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 Ferrar 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.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Theory of Opera
Ok, here's my theory. The explosive success of Italian opera in the Baroque occurred because of the serendipitous confluence of two factors.
1. Throughout its history until near the time of Rossini's retirement (coincidence?) the church forbade women to sing in the church. In Rome this prohibition extended to all other public venues as well. From the mid 16th century this gap was filled by castrati who were limited to singing the multi-voiced counterpoint of Lasso and Palestrina. It is my understanding that they ornamented in this style, too, though it is a bit hard to imagine. Despite that, the style didn't allow sufficient scope for their virtuosity. For a castrato singing is his life.
2. The Florentine camerata invented a medium of theatrical solo singing based on the classics.
The two streams met in Rome in the 1620's, and a colossal explosion occurred. Castrato virtuosity met the perfect context for its display, and the rest is history. For the first 200 years that was the fundamental purpose of opera everywhere except France where castrati were never fully accepted. Did I say that strongly enough? I am proposing that castrati are the reason for opera, and not opera the reason for them, as I had always thought.
That's my theory.
1. Throughout its history until near the time of Rossini's retirement (coincidence?) the church forbade women to sing in the church. In Rome this prohibition extended to all other public venues as well. From the mid 16th century this gap was filled by castrati who were limited to singing the multi-voiced counterpoint of Lasso and Palestrina. It is my understanding that they ornamented in this style, too, though it is a bit hard to imagine. Despite that, the style didn't allow sufficient scope for their virtuosity. For a castrato singing is his life.
2. The Florentine camerata invented a medium of theatrical solo singing based on the classics.
The two streams met in Rome in the 1620's, and a colossal explosion occurred. Castrato virtuosity met the perfect context for its display, and the rest is history. For the first 200 years that was the fundamental purpose of opera everywhere except France where castrati were never fully accepted. Did I say that strongly enough? I am proposing that castrati are the reason for opera, and not opera the reason for them, as I had always thought.
That's my theory.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Books
Books about opera lying around my house:
These books fall basically into three categories: books to help opera goers enhance their opera experience (Rough Guide, Getting Opera, World’s great Operas, etc.), books for professionals (Stanislavski, Smith), and books speculating on what opera is about. Because…. We aren’t really sure why we like opera. When we are watching car chases or love scenes in the movies, we are pretty sure why we like it. Opera inspires people to explain themselves. Missing from the list are biographies of singers and composers.
I. Books for everyone
The Rough Guide to Opera by Matthew Boyden.
This book divides opera into chronological periods and discusses selected works from each period. There is a plot summary and a discussion. Then recordings of each work are recommended and described. Missing is the standard list of characters with the vocal classification for each. This would make it easier to tell who was singing what in the recording listings. For the record collector this is the book. New editions appear periodically. If you own only one book about opera, it should probably be this one.
Getting Opera, a Guide for the Cultured but Confused by Matt Dobkin, 2000.
The first half is intended to draw people into opera who are not now interested in it. I am interested in two lists: opera on film and opera in film. There are a couple here that I haven’t seen. He has a sexy singers list and there is no overlap with mine. Isn’t that interesting! His includes Susan Graham, an idea that simply never occurred to me. In the second half of the book he describes 50 operas selected from all of opera, beginning with Monteverdi’s Orfeo and ending with Adams’ Nixon in China.
The New Kobbe’s Complete Opera Book by The Earl of Harewood, 1969, 1972, 1976 (originally by C.W. Kobbe, 1919.)
This is an extremely thorough plot book with voice classifications and musical examples. Material from the twentieth century has been added, including Britten, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, etc. My favorite is the inclusion of two operas by Ethel Smyth.
The World’s Great Operas by John Tasker Howard, 1948, 1959.
This is a plot book of over 200 operas, arranged more or less alphabetically. He includes the vocal classifications of the characters. There are appendices for composers, librettists, literary sources and characters.
II. Books that go deeper into the subject
Opera, a History by Christopher Headington, Roy Westbrook and Terry Barfoot, 1987.
This makes for interesting reading.
A Historical Study of the Opera Libretto by Patrick J. Smith, 1970.
Some librettists receive whole chapters of their own: Busenello (Venetian opera), Quinault (Lully), Metastasio (opera seria), Wagner (Wagner), Boito (Verdi, himself) and finally Hofmannsthal (Strauss). How interesting! He discusses Da Ponte from the perspective of his other librettos. Who knew he had other librettos? This is an excellent book written from a more academic perspective than opera books usually are. He fills in the holes between the works that remain in the repertoire and discusses the entire body of opera.
The Castrati in Opera by Angus Heriot, 1956.
This contains both general and very specific information about castrati, where they came from, who they were, where they went.
Stanislavski on Opera by Constantin Stanislavski and Paval Rumyantsev, 1975.
Constantin Stanislavski studied to be an opera singer before becoming the leader of the Moscow Art Theater after the Russian revolution. This is a fascinating book describing in detail Stanislavski’s approach to directing seven operas: Eugene Onegin, The Tsar’s Bride, La Boheme, A May Night, Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades and The Golden Cockerel. There is also a long introduction called “In the Opera Studio” which describes the activities of Stanislavski’s opera studio. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in directing operas or acting in one of the operas listed.
III. Books on the meaning of opera
Opera’s Second Death by Slavoj Zizek and Mladen Dolar, 2002.
What was the first death? This discusses why opera isn’t keeping up with modern life. I have my own opinions.
A Song of Love and Death, the meaning of opera by Peter Conrad, 1987.
He begins with a section titled Rite and subdivides it into Orpheus, Dionysus, Eros, Mephistopheles and Dagon. Then he describes the opera of each historical period. I haven’t read this, but it looks interesting.
Opera as Theater by George R. Marek, 1962.
He works his way through ten operas from the standard repertoire and discusses how they are staged.
Opera as Drama by Joseph Kerman, 1956.
He gets pretty theoretical.
The Queen’s Throat; Opera, homosexuality and the mystery of desire by Wayne Koestenbaum, 1993.
This is not a sensible book, but why should it be? Opera is not at all sensible. There is an entire chapter on the Callas cult and another on how to behave like a proper diva.
These books fall basically into three categories: books to help opera goers enhance their opera experience (Rough Guide, Getting Opera, World’s great Operas, etc.), books for professionals (Stanislavski, Smith), and books speculating on what opera is about. Because…. We aren’t really sure why we like opera. When we are watching car chases or love scenes in the movies, we are pretty sure why we like it. Opera inspires people to explain themselves. Missing from the list are biographies of singers and composers.
I. Books for everyone
The Rough Guide to Opera by Matthew Boyden.
This book divides opera into chronological periods and discusses selected works from each period. There is a plot summary and a discussion. Then recordings of each work are recommended and described. Missing is the standard list of characters with the vocal classification for each. This would make it easier to tell who was singing what in the recording listings. For the record collector this is the book. New editions appear periodically. If you own only one book about opera, it should probably be this one.
Getting Opera, a Guide for the Cultured but Confused by Matt Dobkin, 2000.
The first half is intended to draw people into opera who are not now interested in it. I am interested in two lists: opera on film and opera in film. There are a couple here that I haven’t seen. He has a sexy singers list and there is no overlap with mine. Isn’t that interesting! His includes Susan Graham, an idea that simply never occurred to me. In the second half of the book he describes 50 operas selected from all of opera, beginning with Monteverdi’s Orfeo and ending with Adams’ Nixon in China.
The New Kobbe’s Complete Opera Book by The Earl of Harewood, 1969, 1972, 1976 (originally by C.W. Kobbe, 1919.)
This is an extremely thorough plot book with voice classifications and musical examples. Material from the twentieth century has been added, including Britten, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, etc. My favorite is the inclusion of two operas by Ethel Smyth.
The World’s Great Operas by John Tasker Howard, 1948, 1959.
This is a plot book of over 200 operas, arranged more or less alphabetically. He includes the vocal classifications of the characters. There are appendices for composers, librettists, literary sources and characters.
II. Books that go deeper into the subject
Opera, a History by Christopher Headington, Roy Westbrook and Terry Barfoot, 1987.
This makes for interesting reading.
A Historical Study of the Opera Libretto by Patrick J. Smith, 1970.
Some librettists receive whole chapters of their own: Busenello (Venetian opera), Quinault (Lully), Metastasio (opera seria), Wagner (Wagner), Boito (Verdi, himself) and finally Hofmannsthal (Strauss). How interesting! He discusses Da Ponte from the perspective of his other librettos. Who knew he had other librettos? This is an excellent book written from a more academic perspective than opera books usually are. He fills in the holes between the works that remain in the repertoire and discusses the entire body of opera.
The Castrati in Opera by Angus Heriot, 1956.
This contains both general and very specific information about castrati, where they came from, who they were, where they went.
Stanislavski on Opera by Constantin Stanislavski and Paval Rumyantsev, 1975.
Constantin Stanislavski studied to be an opera singer before becoming the leader of the Moscow Art Theater after the Russian revolution. This is a fascinating book describing in detail Stanislavski’s approach to directing seven operas: Eugene Onegin, The Tsar’s Bride, La Boheme, A May Night, Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades and The Golden Cockerel. There is also a long introduction called “In the Opera Studio” which describes the activities of Stanislavski’s opera studio. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in directing operas or acting in one of the operas listed.
III. Books on the meaning of opera
Opera’s Second Death by Slavoj Zizek and Mladen Dolar, 2002.
What was the first death? This discusses why opera isn’t keeping up with modern life. I have my own opinions.
A Song of Love and Death, the meaning of opera by Peter Conrad, 1987.
He begins with a section titled Rite and subdivides it into Orpheus, Dionysus, Eros, Mephistopheles and Dagon. Then he describes the opera of each historical period. I haven’t read this, but it looks interesting.
Opera as Theater by George R. Marek, 1962.
He works his way through ten operas from the standard repertoire and discusses how they are staged.
Opera as Drama by Joseph Kerman, 1956.
He gets pretty theoretical.
The Queen’s Throat; Opera, homosexuality and the mystery of desire by Wayne Koestenbaum, 1993.
