Ken Lane asks is rec.music.opera'Let's record or let's Wreck"
Ken B Lane
For whatever the reason, maybe it's in the water or maybe it's in the air we
breathe, but this excellent forum for expression has all the makings of a
colosseum for the cybernetic. By what parameters does one judge a singer or
another person voice unheard and sight unseen. Most posters in condemning are
like lemmings following their leader, micking and parodying and , vouchchafing
their supposed sanity, making observations out of whole cloth. They weave
their own nonsense and use it to support their unscientific theorems. I do not
need to have champions to fight causes I believe in. But every good cause,
will ultimately find adherents. The New York times NOW has a first-rate Editor
for the Arts and Leisure section--John Rockwell. I know he'll succeed in
promoting the cause of the Artist for he is one himself and definitely is not
jealous of artists, as so may of RMO's posters evidently are. Those of you
who have heard my compact discs on my website WagnerOpera.com or over the
headphones at any of the 14 Manhattan record stores selling the CDs knows the
voice is handsome and big and has a core. For forty or so critiques of my
singing by leading opera and symphony conductors, opera composers, performers
and writewrs on opera seek out my website WagnerOpera. com Two of my
teachers, Frieda Hempel and Margarete Matzenauer, both leading stars of the
Metropolitan Opera who partnered Caruso on the great stage, taught me what
they learned from Caruso himself in their "shop talk" rendezvous at Hempel's
apartment on Central Park West. Caruso was always accompanied by "Met" Opera
baritone Antonio Scotti, who actually finessed Caruso's adroit elegance.
Caruso was a country bumpkin compared to Scotti in dress and manner. But in
matters vocal both agreed. Hempel and Matzenauer witrh whom I studied still
had fantastically beautiful and full voices many years after their retirements.
And vocal technique was the primary rteason. I quarrel with those who
believe one must be a big oaf to have a big sonorous voice. But, one of my
regrets is that I did not play basketball as a youth. I might have attained
some more physical stature than my 5 foot 7 and one half inches. As far as
curbing unfounded slander, by people who relish the exercise to demean others
whom they are jealous of, nothing whatever can be done about it. If your the
target of their venpom just grin and bear it and be grateful that your own life
is glamorious enough not to stoop to backbiting.
Reference was made by Kate B of London to my T-Shirt I designed for my third
Carnegie Hall solo ALL-WAGNER concert. SAM GOOD'Ys at its flagship store at
RADIO CITY in Manhattan in 1995 replaced Michael Jackson's T-Shirt on the bust
in the establishment for recording stars, with my T-Shirt, and for months my
sales rose as my section of the classical recordings division had finally the
trophied bust with one of their own's T-shirts rather than a rock star's
T-shirt. No big deal, but emblematic of the kudos everyone accorded my
Carnegie Hall "live" Ten Language Solo Debut CD, on Valhalla Records VRCD-1594.
Kenneth Lane, Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey 07034-0131, USA
For Wagnerian singing and solid sustained HIGH Cs tune in to my own website
WagnerOpera.com
"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he
becomes by it" John Ruskin
Matthew B. Tepper
Ken B Lane wrote:
>
[long post snipped]
For the record, I have listened to the sound clips at your Web site.
Consider that I don't owe any allegiance to anybody else who contributes
to this newsgroup. Consider also that I refuse to be a part of any sort
of "mob mentality." So when I fail to defend you, you should realize
that it is because of my opinion, not because of any undue influence.
Or as former Senator Lloyd Bentsen might put it: I've heard Lauritz
Melchior. I once was in a room with Melchior, and I've stood in the
concrete footprints of Melchior. And you, sir, are no Melchior.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/index.htm
My main music page --- http://www.deltanet.com/~ducky/berlioz.htm
And my science fiction club's home page --- http://www.lasfs.org/
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
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Placido 21
Hey mat...I think we found someone whose self-promotion is only surpassed by
that of george Steinbrenner or Attila the aHun..Imagine!!! CH
Charlie, baritono somewhat supremo,and no.1 fan of the great Diana Soviero..so
there!
