What ever happened to Gary Lakes?
Digiti
Gary Lakes as Siegmund.
I thought he was the new rising heldentenor like our Ben Heppner of today?
He, at least on the disk, seems to be close to the genuine article. Any
comments are welcome. Thanks.
Parterrebox
He, at least on the disk, seems to be close to the genuine article.
Amazing what close-miking can do for a voice.
Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
Uttini1813
role in the 21st Century Fox remake of Tarzan.
Peter
> Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
If the above is indeed true, and I do not doubt that it is, do you know of any
GENUINE "Helden tenors" who are plying their trade anywhere in the world today?
Richard Loeb
"Peter" <p_ul...@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:3C2E3FAD...@ix.netcom.com...
Ken Meltzer
Gary Lakes recently sang Herod in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of
Salome and did a fine job. He certainly held his own against the
Herodias of Gwyneth Jones, which, as you might imagine, was no
shrinking-violet portrayal.
I think that he is beginning to scale back his appearances,
particularly in the Heldentenor repertoire.
Ken Meltzer
Ken Meltzer
Similar, perhaps, to Richard Cassilly.
Ken Meltzer
acar...@alaska.net
>
> Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
Be that as it may, he performed a first rate Herod last November in
Pittsburgh's Salome.
It is my understanding that he now lives in the Pittsburgh area.
Matthew B. Tepper
news:ab9cea94.01122...@posting.google.com:
To me, that's somewhat depressing news. Who was it who called the role of
Herod "the last safe haven for the aging Heldentenor"? (Says Matthew, who
saw Hans Hopf in the role with Rysanek as Salome, Varnay as Herodias, and
Nimsgern as Jokanaan.)
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
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Operatunenity
>any
>GENUINE "Helden tenors" who are plying their trade anywhere in the world
>today?
>
I recently heard Clifton Forbis sing Samson, it had a good solid quality to it,
and I kept hearing Wagner in his sound. It isn't Melchior, but he is the
closest I have heard singing at the moment.
I believe that Giuseppe Giaccomini had missed his calling as a true helden
tenor. He was Italian and stuck pretty much to the Italian repertoire. Had he
learned German I don't think anyone would have been able to compete with him.
I don't consider Domingo a helden tenor, but he has a baritonal tinge to the
sound and enough heft to make him a very decent Wagnerian singer. He is also a
brilliant musician and always finds interesting musical interpretations.
I don't consider Heppner a true helden or a Wagnerian in any way, but I do
think he is a superb singer and artist, and would prefer him in lighter roles.
He really knows how to sing a phrase and sometimes his expressiveness can be
stunning.
William D. Kasimer
Parterrebox <parte...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20011229135445...@mb-fi.aol.com...
> Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
Except that Lakes isn't a particularly good lyric tenor.
Bill
--
====================
William D. Kasimer
wkas...@mediaone.net
wkas...@quincymc.org
Lis K. Froding
Digiti wrote:
He basically was eclipsed by Domingo when _he_ took on Siegmund.
Lis
Digiti
I am glad to hear Lakes is still active.
I "heard" the last Met "heldentenor " hopeful, the late Timothy Jenkins as
Froh in "Rheingold"many years ago. He was greatly underpowered in the deep
recesses of the Met stage. What did this group think of the following
live:Vinay as tenor not baritone , Cassilly and McCracken[in Tannhauser],
and Helge Brillioth?
R.Q.
"Matthew B. Tepper" <oy兀earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B1tX7.6472$yi.6...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Mike Richter
The only current Heldentenor I've heard on recording or broadcast is Jon
Frederic West. Unfortunately, his voice is not pleasing to many, but the
timbre is right.
William D. Kasimer
Matthew B. Tepper <oy兀earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:B1tX7.6472$yi.6...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> To me, that's somewhat depressing news. Who was it who called the role of
> Herod "the last safe haven for the aging Heldentenor"?
Well, whoever it was hasn't looked at the history of SALOME performances.
