NYTimes: "Placido Domingo and Galina Gorchakova in 'Pique Dame,' at Salzburg."
guy_c...@my-deja.com
MUSIC REVIEW
Russian Music From Russians (Plus a Ringer for the Tenor)
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI
Placido Domingo and Galina Gorchakova in "Pique Dame," at Salzburg.
SALZBURG, Austria, Aug. 20 -- At a time when many critics and classical
music lovers fret that orchestras around the world are becoming
stylistically homogenized, the Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has
been a tireless proselytizer for the distinctiveness of the orchestra
of the Kirov Opera and Ballet, of which he is the artistic director. Of
course informed musicians anywhere can learn to play Russian repertory
sensitively. But hearing Russian musicians and singers perform operas
that they have absorbed from long tradition and constant renewal can be
a revelation.
For the last few seasons at the Salzburg Festival, Mr. Gergiev has been
agitating to get Russian operas performed here. When Gérard Mortier,
the festival's artistic director, who in the face of opposition has
broadened its cultural reach, presented Weill's "Rise and Fall of the
City of Mahagonny" in the summer of 1998, that was the last straw for
Mr. Gergiev.
"I told him, 'Gérard, I'm sorry, but Tchaikovsky is a more important
composer than Kurt Weill,' " Mr. Gergiev said during a panel
discussion. Whether or nor Mr. Mortier agreed, it worked. On Wednesday
night at the Large Festival Hall, the Orchestra and Chorus of the
Mariinsky Theater, as the Kirov is known in St. Petersburg, made its
festival debut, conducted by Mr. Gergiev in a concert performance of
Tchaikovsky's "Pique Dame," or "The Queen of Spades," based on the
Pushkin story. The glittery Salzburg audience responded ecstatically.
The cast was Russian with one notable exception: Plácido Domingo,
celebrating his 25th anniversary at the festival. He sang the lead role
of Hermann, a tormented and avaricious army officer in St. Petersburg
in the early 1790's who professes love for Lisa, a vulnerable young
woman of means, but is fatally obsessed with finding out the purported
secret to winning at cards from a bitter old countess, the Queen of
Spades of the title.
Mr. Domingo first performed the role, his first in Russian, this past
season at the Metropolitan Opera with Mr. Gergiev conducting. One could
argue that the Met Orchestra played the score with more technical
precision and suppleness. But the performance here by the Kirov
Orchestra was striking for the distinctive character and colors the
players revealed in the music.
The string sound was rich yet touchingly plaintive, even during
lighthearted passages. When playing pianissimo, the woodwinds had a
reedy sound that seemed to emanate from some far-off place. The brass
were not afraid to be raucous, but the effect was weighty and virile,
never rude and boisterous. Apparently Mr. Gergiev, jetting about to
other engagements, missed part of his rehearsals for this program and
another with the Vienna Philharmonic, which may feed the perception
that he is accepts too many dates and doesn't especially like
rehearsing.
He relies a lot on inspiring players with his spontaneity and charisma.
It worked on this occasion. He is a musician with powerful instincts
and an uncanny ear, and he has a palpable connection to this repertory.
It goes without saying that the fine Russian singers brought stylistic
authority to their work, especially Larissa Diadkova as the Countess,
Nikolai Putilin as Count Tomsky, Vladimir Moroz as Prince Yeletsky and,
despite some vocal stridency, the Kirov prima donna Galina Gorchakova
as Lisa.
The role of Hermann is sometimes called the Russian Otello. Mr. Domingo
infused it with the impassioned lyricism and declamatory power that he
has long been noted for in the Italian Otello. Yet he knows when to
hold back and to pace himself. For a singer pushing 60, his Hermann is
a remarkable accomplishment.
Answering a question at the panel, Mr. Gergiev confirmed that to
accommodate Mr. Domingo's current difficulties with sustained high-
range singing, some passages in the "Pique Dame" score were performed
in slightly lowered transpositions. But he defended the artistic
propriety of these adjustments, asserting that Tchaikovsky sanctioned
similar changes for his own singers, adding that if Plácido Domingo had
not undertaken this role, it "would have been a great loss to world
culture."
