Best La Boheme recording
Thomas Reingruber
that kind of music. I was thirteen when I saw my first opera, La Boheme,
that was about 15 years ago. I immediately fell in love with the opera and
over the years I listened to different recordings of it. But in my opinion
the very best one is the 1973 recording from Von Karajan with Pavarotti and
Freni.
Pavarotti in his prime, can it get any better? His voice is ideal for
Rodolfo, this is how a Rodolfo should sound like. Maybe one of his very best
performances. He reaches high notes of sheer beauty which can be heard in
his Che gelida manina, that is awesome. But I especially love Mirella Freni.
No surprise she is considered THE Mimi of the 20th century. I just can't get
enough of her in this recording, you can feel every emotion she is going
through in that role. Her voice has the ability to express every single
human emotion, may it be joy, pain, or despair.
But even the supporting cast can't get enough praise. Rolando Panerai as
Marcello, for instance, what a powerful instrument his voice is, Freni's
husband Nicolai Ghiaurov as Colline is great. His Vecchia zimarra senti is
simply beautiful. Gianni Maffeo as Schaunard is another win for the
recording. But the real surprise here is a soprano I have never heard of.
Elizabeth Harwood as Musetta is so convincing. She expresses all the
elements that define that character. Her Quando m'en vo is exemplary. Does
anyone know more about Harwood, I can't find her name on any other opera
recording?
Puccini is a master in creating a musical drama. That can best be seen or
heard in the third act of the opera, my favourite act. Freni and Panerai
reach an intensity in their duet at the beginning that sends chills down my
spine. Especially Freni is overwhelming in her interpretation, just listen
to her when she doesn't know what to do and asks Marcello for help, she is
full of despair, absolutely believable. Her interpretation of Donde Lieta
Usci is another highlight. She is definetely an artist I would love to
discover more.
When Freni and Pavarotti sing together they just create an incredible
harmony, their voices blend perfectly.
Of highest artistry is the interlocking of the voices of the quarreling and
the reuniting couple, or in the final act, when in the middle of the play
Musetta suddenly appears with Mimi.
There is not a single flaw on this recording, may it be the singers, the
wonderful Berlin Philharmonic or Von Karajan. This is the Boheme-recording
that set standards by which all others should be measured. A masterpiece!
Tom
David7Gable
>the very best one is the 1973 recording from Von Karajan with Pavarotti and
>Freni.
This set is utterly spoiled for me by Herr Von Karajan's slow, heavy,
plush-sound-oriented performance.
>Pavarotti in his prime, can it get any better?
I love Pavarotti, but there are other Rodolfo's as good.
>No surprise she is considered THE Mimi of the 20th century.
By whom? She's good, but she's not THAT good, and I prefer her earlier Mimi
opposite Gedda with Schippers.
-david gable
Mitchell Kaufman
the orchestral sound all wrong--Puccini as Mahler.
I go for the Tebaldi, Bergonzi/Serafin, for reasons I've covered in
these parts before, and like David, there are lots of others I prefer to
the Karajan (and this from someone who generally loves Karajan in
Italian opera, though mostly in the earlier years).
Still, I think it's great that Herr Reingruber is so enthusiastic about
this recording. Would that we could all make such a persuasive case for
our favorites.
Hell, I may even go listen to it again!
MK
Terrymelin
>that kind of music. I was thirteen when I saw my first opera, La Boheme,
>that was about 15 years ago. I immediately fell in love with the opera and
>over the years I listened to different recordings of it. But in my opinion
>the very best one is the 1973 recording from Von Karajan with Pavarotti and
>Freni.
I don't think there is any such thing as a "best" recording of this opera.
>Pavarotti in his prime, can it get any better? His voice is ideal for
>Rodolfo,
Yes, Bjorling, Gigli, and Bergonzi are all "better."
And, Karajan is an absolutely bore here and seems to have no clue as to a true
Puccinian style.
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
>
>By whom? She's good, but she's not THAT good, and I prefer her earlier Mimi
>opposite Gedda with Schippers.
>
>-david gable
>
Who the heck considers Freni "the Mimi of the 20th century?"
She's a lovely singer but I can think of a dozen or more who are better Mimis
-- starting with Tebaldi, de los Angeles, Albanese, and on and on.
Terry Ellsworth
Leonard Tillman
his typically plodding conducting. If limited to - only - three sets of
Boheme, I'd choose in order:
Beecham - Bjoerling/de los Angeles
Serafin - Bergonzi/Tebaldi
and the abovementioned Karajan set - Pavarotti/Freni.
Virtually total enjoyment is guaranteed with each and any of them.
Best,
LT
-- A couple more moments of Zen Judaism:
If there is no self, whose heartburn is this?
Those who know do not Kvetch. Those who Kvetch do not know. It is
ever-so.
GRNDPADAVE
Panerai, conducted by Antonino Votto.
I think of LA BOHEME as essentially a comic opera with a sad ending. Von
Karajan is thoroughly humorless in his performance.
Di Stefano handles the ending in unique fashion: emitting a
spontaneous-sounding "No!!" following Marcello's "Coraggio!"
Moffo is surprisingly sweet as Musetta -- a role that is usually overdone.
Callas gives more variety to Mimi than simply being demure.
Lots of people love the London/Decca Karajan recording and with good reason.
But whenever I need a BOHEME fix I listen to my La Scala recording.
==G/P Dave
Giovanni Abrate
Best on record, IMHO. The second Act is absolutely masterful.
Andrew T. Kay
[...]
>I think of LA BOHEME as essentially a comic opera with a sad ending. Von
>Karajan is thoroughly humorless in his performance.
I hate to join the pile-on in response to such an enthusiastic and pleasant
post as Mr. Reingruber's, but I'm inclined to agree with you, GRNDPADAVE.
Puccini was a dab hand at color and atmosphere (even in a weak sister like
_Suor Angelica_, there's marvelously woven texture), and Karajan was a master
conjurer when it came to emphasizing those very qualities, and so one might
think they'd be a conductor/composer match made in heaven. But when I hear
Karajan's Puccini (all of it, but increasingly so in the Berlin years), I often
have the sense of too much of a good thing, which I don't feel about his Wagner
or his Sibelius. There are moments of such vivid and majestic incidental beauty
in the Puccini recordings as to beggar description, but all the gorgeous
lingering takes a toll on the continuity, the momentum, and ultimately the
spirit of the performance. The _Boheme_ is intriguing, cast for luxury and
ravishingly detailed (his wind section is to die for), and probably no
conductor in the world could have duplicated the results, but I don't believe
it would be my top choice. At times it just strikes me as ponderous. (I find it
interesting to me that Richard Osborne, Karajan's distinguished admirer and
biographer, doesn't love this particular recording, calling it a "lifeless
artifact" of the maestro's performances in the theater with Freni and the Pav,
I believe.)
I have no idea what *would* be my top choice. I love Beecham's singers too, but
he's also a little too gluey and droopy for my taste here. I wish Serafin's had
come earlier in the day for him. Your Callas, de Stefano et al under Votto may
be my favorite at the moment.
--Todd K
Elizabeth Hubbell
I seem to be turning into more of a curmudgeon rather than less of one
the more I listen to different Bohemes.
There are a handful of sets I still enjoy, but few of even those are
sets that I enjoy as wholeheartedly as I once did. Perhaps I should
take a break from this piece for a while.
For years, I generally accepted the Beecham as probably the most
generally satisfactory of the lot. But a recent rehearing has found me
more aware than I used to be of some undue tension in Bjoerling's
singing -- not throughout, but in enough places for it to be conspicuous.
I love the MYTO CD of Bjoerling "live" with Bidu Sayao (possibly my
favorite Mimi), but despite accomplished conducting from Antonicelli,
the rest of their colleagues, though not bad, are hardly top tier, and
the sound may be slightly too murky for an only choice (1948). It's
still worthwhile for Bjoerling at his very best (although Antonicelli
lowers the Racconto a half-step -- not clear why, since later "live"
Bjoerling Raccontos are back at the original pitch).
Sound is not that great with the "live" Sayao/Di Stefano either,
although Sayao's colleagues there are finer, IMO (1951). Frustratingly,
Cleva is not quite his usual admirable self here. Hardly bad, but not
comparable to some of his offerings later in his career. A pity, since
I sometimes think that Sayao/Di Stefano may be just about the ideal
Mimi/Rodolfo pairing.
Who knows why, but the commercial Sayao that happens to be earlier than
either of these "live" sets shows her under par, IMO (1947).
Antonicelli is not as good as in the '48 b'cast either. This comes down
to a Tucker andeverybodyelseassisting proposition. Frustrating.
The early Albanese/Gigli features a lively, if not uniformly
rich-voiced, ensemble under an alert conductor who is not quite in the
top tier. Again, though, issues of sound here.
The Toscanini Boheme from the mid-'40s is everything you'd hope it to be
when it comes to Albanese and Toscanini. These two frame the experience
and make it special enough. But Rodolfo troubles again: Peerce is so
good in so many items from this period, but his Rodolfo I find hard and
ungiving -- IMO.
Tebaldi's Mimi is a beautifully sung assumption, not without its share
of real heart and sincerity as well, especially in the mono set under
Erede. But -- and this is especially so, IMO, in her later Serafin set
-- one could wish for a tad more variety and vulnerability.
I do like the sense of interaction among the cast in the earlier set,
finding Prandelli, Inghilleri and Gueden all maintaining an ensemble
rapport rare in the discography. But Erede's conducting is uneven: warm
and naturally phrased in spots, but listless and stiff elsewhere. Odd.
The Serafin does not strike me as boasting the same kind of ensemble
rapport, although there are individual pieces of singing here that are
treasurable. I forget which critic made the remark, but I would agree
that by this point Tebaldi has become too much the grande dame. I find
it harder to be engaged with the essential helplessness -- and the
touchingly steadfast courage and character strength -- in Mimi with a
reading of this kind. Perhaps, were there a touch more spontaneity (as
there is in her earlier set), I might find it more simpatico.
Incidentally, I usually appreciate what Serafin is doing here and don't
find him the kind of stumbling block some others do.
Vulnerability is something that Callas tries harder to convey in her
set, and I'd give her kudos for the deftness of her artistry, and her
scrupulous way of always using the music to bring out Mimi's trapped but
courageous character. Nevertheless, I sometimes wish this had been
"live". I would agree with some others, I'm afraid, that spontaneity is
something that comes and goes in her portrayal. Of course, Di Stefano's
Rodolfo is always welcome, and the rest of the cast is as consistent and
as attuned to each other as their counterparts in Tebaldi 1. Votto's
conducting is more consistent than Erede's, IMO.
Some of the problems in the Serafin set are writ even larger in the Von
Karajan recording, IMO (early'70s): each character _sometimes_ in their
own little box, the sense of ensemble rapport fitful at best, added to
which there is, I would agree, Von Karajan's inattentive sense of humor
in the earlier scenes. But, like the Serafin, there is also gorgeous
singing here, and I can well understand why Mr. Reingruber -- and many
another listener, let's not forget -- has fallen under the spell of this
set. Moreover, the later scenes, in a vacuum, are simply stunningly
beautiful as pure music, IMO. And above all, there is Freni. Some here
were perhaps harsh in castigating the statement that Freni is the finest
Mimi. That might seem like an overstatement to some, but personally, I
would slot Freni's Mimi very, very high, at least.
A digression on Mimis:
There is always Albanese, who gives the most spontaneous and searching
interpretation at the same time. Certainly, one of the finest readings,
although the actual sound of her voice may not come across as appealing
as some others.
"Appealing", IMO, is the key word when it comes to the two "live" Sayao
sets. With as sure a feeling of spontaneity as Albanese, Sayao
understands fully as well as Albanese the combination of vulnerability
and touching courage in this part, and she conveys that with, IMO, a
heartening absence of artifice. Moreover, I happen to find her
intrinsic instrument more phonogenic than Albanese's.
De Los Angeles, too, can be touching and vulnerable, though spontaneity
is not her strong suit, IMO.
Callas attempts something similar, with, one suspects, a reading that
would have registered more strongly on stage.
Tebaldi may have the most gorgeous instrument, but hers I find the most
unvaried reading (though heartfelt).
Since Sayao -- in my admittedly subjective opinion -- is the only one of
these who combines utter spontaneity and vulnerability with a mostly
appealing instrument, she has become my preferred Mimi -- for now;-)
And it is on this basis that I welcome Freni into the ranks of the
finest Mimis. It may not be quite as searching as Albanese's or
Sayao's, but I do find her more spontaneous than either De Los Angeles
or Callas. And, though not as overflowing an instrument as Tebaldi's
(whom I was lucky enough to hear and enjoy hugely in person), I
sometimes find the intrinsic tones of Freni's voice just as beautiful in
their way. Even aside from their shimmering loveliness, the very
persona these tones convey seems inherently tender and ingenuous -- just
the tone for Mimi, IMO, and the quality that De Los Angeles and Callas
conscientiously aim for, where Freni seems to have it by sheer instinct
and vocal predisposition. Since it's rare that such a lovely voice
would be wedded to such an appealingly spontaneous delivery, I'm ready
to gauge her Mimi as being at least on the same tier as Sayao's and
Albanese and more affecting than De Los Angeles, Callas, or Tebaldi --
IMO, of course.
There remains the problem of Von Karajan's conducting in the earlier
scenes, where even Freni's abundant spontaneity is (occasionally) muted,
IMO. This leads us to my current favorite, which I freely acknowledge
is also a compromise to a degree: Freni's earlier set under Thomas
Schippers, boasting the Rodolfo of the youthful, still liquid-voiced,
Nicolai Gedda (early '60s). Freni's younger Mimi may not probe as
deeply in the later scenes as in her Von Karajan set, but she is fully
as touching and genuine, IMO, and the earlier scenes have an enlivening
mercurial quality that already put the stamp of greatness on her
reading, I feel. Moreover, though some critics have written of Gedda's
non-Italianate Rodolfo, the vocal freshness of his singing and his
alertness to changes of mood are (almost;-) the equal of his
distinguished partner. This rapport between the two _may_ be partly due
to Schippers' conducting, which brings out the briskness of this score
fully as well as Antonicelli in the "live" Sayao/Bjoerling. There is a
similar rapport throughout the entire ensemble here as well. One enjoys
a real story being told in this recording. The one caveat here is a
so-so Musetta (but the Sayao/Di Stefano, despite distinguished
colleagues, has a similar caveat). That aside, this may, for now, be
my......well......my _least_ _problematic_ Boheme. Let's put it that
way. -- And the engineering is also solidly done here.
Cheers,
Geoffrey Riggs
www.operacast.com
Alcindoro
Years ago I worked as a sales clerk
in the classical music section of a major record store, and opera newbies were
always asking us what recording we would recommend as "the best". Certain of
my colleagues would almost always recommend something with their pet soprano or
tenor, and sometimes it was a reasonable suggestion. I always took into
account that this was a buyer whose ears were going to be more interested in
beautiful sound than in stylistic or dramatic niceties. There are certain
recordings which one KNOWS are going to appeal to a new opera lover because
they are sound beautiful: the Karajan BOHEME is one of those. It was my third
BOHEME when I was a kid, after Toscanini and Erede -- I got it when it first
came out and I loved it. I still have it on CD haven't played it through in
years. Since that time I have seen firsthand what BOHEME is really about and
so all that talent invested in making the piece sound stunningly beautiful
doesn't really work for me these days. I find the BOHEME I have been listening
to lately is the Callas/Di Stefano/Votto. I don't mind the mono sound -- it's
very good mono sound. I also think Votto isn't particularly interesting with
the Act III intro (Karajan is) but he just lets Puccini do his thing there and
it works out fine. I do think that Di Stefano is the aural personification of
youthful impetuosity and the peculiar colors in Callas' voice can evoke both
beauty and mortal illness, and everyone else just falls right into place behind
them. This recording really gets that important hairpin turn , between youth
and mortality that a good BOHEME must constantly be able to make. If we only
had the Karajan in stock I would have had no problem recommending it, and I'm
pretty sure the buyer would be happy with it. It's the Opera Is Soooo
Beautiful BOHEME. And I am so very fond of the Beecham, but it's usually so
hard to sell mono to newbies. EMI would do us all a favor if they would
release this one at midprice -- and I thought that stereo-job they did on it
years ago was interesting -- I wonder what a good CD remastering of that would
sound like? I have never been convinced by the Serafin mainly because I think
Tebaldi just sounds too robust for Mimi (and the top lets me down) but since so
many love that one if we only had that in stock I'd recommend it. If price is
really an option the Leinsdorf is a viable choice. But the Votto has my ears
these days. Incidentally this sudden urge to hear BOHEME after not really being
in the mood for it for so long comes as a direct result of seeing the Broadway
BOHEME -- and I mean that in a complimentary sense.
Terrymelin
>Serafin - Bergonzi/Tebaldi
>and the abovementioned Karajan set - Pavarotti/Freni.
>
> Virtually total enjoyment is guaranteed with each and any of them.
>
I agree with you on two of those but would then replace the third with the
Gigli/Albanese.
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
>Rolando
>Panerai, conducted by Antonino Votto.
Can't agree with you on that one. For all her considerable gifts Maria Callas
could not make a believable Mimi.
Terry Ellsworth
Elizabeth Hubbell
Alcindoro wrote:
>>Perhaps I should take a break from this piece for a while.<
>
>
> <SNIP> If price is
> really an option the Leinsdorf is a viable choice.
Funny. The Leinsdorf has never really pulled me in. No question it's
hardly a bad one(!), just not as distinctive as some of the others, IMO.
That's why I didn't cover it in my posting.
BTW, I have a feeling that the inordinate length of some of my
discography postings has left me paying a price for it here. In plain
words, I have a feeling that some browsers/servers cut off the last
paragraphs of the longer postings. And I have a feeling that that
happened here with my closing remarks concerning my current preference
for the early-'60s EMI set under Schippers, featuring Freni and Gedda.
At least, it evidently happened with "Alcindoro"'s browser/server. Else
how come "Alcindoro"'s thoughtful response to my posting contains no
reference to this set whatsoever? (Kind of like overlooking the
prize-winner in a vocal competition! -- ......well, sort of........)
Please, I'd like to know how come "Alcindoro" did not remark on this
set, and what are his sentiments considering its merits and place in the
discography generally? Thanks. I am also sincerely curious as to
others' takes on this Schippers set as well.
In case there are others here who also did not view my closing
paragraph, I'm taking the liberty of quoting it:
Elizabeth Hubbell
Just realized I neglected to itemize the "live" Freni/Corelli from
Chicago (1965). Some problems with sound here, but the Freni/Corelli
pairing is as special in its way as the Sayao/Di Stefano pairing, IMO.
If this were in better sound (and it's hardly bad, granted), it might be
a better candidate for "only choice". As it is, it's thrilling hearing
Corelli at his most tender and lyrical and Freni at her most youthful,
confirming in performance that her genuinely touching qualities and
crystal-clear tones are not merely a creation of the recording studio.
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Geoffrey Riggs
> > www.operacast.com
Andrew T. Kay
[...]
> And I am so very fond of the Beecham, but it's usually so
>hard to sell mono to newbies. EMI would do us all a favor if they would
>release this one at midprice -- and I thought that stereo-job they did on it
>years ago was interesting -- I wonder what a good CD remastering of that
>would
>sound like?
It *is* midprice now, as of its release a year ago in the EMI Great Recordings
of the Century series. Whether the remastering differs significantly from their
last attempt (1997 or 1998), I'm unable to say. It's mono.
--Todd K
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/24/2003 9:43 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <BgSTa.32716$7O.1...@nwrdny01.gnilink.net>
>
>[from Geof. Riggs; not Eliz. H., my better half]
>
>Alcindoro wrote:
>
>>>Perhaps I should take a break from this piece for a while.<
>>
>>
>> <SNIP> If price is
>> really an option the Leinsdorf is a viable choice.