For the first several decades after the premiere in 1905, the role was
usually sung by legitimate singers in their primes. I'm not sure exactly
when the role of Herod became the province
of character tenors and out-to-pasture Heldentenors, but it certainly
wasn't always that way. The creator of the role was Karel Burrian, and I
believe that Dalmores sang the French premiere. The first Met Herod was
Burrian, and when it was revived in 1933, it was Max Lorenz (not my
favorite singer, but he had quite a voice back before the war, even if he
sang like a...). A few years later in the late 30's it was Rene Maison,
and after that Frederick Jagel.
All of these were tenors with real voices of pretty good size and (in
most cases) beauty, and I suspect that their singing of this role bore
little resemblance to caterwauling that often passes for singing in
recordings and performances over the past generation or so.
Evelyn Vogt Gamble (Divamanque)
rest) in 1999. I agree, I thought he was wonderful in
that. I think he's doing more in Europe than here in the
U.S. (An unfortunate fact of life for American opera
lovers: there are many wonderful singers - quite a few of
them Americans - who have full, successful careers there,
and never even miss not being "superstars" here.)
Evelyn Vogt Gamble (Divamanque)
Well, L. A. Opera doesn't mike its singers, and he was
perfectly audible in the second balcony at their "Samson".
(Half the set wasn't visible, but the singers were fine.)
Matthew B. Tepper
news:HGtX7.258426$XA5.42...@typhoon.nyc.rr.com:
> I am glad to hear Lakes is still active.
>
> I "heard" the last Met "heldentenor" hopeful, the late Timothy Jenkins
> as Froh in "Rheingold" many years ago. He was greatly underpowered in
> the deep recesses of the Met stage. What did this group think of the
> following live: Vinay as tenor not baritone, Cassilly and McCracken [in
> Tannhauser], and Helge Brillioth?
I love Vinay as Otello, in the recordings of live performances conducted by
Toscanini, Furtwängler, Busch, and Beecham.
Cassilly's broadcast Tannhäusers made such a bad impression on me that I
could not believe he had ever been good, until I heard live performances of
him in his prime, in _Susannah_ and _Les troyens_.
McCracken I basically know only from a Met _Otello_ broadcast (I think), a
live Schoenberg "Gurrelieder" I saw in San Francisco, and the Bernstein
_Carmen_. Uh, I need more evidence, please.
Edward A. Cowan
> I recently heard Clifton Forbis sing Samson, it had a good solid quality to
> it,and I kept hearing Wagner in his sound. It isn't Melchior, but he is the
> closest I have heard singing at the moment.
Clifton Forbis sang the role of Siegmund in the Dallas Opera's
production of _Die Walküre_ two seasons ago. The voice is very
baritonal, just right for the low-lying music of Siegmund. And Forbis
looked and sounded just right for the role. Moreover, he phrased with
the sensitivity of a Lieder-singer but with the vocal heft of a
Heldentenor. I have no idea whether he is suited to other tenor parts
such as Samson, not having heard him sing the "money notes", but for
Siegmund he is close to ideal.
--
E.A.C.
David Melnick
> I love Vinay as Otello, in the recordings of live performances conducted by
> Toscanini, Furtwängler, Busch, and Beecham.
We are the only two left in creation willing to defend
him. Welcome, comrade.
David
David Melnick
> little resemblance to caterwauling that often passes for singing in
> recordings and performances over the past generation or so.
Not sure this generation has a monopoly on stray felines,
not that you actually said so. :-)
I was just listening to some echt caterwauling from the
Golden Age: Fritz Soot singing with Frieda Leider in
Siegfried. She's great.
No wonder Melchior soon grabbed center stage.
He could spoil it for any successor, too. But I'm grateful
some tenors are still trying, Though I personally haven't yet
seen a satisfying Siegfried "live," I'm happy to see one just
get through to the end of the opera. I mean, who in his
right mind would _want_ to take that on?
David
Operatunenity
>I have no idea whether he is suited to other tenor parts
>such as Samson, not having heard him sing the "money notes", but for
>Siegmund he is close to ideal.
He definitely has the money notes, at least the ones I heard in Samson.The
highest notes were almost baritonal with squillo.