On Saturday morning Mr. Gergiev conducted a program of Russian works
with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Large Festival Hall, proving that
even Austrian orchestras can sound rather Russian when he conducts
them. By choosing some startlingly measured tempos and highlighting
curious inner voices in Prokofiev's "Classical" Symphony, he made this
well-known work, treated by many conductors as a clever trifle, seem
newly complex and inventive.
Alfred Schnittke's 1985 Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, despite its
sometimes just plain odd mix of musical styles, received a riveting
performance with the amazing Yuri Bashmet as soloist. Mr. Gergiev
concluded with an organic and blazing performance of Stravinsky's
"Firebird" that routinely ignored the composer's metronome markings.
Could anyone have cared? The music never seemed more radical. And
Russian.
Saturday night at the Large Festival Hall brought a chance to attend
Salzburg's ill-fated production of Wagner's tale of ill-fated lovers,
"Tristan und Isolde." The scheduled conductor, Claudio Abbado, had
withdrawn during the winter because of illness and was replaced by
Lorin Maazel. Then, two weeks before the first performance, the world's
newly proclaimed Tristan, the tenor Ben Heppner, pulled out for
personal reasons. Apparently, festival organizers said, he could not
face another string of performances of this daunting heroic tenor role.
Jon Fredric West valiantly stepped in.
The production by Klaus Michael Grüber, introduced at the Salzburg
Easter Festival last year, is static, stylistically inconsistent,
ultimately conventional and poorly lighted. Still, the Vienna
Philharmonic is quite the pit band for "Tristan," and though Mr. Maazel
had no special interpretive insights, the orchestra sounded luminous.
These days the voice of the soprano Waltraud Meier, a veteran Isolde,
is not the most attractive, especially at the top. But she is a keenly
intelligent and interesting artist who infused her portrayal with
subtlety and temperament.
Mr. West, once a belter, has brought more pliancy to his singing in
recent years. His beefy voice got a little leathery at times. But he
has the stamina for the role, which few tenors do, and a sense of the
poetry. The baritone Falk Struckmann was a stalwart Kurwenal; the bass
Matti Salminen was a stentorian King Marke; the mezzo-soprano Marjana
Lipovsek, though vocally shaky, was a moving Brangane.
The Salzburg Festival has tended to cede Wagner to Bayreuth. This
performance at least suggested that there are good reasons, especially
the Vienna Philharmonic, to present the operas here from time to time.
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
MSten4MHS
performance on 8.8, may I comment:
<< Saturday night at the Large Festival Hall brought a chance to attend
Salzburg's ill-fated production of Wagner's tale of ill-fated lovers,
"Tristan und Isolde." The scheduled conductor, Claudio Abbado, had
withdrawn during the winter because of illness and was replaced by
Lorin Maazel. Then, two weeks before the first performance, the world's
newly proclaimed Tristan, the tenor Ben Heppner, pulled out for
personal reasons. Apparently, festival organizers said, he could not
face another string of performances of this daunting heroic tenor role.
Jon Fredric West valiantly stepped in.>>
I would only note that Jon Frederic West has just as grueling a schedule as Mr.
Heppner. West shared the Tristan production with Heppner in Chicago, then went
of to Rome for his first Gotterdammerung Siegfrieds, and then took a vacation -
a vacation that was interrupted by not only these Salzburg performances of
Tristan but a single performance of Gurre Lieder at Ravinia under Eschenbach
when yet another tenor canceled at the last minute (this performance was one
week before the opening night of the Salzburg Tristan). The fact that he was in
spectacular voice on both nights (he landed in Salzburg on Monday with opening
night on Saturday!) attests to his masterful technique and to his suitability
to this demanding role.
<<The production by Klaus Michael Grüber, introduced at the Salzburg
Easter Festival last year, is static, stylistically inconsistent,
ultimately conventional and poorly lighted. >>
Right on the money. This is probably the ugliest and stiffest production of
Tristan one would ever care to see in these times!