>
>Funny. The Leinsdorf has never really pulled me in. No question it's
>hardly a bad one(!), just not as distinctive as some of the others, IMO.
> That's why I didn't cover it in my posting.
>
>
>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Being a Leinsdorf / Tucker / Moffo fan, it doesn't come easy for me to admit,
but I think this recording is a dud. Is it possible to record a charmless
BOHEME? Leinsdorf proves it is. He did the same with his BUTTERFLY remake.
The common denominator is, I am afraid to say, Richard Tucker. His
explosiveness at times borders on sputtering.
Maybe this BOHEME would have profited from Cesare Valletti as Rodolfo, who sang
magnificently in Leinsdorf's first BUTTERFLY.
Maria Callas is a wonderful Mimi. She realizes the essence of "Mi chiamano
Mimi" in the blossoming of the aria at "Ma quando vien lo sgelo" where too many
Mimi's are already enraptured before this reverie is upon us.
The Di Stefano / Callas magic lifts the recording to a plane not quite attained
by others, imho. De los Angeles is lovely, but Bjoerling is too much into
concertizing his role.
Gedda, a marvelous singer, lacks the sensuality for Rodolfo (as he did for
Faust, as well).
The nearest competitor to the Angel/EMI mono recording is the Zefferelli video
with José Carreras and Teresa Stratas. Stratas is a terribly underrated
operatic singer. Her voice was not quite so strong as Callas' but she was
every bit the equal as an actress.
The production is fine, though a bit overdone (the bit of fencing on the
rooftop is silly).
Scotto is a bit of a harridan of a Musetta. This where Moffo's performance in
the Callas recording is something to savor.
Act Two, my personal favorite section of the opera, is done very well. The
often unnoticed moment is Rodolfo's "Sappi per tua governo.." where we get an
intimation of his destructive jealousy. Callas never gave a stage performance
as Mimi, yet she projects the role better than any of her rivals.
Puccini's brilliance as a musician is found in his "Dal mio cervel" -- a
splendid variation on "Nei cieli bigi."
Karajan was an on/off Puccini conductor. His BUTTERFLY and TURANDOT are mostly
"on"; his TOSCA and BOHEME "off".
Votto gives a Toscanini-like performance, but a trifle more relaxed.
Votto's ending, abettted by the Di Stefano outburst, is priceless.
==G/P Dave
Mitchell Kaufman
> Being a Leinsdorf / Tucker / Moffo fan, it doesn't come easy for me to
> admit, but I think this recording is a dud. Is it possible to record a
> charmless BOHEME? Leinsdorf proves it is. He did the same with his
> BUTTERFLY remake. The common denominator is, I am afraid to say, Richard
> Tucker. His explosiveness at times borders on sputtering.
>
> Maybe this BOHEME would have profited from Cesare Valletti as Rodolfo, who
> sang magnificently in Leinsdorf's first BUTTERFLY.
On the very outside chance that anyone is interested, I've reprinted
below a long review of the Living Stereo reissue of the Leinsdorf Boheme
that I posted in this group about a hundred years ago. Here goes:
------
RCA/BMG has just released two operas in their Living Stereo series: the
Otello of 1960 with Vickers, Rysanek and Gobbi, conducted by Serafin
(review forthcoming); and the Boheme of 1961 with Moffo, Tucker and
Merrill, conducted by Leinsdorf. Both are new 20-bit remastering jobs,
and replace previously issued versions.
This Boheme is no world-beater -- despite the high octane cast, it's
almost a forgotten performance: when have you ever seen it on anyone's
list of, say, top five Boheme recordings? -- but it has a number of
significant attributes.
Not least among them is Moffo, a very pleasant surprise for anyone like
myself who was underwhelmed by her Butterfly and Traviata; both of these
were technically unexceptionable (perhaps the Traviata less so) but
equally unmoving and undersized. In Boheme she is in far more congenial
territory, and rises to the occasion with a sensitively inflected,
musically impeccable performance. Not for her the rich, round tones of a
Tebaldi (who in purely vocal terms is unmatched on both her commercial
recordings), but there is no question in my mind as to who more vividly
conjures the image of Mimi-istic fragility. It's Moffo's best complete
opera, and it's wonderfully sung; a small, underappreciated gem.
I wish I could be more unqualified in my admiration of Tucker in this
performance; but there's something cloying, overripe and unwieldy about
his singing, particularly in the first act. Here, where a more lyrical
voice like Bergonzi's can negotiate the rapid-fire patter with ease,
Tucker sounds forced and uncomfortable. There's some of this in his 1947
performance as well (the recently-reissued Columbia recording with
Sayao), but not as much. His Alfredo, recorded a year earlier, doesn't
exhibit this quality, so one can only assume either that Tucker was not
in optimal voice for the Boheme recording or he no longer found at least
certain parts of the role as congenial as he had previously. At any
rate, both Bergonzi and Bjoerling sound lighter, easier, and more
youthful in the garret scenes. (Perhaps Tucker/Tebaldi and
Bergonzi/Moffo would have been more propitious pairings.)
And yet. In the big set pieces, Tucker shines. The aria features some
beautiful soft singing and a fine sense of line; by Tucker standards,
it's "straight" and unfussy. In the Act IV duet with Merrill, the big,
fruity sound blossoms impressively in a way that neither Bergonzi nor
Bjoerling can match. Yes, there is too much sobbing after the death of
Mimi, and a lot of it sounds like crocodile tears.
But whenever Tucker is allowed to sing out, the qualities that make the
more conversational passages seem heavy-handed imbue the music with a
dramatic impact that eludes the more modestly endowed tenors. While the
voices are in most respects dissimilar, one can get a hint of what
someone like Martinelli or even Caruso must have sounded like in this
opera. This is what makes Tucker's performance worthwhile. He's not
nearly the most "complete" Rodolfo; his performance is in no way
comparable to his astonishing Pinkerton with Leontyne Price the
following year, and recordings like his second Forza are far more
significant than this Boheme. But as a representation of a particular
approach to the role, Tucker's Rodolfo makes its statement. Think of it
as Peerce with cojones.
The others are pleasant but also a trifle dull, which they were not in
the Beecham recording (in which several of them -- Merrill, Tozzi, and
Corena -- also appeared). Merrill is, as one would imagine, a fine match
for Tucker in the Act IV duet, but elsewhere he sounds mostly as if he's
punching in and punching out. Mary Costa does about as well with Musetta
as one could expect, if without the character of Amara on the Beecham
recording or Gianna d'Angelo on the Serafin. The children's chorus in
Act II is especially fine, much better than the adults in fact.
Many of the problems with this performance must be placed at the feet of
Leinsdorf, and the Rome Opera Orchestra, which is scrappy. In his
Boheme, Serafin makes the equally second-rate Santa Cecilia orchestra
sound better than it is; similarly, Beecham with his New York pickup
band; Leinsdorf achieves nothing comparable in Rome, and it hurts.
Wedded to this is the literalmindedness for which Leinsdorf was known,
manifest here in lack of rubato; rarely does Leinsdorf let the score
"sing."
The test case is the beautiful orchestral passage right before "Sono
andati" in Act IV. The winner, and by a huge margin, is Toscanini. In
comparison, Beecham is surprisingly somnolent. Serafin is not
unexpectedly closest to Toscanini in intent, but the execution is
without the latter's pinpoint control of orchestral nuance. Leinsdorf
seems to miss the point completely and lets the moment pass
uneventfully.
The lack of flow is particularly damaging to the raucous scenes in the
garret; all the notes are there, but something of the architectonics of
the score -- particularly in Act I -- is missing. To hear it, one needs
only go to Toscanini or Serafin, where it is strikingly projected. To
say that Leinsdorf is dull would not be strictly accurate; what he is is
unconvinced by the music, seemingly afraid to be embarrassed by it; he
refuses to suspend disbelief, which is a particular shame because he
does so to such great effect in his 1962 Butterfly; here, he's
uncommitted and detached, which are bad things to be in Italian opera.
If you've already got the recording in a previous incarnation, there's
only one issue: the sound. Not having heard the previous CDs, nor in
many years the original LPs, I can't tell you whether the 20-bit process
makes a significant difference (though in my experience -- everything
else being equal -- it seems to generally make anywhere from a subtle
but noticeable to a clearly audible and significant improvement over
older transfers). The sound per se is not quite out of RCA's top drawer,
in which one would find the Price Butterfly or the Solti Aida, among
others; but it is miles ahead of the vast majority of today's product,
with a lively you-are-there quality that seems to be the exclusive
province of Eisenhower-Kennedy era recordings.
Having said that, there is something almost indefinably unlikeable about
the sound of this recording, and I'm not sure I can put my finger on it.
Part of it may be some modest multi-miking; here and there a triangle
will jump out at you or there will seem to be too many disparate vocal
and orchestral strands popping out all over the place. Moreover, the
tonal balance is tipped up on the high end, presumably due to the
microphone characteristics. While this clarifies textures and projects
(perhaps the word should be "overemphasizes") fine detail, it also
hardens the vocal sounds and deprives them of their lower partials.
There are many points (the opening of Act IV being a notable exception)
where the voices lack body. This is not merely a question of proximity
to the microphones. In fact, the soloists (and the orchestra, for that
matter) on the Serafin recording are far more distantly recorded but
sound richer and fuller. Part of this is no doubt due to the inherent
sound of the respective mikes, but it is also a question of volume:
despite the generally distant perspective, the Serafin recording is
perfectly balanced among soloists, chorus and orchestra. The Leinsdorf,
conversely, seems to need a little more "juice" on the solo voices
vis-a-vis the ensemble; in "Mi chiamano Mimi," Moffo sounds swamped.
As with their previous Living Stereo issues, BMG has faithfully
reproduced the original cover art and text, which here means not only
one of those neat overviews of the recording sessions by producer
Richard Mohr, but also unfortunately one of the annoyingly effusive
essays that were the specialty of Francis Robinson. All this is in
several languages, but the libretto is Italian-English only.
If you are new to this recording, you'll want it for Moffo, and also for
the good parts of Tucker's reading (if you lack the 1947 recording,
which is generally preferable from the Tucker standpoint). It wouldn't
be my first Boheme under any circumstances: Serafin is number one
overall, and the Beecham, Toscanini, and Gigli are indispensable too.
The sound is imperfect, but based on my recollection of the LPs, the
remastering has been skillfully accomplished and is faithful to the
original.
In short, nothing grossly amiss here, but despite some positive
ingredients the whole thing doesn't quite jell. Like the proverbial
Chinese meal, you're hungry an hour later.
Apologies for a review longer than the opera.
On to Otello.
-- Mitchell Kaufman
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/23/2003 4:53 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <dtDTa.340550$1F6.3...@news.chello.at>
It is easy to fall in love with the recording or performance that first
introduces one to an operatic masterpiece.
My older brother is hopelessly attached to the "Don Giovanni" he first bought
in three installments of 78-rpm record albums.
He still swears by John Brownlee's rather staid Don.
In your case, Tom, there are many critics who rate highly the Von Karajan
BOHEME.
But you may want to savor some of the others touted in this thread and see how
well Pavarotti/Freni duo stack up against the competition, not too mention
Karajan and his rivals.
Best regards,
==G/P Dave
Alcindoro
what are his sentiments considering its merits and place in the discography
generally?<
Oh dear. I DID forget the Schippers didn't I? Well, that's because I really
didn't want to get that far into the BOHEME thickets, but yes, I would always
recommend the Schippers too. Energetic conducting (I just don't think BOHEME
should dawdle -- youth rarely does) and excellent lead couple plus good sound.
The supporting cast isn't remarkable but they are all Italian and that counts
for quite a bit. New buyers were always so concerned with finding the one
"best" recording and didn't tend to grasp the idea
that such a thing rarely exists. My motto was recommend a good recording based
on what we had in stock, what their price range was, and what their audio
requirements were. (In the early days of digital it was always a test of my
patience
to explain to them that "digital" did NOT mean "best" -- often far from it!)
Let's face it, these folks aren't in the position to compare twenty-plus
BOHEMEs. Get them a good responsible recording with a good Mimi/Rodolfo
pairing and hopefully Puccini will do the rest.
Thomas Reingruber
it.
But I am surprised that some of you are so strict with Pavarotti and Freni.
I have listened to some other recordings of Boheme, but I found not one that
was as fulfilling as the Karajan-set.
I listened to Tebaldi's Mimi, but I must say that her voice does not much
for me. Her voice sometimes sounds shrill to me and I miss the fragility in
her Mimi-portrayal. I agree on Victoria De Los Angeles. She is maybe second
to me after Freni. She is a wonderful Mimi, but one thing that I miss is the
intensity. Yes, she has a sweet soprano, but there are no dramatic
highpoints in her interpretation. But she has really a beautiful voice, no
doubt.
My least favourite Mimi has to be Maria Callas. She may be sensational in
other operas, but definetely not in La Boheme. When I once listened to her
Mimi, I had the impression she portrays a warrior, not an ill, vulnerable
girl. Her Mi Chiamano Mimi was too aggressive for my taste. No, Callas is
totally unbelievable here, just my opinion.
Another good Rodolfo is Carreras, I guess. He has such a warm tenor-voice,
full of passion. Unfortunately his Mimi in the 1979 recording, Katia
Ricciarelli, is a somewhat too cold Mimi for my taste.
Tom
Thomas Reingruber
Tom
Thomas Reingruber
"Terrymelin" <terry...@aol.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:20030723205628...@mb-m20.aol.com...
> >>No surprise she is considered THE Mimi of the 20th century.
> >
> >By whom? She's good, but she's not THAT good, and I prefer her earlier
Mimi
> >opposite Gedda with Schippers.
> >
> >-david gable
> >
>
> Who the heck considers Freni "the Mimi of the 20th century?"
I've read it a dozen times over the years, may it be in opera-guides,
newspaper-articles, reviews etc....
This is the role she is probably more connected to than to any other.
Strange, that you have never heard that.
>
> She's a lovely singer but I can think of a dozen or more who are better
Mimis
> -- starting with Tebaldi, de los Angeles, Albanese, and on and on.
>
> Terry Ellsworth
I think this is an individual opinion. You prefer other singers, and that's
ok.
De Los Angeles sounds sweet, but Tebaldi? No, thank you!
Tom
Sergio H. da Silva
fine but there is not much emotion in her singing (some live recordings
capture that much better). And then there is Tebaldi, De Los Angeles, etc, a
whole array of Mimi's.
The Best Boheme is difficult since each has its rewards.
"Thomas Reingruber" <thomas.r...@chello.at> wrote in message
news:dtDTa.340550$1F6.3...@news.chello.at...
Thomas Reingruber
Tom
"Elizabeth Hubbell" <elizabet...@verizon.net> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:6fMTa.32432$7O.1...@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...
Sergio H. da Silva
think. In the Act IV specially Ricciarelli is sublime.
Her later recording (with Araiza) is not as good but she still sings well as
one critic (from the French opera magazine) said she made him cry at the end
which is very hard on recording but frequently happens live when a good Mimi
is on stage.
"Thomas Reingruber" <thomas.r...@chello.at> wrote in message
news:zPVTa.11$5u5....@news.chello.at...
Thomas Reingruber
Ricciarelli lifeless in her interpretation, Freni displays the whole
emotional spectrum of a human being. I tell you something, I even don't need
to see Freni, just to hear her is enough to fully understand what kind of
emotion she is going through. The shyness in the beginning when she meets
Rodolfo for the first time, the despair in the third act, and her weakness
when she reaches her end in the final act. Every emotion is audible for me.
Tom
"Sergio H. da Silva" <serg...@pobox.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:VQVTa.10913$H73....@fe02.atl2.webusenet.com...
Leonard Tillman
With all we've mentioned so far - and others - it is (fortunately)
difficult to find a set of La Boheme that's actually *bad*!!
I honestly can't recall one that was awful enough, of such mediocrity,
that I truly regretted its purchase.
Puccini's crown achievement is such that it actually defies the
frequent Mess-ups (i.e., with a capital "F") that we hear in most other
works.
Thomas Reingruber
when I saw the opera for the first time, and wow, it really moved me.
But so far only Mirella Freni managed to move me that much, and that only on
CD!
Tom
"Sergio H. da Silva" <serg...@pobox.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:X0WTa.18799$nL2....@fe05.atl2.webusenet.com...
Premiereopera
supporting which includes Bastianini and Siepi.
All are in superb voice, and though Tebaldi is a "healthy" voiced Mimi, she is
the real article, piani, chest voice, and everything in between. Bergonzi is
perfection, executing a gorgeous diminuendo on the high Bb in this aria, chi
son, chi SON. It is a gorgeous effect, and truly great singing.
Freni was the next best Mimi I saw live, and she was perfect in this role.
I think her recording with Pav is ruined by the eccentricities of Karajan.
Either the orchestra is too loud or too low. Too fast or, usually too slow. His
singers deserved a real Italianate maestro.
Best,
Ed
http://www.premiereopera.com for the best opera on CD, VIDEO, CD-ROM. Our giant
sale ends tomorrow!!!
Alcindoro
not an ill, vulnerable girl. Her Mi Chiamano Mimi was too aggressive for my
taste. No, Callas is totally unbelievable here, just my opinion.<
This is always the controversy with Callas:
how well does she adapt a dark, flinty voice to the role's demands? I think
she does, but most particularly in Acts 3 & 4. This is why one starts
collecting: no one recording can fully satisfy once one
understands what the piece is about, and so one plays Mental Frankenstein and
starts imagining (for example) Freni's lyric richness with Scotto's skill with
words with Callas' drained tone for illness with Albanese's stylistic rightness
with ... you get the idea. One of my pet BOHEMEs is the Tagliavini/Carteri for
Carteri's Act 3 scene with Taddei's Marcello and all that follows -- nothing
like real Italians in their mother tongue! (Unfortunately the Cedar-process
used on the Fonit-Cetra CDs has exaggerated the edge on Carteri's voice, but
that's why God invented graphic equalizers.)
Alcindoro
wow, it really moved me.<
Yeah, BOHEME hasn't made me cry for a very long time but perhaps I am just a
little tired of it. Still, there is so very much to love and admire in it and
several really good recordings with which to explore it.
Mitchell Kaufman
> This is always the controversy with Callas: how well does she adapt a
> dark, flinty voice to the role's demands? I think she does, but most
> particularly in Acts 3 & 4.
I don't cotton to her Gilda or Butterfly either, and I'm pretty
enthusiastic about almost everything Callas. I think it's also one case
where it's hard to separate our mental picture of the singer and what we
know of her personality from the character she's portraying.
> One of my pet BOHEMEs is the Tagliavini/Carteri for Carteri's Act 3 scene
> with Taddei's Marcello and all that follows -- nothing like real Italians
> in their mother tongue!
True enough, and I'm glad someone mentioned this recording (and the
"real Italians" thing is applicable to Tebaldi/Serafin, too; I also
particularly like "real Italians" in Cav). Tagliavini is glorious in the
sweet moments, but rather seriously overextended, I think, in the more
forceful passages. Carteri is one of the great Mimis. I'm not wild about
the conducting.
> (Unfortunately the Cedar-process
> used on the Fonit-Cetra CDs has exaggerated the edge on Carteri's voice, but
> that's why God invented graphic equalizers.)
Yes, that seems to be a characteristic of many of the Warner-Fonits. The
Francesca da Rimini (*great* performance), while clear and open, is very
hard and metallic on top (and no, it ain't just Caniglia's acuti!).
MK
Leonard Tillman
> instrument, but hers I find the most unvaried
> reading (though heartfelt).
You know what they say that two out of three ain.....er...."am'nt" ?
I can very easily forgive the "unvariedness".
Best,
LT
-- A couple more moments of Zen Judaism:
Wherever you go, there you are! - This, however, does not guarantee
that your Samsonite® luggage will join you in a timely fashion. Or at
all.
David7Gable
>but
>he's also a little too gluey and droopy for my taste here.