This is not a sensible book, but why should it be? Opera is not at all sensible. There is an entire chapter on the Callas cult and another on how to behave like a proper diva.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Kennedy Center Honors 2005
This is such a great idea. We get to see film of the honoree in action followed by tributes. This year that meant shots of the always fabulously gorgeous Robert Redford in some of his most memorable films.
Helen Mirren came to honor Julie Harris, an honor indeed. I completely adore Helen Mirren. And Tyne Daly was also there to honor Harris. These people are the best. It’s too bad we didn’t get more of them.
Suzanne Farrell’s dance company did her proud. They jumped and bounced and threw themselves into dance with wonderful freshness and enthusiasm, making themselves seem lighter than air, the ultimate goal of ballet. It was a lesson.
This is definitely the most I have liked K D Lang, or is it k d lang? She sang “What a wonderful World” to honor Tony Bennett.
What a triumph over life is Tina Turner, who looks more gorgeous than ever. She has achieved the impossible—she is envied by Oprah Winfrey. And emulated by Beyonce who did her best imitation of Tina dancing to “Proud Mary.” She was rewarded with two thumbs up from Tina herself. My thumbs are also up.
Helen Mirren came to honor Julie Harris, an honor indeed. I completely adore Helen Mirren. And Tyne Daly was also there to honor Harris. These people are the best. It’s too bad we didn’t get more of them.
Suzanne Farrell’s dance company did her proud. They jumped and bounced and threw themselves into dance with wonderful freshness and enthusiasm, making themselves seem lighter than air, the ultimate goal of ballet. It was a lesson.
This is definitely the most I have liked K D Lang, or is it k d lang? She sang “What a wonderful World” to honor Tony Bennett.
What a triumph over life is Tina Turner, who looks more gorgeous than ever. She has achieved the impossible—she is envied by Oprah Winfrey. And emulated by Beyonce who did her best imitation of Tina dancing to “Proud Mary.” She was rewarded with two thumbs up from Tina herself. My thumbs are also up.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Pink
This format has links on the right. I am always embarrassed by my ignorance of web programming. I will put in more links when I get back to Maryland. Maybe I could figure out how to change the colors. I successfully put two links into the screen, so maybe I am still trainable.
My entire computer career has been a fluke. I studied the IBM System 34 at a junior college for a semester and landed a job at Bechtel. They needed someone they could get as a college hire who knew the IBM mini computer System 34, but people who studied computers in colleges at that time all studied mainframes. Then we redid the same system on the system 38, dos PC and finally Windows and the web.
By now my system is huge and runs on over 5000 computers around the world. Pretty nice for an accident. A fluke. A coincidence.
Relevant joke stolen from Dobkin book: What does the contralto say when she gets work? "Do you want fries with that?" Well, I say "Do you want a combo box with that?"
My entire computer career has been a fluke. I studied the IBM System 34 at a junior college for a semester and landed a job at Bechtel. They needed someone they could get as a college hire who knew the IBM mini computer System 34, but people who studied computers in colleges at that time all studied mainframes. Then we redid the same system on the system 38, dos PC and finally Windows and the web.
By now my system is huge and runs on over 5000 computers around the world. Pretty nice for an accident. A fluke. A coincidence.
Relevant joke stolen from Dobkin book: What does the contralto say when she gets work? "Do you want fries with that?" Well, I say "Do you want a combo box with that?"
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Levine
While driving to Ohio on Saturday, I heard a very nice interview with James Levine in his role as the successor of Seiji Ozawa at the Boston Symphony. I've always thought that James Levine was astounding, a musician for all styles.
He talked about his problems with his legs and how he now sits while conducting. He talked about his baton technique and emphasized his very strong contrast with Ozawa who was known for leaping around on the podium and waving his arms. He was performing a kind of ballet to the music.
In contrast Levine sits quietly and moves his baton a tiny amount. There was even a quote from one of the horn players saying that Levine looked his way with a sense of deep satisfaction instead of giving a cue. The horn player thought he played better than he ever had. Levine emphasized that the music is in the sounds we are hearing and not in the conductor's ballet. At the opera, of course, the conductor is virtually invisible.
Music is such a great thing. We love it so much because its depths contain no bottom.
He talked about his problems with his legs and how he now sits while conducting. He talked about his baton technique and emphasized his very strong contrast with Ozawa who was known for leaping around on the podium and waving his arms. He was performing a kind of ballet to the music.
In contrast Levine sits quietly and moves his baton a tiny amount. There was even a quote from one of the horn players saying that Levine looked his way with a sense of deep satisfaction instead of giving a cue. The horn player thought he played better than he ever had. Levine emphasized that the music is in the sounds we are hearing and not in the conductor's ballet. At the opera, of course, the conductor is virtually invisible.
Music is such a great thing. We love it so much because its depths contain no bottom.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
This countertenor thing
Sarah says:
"Do you know about Michael Maniaci? Countertenor who has sung Cherubino and I think has said he would like to sing Octavian. Now this I don't like at all. Others disagree."
Hmmm. Countertenors come into the picture because the roles they sing were actually sung by men as characters who are men. Cherubino and Octavian are boys who were both intended to be sung by women. Both composers are playing with gender identity. In both roles the characters disguise themselves as women--a woman disguised as a boy disguised as a woman. It's a great joke, part of the sexual tension of these two operas which are both entirely about sexual tension. What is the joke if they are actually sung by men?
On the other hand, I heartily approve of this. Dare I say it? A castrato would sound like this.
"Do you know about Michael Maniaci? Countertenor who has sung Cherubino and I think has said he would like to sing Octavian. Now this I don't like at all. Others disagree."
Hmmm. Countertenors come into the picture because the roles they sing were actually sung by men as characters who are men. Cherubino and Octavian are boys who were both intended to be sung by women. Both composers are playing with gender identity. In both roles the characters disguise themselves as women--a woman disguised as a boy disguised as a woman. It's a great joke, part of the sexual tension of these two operas which are both entirely about sexual tension. What is the joke if they are actually sung by men?
On the other hand, I heartily approve of this. Dare I say it? A castrato would sound like this.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Anna Netrebko cancels
Anna Netrebko has cancelled her recital in March at Carnegie Hall. I have seen her in recital and think she would be great. In fact I think she should just do her all Russian song recital and be done with it. In fact, I wish she would do a Russian song recording. She is fabulous in this. Oh well. Some other time.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Messiahs I have known
I brought my battered score that has lost its cover page and still shows charring along the top from when I rescued it from a burned house. I was taking it to the Fredereck Messiah sing-along.
The alto solos in my score still show the red underlines, ornaments and markings from when I was a Messiah soloist too many years ago. The same score also shows when to stand and when to sit from the years I was in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. The symphony performed Messiah with a chorus of only about 25 people, which meant no malingering. Doing Messiah like this four nights in a row is one of the reasons I quit the symphony. It was just too much for a working person.
The first complete recording I owned of anything was the Huddersfield Choral Society recording of Handel's Messiah, so the piece is in my head with a chorus of 250, not 25. So what's not to like? "Worthy is the lamb" is fabulous with that big blast of sound coming at you. This is yet more evidence that I am a philistine.
The Frederick Messiah sing-along had a 15 piece orchestra, including clarinets and an excellent trumpeter, the star of the evening. She used an instrument that looked just a little bigger than a bugle. We didn't form into sections, so I was on my own.
Handel would not have used clarinets since they hadn't been invented yet, but they remind me of the fact that the SF Symphony occasionally performed Messiah in an arrangement by Mozart who wanted it orchestrated for his standard orchestra instead of Handel's very different one. The trumpet parts were changed to French horns. The text was in German, as I recall.
In my day we hardly ornamented at all, performing Messiah virtually as notated, but today's soloists ornament freely, especially the soprano, Leah Inger. She was very into this.
The conductor of the Frederick sing-along, Judith L. DuBose, took everything at quite a breath-taking clip, showing us sing-alongers no mercy. The great curiosity of Messiah is how the choral parts are more ornamented than the solos. Other Handel oratorios are just not like that.
My voice doesn't work at all any more, but I croaked my way through anyway. Were we supposed to rehearse?
The alto solos in my score still show the red underlines, ornaments and markings from when I was a Messiah soloist too many years ago. The same score also shows when to stand and when to sit from the years I was in the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. The symphony performed Messiah with a chorus of only about 25 people, which meant no malingering. Doing Messiah like this four nights in a row is one of the reasons I quit the symphony. It was just too much for a working person.
The first complete recording I owned of anything was the Huddersfield Choral Society recording of Handel's Messiah, so the piece is in my head with a chorus of 250, not 25. So what's not to like? "Worthy is the lamb" is fabulous with that big blast of sound coming at you. This is yet more evidence that I am a philistine.
The Frederick Messiah sing-along had a 15 piece orchestra, including clarinets and an excellent trumpeter, the star of the evening. She used an instrument that looked just a little bigger than a bugle. We didn't form into sections, so I was on my own.
Handel would not have used clarinets since they hadn't been invented yet, but they remind me of the fact that the SF Symphony occasionally performed Messiah in an arrangement by Mozart who wanted it orchestrated for his standard orchestra instead of Handel's very different one. The trumpet parts were changed to French horns. The text was in German, as I recall.
In my day we hardly ornamented at all, performing Messiah virtually as notated, but today's soloists ornament freely, especially the soprano, Leah Inger. She was very into this.
The conductor of the Frederick sing-along, Judith L. DuBose, took everything at quite a breath-taking clip, showing us sing-alongers no mercy. The great curiosity of Messiah is how the choral parts are more ornamented than the solos. Other Handel oratorios are just not like that.
My voice doesn't work at all any more, but I croaked my way through anyway. Were we supposed to rehearse?
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Blogging
Well. I don't suppose my readership will rival Entertainment Weekly if I keep on with things like arguements with long dead Donald Tovey, the famous essayist. I'm sorry--it was irresistable. I think it is always good to question the conventional wisdom of the past. After all, what reason is there to suppose that Wagner actually founded the art work of the future? Or that Gluck actually reformed anything? It isn't slogans and theoritizing that count--what counts is what operas does anyone actually go to and listen to, and do they last into the next generation and beyond.
Resurrections do happen. We revere Bach because Mendelssohn resurrected him from complete obscurity. It is fun for me that when Cecilia dug up undiscovered Gluck arias, they were all standard opera seria material. Truth enters in through the ears, eyes, heart.
