Cheryl Studer- What Is This Stuff About?
priapus...@hotmail.com
weird to a relative outsider/newcomer who cannot help but feel that
you should all try to get over it.
Premiereopera
>From: priapus...@hotmail.com
>Date: 7/29/03 6:39 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <73550c5a.03072...@posting.google.com>
>
>The bizarre fixation of this newsgroup with Cheryl Studer seems deeply
>weird to a relative outsider/newcomer who cannot help but feel that
>you should all try to get over it.
Well, if you're a newcomer, wait until we start on Domingo!! :-)
Ed
A Tsar Is Born
<priapus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:73550c5a.03072...@posting.google.com...
> The bizarre fixation of this newsgroup with Cheryl Studer seems deeply
> weird to a relative outsider/newcomer who cannot help but feel that
> you should all try to get over it.
It has very little to do with Ms. Studer (an uneven but often impressive
singer) and a great deal to do with a bizarre fellow who used to post here
(still does, now and then, but never under his own name) and whose
statements on most questions were so poisonous that most folk were turned
off and many became vituperative in the extreme. Among other things, he
loved Studer beyond all other singers (well, we all have flaws like that)
and credited all hostility to her, or preference for other singers in her
roles, to Jewish conspiracies, etc. So those offended by him often took
their disgust out on poor Cheryl, who certainly had nothing to do with his
opinions.
I mean, if we held everyone responsible for the behaviors of their admirers,
we wouldn't have Wagner, now, would we?
Hans Lick
Premiereopera
>we wouldn't have Wagner, now, would we?
>
>Hans Lick
No loss here. And I'm not tenormaniac!
Ed
REG
<priapus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:73550c5a.03072...@posting.google.com...
OmbraRecds
weird
>Relax. It's practically the only publicity she gets in this country.
I find this Studer fixation fascinating.I can honestly say I have never heard
the poor woman, live or on record. What ever happened to the C.C. thing and the
Callas-Tebaldi battle?
What sort of voice does (did) Miss Studer have?
Lady Baltimore
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
It's not the newsgroup, but one particular psychopath who posts here!
(When he/she/it can escape from the psycho ward and gain access to a
computer.) Unfortunately, in responding to the troll, a great many
people simply refuse to see any virtue at all in Ms. Studer as a singer,
although I'm sure she didn't CHOOSE to be the prey of an electronic
stalker. SFAIK she is a very fine musician - I certainly treasure her
Marguerite in the Faust with Leech and van Dam, also the two CD set of
the complete songs of Samuel Barber, which she recorded with Thomas
Hampson.
REG
Generally, of course, I agree with Evelyn. Mostly the response is a riff on
Studer because of the ridiculous abuse posts of one ament. I suspect there's
a lot more real animus about CC - why, I really don't know - than about
Studer.
If that nut loved Domingo, I'm sure you'd find people say he was boring,
superannuated, and had never had a top.
"OmbraRecds" <ombra...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030729214035...@mb-m29.aol.com...
Terrymelin
>weird to a relative outsider/newcomer who cannot help but feel that
>you should all try to get over it.
>
It is not a "fixation of this newsgroup" but rather one or two people who post
under multiple names.
Yes, they are nuts. Just ignore it.
Terry Ellsworth
priapus...@hotmail.com
Thank you and the others who tried to explain it. The way it looks is
that a number of members of the group have been obsessively posting
the cast list for her appearances in Munich this week over and over
and over again, while a number of other members have been competing to
see who can think of the bitchiest,most spiteful and vitriolic insults
to hurl at her. I agree with you that she has made some fine
recordings which I treasure and I have enjoyed her performances in the
opera house as well. But of course anyone is entitled to think she's
not any good, and to say so. I fail to understand, though, how anybody
can feel that she deserves the vicious personal abuse that is being
posted to this group repeatedly - she hasn't chopped your mothers up
and eaten them or something.
J.Venning
news:73550c5a.0307...@posting.google.com...
>The way it looks is
> that a number of members of the group have been obsessively posting
> the cast list for her appearances in Munich this week over and over
> and over again, while a number of other members have been competing to
> see who can think of the bitchiest,most spiteful and vitriolic insults
> to hurl at her. I agree with you that she has made some fine
> recordings which I treasure and I have enjoyed her performances in the
> opera house as well. But of course anyone is entitled to think she's
> not any good, and to say so. I fail to understand, though, how anybody
> can feel that she deserves the vicious personal abuse that is being
> posted to this group repeatedly - she hasn't chopped your mothers up
> and eaten them or something.
The Internet, though now 20 years old or so, is still a relatively new
frontier. As more and more people acquire computers, more "newbie" to
Internet find it fun and exciting to be part of newsgroups and contribute to
postings about their common interests. However a few (fortunately only a
few) find it also fun and exhilarating to do cyber space graffitti in the
forms which you have noticed here in r.m.o., and do it behind a safety
curtain of anonymity, to the annoyance of the majority. We live in a society
that advocates and promotes freedom of expression, so we can't really turn
round and start dictating what one must and mustn't write in an open
newsgroup. I hope in time that you will be able to separate the postings you
personally want to read just by it's subject heading, and contribute to the
newsgroup with what you personally feel is worthwhile.