Beecham is a liability for me, too, but I wouldn't be without de los Angeles
and Bjoerling. I'll be shot for this, but if I could only keep one recording,
it would be Albanese-Peerce-Toscanini. All three musicians are about as
passionately involved in this ardent performance as it is possible to be. But
I would also love a truly great performance with Albanese and Di Stefano.
My favorite Mimi is probably Albanese, but for Rodolfo's I like Peerce,
Pavarotti, Di Stefano, Gedda, and Bjoerling. Bergonzi is a very great Rodolfo;
he just happens not to float my boat in this role as these other tenors do.
Serafin was too old and tired when he made the famous Decca set, which strikes
me as a bit too cautious all the way through. Compared to the fresh-voiced
Freni of the Gedda-Schippers set (another great favorite of mine), Tebaldi
seems a bit matronly. (Freni's sense of pitch is more secure, too.) My
favorite Musetta is Gueden. I only wish she'd recorded Mimi.Votto's conducting
of the Callas-di Stefano set strikes me as about the best conducting the opera
has ever received.
-david gable
David7Gable
>
I've got nothing against Pavarotti's sensational performance. It's Karajan's I
can't stand.
-david gable
David7Gable
>think.
I love Ricciarelli and Carreras (before a certain date, at least), but I can't
remember their contributions to this set, which I listened to only once some
time ago. What I do remember is that Colin Davis is a bore.
-david gable
David7Gable
>with ... you get the idea. One of my pet BOHEMEs is the Tagliavini/Carteri
>for
>Carteri's Act 3 scene with Taddei's Marcello and all that follows -- nothing
>like real Italians in their mother tongue!
Thanks for reminding me of Carteri and Taddei. They are truly magnificent
here. Unfortunately, I'm not able to summon as much enthusiasm for Tagliavini.
-david gable
David7Gable
>supporting which includes Bastianini and Siepi.
Siepi is what I love best about that set.
-david gable
Premiereopera
>here. Unfortunately, I'm not able to summon as much enthusiasm for
>Tagliavini.
>
>-david gable
I certainly concur with you here, David. Carter and Taddei are wonderful. And
isn't the younger Siepi also in this recording, and also remarkable. For me,
Tagliavini shouts all his high notes, and the biggest name is the weakest link
in this otherwise fine recording. He ruins it for me.
Best,
Ed
Alcindoro
Indeed he is. For the Mimi/Marcello scene alone this set earns its keep --
Carteri puts a lump in my throat when she sings of her confused frustration
with Rodolfo's callousness, and Taddei tries to be the voice of reason without
getting in too deep in other people's business (Marcello's got his own
problems, ya know) -- the two of them do this scene so truthfully. In the
death scene Tagliavini can mostly keep things low and I think he works superbly
with Carteri. How wonderful she must have been in the flesh in this role, for
she was also svelte and attractive.
Thomas Reingruber
> >I am relatively new to opera and only in the last few years I discovered
> >that kind of music. I was thirteen when I saw my first opera, La Boheme,
> >that was about 15 years ago. I immediately fell in love with the opera
and
> >over the years I listened to different recordings of it. But in my
opinion
and
> >Freni.
>
> I don't think there is any such thing as a "best" recording of this opera.
You may be right!
>
> >Pavarotti in his prime, can it get any better? His voice is ideal for
> >Rodolfo,
>
> Yes, Bjorling, Gigli, and Bergonzi are all "better."
>
That's a matter of taste, I guess. For me Pavarotti is THE Rodolfo.
> And, Karajan is an absolutely bore here and seems to have no clue as to a
true
> Puccinian style.
>
> Terry Ellsworth
Which conductor do you think has clue of the true Puccinian style? Or is
there a Karajan recording that does Puccini do justice?
Tom
Chris Foulkes
masterpiece; it has its faults - don't they all? - but this recording
oozes sincerity - you believe every word they sing...
Terrymelin
>it.
>But I am surprised that some of you are so strict with Pavarotti and Freni.
Not strict but they are not the be all and end all of this opera and Karajan's
conducting is so plodding that he really lets the whole thing down rather.
If you really like Pavarotti in this may I make a suggestion? Try the Live 1979
La Scala Boheme under Carlos Kleiber from La Scala. It is on the Myto label. It
has Cotrubas as a lively and wonderful Mimi and Lucia Popp is far superior as
Musetta than Harwood. Despite what many might think this think is not
conductor-proof (Karajan proved that) and Kleiber really gets to the heart of
the piece.
Other than that try other things. I like Freni very much but in my list of very
fine Mimis (Tebaldi, de los Angeles, Albanese, Sayao, Cotrubas, Caballe) she
would be down fairly low.
But, heck, this whole art is about taste and your taste doesn't have to match
anyone elses!
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
>newspaper-articles, reviews etc....
>This is the role she is probably more connected to than to any other.
>Strange, that you have never heard that.
Nope, never heard it. It must be in English magazines -- Gramophone perhaps?
I've actually never heard any soprano referred to as the "mimi of the century."
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
>there a Karajan recording that does Puccini do justice?
>
>Tom
>
No, I don't think that Karajan "got" Puccini at all.
Terry Ellsworth
Alcindoro
Nonsense. The Karajan/Callas BUTTERFLY is challenging and quite marvelous. But
then, I've posted here before that I think an important element in BUTTERFLY is
the yin/yang of romance and sadism -- an important element in many of Puccini's
works. I think Karajan, Callas & Co. realize this quite wonderfully -- when I
listen to this recording I always feel guilty for enjoying this opera.
David7Gable
>there a Karajan recording that does Puccini do justice?
>
No. He would have been more tolerable in the earlier 50's, but I don't know of
a Karajan performance from that period, live or studio.
-david gable
Premiereopera
>of
>a Karajan performance from that period, live or studio.
>
>-david gable
Well, there is the Callas Butterfly from the mid 50's. Karajan is acceptable
here, IMHO. He became much worse a bit later on.
Ed
Edward A. Cowan
developments having rendered it no longer possible for me to read and
post with the excellent program MacSOUP.
In Google, there seems to be a limit to the length of a message
displayed within a chain of ten such messages at a time. But there is
always a further link, as with your message, indicating that there
were "143 more lines" to your message, and clicking on that link
brought up the full message.
--E.A.C.
Elizabeth Hubbell <elizabet...@verizon.net> wrote in message news:<BgSTa.32716$7O.1...@nwrdny01.gnilink.net>...
> [from Geof. Riggs; not Eliz. H., my better half]
> I have a feeling that some browsers/servers cut off the last
> paragraphs of the longer postings.
Lee Goodman
3/22/79 La Scala performance with Pavarotti, Cotrubas, Cappuccilli,
Popp, all of whom sing fabulously and is brilliantly conducted by
Carlos Kleiber. Mine is on the Exclusive Label #Ex92T01/02. While
the sound isn't studio quality, it is quite listenable.
Second choice is Bjoerling/de los Angeles/Beecham.
Third choice tie between Karajan/Pavarotti/Freni and
Serafin/Tebaldi/Bergonzi.
I also like to listen occasionally to Toscanini for the conducting
sweep of his performance.
Zubin Mehta
----------------------------
"In life, democracy.
In art, aristocracy."
--- Arturo Toscanini
----------------------------
"¿Cómo se siente? ¿Cómo se siente ver que el horror estalla en tu
patio y no en el living del vecino? ¿Cómo se siente el miedo apretando
tu pecho, el pánico que provocan el ruido ensordecedor, las llamas sin
control, los edificios que se derrumban, ese terrible olor que se mete
hasta el fondo en los pulmones, los ojos de los inocentes que caminan
cubiertos de sangre y polvo?
¿Cómo se vive por un día en tu propia casa la incertidumbre de lo que
va a pasar? ¿Cómo se sale del estado de shock? En estado de shock
caminaban el 6 de agosto de 1945 los sobrevivientes de Hiroshima. Nada
quedaba en pie en la ciudad luego que el artillero norteamericano del
Enola Gay dejara caer la bomba. En pocos segundos habían muerto 80.000
hombres, mujeres y niños. Otros 250.000 morirían en los años
siguientes a causa de las radiaciones. Pero ésa era una guerra lejana
y ni siquiera existía la televisión.
¿Cómo se siente hoy el horror cuando las terribles imágenes de la
televisión te dicen que lo ocurrido el fatídico 11 de septiembre no
pasó en una tierra lejana sino en tu propia patria? Otro 11 de
septiembre, pero de 28 años atrás, había muerto un presidente de
nombre Salvador Allende resistiendo un golpe de Estado que tus
gobernantes habían planeado. También fueron tiempos de horror, pero
eso pasaba muy lejos de tu frontera, en una ignota republiqueta
sudamericana. Las republiquetas estaban en tu patio trasero y nunca te
preocupaste mucho cuando tus marines salían a sangre y fuego a imponer
sus puntos de vista.
¿Sabías que entre 1824 y 1994 tu país llevó a cabo 73 invasiones a
países de América Latina? Las víctimas fueron Puerto Rico, México,
Nicaragua, Panamá, Haití, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, República
Dominicana, Islas Vírgenes, El Salvador, Guatemala y Granada.
Hace casi un siglo que tus gobernantes están en guerra. Desde el
comienzo del siglo XX, casi no hubo una guerra en el mundo en que la
gente de tu Pentágono no hubiera participado. Claro, las bombas
siempre explotaron fuera de tu territorio, con excepción de Pearl
Harbor cuando la aviación japonesa bombardeó la Séptima Flota en 1941.
Pero siempre el horror estuvo lejos.
Cuando las Torres Gemelas se vinieron abajo en medio del polvo, cuando
viste las imágenes por televisión o escuchaste los gritos porque
estabas esa mañana en Manhattan, ¿pensaste por un Segundo en lo que
sintieron los campesinos de Vietnam durante muchos años? En Manhattan,
la gente caía desde las alturas de los rascacielos como trágicas
marionetas. En Vietnam, la gente daba alaridos porque el napalm seguía
quemando la carne por mucho tiempo y la muerte era espantosa, tanto
como las de quienes caían en un salto desesperado al vacío. Tu
aviación no dejó una fábrica en pie ni un puente sin destruir en
Yugoslavia. En Irak fueron 500.000 los muertos. Medio millón de almas
se llevó la Operación Tormenta del Desierto...¿Cuánta gente desangrada
en lugares tan exóticos y lejanos como Vietnam, Irak, Irán,
Afganistán, Libia, Angola, Somalia, Congo, Nicaragua, Dominicana,
Camboya, Yugoslavia, Sudán, y una lista interminable? En todos esos
lugares los proyectiles habían sido fabricados en factorías de tu
país, y eran apuntados por tus muchachos, por gente pagada por tu
Departamento de Estado, y sólo para que tu pudieras seguir gozando de
la forma de vida americana.
Hace casi un siglo que tu país está en guerra con todo el mundo.
Curiosamente, tus gobernantes lanzan los jinetes del Apocalipsis en
nombre de la libertad y de la democracia. Pero debes saber que para
muchos pueblos del mundo (en este planeta donde cada día mueren 24.000
pobladores por hambre o enfermedades curables), Estados Unidos no
representa la libertad, sino un enemigo lejano y Terrible que sólo
siembra guerra, hambre, miedo y destrucción. Siempre han sido
conflictos bélicos lejanos para ti, pero para quienes viven allá es
una dolorosa realidad cercana, una guerra donde los edificios se
desploman bajo las bombas y donde esa gente encuentra una muerte
horrible. Y las víctimas han sido, en el 90 por ciento, civiles,
mujeres, ancianos, niños efectos colaterales.
¿Qué se siente cuando el horror golpea a tu puerta aunque sea por un
sólo día? ¿Qué se piensa cuando las víctimas en Nueva York son
secretarias, operadores de bolsa o empleados de limpieza que pagaban
puntualmente sus impuestos y nunca mataron una mosca?
¿Cómo se siente el miedo? ¿Cómo se siente, yanqui, saber que la larga
guerra finalmente el 11 de septiembre llegó a tu casa?"
--- Gabriel García Márquez to Puppet Bush, Jr.
----------------------------
On 26 September 2000, the so-called great Mickey (Mouse) Richter
performed a 'plug in', heroically, on behalf of Klaus Heiman [sic],
the so-called authority behind ---naXos---:
{{ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2000 21:40:41 -0700
Reply-To: Mike Richter <mric...@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender: Discussion of opera and related issues
<OPE...@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
From: Mike Richter <mric...@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject: Authoritative word on Naxos' methods
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
The following comments are from Klaus Heymann, the force behind Naxos
and other labels, to our posts on their approach to recording opera.
> Mike Richter wrote in response to Bob Kosovsky's [Homosexual, Jew,
Liberal, Librarian, and -would you believe it?- Censor] post
>>Since the Naxos label is being lauded by some as forecasting a
future path of opera, I have a question. I know several people who
have participated in Naxos recordings of chamber music. All of them
have been paid a one-time-only fee, and have ceded the right to
royalties. Does this kind of contract also apply to Naxos's recordings
of vocalists in operas or recitals? (I hate to think that Ewa Podles
doesn't get anything more than her initial fee for that Rossini
recital of hers, Naxos 8.553543.)
### Yes, singers are also paid a flat fee. Ewa Podles is very happy
with her Rossini ... she would like to do more recitals but the cost
of recording her with orchestra and chorus is prohibitive ... we still
haven't recouped our investment in this recording. ###
>>It sounds a bit exploitative to me, IMO. On the other hand, my
not-yet-famous acquaintances jump at the chance to record for them.
(They are allowed only two or three takes, with no chance of fancy
editing to correct mistakes.)
### Most singers understand that recording opera is extremely
expensive, especially under our perfect studio (not live) conditions
and are happy with our modest flat fees. Look at our Fidelio cast! The
bit about being allowed only two or three takes and no chance of fancy
editing is nonsense ... artists are allow as many takes as necessary
to get the music right. However, having said that, we expect our
artists to be well prepared unlike many big-name artists who rely on
the producer and editor to produce a good performance. ###
>>So I'm curious to hear whether vocalists are also bound to such
contracts. I believe you have it right. My understanding is that Klaus
and his people search the globe for artists and groups who merit the
exposure and are doing (or are able to do) the works he wants to
include in his catalogue. By providing one-time fees - often of
critical importance to such artists - and exposure, Naxos both
benefits the artists and produces high-quality, inexpensive
programming. There may be exceptions in which royalties are offered,
but that does not appear to be the rule. Of course, limiting studio
time also contains costs.
### We do not limit studio costs but our producer have the authority
to send poorly prepared artists home. ###
>>The other major factor in Naxos and its related labels keeping
prices down is that they give up much of the promotion the more famous
marks employ. Since the recordings are focussed on the music and there
are seldom acknowledged "stars", stellar advertising and displays are
unnecessary. It is a different approach to marketing and seems so far
to have been a most successful one.
Mike
Best regards,
Klaus
*********************
(My apologies for the confusion in indenting of Bob's original post,
my reply and Klaus's.)
Mike
mric...@cpl.net
Opera: http://mrichter.simplenet.com/
CD-R: http://resource.simplenet.com/ }}
----------------------------
And thus spoke the authority. We re-quote:
"Most singers understand that recording opera is extremely expensive,
especially under our perfect studio (not live) conditions and are
happy with our modest flat fees. Look at our Fidelio cast! The bit
about being allowed only two or three takes and no chance of fancy
editing is nonsense ... artists are allowed as many takes as necessary
to get the music right. However, having said that, we expect our
artists to be well prepared unlike many big-name artists who rely on
the producer and editor to produce a good performance."
We ask:
1. Mr. Heiman seems to have contradicted himself by simultaneously
affirming that his artists are indeed allowed "fancy editing...to get
the music right" and ranting against the "many big-name artists who
rely on the producer and editor to produce a good performance." What
exactly is the difference? Isn't fancy editing what earns producers
and editors their bacon, be it at naXos or Lucifer Classics? Or is Mr.
Heiman whining and bickering because Lucifer's console is bigger than
his?
2. Mr. Heiman seems to have fallen prey to the epidemic virus of
unfounded critical prejudice and the politics of defamation and
character-assassination (the rate of infection appears to be
abnormally high within the familial fraternity of
American/Anglosaxon/Anglophile critical bedfellows). His words can be
easily formulized: "Big Name + Big Label = Little Music (or Falsity)".
No need to state the converse but we'll do it anyway: "Little/No Name
+ Little Label = Big Music (or Truth)". Who exactly are these many
unprepared big names? And how, where, and when?
3. A few years back, the authority was also quoted in "The Boston
Globe" - this other 'plug in' courtesy of
CareerHomo-turned-critic-turned-promoter Richard "local church mice
are world-class people too" Dyer. Lately, Dyer has been heard
advocating for the equal part Charity/Chimpanzee Acts that are The
Three Mo' Tenors, Andrea Bocelli, and Charlotte Church.
["Maestros of the Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in
America", by Mark N. Grant, Northeastern University Press, 1998, ISBN
1-55553-363-9: n-o-t o-n-e f-o-o-t-n-o-t-e *not one* on Dyer ---
and this after a 25+year career behind him dedicated to latter-day
Anglo+Judeo+Homo-centric bitchery, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. And just
as long dedicated to sobbing after the footnote (but no reference),
indeed, that w-a-s Lucine Amara.]
But back to the authority:
"The market is shifting away from name artists, and the average music
lover is confused by bins crowded by recordings. What is the
difference between Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Chailly
in a given piece? Whatever the difference is, it doesn't mean anything
to the average music lover who gives up and chooses our recording
because it is more reasonably priced, and the performance is just as
good. It is an absurdity for Plácido Domingo to sing 'The Barber of
Seville'; our recording is a better performance of the opera. If
Cheryl Studer were to come to me and ask to sing some of the operas
she has recorded, I wouldn't let her." {Author: Richard Dyer / Date:
19.01.1994 / Page: 61 / Section: Living Arts}
We comment and ask:
3A. Funny but we bet that the suits at Lucifer Classics swear
t-h-e-i-r barber gives a better haircut. Not that some of us (not
nearly enough) give a damn about Sire Domingo, at least not since his
early 90s (and thereafter) publicity and musical circus prostitutions.
3B. Let us cut to the chase: we propose that one encompassing reason
for the present-day crisis is that the ever-so-important anecdotal and
testimonial lore and the ensuing language/narrative about the live
stage experiences a-n-d about the documented legacies of certain
important big-names (those immediately preceding the generation of
today's Ass-ociated Press "A List") literally fell through a
g-e-n-e-r-a-t-i-o-n-a-l and c-u-l-t-u-r-a-l c-r-a-c-k - an abyss,
really. Little or nothing was said. In retrospect, a lot of people
in this botched abortion of a business have a lot of answering to do.