Now I will get back to my primary task: finding out about what is going on now. Who is hot now? I lose the thread. Sitting at home it is easier to find out about Caballe and Callas than the current bunch. Rough Guide make a lot of recommendations about recordings. I should try some of them out.
Resurrections do happen. We revere Bach because Mendelssohn resurrected him from complete obscurity. It is fun for me that when Cecilia dug up undiscovered Gluck arias, they were all standard opera seria material. Truth enters in through the ears, eyes, heart.
Now I will get back to my primary task: finding out about what is going on now. Who is hot now? I lose the thread. Sitting at home it is easier to find out about Caballe and Callas than the current bunch. Rough Guide make a lot of recommendations about recordings. I should try some of them out.
Diane Bish
Diane Bish is a woman who has found her gimmick. She got the idea of filming herself playing famous organs around the world, and she put together a film crew to bring this vision to life in her Joy of Music television series. Of course, if you are not an insomniac who watches TV at 4:00 in the morning like me, you may have missed her Christmas special of arrangements from Handel's Messiah and Christmas carols played on organs in Germany, France, Belgium, Sweden and Boston.
Even I was shocked to see that there are over 300 shows in this series. That means 300 different outfits, 300 different pairs of shoes to be photographed on the organ pedals. The films of the churches are beautiful and the organ playing is excellent, but one cannot avoid a certain excess of merriment over this series. As gimmicks go, it is one of the better ones.
Even I was shocked to see that there are over 300 shows in this series. That means 300 different outfits, 300 different pairs of shoes to be photographed on the organ pedals. The films of the churches are beautiful and the organ playing is excellent, but one cannot avoid a certain excess of merriment over this series. As gimmicks go, it is one of the better ones.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Toujour
This film, La Callas Toujour from EMI of Maria Callas in recital at the Paris opera in 1958 is a joy. One suffers terribly from not having seen anything of her except the Tosca Act II from Ed Sullivan. Here she is in concert doing the first act of Norma, an aria from Il Trovatore and "Una voce poco fa" by Rossini. Then in the second half of the concert she performs Tosca Act II in costume with Tito Gobbi as Scarpia. What a magnificent artist.
She came equipped with this huge buzz saw voice that simply cut through everything she saw, and then she handled it with such grace and control. The brightness of her tone and the completeness of her technique, and the greatness of her musical intelligence allowed her complete control of her phrasing. "Una voce poco fa" is particularly a joy to see.
It's not a beautiful voice. Why hear this? Because you cannot keep it out. Because it takes hold of you whether you wish it to or not.
In Norma the sound of her voice makes possible this marvelous controlled performance. She never shifts into heavy chest, never descends into melodrama, always keeps her control of the phrase. In every note is perfect truth.
It is wonderful to see her acting. She shows Tosca's sweetness and vulnerability as well as her anger and strength. Watch it without the titles. She seems fragile and vulnerable herself, something I did not expect. 1958 was in the middle of her troubles with the press. One wishes there were more films.
Gobbi is also magnificent as Scarpia.
She came equipped with this huge buzz saw voice that simply cut through everything she saw, and then she handled it with such grace and control. The brightness of her tone and the completeness of her technique, and the greatness of her musical intelligence allowed her complete control of her phrasing. "Una voce poco fa" is particularly a joy to see.
It's not a beautiful voice. Why hear this? Because you cannot keep it out. Because it takes hold of you whether you wish it to or not.
In Norma the sound of her voice makes possible this marvelous controlled performance. She never shifts into heavy chest, never descends into melodrama, always keeps her control of the phrase. In every note is perfect truth.
It is wonderful to see her acting. She shows Tosca's sweetness and vulnerability as well as her anger and strength. Watch it without the titles. She seems fragile and vulnerable herself, something I did not expect. 1958 was in the middle of her troubles with the press. One wishes there were more films.
Gobbi is also magnificent as Scarpia.
Opera as Drama
I have bought a book, Opera as Drama by Joseph Kerman, and in the Epilogue he says, "Opera entails the revelation of the quality of human response to actions and events."
There is a conventional wisdom about opera. All the serious writers on opera as theater point to the same sources and reach the same conclusions. All look back to Sir Donald Tovey for their inspiration. All discuss the same small list of operas: Figaro, Don Giovanni, Otello, Die Meistersinger. George R. Marek in his book Opera as Theater adds Fidelio, Carmen, La Traviata, Tosca, Turandot and Der Rosenkavalier to this list. Joseph Kerman in Opera as Drama adds Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Gluck’s Orfeo and Pelleas and Melisande.
According to the conventional wisdom, the Italians rise to the level of mention only when they acquire the virtues of the Germans, as in Verdi’s Otello. Mozart and Wagner tower above all the others, casting them into deep shadow. The conventional wisdom requires us to endlessly praise the finales in Figaro and the effect of the leitmotiv in Wagner’s Ring. I have known people who only go to performances of Wagner’s final operas, considering them the only operas worthy of their notice. I am a bit on the other side and have never sat all the way through a performance of Tristan or Parsifal. In contrast my interest flagged in the equally lengthy Saint Francis only during the bird calls scene.
My experience of Wagner is that you are caught up in the spirit of what he is doing or you are not. Terry McEwan’s Ring cycle hooked me. James Morris and Eva Marton riveted my attention. Die Götterdämmerung was not a minute too long. For me Die Walküre is Wagner’s best opera, and I like Meistersinger more and more as the years pass. This kind of getting caught up hasn’t happened for me in Tristan, and I actively loathe Parsifal. I was caught up in the religious ecstasy of Saint Francis. I’ve warned before that I was a philistine.
Kerman describes Wagner’s main dramas as, “Opera as Symphonic Poem.” This is excellent. I was describing these works as the development sections of symphonies with all the exposition and recapitulation left out, but symphonic poem is better, more historically accurate. They descend from the ideas of Berlioz and Liszt, the inventor of the symphonic poem.
Kerman describes the Baroque, apart from Monteverdi’s Orfeo, as the Dark Ages. Associating opera with form is an interesting exercise. Opera in the early Baroque had not yet acquired its obsession with form and produced more dramatically effective opera-drama, especially in the operas of Monteverdi, not just Orfeo. Cavalli has also been revived recently. The interest in these operas stems from the fact that they are effective as theater.
As the Baroque progressed, the formal structure of the da capo aria dominated the requirements of theater. Opera became a series of set pieces with a cursory narrative between the long, showy arias. All of music, not merely opera arias, took on this formal, single affect per movement form. You will find it also in the Brandenberg Concertos or the Quattro Staggione. Why can we accept this in a concerto grosso but not in an opera?
Is Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice significantly more interesting than the more traditional La Clemenza di Tito? Or even the completely stereotypical opera seria Giulio Cesare in Egitto? If it is, why is it done so seldom? It doesn’t make my A or my B list.
My take on these writers is that they come to opera from somewhere else, from symphony, from instrumental music generally, and having thoroughly hashed over the symphony and decided what makes a great symphony, they are looking for those same virtues in operas. Great symphonic development doesn’t guarantee a great opera. They keep Wozzeck alive because they adore the fact that all the scenes are based on forms derived from instrumental music, as though this made it a better opera.
The test for a great opera is simple: does it engage the emotions? Do we connect emotionally to the people on the stage? Do their woes reflect our own? Do their joys touch us?
The drama is in the humans. I propose that this explains my conclusions that L'Amour de loin is a great opera while Doctor Atomic is a bad one, though both are directed and produced by Peter Sellars, and both are relatively static in terms of action.
In L'Amour the play is about human response. The entire drama is about human emotion and hardly a line of the dialog is not about emotion, longing, desire, love. Once it is decided how to display this visually, it's all downhill after that. It flows from passion to passion.
Atomic is just ordinary people talking about their ordinary lives. The security guard is a major character because Adams insists on using the actual words spoken by the actual people, except for the poem by John Donne we are told Oppenheimer read. The emotions of the characters are completely missing and replaced by a huge replica of the atomic bomb. The drama has to come from the people. Without Mr. Sellars' bomb there would be nothing.
Opera is about human emotion.
There is a conventional wisdom about opera. All the serious writers on opera as theater point to the same sources and reach the same conclusions. All look back to Sir Donald Tovey for their inspiration. All discuss the same small list of operas: Figaro, Don Giovanni, Otello, Die Meistersinger. George R. Marek in his book Opera as Theater adds Fidelio, Carmen, La Traviata, Tosca, Turandot and Der Rosenkavalier to this list. Joseph Kerman in Opera as Drama adds Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Gluck’s Orfeo and Pelleas and Melisande.
According to the conventional wisdom, the Italians rise to the level of mention only when they acquire the virtues of the Germans, as in Verdi’s Otello. Mozart and Wagner tower above all the others, casting them into deep shadow. The conventional wisdom requires us to endlessly praise the finales in Figaro and the effect of the leitmotiv in Wagner’s Ring. I have known people who only go to performances of Wagner’s final operas, considering them the only operas worthy of their notice. I am a bit on the other side and have never sat all the way through a performance of Tristan or Parsifal. In contrast my interest flagged in the equally lengthy Saint Francis only during the bird calls scene.
My experience of Wagner is that you are caught up in the spirit of what he is doing or you are not. Terry McEwan’s Ring cycle hooked me. James Morris and Eva Marton riveted my attention. Die Götterdämmerung was not a minute too long. For me Die Walküre is Wagner’s best opera, and I like Meistersinger more and more as the years pass. This kind of getting caught up hasn’t happened for me in Tristan, and I actively loathe Parsifal. I was caught up in the religious ecstasy of Saint Francis. I’ve warned before that I was a philistine.
Kerman describes Wagner’s main dramas as, “Opera as Symphonic Poem.” This is excellent. I was describing these works as the development sections of symphonies with all the exposition and recapitulation left out, but symphonic poem is better, more historically accurate. They descend from the ideas of Berlioz and Liszt, the inventor of the symphonic poem.
Kerman describes the Baroque, apart from Monteverdi’s Orfeo, as the Dark Ages. Associating opera with form is an interesting exercise. Opera in the early Baroque had not yet acquired its obsession with form and produced more dramatically effective opera-drama, especially in the operas of Monteverdi, not just Orfeo. Cavalli has also been revived recently. The interest in these operas stems from the fact that they are effective as theater.
