1944 German Rigoletto with Berger...
NNRathbun
TIA,
Nancy
e_ma...@my-deja.com
nnra...@aol.com (NNRathbun) wrote:
> ...Rosvaenge, Schlusnus, Klose on Heliodor. Anyone heard it, have
comments?
>
a voice from hell come to curse Duke and poor Barbara Gross, I mean the
deformed fool, Rigoletto. That stretch is pretty stunning. Sclussnuss
and Berger were great singers, also big Nazis (though according to the
compendious and recent research of Michael Kater both went to bat for
friends who were Jewish, homosexual or out of favor -- there are
letters to Uncle Adolf from them with requests for clemency and such --
usually but not always ignored). Their duets are wonderful, and she is
fab period. He lacks a lower range and the kind of declamatory force
the Italian baritones into the early 60's had (from Amato and Ruffo on
up to -- with decreasing technical smoothness -- Taddei, Bastianini,
Panerai, Guelfi, the younger Capucilli) -- on the other hand his smooth
as silk legato, beautiful words, haunting soft and evry soft tone are
wonderful in themselves and effective in the role. Rosweange was a
force of nature (and one of the few Nazi sympathizers to do time -- he
was interned in a Russian concentration camp for about six months until
the Swiss rescued him). I'm not sure this is the sweetest and most
charming duke you'll hear but he makes an effect. It is on a Preiser
CD, but there have been short lived but sometimes findable cheaper
pressings on CD.
If you are interested in this opera in German, you should investigate
the really magical Josef Schwartz and Calire Dux reocordings on his
Preiser CD (volume 1) they are as good as anything ever recorded from
the opera.
Emma Albani
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Matthew B. Tepper
>
> ...Rosvaenge, Schlusnus, Klose on Heliodor. Anyone heard it, have comments?
Almost bid on it recently on eBay, and I turned it over in my hands
while visiting Tower Sunset today. I like Schlusnus very much as a
Lieder singer and in general as a musician (apparently he and Frida
Leider were friends and neighbors), but a DejaNews search I did when
pondering the eBay item suggested that he was not up to the role. So
I've held back.
--
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
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
"Compassionate Conservatism?" * "Tight Slacks?" * "Jumbo Shrimp?"
e_ma...@my-deja.com
=?iso-8859-1?Q?oy=FE=40earthlink=2Enet?= wrote:
> NNRathbun wrote:
> >
> > ...Rosvaenge, Schlusnus, Klose on Heliodor. Anyone heard it, have
comments?
>
You see, sane RMO-ers this is my problem with Tepper, *Skip*, *tritter*
and others -- they have NOTHING to say but say it anyway. Did Tepid
hear this performance? Nope. Did he wait for entries from listers who
have heard the performance (of course *he doesn't read emma albani*
except to attack her)? Nope. But he puts in his meaningless and
pointless two cents. Stick to ducks, quacky, in two years of posting
here on and off, I have yet to read a post by you, *skip*, *tritter* or
Barbara_Gross (Jason McVicker) that had ANYTHING substantive to do with
opera. And aren't you and Skip *moderators*, Quacky? I am not boosting
myself, rmoers, many posters here write about performances they've
heard with insight and awareness and are generous with information.
Even my vicious enemy James Jorden is worth reading and pondering. It's
these others that get my dandruff up. And yet they feel free to attack -
- posters and singers. All are on record against Bocelli, have they
heard him? Do they know enough to assess what he's doing? They've
attacked Studer. Did they hear a representative selection of her
recorded work? Hear her in person? The answer, friends and enemies
neutrals and neuters is NOPE. Better, much better, the person new to
opera with spontaneous responses to things they've heard and thought
about -- Daniella the other day (bet she didn't realize she'd give rise
to a hate filled series by praising the Chernov DG/Universal Rigoletto)
or some of the Bocelli people.
Emma Albani
> Almost bid on it recently on eBay, and I turned it over in my hands
> while visiting Tower Sunset today. I like Schlusnus very much as a
> Lieder singer and in general as a musician (apparently he and Frida
> Leider were friends and neighbors), but a DejaNews search I did when
> pondering the eBay item suggested that he was not up to the role. So
> I've held back.
>
> --
> 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
> To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
> "Compassionate Conservatism?" * "Tight Slacks?" * "Jumbo Shrimp?"