Observe in comparison, if you will, how today's general(ized) press
and the chintzy, nattering queens (old and new) write about an integer
to the far left of zero (if that) such as one Ruth Ann Swenson or, for
example, Tibor Rudas' Third(rate, if that) Soprano and division by
zero (if that), one other Kallen Esperian. Simply impossible to
believe … but sadly true. And this is the flip side of the same coin
--- and a penny it is --- that places the
70+-year-old-Renata-Scotto-who-made-her-debut-in-1952-or-three-years-before-Cheryl-was-conceived-and-who-is-still-in-her-prime-and-getting-better-and-who-should-have-many-of-us-wondering-what-has-she-done-in-20-years
on the cover of "Opernglas," March 2003. Or the other septuagenarian
Montserrat Caballé, a
has-been-but-getting-better-and-still-interesting-yes?, on the cover
of "Opernwelt," April 2003. And a penny it is. And a penny it will
be. Anyway, in the realm of opera, this previous generation came "too
soon" after the Marias and the Renatas and the Joans and the
Montserrats and the Vickys and the Mirellas and the Regines and the
whoevers....and "too late" for today's democratic free-für-Alles
(think of the deregulation of the airline industry in the U.S.A. -
surely it is cheaper to fly and with more options but the experience
is ghastly) in deadly mix with the quick fixes and seductions of
HyperPublicRelations and HyperText. Few artists can survive without
some form or other of critical and popular encouragement. It became
fashionable sport (nah, Mob Rule - nah, Olympics --- but becuz this
singular marathon has been run by peepole-oh-so-bright, we will coin
it The Special Olympics) for too influential but equally ignorant,
tin-eared and incredibly, corrosively partial critics (and their
bedroom partners) to dismiss these artists' work faster than they
could say Compact Disc (and worse: to fully ignore too – consider the
phenomenon that is the Remarkable Eclipsing and Banishment by the
press (we know of no greater form of disrespect) of a certain
v-e-t-e-r-a-n and c-o-n-t-e-m-p-o-r-a-n-e-o-u-s soprano whose stage
appearances are pre-judged to be just that: Appearances: Phantom Ships
In The Night, when noticed ---- or to fully d-e-n-y the usual
"critical anal(ysis)" - is that what it is? - accorded dimmer lights
("Monsieur Giordani could not sustain pitch b-u-t the Sicilian
understanding" [by coincidence, the same understanding which,
according to the experts, eludes fellow Southerner Riccardo Muti] -
"Madame Phlegming [no other soprano before or during Renée is known to
have "taken chances"] shrieked unnaturally, gurgling and flatting two
high A naturals and her overall intonation was insecure too b-u-t
all that (jazzy) rhythmic integrity!" (see "Tommasini, Anthony" ---
and yet you will look in vain for his promotional write-up on that
Houston Blanche Dubois - *after* the event, that is) – "Hausfrau Void
was in customary shrill and squally voice again last night and her top
sounded tired, though no fault of her own, b-u-t her sofa scene was
comfortably moving --- that Svelte Lil' Debbie didn't make that final
F-sharp is none of your business." - "Irish-American AFL-CIO Heroine
Flanigan [who, by the by, tries and is carded to "sing everything"]
[no other soprano before or during Lauren is known to have "taken
chances"] could not sing Reiza's music [she replaced DeVoid, who had
also cancelled all engagements in Vienna, and for the 2nd season in a
row - not a bad thing when you try to remember – and try you must -
those Scheiße AIDAs at the MET where Crayola connected them dots and
none of the music - not to mention the brutal stupor that were Luciano
"snotty handkerchief" Pavarotti and the ever-accomodating, yes? James
"sweaty towel" Levine] b-u-t the visceral ennui of it all") -
"Madame Shout squalled an Elektra consistently below pitch (that's
about 75% of your evening) b-u-t it seems that the excitement of
some level or other of on-pitch faithfulness to and by die Juden and a
few silent-movie camp gestures secured her an unqualified
triumph...and an onstage kiss too from Jimmy Boy (or rather, Jimmy the
boy-paedophile - ladies and gentlemen, you too can have it all: from
orchestras in Munich, Boston, and naturally New York to standing Os to
gushing press coverage to paid Christian holidays to state-sanctioned
murder to state-sanctioned looting to Presidential Pardons (see "Rich,
Jonathan" - see "The Hassidic4 [that's right, not one not two not
three]" - see "Hillary 'some of my relatives are Jews' Clinton" and
the race for the NY State Senate....provided you are "one of us" or
"with us") --- but for how much longer? ....well, all that plus Gabi
is getting better and better and better, yes?" - "Madame Attila
spreads her top like butter on warm bread b-u-t her cool, Nordic,
blonde looks carried the night [our bladders burst open when trying to
reconcile the paradox that is the pre(and post)occupation with Aryan
archetypes by these duplicitous pseudo-minorities in the industry (you
know who and what you are), habitually the first to cry wolf at the
whiff of perceived or real prejudice] --- and more importantly, she
took off her shoes! (but what we'd really like to know is: what
language was *that*, Querida?)" – "Debbie 'Crayola Opera Program'
Void's French (not unlike the strangely clapped Yawn Upshaw's) and any
language other than the Dixie Chicks is for and about pigeons ---
merde --- [Crayola's sour and rusty tonal quality, let alone her
musical probity, are more reminiscent of the gold you see in soiled
underwear than of the Golden Age, by far...and worse: as stupid as the
laundry water you soak and scrub it in] b-u-t her 'major'
contributions to Culture are 'consistent.' --- or is it the other way
'round? --- B-u-t why give a hoot about such things, what with all
that ‘Juno-esque' ‘rhythmic integrity'! (see "Tommasini, Anthony")" -
"The consensus that Madame Shorties could not really sing Konstanze is
questionable and, in the end, unfair for she is a gifted, six-foot
taller......b-u-t more importantly, her name is not Cheryl Studer." -
"Monsieur Hiccup proved once more that you can crack loud and wide
before a Manhattan audience of tourists as long as your name is not
Cheryl Studer; b-u-t even better than that, the loss of 95-plus
pounds, in cocktail with a widely broadcast Sob Story, are sufficient
to satisfy the most discriminating thirst of
the-below-IQ-of-47.5(that's-50%-of-something-or-other-to-you)-and-minus-set
and anyday's coverage of the Arts in the Jew York Times" -
"Maestrisssssimo of Legend, Gilbert "Lego Blocks" Kaplan, swears he
can conduct but one piece of music and one piece of music alone b-u-t,
as one of "our chauvinistic own", full coverage by the Jew York Times
is fully warranted - all that plus a recording medal from the
syphilitic Deutsche Grammophon" – "LetItRain sounded great b-u-t I
blame the amplification for some harshness up top" --- "Suzie B.
Anthony's soft-grained portrayals are just that, soft. B-u-t her
problematic top notes, at this early stage in her career already,
should be of no concern to a superb evening." - "Schäfer is certainly
no one's idea of coloratura b-u-t her hip-hop Violetta in Berlin,
under the multidimensional/psychodepth baton of Barenboim, must be
remembered as an important achievement – please don't ask why." ---
"Make no mistake, Christine is no one's idea of coloratura. B-u-t
her gang-rape Gilda in London (conducted by Sir Edward Downes of 1994
fame) caused Mickey (Mouse) Richter to significantly wet his panties
in print somewhere – at least we want to believe we read the praise
(but we can't)."
You know the skit.
Why yes, ladies and gents, even these public acts of levitation are
denied Midland, Michigan's Prodigal Daughter --- But then, taking into
account the desperate [in vain] efforts toward reconstruction and
regeneration, toward opening new markets (undue over-exposure in Arts
Journalism and in Arts Ad(as in advertising)ministration - over who
counts - over what counts – and when and where --- and why and how
and how much --- and for how long --- all this being the final
vestige of their former Imperial selves), what is the increasingly
brilliant, independent-minded, informed, impartial, cultured, mature,
eloquent, and sympathetic Anglo/Judeo/Homo-centric Promotional
Universe to do with a creature refusing easy categorization? - of what
value or use is the lady? - of what value or use is the artist? - who
is neither aesthetic suppository nor psychobabble nor English (nor
pretender) n-o-r r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t n-o-r c-i-t-i-z-e-n n-o-r
D-a-m-e nor Faerie Queene nor Greek (nor pretender) nor
black-and-blue (nor pretender) nor Slav (how could she pretend?) nor
German (nor pretender) nor Austrian (nor pretender) nor squally
Kammersängerin nor French (nor pretender) nor Cinema Paradiso Italian
(nor pretender) nor Eastern European (nor pretender) nor
Spaniard/Latin American bombshell (they are the flavor of the moment
and how could she pretend?) nor Argentinian Tango nor Yiddishbbuk nor
Anonymous4 (that's right, not one not two not three) nor Asian (how
could she pretend?) nor Aussie nor Canadian --- nor, most importantly,
deemed sufficiently A-m-e-r-i-c-a-n --- n-o-r r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t nor
MET-centric nor Manhattan/Queens/Brooklyn-ette nor Broadway belcher
nor Saint Francis-can nor Angelena nor Chicagoan nor Texan nor New
Mexican nor Washingtonian nor Saint Louis Gal nor panderer nor tall
nor thin nor heroine-overdose chic nor deaf nor dumb nor blind nor
blonde nor Blonde Ambition nor Barbie Doll nor grotesque nor
grotesquely zaftig nor power hungry nor agenda driven nor faghag nor
lesbian nor hairy chested nor cherub nor fashion rag nor glamour puss
nor arriviste nor aspirant nor aspirate nor potential nor promise
(what you hear is what you get, dear) nor apology nor antiquity nor
preserved museum mummy nor soccer mum nor sucker nor trend nor hip nor
H.I.P. nor hip-hop nor joined at the hip nor hippie nor barefoot at
Carnegie Hall nor folkie nor cantor nor castrata nor contralto nor
countertenor nor counterculture nor anarchist nor antichrist nor lyric
mezzo nor soprano on the verge of a mezzo breakdown nor vice versa nor
chanteuse nor soubrette nor starlet nor coquette nor canary nor
woodbird nor nightingale nor cuckoo clock nor tic toc tic toc tic toc
nor geriatric nor vanity record label owner nor downwardtransposer-
Hochfinancier-conductor-doubleintendant-voicecompetitor-crossoverpimp-moviemogul-realestatemagnate-restaurateur-sexsymbol-playboy-jetsetter
(all in one and one for all and all in a night) nor married to one nor
lazy nor lovely nor beloved nor shrinking violet nor daddy's lil' lass
nor mystic nor myth nor minimalist nor hyperbole nor Überfeminist nor
Konzept nor symbolism nor ying nor yang nor Dreams and Fables nor
metaphysics nor philosopher ("Philosophier' Er nicht, Herr Schatz...")
nor scholar (nor pretender) nor didact nor pedant nor peasant nor
lecturer nor soapbox preacher nor symposium nor musicologist nor
composer (you know, like Callas who wrote all them masterpieces now
falsely ascribed to one Bellini, one Donizetti, and one other Verdi)
nor paladin of the glorious avant-garde nor ostinato nor experiment
nor rarity rat nor rat tat tat nor archaeologist nor room temperature
nor Sponsored By Talbots nor Anglican Service nor Vivaldi postcard nor
Handel MBA [opera's answer to the 80s business phenomenon - everyone
has one] nor Britten Ph.D. nor Janácek Nobel Prize nor stunt nor
parody nor caricature nor Hallmark Card nor Disney nor Ozzie &
Harriett nor Will & Grace nor smiley face nor horseface nor humor
monger (in any event, not the shtick you grew up with) nor camp nor
marketing-promo tramp nor cliché nor slogan nor acronym nor t®ademark
nor image-chaser nor sensation-seeker nor Eurogarbage nor ez-listenin'
nor pleasure ride nor automatic cruise control nor sentiment-al nor
cripple nor married to one nor victim nor tearjerker nor nostalgia
trip nor tourist trap nor good-cause nor fund-raiser (so to speak) nor
social worker nor United Way nor Red Cross nor Katie Couric nor Walk
For A Cure nor We Are The World nor Sound Of Music nor Under the Stars
nor Over The Rainbow nor Rainbow Coalition nor Summertime nor Supper
Time (nice tunes if you can) nor fruit salad nor cotton candy nor
melba toast nor peaches in double cream nor café au lait nor cinnamon
roll nor dark chocolate nor civil/human rights centerfold nor gulag
survivor nor married to one nor refugee nor married to one nor UN
Ambassador nor married to one nor member of any one precious special
interest group (you know who and what you are) n-o-r m-a-r-r-i-e-d
t-o o-n-e n-o-r s-t-r-a-t-e-g-i-c-a-l-l-y w-e-d-d-e-d (you know who
and what you are) nor politician nor married to one nor inter-national
political crisis parasite nor ad-minister of propaganda nor grassroots
peace activist (you do know, don't you, that them ancient favourite
warhorses of yours composed by Bach and Beethoven and Brahms and
Schubert and Schumann and Wagner and Liszt were explicitly AND
implicitly inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict --- or even
better, by the epicentric causes of Israel, Zionism, and of Universal
Jewry --- everything, and we mean everything, seems to revolve around
this Axis, no? --- ask Mehta and Señor Honorario und Tolerant
Barenboim --- by the by, in a recent Chicago program of Hugo Wolf's
Lieder, the "Great Jewish Musician" [and we thought it un-Klezmer to
allude to the man's other career] in harmony with his German/Christian
sub-ordinates - a "physically handicapped baritone" and an "underpitch
soprano" (see "Kubiak, David") (the soprano is one Angela Denoke,
whose disastrous Fidelio Leonore at the Salzburg Easter Festival of
2003 under Sir Simon will surely have to be patched by the studio
wizards before the "Please-Save-EMI" hype campaign unfolds) - were
heard "r-e-c-l-a-i-m-i-n-g the true meaning of the 'heilge Deutsches
Kunst'" --- again, see "Kubiak, David" --- kindly note, please, that
no one else before ‘GJM & Co. GmbH' had accomplished nearly as much,
and in a mere evening --- but we live n' learn --- now we know that
Herr Wolf wrote his songs inspired by populations everywhere holding
hands - to promote future handholding. But Wolf was more than that –
he was gracious and generous, which stands as a synonym for: in
addition to reaffirming the existence [and illegal expansion] of
Israel, he also sought to reaffirm the existence of a specific
sexual-orientation population --- and all this, ladies and gentlemen,
for a song) --- where were we?, ah yes --- nor married to one nor
Adler Fella nor Crayola Opera Program alumna nor
Karajan-Harnoncourt-Cardiff-VeraRosza-Schwarzkopf-Auger-GeorgeLondon-RichieTucker-BelleSilverman-Albanese-Horne-Scotto-vonStade-Heggie
groupie nor traveler along the Anglo Silk Road --- the
LandOfOz-BerlinStaatsoperUDL-LaMonnaie-ENO-Glyndebourne-NYCO-Glimmerglass-StLouis-SantaFe-SanDiego-DallasO-HoustonGO-FloridaGO-WashingtonO-n-such
workshop ghettoes.
[Imagine, if you dare.]
E-N-V-Y = D-E-S-T-R-U-C-T-I-O-N
but
S-I-L-E-N-C-E = D-E-A-T-H
Enter into the equation the contemptibly stupid (discerning,
discerning) audiences who (wanted to and still do) believe everything
they read...and voilà, the science gives the (false)
i-m-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n of yielding the expected (forced) hubris. Then
add the ones who stayed away from attending these artists'
performances because they were simply told to do so (in so many
words). Never mind the c-o-w-a-r-d-s who n-e-v-e-r attended,
self-admittedly, but who later saw fit to publish obituaries passing
for legitimate eyewitness report (again, check out "Maestros of the
Pen: A History of Classical Music Criticism in America", 1998, by Mark
N. Grant, and see if you can spot "Dyer, Richard"). Never mind the
h-y-p-o-c-r-i-t-e-s who, in addition to prematurely and irresponsibly
issuing death certificates (see "Davis, Peter G."), years later were
caught with their pants down performing auto-erotica to the tune of
"Returns Triumphantly!" (see "Davis, Peter G."). Little wonder many
ceased listening --- and begin listening with others' ears and without
their own little heads and hearts they did. But leave it to the
bloodless (and if you don't have blood you don't need a heart and if
you don't have blood you will find yourself thirsty, very thirsty,
guaranteed) - it is in fact their exclusive province - to accomplish
such feats. No, they were/are neither Maria nor Renata nor Renata nor
Joan nor Leonie nor Gwyneth nor Anja --- impeccable vocalists that
they were --- and why should they be? --- Take the particularly
complex case of a fascinatingly complex yet elemental yet thoroughly
modern and yet not artist...Cheryl Studer --- was/is the backlash
really for l-a-c-k o-f q-u-a-l-i-t-y or l-a-c-k o-f
a-r-t-i-s-t-i-c w-o-r-t-h?
A decade or so later there is a pregnant and penetrating sense of
panic and fatigue among critics, industry folk, and fanatics (naughty
word but only and only when linked with you-know-who) alike, most
shockingly noticeable within the gated communities of the old and the
jaded, who can be heard loudly cheerleading anyone (and we mean
anything)....
[....as long as their names are n-o-t Cheryl Studer.]
[God Willing.]
[And yet more Enchantment/Jubilation courtesy of the
Panacea/Schadenfreude of Cheryl Studer-Free Zones/Ground Zeroes.]
[Sternstunde.]
[God Willing.]
[Young Ones - Do not be duped by the hollow enthusiasms of the age ---
ever seen a sad clown playing happy?]
[But now, oh today....Music and Art....or rather, what passes for
it....and every new product or stage appearance tossed our way by the
Star System we hate to love (certainly a system long preceding but
fatally ran to the ground by the quasi-empty rhetoric and prissiness
of political correctness run amok and afoul, and the Gestapo-like
censorship tactics of the instinct/thought-control police, in concert
with the 'World Music Congress' - the Rudases, the Breslins, the Sire
Jonases, the Mehtas, the Holenders (whose nose is long and arrogant
enough to sniff all the way to the Volksoper and as far as Berlin),
the Levines, the Maazels, the Heimans [sic], the Previns, the
self-professed rap-music fans of the world (see "von Dohnányi,
Christoph" --- uncle must be spinning in his ashes --- ladies and
gentlemen, more often than we are led to believe, death CAN be in
vain), The Due(tto) or Three or Four or Five or Six or Seven Whores -
we are losing count -, Best Friends & Co. Inc. Ltd. S.A. GmbH – the
Ozawas and the Gergievs too (both would rather accommodate [and have]
the Blind n' Pop(ular) Lounge Singer these days than the likes of
Gorchakova --- yes, to this level we have sunk) are prime shareholders
(and puppets) in this "J-u-d-e-r-e-i" – (that's right) - i.e., by the
Star System of Bocelli, of course, or Hampson (now pretty much an
undisputed by-the-book Straussian, Wagnerian a-n-d ...hear
hear...Verdian...of Stature, don't you know) or the Alagnas (f-a-k-e
recordings of Verdi's -Trovatore- for Sire Tony/EMI and Bizet's
-Carmen-, also for Sire-to-be Whoever/EMI --- Grecian Approximation
No. XXV - we have lost count - has not sung Leonora or Carmen where it
counts) or the other Bocelli comrade, Fleming....well, all of it
h-a-s sudden Meaning and Necessity, so the public relationists tell
us....the Magic courtesy, n-e-i-t-h-e-r because of especially great
voices nor exceptional interpretive wills or personalities n-o-r
because of remotely acceptable n-e-w music, but because:
NUMBER 1: their names are n-o-t Cheryl Studer
and
NUMBER 2: ...*in good portion and out of proportion* due to the
PromoOp-Catchpenny that has become 9.11 and its aftermath --- a
monstrous crime monstrously debased by the Infernal Spinning Wheel of
opportunism and commerce and avarice and mayhem and revenge and murder
(widely disguised as justice) --- a tragedy now symbiotically hijacked
to peddle everything from Arms Races to Far Right-ism (see "Sharon,
Ariel" --- how come we don't hear strings of consistently shrill High
Cs crying for h-i-s removal and disposal of h-i-s (that is, ours)
Weapons Of Mass Destruction --- the latest government
double-standard/media buzzword and insult to our dignity and
intelligence --- this time, however, we applaud Barenboim for being
practically the only one playing fiddle on the roof --- the root, the
root --- of the problem) to Nationalism to Patriotism to Requiems to
Anglo-Zionist Terrorism --- the latter conducted both musically and
extra-curricularly, most prominently with (critical mass-destruction)
Heavy-Metal made in the squeaky clean U.S. of A. and paid for with
y-o-u-r humble American tax dollar (as if you had a choice) and the
blood of y-o-u-r sons and daughters. --- So why won't Israel and its
Business/Washington lobbyists fight their next door neighbors, which
include Iraq and now Syria and Iran, all by themselves and with
t-h-e-i-r o-w-n currency and leave us all a-l-o-n-e a-n-d i-n
p-e-a-c-e?]