<<Still, the Vienna
Philharmonic is quite the pit band for "Tristan," and though Mr. Maazel
had no special interpretive insights, the orchestra sounded luminous.>>
The orchestra was an absolute mess on opening night - the prelude sounded like
a bad provincial band. Loud and messy - and not in the endearing way. By the
second performance, they were absolutely glorious - a fact that aided the
performance of most of the cast to no end.
I must disagree on the evaluaton of Maazel. This was a tremendous
interpretation that presented the work in all of its emotional and
psychological fervour, a quality that was directly at odds with the stilted
stage production. He isn't afraid to let the singers have their head...and with
the overall great voices in this production, there was a lot of give and take
going on. I would dare say that Maazel is the premiere interpreter of this
opera today - he certainly beats the "Wagner as Bellini" approach that Abbado
exhibited in this production.
BTW - Abbado withdrew because he has had a falling out with the VPO and has
vowed to never again conduct them (maybe that qualifies as an illness!).
<<These days the voice of the soprano Waltraud Meier, a veteran Isolde,
is not the most attractive, especially at the top. But she is a keenly
intelligent and interesting artist who infused her portrayal with
subtlety and temperament.>>
Ms. Meier sang a great opening night and had an off night for the second
performance, ducking the second high C in the Act 2 duet and tiring vocally and
physically at the end. However, the audience loved her and gave her great
applause, no doubt in part as a show of support for her recent squabbles with
Bayreuth. On the debit side, she seemed to buy into the director's stilted
(some called it "noble") concept of the work, which meant that she hardly
reacted to Tristan at all. There was more emotion between West's Tristan and
Struckland's Kurwenal than between T & I.
<<Mr. West, once a belter, has brought more pliancy to his singing in
recent years. His beefy voice got a little leathery at times. But he
has the stamina for the role, which few tenors do, and a sense of the
poetry. >>
It must simply be said that West is the greatest exponent of Tristan alive
today, and I include Heppner in that evaluation. Tristan is just a bit too
heavy for Heppner - his voice is much more suited to Walther & Lohengrin.
The audience was clearly thrilled with West's Tristan, and I overheard a number
of conversations in the hall by patrons stating that "finally, we have a real
Tristan." It is very clear that the German-Austrio audience prefers their
Wagner sung by a voice like West's as opposed to the more lyrical qualities of
a Heppner, the sound that seems to be preferred in the States.
As far as him being a former "belter" - this is idiocy. I'd like to hear anyone
pull off the mezzo-voce effects of Act 2 the way West does, and you could
actually hear him over the orchestra in all of Act 3 with the Vienna boys
playing at top volume. Yes - if you don't appreciate the "covered top" that was
the signature sound of Wagnerians like Max Lorenz and others, you may not
appreciate West. But that's just not remembering what a Wagner tenor is
*suppossed* to sound like.
>>The baritone Falk Struckmann was a stalwart Kurwenal; the bass
Matti Salminen was a stentorian King Marke; the mezzo-soprano Marjana
Lipovsek, though vocally shaky, was a moving Brangane.>>
This rather curt evaluation of the "supporting" players in the show is unfair.
They were marvellous. Maybe Mr. Tommasini has never attended a Tristan where
the Isolde and the Tristan were worth paying attention to and spending print
space on so he needed to make short shrift of the others, but the entire cast
could hardly be bettered today.
Chalk one up in the plus column for Salzburg.
Mark Stenroos
VP of Marketing & Catalog Development
Musical Heritage Society, USA
wk...@my-deja.com
>Yes - if you don't appreciate the "covered top" that was
>the signature sound of Wagnerians like Max Lorenz and others, you may
>not appreciate West. But that's just not remembering what a Wagner
>tenor is *suppossed* to sound like.
Sorry, Mark, but I categorically refuse to accept that Wagner tenors
are "supposed to" sound like Max Lorenz. Judging from the recorded
evidence, Wagnerian tenor singing has gotten progressively louder and
uglier over the past century, and Lorenz is one of the least admirable
signposts along the journey.