I have attended several concerts of Ms. Studer here in Copenhagen, but
unfortunately no opera performances, because the Danish Royal Opera cannot
afford her fees. She has reached international stardom through her artistry
and talent, and I enjoyed her concert performances immensely. However I am
sure that you realise no one singer in the world would be able to summon a
unanimous vote of praise - it's a matter of personal taste, in a society of
free speach and expression.
J.
Larry L. Lash
----------------------------
"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 was 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, natty 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
Verdi "Blanche Dubois" from Houston - *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" – you bet, he used it again to
promote his Debbie)" - "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 or 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,
more penicillin please, 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
REG
psychopath. AFAIK, no one is doing the postings about her schedule execpt
him.
<priapus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:73550c5a.0307...@posting.google.com...
gerberk
so Mr.Venning.You are probably a nice guy and your daughter is even nicer
but I don't like it.Your reason and reasoning has something evil and nasty
about it I don't like it.Reason won't get you anywhere.It's the feeling that
counts and i find that missing in your posts.Sometimes you are funny and I
think How can he be funny.So I'm mistaken.Being funny is mostly good.The
stuff about Ms Studer is rude but very creative.I'm sure she likes it if she
would read it.Same with Domingo It's rude and out of order but it's ok.In a
way it is.Anyway something like that.
"J.Venning" <danis...@opera.com> schreef in bericht
news:3f277e3f$0$13215$edfa...@dread15.news.tele.dk...
J.Venning
news:bg8gv9$jpu$1...@news1.tilbu1.nb.home.nl...
> Somehow I don't like that voice of reason of yours if you permit me to say
> so Mr.Venning.You are probably a nice guy and your daughter is even nicer
> but I don't like it.Your reason and reasoning has something evil and nasty
> about it I don't like it.Reason won't get you anywhere.It's the feeling
that
> counts and i find that missing in your posts.Sometimes you are funny and I
> think How can he be funny.So I'm mistaken.Being funny is mostly good.The
> stuff about Ms Studer is rude but very creative.I'm sure she likes it if
she
> would read it.Same with Domingo It's rude and out of order but it's ok.In
a
> way it is.Anyway something like that.
>
This was what I posted:
> "J.Venning" <danis...@opera.com> schreef in bericht
> news:3f277e3f$0$13215$edfa...@dread15.news.tele.dk...
This was posted by priapusmaximus:
> > <priapus...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:73550c5a.0307...@posting.google.com...
> > >The way it looks is
> > > that a number of members of the group have been obsessively posting
> > > the cast list for her appearances in Munich this week over and over
> > > and over again, while a number of other members have been competing to
> > > see who can think of the bitchiest,most spiteful and vitriolic insults
> > > to hurl at her. I agree with you that she has made some fine
> > > recordings which I treasure and I have enjoyed her performances in the
> > > opera house as well. But of course anyone is entitled to think she's
> > > not any good, and to say so. I fail to understand, though, how anybody
> > > can feel that she deserves the vicious personal abuse that is being
> > > posted to this group repeatedly - she hasn't chopped your mothers up
> > > and eaten them or something.
I would like to know what it is that I posted which you found evil and
nasty.
J.
gerberk
> > few) find it also fun and exhilarating to do cyber space graffitti in
the
> > forms which you have noticed here in r.m.o., and do it behind a safety
> > curtain of anonymity, to the annoyance of the majority. We live in a
society
>>>>> etc etc etc blah blah blah
Isn't that rude very rude Mr.Venning I'm sure you are not used to it. I am
used to it.Now i'm not saying i dont like you but you are not making it
easy.Back to reason is no use.I'm not good at it .The Studer thing is not
important.The structure here is more act and react.Suppose you would say
Domingo is good but it's no Di Stefano That would be nothing.So you say fuck
domingo.I agree it's nothing and even rude but it's a little better.That is
what is going on with the studer thing No one in his right mind would
believe she can't sing That would be total nonsense.
J.Venning
With the posting which you have just made, I cannot but conclude that there
is a serious case of misunderstanding here due to the different levels of
proficiency in the English language, since your definition of rudeness is
obviously different to that of mine. Case closed - nothing personal.
J.
priapus...@hotmail.com
Ok, that sounds like good advice and it makes a bit more sense now. Thanks.
Hugh Canning
----------------------------
Mike
Best regards,
Klaus
Mike
----------------------------
is ghastly – and look now, they is droppin' like flies!) in deadly mix
You know the skit.
is neither aesthetic suppository (credit where credit is due to Mr.
James Jorden of Parterre Box Productions Ltd., Inc.) nor psychobabble
Hochfinancier-conductor-doubleintendant-baritone-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 --- but look, ma, they is droppin' like flies!] nor Britten
Tchaïkowsky, Piotr Ilyich / Evgenij Onegin / Tatjana