Edward A. Cowan
recording cond. Toscanini remains the one to have if you're having only
one, but I should certainly like to hear the Busch and the Beecham. I
have the Furtwängler. FWIW, during his last years Vinay lived in the
same city as I do, Arlington TX. (A colleague ran into him in an
electronics store here some years ago.) I have saved the page with his
name from a local telephone directory. --E.A.C.
David Melnick <dmel...@pacbell.net> wrote:
--
E.A.C.
Edward A. Cowan
> I was just listening to some echt caterwauling from the
> Golden Age: Fritz Soot singing with Frieda Leider in
> Siegfried. She's great.
There were other heldencaterwaulers around that time and into the
electrical recording era. For me, the very worst was Rudolf Laubenthal,
much-recorded, indeed the tenor in Leider's electrical recording of the
final scene from _Siegfried_! (Melchior recorded the scene with Florence
Easton.) Yet Alan Blyth, writing the article on recordings of music from
the _Ring_ in his own _Opera on Record_, vol.1, says of him: "His true,
lyrical yet strong tenor is just what we need today." (p.421). Elsewhere
Blyth actually compares Laubenthal favorably with Martinelli! An older
colleague of mine at the university had heard him and characterized his
singing as "the strangulation method of voice-production"...
--
E.A.C.
Ken Meltzer
Make it (at least) three.
Ken
nos...@earthlink.net
I agree with Ken concerning Lakes' performance in the Pgh Opera
production of "Salome". According to the bio in the program for that
performance, he still does some performances but he is also teaching
at Indiana University in Bloomington.
HenryFogel
>From: eac...@anet-dfw.com (Edward A. Cowan)
>Date: 12/30/2001 9:13 AM Central Standard Time
>Message-id: <1f57yfz.f38vw11jrn28aN%eac...@anet-dfw.com>
Here's one more defender -- one who thinks "defense" isn't required. Vinay was
an important artist with a long and distinguished career as a baritone and
tenor (baritone at both the beginning and end of his career). He sang from 1931
into the mid-late 1960s. Although he did not have a naturally beautiful and
distinguished voice as, say, Melchior did, Vinay always sang with intelligence,
dramatic insight, scrupulous musicality, and a sense of spontaneity that gave
life to his performances.
Henry Fogel
Opaffic
>him. Welcome, comrade.
>
>David
Make that three....at least. I adore Vinay's tenor singing. Absolutely
gorgeous.
Andre Edouard
Some sell better than others.
AndreEdouard
David Melnick
mango before Chilean chocolate, but what the heck,
even Spanish strawberry if there's no other choice:
Can't do without them calories.
Dav
Matthew B. Tepper
news:1f57yo9.1ur5map18olbggN%eac...@anet-dfw.com:
> There were other heldencaterwaulers around that time and into the
> electrical recording era. For me, the very worst was Rudolf Laubenthal,
> much-recorded, indeed the tenor in Leider's electrical recording of the
> final scene from _Siegfried_! (Melchior recorded the scene with Florence
> Easton.) Yet Alan Blyth, writing the article on recordings of music from
> the _Ring_ in his own _Opera on Record_, vol.1, says of him: "His true,
> lyrical yet strong tenor is just what we need today." (p.421). Elsewhere
> Blyth actually compares Laubenthal favorably with Martinelli! An older
> colleague of mine at the university had heard him and characterized his
> singing as "the strangulation method of voice-production"...
I was going to mention Laubenthal. Really I was. Is Horst R. Laubenthal
related to Rudolf?
Opaffic
>mango before Chilean chocolate, but what the heck,
>even Spanish strawberry if there's no other choice:
>Can't do without them calories.
>
>Dav
I feel lucky indeed....I enjoy ALL those flavors!
Jonathan Sydenham
conviction, but never seemed to make a successful transition from the
Sadlers Wells/ENO performances in English to German and hence the world ...
Jonathannews:3C2EBE88...@pacbell.net...
acar...@alaska.net
recent Pittsburgh Opera production of Salome:
> (the)... caterwauling that often passes for singing in
> recordings and performances over the past generation or so.
