Operameme

OK. I'll do one too. Stolen from Sarah who stole it from Maury D'Annato.

Name or Nom de Blogge: I've always wanted a made up name. Barbara Baker is just not very interesting. I thought Barbara Belleza, la Contessa di Follia, but that would be hard to live up to.

Age: Too old. This is a young person's activity. 65 last week.

Locale: Frederick MD followed by London England.

Raison de blogre: It was a present, but I'm easily dragged into obsessions.

Intended tone of blog: Intellectual insanity mixed with free association.

Voice type (real): contralto when I was young, baritone now.

Voice type (in yer dreams): Agnes Baltsa/Susan Graham. Somewhere in there. Any voice that could sing Octavian. As long as I'm wishing, a Strauss soprano like Kiri, perhaps.

Arias sung in the shower: The last one I heard. "Es gibt ein Reich" "Let the bright seraphim". At my age I'm reduced to whistling.

Arias of other gender sung in shower: "Questa o Quella," this week anyway.

First opera seen: Madame Butterfly, Sacramento, CA

First opera to elicit madly queeny reaction of obsession and dedication to a lifetime at the opera: I'm afraid I fell in love with doing it: Vaughan-Williams' Riders to the Sea. Answer to the actual question is Elisabeth Schwarzkopf singing the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier.

Uberdiva living: Cecilia. You knew that.

Uberdiva of the past: Callas now. Marilyn Horne.

Newest enthusiasm: Anna Netrebko.

Fave singer you never hear anyone else enthuse about: Me. Why would they? But I do seem to insist on blowing my own horn.

Favorite line from a libretto: "Halten und nehmen, halten und lassen." It is a goal not yet achieved.

Opera you'd rather eat thumbtacks than sit through ever again: I used to say that about Simon Boccanegra until I saw a good one. I made up the rule of three baritones for it (Never go to an opera with three baritones.) Any opera without girl singers. Streetcar. Lustige Witwe. I'd put in Tristan and Isolde but I've actually never made it all the way to the end. This list is a little long.

"Why won't the Met/my local company put on...": For me there cannot be too much Strauss.

"A perfect role assumption I have seen was...": Leontyne Price substituting for Margaret Price in Aida. Unbelievable.

"If I had a time machine...": Geraldine Farrar in her youth. Malibran. She only had a youth, I guess. And her sister. Didn't she sing the Alto Rhapsody? And one more time with Elisabeth.