Bill
--
William D. Kasimer
wk...@juno.com
Never argue with idiots. They bring you down to their level, and then
beat you with experience.
Ivrys88
<<Mr. Gergiev confirmed that to
accommodate Mr. Domingo's current difficulties with sustained high-
range singing, some passages in the "Pique Dame" score were performed
in slightly lowered transpositions. But he defended the artistic
propriety of these adjustments, asserting that Tchaikovsky sanctioned
similar changes for his own singers, adding that if Plácido Domingo had
not undertaken this role, it "would have been a great loss to world
culture.">>
Before the PD-bashing starts again, I think it would not be out of place to
remember that Sutherland, Tebaldi and above all Ponselle all transposed parts
of their most famous roles too, and no one gave it a second thought.
It was Shaw who observed about a famous nineteenth-century soprano: "Time has
transposed Patti down a minor third."
Matthew B. Tepper
>
> It must simply be said that West is the greatest exponent of Tristan
> alive today, and I include Heppner in that evaluation. Tristan is just a
> bit too heavy for Heppner - his voice is much more suited to Walther &
> Lohengrin.
How may one hear him in this role?? (In one's living-room, that is?)
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
"Compassionate Conservatism?" * "Tight Slacks?" * "Jumbo Shrimp?"
Matthew B. Tepper
>
> Anthony Tommasini wrote:
>
> <<Mr. Gergiev confirmed that to accommodate Mr. Domingo's current
> But he defended the artistic propriety of these adjustments, asserting
> that Tchaikovsky sanctioned similar changes for his own singers, adding
> that if Plácido Domingo had not undertaken this role, it "would have
> been a great loss to world culture.">>
>
> to remember that Sutherland, Tebaldi and above all Ponselle all
> transposed parts of their most famous roles too, and no one gave it a
> second thought.
My prediction is that that will neither prevent nor ameliorate the
PD-bashing. It will, however, make my sighs of boredom (in response to
said bashing) louder. Ah well, chacun a son gout.
> It was Shaw who observed about a famous nineteenth-century soprano:
> "Time has transposed Patti down a minor third."
--
NBPalmer1
>
There is a fine DVD of a Munich Tristan with West, Meier, Moll, Weikl and
Lipovsek, cond. Mehta.
West sings well, but be warned that the production is, shall we say, radical!
West sings Tristan in a new production at Covent Garden this autumn, Haitink
conducting.
Regards NICK/London
NBPalmer1
>signposts along the journey.
a fine practitioner of helden-yelping..!
NICK/London
tresbirri
interesting!
In article <20000822151735...@ng-md1.aol.co
mste...@aol.com (MSten4MHS) wrote:
in this production.
>
> BTW - Abbado withdrew because he has had a falling out with the VPO
>and has
> vowed to never again conduct them (maybe that qualifies as an illness
Yes, these days -- it is an illness!! However, "never" -- wait
and drink tea...... (Abbado is in perfect health and enjoying a
nice vacation at the moment)
> >>The baritone Falk Struckmann was a stalwart Kurwenal; the bass
> Matti Salminen was a stentorian King Marke; the mezzo-soprano Marjana
> Lipovsek, though vocally shaky, was a moving Brangane.>>
>
> This rather curt evaluation of the "supporting" players in the show
>is unfair.
> They were marvellous. Maybe Mr. Tommasini has never attended a
>Tristan where
> the Isolde and the Tristan were worth paying attention to and
>spending print
> space on so he needed to make short shrift of the others, but the
>entire cast
> could hardly be bettered today.
>
> Chalk one up in the plus column for Salzburg.
Thank you so very much. Struckmann, Salminen, Lipovsek -- it is
hardly possible to wish for anything better than this today!
"The plus column" for Salzburg -- yes, indeed! We shall wait to see
what will happen with Rusicka, meanwhile the last season with Mortier
(the coming summer) is not without interest....
Ed Rosen
transposed where many before them have transposed. Domingo transposes where none
before him have transposed. That, IMO, is a very big difference.