>
Mike Richter
parts are marvelous. In addition to the contributions cited by Emma, I
would note that the chorus is exceptional and that this may be Berger's
best traversal of the role. She solves one of the problems Verdi left us
- how to end "Caro nome" - in stunning fashion.
I have the recording on German DGG LPs and always regretted its sound
quality. The transfers I've heard from the one primitive tape aircheck
have been little better and many have been worse, but I am still
hopeful.
Mike
NNRathbun wrote:
>
> ...Rosvaenge, Schlusnus, Klose on Heliodor. Anyone heard it, have comments?
>
> TIA,
> Nancy
--
mric...@cpl.net
http://mrichter.simplenet.com
CD-R http://resource.simplenet.com
benjamin maso
<e_ma...@my-deja.com> schreef in berichtnieuws
8nkgb2$32e$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> In article <20000818180705...@ng-fx1.aol.com>,
> nnra...@aol.com (NNRathbun) wrote:
> > ...Rosvaenge, Schlusnus, Klose on Heliodor. Anyone heard it, have
> comments?
> >
> a voice from hell come to curse Duke and poor Barbara Gross, I mean the
> deformed fool, Rigoletto. That stretch is pretty stunning. Sclussnuss
> and Berger were great singers, also big Nazis (though according to the
> compendious and recent research of Michael Kater both went to bat for
> friends who were Jewish, homosexual or out of favor -- there are
> letters to Uncle Adolf from them with requests for clemency and such --
> usually but not always ignored).
I think you're wrong calling Schlusnus `a big Nazi'. He has never been a
member of the National-Socialist Party, nor has he ever showed any sympathy
to the Nazi movement. Like all artists who had performed in Germany during
the Hitler-years, Schlusnus had to appear before a court of law, which came
to the follwing decision: "The court has come to the conviction that here is
a man who honestly and sincerely followed his own conscience, and who held
his own against all temptations of national-socialism which for a man in his
position were much stronger than for many others."
By the way, I almost completely agree with your appraisal of Heger's
Rigoletto, with the sole exception that I really can stand Roswaenge in this
role with his ugly sounding German in complete contrast to Schlusnus' nobel
delivery. I can't hear his `Feines Madchen, hör mein
Lei-hei-hei-hei-hei-hei-den" without shuddering ...
Benjo Maso
Their duets are wonderful, and she is
> fab period. He lacks a lower range and the kind of declamatory force
> the Italian baritones into the early 60's had (from Amato and Ruffo on
> up to -- with decreasing technical smoothness -- Taddei, Bastianini,
> Panerai, Guelfi, the younger Capucilli) -- on the other hand his smooth
> as silk legato, beautiful words, haunting soft and evry soft tone are
> wonderful in themselves and effective in the role. Rosweange was a
> force of nature (and one of the few Nazi sympathizers to do time -- he
> was interned in a Russian concentration camp for about six months until
> the Swiss rescued him). I'm not sure this is the sweetest and most
> charming duke you'll hear but he makes an effect. It is on a Preiser
> CD, but there have been short lived but sometimes findable cheaper
> pressings on CD.
>
> If you are interested in this opera in German, you should investigate
> the really magical Josef Schwartz and Calire Dux reocordings on his
> Preiser CD (volume 1) they are as good as anything ever recorded from
> the opera.
>
> Emma Albani
>
>
e_ma...@my-deja.com
"benjamin maso" <Benjo...@chello.nl> wrote:
>
> I think you're wrong calling Schlusnus `a big Nazi'. He has never
been a
> member of the National-Socialist Party, nor has he ever showed any
sympathy
> to the Nazi movement. Like all artists who had performed in Germany
during
> the Hitler-years, Schlusnus had to appear before a court of law,
which came
> to the follwing decision: "The court has come to the conviction that
here is
> a man who honestly and sincerely followed his own conscience, and who
held
> his own against all temptations of national-socialism which for a man
in his
> position were much stronger than for many others."
> By the way, I almost completely agree with your appraisal of
Heger's
> Rigoletto, with the sole exception that I really can stand Roswaenge
in this
> role with his ugly sounding German in complete contrast to Schlusnus'
nobel
> delivery. I can't hear his `Feines Madchen, hör mein
> Lei-hei-hei-hei-hei-hei-den" without shuddering ...