As the Baroque progressed, the formal structure of the da capo aria dominated the requirements of theater. Opera became a series of set pieces with a cursory narrative between the long, showy arias. All of music, not merely opera arias, took on this formal, single affect per movement form. You will find it also in the Brandenberg Concertos or the Quattro Staggione. Why can we accept this in a concerto grosso but not in an opera?
Is Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice significantly more interesting than the more traditional La Clemenza di Tito? Or even the completely stereotypical opera seria Giulio Cesare in Egitto? If it is, why is it done so seldom? It doesn’t make my A or my B list.
My take on these writers is that they come to opera from somewhere else, from symphony, from instrumental music generally, and having thoroughly hashed over the symphony and decided what makes a great symphony, they are looking for those same virtues in operas. Great symphonic development doesn’t guarantee a great opera. They keep Wozzeck alive because they adore the fact that all the scenes are based on forms derived from instrumental music, as though this made it a better opera.
The test for a great opera is simple: does it engage the emotions? Do we connect emotionally to the people on the stage? Do their woes reflect our own? Do their joys touch us?
The drama is in the humans. I propose that this explains my conclusions that L'Amour de loin is a great opera while Doctor Atomic is a bad one, though both are directed and produced by Peter Sellars, and both are relatively static in terms of action.
In L'Amour the play is about human response. The entire drama is about human emotion and hardly a line of the dialog is not about emotion, longing, desire, love. Once it is decided how to display this visually, it's all downhill after that. It flows from passion to passion.
Atomic is just ordinary people talking about their ordinary lives. The security guard is a major character because Adams insists on using the actual words spoken by the actual people, except for the poem by John Donne we are told Oppenheimer read. The emotions of the characters are completely missing and replaced by a huge replica of the atomic bomb. The drama has to come from the people. Without Mr. Sellars' bomb there would be nothing.
Opera is about human emotion.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Rigoletto
Rolando and Anna, pronounced Anya I guess, were on the radio today in Verdi's Rigoletto. I thought the role a bit heavy for Villazon, but exactly right for Netrebko. I really love her singing.
David Daniels
I am listening to Rinaldo. I think it is the force of his voice and of his personality that is the attraction of David Daniels, countertenor. The sound isn't exactly beautiful but it fits the heroic characters he is portraying.
This is heavy going for me. It's no wonder I don't listen to this much. I just don't care to hear falsettists.
This is heavy going for me. It's no wonder I don't listen to this much. I just don't care to hear falsettists.
Norma
I bought also the 1978 film of Montserrat Caballe’s Norma from the Bel Canto Society.
The character of Norma is one of the things that keeps this opera at the top of the bel canto repertoire. She is a powerful woman, the head of her Druid religion, but bound in this role to complete chastity. Instead, she has two sons by Pollione, the Roman consul. When she finds he is having an affair with Adalgisa, another priestess, she contemplates murdering his sons, like Medea, but decides instead to send them to her father. The opera ends with Norma and Pollione being burned alive, a particularly gruesome way to die.
The other thing that keeps us listening is the incredible vocal line that Bellini has composed. Phrasing “Casta diva” is one of the great tests for a soprano.
The role is defined for us today by the 1954 and 1962 recordings of Maria Callas. Caballe and Callas performed the same repertoire but were very different singers. The first difference is in the sound of their voices: Callas had a hardness in her tone which made it easy for her to bring intensity and drama into her characterizations, while Caballe with her large, beautiful instrument must work harder to get the right theatrical effect with her voice.
In this video Caballe shifts frequently into a heavy chest voice for effect. Callas in the same music can concentrate on the line and get all the drama she needs from her emotions without deliberately manipulating her tone. Of course, there are the Callas high notes in the later recording. Caballe’s voice is always beautiful throughout its range. I never feel that I mind the sound of Callas’ voice. It expresses what she wants to say.
Is it unfair to compare the two? The “Casta diva” on the Caballe biography video with the white robes blowing in the wind is better than this one, where she works very hard to bring drama into her characterization to the detriment of the overall sound. The sweetness of her character is also at odds with Norma's. The singing in Semiramide and Roberto Devereaux is more spectacular.
That said, Caballe comes as close as anyone has to Callas’ standard. I think if I was to pick just one video of the three for Caballe, it would be Roberto Devereaux, perhaps in the version from the bel canto society.
The character of Norma is one of the things that keeps this opera at the top of the bel canto repertoire. She is a powerful woman, the head of her Druid religion, but bound in this role to complete chastity. Instead, she has two sons by Pollione, the Roman consul. When she finds he is having an affair with Adalgisa, another priestess, she contemplates murdering his sons, like Medea, but decides instead to send them to her father. The opera ends with Norma and Pollione being burned alive, a particularly gruesome way to die.
The other thing that keeps us listening is the incredible vocal line that Bellini has composed. Phrasing “Casta diva” is one of the great tests for a soprano.
The role is defined for us today by the 1954 and 1962 recordings of Maria Callas. Caballe and Callas performed the same repertoire but were very different singers. The first difference is in the sound of their voices: Callas had a hardness in her tone which made it easy for her to bring intensity and drama into her characterizations, while Caballe with her large, beautiful instrument must work harder to get the right theatrical effect with her voice.
In this video Caballe shifts frequently into a heavy chest voice for effect. Callas in the same music can concentrate on the line and get all the drama she needs from her emotions without deliberately manipulating her tone. Of course, there are the Callas high notes in the later recording. Caballe’s voice is always beautiful throughout its range. I never feel that I mind the sound of Callas’ voice. It expresses what she wants to say.
Is it unfair to compare the two? The “Casta diva” on the Caballe biography video with the white robes blowing in the wind is better than this one, where she works very hard to bring drama into her characterization to the detriment of the overall sound. The sweetness of her character is also at odds with Norma's. The singing in Semiramide and Roberto Devereaux is more spectacular.
That said, Caballe comes as close as anyone has to Callas’ standard. I think if I was to pick just one video of the three for Caballe, it would be Roberto Devereaux, perhaps in the version from the bel canto society.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Koyaanisqatsi
A couple of things came together for me--my interest in the minimalists and Alex Ross' article on Philip Glass' score--that made me think it was finally time for me to see Koyaanisqatsi, or Life out of Balance.
There's a little joke at the beginning: the DVD has a screen offering subtitles in Francais and Espagnol. The joke is that there is no dialog, just film and music. I am imagining words running across the bottom of the screen.
We begin with empty deserts and oceans and move gradually into human life. There is beautiful footage of a cave with bats flying in and out. The music and the film become gradually more and more frenzied, with film of explosions, buildings falling down and time lapse photography of cars going by. The musical score and the pictures complement each other. Glass' style consists of simple 2-4 note figures that are repeated in simple harmonic contexts. With these tools he is able to create large musical landscapes, larger than should actually be possible.
I wonder if this would make a good exercise video. I used to like to exercise to the video of the Joffrey doing Rite of Spring. I generally think exercise videos are too unimaginative. Why not exercise to Philip Glass and rockets taking off?
There is film of my beloved Bay Area with people riding BART and driving on the freeway that collapsed in the earthquake.
How can we judge that it is life out of balance? It is the only life we know.
There's a little joke at the beginning: the DVD has a screen offering subtitles in Francais and Espagnol. The joke is that there is no dialog, just film and music. I am imagining words running across the bottom of the screen.
We begin with empty deserts and oceans and move gradually into human life. There is beautiful footage of a cave with bats flying in and out. The music and the film become gradually more and more frenzied, with film of explosions, buildings falling down and time lapse photography of cars going by. The musical score and the pictures complement each other. Glass' style consists of simple 2-4 note figures that are repeated in simple harmonic contexts. With these tools he is able to create large musical landscapes, larger than should actually be possible.
I wonder if this would make a good exercise video. I used to like to exercise to the video of the Joffrey doing Rite of Spring. I generally think exercise videos are too unimaginative. Why not exercise to Philip Glass and rockets taking off?
There is film of my beloved Bay Area with people riding BART and driving on the freeway that collapsed in the earthquake.
How can we judge that it is life out of balance? It is the only life we know.
History
I've been reading a book called "Opera, A History" by Headington, Westbrook and Barfoot.
They tell us that Mozart wrote Mitridate for Milan and that this explains its completely conventional makeup. I think that's why it's a disappointment: he never steps out of the frame. We have come to expect more from Mozart. Idomeneo was Mozart's 13th work for the stage.
They also discuss castrati, saying that they sang most of the parts for both genders. That they were larger than women is easy to imagine, but the exaggeration of their capabilities is a bit hard to buy. They were specifically trained for their professions to a degree that it is hard to imagine would be true for women at the time.
You don't think I should read about things before I write about them, surely! I would like to read more about the true influence of Gluck's reforms on French opera and the transition to the romantic operas of Weber. I think like most transition periods, the leaders of change are not well known to us. I always remember how much Berlioz loved Spohr.
They tell us that Mozart wrote Mitridate for Milan and that this explains its completely conventional makeup. I think that's why it's a disappointment: he never steps out of the frame. We have come to expect more from Mozart. Idomeneo was Mozart's 13th work for the stage.
They also discuss castrati, saying that they sang most of the parts for both genders. That they were larger than women is easy to imagine, but the exaggeration of their capabilities is a bit hard to buy. They were specifically trained for their professions to a degree that it is hard to imagine would be true for women at the time.
You don't think I should read about things before I write about them, surely! I would like to read more about the true influence of Gluck's reforms on French opera and the transition to the romantic operas of Weber. I think like most transition periods, the leaders of change are not well known to us. I always remember how much Berlioz loved Spohr.
Candide
My latest DVD from Netflix is Candide by Leonard Bernstein.
This is my first experience of Candide, except for the book by Voltaire, of course. It hasn't quite made the transition from novel to opera/operetta and requires a narrator to keep it going. It calls itself an operetta and the songs are operetta-like. I'm used to edgier Bernstein, prefer edgier Bernstein.
It almost works. It's more of a morality tale or mystery play than a musical. We live in the best of all possible worlds. I have always noticed that according the logic at work here, we also live in the worst of all possible worlds. It's what we've got, so just go with it. Build your house, chop your wood, grow your garden. Why can't I picture either Voltaire or Bernstein doing any of these things? I am left wishing for more.