Best,
Ed
Ivrys88 wrote:
> Anthony Tommasini wrote:
>
> <<Mr. Gergiev confirmed that to
> accommodate Mr. Domingo's current difficulties with sustained high-
> range singing, some passages in the "Pique Dame" score were performed
> in slightly lowered transpositions. But he defended the artistic
> propriety of these adjustments, asserting that Tchaikovsky sanctioned
> similar changes for his own singers, adding that if Plácido Domingo had
> not undertaken this role, it "would have been a great loss to world
> culture.">>
>
> Before the PD-bashing starts again, I think it would not be out of place to
> remember that Sutherland, Tebaldi and above all Ponselle all transposed parts
> of their most famous roles too, and no one gave it a second thought.
>
Marksten
> alive today, and I include Heppner in that evaluation. Tristan is just a
> bit too heavy for Heppner - his voice is much more suited to Walther &
> Lohengrin.
How may one hear him in this role?? (In one's living-room, that is?) >>
His Tristan has just been released by Arthaus in Europe on DVD. The cast
includes Meier, Kurt Moll and Mehta conducting. Unfortunately, this DVD is
encoded for regions 2 & 5, so it won't play on USA machines.
That said, this performance is being picked up for March distribution on DVD in
the States by Image Entertainment in California. The production is "modern" and
rather silly in places, but Konwitschny always has interesting ideas.
Mark Stenroos
Terrymelin
>Mr.
>Heppner. West shared the Tristan production with Heppner in Chicago, then
>went
>of to Rome for his first Gotterdammerung Siegfrieds, and then took a vacation
>-
>a vacation that was interrupted by not only these Salzburg performances of
>Tristan but a single performance of Gurre Lieder at Ravinia under Eschenbach
>when yet another tenor canceled at the last minute (this performance was one
>week before the opening night of the Salzburg Tristan). The fact that he was
>in
>spectacular voice on both nights (he landed in Salzburg on Monday with
>opening
>night on Saturday!) attests to his masterful technique and to his suitability
>to this demanding role.
>
>
You must be joking if you think West's Gurrlieder performance was spectacular.
It was a disaster. About the only thing he has going for him is that he's loud.
Well, on this occasion he could barely be heard. At least half a dozen people
came up to me at the Ravinia intermission and said "can you hear him?" No, was
the answer and when you could hear him it was a loud, ugly sound with no color
or expression. Is the dramatic tenor field out there so small that he keeps
getting hired??
Terry Ellsworth
Commspkmn
<< The only difference with the transposing by Tebaldi, etc., is that they
transposed where many before them have transposed. Domingo transposes where
none
before him have transposed. That, IMO, is a very big difference. >>
All Domingo has to do is sing any of the roles performed by Fernando de Lucia.
Then he will comply with the above criteria.
Ken Meltzer
tuppence
"Ed Rosen" <custo...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:39A2F8C8...@earthlink.net...
> The only difference with the transposing by Tebaldi, etc., is that they
> transposed where many before them have transposed. Domingo transposes
where none
> before him have transposed. That, IMO, is a very big difference.
>
> Ed>
I suppose that makes Placi the Captain Kirk of operatic tenors. :)
Vivo Placido!
tuppence
Burns63
>getting hired??
In a word, yes. If you can't get Heppner, you get Jon Frederic West. There
are also a couple of Finnish Tristans on the scene. But otherwise who else is
there who can and will sing an uncut Tristan in a major house?
Burns.
wk...@my-deja.com
Ed Rosen <custo...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>The only difference with the transposing by Tebaldi, etc., is that they
>transposed where many before them have transposed. Domingo transposes
>where none before him have transposed.
Why make it so complicated, Ed? It's very simple: transposition is
good if you're a fan of the singer in question. If you're not, it
isn't. I'm not much of a Domingo fan, so I might criticize him for
transpositions I'd ignore if they were used by Heppner.
>That, IMO, is a very big difference.