Michael Volpe
Ken,
I am afraid you are wrong. People here are very interested in singers
and performers. They would probably give you a fair listen if you were
not so busy telling them that they wouldn't know a good voice if it hit
them in the face. You see, this is your problem. People are having fun
with you and parodying you and I hopeit is not to unkind - indeed you
are taking it well. But give people more credit for having valid
opinions of their own- and stop blathering on and on.
volpe
the britalian
Ken B Lane
keen judgment of quality, fas the pictorial "LOGO" of His master's Voice by RCA
Victor showing a dog, ear to playback horn, acknowleging a recognized voice,
seems to confirm. Children, most of all, must be given the opportunity to
hear good music. If they are deprived, early on, they will have only the bad
examples, that are commercially broadcast-fed to them, of music, of literature,
of "beauty" in any form. Yes, I agree surely all of the RMO posters and
readers know what a good voice sounds like and can tell instantly what is good
, what is great, what is undeniably bad. That is why I choose to believe that
my way to acceptance by the general public as well as the powers that be that
make the all-imprtant decisions as to appearance in opera, concert, or TV, or
radio, or even into the print medium, is the only way for me. To strike out
on one's own, defining the turf, and hoping that eventually good performances
outweigh the sometimes awkward moments that every performer experiences at one
time or another in their professional lives,. is the way for most to achieve
their goals. I state elsewhere inanother post: I KNEW MELCHIOR AND I AM NO
MELCHIOR. There is less likelihood of another Melchior arriving on the scene
in any of our lifetimes, even the cuddly babies that cheer us on, than another
Caruso. In his day Melchior was acknowledged to be the "German" caruso. I go
further than that in saying Caruso, great as he was, acknowledged that the
German language, with his approach to vocal technique, robbed his voice of its
sheen and velvet. He sang Lohengrin at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires IN
ITALIAN, but felt that his Wagner would take more time than he was prepared to
devote. He often would stand at stage right in the wings at the old "Met"
Opera, softly humming some of the music sung on stage. Some lucky few
reminisced that had he been born in a German-speaking country, his innate
musicality would have been applied to the Wagner operas Lohengrin and Die
Meistersinger. Of the Wagner, those came closest to his temperament and vocal
sensibilities. I do not refrain from encounter, BUT I DO NOT seek it out. I
ask people to haer me in performance or on recordings, but do not prejudge my
voice without a hearing. Do not rely on hearsay. Best to you Michael
Volpe. I appreciate your point of view and your talent as a writer and observer
of the musical scene.
Kenneth Lane, Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey 07034-0131, USA
Michael Volpe
>
> I could not agree more, Michael. Even animals, so the stories go, have a
> keen judgment of quality, fas the pictorial "LOGO" of His master's Voice by RCA
> Victor showing a dog, ear to playback horn, acknowleging a recognized voice,
> seems to confirm. Children, most of all, must be given the opportunity to
> hear good music. If they are deprived, early on, they will have only the bad
> examples, that are commercially broadcast-fed to them, of music, of literature,
> of "beauty" in any form. Yes, I agree surely all of the RMO posters and
> readers know what a good voice sounds like and can tell instantly what is good
Thank you Ken for the kind words which I probably do not deserve as a
primary ribber of your good self. But I fear you still miss the point.
RMO is a forum for exchange of views, education, humour, fun, arguments
etc etc. Now, regardless of what ever talents you have as a singer, you
evidently have views on opera as a whole and it is these that people
want to hear. It would be great to read postings from you about subjects
other than yourself or Wagner. I REALLY DO NOT want to patronise you or
be rude but you are, frankly, a bore. That is why people make fun of
you, why I make fun of you. It is just to pull you down a peg or two
which essentially, we are not really in a position to do - but you force
our hand ! It must be incredibly tiring for you to have to keep posting
long, verbose monologues about yourself, defending yourself, being
agitated by the flippancy of the rest of us on rmo. Surely ?
I agree, you are not one of those who sets out to abuse people or
offend, but you are something worse Ken: you presume to tell people of
your greatness and that has never gone down well has it ? Whatever
energies you have for rmo should be directed into debate, argument,
discussion. It is not an advertising medium (although we all do a bit
of that).
Your fate could be worse than the gentle fun poked at you - we could all
start to ignore you totally. We all talk crap sometimes but really,
Ken, you are crapmeister. Try and join in the discussions and spare us
the state of the nation addresses (this does not, however, mean that the
career of Castrato extraordinaire supremo rumpo pumpo is over !)
Best wishes
Volpe
the britalian
Ken B Lane
likelihood of another Melchior as there is for the Messiah to do the role of
Christ in Jerome Hines' "I am the Way" at the "Met" Opera. Unlike practically
all of you posters and readers out there, I both heard and knew the Melchiors,
Lauritz and Kleinchen, when he performed at the "Met" Opera, Carnegie hall,and
later at Jones Beach in the Arabian Nights spectacle. From age 12 when my
audio tastebuds first savored of Wagner--the Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine
Journey and Funeral Music [Goetterdaemmerung] broadcast over WNYC, New York's
municipal station, I got to hear as a standee at the "old" "Met" Opera House
performances of such grandeur vocally that recordings simply cannot relay.
