Tuesday, August 04, 2009

At Santa Fe

I am at Santa Fe with the Elderhostel, and in the mornings we hear lectures about the opera we will hear that evening.


Ron Grinage, the instructor, played a recording of Natalie Dessay singing the big aria from La Traviata. Toward the end a tenor came in. Who could this be that arouses such a visceral unease? We think Roberto Alagna is adorable, we like his voice and even his style. So what exactly is the source of the anxiety?

We said that pitch variation was part of the performer's interpretation. You must always feel that the performer.... How can I properly express this? I need to feel that the singer is always aware of what the pitch is supposed to be. He sometimes leaves a queasy feeling. Maybe he could use auto-tune.

Tonight we see Natalie in La Traviata. Her husband, Laurent Naouri, plays Georgio Germont in this production. They come with the whole family and spend the summer.


These are Maciej Pikulski, Natalie Dessay, Laurent Naouri.

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