Not really. Once you decide that you're going to transpose, it doesn't
matter that your tranpositions are "original". There are certainly
many reasons *not* to transpose (and all things being equal, I prefer
music performed in its original key, whether it's Domingo or Ponselle
who's doing the tranposing), but precedent and "tradition" aren't among
them.
Bill
--
William D. Kasimer
wk...@juno.com
Never argue with idiots. They bring you down to their level, and then
beat you with experience.
Hans Christian Hoff
"Burns63" <bur...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000823121522...@ng-bj1.aol.com...
Stig Andersen, I believe
Regards
Hans
khj
DVD, regardless of regions.
Kang
Ed Rosen
affect other singers, such as the Forza where Domingo had the entire Sleale
scene transposed down. It affected the baritone, putting him at an
uncomfortable tessitura. Similarly, when Domingo transposed the final 20
minutes of so of Act 2 of Otello. The Iago was at a disadvantage.
Yes, I'm sure all of our opinions are colored by whether we like a singer or
not, but I would say the same about the above no matter who the tenor was.
The fact is that some transpositions have become tradition. When major
chunks of an opera have to be transposed, and scenes involving other singers
have to be transposed, I say the singer responsible for the transpositions
should simply not sing the opera. He is clearly not capable of it.
Best,
Ed
wk...@my-deja.com wrote:
Steve Silverman
> The fact is that some transpositions have become tradition. When major
> chunks of an opera have to be transposed, and scenes involving other
singers
> have to be transposed, I say the singer responsible for the transpositions
> should simply not sing the opera. He is clearly not capable of it.
And guess what Ed? On this particular issue I am in absolute agreement with
you. Domingo still has an immense amount to offer in roles that do not
require such transpositions. It would be far better, at this point in his
career, were he to focus on music more appropriate to his present vocal
capabilities.
--
Steve Silverman (st...@operaworld.fsnet.co.uk)
Essex
England
Matthew B. Tepper
condition, by a well-known national retailer.
--
wk...@my-deja.com
Ed Rosen <custo...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Sorry, Bill, but you are wrong.
Sorry, Ed, but you aren't reading very carefully.
>It makes a difference when transpositions affect other singers,
Just to remind you, I said "There are certainly many reasons *not* to
transpose", and this is *exactly* what I was thinking about. I didn't
think that I had to spell everything out, but apparently there are
people who prefer to willfully ignore my intent, in order to set up
strawmen to make their points.
>Yes, I'm sure all of our opinions are colored by whether we like a
>singer or not, but I would say the same about the above no matter who
>the tenor was.
Maybe. I've yet to see evidence in support.
> The fact is that some transpositions have become tradition.
They're still transpositions, and the fact that they've been done
before makes them no more legitimate. It's possible that they've
become "traditional" because they're relatively musical, but a non-
traditional transposition that's musical is just as good, or just as
bad.
>When major chunks of an opera have to be transposed, and scenes
>involving other singers have to be transposed, I say the singer
>responsible for the transpositions should simply not sing the opera.
>He is clearly not capable of it.
I agree, but I thought that was clear the first time. Apparently not.
Bill
--
William D. Kasimer
wk...@juno.com
Never argue with idiots. They bring you down to their level, and then
beat you with experience.
RDargenio
Vivo Placido!
tuppence
Poor analogy. Kirk is a fictional character who was looking to go beyond
established frontiers, not below them.
Ed Rosen
Ed
Custo...@earthlink.net for free catalog of CDs, Video & Audio Cassettes
Andre Edouard
Andre
RDargenio
>
>Ed
Ed, I am a former recruit who may stray from RMO occasionally, but always a
gang member in spirit. Viva la gang.
Ron
Ed Rosen
Ed
Custo...@earthlink.net for free catalog of Operatic CDs, Video & Audio
Cassettes
donpaolo
The "gang" has been renamed "Il Consiglio". We have missed you & in your
absence, have waged many a battle in the cause of great opera tenor singing.
The wounds are healing (as usual) & we have gotten some good shots in
ourselves, despite the odds in "their" favor.
Where is Don Dave??????