>
"benjamin maso" <Benjo...@chello.nl> wrote:
> I think you're wrong calling Schlusnus `a big Nazi'. He has never
been a
> member of the National-Socialist Party, nor has he ever showed any
sympathy
> to the Nazi movement. Like all artists who had performed in Germany
during
> the Hitler-years, Schlusnus had to appear before a court of law,
which came
> to the follwing decision: "The court has come to the conviction that
here is
> a man who honestly and sincerely followed his own conscience, and who
held
> his own against all temptations of national-socialism which for a man
in his
> position were much stronger than for many others."<
I've seen that, and you may well be right. Also I hestitate to judge
many of these people who went along to get along, as most of us would.
However there are some things that should be noted. The allied courts
were very easy to fool and some felt pressure to get popular performers
back into the public eye for morale. Secondly, Schlussnuss did fire his
Jewish accompanist at the behest of the Nazi Party. He may have felt he
had no choice and others did similar things. Some of them tried to help
those they dismissed -- but there is no record of Schuluss doing that.
On the other hand there are some indications that he did try to help
people who were in trouble with the Nazis, and those who the Nazis
didn't like and to some degree harrassed (like Frida Leider). It should
be pointed out that R. Strauss helped nobody though he was uniquely
placed to do so while C. Krauss who was definitely a collaborator
helped a great many people, sometimes at a certain risk. Schlussnuss
does not seem to have gone so far but is in that camp.
Roswaenge is often hard to bear but hard to dismiss too.
Leonard Tillman
were not Nazi-sympathizers? I feel that we opera- listeners are a sort
of "consumers" and have a right to know ( if we wish to ) such things
about certain performers , so as to not "admire" them - only to be
shocked to learn that they supported atrocities- possibly even affecting
people in some way connected to many of us!! I can't, as some do,
consider these matters to be merely "politics"! --- that term does not
suffice to describe actions of the lowest kind in human (?) history!
BTW, all of this is not to digress from OPERA discussion , but these
things DO arise , and they matter!!
tapefanatic
e_ma...@my-deja.com
tapef...@webtv.net (Leonard Tillman) wrote:
> Where, on the net, can more info be found on who were
or
> were not Nazi-sympathizers? I feel that we opera- listeners are a
sort
> of "consumers" and have a right to know ( if we wish to ) such things
> about certain performers , so as to not "admire" them - only to be
> shocked to learn that they supported atrocities- possibly even
affecting
> people in some way connected to many of us!!<
I don't know about the 'Net, maybe others do. I suggest you order "The
Twisted Muse" by Michael Kater, how available as an Oxford paperback
and stocked by Amazon. You can also order his newest book "Composers of
the Nazi Era" also Oxford but hardcover.
These are very carefully researched with referance to archives that
have only gradually been opened. He documents every thing he writes and
is careful to maintain context which can easily be lost.
If you wanted to work in Germany after 1933 you had no option but to go
along to some degree -- most people could not emigrate -- and many who
did got caught up in the Nazi dragnet as they invaded Europe. It was
not only the more prescient but the more privileged who got to USA or
South America.
The Nazi's kept changing their definitions of who was Jewish, how
Jewish they were and how much "Jewishness" might be over-looked (as
with R. Strauss' daughter-in-law who was a quarter Jewish).
However though the Nazis were frighteningly efficient they actualy were
not as efficient as the Communists under Stalin who killed at least 90
million but according to a recent demograhic study may have been
responsible for the deaths of 150 million.
Back to the Nazis: Hilde Gueden for example had four Jewish
grandparents and though she ducked and weaved her way around that for a
long time, finally was caught.
However she had married a Polish Gentile and thus had become a Polish
Citizen with a Polish passport identifying her as a Polish Catholic!
When they came to arrest her she stonewalled them with her passport --
though she'd just been devorced -- and the Gestapo went away, and for
reasons no one knows never returned.
One reason many Jewish artists perished because they didn't leave is
that many exceptions were made for performers or the well connected or
the rich.
Meanwhile, oddly enough pro-Nazis with splended Aryan looks like Hans
Knappertsbusch were harrassed because Hitler didn't like them.
Kanppertsbusch was forced into retirement at the lowest possible
pension -- a good thing too -- because he was able to use that to prove
he'd been an anti-Nazi when there is plenty of proof to the contrary
(read Kater and his documents).