This is my first experience of Candide, except for the book by Voltaire, of course. It hasn't quite made the transition from novel to opera/operetta and requires a narrator to keep it going. It calls itself an operetta and the songs are operetta-like. I'm used to edgier Bernstein, prefer edgier Bernstein.
It almost works. It's more of a morality tale or mystery play than a musical. We live in the best of all possible worlds. I have always noticed that according the logic at work here, we also live in the worst of all possible worlds. It's what we've got, so just go with it. Build your house, chop your wood, grow your garden. Why can't I picture either Voltaire or Bernstein doing any of these things? I am left wishing for more.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Castrati
Opera from Monteverdi to Rossini contains a dirty little secret: the castrato. Dramatic presentations in Rome in this period, whether operas or oratorios, used all male casts, because of the church’s complete oppression of women. For some reason not clear to modern minds it was felt better to castrate men than to allow women to appear in public performances. The Roman opera from its origin in the 1620’s performed with all male casts, with castrated men playing the female roles.
In my discussion of the unknown opera composers I left out Landi, Mazzocchi, Marazzoli and the two Rossis, the composers of the Roman school, from my list. My apologies.
Cecilia Bartoli’s Sacrificium goes into detail about when, how and how frequently the castration took place. The sources for this data seem a bit sketchy.
Outside Rome, though, the castrati generally played most of the male roles and women sang the female parts. That means that throughout the entire period from Monteverdi to Rossini major male parts are assigned to sopranos and altos. This is not usually the case with comic operas, which explains why we are so familiar with Mozart’s comedies. There are no castrato parts. Cherubino is part of another tradition—assigning young men’s parts to women. Castrati were big guys. They just had high voices and no beards, like any eunuch. Cherubino needs to appear pre-pubescent and harmless, and a woman is better for that. Mozart intended Cherubino to be sung by a woman.
Why castrati? The only possible explanation is the sound. Early opera must simply have meant the sound of castrati singing.
This is a huge body of opera and encompasses all of opera seria, including all the operas of Handel who composed only opera seria. Mozart, Gluck and Rossini all composed for this genre and all wrote major roles for castrati.
Over the last year I’ve written about:
L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Monteverdi
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Handel
Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Mozart
Idomeneo, Mozart
Semiramide, Rossini
All included roles for castrati, and to present them to modern audiences this problem has to be solved. Just using the videos listed above we know easily which solution has worked the best: the Marilyn Horne solution. She can be seen in all her glory on the Bel Canto Society’s Semiramide. For years the San Francisco Opera only presented opera seria when Marilyn was available. In my memory the stunning Orlando Furioso of Vivaldi stands out. As long as Marilyn was still singing, this was the preferred solution.
One solution is to transpose the role down an octave and give it to a tenor or baritone. This was the solution in Maria Ewing’s performance of Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. The role of Nerone is supposed to be sung by a castrato. To accept the tenor solution you must accept that the music now sounds very different. A duet for two sopranos is quite a different sound from a duet for soprano and tenor. It is also difficult to find coloratura tenors capable of executing the ornamentation. This solution is not preferred.
Now that Marilyn has retired we have to move on. In Mitridate there are three castrato parts. In the video I reviewed two were assigned to women and one to a falsettist. I prefer that term to countertenor. If the castrato was a true soprano, it is difficult to find falsettists capable of singing that high. In Mitridate the part assigned to a falsettist is the lowest of the three.
Let’s talk about him for a while. Jochen Kowalski is his name. To my ears he represents the English male alto tradition, quite a strong and vital tradition on its own. They sing the alto parts in Handel oratorios, for instance. They use a very high larynx position and sound really whiny.
One curious fact about falsettists is that they’re usually baritones. Maybe it’s easier for a baritone to slip completely into falsetto at a lower pitch. This is key, because the whole role has to be sung in falsetto, not just the high parts. Here is an excellent discussion of how falsetto works. It explains why the tone is so uninteresting.
In Idomeneo the castrato part is sung by Cecilia. In Julius Caesar Cecilia sang the heroine, and the three castrato parts were sung by two men and a woman. Julius Caesar was sung by a man—Franco Fagioli. He was actually quite good for a falsettist, but slipped occasionally out of his falsetto on the low notes.
So those are the three solutions: transpose it down, give it to a woman, give it to a man singing falsetto. None are ideal. Transposing it down violates the musical intensions. Giving it to a woman creates a certain amount of gender confusion. Marilyn was not very tall, but wore big hats. Susan Graham plays men more often than not and is quite convincing. She was excellent in Alcina. Giving it to a falsettist means putting up with that sound.
This is strictly from my imagination, but a castrato voice has to have sounded very much like a powerful woman’s voice. Marilyn was probably not too far off. The one thing we can be absolutely sure of is that they did not sound like falsettists.
I don’t like to hear men singing falsetto, I generally think they are taking work away from a mezzo soprano, but these days they are everywhere. David Daniels is less annoying than Jochen Kowalski, but he’s still annoying. It is a trick they are doing. Crucial to doing the trick is to keep your voice from going out of falsetto. This means that is their primary focus and not the search for expressive variety. It’s an odd sound. If they take the whine completely out, they go back to sounding like tenors and baritones.
For a discussion of the male soprano Michael Maniaci and a film of him singing see here.
In my discussion of the unknown opera composers I left out Landi, Mazzocchi, Marazzoli and the two Rossis, the composers of the Roman school, from my list. My apologies.
Cecilia Bartoli’s Sacrificium goes into detail about when, how and how frequently the castration took place. The sources for this data seem a bit sketchy.
Outside Rome, though, the castrati generally played most of the male roles and women sang the female parts. That means that throughout the entire period from Monteverdi to Rossini major male parts are assigned to sopranos and altos. This is not usually the case with comic operas, which explains why we are so familiar with Mozart’s comedies. There are no castrato parts. Cherubino is part of another tradition—assigning young men’s parts to women. Castrati were big guys. They just had high voices and no beards, like any eunuch. Cherubino needs to appear pre-pubescent and harmless, and a woman is better for that. Mozart intended Cherubino to be sung by a woman.
Why castrati? The only possible explanation is the sound. Early opera must simply have meant the sound of castrati singing.
This is a huge body of opera and encompasses all of opera seria, including all the operas of Handel who composed only opera seria. Mozart, Gluck and Rossini all composed for this genre and all wrote major roles for castrati.
Over the last year I’ve written about:
L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Monteverdi
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Handel
Mitridate, Re di Ponto, Mozart
Idomeneo, Mozart
Semiramide, Rossini
All included roles for castrati, and to present them to modern audiences this problem has to be solved. Just using the videos listed above we know easily which solution has worked the best: the Marilyn Horne solution. She can be seen in all her glory on the Bel Canto Society’s Semiramide. For years the San Francisco Opera only presented opera seria when Marilyn was available. In my memory the stunning Orlando Furioso of Vivaldi stands out. As long as Marilyn was still singing, this was the preferred solution.
One solution is to transpose the role down an octave and give it to a tenor or baritone. This was the solution in Maria Ewing’s performance of Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. The role of Nerone is supposed to be sung by a castrato. To accept the tenor solution you must accept that the music now sounds very different. A duet for two sopranos is quite a different sound from a duet for soprano and tenor. It is also difficult to find coloratura tenors capable of executing the ornamentation. This solution is not preferred.
Now that Marilyn has retired we have to move on. In Mitridate there are three castrato parts. In the video I reviewed two were assigned to women and one to a falsettist. I prefer that term to countertenor. If the castrato was a true soprano, it is difficult to find falsettists capable of singing that high. In Mitridate the part assigned to a falsettist is the lowest of the three.
Let’s talk about him for a while. Jochen Kowalski is his name. To my ears he represents the English male alto tradition, quite a strong and vital tradition on its own. They sing the alto parts in Handel oratorios, for instance. They use a very high larynx position and sound really whiny.
One curious fact about falsettists is that they’re usually baritones. Maybe it’s easier for a baritone to slip completely into falsetto at a lower pitch. This is key, because the whole role has to be sung in falsetto, not just the high parts. Here is an excellent discussion of how falsetto works. It explains why the tone is so uninteresting.
In Idomeneo the castrato part is sung by Cecilia. In Julius Caesar Cecilia sang the heroine, and the three castrato parts were sung by two men and a woman. Julius Caesar was sung by a man—Franco Fagioli. He was actually quite good for a falsettist, but slipped occasionally out of his falsetto on the low notes.
So those are the three solutions: transpose it down, give it to a woman, give it to a man singing falsetto. None are ideal. Transposing it down violates the musical intensions. Giving it to a woman creates a certain amount of gender confusion. Marilyn was not very tall, but wore big hats. Susan Graham plays men more often than not and is quite convincing. She was excellent in Alcina. Giving it to a falsettist means putting up with that sound.
This is strictly from my imagination, but a castrato voice has to have sounded very much like a powerful woman’s voice. Marilyn was probably not too far off. The one thing we can be absolutely sure of is that they did not sound like falsettists.
I don’t like to hear men singing falsetto, I generally think they are taking work away from a mezzo soprano, but these days they are everywhere. David Daniels is less annoying than Jochen Kowalski, but he’s still annoying. It is a trick they are doing. Crucial to doing the trick is to keep your voice from going out of falsetto. This means that is their primary focus and not the search for expressive variety. It’s an odd sound. If they take the whine completely out, they go back to sounding like tenors and baritones.
For a discussion of the male soprano Michael Maniaci and a film of him singing see here.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Rent
It’s hard not to see Rent, a reworking of La Boheme, as politics. What a sad picture of modern life it presents as La vie Boheme. In a century we are generally rid of tuberculosis, but now we have aids and drugs to replace it. Several of the characters are on AZT, and one, a drag queen named Angel, dies of aids. Mimi dances in a club and earns extra money with prostitution. She mainlines.
But when she says, “I’m called Mimi,” you have to respond, “I knew that,” or perhaps, "but my real name is Lucia." She blows out her own candle so they can search for matches.
To be our Boheme they must include lesbians and gays, obsess over commitment, and live in a loft in New York City. This is 1990, the end of the millennium, before 9/11, and the world trade center still stands.