We shall prevail!
DonPaolo
RDargenio <rdar...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000824125038...@ng-cp1.aol.com...
donpaolo
Steve Silverman <st...@operaworld.fsnet.co.uk> > And guess what Ed? On this
particular issue I am in absolute agreement with
> you. Domingo still has an immense amount to offer in roles that do not
> require such transpositions. It would be far better, at this point in his
> career, were he to focus on music more appropriate to his present vocal
> capabilities.
Will all this "agreeing" never end? I have suggested that very idea. His
current vocal estate would lend itself ideally to - Herod, The Drum Major,
Aegisth, The Simpleton, Captain Vere, Mime & Alberich. See, I would not
suggest his retirement - why deny the "pleasure" to his sooo many
worshippers? Just, get him the f---- outta my fach!
Regards,
DonPaolo
Karen Mercedes
KM
-----
Ich sage euch: man muss noch Chaos in sich haben,
um einen tanzenden Stern gebaeren zu koennen.
- Friedrich Nietzsche, ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA
My NEIL SHICOFF Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/shicoff/shicoff.html
My Website:
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
donpaolo
elocution coaches.
DonPaolo
Karen Mercedes <dal...@radix.net> wrote in message
news:Pine.SV4.3.96.10008...@saltmine.radix.net...
Tom Kaufman
>Lucia.
>Then he will comply with the above criteria.
>Ken Meltzer
E triste, ma vero.
Don Tomasso
wk...@my-deja.com
"donpaolo" <donp...@erols.com> wrote:
>His
>current vocal estate would lend itself ideally to - Herod, The Drum
>Major, Aegisth, The Simpleton, Captain Vere, Mime & Alberich.
Unfortunately, all of these roles would be beyond him linguistically,
unless one relishes largely consonant-free singing in character roles.
james jorden
> >His
> >current vocal estate would lend itself ideally to - Herod, The Drum
> >Major, Aegisth, The Simpleton, Captain Vere, Mime & Alberich.
>
> Unfortunately, all of these roles would be beyond him linguistically,
> unless one relishes largely consonant-free singing in character roles.
Herodes makes some sense; it's for a real voice, not a character voice. I
agree Domingo would have a lot of trouble wrapping his tongue around the
words. He does sound very well in this TRISTAN excerpt on the new duets
disc with Voigt. The SIEGFRIED is a little more problematic, but it is
gorgeous to hear such beautiful line in this music.
In other words, you can't have everything.
==============
james jorden
jjo...@bellatlantic.net
www.parterre.com
"I cannot begin to describe the filth backstage." -- Kyra Vayne
wk...@my-deja.com
james jorden <jjo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote:
>Herodes makes some sense; it's for a real voice, not a character
>voice.
Yes; although it's now sung by character tenors and occasionally by
super-duperannuated third-rate Heldentenors, it used to be cast with
real dramatic tenors, like Burrian, Fritz Kraus, and Maison.
>He does sound very well in this TRISTAN excerpt on the new duets
>disc with Voigt. The SIEGFRIED is a little more problematic, but it is
>gorgeous to hear such beautiful line in this music.
Tonally speaking, I agree, but it's possible to sing with a beautiful
line and still inflect the text. And some of the engineering is crude,
to say the least.
pin...@my-deja.com
> disc with Voigt. The SIEGFRIED is a little more problematic, but it is
> gorgeous to hear such beautiful line in this music.
Actually, neither Domingo nor Voigt sound remotely good in this release. I
am no fan of Eaglen so anyone can say what they want about her, but Jorden
criticized her for being unable to sing. And yet upon hearing Voigt in this
EMI release it takes about three bars (or three seconds) to conclude who
really can't sing. Did the Crayola (Merola to you) Program teach her about
phrasing? And what happened to her middle voice? And those top notes are
already effortful, no? At least Domingo can phrase, although not too well in
the Tristan love duet, where both he and Voigt sound like truck drivers
simultaneously gorging themselves with chili while copulating. And Pappano's
conducting is just as stupid and foursquare.