[Consequently, would that t-h-e o-t-h-e-r terrorists (for there are
two sets) went home too.]
[Did we fail to add that the terrorists need the U.S. as much as the
U.S. needs them?]
[As it turns out, no other country --- no other --- is as arrogant, as
infantile, as selfish, as bellicose, as disrespectful, as insulting,
as pervasively poisonous, as dubious, as abusive, as destructive, and
as DANGEROUS as the USA (in "universal" coalition with its satellites:
its former occupier the UK and the UK-occupied Palestine, Israel). And
we mean militarily, economically, politically, diplomatically,
spiritually, culturally, and philosophically – about the latter five,
it is the stuff of bankruptcy courts and all are on equal footing.
Sviatoslav Richter knew (better yet, f-e-l-t) this and never came
back. So did Brigitte Fassbaender. Tragic.]
[In other words, and in some order or other of appearance...
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE NEW AMERICAN CENTURY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE WILLIAM KRISTOLS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE PAUL WOLFOWITZES
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE ARI FLEISCHERS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE ALAN GREENSPANS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE JOE LIEBERMANS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE LEFT-WING JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE RIGHT-WING JEWISH LOBBY
NO MORE BLOOD FOR SHARON'S SANDBOX
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE DICK CHENEYS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE DONALD RUMSFELDS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE JOHN ASHCROFTS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR OIL
NO MORE BLOOD FOR VENGEANCE
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE TONY BLAIRS
NO MORE BLOOD FOR THE MARIONETTE/MINSTREL ACTS OF
SIR COLIN POWELL AND DAME CONDOLEEZA RICE]
[Discuss, if you dare.]
[About the new studio-product ('tis is what we call them fakery, no?)
from EMI ---IDOMENEO---, we have read puff like "a recording that
n-e-e-d-e-d to be made." --- after all, it contains the antipodean
missionary of all things English, Sire Charles; British Will o' Wisp
Bostridge; Bocelli collaborator Frittoli; and, to top it all, the New
(Age) Callas – the organically-grown, FDA approved, anodyne, pastel,
drab as damp cardboard, and dull as fishwater LetItRain Hunt(hyphen –
I married a techie with composer pretensions + I too have a little Sob
Story in circulation - what is yours?) Lieberson. But do not for a
second believe the ad-men....for this product is yet more of the
ho-hum variety.]
[And don't forget that LetItRain is an "a-r-t-i-s-t", sensitive and
musical - albeit a part-time one - but please understand that very few
others are as musical, let alone sensitive and artistic].
[About the new DECCA ---COCKSUCKER BLUES---, we have read fluff like
"A New F-i-r-s-t L-a-d-y of Bel Canto - Renée Fleming very nearly
manages to shake the insistent ghost of Maria Callas." (see
"www.andante.com") --- But we are neither deaf nor naïve nor stupid.
You see, n-e-v-e-r e-v-e-r f-o-r-g-e-t, we insist, that sopranos of
the caliber of Cheryl and Maria, frayed of voice and heart or not,
n-e-v-e-r e-v-e-r s-t-o-o-p-e-d this low (below the navel) in the
style department. But after all, the new product (scooped up in a
studio about 4 years ago and not ejaculated for another 2 to 3) is
being pushed under a neon sign that reads "bel canto" (yes, in
lowercase and with the ‘b' dangling), complete with a $2 rebate
incentive b-e-l-o-w its already reduced repo artistic value - ya
know, in the manner of the stereo-typical toupéed and polyester-clad
used-car salesman – cajoling, cheap, cheesy, insincere, sleazy, slimy,
slippery, sticky -- in that order -- and that's the singing -- a raw
deal -- a lemon.]
IF YO NO KEEP ‘EM ENTERTAIN' N' DISTRACTED, WHO GONNA FIGH' YO WARS?
Blue-Collar/Working-Class Cheap Labor (and the aesthetics, or lack of,
of --- but why stop there? --- how about the absolute absence of
artistic acumen? --- see "Flanigan, Lauren" - see "Radvanovsky,
Sondra" - "see Goerke, Christine" - see "Eastern Europeans" – see "the
little touring companies that could") and Blitzkrieg-style Public
Relations and Marketing have been summoned to the cause of salvaging
something or other from the debris of these self-appointed
arbiters/stewards of taste and self-avowed "opera/music lovers'" own
making. And thus have the armies of businessmen landed, triumphantly,
with portfolios chock-full with the losers, the useless, the amateurs,
the pedigree-less, the unaccomplished, the homo-geneous, the vocally
faceless, the emaciated, the pretty, the photogenic, the grotesque
too, the church rodents, the H.I.P.-voiced, the H.I.P.-mannered, the
pedigree-less, the correct, the obedient, the mega-amplified, the
firefighters, the policemen, the construction workers, the factory
slaves, the custodians, the industrial quality, the white trash, the
divas next door; the divas next door with the cute children as
gimmicks; the divas next door who are so nice and behave so well and
who must reassure us about it; the divas next door who seek
psychotherapy and then have the distaste to announce it; the vedettes
next door who love all that jazz and then scat and squat through
e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g that is European a-n-d Classical and not ---
but then, in music that requires precisely that, the phlegm gets in
the way of that thang called swing; the divas next door who thrive on
wrestling, meatloaf, and fish n' chips --- and look and sound it; the
garish mansions next door who marry well, transgenderly; the divas
next door who, although already in their 40s and beyond, must appease
us by "taking baby steps to protect their voices" and who swear that
that's why they will still be in their prime in extreme old age; the
divas next door who swear we will want to hear them then; the
optically challenged, the physically handicapped, the sob stories,
more sob stories, the victims, the politics of victimhood, the
politics of sexual orientation, the politics of identity, the politics
of race, the politics of reverse racism, the politics of
we-are-holier-than-thou, the politics of lifestyle, the politics of
triviality, the politics of image, the politics of artifice, the
politics of banality, the politics of favoritism, the politics of
partisanship, the politics of corruption, the politics of indecency,
the politics of Puritanism, the politics of fleecing, the politics of
the willing, the politics of coalition (the U.N. need not apply), the
politics of crass deception, the politics of the willful, the politics
of oppression disguised as liberation, the politics of extracurricular
social agendas, the politics of inadequacy, the politics of "The
American Peepole," the politics of dumbing-down, the politics of the
lowest possible common denominator, the pedigree-less, the
pedigree-less, the pedigree-less, and yet more of that. And some more
sob stories. And not to be missed: the Teddy Bears (think of – well
not really, since you can't – the cancellations, the vocal troubles,
the gross embarrassments of stunt-ed live programs - everything from
Beg Your Indulgences to Public Regrets to Tosti to Walkouts - by, for
instance, Juan Dieguito Flórez, the Bocelli and Sissel comrade
Domingo, the other Sissel and Bocelli comrade-in-arms Terfel, and
Heppner – no matter - the insulted audiences correspond to their
cheating with tears and Standing Os --- but no surprise here, for it
is nothing but another perversion of our desensitized, demoralized,
diseased, frivolous, diluted, and vulgar days --- f-u-c-k, even
Joseito "Leukemia Sob Story" Carreras became the object of one of
these demonstrations - and this in the enlightened and improved and
newly innocent and important again (or so it goes) Salzburg of the
summer of two-thousand-and-two-after-christ --- to you that's 20+
years after the Spaniard lost IT).
And thus today's so-called "A-List" (really, nothing but a paid
announcement transmitted by the "Ass-ociated Press"), the P®ops, the
Pops, the Popp Clones (she of the intellectual and revisionist and
hyperkonzeptual and seminal and spectacularly popular programs, right
Sir Peter?), the Grümmer Clones, the Callas Clones, the Tebaldi
Clones, the Sutherland Wannabes, the Steber Clones, the Schwarzkopf
Clones, the Sarah Vaughn Clones, the Price Clones, the Janowitz
Clones, the Fischer-Dieskau Clones, the Furtwängler Clones, the Cut n'
Paste Composites --- poor, pitiful facsimiles a-l-l ---, the Little
Names, the Wannabes, the Crossover Hustlers, the Bubblegum, the New
Age Mongrels, the Postmoderns, the Postmortems, the Multiculturalists,
the Community Initiatives, the Soundbites, the Marketing Love
Couples/Traumpaars (in the tradition of Peter n' Ben, Sir Peter n'
Saint Lucia, Galina n' Misha, Richard n' Joan, Edita n' Friedrich,
Dietrich n' Julia, Anja n' Wieland, Christoph n' Anja, Christa n'
Walter, Walter n' Elisabeth, Maria n' Ari, Plácido n' Marta, Nicoletta
n' Luciano n' on n' on n' on, we have lost count: Peter n' Petra,
Angela n' Roberto, Mia n' André, André n' Anne-Sophie --- by the
widest and longest possible stretch of the imagination, her greatest
career move since Karajan and since commissioning two or three
(m)utterly charmless and obsolete b-u-t oh-so-rigorous! works for
fiddle), the Exquisite, the Divine, the Fabulous, the Delicious, the
Magnificent, the Paramount, the Fantabulous, and the Little Labels
That Could all have it relatively easy in comparison to that preceding
generation. And the critical standards --- what standards? - whose? –
of what era? --- have reformed, or rather, have doubled and tripled
and....But injury is often prone to insult. Hell, standards have
liquified and then evaporated vis a vis the new generation. It is no
longer Sound Music Criticism but Lowest-Common-Denominator Public
Relations Spin [and much worse: the fixation with that elusive
something known as ---technique--- technique and organization and
perfection as ends in themselves: music-making as athletic match:
missing the forest for the trees --- but this is another angle for
another day]. So much so that it has become strangely and suddenly
K-o-s-h-e-r once more (Jesus!, how many more times are we going to
hear about market over-saturation?) to make records [and K-o-s-h-e-r
again too to be an "American Opera Singer"] (Remember when you and I
were advised to please r-e-j-e-c-t, swiftly AND wholesale, them
records [or anything containing Cheryl Studer --- or, for that matter,
any, and we mean any attempt at open discourse on her art? --- Do you
remember the longstanding efforts amounting to a campaign to discredit
the lady and her work? --- Must you be made aware of the pall hovering
over the mere mention of her name? --- You do not need to be told, do
you?, of the air-tight atmosphere created around the lady's name
tantamount to Can-Do-No-Right – not then, not now --- Have you
forgotten the p-r-e-v-e-n-t-i-o-n measures taken by the
taste/censorship police in these forums in order to curtail all
possibility of even the minutest measure hinting of favourable
discourse on her art?] --- oh, you know the litany --- something about
digital and generalized and faked and frigid and manufactured and
calibrated and illusory and phony and phoned-in and un-necessary and
un-fair and in-competent and in-personal and contrived and
in-experienced and un-felt and in-expressive and ex-pensive and
un-popular and over-exposed and un-communicative and dull and null and
sterile and perfect and flawed and clinical and precise and
international (curiously, we hardly read such venom spouted at
failed-serialist-turned-serial-partitur-surgeon Pierre Boulez) (and
yes, yet again our bladders burst open --- consider that these
traditionally liberal-anythinggoes-wandering-international minorities
are the same ones seen n' heard wailing like widows over the casket of
national/regional styles --- but try telling them *that*) and this and
that and that and this - beautiful even - artistic even - you know,
the toxic byproduct of uncontained Kapitalismus - the same
Kapitalismus that gave us such goodies as Meyerbeer Halévy & Sons,
penicillin, Bocelli & Sons, cheap sentiments, more penicillin, Alan
‘my-competence-includes-championing-the-OJ-Simpson-cause-and-the-case-for-torture-but-as-a-Jew'
Dershowitz, more penicillin, the Holocash, the Armenian, Russian, and
Chinese Holocausts no one *and we mean no one* made an Industry of,
the current Holocaust under our noses in Congo no one hears or cares
about, Convenience Dictatorships, convenience stores, preservatives,
PCPs, cigarettes, cancer, sunglasses, sunblock, suntanning, more
cancer, opera glasses, the megaphone, the horn, the microphone, the
photograph, the ("fideistic" and most pleasurable) Mapleson cylinders,
maple syrup, Marston Records, naXos, the phonograph, the light bulb,
gaslight, lamps, shades, nostalgia, animated pictures, the telegraph,
the typewriter, carbon paper, the telephone, the clock, the metronome,
the pitch fork, the antenna, the satellite dish, the radio, the
television, bandwidth, TV dinners, the calculator, the metric system,
calendars, famine, feast, walkie-talkies, headphones, headsets,
X-rays, MRIs, cat-scans, night vision goggles, Google, Yahoo, beepers,
intercoms, elevators, escalators, bicycles, stationary bicycles,
stationery, faster trains, the automobile, the jet plane, motorbikes,
snowmobiles, surfboards, skateboards, rollerblades, ice skates,
rollercoasters, houses of horror, houses of cards, houses of mirrors,
Martha Stewart, Wal-Mart, Jerry Springer, NASCAR, The Vagina
Monologues, Cori Ellison, Anne Midgette, Manuela Hoelterhoff, the
efforts to erode the composition and sound and culture of the Vienna
Philharmonic (in the manner of your favourite American Affirmative
Action country club or of your favourite International-sounding
ensemble), trailer parks, fast food, junk food, malnutrition,
gluttony, obesity, anorexia nervosa, nervousness, bulimia, lawn
mowers, snow blowers, vacuum cleaners, detergents, mops, brooms, dust
pans, rags, sponges, shags, wigs, afros, mini-skirts, bellbottoms,
platform shoes, pajamas, lingerie, bikinis, stockings, lava lamps,
disco, beat poetry, grunge, turbos, sedans, vans, buses, minibuses,
limousines, tanks, bulldozers, canoes, motor boats, sail boats,
battleships, submarines, B52s, F16s, space shuttles, robots, rockets,
missiles, bombs, stealth bombers, torpedoes, landmines, telescopes,
Star Wars, Nuclear Races, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Agent Orange,
palm trees, palm pilots, Napalm, Nepal, note pads, Post-Its,
Hiroshima, Dresden, Vietnam (to name but a few of these insignificant
mishaps), MOABs (about the test in mid-March of 2003 of such
destructive a WMD --- that the fireworks in Florida, USA generated as
much environmental, moral, and philosophical concerns all around as
blinking an eye says everything we need to know about the collective
swamp we are), Apaches, Indian Reservations, indians, cowboys, Kleenex
(we often cultivate and later spoon-feed you the Sob Stories but we
also arm you with the tissue to wipe out the tears --- all on OUR
terms), duct tape, gas masks, mascara, cosmetics, perfumes, Tammy Faye
Baker, Mary Kay, Pink Cadillacs, Tupperware, bingo, lotteries, the
welfare system, WICs, Vegas, Niagara Falls, casinos, Elvis,
brilliantine, hairspray, hair dryers, exhaust fumes, exhaustion,
stimulants, sleep deprivation, sedatives, alcoholism, depression,
depleted Ozone layers, synthetic fibers, fiberoptics, boxing,
wrestling, rugby, frying bacon, monaural sound, analog tech,
reel-to-reels, 8-tracks, the cassette, the LP, stereo systems, stereo
sound, surround sound, boom boxes, faxes, paper clips, nail clippers,
paper shredders, photocopiers, laser printers, overnight mail, the
(unfortunate and devastating to the testimonials of a vast majority of
contemporary artists) digital technology, the PC, laptops, lapdogs,
alarm clocks, wristwatches, dishwashers, ice boxes, refrigerators,
toasters, ovens, microwave ovens, food processors, blenders, the CD,
SACD, the walkman, the minidisc, the famous (pitch re-engineered)
Richter CD-ROMs, the (disgracefully influential,
sound-engineering-bag-of-tricks-wise) Anglo/Judeo DECCA/Culshaw/Solti
Ring, MTV, commercial infrastructures, eBay, Spam, frozen French
fries, burnt-thin-weak American coffee, diners, Java, Starbucks,
generators, engines, batteries, bartering, butter, department stores,
super stores, supermarkets, mega stores, shopping malls, strip malls,
overdevelopment, superstores, parking lots, overspending, high debt,
low savings, high crime, rampant violence, credit cards, more credit
cards, Carte Blanche (for some --- you know who and what you are),
bonus points, more fleecing, more penicillin, toothpaste, toothpicks,
magazines, annual reports, filing cabinets, paper paper paper
everywhere, papered halls, confetti, more paper shuffling,
bureaucracies, red tape, yellow ribbons, deforestation, tourism,
eco-tourism, Chevron/Texaco, Tibet, Mt. Everest, B&Bs, R&B, hotels,
hostels, motels, park benches, jacuzzis, T- lifts, plastic surgery,
breast implants, Vail, Viagra, ski resorts, Park Ave., Madison Ave.,
boulevards, summer homes, increasingly short vacations, ice cream,
cotton candy, cotton balls, Q-tips, ear plugs, The Boston Pops, more
wallpaper, formica, wood paneling, pop tarts, lollipops, soda pop, pop
psychology, popcorn, corn flakes, vitamins, herbs, steroids,
gymnasiums, hoola-hoops, pinballs, Chinese checkers, yo-yos, Yo-Yo Ma,
Tan Dun, John Williams, Bobby McFerrin, PBS, Yanni, more wallpaper,
jams, jelly, jell-o, J-Lo, day-glo, go-go, psychedelia, fans, air
conditioning, wallpaper, Vivaldi, The Four Seasons, 600+ variations
on a theme, silk flowers, plastic flowers, fake spring water, faux
marble, faux fur, faux leather, animal rights, stuffed animals,
andante.com, 12,000 other music websites, the pirates, special
effects, the VHS, HTML, the WWW, Apples, Windows, ATMs, FTD, LSD, FTC,
IMF, DNA, UPS, the cell phone, the LD, the DVD, MP3s, HMV, Opera In
The Original (that's English to you, naturally and perennially),
survivor shows, SUVs, BMWs, VWs, IRAs, 401Ks, BBQs, bb guns, water
coolers, televised war crimes, video games, Andy Warhol, instant soup,
instant gratification, Instant Opera, Opera For All (a noble Konzept
but it's just that the "critical masses" ain't there any longer…nor do
they care to be), Shock n' Awe, more penicillin, Toys r' Us, CNN
operas, soap, soap operas, Oprah, Howard Stern, more penicillin,
Hollywood blockbusters, Hollywood stereotyping (but seldom of "their
own" --- you know who and what you are), Jewish Racism (an issue of
semantics for we hardly dare call it what it is), more penicillin,
Sellars Konwitschny Neuenfels Beito Wilson & Zambello, yet more
penicillin, El Niño, septic tanks, latrines, toilet stalls, more
penicillin, yet more Regietheater, yet more penicillin, graffiti,
tattoos, wax, S&M, M&Ms, teflon, styrofoam, disposable incomes, tax
loopholes, tax havens, creative accounting, ENRON, insurance scams,
for-profit health care, nannies, nurseries, nursing homes, retirement
communities, inner-city squalor, overpriced sneakers, gangs,
segregation, not-in-my-backyard liberals, country clubs, fraternities,
underpaid overseas labor, economies of scale, ever widening income
gaps, The Gap, GNP, NASA, the NASDAQ, the NYSE, all out grossness,
waste dumps, twisted metal, scrap heaps, junkyards, scaffolds, the
ENO, more penicillin, karaoke, red light districts, peep shows, more
penicillin, laxatives, aspirin, contraceptives, antacids, the legal
and illegal drug culture, the corner drugstore, super drugstores,
syringes, methadone, band-aids, prophylactics, test tube babies, petri
dishes, no culture, bagels, pretzels, lox, hummus, Hummers, hybrids,
Vilar gardens, Vilar foyers, Vilar lobbying, Vilar titles, Vilar
entitlements, Vilar foreclosures, Vilar defaults, Vilar promises,
phallic skyscrapers, corporate-filtered news and op-eds, supply and no
demand, no supply and demand, overflow, overlap, overhead, exaggerated
price markups, unpaid overtime labor, the cheapest labor since slavery
and then bread --- the Economy of Volunteerism, more fleecing,
multitasking, micromanaging, compartmentalization, specialization (and
yet today we celebrate in the best way we can, posthumously, the
versatility, repertory escapades and consistently diamantine vocalism,
yes?, of a century+ ago of, say, the immortal [and Jewess] Lilli
Lehmann or, for that matter, of anyone – provided their last name is
not Studer --- and for that matter, how many of you experienced
either one where it counts?), teleconferencing, telemarketing,
wireless technology (but what are we really communicating?),
multimedia, microchips, silicon (perhaps all that sand in the Middle
East, which includes Israel, could be put to good use – BLOOD FOR
SAND? --- nah, not worth it), underutilized solar energy,
superhighways, software, hardware, peripherals, acoustically enhanced
opera houses and concert halls, euphemisms, masked balls, virtual
reality, cloning, artificial intelligence, Callas martyrs, more
penicillin, Caruso, Ponselle, Callas, more Callas, more penicillin,
Flagstad, Nilsson, more EMI Callas re-re-re-re-re-releases, more
penicillin, yet more Sony Glenn Gould re-re-re-re-re-compilations, yet
more penicillin, etc. --- and of course, the same Kapitalismus that
has transmitted the Oh So Long Anticipated, Oh So Very Important and,
at last!, Oh So Necessary EWIGE WELTKULTURERBE belonging to, for
example and randomly, Bocelli, Barenboim, Zubin ‘I owe my career to
the Jews' Mehta, Petra-Maria, E-di-ta! E-di-ta! E-di-ta!, Beverly, Sir
Simon, Ozawa, Renée, Gergiev, Galina, Neil, Aprile [these days reduced
- or is it enhanced? – to croon, pathetically and below the note,
opposite Danny Boy The 9.11 NYPD Singin' Cop], Alessandra, Grace,
Shirley, Jessye, von Otter, Schäfer, "Marilyn Monroe Purr" and
"Broadway Casting Agent's Dream" Debbie (see "Ross, Alex" and
"Tommasini, Anthony" respectively) - (a f-a-k-e recording of R.