Similarly, Hitler kept referring to the virulently pro-Nazi Hans
Pfitzner as "that old Jew" -- though Pfitzner was more Aryan than Adolf
and probably more genuinely a Nazi (Adolf was more lethally nuts than
anything). Pfitzner had to pull all sorts of strings to avoid starving,
though eventually he made out pretty well in the forties. Orff and
Werner Eck likewise almost starved -- though neither was unrealistic
about the Nazis both worked their connections hard to keep their
livelihoods and didn't succeed for a long time. The Nazis at first
loathed Carmina Burana and Orff -- read Kater for how he manipulated
them into changing their minds.
One thing should be said. Most people are not psychic. People in the
arts are self absorbed, extremely ambitious and frequently badly
informed about the "real world". Many artists did not join the party
but went to the functions and so on because they wanted to be
successful and did not grasp until they were trapped in Germany just
what the Nazis were up too (as Kater points out, laws defining and
punishing Jews were subject to frequent revision and were broadly
interpretd often by local politicians who had a lot of lee-way and not
infrequently protected Jews and other "undesirables" who they admired).
The picture to a Schlusnus may not have been as clear as it is to us
sixty and more years later. Just as the protection offered by Frank who
was in charged of Auswitz but who adored music and helped Pfitzner,
Schwarzkopf (who however cancelled her second Pfitzner concert there
because she had a hot date in Berlin earning the composer's undying
hatred)Berger (who along with Ranczak tried hard to help "Kna" when it
looked like he might starve)and many others probably blinded people to
what he was really up to (though again we may wonder at human
gullibility).
One hero of all this is Hans Hotter. Not only is he one of the few for
whom Kater found NOTHING incriminating at all, but Hotter constantly
made fun of the Nazis, occasionally to the point of being in deep
trouble. (Oddly enough so did Karajan who was ordered to the Russian
front at one point, though of course he joined the party TWICE, the
first time as an Austrian citizen when it was against the law --
something he and his protectors lied about at his de-Nazification
hearing and for a long time afterwards). Karajan alientated Bokelmann
and Eugen Fuchs when he conducted Meistersinger in Berlin and both
complained to Adolf. When Karajan severely rebuked Fuchs he
screamed, "My Fueher has taught me how to perform Beckmesser, aand you
DARE defy him" and promptly send a cable to Hitler (see Kater). That
got Karajan in a lot of trouble, as did his playing of jazz (!),
consorting with known homosexuals and marrying a partially Jewish
(though luckily for him very rich) woman as his second wife.
But there is also the interesting case of Clemens Krauss and his wife
Ursuleac. Hitler adored them, and they were often his guests. It seems
unlikely that either believed (as Bohm and Kna did) in ANY of the Nazi
stuff. Both LOVED Jews and gay people. But they played along and really
did help all kinds of people. Many of the Jews they got out perished
anyway. But other musicians (homosexuals, ex-communists, free thinkers)
were saved from prison and from starvation from them. And yet they had
no qualms about using the highest Nazi command to build a power base.
Well enough of me -- I think a lot of these people were stupid
(Roswaenge, as the rather brave anti-Nazi Cebotari said about him after
the war, "ja, na, a tenor! They are all Nazis") rather than evil. Some
needed to work and went about their lives and many were opportunists
without embracing the whole philosophy or even knowing what it was. Of
course Bokelmann and a few others were horrors. But curiously enough,
one point Kater makes is the Nazi's did not really produce greatly
gifted people. And they were so concerned to con the rest of the world
into thinking them "civilized" they actually put up with a lot from
people like Furtwaengler whose behavior -- erratic, strange and
peculiar and frequently quite insulting to Nazis -- would have gotten
him a bullet to the back of the head in two seconds in Russia.
benjamin maso
<e_ma...@my-deja.com> schreef in berichtnieuws
8nlfp7$51m$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
> In article <8830-399...@storefull-211.iap.bryant.webtv.net>,
> tapef...@webtv.net (Leonard Tillman) wrote:
>
> > Where, on the net, can more info be found on who were
> or
> > were not Nazi-sympathizers? I feel that we opera- listeners are a
> sort
> > of "consumers" and have a right to know ( if we wish to ) such things
> > about certain performers , so as to not "admire" them - only to be
> > shocked to learn that they supported atrocities- possibly even
> affecting
> > people in some way connected to many of us!!<
>
> I don't know about the 'Net, maybe others do. I suggest you order "The
> Twisted Muse" by Michael Kater, how available as an Oxford paperback
> and stocked by Amazon. You can also order his newest book "Composers of
> the Nazi Era" also Oxford but hardcover.
