA SOLEMNIS of Beethoven at the dress rehearsal" and fired him on the
spot. Perhaps this incident (or others like it) set a tone for a disappointing
career.

Braden Mechley
Department of Classics
University of Washington

[Braden Mechley]

In article <CA45...@bernina.ethz.ch> sa...@bernina.ethz.ch (Sacha Kalchofner) writes:
>I've heard him this year as Escamillo (Carmen) and as Orestes (Elektra)
>and both time I was very disappointed and in Carmen even upset to
>have such a monotone singer next to Agnes Baltsa and Neil Shicoff.

To be fair, Shicoff has never impressed me as having much of a dynamic range
when he sings. As the GRAMOPHONE review of his TRAVIATA with Gruberova
suggested, he makes even phrases like Alfredo's "Io vivo quasi in ciel" sound
lachrymose. I'm constantly left with the impression that Shicoff wants to be,
say, James McCracken.