Strauss' -Friedenstag- for Sinopoli/DGG --- "...Deborah Voigt's
Maria...was in fact dubbed in after the recording was completed, after
the original soprano had dropped out...." -'Fanfare', Sep/Oct 2002, p.
214), Cathy, Kathy, Jane, Ruthie Ann!, "Veteran Wagnerian" Karita (see
CareerHomo-turned-critic-turned-promoter "Tommasini, Anthony") - (a
f-a-k-e recording of Schoenberg's -Gurrelieder- for Sire Simon/EMI -
http://andante.com/magazine/article.cfm?id=17979), Violeta (a f-a-k-e
recording of Poncielli's –Gioconda- for Sir-to-be Viotti/EMI – Urmana
has yet to sing Gioconda where it counts (and neither has the Spanish
cohort as Enzo) – but at least she is still in possession of her
renowned italianità and coloratura abilities, yes?, sufficient to
render her a Favorite of critics and maybe, just maybe, to secure some
paltry "Please-Save-EMI" sales), Waltraud - and much much more) -----
for naXos, FARAO, Rare Opera, Mom & Pop, even for Lucifer Classics.
No matter.
[But......we are afraid it's t-o-o l-a-t-e --- because the
registers, they ain't ringin' (and all too often and in contradiction
to what we are led to believe, not just the cash ones). Regrets.]
3C. How exactly is naXos alleviating the crisis of overcrowding and
confusion among consumers? In opera titles alone, they have recorded
yet a-n-e-w: Boheme, Fidelio, Butterfly, Tosca, Flying Dutchman,
Barber of Seville, Aida, Rigoletto, Magic Flute, and on and on and on.
Correct us if we are wrong but these bread and butter works were not
lacking in existing documentation, whether historical or not,
hysterical or not, distinguished or not, low end or not. And the
combined sad efforts from naXos simply do not measure up. Why pay
less, then, when you can get better and more for twice the price?
3D. "Oh but it does mean something, it does", we say. So the "average
music lover" has become the barometer of quality and relevance? Indeed
they don't deserve Muti, Abbado, or Chailly (however much they deserve
the three-minute-aria-cum-top-ten-hit and however little they give a
dime or deserve whatever happens before and after the goddamned Big
Tune). And is the Hulun Hu Tympany Orchestra really better than
Amsterdam, Dresden, Berlin or Vienna? (although, truth be told, too
many of us have heard the Vienna, for one, play and sound like a
school of simians under the stick shift of a colonized and assimilated
but loyal to Queen Mum, and thus celebrated, Indian cabbie).
3E. And Cheryl Studer, she's not one of the unwashed, is she? Were
they her contemporaries, would Mr. Heiman have singled out Callas,
Tebaldi, Sutherland, or Caballé, to name but a few, in this manner?
After all, they were/are *Daughters Of Lucifer*, to our benefit.
Presumably naXos treats its "illustrious" roster with more dignity,
respect, and vocal support. Speaking of vocal support, perhaps the
crafty and clever Mr. Heiman is unaware that *his own* Floria Tosca
(Madame Nelly Miri-a-e-i-o-u --- "más sabe el burro que tú")
reportedly bombed in the same role in Orange, France in the year 2000
a-n-d as Norma at the ROH, London, also in 2000 – and many more times
elsewhere since. However, the Tosca and Norma catastrophes, to name
but only two, strangely failed to make a dent in the armory of the
"cognoscenti" and their media spokespeople. For those not "in the
know", Madame M is rumoured to be the Bastard Child of the Incestuous
Union of the Twins Callas and Heiman, now all grown and matured into a
very 'Rare Opera' singer complete with numerous fancifully edited
recordings to her name. No matter.
4. Many of us have heard naXos' Caruso edition (and not just naXos')
(mind you, not that the long-deceased tenor is remotely a Heiman
discovery/original --- and neither are --- not one --- any of the
others --- not one --- that Sir Heiman & Co. keep dumping as
remasterings upon this reverential but funereal shopping cart). We
have to wonder what Mr. Heiman's authoritative producers and editors
(and his Public Relationists) would have made of the great man today
for violating at least a couple of standards of sound conduct such as
throat-clearing smack in the middle of a take and a glaring false
entry at the beginning of another? And what of the poor pianist? Good
God.
----------------------------
Considering the Grand Meltdown (not lacking the "Grand Manner" you
prefer) of new opera recordings (on Compact Disc alone?) from the
Universal Classics family of labels (DGG, DECCA, Philips)....and now
apparently from EMI Classics too....let us take a Long and Hard (as
you like it) look at the following repertorium ---
* Title role in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, rec 8/90, London SO,
Marin, Lucifer Classics
* Hanna Glawari in Lehar's Lustige Witwe, rec 1/94, Vienna PO,
Gardiner, Lucifer Classics
* Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, rec 1-2/94, Vienna PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics
* Countess in Mozart's Nozze di Figaro, rec 5/91, Vienna PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics VHS
* Title role in Rossini's Semiramide, rec 7/92, London SO, Marin,
Lucifer Classics
* Florinda in Schubert's Fierrabras, rec 5/88, Chamber Orch of Europe,
Abbado, Lucifer Classics
* Title role in R. Strauss' Salome, rec 12/90, Deutsche Oper Berlin,
Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics
* Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, rec 6/93, Metropolitan Opera, Levine,
Lucifer Classics
* Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto Act III, rec 9/91, Metropolitan Opera,
Levine, Lucifer Classics
* Desdemona in Verdi's Otello, rec 5/93, Opéra Bastille, Chung,
Lucifer Classics
* Violetta in Verdi's Traviata, rec 1/91, Metropolitan Opera, Levine,
Lucifer Classics
* Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, rec '88, Philharmonia, Sinopoli,
Lucifer Classics
* Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, rec '89, Bayreuth, Sinopoli,
Lucifer Classics
* Senta in Wagner's fliegende Holländer, rec 1/91, Deutsche Oper
Berlin, Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics
* Gutrune in Wagner's Götterdämmerung, rec 5/89, Metropolitan Opera,
Levine, Lucifer Classics
* Title role in Floyd's Susannah, rec 3/94, Opéra de Lyon, Nagano,
Lucifer Classics
* Marguerite in Gounod's Faust, rec 2/91, Toulouse, Plasson, Lucifer
Classics
* Salomé in Massenet's Hérodiade, rec 11-12/94, Toulouse, Plasson,
Lucifer Classics
* Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, rec 9/90, Vienna PO, Muti,
Lucifer Classics
* Konstanze in Mozart's Entführung aus dem Serail, rec 4/91, Vienna
Symphony, Weil, Lucifer Classics
* Queen of the Night in Mozart's Zauberflöte, rec 7/89, ASMF,
Marriner, Lucifer Classics
* Giulietta in Offenbach's Contes d'Hoffmann, rec 87/88/89, Dresden
Staatskapelle, Tate, Lucifer Classics
* Matilde in Rossini's Guglielmo Tell, rec 12/88, La Scala, Muti,
Lucifer Classics (also on VHS & DVD)
* Madama Cortese in Rossini's Viaggio a Reims, rec 10/92, Berlin PO,
Abbado, Lucifer Classics
* Title role in Spohr's Jessonda, rec '84, ORF Orchestra, Albrecht,
Lucifer Classics
* Chrysothemis in R. Strauss' Elektra, rec 1/90, Bavarian RSO,
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
* Chrysothemis in R. Strauss' Elektra, rec 6/89, Vienna PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics
* Empress in R. Strauss' Frau ohne Schatten, rec 2-12/87, Bavarian
RSO, Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
* Empress in R. Strauss' Frau ohne Schatten, rec '92, Vienna PO,
Solti, Lucifer Classics
* Title role in Verdi's Aida, rec 6/94, Covent Garden, Downes, Lucifer
Classics
* Odabella in Verdi's Attila, rec 6-7/89, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer
Classics
* Odabella in Verdi's Attila, rec 6/90, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer
Classics Video
* Elena in Verdi's Vespri Siciliani, rec 12/89-1/90, La Scala, Muti,
Lucifer Classics (also on VHS & DVD)
* Drolla in Wagner's Die Feen, rec 7/83, Bavarian RSO, Sawallisch,
Lucifer Classics
* Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin (from Bayreuth), rec 6/90, Bayreuth,
Schneider, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)
* Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin (from Vienna), rec '90, Vienna PO,
Abbado, Lucifer Classics VHS & DVD
* Eva in Wagner's Meistersinger, rec 4/93, Bavarian State Opera,
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
* Irene in Wagner's Rienzi, rec 7/83, Bavarian State Opera,
Sawallisch, Lucifer Classics
* Ortlinde in Wagner's Walküre, rec 8/81, Dresden Staatskapelle,
Janowski, Lucifer Classics
* Sieglinde in Wagner's Walküre, rec 2-3/88, Bavarian RSO, Haitink,
Lucifer Classics
* Zemlinsky's Der Geburtstagder Infantin, rec 83, Berlin RSO,
Albrecht, Lucifer Classics
* Coloratura Arias by Bellini (Sonnambula/Norma), Verdi
(Traviata/Trovatore), Donizetti (Lucia/Lucrezia Borgia), Rossini
(Barbiere/Semiramide), rec 4/89, Munich RSO, Ferro, Lucifer Classics
* Mozart Arias (Entführung/Zauberflöte/Idomeneo/Nozze/Giovanni/Clemenza/Cosi),
rec 9/89, ASMF, Marriner, Lucifer Classics
* R. Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder/Wagner's Wesendonck-Lieder/Isolde's
Liebestod, rec 1/93, Dresden Staatskapelle, Sinopoli, Lucifer Classics
* Isolde's Liebestod, rec 1/88, Bavarian RSO, Tate, Lucifer Classics
* Wagner Gala (Tannhäuser/Lohengrin/Meistersinger/Walküre), rec 12/93,
Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)
* First Europakonzert - in Prague (Mozart: "Non mi dir"/"Ch'io mi
scordi di te-Non temer amato bene"), rec 5/91, Berlin PO, Abbado,
Lucifer Classics VHS & DVD
* Covent Garden Gala (Otello/Traviata/Fledermaus), rec 7/88, Covent
Garden, Barker, Lucifer Classics
* Sacred Works (Bach/Schubert/Mendelssohn/Handel/Mozart/Gounod/Faure/Poulenc/Bernstein/Bruch),
rec 3/91, London SO, Marin, Lucifer Classics
* Samuel Barber Songs, rec 9/92, Browning (R.I.P.), Emerson String
Quartet, Lucifer Classics
* Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, rec 8/91, Vienna PO, Levine, Lucifer
Classics
* Beethoven in Berlin (Ah! Perfido/Choral Fantasy/Egmont), rec 12/91,
Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics (also on VHS)
* Brahms' German Requiem, rec 10/92, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer
Classics
* Schubert Lieder, rec 1/90, Gage, Lucifer Classics
* Salzburg Recital (R. Strauss/Schubert/Debussy), rec 8/92, Gage,
Lucifer Classics
* Mahler's Klagende Lied, rec 11/90, Philharmonia, Sinopoli, Lucifer
Classics
* Mahler's Symphony No. 2, rec 11/92, Vienna PO, Abbado, Lucifer
Classics
* Mahler's Symphony No. 8, rec 11-12/90, Philharmonia, Sinopoli,
Lucifer Classics
* Mahler's Symphony No. 8, rec 1/94, Berlin PO, Abbado, Lucifer
Classics
* Verdi's Requiem, rec 6/87, La Scala, Muti, Lucifer Classics
* Verdi's Requiem, rec 11/91, Vienna PO, Abbado, Lucifer Classics
* Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, rec 4/89, Philadelphia Orchestra, Muti,
Lucifer Classics
* Bruckner's Mass in F Min/Mozart's Vespers, rec 3/77, MIT Choral
Society, Oliver, Lucifer Classics
* Donizetti's Requiem, rec 1/84, Bamberg SO, Gómez-Martínez, Lucifer
Classics
* von Schweinitz's Messe Op. 21, rec 7/84, RSO Berlin, Albrecht,
Lucifer Classics
* R. Strauss Choral Works, rec 9/84, RIAS Kammerchor, Gronostay,
Creed, Lucifer Classics
"L-A Ú-L-T-I-M-A..........que ríe, ríe mejor."
Bravissima Cheryl Studer, verlorene Tochter. Very beautifully and
exquisitely done. A most wonderful, exemplary, and unforgettable
legacy, a legacy of e-x-c-e-p-t-i-o-n-a-l q-u-a-l-i-t-y a-n-d
d-i-s-t-i-n-c-t-i-o-n. Thank you for Artistry of u-n-c-o-m-m-o-n
i-n-t-e-l-l-i-g-e-n-c-e and i-n-s-t-i-n-c-t --- the work of a
consummate being. Thank you. Thank you for Dedication, Seriousness,
and Integrity. Thank you for remaining True to your self, to the
artform, and to m-u-s-i-c. Good Music. Thank you for a Universe of
Sound and Texture and Expression and Communication a-l-l o-f
y-o-u-r o-w-n. Thank you for g-e-n-e-r-o-s-i-t-y. Thank you for
H-i-g-h I-n-d-i-v-i-d-u-a-l-i-t-y. And (to boot) individuality
within the bondage of and respect for the Tradition.
Thank You.
And thank you too, Universal, EMI and Sony, for having had the
foreskin to recognize and capture genius in our midst (now that these
dinosaurs' [delusional] populist causes, causes palatable to the
Anglocentric and their Axes-[oh irony!]-Of-Love, have caused them to
trim....ouch....their future....for that squeaky clean look and
sound....and potent[ial] self-extinction).
----------------------------
And now, a little something to ponder about ---
"Things got pretty rough at the last Philharmonic concert. A bitter
battle broke out over Liszt's 'Mephisto Waltz.' It was the standees
and a part of the gallery, resolved to give their all, against the
parterre, the mountain against the marsh. On the one side we had
youth, intelligence, idealism, good judgement, enthusiasm and
conviction; on the other dullness, frivolity, debility, ignorance,
arrogance, materialism. Such were the contending forces.
There was a lot of applause, but a lot of hissing, too. Since, as we
all know, these Semitic hissing sounds traditionally served the
'chosen people' as shibboleth in combat with their neighbors, it was
not hard to determine who it was that so emphatically proclaimed both
their dissent and their identity. Indeed, these 'chosen people'
habitually make a great show of their exquisite taste. They are always
ready to recognize in Beethoven a good composer. And yet there are
those who see nothing heroic in the courage of such convictions. What,
then, can we call courageous? Let it pass. These excellent and
generous souls will surely enrich the National Guard with a doughty
legion of tailors, and thus be of service to the state. You can take
an oath on that.
To take seriously the ludicrous behavior of these worthy parterre
subscribers toward the works of a genius such as Liszt would be like
punishing children's bad manners with the rack. We are not so cruel.
But it is well to look for what it is that causes the public to behave
like an ill-mannered child and to think like a well-groomed cad. How
is it, we ask, that Liszt's compositions are rejected by the majority
of our degenerate public? The answer is made uncommonly easy for me,
since it is contained in the question. But then why, someone could
object, do Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc., appeal to this same
degenerate public? The objection is so banal, the answer so obvious,
that any blockhead could handle it easily. But should someone choose
to ask me what I mean by degenerate public, I accept the challenge
gladly, and am ready with the answer: a degenerate public is one that
is content to be the ward of a degenerate press.
It is a public of newspaper readers. That is the source of all other
evils. That is the source of the thoughtlessness, frivolity,
dependence, distraction, insensibility and, above all, the bias
against those works condemned to death by the press. If this were an
ingenuous public, it would not tolerate for another day the shameful
chains it now fastens to itself voluntarily. But the habit of
cud-chewing has already become too delightful to permit the slightest
effort to use one's own teeth. Thus, this public receives its
impression of a work of art not directly, but from the review in the
newspaper, to be had in concrete form for a patent. Go then to the
apothecary, and buy yourselves some nux vomica or some other purgative
if you want to have an impression. The effect remains essentially the
same, and you spare yourselves the price of the ticket. And so a
public, the despicable tool of a despicable press, will pass judgement
on the works of a genius! A sluggardly mob that enters the concert
hall as if it were a toy store, reduces the noblest possessions of
mankind to idle diversions, and then, if that is not satisfactory,
arrogantly turns its back on the work of art and ceremoniously
hisses...fie, fie, and once again fie!!!
Given such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Liszt's
original compositions have excited a lively 'for' and 'against'
whenever they have been played in Vienna. This time the applause from
the standees was still far from constituting a demonstration when a
few hot headed Philistines signalled, stupidly enough, the shibboleth.
That was pouring oil on fire. The applause grew louder, and rightly
so, since it was directed no less at the splendid accomplishment of
the orchestra and its conductor, Hans Richter, than at the work
itself. And did not the wonderful performance of this Lisztian
composition merit the most extravagant praise? What did Liszt's
admirers do to excite the drowsy parterre to a counter-demonstration?
They were simply giving due honor to service rendered."
Hugo Wolf
Vienna
25 April 1886
----------------------------
A HARPSICHORD GLISTENS AND TRIUMPHS
You and I, we know that something in the air is profoundly
d-e-g-e-n-e-r-a-t-e when a nobody of a harpsichordist and her
twinklin' little instrument command more respect and accolades and
anal(ysis) from 'the chosen people' (The Rake's Progress --
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/rake96dvd.htm) than those
ass-igned a certain soprano.
{{It is a delight to find an ebullient, effective recording on DVD.
There are some flaws, to be sure, but overall this disc provides an
exciting and entertaining evening of opera. Credit must be distributed
liberally among composer, librettist, cast, conductor, orchestra,
designer and recording crew.
