Monday, September 05, 2005

Interview with Cecilia

This is a fragment of an interview with Cecilia Bartoli, the part I was interested in. [In brackets are my translations, such as they are.]

Early on she says "Ich liebe das Essen." [I love food.] This refers to the fact that she has lost weight.

I:Sie haben vor zwanzig Jahren Ihre Karriere begonnen. Hat sich der Starkult seither verschärft? [You began your career 20 years ago. Has the star cult intensified since that time?]

C:Nein, den Schönheitskult gab es in den Sechzigerjahren schon, bei Anna Moffo. Ich habe den Hype mit 23 erlebt, als ich auf dem Cover von «Vanity Fair» war und in der Letterman-Show auftrat. Das war sehr aufregend, auch nützlich, aber es hat mich auf Dauer nicht befriedigt. Publicity laugt aus. [No, in the seventies there was already a beauty cult, with Anna Moffo. I experienced the hype at 23, when I was on the cover of Vanity Fair and appeared on the Letterman Show. That was very exciting, also useful, but it was not satisfying in the long run. Publicity leaches out.]

I:Das hat auch Anna Netrebko erfahren die Sie übrigens sehr verehrt. [That happened to Anna Netrebko, too, who, by the way, very much admires you.]

C:Danke, wir haben uns gerade in London kennen gelernt. Ich sah sie in «Rigoletto», sie mich in «Il Turco in Italia». Was für eine herrliche Stimme! Sie hat Ihre ganz grosse Karriere noch vor sich. [Thanks, we just got to know each other in London. I saw her in Rigoletto and she saw me in Il Turco in Italia. What a wonderful voice. She has a very great career ahead of her.]

I:Fürchten Sie die Konkurrenz? [Are you afraid of the competition?]

C:Nein, es ist Platz für uns alle da. Für Angela Gheorghiu, für Magdalena Kozena und für Renée Fleming. Haben Sie Renée mal gehört, wenn sie ein «messa di voce» vom pianissimo ins forte hebt und wieder im pianissimo landet? Unglaublich. Trotzdem, solange ich fünf Millionen CDs verkaufe, mache ich mir keine Sorgen. [No, there is room for everyone. For Angela Gheorghiu, for Magdalena Kozena and for Renée Fleming. Have you heard Renée when she does a "messa di voce" from pianissimo to forte and then back to pianissimo? Unbelievable. When I sell 5 million cd's this does not concern me.]

DrB: Pardon my translation. Maybe I got it, maybe I didn't. I like knowing who she likes. I don't know Magdalena Kožená, but will look into it. We certainly concur on the subject of Anna Netrebko. This part answers questions from friends:

I:Haben Sie Ihre Flugangst überwunden? [Have you gotten over your fear of flying?]

C:Es wird besser. Man kann von oben auf die Welt herabsehen, fast wie im Theater. Aber die langen Flüge machen mich immer noch fertig. Ich werde per Schiff in die USA reisen, dann mit dem Flugzeug nach Asien. Von dort kehre ich hoffentlich mit dem Zug zurück. [It's better. One can look down on the world from above, almost like in a theater. But the longer flights still make me finished. I will travel by ship to the US, then take a plane to Asia. From there I will hopefully go back on the train.]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh believe me, Magdalena is well worth looking into - drop dead gorgeous voice. Utterly unlike Cecilia too which (I find at least) makes it easy to adore them both. Magdalena was my second great mezzo passion. I'd especially recommend her CD 'Love Songs' (which is an all-Czech programme) or the smoulderingly gorgeous 'Lamento' which was just released last year. And I'll stop now because this is supposed to be about Cecilia.
(I don't think her 'solange ich 5 millionen CDs verkaufe' is meant to come across quite so diva-like - we all know that's not what she's in it for)
Ciao!
Sarah