Lorraine

Around the internet today are people who are remembering the tenth anniversary of the death of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. The actual date isn't until July 3.  The anniversary today is for her last performance.  Here is something I haven't heard before.



She was a transcendent performer who cannot be forgotten.

Selfie of the Week

Nadine Sierra as Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice

Women's Day Picture

This picture appeared on women's day.

Row 1:  Renee Fleming, Montserrat Caballé, Aïnhoa Arteta, Natalie Dessay, Anna Netrebko. 
Row 1.5 (short):  Leontyne Price, Lina Cavalieri, Kiri te Kanawa, Angela Gheorghiu.
Row 2:  Angela Gheorghiu (again), might be Nellie Melba? (small), Diana Damrau, Jessye Norman, Joan Sutherland (small), Cecilia Bartoli, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Kathleen Battle, Joyce DiDonato.
Row 3:  Maria Callas, Victoria de los Angeles, Rosa Ponselle, might be Elly Ameling?, Kirstin Flagstad, Mirella Freni, Renata Tebaldi.

They are all there.  All the phases of my operatic heroines are represented, including Elisabeth, Leontyne, Kirsten, Victoria, Kathleen, Jessye, Cecilia, Anna, Natalie.  Perhaps Christa and Tatiana are missing, but then Cecilia and Joyce are the only mezzos. 

Rachmaninov Op.4 no. 4

Disappointed in concert last Saturday, I thought I would point out how this is supposed to sound.

Manon Lescaut in HD

Conductor...............Fabio Luisi
Production..............Richard Eyre

Manon...................Kristine Opolais (soprano)
Des Grieux............Roberto Alagna (tenor)
Lescaut.................Massimo Cavalletti (baritone)
Geronte.................Brindley Sherratt (bass)

I missed the live simulcast of Puccini's Manon Lescaut from the Metropolitan Opera but saw the repeat last night.  Our old movie theater is gone, and we are required to drive a much longer distance.

There were a lot of complaints in the reviews about the look of the production.  I know people who only go to the opera if the costumes look like this:

And hate that it now looks like this:

But if I apply my usual criterion, I must say that for explaining the action, you could not beat this.  Every line of dialog in the complex second act was enacted vividly, clearly and understandably. The bombed out church is a "wasteland" idea is iffy, I admit, but the action in that act is not complex.  She complains that she is lost and abandoned, and she dies.  The actors complained about all the stairs.

It is somewhat shocking that Roberto Alagna has never sung this opera before.  He could not be more perfect.  He projected youthfulness incredibly well and sang up a storm.  Both vocally and dramatically Kristine is more in tune with Jonas, but I must say I loved Alagna and Opolais together.  This pairing will repeat for Madama Butterfly.

The Met will be sorry to lose Fabio Luisi.

Ewa Podleś

The one and only Ewa Podleś sings Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky.

Renée Fleming at Zellerbach

Renée Fleming gave a recital last night at Zellerbach in Berkeley with pianist Olga Kern.  I am having a hard time deciding what to say.

Unfortunately, Renée has reached the point in life where her voice is not the gorgeous instrument it has always been.  Before today I have always been pleased to report that she sounded great.  It was pouring rain, and the concert started very late, so perhaps this contributed.  A piano piece was inserted so she could exit the stage.  Perhaps it was just for today.

Renée is a celebrity who can charm any audience into submission, even me.  Sigh.  Strauss was best.  Of course.  We were asked to sing "I could have danced all night."

Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016)

Nikolaus Harnoncourt has died.  He was one of the founding members of the Gramophone Hall of Fame.  He co-founded the Concentus Musicus Wien 1953 and went on to conduct at the Salzburg Festival.  He was descended from European royalty.

He wasn't always loved.  On my copy of Le Nozze di Figaro from Salzburg I note that he was heavily booed.  Since I followed her way before he did, I'm not willing to credit him with discovering Anna Netrebko.  I think that goes to Gergiev.

He worked on many occasions with Cecilia Bartoli, including a two disk concert with Concentus Musicus Wien.  They did primarily Mozart and Haydn together.

I have enjoyed his work in Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Monteverdi, Weber, etc.  We will miss this great maestro. 

Hamilton

At the Grammys the opening scene of the Broadway show Hamilton was presented in a stream from the theater where it plays.  My take on this was that it was like an early all recitative opera, Peri or Caccini, with a back beat.  It was easier to understand than rap usually is.  Who knows if I would like rap if I ever knew what they were saying.

Alexander's Feast in Davis

On Monday night, leap day, American Bach Soloists, conducted by Jeffrey Thomas, presented Handel's Alexander's Feast at the Davis Community Church in Davis.  I was somewhat confused by the program which interspersed the usual text references with Concerto listings.  So a concerto has words?  No no.  One hears that concerts in the long ago interspersed arias between movements of a symphony.