Lunch with Olivia Stapp

[Charlie]

Hi all,
In 1970, it was my great honor and pleasure to sing Rochefort
in Anna Bolena with Marisa Galvany and Sam Ramey;in 1974 I was thrilled to
learn that these great singers would be performing this opera at the City Opera
in Lincoln Center. However, there was a name in the cast totally unfamiliar to
me at the time, that of then mezzo-soprano Olivia Stapp.
The only Jane Seymour I had seen,in concert form, and heard on
tape,was the incredible Giulietta Simionato,most certainly a hard act to
follow. Imagine my surprise when Ms.Stapp opened up with some of the most
glorious tones I had ever heard from a mezzo,matching Marisa's tremendous
portrayal and causing me to place her up at the very top in my list of
favorites.
Years later, one of my friends was playing "someone" on the
telephone for me, as was his custom. It was the recitative to the Abigaille
aria in act two of Nabucco,and I listened in total awe as this dramatic soprano
sounded like one of the greatest I had ever heard...but I could not place
it...it wasn't Cerquetti,or Mancini,or Callas, or Suliotis...in fact it was my
OWN TAPE that I never got to hear (which happens much of the time) and it was
again Olivia Stapp!
Subsequently I began to take more notice of her remarkable
career, he Elektra, her Roberto Devereux, her Iris, etc. and then I learned
that she had formed an opera company out in Walnut Creek,California and was put
in touch with her years ago by a friend, and spoke to her several times by
phone. Well,she came to the city this week to audition some singers for her
company, and she was kind enough to take me to lunch and we had a lovely
conversation about singing and her career.
Olivia began singing at an all girls' Catholic school in
Staten Island,New York, and in fact the nuns encouraged an interest in opera,
and,having a dark voice in her teen years, she ended up doing roles like
Giorgio Germont!!! Remember, in the early days of opera, it was a "man's world"
with the need for the castrati to assume ladies' roles;well,in Olivia's case,
it was the reverse, since the school was not co-ed.
She went on to scholarships in Europe and began to sing
professionally at age 24, taking on roles like one of the Parsifal Flower
Maidens,with the great Martha Moedl as Kundry. Since I adore Moedl,we spoke of
her at length, and Olivia told me that one night Moedl totally lost her voice
as Isolde, but that her stage magnetism was such that the audience screamed and
screamed for her, even after the asbestos curtain was coming down;she also
said, as we well know, what a beautiful and dedicated artist she was and still
is. Olivia mixed with the likes of Uhde and Frick and Grummer and so many of
our favorites, and remember that when you are in the presence of a "link" to
the great singers of the past, you learn so much. Olivia loves Magda Olivero
and Jon Vickers, two singers who "sing from the heart" (as she pointed to her
heart) .
Olivia seems to have sung far more roles than I ever knew,numbering
close to 100,with mezzo and soprano parts,and the "way she became a soprano"
was in itself an interesting tale, unlike those I have heard about other
mezzos-turned-sopranos. It seemes she "needed a high C" and went to her
teacher,who gave her some pointers and...voilà..there it was, and lots more!
So that was my wonderful day, not to mention the fact that I
have never gone to a restaurant where they cut the meat for you at the
table.(Olivia calls it very "operatic" since the meat is on spears. I felt a
bit naive at the elegance of the place (the Churrascaria Plantation on Central
Park South, but I guess I have lived a "sheltered existance" (which will now
CHANGE!!!). Unfortunately, I did have to return to the hum-dum world of Jackson
Heights,Queens, and rejoin the peasants like myself.
So my thanks to yet another singer with chest voice (I only go
out with them) for a lovely day, and for many many recordings of great singing.
Another one who never made the MET! (But in good company with the likes of
Mancini,Stignani, Bible,Treigle,etc.). As ever Charlie, back down
to earth
As ever Charlie,who invites you to check out my live opera website at:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/handelmania

[David Shengold]

Olivia Stapp did indeed sing at the Met, debuting as Lady Macbeth in 1982
and returning there as Tosca the next season.

-David Shengold

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In article <19991211000414...@ng-ft1.aol.com>, plac...@aol.com

[TAURUSNYC]

Olivia Stapp did appear at the Met in at least four seasons. She made her
debut as Lady Macbeth singing two performances in the season it was new.
She returned the following season as Tosca singing opposite Domingo.
She then returned for another season singing several performances of Lady
Macbeth (alternating with Verrett).
Her last Met performances were as Giorgietta in "Il Tabarro" in the season in
which Stratas sang, and frequently cancelled, all three roles in the
"Trittico".
Olivia Stapp is warmly remembered by Met and NYCO audiences as a great American
singer and a throw-back to the great singers of the past.

[Wilson S. Nichols, Jr.]

Olivia Stapp also appeared in The Washington Opera's production of Macbeth
in the early eighties. The next year, or two years later, I can't remember
which, she flew down from the Met to sing a Tosca due to Shirley Verrett's
illness. I have fond memories of standing in the wings [I was singing in
the chorus of both productgions] watching this artist work.

[Mark D. Lew]

In article <19991212235905...@ng-fy1.aol.com>,
taur...@aol.com (TAURUSNYC) wrote:

> Olivia Stapp is warmly remembered by Met and NYCO audiences as a great
American
> singer and a throw-back to the great singers of the past.

And a wonderful teacher, coach and inspiration to some great singers of the
present.

mdl