>
> These are very carefully researched with referance to archives that
> have only gradually been opened. He documents every thing he writes and
> is careful to maintain context which can easily be lost.
Another very interesting book is Harvey Sachs' "Music in Fascist Italy", in
which you can read about the courageous stand of Titta Ruffo, and the
servile behaviour of Beniamino Gigli (who sent telegrams to Mussolini
boasting of his `ardent facist faith'), Aureliano Pertile (who called
himself `a fervent fascist'), Lauri-Volpi, Stracciari, Toti del Monte, etc.
Benjo Maso
benjamin maso
<e_ma...@my-deja.com> schreef in berichtnieuws
8nl1a2$lbn$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
Schlusnus' accompanist was Franz Rupp (who was also the accompanist of Fritz
Kreisler). As far as I know (but I might be wrong), Rupp wasn't a Jew, but a
fevent anti-nazi who refused to perform in Hitler-Germany. So it wasn't
Schlusnus who fired him, but Rupp who quitted. Schlusnus didn't go that far,
which, of course, made him inevitably a collaborator. Being anti-Nazi, he
tried to keep his distances as far as possible (becoming "indisposed" when
he was invited to sing at Nazi meetings, etc.), which made it much more
difficult to him to intervene for his colleagues. That's one of the
paradoxes: that collaborating actively could be much more useful for the
anti-Nazi cause than Schlusnus' passive resistance.
By the way, politically the most interesting member of the 1944 Rigoletto
cast is Margareth Booth, the Countess of Ceprano. She was an Englishwomen
who sang at the Berlin Opera from the 1930's on. She had so many good
connections with prominent Nazi's that she wasn't even put in an internment
camp when the war broke out and could continue her carreer in Berlin. After
the war it became known that she had been an active and very succesful
member of the British Intelligence Service ...
Benjo Maso
Commspkmn
quality. The transfers I've heard from the one primitive tape aircheck
have been little better and many have been worse, but I am still
hopeful.
Mike >>
I have the set on Preiser CDs. The voices have good presence, but there is
distortion, even more than I would expect of a recording of this vintage.
Still, it is a worthwhile souvenir of the principal artist.
BTW, if you really want to hear a great Roswaenge Verdi performance, try his
1936 Stuttgart Trovatore, also on Preiser. This is definitely one of the
handful of best Manricos I've ever heard.
Ken Meltzer
james jorden
> Where, on the net, can more info be found on who were or
> were not Nazi-sympathizers?
The problem here is defining what, exactly, is a "Nazi-sympathizer." We
have no way of knowing what people's beliefs actually were, much less
knowing exactly how much of the Nazis' Final Solution plan an individual may
have known or understood.
Basically, what we know is who got caught doing what, (e.g., firiing a
Jewish accompanist, or, on the other side of the fence, insisting that a
Jewish singer be left in peace and continue his employment.) How exactly can
we decide what were the motivations for these actions? The defense of a
superbly talented Jewish Heldentenor by an impresario might well have
stemmed from a desire to cast GOETTERDAEMMERUNG more than from any
humanitarian impulse.
Even in the case of someone so well-documented as Dame Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf, it is difficult to separate ruthless careerism from
anti-Semitism -- this artist has a history of stabbing people in the back
regardless of race or creed. One can believe that if assassinating Hitler
would have won her a juicy Festkontrakt, the soprano would not have
flinched.
Performers as a class do not often have a very strong grasp of current
events, except in how those events affect the career (e.g., discrimination
to an artist of a minority group). I am willing to give most artists the
benefit of the doubt; meanwhile, I understand why some other listeners are
not willing to be so (perhaps overly) tolerant.
==============
james jorden
jjo...@bellatlantic.net
www.parterre.com
"I cannot begin to describe the filth backstage." -- Kyra Vayne
richard loeb
great fan of Tiana Lemnitz but I don't think it can be denied her
anti-semitism was well known and documented.
"james jorden" <jjo...@bellatlantic.net> wrote in message
news:399E8C32...@bellatlantic.net...