The central voice in this opera is that of the rake himself and it is
difficult to picture a more effective one than Jerry Hadley. He seems
to find the music easy, which is as it should be, and he realizes the
'progress' by effective acting with voice and body. Upshaw is hardly
less attractive as his true love. Her challenges are primarily vocal
and she conquers them so easily that one does not even hear that they
were encountered. Pederson is a bit less satisfying, presenting a
colorless devil accurately; one would hope for more 'bite' in the
character and in other productions one finds a more interesting and
less shadowy Nick. This reviewer found the casting of Henschel as Baba
disturbing since it appears to exploit her physique; still, she
delivers a fine performance so presumably was comfortable with the
casting. Those four and all the other soloists show exemplary
enunciation and accuracy; even the chorus is generally understandable.
The production is remarkable with brilliant sets and costumes
prompting the viewer to look forward to the insights offered in the
next scene. While some of the choices need a second viewing to
decipher, none so dominates the stage that it distracts from the
performance. Tom's jeans and tee shirt are consistent even as he
achieves and loses wealth; the implication that he is the same man
throughout is clear and relevant, while simply adding a hat shows his
advancement. Makeup is used effectively, with reality reflected in the
natural appearance of Ann throughout and Tom at the beginning and the
end, where grotesquerie is used when he is dissolute. Why, then, the
artifice for Trulove and the near-natural appearance (beard aside) of
Baba? More viewings will be needed to appreciate those.
Technically, the disc ranks among the best of its era. The picture is
crisp throughout. Sound is effective stereo without surround; clarity
is exemplary and Ann Beckman's harpsichord glistens without blaring -
just right in performance and in recording. Subtitles are in English
only and cannot be suppressed; that is unfortunate since their style
and color (yellow) are sometimes diverting and they are superfluous in
this performance.
Overall, the word for this disc is 'delightful'. It rewards repeated
viewing and serves the work well.}}
Now consider this shibboleth ---
http://www.operajaponica.org/reviews/dvd/aidaroh94dvd.htm
Verdi: AIDA
Reviewed by Mickey (Mouse) Richter
27 May 2002
Cast: Cheryl Studer (Aida), Luciana d'Intino (Amneris), Dennis O'Neill
(Radames), Alexandru Agache (Amonasro), Robert Lloyd (Ramfis), Mark
Beesley (Il Re), John Marsden (Messenger), Yvonne Barclay
(Sacerdotta), Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden, Sir Edward Downes (conductor). Elijah Moshinsky (director)
{{One can now prove that it is possible to make a performance of Aida
dull. Singing and conducting are altogether competent, but the only
elements of this release which enliven the work are those of the
production - and they are more often confusing or distracting than
constructive. Lloyd infuses some life into his character, but Beesley
is both vocally and dramatically subpar. D'Intino has some moments of
expression but they are not those most needed; the opening scene of
Act IV, for example, is flaccid. Studer, O'Neill and Agache sing all
the notes and none of the music. Many points in the score are marked
'a piacere', but the pleasure of the artists appears to be to do
nothing at all. The effect is altogether colorless - a grey and
pointless recitation of one of the most vibrant scores in opera.
Color is present on the screen in profusion, thanks to the striking
sets and costumes. Unfortunately, those bear little relationship to
action in the work. Where the banks of the Nile seem to be represented
in Act III by poles topped by cat figures, the same symbol is carried
into the first scene of Act IV, clearly suggesting that the designer
had something else in mind. It is difficult to believe that the
stunning, traditional production of the La Scala Aida with Chiara and
Pavarotti came from the same director as this one. Characters mill
about on stage, doing mysterious things and thereby diverting
attention from what is written and what is being sung. For this
reviewer, any production requiring explanation is in and of itself
faulty.
Technically, this disc is fine with clear sound and picture. Large's
direction is in line with his preference for extreme closeup. Many
find that distracting even on tape; on DVD, often seen on a large
screen, it can be even less attractive, but that is a matter of
personal taste.}}
And thus spoke our hero. We re-quote:
{{One can now prove that it is possible to make a performance of Aida
dull. Singing and conducting are altogether competent, but the only
elements of this release which enliven the work are those of the
production - and they are more often confusing or distracting than
constructive. Lloyd infuses some life into his character, but Beesley
is both vocally and dramatically subpar. D'Intino has some moments of
_expression but they are not those most needed; the opening scene of
Act IV, for example, is flaccid. Studer, O'Neill and Agache sing all
the notes and none of the music. Many points in the score are marked
'a piacere', but the pleasure of the artists appears to be to do
nothing at all. The effect is altogether colorless - a grey and
pointless recitation of one of the most vibrant scores in opera.}}
Let us ponder some more:
"Things got pretty rough at the last Philharmonic concert. A bitter
battle broke out over Liszt's 'Mephisto Waltz.' It was the standees
and a part of the gallery, resolved to give their all, against the
parterre, the mountain against the marsh. On the one side we had
youth, intelligence, idealism, good judgement, enthusiasm and
conviction; on the other dullness, frivolity, debility, ignorance,
arrogance, materialism. Such were the contending forces.
There was a lot of applause, but a lot of hissing, too. Since, as we
all know, these Semitic hissing sounds traditionally served the
'chosen people' as shibboleth in combat with their neighbors, it was
not hard to determine who it was that so emphatically proclaimed both
their dissent and their identity. Indeed, these 'chosen people'
habitually make a great show of their exquisite taste. They are always
ready to recognize in Beethoven a good composer. And yet there are
those who see nothing heroic in the courage of such convictions. What,
then, can we call courageous? Let it pass. These excellent and
generous souls will surely enrich the National Guard with a doughty
legion of tailors, and thus be of service to the state. You can take
an oath on that.
To take seriously the ludicrous behavior of these worthy parterre
subscribers toward the works of a genius such as Liszt would be like
punishing children's bad manners with the rack. We are not so cruel.
But it is well to look for what it is that causes the public to behave
like an ill-mannered child and to think like a well-groomed cad. How
is it, we ask, that Liszt's compositions are rejected by the majority
of our degenerate public? The answer is made uncommonly easy for me,
since it is contained in the question. But then why, someone could
object, do Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, etc., appeal to this same
degenerate public? The objection is so banal, the answer so obvious,
that any blockhead could handle it easily. But should someone choose
to ask me what I mean by degenerate public, I accept the challenge
gladly, and am ready with the answer: a degenerate public is one that
is content to be the ward of a degenerate press.
It is a public of newspaper readers. That is the source of all other
evils. That is the source of the thoughtlessness, frivolity,
dependence, distraction, insensibility and, above all, the bias
against those works condemned to death by the press. If this were an
ingenuous public, it would not tolerate for another day the shameful
chains it now fastens to itself voluntarily. But the habit of
cud-chewing has already become too delightful to permit the slightest
effort to use one's own teeth. Thus, this public receives its
impression of a work of art not directly, but from the review in the
newspaper, to be had in concrete form for a patent. Go then to the
apothecary, and buy yourselves some nux vomica or some other purgative
if you want to have an impression. The effect remains essentially the
same, and you spare yourselves the price of the ticket. And so a
public, the despicable tool of a despicable press, will pass judgement
on the works of a genius! A sluggardly mob that enters the concert
hall as if it were a toy store, reduces the noblest possessions of
mankind to idle diversions, and then, if that is not satisfactory,
arrogantly turns its back on the work of art and ceremoniously
hisses...fie, fie, and once again fie!!!
Given such circumstances, it is hardly surprising that Liszt's
original compositions have excited a lively 'for' and 'against'
whenever they have been played in Vienna. This time the applause from
the standees was still far from constituting a demonstration when a
few hot headed Philistines signalled, stupidly enough, the shibboleth.
That was pouring oil on fire. The applause grew louder, and rightly
so, since it was directed no less at the splendid accomplishment of
the orchestra and its conductor, Hans Richter, than at the work
itself. And did not the wonderful performance of this Lisztian
composition merit the most extravagant praise? What did Liszt's
admirers do to excite the drowsy parterre to a counter-demonstration?
They were simply giving due honor to service rendered."
Hugo Wolf
Vienna
25 April 1886
----------------------------
M-U-S-I-C OF THE FUTURE
Berg, Alban / Wozzeck / Marie
Cajkovskij, Pëtr Il'ic / Evgenij Onegin / Tatjana
Mascagni, Pietro / Cavalleria Rusticana / Santuzza
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Così fan tutte / Fiordiligi
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Don Giovanni / Donna Elvira
Puccini, Giacomo / Manon Lescaut / Manon Lescaut
Puccini, Giacomo / Tosca / Tosca
Strauss, Richard / Capriccio / Gräfin
Strauss, Richard / Salome / Salome
Verdi, Giuseppe / Un Ballo in Maschera / Amelia
Verdi, Giuseppe / Don Carlo / Elisabetta
Wagner, Richard / Der Ring des Nibelungen / Brünnhilde
Wagner, Richard / Tristan und Isolde / Isolde
MORE M-U-S-I-C....REDIVIVUS
Beethoven, Ludwig van / Fidelio / Leonore
Lehár, Franz / Die Lustige Witwe / Hanna Glawari
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Idomeneo / Elettra
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus / Le Nozze di Figaro / Contessa d'Almaviva
Strauss, Richard / Elektra / Chrysothemis
Verdi, Giuseppe / Aida / Aida
Verdi, Giuseppe / Otello / Desdemona
Wagner, Richard / Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg / Eva
AND YET MORE M-U-S-I-C
Strauss, Richard / Arabella / Arabella
Strauss, Richard / Ariadne auf Naxos / Primadonna/Ariadne
Strauss, Richard / Die Frau ohne Schatten / Kaiserin
Strauss, Richard / Der Rosenkavalier / Marschallin
Wagner, Richard / Der fliegende Holländer / Senta
Wagner, Richard / Lohengrin / Elsa von Brabant
Wagner, Richard / Tannhäuser / Elisabeth
Wagner, Richard / Die Walküre / Sieglinde
----------------------------
"The dangers of life
are infinite
And safety is among them."
--- Goethe
OmbraRecds
>masterpiece; it has its faults - don't they all
YOLANDA MENEGUZZER. A gorgeous, touching performance.
pcb
Thomas Reingruber
But, who has a good hand for Puccini?
"Terrymelin" <terry...@aol.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:20030724191923...@mb-m29.aol.com...
Terrymelin
>3/22/79 La Scala performance with Pavarotti, Cotrubas, Cappuccilli,
>Popp, all of whom sing fabulously and is brilliantly conducted by
>Carlos Kleiber. Mine is on the Exclusive Label #Ex92T01/0
No, I mentioned it earlier in the thread. The best transfer is on Myto.
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
>
>Nonsense. The Karajan/Callas BUTTERFLY is challenging and quite marvelous.
That was more than 20 years before the period we are talking about. In the
1970s Karajan in, no way, shape or form "got" Puccini.
Terry Ellsworth
gerberk
disapperared totally.Although it was in this Opera a great tenor named
Caruso had his debut.I admit i dont know the Leoncavallo Boheme but it's
strange that people around 1900 thought it was much better.Tastes are
changing and who knows what will be popular in a few hundred years.
"Thomas Reingruber" <thomas.r...@chello.at> schreef in bericht
news:dtDTa.340550$1F6.3...@news.chello.at...
> I am relatively new to opera and only in the last few years I discovered
> that kind of music. I was thirteen when I saw my first opera, La Boheme,
> that was about 15 years ago. I immediately fell in love with the opera and
> over the years I listened to different recordings of it. But in my opinion
> the very best one is the 1973 recording from Von Karajan with Pavarotti
and
> Freni.
best
> performances. He reaches high notes of sheer beauty which can be heard in
> his Che gelida manina, that is awesome. But I especially love Mirella
Freni.
> No surprise she is considered THE Mimi of the 20th century. I just can't
get
> enough of her in this recording, you can feel every emotion she is going
> through in that role. Her voice has the ability to express every single
> human emotion, may it be joy, pain, or despair.
> But even the supporting cast can't get enough praise. Rolando Panerai as
> Marcello, for instance, what a powerful instrument his voice is, Freni's
> husband Nicolai Ghiaurov as Colline is great. His Vecchia zimarra senti is
> simply beautiful. Gianni Maffeo as Schaunard is another win for the
> recording. But the real surprise here is a soprano I have never heard of.
> Elizabeth Harwood as Musetta is so convincing. She expresses all the
> elements that define that character. Her Quando m'en vo is exemplary. Does
> anyone know more about Harwood, I can't find her name on any other opera
> recording?
> Puccini is a master in creating a musical drama. That can best be seen or
> heard in the third act of the opera, my favourite act. Freni and Panerai
> reach an intensity in their duet at the beginning that sends chills down
my
> spine. Especially Freni is overwhelming in her interpretation, just listen
> to her when she doesn't know what to do and asks Marcello for help, she is
> full of despair, absolutely believable. Her interpretation of Donde Lieta
> Usci is another highlight. She is definetely an artist I would love to
> discover more.
> When Freni and Pavarotti sing together they just create an incredible
> harmony, their voices blend perfectly.
> Of highest artistry is the interlocking of the voices of the quarreling
and
> the reuniting couple, or in the final act, when in the middle of the play
> Musetta suddenly appears with Mimi.
> There is not a single flaw on this recording, may it be the singers, the
> wonderful Berlin Philharmonic or Von Karajan. This is the Boheme-recording
> that set standards by which all others should be measured. A masterpiece!
>
> Tom
>
>
>
Thomas Reingruber
both found out that they are working on the Boheme. Leoncavallo was said to
be very angry and the quarrel moved to the newspapers. Puccini said
something like "Let Leoncavallo write his opera, I will write mine. The
audience will decide which they prefer." And we all know how the audience
reacted.
I have never heard Leoncavallo's version of the opera, as I am not familiar
with his work at all, but it is said that his Boheme contains beautiful
music and characterizes the life of the bohemiens in a very charming way and
many wonder why it never achieved success.
But that's the case with so many operas, isn't it?
Is there a complete recording of the opera? Would really be interesting to
hear the difference between these two interpretations?
Tom
"gerberk" <ger...@home.nl> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:bfrjds$sac$1...@news1.tilbu1.nb.home.nl...
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/25/2003 11:51 AM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <6edUa.21384$5u5.1...@news.chello.at>
Hi Tom:
Leoncavallo was one of the authors of Puccini's libretto for "Manon Lescaut."
In fact when Leoncavallo was working on "Pagliacci" and Puccini on "Manon
Lescaut" they hung signs reflecting the titles of the operas they working on
(Leoncavallo posted a clown and Puccini a hand [mano]).
Leoncavallo offered Puccini a libretto on the subject of "La Vie de Bohème."
Puccini rejected it (fortunately). Leoncavallo's "La Boheme" I find more
interesting than Giordano's operas, but it fails to bring the characters to the
point of vivid life as does the libretto provided to Puccini by Illica and
Giacosa.
For example, Leoncavallo makes Marcello and Musette the primary couple and then
switches to Rodolfo and Mimi at the end (involving Mimi's death on Christmas
Eve).
There is much melody and high jinks in the Leoncavallo score. The influence of
Verdi's "Falstaff" may be heard in theensembles.
I was lucky enough to see this opera staged at Columbia University. It worked
well enough. Were it not for Puccini's opera, I think this could be on the
fringe of the repertoire like Giordano's "Fedora."
There are recordings on the Orfeo and Nuova Era labels.
Below is the data ofthe Orfeo recording:
Release Date: 09/05/1992
Label: Orfeo Catalog #: 23822 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performer: Alexandrina Milcheva, Albert Gassner, Norbert Orth, Friedrich
Lenz, Raimund Grumbach,
Jörn W. Wilsing, Alexander Malta, Alan Titus, Bernd Weikl, Franco
Bonisolli,
Lucia Popp, Sofia Lis
Conductor: Heinz Wallberg
Orchestra/Ensemble: Bavarian Radio Chorus, Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra
Number of Discs: 2
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 2 Hours 17 Mins.
==G/P Dave
Alcindoro
It is revived now and then, and proves itself stageworthy beyond just curiosity
value.
>but it's strange that people around 1900 thought it was much better.<
Well, I'm sure Leoncavallo thought so ...
The Leoncavallo BOHEME is a lovely opera, but it's impossible to say whether we
would see it much if Puccini's didn't exist. It's rather rambling in
structure, but it does capture the exuberance and evanescence of youth rather
entertainingly.
But Puccini was a superb dramaturg and took an active role in the shaping of
his libretti, and the whole Puccini BOHEME creative team seemed to have one
motto in mind: "Youth is fleeting -- keep it moving!"
And so Puccini's BOHEME is tersely paced and (as I noted earlier) turns on a
dime about a million times during its course between youthful carelessness and
mortality. Leoncavallo's really makes this turn once, and that occurs during
the intermission between Acts 2 & 3 (it's a 4-acter). The first two acts of
the Leo are filled with comedy and comical lover's snits and youthful
pretension. Then, suddenly, the last two acts are filled with disease and
despair and poverty. Puccini summed it up when he said the problem with Leo's
BOHEME was too much laughter in the first half, too many tears in the second.
I have two recordings of it, both worthy. The Orfeo Gardelli is probably the
easiest to locate and it's good, though it is a studio job (gorgeously
recorded) and Bonisolli is the only Italian in sight (and the tenor is Marcello
in Leo's BO). Everyone else sounds rather Germanic and Slavic (more than a few
qvestas and qvellas) and Popp's
wonderful sensitivity is offset a bit by her squeezed upper range. The other
is on Nuova Era (out of print now I think) and stems from a stage production in
the 90s.
A friend has it at the moment so I can't give cast but it's an Italian cast and
orchestra (Latham-Konig conductor) and quite nicely performed and recorded.
Either of these will serve nicely to introduce you to a piece worth knowing.
And it would be absolutely lovely if one of our major houses would give it a
shot: after all, they already have most of the scenery and costumes already in
storage.
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/25/2003 12:17 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <20030725131702...@mb-m11.aol.com>
Excellent review !!
There are two Nuovo Era recordings.
I've not heard either of them. And I believe there may have been Cetra
recording many years ago.
Dare I say it? Here's an opera that might be worthy of Placido Domingo's
attention.
If he can record "La Gioconda" he surely could sing an adequate Marcello.
==G/P Dave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leoncavallo: La Bohčme / Latham-koenig, Senn, Praticņ
Release Date: 07/30/1999 Label: Nuova Era Catalog: 6917
Composer: Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performer: Marta Senn, Bruno Praticņ, Lucia Mazzaria, Mario Malagnini,
Jonathan Summers
Conductor: Jan Latham-Koenig
Orchestra/Ensemble: Venice Teatro la Fenice Orchestra, Venice Teatro la
Fenice Chorus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Release Date: 10/12/1999
Label: Nuova Era Catalog #: 7300 Spars Code: DDD
Composer: Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performer: Romano Emili, Pietro Spagnoli, Silvano Pagliuca, Mario
Malagnini, Cinzia De Mola,
Bruno Praticņ, Marta Senn, Jonathan Summers, Lucia Mazzaria
Conductor: Jan Latham-Koenig
Orchestra/Ensemble: Venice Teatro la Fenice Orchestra, Venice Teatro la
Fenice Chorus
Number of Discs: 2
Recorded in: Stereo
Length: 2 Hours 14 Mins.
Premiereopera
>attention.
>
>If he can record "La Gioconda" he surely could sing an adequate Marcello.
>
>==G/P Dave
Dare I say it? He can "record" anything, because of splices. But Marcello has
many high Bbs, and a very taxing aria, Testa adorata, which is most definitely
beyond Domingo today.
If a recording is to be made of the Leoncavallo Boheme, I would hope for almost
any other tenor today.
Ed
Commspkmn
<< If a recording is to be made of the Leoncavallo Boheme, I would hope for
almost
any other tenor today.
Ed >>
I can't think of a single one who would eclipse Bonisolli's effort. He's
really fine on the Orfeo recording.
Best,
Ken
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/25/2003 12:36 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <20030725133630...@mb-m26.aol.com>
Leave it to Mr. Ed.
No hint of approbation of Placido Domingo goes unnoticed or unbashed.