Still, when on one of my many visits backstage after a Melchior performance to
visit with Melchior, the Great Dane asked me if indeed it could be possible
that I have a voice as other standees had told him. A tyro with no inhibitions,
I pulled out my chromium-plated pitchpipe, sounded an F natural and commenced
to sing "Amfortas! die Wunde!. Fritz Stiedry,the conductor of the Lohengrin
--before his "Met" Opera assignments was conductor of the New Friends of
Music-- lurched into the dressing room from his adjacent Maestro's room.
Tenors notoriously need a conductor's input, it would seem. [The dressing
rooms for the male contingent was on the stage right side of the building, the
tenors and conductor one flight up from stage level and the baritones and
basses two flights up from the stage level.] "I don't believe it, I actually
heard you sing after a performance!" Good-naturedly Melchior replied to
Stiedry, "No", It was this young man. Pound for pound he has a bigger voice
than I" Stiedry was apoplexed. "When you get a little older, I would like to
hear you again" I was only a teenager. And to me I could not wait to be old
enough to be taken seriously and to demonstrate my potential. Yes, I agree
wholeheartedly with you. I KNEW & HEARD MELCHIOR SING PERSONALLY AND I AM
DEFINITELY NOT A MELCHIOR! I have a picture that Melchior promised me, which
was made on stage at his last "Met" Opera performance, a performance of
Lohengin. He had autographed it To Kenneth B. Lane with best wishes from
Lauritz Melchior". Other autographed pictures iof him, some with Kleinchen
were more effusive, but this picture shows him in front of soldiers with lances
at the Act 1 scene before the swordplay encounter with Telramund. Durihg the
performance his mood was sombre. Throughout the performance , he went in and
out of character, often scanning the house as if to get one last look After
the performance, I was there in the small dressing room that was packed with
Bjoerling , Leonard Warren and many others of his colleagues who were
unashamedly weeping at the closure of his stage career. He was clearly
despondent. The scene in that room amidst these friends was painfully
bitter-sweet. Weeks later I received the 8 inch by 10 inch black and white
glossy with a note attached to it from Kleinchen that Melchior's world had
collapsed under his feet and that although he had clashes with Rudolf Bing (
who incidently ran Glyndebourne before coming to the "Met", and hated Wagner's
music) he would miss the "old house". Bing's intransigence forced the issue
and Melchior was just as stubborn as Bing. Had Melchior cooperated with Bing
regardinge rehearsal attendance and singing full voice in those rehearsals,
Melchior might well have sung another ten or even more years at the "Met" IF
he kept in condition, even with his predilection for acquavit. Melchior
recommended me as an up-and-coming heldentenor in letters and in conversations,
but added that "you'll have to find him a like-sized Isolde". As the saying
goes, "never will you see another such {Melchior] in a million years!
my Valhalla records Carnegie Hall "live" and other iconcert themes Compact
Discs.
"The highest rewrd for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he
Skip
Matthew B. Tepper
kenb...@aol.com spake unto the unwashed masses:
>
>I could not agree more, Michael. Even animals, so the stories go,
>have a keen judgment of quality, fas the pictorial "LOGO" of His
>master's Voice by RCA Victor showing a dog, ear to playback horn,
>acknowleging a recognized voice, seems to confirm.
People tend to forget that the original painting depicted a dog, and a
cylinder player, on top of the master's CASKET.
The Grand Inquisitor
--
"I'll ask the questions here, Ma'am."_Sgt. Joe Friday
Matthew B. Tepper wrote in message <6ntddl$sgf$4...@news01.deltanet.com>...
Matthew B. Tepper
the name of the actual Victor trademark.
donpaolo
DonP.
The Grand Inquisitor <pati...@teleport.com> wrote in article
<Aqto1.6742$r73.5...@news.teleport.com>...
Stregata
>Those of you
>who have heard my compact discs on my website WagnerOpera.com or over the
>headphones at any of the 14 Manhattan record stores selling the CDs knows
>the
>voice is handsome and big and has a core. For forty or so critiques of my
>singing by leading opera and symphony conductors, opera composers, performers
>and writewrs on opera seek out my website WagnerOpera. com Two of my
>teachers, Frieda Hempel and Margarete Matzenauer, both leading stars of the
>Metropolitan Opera who partnered Caruso on the great stage, taught me what
>they learned from Caruso himself in their "shop talk" rendezvous at Hempel's
>apartment on Central Park West.
Tell me, Mr. Lane, do you have a grandmother?
Stregata
L. M. Rappaport
>Your fate could be worse than the gentle fun poked at you - we could all
>start to ignore you totally. We all talk crap sometimes but really,
>Ken, you are crapmeister. Try and join in the discussions and spare us
>the state of the nation addresses (this does not, however, mean that the
>career of Castrato extraordinaire supremo rumpo pumpo is over !)