It is so wonderfully typical of r.m.o that those who actually heard
Lakes in Pittsburgh thought he did a good job and that those who
DIDN'T are the one who are most vocal concerning his deficiencies. So
is it with June Anderson - no complaints from those who heard her in
the house - just from those who couldn't be bothered to go hear her
live (I take it back - there was one complaint [sort of] from someone
who heard her Traviata in the house - but was so unsure of her opinion
she waited until the complaints came in after the broadcast so she
could say "me, too")
I suppose, though, if it were a requirement that a poster actually
hear the performance before criticising the singer we'd have so much
less to talk about, right?
Craig Werner
wrote:
>We are the only two left in creation willing to defend
>him.
I'm a third. Vinai had vocal depth (literally) and interpretive
ability. He is the only tenor I can think of who sang tenor and bass
roles on stage.
Craig Werner
Musipro
<<It is so wonderfully typical of r.m.o that those who actually heard
Lakes in Pittsburgh thought he did a good job and that those who
DIDN'T are the one who are most vocal concerning his deficiencies. [snip]
I suppose, though, if it were a requirement that a poster actually
hear the performance before criticising the singer we'd have so much
less to talk about, right?>>
Well said--one reason why I stopped posting to r.m.o. Too many armchair critics
who think they can speak authoratively about opera solely from old recordings.
Best,
Ken
Matthew B. Tepper
@news.buffnet.net:
Well, Caruso sang one bass *aria* on stage.... ;--)
Andre Edouard
Using flavors as a comparison, for me, Vinay sang as if his flavor
was Pistachio Mint Liverwurst Chip. Interesting for a second, but
quickly unpalatable.
In so far as his being able to sing Bass and Tenor, I prefer not to
hear that 'flexibility' in, oh let's say "Niun Mi Tema." A quirk of
mine.
AndreEdouard
Terrymelin
>> him. Welcome, comrade.
>>
>> David
>
>Make it (at least) three.
>Ken
>
I think Vinay's Met Otello under Busch with Warren and de los Angeles is
superb. It is one of my favorite "live" recordings.
Terry Ellsworth
Hans Christian Hoff
> eac...@anet-dfw.com (Edward A. Cowan) wrote in
> news:1f57yo9.1ur5map18olbggN%eac...@anet-dfw.com:
>
> > related to Rudolf?
If I remember correctly Horst was the pupil of Rudolf L. They became so attached
to each other that Horst took Laubenthal as his surname (I do not remember now
if Rudolf did adopt Horst.)
Regards
Hans
tresbirri
>> > I was going to mention Laubenthal. Really I was. Is Horst R. Laubenthal
>> > related to Rudolf?
>
>
>If I remember correctly Horst was the pupil of Rudolf L. They became so attached
>to each other that Horst took Laubenthal as his surname (I do not remember now
>if Rudolf did adopt Horst.)
This is correct. Horst Ruediger Neumann took the name Laubenthal in homage
to his teacher. I have never heard of an adoption, this would surprise me
very much.
tresbirri
GRNDPADAVE
There have been louder Otellos and there have been more lyrical ones, but,
imho, no singer has projected the varied moods of this role so well as Ramon
Vinay.
He captures the essence of so many phrases. I think of the excruciating pain
he expresses in the line: "m'hai legato alla croce..ahime".
The recording also finds in Giuseppe Valdengo another performer who has been
seriously undervalued. Here is a superb Iago who handles the lyrics
"trippingly on the tongue." And all this is managed with passion, intensity
and faithfulness to the score by Arturo Toscanini at the pinnacle of his
profession.
==G/P Dave
Ancona21
who think they can speak authoratively about opera solely from old recordings.
>>
Back to lurkdom then, I gather. Don't let the door hit you on the backside as
you leave.
Ancona
Edward A. Cowan
_Rheingold_ in the Seattle _Ring_ of 1980. A few years later he sang
Siegmund in a Dallas _Walküre_. But before then he was hard to miss
among the singers in the Dallas Opera chorus.