What is the same as that other La Boheme? Friendship, youth, joy, love, most of all love. They haven’t paid the rent, so there is no heat. They worry over selling out for money.
I’m going to be 65 in a couple of days and can’t remember ever being this young. I love Angel and the mixed race dyke that is Musetta’s lover. Forgive me if I call them their other names. And there is tango, which I adore. People dance on table tops and shout out their love of La vie Boheme. There is no yesterday; there is no tomorrow. There is only this moment.
Someone named Jonathan Larson made this. It’s us, our young ones, loving and dying and being young. The music is us, too. I dreamt about it.
But when she says, “I’m called Mimi,” you have to respond, “I knew that,” or perhaps, "but my real name is Lucia." She blows out her own candle so they can search for matches.
To be our Boheme they must include lesbians and gays, obsess over commitment, and live in a loft in New York City. This is 1990, the end of the millennium, before 9/11, and the world trade center still stands.
What is the same as that other La Boheme? Friendship, youth, joy, love, most of all love. They haven’t paid the rent, so there is no heat. They worry over selling out for money.
I’m going to be 65 in a couple of days and can’t remember ever being this young. I love Angel and the mixed race dyke that is Musetta’s lover. Forgive me if I call them their other names. And there is tango, which I adore. People dance on table tops and shout out their love of La vie Boheme. There is no yesterday; there is no tomorrow. There is only this moment.
Someone named Jonathan Larson made this. It’s us, our young ones, loving and dying and being young. The music is us, too. I dreamt about it.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Mitridate
Where besides opera would you be so unable to predict what you will see? So why exactly are these people wearing what look like French Farthingales in a production of Mozart's Mitridate, Re di Ponto? Men playing men, women playing women and women playing men--all are wearing them in an opera first performed in 1770. The style, worn by women, died out c. 1600. And the drama takes place in 63 bc.
Dramatis Personæ:
Mitridate, King of Pontus and other kingdoms, in love with Aspasia (tenor-played by a man--Bruce Ford)
Aspasia, betrothed to Mitridate and already declared Queen (soprano-Luba Organasova)
Sifare, son of Mitridate and Stratonica, in love with Aspasia (male soprano-played by a woman-Ann Murray)
Farnace, eldest son of Mitridate, also in love with Aspasia (male alto-played by a man-Jochen Kowalski)
Ismene, daughter of the King of the Parthians, in love with Farnace (soprano-Lillian Watson)
Marzio, Roman Tribune, friend of Farnace (tenor-Justin Lavender)
Arbate, Governor of Nymphæa (male soprano-played by a woman-Jacquelyn Fugelle)
The most interesting thing about this opera is that it was written by Mozart when he was 14. It is a fully realized opera seria in a style that I would call rococo. Every bit of it is recognizably Mozart. He shows no interest in the Gluck reform movement going on then and composes roles for castrati in formal set-piece arias. Mozart grows up into a more sophisticated composer, but so does the world generally. He is completely in tune with his era.
The singing is lovely, and the vocal writing is amazing. Try to ignore the incongruous costumes.
This opera makes clear all the problems of opera seria. From a theatrical perspective it is too static and meditative for modern life. Nothing lifts this from the surrounding repertoire except that it is by Mozart at 14. If you're curious, definitely look it over. If you want to be entertained, it will not do at all.
[See Kinderkuchen History 1760-1780]
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Minimalists
I am researching the music of the last 30 years in order to write a chapter about it. I have already compiled and am working on a list of operas. See here.
Minimalism descends from the avant garde of the 1950's and is led by Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley. The first and last of these three I am familiar with through listening to the recordings of the Kronos Quartet. Kronos used to rehearse in the school near my house in Berkeley. I am a big fan of Kronos.
An early landmark is Steve Reich's "Drumming," 1970-71. Which I have heard. It's, what can I say, it's ... a lot of drumming. Not percussion, just drumming. How more minimal can you get? There used to be people who jammed on drums for hours on end on the cement stairs on the Bay at the head of Hyde Street. You could join in if you brought your own drum. They sort of swung, if I recall correctly. Reich is just drumming.
Some of his early stuff is actually tape manipulations of people talking, which I consider more avant garde than minimalist. Glass is the most minimal of the minimalists. He just does simple triads and arpeggios over and over until your mind goes completely numb.
I have been investigating the work of Arvo Pärt recently and find him repetitive. [Insert laughter here.] That is a gag line. If I have to explain it, it isn't funny. He is doing antique textures--Schütz or Perotin--with modern harmony. It generally has a religious context, and is in fact, intensely religious.
The rest of the group of minimalists are John Adams (not so minimal), Le Monte Young, Meredith Monk, Sol Lewitt, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Richard Serra and Bruce Nauman. Except for Adams, I can't tell you anything about these guys.
It is possible to get your brain around the music of the minimalist school which makes them a huge improvement over most of serialism. Less is more.
Minimalism descends from the avant garde of the 1950's and is led by Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Terry Riley. The first and last of these three I am familiar with through listening to the recordings of the Kronos Quartet. Kronos used to rehearse in the school near my house in Berkeley. I am a big fan of Kronos.
An early landmark is Steve Reich's "Drumming," 1970-71. Which I have heard. It's, what can I say, it's ... a lot of drumming. Not percussion, just drumming. How more minimal can you get? There used to be people who jammed on drums for hours on end on the cement stairs on the Bay at the head of Hyde Street. You could join in if you brought your own drum. They sort of swung, if I recall correctly. Reich is just drumming.
Some of his early stuff is actually tape manipulations of people talking, which I consider more avant garde than minimalist. Glass is the most minimal of the minimalists. He just does simple triads and arpeggios over and over until your mind goes completely numb.
I have been investigating the work of Arvo Pärt recently and find him repetitive. [Insert laughter here.] That is a gag line. If I have to explain it, it isn't funny. He is doing antique textures--Schütz or Perotin--with modern harmony. It generally has a religious context, and is in fact, intensely religious.
The rest of the group of minimalists are John Adams (not so minimal), Le Monte Young, Meredith Monk, Sol Lewitt, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Richard Serra and Bruce Nauman. Except for Adams, I can't tell you anything about these guys.
It is possible to get your brain around the music of the minimalist school which makes them a huge improvement over most of serialism. Less is more.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Squillo
Here is an interesting discussion of technique from the Bel Canto Society:
What gives [Mario] Del Monaco’s sound its elemental excitement? Ring, ping, what the Italians call “squillo.” Most singers merely have resonance, which in and of itself is never exciting.
Tones without squillo cannot pierce or punch. They may exude sorrow but not heartwrenching suffering or violent rate. For me, singers lacking squillo can never be entirely satisfying as, say, Otello. The full-bodied tones of Carreras and Domingo may please, but they cannot thrill. To thrill, such singers have to rely on the use to which they put their tones, on musical interpretation and vocal acting.
The following have or had voices with resonance but no—or little—squillo: Battistini, Blake, Bonci, Borgioli, Bruson, Caballe, Clement, Corena, Finelli, Freni, McCormack, Olivero, Schipa, Simionato, Tagliavini, Valletti and Vrenios. Though he did not have a great deal of squillo, Gigli, for one, generated excitement through exuberance of manner.
The following have or had squillo: Bergamaschi, Cerquetti, Christoff, De Muro, Escalais, Fleta, Groh, Korjus, Kurz, Lauri Volpi, Martinelli, Nilsson, Pavarotti, Ponselle, Rosvaenge, Ruffo, Tamagno, Tebaldi, Tetrazzini and Zenatello. Sometimes a singer will have squillo on high notes only—Bonisolli, for instance. Sometimes a singer will have it on good days only—myself [Stefan Zucker], for instance. Sometimes a singer will have squillo on the Italian vowels “e” and “I” only—De Lucia, for instance. Sometimes a singer will have it but lose it—Callas and Slezak, for instance. Bjoerling and Caruso each relied on resonance and squillo in about equal proportion.
You can increase squillo by lowering your larynx—but you don’t have to lower your larynx to have it. (Getting your larynx to stay really low while singing or talking takes some doing.)
According to Del Monaco’s autobiography, La mia vita e I miei successi, at the beginning of his career he appeared as Ernesto and Alfredo—and couldn’t be heard. Then he pioneered a lowered-larynx technique taught by Arturo Melocchi, who had learned it in China from a Russian [so this is the Russian secret!]—the technique previously was unknown in Italy. It gave Del Monaco a powerful, brassy sound, but there were tradeoffs: the sound was thick, sometimes muscular, and he had limited ability to color, to modulate between loud and soft and to sing with agility or legato. Often the sound was constricted in the passaggio (the area of the voice where head resonance begins to predominate over chest resonance).
Corelli, to overcome these drawbacks, modified the technique: whereas Del Monaco held his larynx very low at all times, Corelli caused his, in his word, to “float.” Overall the result was more satisfying even if Del Monaco’s B-flats were more trumpet-like than anyone else’s. In any case, the standard repertory sung with a lowered larynx is as anachronistic as Bach played on a concert grand—although the result can be thrilling. (Corelli’s rejoinder is that in today’s theaters, with today’s louder and more brilliant orchestras, singers need the power and steel that come from the lowered larynx.)
… On early records many singers have squillo. Since then, it has become hard to find apart from those who lower their larynxes.
Dr B: Interesting, don't you think? I think there are degrees of lowered larynx, some more extreme than others, but that everyone lowers it at least a little. At least some of the names are familiar.
He says Caballe has no squillo. Well, see her Norma from bel canto society. We need a list that's more up to date.
What gives [Mario] Del Monaco’s sound its elemental excitement? Ring, ping, what the Italians call “squillo.” Most singers merely have resonance, which in and of itself is never exciting.
Tones without squillo cannot pierce or punch. They may exude sorrow but not heartwrenching suffering or violent rate. For me, singers lacking squillo can never be entirely satisfying as, say, Otello. The full-bodied tones of Carreras and Domingo may please, but they cannot thrill. To thrill, such singers have to rely on the use to which they put their tones, on musical interpretation and vocal acting.