I certainly hope not!
Dr. Rapp, Secondary ribber...
Larry
--
ra...@lmr.com
singer
clicked at practically every words on it.
With regards.
Ken B Lane wrote:
> For whatever the reason, maybe it's in the water or maybe it's in the air we
> breathe, but this excellent forum for expression has all the makings of a
> colosseum for the cybernetic. By what parameters does one judge a singer or
> another person voice unheard and sight unseen. Most posters in condemning are
> like lemmings following their leader, micking and parodying and , vouchchafing
> their supposed sanity, making observations out of whole cloth. They weave
> their own nonsense and use it to support their unscientific theorems. I do not
> need to have champions to fight causes I believe in. But every good cause,
> will ultimately find adherents. The New York times NOW has a first-rate Editor
> for the Arts and Leisure section--John Rockwell. I know he'll succeed in
> promoting the cause of the Artist for he is one himself and definitely is not
> jealous of artists, as so may of RMO's posters evidently are. Those of you
> who have heard my compact discs on my website WagnerOpera.com or over the
> headphones at any of the 14 Manhattan record stores selling the CDs knows the
> voice is handsome and big and has a core. For forty or so critiques of my
> singing by leading opera and symphony conductors, opera composers, performers
> and writewrs on opera seek out my website WagnerOpera. com Two of my
> teachers, Frieda Hempel and Margarete Matzenauer, both leading stars of the
> Metropolitan Opera who partnered Caruso on the great stage, taught me what
> they learned from Caruso himself in their "shop talk" rendezvous at Hempel's
> apartment on Central Park West. Caruso was always accompanied by "Met" Opera
> baritone Antonio Scotti, who actually finessed Caruso's adroit elegance.
> Caruso was a country bumpkin compared to Scotti in dress and manner. But in
> matters vocal both agreed. Hempel and Matzenauer witrh whom I studied still
> had fantastically beautiful and full voices many years after their retirements.
> And vocal technique was the primary rteason. I quarrel with those who
> believe one must be a big oaf to have a big sonorous voice. But, one of my
> regrets is that I did not play basketball as a youth. I might have attained
> some more physical stature than my 5 foot 7 and one half inches. As far as
> curbing unfounded slander, by people who relish the exercise to demean others
> whom they are jealous of, nothing whatever can be done about it. If your the
> target of their venpom just grin and bear it and be grateful that your own life
> is glamorious enough not to stoop to backbiting.
> Reference was made by Kate B of London to my T-Shirt I designed for my third
> Carnegie Hall solo ALL-WAGNER concert. SAM GOOD'Ys at its flagship store at
> RADIO CITY in Manhattan in 1995 replaced Michael Jackson's T-Shirt on the bust
> in the establishment for recording stars, with my T-Shirt, and for months my
> sales rose as my section of the classical recordings division had finally the
> trophied bust with one of their own's T-shirts rather than a rock star's
> T-shirt. No big deal, but emblematic of the kudos everyone accorded my
> Carnegie Hall "live" Ten Language Solo Debut CD, on Valhalla Records VRCD-1594.
> Kenneth Lane, Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey 07034-0131, USA
> For Wagnerian singing and solid sustained HIGH Cs tune in to my own website
> WagnerOpera.com
> "The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he
> becomes by it" John Ruskin
Placido 21
Placido 21
SHOT HER DEAD after an Isolde..so ken better watch it the next time he performs
Rienzi!! Charlie..Third ribber from the left.
Placido 21
just opened their mouth and SANG! CH
Placido 21
tenor!" Then you tap your heels togwether three times..and say,"There's no
place like Bayreuth!" CH
Placido 21
started to do a "self-promotion" a la Bonisolli or Baum..we would be
ROASTED!!!!
I remember Koooort coming out of the stage door after beinbg bood.and
exclaiming,"I am Il Trovatore..not Milanov!!!"
Ken is a brilliant guy..but he really did not make more than seven Rings on
Melodram.CH
donpaolo
Great story - is it true? Didn't Kurt also come in front of the curtain,
which he held open with his sword during "Di quella pira", to continue
holding the high C, because they closed the curtain while he held on to the
high C?
Regards,
DonP.
Placido 21 <plac...@aol.com> wrote in article
<199807080559...@ladder01.news.aol.com>...
Placido 21
did not see that..i think it was mario Fillipeschi..KING of Squillo..who
insisted on a THIRD encore of the aria..after the audicne demanded it..but the
conductor refused...so HE CONDUCTED and sang it..may be a made-up sdtory...Baum
had a FABULOUS high C..that is ALLLLLLLL!!!!!! CH