Remember Roberta Knie?
LesTroyens
Someone recently descibed the career end of Linda Esther Gray. Roberta
Knie had the same fatal problems with Turandot. I think she sang too soon
after a vocal node operation. And there was a Lucille Udovick who had
similar difficulties and made sort of a comeback after 20 ys or so!
I am moved by such destinies, especially by the irony that their vocal
crashes were more noticeable than their vocal primes. It's more Morri
d'arte than Vissi d'arte. Of course I'm sentimental about such things...
====================================
Hunderln, so klein
und schon zimmerrein!
Musipro
lestr...@aol.com (LesTroyens) wrote:
>Someone recently descibed the career end of Linda Esther Gray. Roberta
>Knie had the same fatal problems with Turandot. I think she sang too soon
>after a vocal node operation.
I do remember Roberta Knie--her premature end was a great shame.
Actually, she was having severe problems even before that last Turandot.
As I recall, she had reached the Met alternating as Isolde with Gwyneth
Jones, and she must have already been having problems with nodes, because
the reviews described "vocal breaks" and a momentary loss of voice at the
beginning of the Liebestod (this was confirmed by an acquaintance of mine
who saw one of her performances). It was soon after that that she retired
for nearly a year to recover, but her comeback as Turandot proved a
failure. Since then, nothing, alas...
Bad Boy
Heard Ms. Knie in her American debut with Dallas Opera in Tristan and
Isolde (1975 w/Vickers.) Still one of my most pleasurable operatic
experiences!
Unfortunately, subsequent productions (Salome, Lady Macbeth, Turandot)
showed a vocal crisis on the rise. She was replaced by Linda Kelm in
the Houston Grand Opera production of Turandot after a disastrous
opening night performance in 1982.
Carmen Z. Catoni
I had the opportunity to see Knie very early in her career when she was a
member of the Graz Company. They visited Barcelona where she sang the
Marschallin. She was good, but no one raved.
Vey few years later, she was all around singing heavy Wagner roles. In
Isolde in concert opposite Jon Vickers she visited again BCN in the late
70s. Beautiful performance, as her sensitive singing and wonderful looks
gave a near perfect picture of the role. But it was definitely not the
Isolde voice, not a voice to live with Isolde and brunhilde as steady
diet. Two or three year later she was schedulued at the now lost Liceu to
sing the young Brunhilde, but she cancelled and later the story came up
of her premature declive. The world surely lost a great Elsa or
Elisabeth, a magnificent Chrysotemis and a regal Empress.
HAPPY LISTENING!!!
Luis A. Catoni
Miami, Fl.
Ho da fare un dramma buffo e non trovo l'argomento.
Ana Kellia Ramares
Roberta Knie was the guest speaker at an opera workshop I participated in
this summer. When one of the other students asked her if she would sing
for us, she declined. She does not use her voice full out anymore because
of a health problem that she did not name, that has to do with her eyes.
She is in danger of losing her vision if she sings.
She seems to have no regrets about the end of her career. She was teaching
in Vienna at the time, and just as her doctor was advising her not to sing
professionally anymore, her students were lobbying the university to get
her on the staff permanently. She got the job and so it was a smooth
transition and she now teaches in New York City.
She had some funny stories to tell, including the one I posted earlier
about the costumes for Salome in France. She also told about getting her
dress caught in Jon Vickers' sword belt. She just barely got unhooked in
time to separate from him, but not before most of the cast had gathered
'round to find out what was the matter.
Ramey Rules!
Kellia
Donald Craig
In article <4vonst$i...@news.icanect.net>,
"Carmen Z. Catoni" <cca...@icanect.net> wrote:
>I had the opportunity to see Knie very early in her career when she was a
>member of the Graz Company. They visited Barcelona where she sang the
>Marschallin. She was good, but no one raved.
>
<snip>
I also had the pleasure of seeing and hearing her as Chrysothemis at Severance Hall in 1974 when
Lorin Maazel and the Cleveland Orchestra gave a stunning concert version of Elektra. Ursula
Schroeder-Feinen sang the title role and Astrid Varnay (I may be wrong here - memory plays lots of
tricks these days) was the Klytemnestra. It was a fabulous evening and memories still linger. I was
glad to see from another poster that Ms. Knie is well and enjoying teaching.
So, what happened to Ms. Schroeder-Feinen. I remember seeing her name for a few years after that
wonderful concert, but do not know when she retired.
Don.
Sérgio Henrique Monteiro da Silva
She was supposed to sing Isolde with Vickers in Rio de Janeiro in the
1978 but she cancelled. Vickers came though.
Regards,
Sergio
Georg Tintner
LesTroyens (lestr...@aol.com) wrote:
: Someone recently descibed the career end of Linda Esther Gray. Roberta
: Knie had the same fatal problems with Turandot. I think she sang too soon
[....]
I heard Roberta Knie sing Bruennhilde at the Centenary Bayreuth in 1976 -
she was I believe only 26. This was one of three Ring cycles she did in
Bayreuth that month, and while someone else did the fourth I believe she
went and did Bruennhilde somewhere else. Four Bruennhildes in a month, at
26? Who can survive that? All I can say is that what I heard (the second
of the four cycles) showed signs of distress already - a marked wobble at
the top. A great shame.
Tanya Tintner
david hutchins
k...@insync.net (Bad Boy) wrote:
I was early introduced to Ms. Knie's talents listening to a radio
broadcast of 'Tristan und Isolde' from Lyric Opera of Chicago, where
she appeared with Jon Vickers in the late '70's. I taped it on a
reel-to-reel tape player and listened over and over. The piece
sounded as a great sea to a novice, but she and Vickers sang with
passion and beauty. I have been wanting to hear from her ever since,
but found only news of her damaged voice. A great pity, hope she is
well and happy somewhere.
david hutchins
Charlotte, NC
dhut...@infoave.net