The miraculous properties of the Gelb-era Met begin to rival those of the legendary aerosol product Shimmer. In the future, it seems, the Met will be both a floor wax and a dessert topping. For example, it has been rumored that a new production of Il trovatore would star (depending on who was telling the tale) Sondra Radvanovksy or Renee Fleming. Ha, ha, you're both right! If the information La Cieca hears is accurate (and when is it not?), Radvanovsky will sing the prima of the new production; then Fleming will star in the first major revival, perhaps with a telecast thrown in.
The same informant who tossed La Cieca this tidbit went on to say that the reports of la Radvanovsky's "buyout" at the Met were greatly exaggerated: the soprano, we are told, will perform revivals of Stiffelio and Traviata in coming seasons.
76 comments:
Ah, Radvanovsky and Swenson, the poor man's Angela Gheorghiu and Renee Fleming.
Strange casting for Trovatore.
Radvanovsky's voice is large enough but also rather ugly and inconsistent from night to night.
Fleming's is pretty but underpowered for the part.
Who's gonna sing Manrico with this pair? Domingo? Alagna?
This makes me happy.
And jatm, Radvanovsky has sung Leonora 140+ times- somebody obviously thinks that she can sing it. I, personally, have found her to be incrediby consistent, at least in the slew of Chicago Trovatores I saw last month. I really enjoyed her and am glad to see that she still has a future at the Met.
And maybe Fleming will surprise us? If they get a good conductor who can keep the orchestra from overpowering her, it could be quite good. They'd have to get a whole cast of lightweight voices, though, I would think. She'd look plain silly singing next to Zajick.
Radvanovsky's Vespri and Fledermaus were incredibly consistent - and the top E (Vespri) and top D (Fled) were solid every perfomance, as were the pianissimi. I'm looking forward to the Trovatore.
I saw S.R. myself in Don Carlo. JUST PLAIN UGLY.
Curious, Balabanov, that you should single out for praise two unwritten (and, to my mind, tasteless) interpolated high notes as examples of "consistency."
"D'amor sull'ali" got the loudest, longest applause every night here in Chicago and often didn't stop until Bartoletti started in with the Miserere. It was really cool to see the audience react so emotionally and so viscerally.
Yes, she's consistent. The first performance I saw, she was sick (and I mean really sick, like pneumonia sick) and I had absolutely no idea until she told me later on. Absolutely no clue because that first performance blew me away.
It's a huge voice and the timber might not please everybody- it's very distinct and I think it's one of those "you love it or you hate it" voices. Not for everybody, certainly, but the majority seem to like it. I'm looking forward to her future work- she's young and has a long career ahead of her.
So, Scotto's high E on the Vespri podcast and Moffo's high D as a counterexample on the Filth page are tasteless? I thought Scotto's Elena was supposed to be an example of how the role was to be sung and that the Fledermaus excerpt was sufficient to "show off Moffo at her considerable best." Hmm ...
Oh, that Moffo Czadras. I don't care what anyone says, that is the best version of that aria I have ever heard. It's like choclate served on a plate of solid gold. And I love the English translation.
sterlingkay - I don't know what you have heard him do, but from what I have heard recently, Frank Lopardo is not even anything LIKE past his prime. I heard him sing a Duke in Rigoletto last year that blew me away. Just sayin'.
First of all,Rachel, what are you, her agent?
Second, I am not nearly the only person on here who has less admiration for SR or RF, for that matter.
Third, I would like to suggest that in the proposed production, Roberto Alagna sing Manrico with Radvanovsky and Juan Diegio Florez sing Manrico to Renee Fleming's Leonora.
That way their vocal sizes would all match.
Fourth, I suggest that David Daniels and Michael Maniaci can share the role of Azucena. This has already probably occured to Gelb.
They'll probably have Hampson and Croft as di Luna, even though one wants and needs a Capucilli in the part. Alas, he is dead.
Brett,
Well, yes, I would say that the high E, even as Scotto sang it, is bad taste. She stopped adding the note after her first round of Vespri, and it's pretty obvious that the main reason she sang it in the first place was to "compete" with the memory of the Callas performance of 1951. It was bad taste when Callas sang it too, or in fact any time it's interpolated into a performance of Vespri. (To throw a high E into a performance of the aria as a stand-alone doesn't bother me so much.)
The "Bolero" is not, I think, a wildly extroverted piece: it's basically rather quiet and even maidenly. Surely Verdi's intention here was to depict Helene in a different aspect from how she has appeared in the first four acts. Further, it's not a climactic piece in the sense that it ends an act or any big dramatic movement: again, it's just supposed to be a light, tripping song of joy. (You can contrast this with "the" E-flat at the end of "Sempre libera," which I think in context can be expressive of Violetta's almost hysterical emotion. Helene is much calmer and as such does not need a high E any more than Gilda does at the end of the similarly "maidenly" aria "Caro nome.)