How about Alagna or Shicoff or Vargas or........?
Ah, well, isn't variety the *splice* of life?
==G/P Dave
Premiereopera
>really fine on the Orfeo recording.
>Best,
>Ken
I agree, Ken. Is that available on CD?
Thanks,
Ed
Premiereopera
>>almost
>>any other tenor today.
>>
>>Ed
>~~~~~~~~~~~~
>Leave it to Mr. Ed.
>
>No hint of approbation of Placido Domingo goes unnoticed or unbashed.
>
>How about Alagna or Shicoff or Vargas or........?
>
>Ah, well, isn't variety the *splice* of life?
>
>==G/P Dave
>
C'mon, Dave. You did say "dare I say it" and then suggested Domingo.
I think Alagna, Shicoff, or Vargas would be wonderful. Also Giordani, Alvarez,
Licitra. But not Domingo, and (surprise) not Carreras, because it is beyond
their current capabilities.
Ed
susurrus
"Terrymelin" <terry...@aol.com> wrote
> I've actually never heard any soprano referred to as the "mimi of the
century."
>
I guess you've never watched The Drew Carey Show.
susurrus
Thomas Reingruber
variations? I mean, with Marcello and Musetta in the leading roles, I can
imagine that there must be more to it than in Puccini's version, as here
they are "only" supporting characters.
Hard to imagine that Mimi and Rodolfo are only supporting roles! Do we learn
more about the relationship between Marcello and Musetta in Leoncavallo's
version?
Tom
> Hi Tom:
>
> Leoncavallo was one of the authors of Puccini's libretto for "Manon
Lescaut."
>
> In fact when Leoncavallo was working on "Pagliacci" and Puccini on "Manon
> Lescaut" they hung signs reflecting the titles of the operas they working
on
> (Leoncavallo posted a clown and Puccini a hand [mano]).
>
> Leoncavallo offered Puccini a libretto on the subject of "La Vie de
Bohčme."
gerberk
> Is Leoncavallo's opera telling the exact same story or are there any
> variations? I mean, with Marcello and Musetta in the leading roles, I can
> imagine that there must be more to it than in Puccini's version, as here
> they are "only" supporting characters.
> Hard to imagine that Mimi and Rodolfo are only supporting roles! Do we
learn
> more about the relationship between Marcello and Musetta in Leoncavallo's
> version?
>
> Tom
>
>
>
> > Hi Tom:
> >
> > Leoncavallo was one of the authors of Puccini's libretto for "Manon
> Lescaut."
> >
> > In fact when Leoncavallo was working on "Pagliacci" and Puccini on
"Manon
> > Lescaut" they hung signs reflecting the titles of the operas they
working
> on
> > (Leoncavallo posted a clown and Puccini a hand [mano]).
> >
> > Leoncavallo offered Puccini a libretto on the subject of "La Vie de
Thomas Reingruber
"gerberk" <ger...@home.nl> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:bfrt8i$dgj$1...@news1.tilbu1.nb.home.nl...
Commspkmn
<< I agree, Ken. Is that available on CD?
Thanks,
Ed >>
It is, Ed, and AFAIK, still in print. www.arkivmusic.com lists it on its
website.
Best,
Ken
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/25/2003 1:24 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <KBeUa.22444$5u5.1...@news.chello.at>
>
>Is Leoncavallo's opera telling the exact same story or are there any
>variations? I mean, with Marcello and Musetta in the leading roles, I can
>imagine that there must be more to it than in Puccini's version, as here
>they are "only" supporting characters.
>Hard to imagine that Mimi and Rodolfo are only supporting roles! Do we learn
>more about the relationship between Marcello and Musetta in Leoncavallo's
>version?
>
>Tom
>
~~~~~~~~~~
Tom,
The short answer is no. These are different librettos drawn from the same
source material: Henri Murger's "Scenes de la vie de Bohčme."
You might want to read Murger's novel. It is really a compendium of short
stories. "Francine's Muff" is essentially the latter portion of Puccini's Act
IV.
Puccini's Mimi is a conflation of three characters: Francine (the main one),
Lucille, and Mimi Pinson.
Please note, Leoncavallo refers to *Musette* not Musetta.
As another r.m.o.-er indicated Leoncavallo does not commingle comedy and
seriousness as deftly as Puccini. There's no Benoit, Alcindoro, or Parpignol
in Leoncavallo's opera. No evocation of Paris that Puccini conjures with his
magical use of the folk song "Les jeunes tambours."
But Schaunard has a girl friend and there is a lot of comic ensemble work in
the first two acts of Leoncavallo's opera.
We feel we as though we are witnessing Leoncavallo's characters, while Puccini
takes us into their very souls.
Marcello is more prone to histrionics in Leoncavallo, but he gets no triumphant
moment akin to "Gioventu mia, tu non sei morta" as in Puccini's Act Two.
I'd say Leoncavallo's "Boheme" is to Puccini's as Paisiello's "Barber" is to
Rossini's.
==G/P Dave
Thomas Reingruber
Puccini
> takes us into their very souls.
That's what I love so much about Puccini's opera. You said it wonderfully,
"takes us into their very souls".
You really care for them, as the characters are so vivid, so real! You feel
for these people, you suffer with them, you feel joy with them. In addition
Puccini's awesome music. You must get swept away by it, that's what even
Claude Debussy said of Puccini's music.
> I'd say Leoncavallo's "Boheme" is to Puccini's as Paisiello's "Barber" is
to
> Rossini's.
>
> ==G/P Dave
>
>
Isn't Rossini's Othello suffering from the same destiny? It was such a
success, but then came Verdi's masterpiece and Rossini's opera more and more
disappeared in the background.
Tom
GRNDPADAVE
>success, but then came Verdi's masterpiece and Rossini's opera more and more
>disappeared in the background.
>
>Tom
Rossini's opera was swept away by Verdi's but it has also to overcome an
inferior libretto.
Only in the last act is Rossini's opera aligned with Shakespeare's tragedy.
Rossini also has no fewer than 3 tenors in the principal roles: Iago is also a
tenor.
Rossini was a very accommodating fellow. He even altered the opera to permit a
happy ending. Could you ever imagine Verdi doing a thing like that?
By the way, Puccini admired only one opera written by Verdi (although it
was"Aida" that first aroused Puccini's interest in opera -- that is not the
one).
But I doubt that anyone could ever guess which one it was.
==G/P Dave
Alcindoro
recording many years ago.<
Yes, there was, with Nedda Casei as Musette but I don't remember who else. My
dim memory of it is that it was a decent performance. I actually like the more
recent Nuova Era better than the Orfeo simply because it's almost all
native-speakers (Bruno Pratico is the Rodolfo). And it's a very good live
stereo recording job too.
A new big label recording would be very welcome. Domingo's name would, of
course, help sell it, but really it would be best if everyone sounded young. I
think it would be a perfect vehicle for the Alagnas -- both onstage and on
disk. Simon Keenlyside for Rodolfo, Angelika Kirschlager for Musette.
Pappano conducting. And we can use my uncle's barn!
donpaolo
requiring face-saving splices).
DonP.
"Premiereopera" <premie...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030725133630...@mb-m26.aol.com...
donpaolo
DonP.
"Commspkmn" <comm...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030725135515...@mb-m01.aol.com...
donpaolo
"GRNDPADAVE" <grndp...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030725135520...@mb-m01.aol.com...
>
> No hint of approbation of Placido Domingo goes unnoticed or unbashed.
>
DonP.
Rinuccio4
>>
Listen to the other three. Then listen again to Pav. :)
My personal favorite is the Bjoerling/de los Angeles set. Great singing, great
tempos, energetic interpretations (except for Bjoerling, that lazy, lucky
bastard!)... for me, it does the job.
SDC
Thomas Reingruber
> Rossini was a very accommodating fellow. He even altered the opera to
permit a
> happy ending. Could you ever imagine Verdi doing a thing like that?
>
> By the way, Puccini admired only one opera written by Verdi (although it
> was"Aida" that first aroused Puccini's interest in opera -- that is not
the
> one).
He only admired one opera of Verdi? That is strange.
>
> But I doubt that anyone could ever guess which one it was.
I have no clue. But let me guess, maybe La Traviata, it is somewhat similar
to his La Boheme. But maybe that would be an too easy solution.
Alcindoro
face-saving splices).<
I recall from the 90s a friend of mine who is an assistant conductor at the Met
telling me "Neil Shicoff brags that he has yet to make a recording without
splices". You may infer from that what you will.
Besides, I want the Bohemians to be/sound young -- I don't think Leo's BO will
really work without it. Shicoff can still sound very good, but he hasn't
sounded really young to me lately. Vargas (first choice), Alagna, Alvarez,
Giordano, Sabbatini -- provided they are in good form -- would all be
preferable.
Alcindoro
I find that impossible to believe. I can well believe that at some point in
his letters or conversation he said something that could be interpreted this
way -- perhaps only one opera of Verdi's fit all of Puccini's personal criteria
for operatic perfection -- but I cannot for the life of me conceive of Puccini
not being able to admire more than one of Verdi's operas. When did he say
this? When he was a young man? My guess would be OTELLO -- it has the kind of
tight dramatic structure and sadistically tormented heroine Puccini loved.
Maybe FALSTAFF, also has a no-fat structure, plus I hear so much of it's
comedic elements in BOHEME and others. If Puccini DID shoot off his mouth in
the way you say he did, I'm sure the passing years would have made him far more
sympathetic to Verdi.
Ancona21
success, but then came Verdi's masterpiece and Rossini's opera more and more
disappeared in the background. >>
Exactly what it deserved.
Ancona
Alan Watkins
could I point out, please, that a great deal of Puccini's greatest
writing comes from the pit and not from the stage.
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
REG
"GRNDPADAVE" <grndp...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030725150858...@mb-m07.aol.com...
Alcindoro
point out, please, that a great deal of Puccini's greatest writing comes from
the pit and not from the stage.<
I think a number of posts have addressed this, being as they have taken issue
or supported various conductor's contributions to the recordings in question.
GRNDPADAVE
In 1893, Ricordi required that theaters seeking to rent the FALSTAFF score
would also have to rent the newly minted MANON LESCAUT.
Puccini's first great success was thus launched internationally in tandem with
Verdi's operatic swan song.
Notice the rapid dialogue in Act I of LA BOHEME. It has much in common with
the opening of FALSTAFF.
Puccini's operatic style was an evolution away from formal recitarive into a
continuous arioso, such as we find in FALSTAFF.
Puccini, in fact, did not much like Verdi personally and refused Ricordi's
invitation to write a Requiem Mass to honor Verdi much as Verdi began his
Requiem to honor Rossini.
To a certain extent, Puccini may have been peeved because of Verdi's favoring
the music of Alfredo Catalani.
Verdi's taste in other composers' operas was somewhat bizarre. He, for
example, preferred Ambroise Thomas' music to that of Georges Bizet.
==G/P Dave
Alcindoro
Aha!!! I told you so! I told you so! I win the toaster oven! I win the
toaster oven!!!
And then we go on to find out that Puccini expressed this sentiment early in
his career, as again I thought. And he was miffed at Verdi's preference for
Catalani -- but what's so strange about that? Catalani's operas are
structurally much more in keeping with Verdi's established formula than
Puccini's. And yet Puccini didn't balk at Ricordi's package deal -- at least
not publicly. So opera was a business and Puccini was a young shithead. What
else is new?
lav...@webtv.net
Met, and Shicoff and Cotrubas from Covent Garden? Very affecting
performances. As for the studio recordings, I am partial to the
Pav/Freni despite the Musetta, I rather like Von Karajan's approach,
it's a modern reading, highly dramatic and theatrical and I like that.
The De Los Angeles/Bjoerling is slighty old fashioned but still
exquisite in many ways.
Terrymelin
It goes to show you that even musical geniuses can be very, very wrong.
Terry Ellsworth
Terrymelin
>>attention.
>>
>>If he can record "La Gioconda"
Yes, he recorded it but this is easily the worst Gioconda I have ever heard. He
is "over parted" to say the least and Urmana -- a singer I normally enjoy -- is
totally wrong for the part.
Terry Ellsworth
donpaolo
without convenient, face-saving, downward transpositions of entire works, &
I have dozens of his live performances over the years that bear this out.
Also, although he has lost the very edge to the "point" of his voice, I do
not find Shicoff's current overall vocal estate as sounding "old".
DonPaolo
"Alcindoro" <alci...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030725182310...@mb-m03.aol.com...
mpwright
> >The Leoncavallo Boheme has disappeared totally ... <
>
> It is revived now and then, and proves itself stageworthy beyond just curiosity
> value.
Puccini summed it up when he said the problem with Leo's
> BOHEME was too much laughter in the first half, too many tears in the second.>
And of course Puccini is an entirely impartial commentator on the
matter! The pattern of gradual decline depicted by Leoncavallo is of
course what happens in real life. Lets face it Puccini was an egomaiac
who even dared to dislike Verdi (I learn from an earlier
contribution).
>
> I have two recordings of it, both worthy. The other
> is on Nuova Era (out of print now I think) and stems from a stage production in
> the 90s.
> A friend has it at the moment so I can't give cast but it's an Italian cast and
> orchestra (Latham-Konig conductor) and quite nicely performed and recorded.
> Either of these will serve nicely to introduce you to a piece worth knowing.
The recording is based on the La Fenice production of 1990
> And it would be absolutely lovely if one of our major houses would give it a
> shot: after all, they already have most of the scenery and costumes already in
> storage.
I agree it would be nice if one of the world's top houses did a
"paired production". There is already a precedent from earlier this
year. Prague State Opera did a comparative production of both the
Puccini and Leoncavallo Bohemes. Basically the same sets with
variations, but different lighting - dreamy for the lyrical Puccini
more earthy colours for the realistic Leoncavallo.
Regards
Martin Wright
mpwright
>
> A new big label recording would be very welcome. Domingo's name would, of
> course, help sell it, but really it would be best if everyone sounded young. I
> think it would be a perfect vehicle for the Alagnas -- both onstage and on
> disk. Simon Keenlyside for Rodolfo, Angelika Kirschlager for Musette.
> Pappano conducting. And we can use my uncle's barn!
Agreed! It's 20 years since the last studio recording and the Alagnas
could be ideal. Which mezzo would you choose?
I do wonder why labels insist that their stars go over the same top 20
repertoire rather than take a punt on something a bit different. Most
new recordings of the top 20 are going to have very stiff competition
from the back catalogue. Something like the Leoncavallo Boheme (or
whatever your favourite neglected opera is)may superficially have a
limited market but could nevertheless sell well on the basis of star
names and I hope artistic performances.
Regards
Martin Wright
GRNDPADAVE
>Date: 07/26/2003 5:16 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <e8f6a52.03072...@posting.google.com>
Puccini was no egomaniac.
Far from it, he was extremely self-critical and never boastful. He was, at
first, puzzled by his popularity. None of his Big Three operas was a big hit
at first. "La Boheme" did not catch on until a performance in Palermo where
the singers had to encore the last act although they had already changed into
their street clothes.
His librettists were driven to distraction by Puccini's search for the right
word.
One of his famous insertions involved discarding flowery text in "E lucevan le
stelle" and inserting his own perfect summation: "Or muojo disperato.."
He was very unhappy with the ending of "Donna non vidi mai" where the the
phrase "deh non cessar" is so often repeated. But then he was too young to do
much of anything about it.
Puccini was well liked by many musicians of such different stripes as: Boito,
Stravinsky, Debussy, Messager, Strauss, Lehar, Ravel.
All reports reveal a very charming personality.
David Belasco and Victorien Sardou were two playwrights who insisted that
Puccini set their plays to music.
Maurice Maeterlinck was devastated when Puccini sought the rights to "Pélléas
et Mélissande." Unfortunately (from Maeterlinck's point of view) he hads
assigned those rights to Debussy.
Interestingly enough, Puccini adored Wagner.
It is isn't so much that he disliked Verdi. He found little of the older
composer's music that appealed to him. Yet, he found the conversational style
in "Falstaff" worth studying, and, I think, emulating.
Puccini held no grudges. Leoncavallo and to a lesser extent Mascagni were
envious. It is strongly suspected (by critics George Marek and Mosco Carner)
that a cabal involving Puccini's rivals was behind the fiasco of the "Madama
Butterfly" premiere.
Today even Puccini's lesser works, "La Rondine" for example, are being
successfully revived. The "Trittico" has become virtually a repertory item.
At his death the Puccini estate was valued at approximately 4 times that of
Verdi's.
Amazing, considering that Puccini wrote only 12 operas to Verdi's 28.
==G/P Dave
Alcindoro
Charm. Look up the word.
Puccini was Nobody's Fool, and during the period we speak of he was an
attractive, ambitious Nobody's Fool.
Your historical facts are too open to interpretation.
Have you ever worked with a highly talented, ambitious, charismatic,
self-absorbed, self-doubting music theatre
creator? I have.
Grain of salt.
Alcindoro
opera is)may superficially have a limited market but could nevertheless sell
well on the basis of star names and I hope artistic performances.<
The Leo BO is a sitting duck for the marketing techniques of today, based as
they are on riding the coat-tails of previous accomplishment. "Hear the OTHER
Boheme!" or something like that. The Alagnas are perfect, a recording AND a
video. Hell, I'd even go along with Bocelli doing the recording if he would
take some time out to study it with qualified persons (Albanese perhaps? The
soprano in the upcoming Central Park concert studied it with her, why couldn't
Bocelli? Could make for some great pre-release press.) A Luhrman/Martin
production at the Met perhaps? More tie-ins.
Which mezzo for Musette? Hmmm ... well, I'm totally in love with Kirschlager
right now (not the most Italianate voice but remember Flicka recorded the aria
most successfully once) ... Ganassi would be fine too... or Frederika
Brillemburg? Randi Stene? Katarina Karneus?
mpwright
> Puccini was no egomaniac.
>
> Far from it, he was extremely self-critical and never boastful.>
OK, I went too far there - he certainly was a perfectionist. But I
wonder whether he had an underlying conviction of his own genius??
< Puccini was much liked by many musicians of such different stripes
as: Boito,
> Stravinsky, Debussy, Messager, Strauss, Lehar, Ravel.
>
> All reports reveal a very charming personality.>>
It's true many people regarded him as charming but that can be a
double edged complement (e.g can imply manipulative). And other
musicians took a dislike to him for example Sir Thomas Beecham who
loved the music but loathed the man on meeting him.
> Puccini held no grudges. Leoncavallo and to a lesser extent Mascagni were
> envious.>> If any one had the right to bear a grudge it would be
Leoncavallo towards Puccini. Apart from "stealing" the idea of doing
Boheme, Puccini from an early stage used disparaging nicknames mocking
Leoncavallo's surname eg LionBeast or LionAss. By all accounts this
wasn't just childish but spiteful. It's not quite clear why Puccini
would do that unless he saw Leoncavallo as a serious rival ( which
seems strange with hindsight).
> It is strongly suspected (by critics George Marek and Mosco Carner)
> that a cabal involving Puccini's rivals was behind the fiasco of the "Madama
> Butterfly" premiere.>>
No proof of that of course but a claque could have been organised by
the rival publishing house of Sonzogno. On the other hand what is
indisputable is a rather spiteful act in the attempt to spoil the
Premier of the Leoncavallo Boheme at La Fenice in 1897. Puccini and
Recordi arranged a staging of the Puccini boheme in the city's second
theatre at exactly the same time in an attempt to undermine the
Leoncavallo. The ruse didn't work for the public and critics gave the
Leoncavallo a better reception than the Puccini!
You may argue that all's fair in love in war. Fine, as long as you
don't try to make out that Puccini was some kind of saint. He was a
great composer but he did have one or two unattractive traits.
regards
Martin Wright
Alcindoro
What's the mystery? So Puccini was at one point a young shithead. And then
later he had his own Lady MacB, Donna Elvira, to goad him on ...