Leonard Tillman
that , though we cannot know precisely what certain parties were really
thinking, nor how much of the Nazis' ultimate intentions were known or
guessed at, it seems that people of normal brain capacity would most
likely have known that the Nazis' were not "up to" any GOOD , - and the
act of allegiance to them ( excepting those who were forced to join
while actually despising the sub-cretins) DID make a meaningful
statement! As for "judging" them all these decades later, we aren't
"sentencing" them to executions , and so, in a sense don't have to know
what a jury would be more obligated to with greater certainty!
tapefanatic (Leonard Tillman)
james jorden
Matthew B. Tepper
to send me the Schlusnus _Rigoletto_, I would be most happy to listen to
it several times and critique it here, and then return it to him. I do
not have unlimited resources, unfortunately, and so I am not able to buy
every issue of every opera that I would otherwise like to hear. The
nature of my employment is such that I am not able to spend all of my
time listening to opera, and so for both of those reasons I must engage
in practices of selection for an efficacious use of time *and* money.
This is why some of us on this newsgroup enjoy asking others, especially
those who are more experienced, for their opinions on certain
recordings, so that we can utilize the replies in making the judgments
as to which recordings we will buy. Nancy Rathbun is very actively
doing this, and always seems to ask the right questions, and the answers
are particularly worth reading, too.
I'm sure I'm not the only one for whom this is the case -- anybody else
have thoughts on this?
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 08/27/2000 10:18 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <39A9313D...@earthlink.net>
>
>>snip <<
>
>This is why some of us on this newsgroup enjoy asking others, especially
>those who are more experienced, for their opinions on certain
>recordings, so that we can utilize the replies in making the judgments
>as to which recordings we will buy. Nancy Rathbun is very actively
>doing this, and always seems to ask the right questions, and the answers
>are particularly worth reading, too.
>
>I'm sure I'm not the only one for whom this is the case -- anybody else
>have thoughts on this?
>
>--
>Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Amid all the tumult (and, regrettably, ill-will) that surfaces whenever Bocelli
is mentioned, it is refreshing to find a thread that stimulates a
non-pejorative and, for the most part, enlightening discussion.
Erna Berger sang a radiant Gilda at the Met back in 1950 and I eagerly await a
reissuance of the historic RCA recording that featured her along with Leonard
Warren and Jan Peerce.
One of the positive development of the past 30 years is that we are at last
hearing the operatic "chestnuts" uncut. It isn't just arias that are missing,
a subtantial part of the Gilda / Rigoletto Act I duet was often omitted.
An amusing sidelight on Rigoletto is the confusion as to the number of strokes
to indicate midnight: 6 versus 12. I don't know if this is explicitly
indicated in the score (as it most definitely is in Falstaff). I prefer the
use of 6 bells -- it sounds like it may be more authentic and it keeps the
action going better.
==G/P Dave
David Walsh
> those who are more experienced, for their opinions on certain
> recordings, so that we can utilize the replies in making the judgments
> as to which recordings we will buy.
>
> have thoughts on this?
Yes, seems a good idea to me too. What sort of critiques do you find
helpful? Sometimes disdain is easier to read in a post than the reasons
for it. For me, comparison to other recordings or artists sometimes helps
in addition to more general statements. On the other hand, we see time
an time again people hear the same singers with different ears. Bocelli
and Domingo most prominently but Corelli and Tucker have detractors too.
Chacun a son gout? And if so, how do we communicate?
Dave Walsh
si...@webtv.net
added so much to my collection (as well as helping Amazon and Master
Card stay in business) because of this group. A few specifically: the
Price/Forza; Verrett and later the Ludwig Macbeths; Gencer Devereux;
Caballe Borgia and Stuarda; Callas Armida and Aida; the fabulous Rysanek
Salome and I'm waiting for Gruberova's 3 Queens and a Wagner cd by
Leider. There are probably a dozen or so more over the last year that I
got solely because of what was said on the group. Useful to read
opinions here-no argument from me. Thanks to all of you who have guided
me to such great music over the almost 3 years I've been here. John
Ivrys88
<<I love the opinions of recordings that are given-I have
added so much to my collection (as well as helping Amazon and Master
Card stay in business) because of this group. A few specifically: the
Price/Forza; Verrett and later the Ludwig Macbeths; Gencer Devereux;
Caballe Borgia and Stuarda; Callas Armida and Aida; the fabulous Rysanek
Salome and I'm waiting for Gruberova's 3 Queens and a Wagner cd by
Leider.>>
Just curious, which Callas Aida? Great choices, BTW.