Karen Mercedes
K
Karen Mercedes
> the Tristan love duet, where both he and Voigt sound like truck drivers
> simultaneously gorging themselves with chili while copulating. And Pappano's
The images this conjures up are deliciously obscene.
Steve Silverman
> ...........sound like truck drivers simultaneously gorging themselves with
chili
> while copulating.....
Excuse me for asking, but do you have personal experience of this
phenomenon? If not how do you recognise the sound? Enquiring minds need to
know.
wk...@my-deja.com
"Steve Silverman" <st...@operaworld.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
>>> ...........sound like truck drivers simultaneously gorging
>>>themselves with chili while copulating.....
>
>Excuse me for asking, but do you have personal experience of this
>phenomenon? If not how do you recognise the sound? Enquiring minds
>need to know.
Obviously, you haven't spent much time in Boston...
Andre Edouard
I never ate Chili and fucked at the same time.
Does it hurt the chili?.......beans , beans.
Andre
pin...@my-deja.com wrote:
JMAINSLEY
>> there who can and will sing an uncut Tristan in a major house?
>>
>
>Stig Andersen, I believe
And shortly Thomas Moser. About time a big but beautiful voice was heard in the
role. No offence to Heppner by the way.
MAD4OPERA
the
role. No offence to Heppner by the way.>>
Where will Moser sing Tristan? I love Moser, he is rarely heard in the U.S.,
and this is a pity. I would rearrange my travel plans to hear Moser's
Tristan.
Hans Christian Hoff
"MAD4OPERA" <mad4...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000826115652...@ng-fn1.aol.com...
> <<And shortly Thomas Moser. About time a big but beautiful voice was heard in
> the
> role. No offence to Heppner by the way.>>
>
> and this is a pity. I would rearrange my travel plans to hear Moser's
> Tristan.
He will sing Tristan in Amsterdam the whole of February 2001 (with Gabriele
Schnaut as Isolde, Petra Lang as Brangäne, Alan Held as Kurwenal and Robert
Lloyd as king Marke). I have heard him live only once (as Lohengrin), then I
found his voice neither big nor particularly beautiful.
Regards
Hans
james jorden
opposite Deborah Voigt's first Isolde.
MAD4OPERA wrote:
> <<And shortly Thomas Moser. About time a big but beautiful voice was heard in
> the
> role. No offence to Heppner by the way.>>
>
> Where will Moser sing Tristan? I love Moser, he is rarely heard in the U.S.,
> and this is a pity. I would rearrange my travel plans to hear Moser's
> Tristan.
--
JPerryP
Saw John Treleaven as Tristan in Karlsruhe last month; not a "beautiful" voice
in the Heppner mold, but impressive/intense - especially in Act III. (And if I
understand correctly he is actually from Cornwall.) Saw ads for his new CD,
but haven't heard it yet.
By the way, the German soprano, Ursula Prem, was a fascinating Isolde. She had
a beautiful, expressive voice and was an exceptional actress - but am not sure
how she'd make out with this role in a larger house.
Best,
Joe
e_ma...@my-deja.com
mad4...@aol.com (MAD4OPERA) wrote:
> <<And shortly Thomas Moser. About time a big but beautiful voice was
heard in
> the
> role. No offence to Heppner by the way.>>
>
the U.S.,
> and this is a pity. I would rearrange my travel plans to hear
Moser's
> Tristan.
Well he did all the Baccusses (Baccae?)with Voight two years ago at the
Met and then returned for a Don Jose. Hmmmmmmmmmm
Emma Albani
Karen Mercedes
I like mine all the way wet.
What I want to know about the Tristan recording sessions is this: was it
Texas style, Cincinnati style, or just "generic"?
pin...@my-deja.com
<Pine.SV4.3.96.100082...@saltmine.radix.net>,
Karen Mercedes <dal...@radix.net> wrote:
> What I want to know about the Tristan recording sessions is this: was
> it Texas style, Cincinnati style, or just "generic"?
If you can visualize any State of Florida parking lot, then generic it
is.