The questionable taste of adding a high E would again have to be viewed in the context of the complete performance, which in the case of Scotto (as with Callas) was finely shaded and meaningfully phrased. I don't find Radvanovsky's interpretation nearly so fine: the effects, I think, seem to be applied from the exterior, here a diminuendo, there a rallentando, effects for the sake of effect. And so in this context the high E sounds particularly egregious and tacked-on.
My taste is for a "swoop" (come scritto) at the end of the Fledermaus Czardas because that is a more authentic ending for this genre of song. I also like a sustained high D from a lighter voice. For a voice that sounds right for Rosalinde in a big theater, usually the high D sounds like hard work, not "thrown off," and so it violates the lighter mood.
But, as with the high E mentioned above, it's a matter of context. Moffo has such dash in the Czardas that she can get away with a high D as a sort of final kick of the heels. In other words, it doesn't feel tacked on a la Radvanovsky.
In addition to the floor wax (radvanovsky) and dessert topping (fleming) we will also have paint remover (aka Maria Guleghina) in Norma and Turandot according to METFUTURES.
concerning La Cieca's comments - I must state that the Bolero in Vespri can be seen as he portrays it, or it can be performed as a celebratory showpiece of joy, during which an interpolated E is completely appropriate, especially when the E is as solid and spectacular as Radvanovsky's. Yes, Scotto dropped the E from her performance of this role very quickly, but I would assume that had much more to do with the length of time Scotto actually HAD an E, which was, um, 5 minutes? It seems almost churlish to complain about the this particular addition, when I can't think of ANY current soprano in this repetoire, aside from Radvanovsky, who would even attempt it, due to their limited vocal abilities. And with the Fledermaus as well; in a house as large as the Met, the singer cast as Rosalinda has historically barely had a C (Mattila aside). I'm not going to complain about a beautifully sung high D at the end of this difficult, quirky aria, when it's sung as well as Radvanovsky's.
No, jatm, I'm not her agent. I just recently discovered a voice that I really like, that I find refreshing and different and I guess I'm a little eager to share. Her voice isn't for everybody- no voice is, really.
And regarding interpolated high notes- I think the D in the Czardas works well in the given context. The E in Vespers/Vespri has to be given a context, an interpretation of Helene/Elena that allows for it. It's gotta be something that's building throughout the whole aria, rather than tacked on at the end. But it can, I think, be both vocally and interpretively stunning when sung by the right soprano.
I wonder what Verdi would have thought about it... he seemed to be pro-interpolation, I think. Hmm.
Bullet points:
-Verdi was anti-interpolation but allowed himself to succumb to certain elements of the operatic traditions that he claimed "are as old as opera itself" and therefore only accepted things like the Eb in 'Sempre libera' and variations on second cabaletta verses when done with good taste and intentions.
-People need to stop only judging opera by the 'famous' people who sing it - there are fantastic voices - big and small - everywhere who for one political reason or another, don't get the exposure they deserve. I can think of a better Leonora for the Met - Othalie Graham for example. I even know of an Elvira for Ernani, or two.
-SR is an incredible talent and she really does have a remarkable voice - when she lets it out and gets her tongue and vibrato out of the way. It's an enormous instrument and she's a beautiful and musical lady - but her vibrato is rather difficult to listen to. Saw her in Cyrano and in Don C. Brava in both - vibrato gets thumbs down.
-I will no longer defend Fleming after that display in Sweden and now that she dares sing Leonora...my affection for her remains only on her early cds and performances. I will defend RF of Opera Past.
-RF does do a fantastic High E in her Bolero, as does Sutherland and Sills...three voices not suitable to the role. The E is unnecessary unless truly given an appropriate and truthful intention by a voice that can actually do it well.
-The D at the end of the Czardas should be held long than an eighth note duration - it's exciting. Anderson, Fleming, Gruberova, and Te Kanawa are some of the best Rosalinda's - all with the right size voice and capabilities.
I've read something about Verdi saying "If the audience wants it" or something like that regarding Manrico's interpolated high C in Di qulla pira... Shouldn't that stand the case for other Verdi interpolations that are in good taste? Doesn't the audience expect the high E at the end of the Bolero? Because if the soprano doesn't do it, you know the majority of the audience walks out of the theatre thinking "That soprano doesn't have any high notes." Or if she doesn't take the Sempre Libera E flat the critics and the audience will go apeshit on her for singing what was written...
Rachel: Doesn't the audience expect the high E at the end of the Bolero?
No. Or, or, rather, only if they are idiots who have never heard the opera performed before and know the "Bolero" only from recital discs. Callas and Scotto attempted a high E there on performances that happened to be recorded.
Frankly, I think a singer needs to work first on singing well the notes that are actually in the score before she starts throwing in unwritten acuti. And even then, the added high notes should be more than mere vocal display. There is no call for Helene, in quiet conversation with her bridesmaids, to emit a blood-curdling scream.
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Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies
Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!
Hello all!
A lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience.
Save the whales, collect the whole set
Clap on! , Clap off! clap@#&$NO CARRIER
A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
Thanks to author.
Build a watch in 179 easy steps - by C. Forsberg.
The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
What is a free gift ? Aren't all gifts free?
Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
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