--
E.A.C.
Edward A. Cowan
> And all this is managed with passion, intensity
> and faithfulness to the score by Arturo Toscanini at the pinnacle of his
> profession.
It's worth recalling in this context that Toscanini's association with
_Otello_ goes back to the WP at the Scala on 5 February 1887, when
Toscanini played principal cello in the Scala orchestra.
--
E.A.C.
David Melnick
Was it online or reading something that I heard a priceless
anecdote about that premiere? Toscanini was told by Verdi
to play a passage pianissimo that had been marked quadruple
piano. He asked Verdi why he had marked it quadruple p
when all he wanted was a pianissimo. Verdi replied that the
only way to get a cellist to play pp was to mark the passage pppp!
He also asked Verdi why he wanted a ritard at the end of a
passage despite it not being marked. Verdi said no proper
conductor would see that passage and permit it to be played
without a ritard, so there was no need to write it down.
Clearly, there's come scritto and come scritto.
Dav
Karen Mercedes
> Parterrebox wrote:
>
> > Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
>
> If the above is indeed true, and I do not doubt that it is, do you know of any
> GENUINE "Helden tenors" who are plying their trade anywhere in the world today?
Graham Sanders
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/5707/
Karen Mercedes
http://www.radix.net/~dalila/index.html
***************************************
Verdi and Wagner delighted the crowds
With their highly original sound.
The pianos they played are still working,
But they're both six feet underground.
- Michael Palin
Matthew B. Tepper
news:Pine.SV4.3.96.101123...@saltmine.radix.net:
> On Sat, 29 Dec 2001, Peter wrote:
>
>> Parterrebox wrote:
>>
>> > Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
>>
>> If the above is indeed true, and I do not doubt that it is, do you
>> know of any GENUINE "Helden tenors" who are plying their trade
>> anywhere in the world today?
>
>
> Graham Sanders
> http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/5707/
What's Jon Frederic West doing these days?
Edward A. Cowan
> Clearly, there's come scritto and come scritto.
And either example of "come scritto" would now have to involve a bit of
mental telepathy with the composer. But not necessarily involving
"creative entrepeneurship" (a quote from a prolix former Dean at my
university...) on the part of the performer: Toscanini reportedly
snorted when he heard Koussevitzky conduct a Mozart divertimento and
arrived at a place where a cadenza was clearly called for. Koussi simply
went on past that place without interpolating the cadenza. "Is
_ignorante_!", AT is said to have exclaimed.
--
E.A.C.
Markesten
>>
Otello and the Emperor in FROSH at the Vienna Staasoper.
Mike Richter
>
> On Sat, 29 Dec 2001, Peter wrote:
>
> > Parterrebox wrote:
> >
> > > Lakes, like Heppner, was a lyric tenor in a giant's body.
> >
> > If the above is indeed true, and I do not doubt that it is, do you know of any
> > GENUINE "Helden tenors" who are plying their trade anywhere in the world today?
>
> Graham Sanders
> http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/5707/
He is clearly a candidate, though to my ear still a bit light for
Heldentenor, a solid jugendlicher Heldentenor without question. I had
listened to the clips when another house needed a replacement for an
indisposed singer and suggested the possibility, but they made a
different choice.
John Lynch
"Edward A. Cowan" wrote:
> It's worth recalling in this context that Toscanini's association with
> _Otello_ goes back to the WP at the Scala on 5 February 1887, when
> Toscanini played principal cello in the Scala orchestra.
An interesting side to Toscanini's cello playing is that he did not use an
end peg, but clutched the instrument between his legs in the old classical
way. Years later, when someone asked him to play, he sat down, removed the
peg, and then spent several minutes trying to find the E on the A string.
When nothing satisfied him he shook his head and handed back the instrument.
JRL
David Melnick
> An interesting side to Toscanini's cello playing is that he did not use an
> end peg, but clutched the instrument between his legs in the old classical
> way.
>
> JRL
Just saw Yo-Yo Ma do that on TV in a demonstration of Baroque
style. It looked difficult to manage.
Dav