The following have or had voices with resonance but no—or little—squillo: Battistini, Blake, Bonci, Borgioli, Bruson, Caballe, Clement, Corena, Finelli, Freni, McCormack, Olivero, Schipa, Simionato, Tagliavini, Valletti and Vrenios. Though he did not have a great deal of squillo, Gigli, for one, generated excitement through exuberance of manner.
The following have or had squillo: Bergamaschi, Cerquetti, Christoff, De Muro, Escalais, Fleta, Groh, Korjus, Kurz, Lauri Volpi, Martinelli, Nilsson, Pavarotti, Ponselle, Rosvaenge, Ruffo, Tamagno, Tebaldi, Tetrazzini and Zenatello. Sometimes a singer will have squillo on high notes only—Bonisolli, for instance. Sometimes a singer will have it on good days only—myself [Stefan Zucker], for instance. Sometimes a singer will have squillo on the Italian vowels “e” and “I” only—De Lucia, for instance. Sometimes a singer will have it but lose it—Callas and Slezak, for instance. Bjoerling and Caruso each relied on resonance and squillo in about equal proportion.
You can increase squillo by lowering your larynx—but you don’t have to lower your larynx to have it. (Getting your larynx to stay really low while singing or talking takes some doing.)
According to Del Monaco’s autobiography, La mia vita e I miei successi, at the beginning of his career he appeared as Ernesto and Alfredo—and couldn’t be heard. Then he pioneered a lowered-larynx technique taught by Arturo Melocchi, who had learned it in China from a Russian [so this is the Russian secret!]—the technique previously was unknown in Italy. It gave Del Monaco a powerful, brassy sound, but there were tradeoffs: the sound was thick, sometimes muscular, and he had limited ability to color, to modulate between loud and soft and to sing with agility or legato. Often the sound was constricted in the passaggio (the area of the voice where head resonance begins to predominate over chest resonance).
Corelli, to overcome these drawbacks, modified the technique: whereas Del Monaco held his larynx very low at all times, Corelli caused his, in his word, to “float.” Overall the result was more satisfying even if Del Monaco’s B-flats were more trumpet-like than anyone else’s. In any case, the standard repertory sung with a lowered larynx is as anachronistic as Bach played on a concert grand—although the result can be thrilling. (Corelli’s rejoinder is that in today’s theaters, with today’s louder and more brilliant orchestras, singers need the power and steel that come from the lowered larynx.)
… On early records many singers have squillo. Since then, it has become hard to find apart from those who lower their larynxes.
Dr B: Interesting, don't you think? I think there are degrees of lowered larynx, some more extreme than others, but that everyone lowers it at least a little. At least some of the names are familiar.
He says Caballe has no squillo. Well, see her Norma from bel canto society. We need a list that's more up to date.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Modern Operas, a list
This is my list of operas since 1976. I have seen the ones in bold.
The Martyrdom of saint Magnus 1976 Davies
Einstein on the Beach 1976 Glass
The Women in the Garden 1977 Fine
Le Grand Macabre 1977 Ligeti
Lear 1978 Reimann
The Red Line 1978 Sallinen
The Lighthouse 1979 Davies
King Harald's Saga 1979 Weir
The Village Singer 1979 Paulus
Sweeney Todd 1979 Sondheim
Donnerstag aus Licht 1980 Stockhausen
The Lighthouse 1980 Davies
Satyagraha 1981 Glass
Akhnaten 1983 Glass
Saint Francois d'Assise 1983 Messiaen
Un re in ascolto 1984 Berio
The Mask Of Orpheus 1984 Birtwhistle
Samstag aus Licht 1984 Stockhausen
The man who mistook his wife for a hat 1986 Nyman
Nixon in China 1987 Adams
A Night at the Chinese opera 1987 Weir
Montag aus Licht 1988 Stockhausen
Greek 1988 Turnage
The death of Klinghoffer 1991 Adams
Gawain 1991 Birtwhistle
The ghosts of Versailles 1991 Corigliano
Dienstag aus Licht 1991 Stockhausen
Mary of Egypt 1991 Taverner
Life with an idiot 1992 Schnittke
McTeague 1992 Bolcom
Orphée 1993 Glass
Blond Eckbert 1994 Weir
The Dangerous Liaisons 1994 Susa
Harvey Milk 1995 Wallace
Der Koenig Kandaules 1996 Zemlinski
A Streetcar Named Desire 1998 Previn
Little Women 1998 Adamo
A View from the Bridge 1999 Bolcom
The Great gatsby 1999 Harbison
L'Amour de Loin 2000 Saariaho
Dead Man Walking 2000 Heggie
Sophie's Choice 2002 Maw
Tea, a Mirror of Soul 2002 Dun
The Little Prince 2003 Portman
L'Upupa Und Der Triumph Der Sohnesliebe 2003 Henze
Welfare: the opera 2004 Picket
Doctor Atomic 2005 Adams
The Tempest 2005 Ades
Margaret Garner 2005 Danielpour
Grendel 2005 Goldenthal
An America Tragedy 2005 Picker
Ainadamar 2005 Golijov
The First Emperor 2006 Dun
Appomattox 2007 Glass
Phaedra 2007 Henze
The Bonesetter’s Daughter 2008 Wallace
The Letter 2009 Moravec
Il Postino 2010 Catán
Moby Dick 2010 Heggie
Heart of a Soldier 2011 Theofanidis
Anna Nicole 2011 Turnage
I won't comment on the ones I haven't seen. Of the ones I have seen, I would put them into these categories:
Great works: Saint Francis, L'Amour, Moby Dick
Excellent operas: Nixon, Le Grand Macabre, Satyagraha, Dead Man, Ghosts, Orphée
Ok, I guess: Little Women, Lighthouse, Atomic, Liaisons
Boring: Streetcar, Lear, Klinghofer
AAAAh!: Sweeney Todd
I have promoted Atomic to ok. After all, if you closed your eyes and imagined you were at the symphony, it was very nice. I should look into Schnittke and Stockhausen. Akhnaten actually sounds interesting. With a Glass opera it helps if you are on drugs. With Satyagraha you must view the opera in a meditative trance state. Don't fight it.
The Tempest has received very good reviews. This is a major area of interest for me. I am maintaining this list as I go along, adding any new operas.
The Martyrdom of saint Magnus 1976 Davies
Einstein on the Beach 1976 Glass
The Women in the Garden 1977 Fine
Le Grand Macabre 1977 Ligeti
Lear 1978 Reimann
The Red Line 1978 Sallinen
The Lighthouse 1979 Davies
King Harald's Saga 1979 Weir
The Village Singer 1979 Paulus
Sweeney Todd 1979 Sondheim
Donnerstag aus Licht 1980 Stockhausen
The Lighthouse 1980 Davies
Satyagraha 1981 Glass
Akhnaten 1983 Glass
Saint Francois d'Assise 1983 Messiaen
Un re in ascolto 1984 Berio
The Mask Of Orpheus 1984 Birtwhistle
Samstag aus Licht 1984 Stockhausen
The man who mistook his wife for a hat 1986 Nyman
Nixon in China 1987 Adams
A Night at the Chinese opera 1987 Weir
Montag aus Licht 1988 Stockhausen
Greek 1988 Turnage
The death of Klinghoffer 1991 Adams
Gawain 1991 Birtwhistle
The ghosts of Versailles 1991 Corigliano
Dienstag aus Licht 1991 Stockhausen
Mary of Egypt 1991 Taverner
Life with an idiot 1992 Schnittke
McTeague 1992 Bolcom
Orphée 1993 Glass
Blond Eckbert 1994 Weir
The Dangerous Liaisons 1994 Susa
Harvey Milk 1995 Wallace
Der Koenig Kandaules 1996 Zemlinski
A Streetcar Named Desire 1998 Previn
Little Women 1998 Adamo
A View from the Bridge 1999 Bolcom
The Great gatsby 1999 Harbison
L'Amour de Loin 2000 Saariaho
Dead Man Walking 2000 Heggie
Sophie's Choice 2002 Maw
Tea, a Mirror of Soul 2002 Dun
The Little Prince 2003 Portman
L'Upupa Und Der Triumph Der Sohnesliebe 2003 Henze
Welfare: the opera 2004 Picket
Doctor Atomic 2005 Adams
The Tempest 2005 Ades
Margaret Garner 2005 Danielpour
Grendel 2005 Goldenthal
An America Tragedy 2005 Picker
Ainadamar 2005 Golijov
The First Emperor 2006 Dun
Appomattox 2007 Glass
Phaedra 2007 Henze
The Bonesetter’s Daughter 2008 Wallace
The Letter 2009 Moravec
Il Postino 2010 Catán
Moby Dick 2010 Heggie
Heart of a Soldier 2011 Theofanidis
Anna Nicole 2011 Turnage
I won't comment on the ones I haven't seen. Of the ones I have seen, I would put them into these categories:
Great works: Saint Francis, L'Amour, Moby Dick
Excellent operas: Nixon, Le Grand Macabre, Satyagraha, Dead Man, Ghosts, Orphée
Ok, I guess: Little Women, Lighthouse, Atomic, Liaisons
Boring: Streetcar, Lear, Klinghofer
AAAAh!: Sweeney Todd
I have promoted Atomic to ok. After all, if you closed your eyes and imagined you were at the symphony, it was very nice. I should look into Schnittke and Stockhausen. Akhnaten actually sounds interesting. With a Glass opera it helps if you are on drugs. With Satyagraha you must view the opera in a meditative trance state. Don't fight it.
The Tempest has received very good reviews. This is a major area of interest for me. I am maintaining this list as I go along, adding any new operas.
An American Tragedy
There is an excellent article in Wikipedia about the novel An American Tragedy. According to my rule that opera is about love this should work as an opera. But the reviews I am seeing are all pans.
Here's a nice quote from the Chicago Tribune: "[Dolora] Zajick sucked up every ounce of oxygen on stage in her showy scena, complete with fearless leaps into the vocal stratosphere." She plays the hero's mother. Why can't I write like that?
Here's a nice quote from the Chicago Tribune: "[Dolora] Zajick sucked up every ounce of oxygen on stage in her showy scena, complete with fearless leaps into the vocal stratosphere." She plays the hero's mother. Why can't I write like that?