Matthew B. Tepper
>
> In article <39A9313D...@earthlink.net>,
> Matthew B. Tepper <=?iso-8859-1?Q?oy=FE=40earthlink=2Enet?=> wrote:
> # This is why some of us on this newsgroup enjoy asking others,
> # especially those who are more experienced, for their opinions on
> # certain recordings, so that we can utilize the replies in making the
> # judgments as to which recordings we will buy. Nancy Rathbun is very
> # actively doing this, and always seems to ask the right questions, and
> # the answers are particularly worth reading, too.
>
> Right, which is why you got flamed and not her.
That's okay, I'm content to ride on her coattails.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
Matthew B. Tepper
>
> Hi Matthew: I love the opinions of recordings that are given-I have
> added so much to my collection (as well as helping Amazon and Master
> Card stay in business) because of this group. A few specifically: the
> Price/Forza; Verrett and later the Ludwig Macbeths; Gencer Devereux;
> Caballe Borgia and Stuarda; Callas Armida and Aida; the fabulous Rysanek
> Salome and I'm waiting for Gruberova's 3 Queens and a Wagner cd by
> got solely because of what was said on the group. Useful to read
> opinions here-no argument from me. Thanks to all of you who have guided
> me to such great music over the almost 3 years I've been here. John
Thanks, I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in finding value in the
opinions of friends here in making new operatic "discoveries"! (And I
very much hope you enjoy the Leider CDs when they arrive!)
si...@webtv.net
Del Monaco because of all the postings that had been made talking about
"that" note at the end of the triumphal scene. I had to hear it and my
God it was worth it. And the rest of the performance is really good and
the sound is quite acceptable. Best John
Leonard Tillman
Warren, and Berger being re-issued as a cd set, I'd like to know if such
neglected singers, such as the baritones, Gino Bechi, Robert Weede, and
Igor Gorin will at anytime soon, be represented on cd's with ample,
well-chosen selections!! These (and various others) were among the
BEST, -though, as mentioned, -largely neglected!
tapefanatic
Edward A. Cowan
> I'd like to know if such
> neglected singers, such as the baritones, Gino Bechi, Robert Weede, and
> Igor Gorin will at anytime soon, be represented on cd's with ample,
> well-chosen selections!!
Robert Weede recorded an operatic aria LP for Capitol back in the early
1950s. He also is heard as Escamillo in the mid-1940's set of excerpts
from _Carmen_ recorded on 78s by the Met with Stevens, Jobin, and
Conner. I once heard him as Scarpia in a _Tosca_ in San Antonio that had
Dorothy Kirsten as a very glamourous Floria Tosca.
Igor Gorin was mostly a recitalist and radio singer. But he did make a
few recordings that indeed ought to be republished on CD. I heard him in
San Antonio as Giorgio Germont in _Traviata_ (with Mary Costa and
Ferruccio Tagliavini) and also as Renato in _Ballo_ (with Rysanek,
Tucker, and others). He was a very distinguished singer, but he did not
have a long or successful career in opera.
--
E.A.C.
Enrique Eskenazi
tapef...@webtv.net (Leonard Tillman) wrote:
> In addition to my old favorite Rigoletto with Peerce ,
>Warren, and Berger being re-issued as a cd set, I'd like to know if such
>neglected singers, such as the baritones, Gino Bechi, Robert Weede, and
>Igor Gorin will at anytime soon, be represented on cd's with ample,
>well-chosen selections!! These (and various others) were among the
>BEST, -though, as mentioned, -largely neglected!
Try to get Mike Richter/Eduardo Gabarra CD-ROM 'Si puó?', available at House
of Opera. Great (and lenghty) anthology on historical Italian baritones. A
must have IMO.
Btw, there are some complete operas with Bechi available on CD: Cavalleria,
Nabucco, Andrea Chenier, Aida, Ballo in Maschera. The rest of the cast in
these is also splendid.
Regards
---
Enrique
eske...@teleline.es
Io chi sono? Eh, non lo so.
-Nol sapete?
Quasi no.
NNRathbun
the opinions of friends here in making new operatic "discoveries"! >>
The fact that I post about a billion requests a month in this forum for
feedback on recordings attests to how very valuable I find the opinions of many
of the regular contributors here.
The way these relatively innocent requests for information can spectacularly
morph into poisonous flame wars is always a source of amazement and sometimes
amusement. But the information offered by non-combatants (and, in truth, some
of the combatants as well) is almost invariably helpful.
Nancy