Sunday, December 04, 2005
Roberto Devereux
Since this is a blog and not a real job, I get to follow my inclinations wherever they go. After watching her biography, my inclinations are taking me to Montserrat Caballe. I was never a fan of Caballe, and now I have to wonder why. Ignorance, probably. After seeing the bio, I bought two videos from the Bel Canto Society--Semiramide and Norma--and one from House of Opera--a 1977 performance of Roberto Devereux by Donizetti from Aix en Provence with a very young and very robust sounding Jose Carreras. Like any of HofO's material, it is not up to commercial standards. This DVD is worth the price just for Carreras alone. I notice that the bel canto society also offers this. They apparently have access to the original tapings and don't have to rely on broadcasts.
The picture on the cover of Caballe's bio Beyond Music is from this production, where she is simply amazing. Why Caballe? The size, color, beauty and flexibility of her voice would be hard to top in bel canto repertoire. She can do it all. Nothing ever happens that is even remotely too much for her. Everything in this really very heavy opera is completely within her power and control--every note, every phrase, every emotion. How often can you say that?
I think I personally prefer a balance between heaviness and fioratura that is more toward the Rossini balance. Rossini never forgets it's about singing, but Donizetti is trying for heavier drama. My heart didn't stop for this as it did for Semiramide.
The picture on the cover of Caballe's bio Beyond Music is from this production, where she is simply amazing. Why Caballe? The size, color, beauty and flexibility of her voice would be hard to top in bel canto repertoire. She can do it all. Nothing ever happens that is even remotely too much for her. Everything in this really very heavy opera is completely within her power and control--every note, every phrase, every emotion. How often can you say that?
I think I personally prefer a balance between heaviness and fioratura that is more toward the Rossini balance. Rossini never forgets it's about singing, but Donizetti is trying for heavier drama. My heart didn't stop for this as it did for Semiramide.
Christmas gifts
Of the things I have reviewed this year, these are the best of what's still available:
For the devoted opera lover:
This is the hot new singer Anna Netrebko's best CD.
Equally hot is Rolando Villazon's French aria CD.
For the devoted old-fashioned opera lover, Caballe's DVD bio is fabulous.
No one's record collection should be without this La Boheme with Beecham and company.
For the newcomer to opera Domingo is always recommended, as in this well-produced Tales of Hoffmann DVD.
For those ready to branch out:
Of course. Don't miss this. Give Bartoli's Opera Proibita CD to everyone if you want.
I loved this DVD film of Ruslan and Lyudmila. Anna Netrebko is in this, too.
This is for those who are ready for true adventure: L'amour de loin.
For the devoted opera lover:
This is the hot new singer Anna Netrebko's best CD.
Equally hot is Rolando Villazon's French aria CD.
For the devoted old-fashioned opera lover, Caballe's DVD bio is fabulous.
No one's record collection should be without this La Boheme with Beecham and company.
For the newcomer to opera Domingo is always recommended, as in this well-produced Tales of Hoffmann DVD.
For those ready to branch out:
Of course. Don't miss this. Give Bartoli's Opera Proibita CD to everyone if you want.
I loved this DVD film of Ruslan and Lyudmila. Anna Netrebko is in this, too.
This is for those who are ready for true adventure: L'amour de loin.
Eurythmics
While I was in Ohio for Thanksgiving, I watched the American Music Awards. It was nice to see Mariah Carey on top again--she is a significant person, after all--but otherwise it was a bust.
Except for Eurythmics. Why don't I know about this? Sure, I've heard the name, but in my head it's a Swiss music therapy system. I see people in leotards. ("Eurhythmics is the century-old method of music education that teaches all elements of music through physical motion.")
So I bought the dvd Eurythmics: Live from Heaven. Heaven is a club, I guess. The credits go David Stewart, then Annie Lennox, but Annie is the featured player, singing the solos on every number. Maybe Dave writes the music.
The sound is very much a synthesized sound. The live drummer, Pete Phipps, plays on the octagonal drum faces that drum synthesizers use. This would be perfect for practicing drums in a small apartment--you would hook up your gear and plug in the earphones, since it's never going to sound natural anyway. The other instruments are electric bass, electric guitar and synthesizers. Oh, and Annie occasionally doubles on flute, the only acoustic instrument. It takes a lot of expensive gear to suck the natural sound out of instruments like this.
But you knew all that. I'm the only one that's completely out of the loop. I am told by Wikipedia, which has a long article on the group where you can read all about them, that "Sweet dreams are made of this," featured on the dvd, is their breakthrough commercial success.
They seem freaky in a completely original way. Annie wears a red crew-cut and white man's suit. Sometimes she uses her voice as a percussion instrument, making popping and barking sounds into the microphone. Then the trio of backup singers with big fuzzy hair bark along with her. I don't see myself acquiring a taste for this.
I wonder if anyone's mentioned that she looks a little like Garbo?
Except for Eurythmics. Why don't I know about this? Sure, I've heard the name, but in my head it's a Swiss music therapy system. I see people in leotards. ("Eurhythmics is the century-old method of music education that teaches all elements of music through physical motion.")
So I bought the dvd Eurythmics: Live from Heaven. Heaven is a club, I guess. The credits go David Stewart, then Annie Lennox, but Annie is the featured player, singing the solos on every number. Maybe Dave writes the music.
The sound is very much a synthesized sound. The live drummer, Pete Phipps, plays on the octagonal drum faces that drum synthesizers use. This would be perfect for practicing drums in a small apartment--you would hook up your gear and plug in the earphones, since it's never going to sound natural anyway. The other instruments are electric bass, electric guitar and synthesizers. Oh, and Annie occasionally doubles on flute, the only acoustic instrument. It takes a lot of expensive gear to suck the natural sound out of instruments like this.
But you knew all that. I'm the only one that's completely out of the loop. I am told by Wikipedia, which has a long article on the group where you can read all about them, that "Sweet dreams are made of this," featured on the dvd, is their breakthrough commercial success.
They seem freaky in a completely original way. Annie wears a red crew-cut and white man's suit. Sometimes she uses her voice as a percussion instrument, making popping and barking sounds into the microphone. Then the trio of backup singers with big fuzzy hair bark along with her. I don't see myself acquiring a taste for this.
I wonder if anyone's mentioned that she looks a little like Garbo?
Saturday, December 03, 2005
News
Friends are trying to keep me up on things.
Here's an item of interest. Opernwelt, a German language magazine on opera, has awarded the Stuttgart Opera the production of the year award for Doktor Faust. My friend has written, "Can you believe this?" on the edge of the clipping. This production made its debut in San Francisco, and I have expressed elsewhere in this blog that I loathed it. Doktor Faust works in a factory as a computer worker, apparently. What they're doing with the computers isn't clear, but a lot of time is spent staring at the screens. That is an accurate representation of computer work. Doktor Faust also sleeps in the factory and has visitors who seem to be up to no good. That's all I can tell you. It made no sense at all. Maybe German opera critics know more about Busoni's Doktor Faust than I do and could figure out what was supposed to be going on. The set design by Anna Viebrock also won an award. It's hard to take in.
And here is another photo of the new improved Deborah Voigt. Her singing seems to be unaffected by her weight loss, at least so far.
Here's an item of interest. Opernwelt, a German language magazine on opera, has awarded the Stuttgart Opera the production of the year award for Doktor Faust. My friend has written, "Can you believe this?" on the edge of the clipping. This production made its debut in San Francisco, and I have expressed elsewhere in this blog that I loathed it. Doktor Faust works in a factory as a computer worker, apparently. What they're doing with the computers isn't clear, but a lot of time is spent staring at the screens. That is an accurate representation of computer work. Doktor Faust also sleeps in the factory and has visitors who seem to be up to no good. That's all I can tell you. It made no sense at all. Maybe German opera critics know more about Busoni's Doktor Faust than I do and could figure out what was supposed to be going on. The set design by Anna Viebrock also won an award. It's hard to take in.
And here is another photo of the new improved Deborah Voigt. Her singing seems to be unaffected by her weight loss, at least so far.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Christmas Music
Just as I was dropping off to sleep, I happened to catch “Renée Fleming: Sacred Songs and Carols" on PBS. She was just starting on Schubert’s “Ave Maria” with the Latin text. (It was written with a German text, and is occasionally even performed that way.) This totally worked for me.
Renée has discovered that anything can be a pop song. It was something I didn’t understand in my youth that the greatest singers are those with the most easily identifiable idiosyncrasies. Renée has something going with her pop song phrasing that she uses almost all the time now, which makes for a very relaxed and evocative style of singing. She is keeping it loose, and this looseness also enhances the beauty of her voice. Renée is an American singer, and her best work will always show her American soul. This is where music comes from. My soul is American, too, and it speaks to me.
This loose, pop song style isn’t going to work equally well in all types of repertoire. It is too sweet and precious for “Silent Night”, for instance. Renée has a sophisticated soul which cannot achieve the true simplicity of "Silent Night."
Anything can be a pop song. Most Handel arias, it turns out, can be pop songs. Most of the time in her fabulous Handel album it works perfectly, but occasionally she keeps this loose style going even in pieces that are much more serious and intense than the style allows, resulting in an unpleasant tension.
I woke right up for her “O holy night”, a song I have loved since I sang it in high school. This style, the Renée Fleming style, is perfect for this song. She is becoming more and more herself.
Renée has discovered that anything can be a pop song. It was something I didn’t understand in my youth that the greatest singers are those with the most easily identifiable idiosyncrasies. Renée has something going with her pop song phrasing that she uses almost all the time now, which makes for a very relaxed and evocative style of singing. She is keeping it loose, and this looseness also enhances the beauty of her voice. Renée is an American singer, and her best work will always show her American soul. This is where music comes from. My soul is American, too, and it speaks to me.
This loose, pop song style isn’t going to work equally well in all types of repertoire. It is too sweet and precious for “Silent Night”, for instance. Renée has a sophisticated soul which cannot achieve the true simplicity of "Silent Night."
Anything can be a pop song. Most Handel arias, it turns out, can be pop songs. Most of the time in her fabulous Handel album it works perfectly, but occasionally she keeps this loose style going even in pieces that are much more serious and intense than the style allows, resulting in an unpleasant tension.
I woke right up for her “O holy night”, a song I have loved since I sang it in high school. This style, the Renée Fleming style, is perfect for this song. She is becoming more and more herself.
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