Opera News articles from April 1998

Opera News archives from April 1998

Giant: Ben Heppner towers over the rest of today's young heldentenors.(Cover Story)(Interview)
April 11, 1998... At work, Ben Heppner can be a terror. Conjure up, if you will, his unkempt Gherman, stalking the Countess in a spine-chilling Queen of Spades, or his Peter Grimes, manhandling the new apprentice like a rag doll. Think of him hulking through the...

No laughing matter: where is the comedy in Die Meistersinger?
April 11, 1998... Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg looms as a vast bulwark of an opera, a mighty fortress as intricately engineered as a functioning city. It impresses one with multiple levels of meaning -- social, artistic and human -- evoked through a richly...

The case for- and against- 'Makropulos': Paul Thomason and Robert Hilferty go one on one...over Janacek's opera.(Panel Discussion)
April 11, 1998... ROBERT HILFERTY: I love Janacek. There's no disputing his genius, or his importance as an opera composer. But The Makropulos Case always disappoints me -- not that it's lacking in musical substance, or that Janacek isn't continuing to forge a...

Banda Slavonica: the Kirov comes to the Met.(Kirov Opera Festival performs at the Metropolitan Opera)
April 11, 1998... Looking forward to the Kirov Opera Festival at the Met this month, one night wonder what to expect from a company that cannot match Western standards of compensation, and whose best singers are constantly sought by the world's opera houses....

Shadow and light.(Kirov Opera at the Metropolitan Opera; analysis of 'Mazeppa' and 'Betrothal in a Monastery')
April 11, 1998... George W. Loomis focuses on two of the Kirov's offerings -- Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa and Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa and Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery two of the operas in the Kirov Opera Festival at the...

Reprise: James Johnson returns to the role of Hans Sachs for the first time in nineteen years.(Brief Article)(Interview)
April 11, 1998... Hans Sachs is a demanding choice for a Met debut, but bass-baritone James Johnson is more than ready. He has been working up to this moment since 1974, when he made his debut in Braunschweig as Verdi's Filippo II. The New Orleans native...

Sound bites: Gert Henning-Jensen.(tenor; April '98 Metroplitan Opera debut)(Brief Article)(Interview)
April 11, 1998... What happens to those adorable cherubs in famous boys' choirs when they grow up? Many turn into ho-hum baritones and go on to purse other interests, but Gert Henning-Jensen, who steps onto the stage of the Metropolitan Opera as David in Die...

Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.(Texaco-Metropolitan Opera broadcast of April 11, 1998)(includes related articles)
April 11, 1998... THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance) Walther tenor, Ben Heppner Eva soprano, Eva Johansson Magdalene mezzo, Wendy White David tenor, Gert Henning-Jensen Pogner bass, Hans Sotin...

The Makropulos Case.(Texaco-Metropolitan Opera broadcast of April 11, 1998)(includes related articles)
April 11, 1998... THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance Vitek tenor, Ronald Naldi Albert Gregor tenor, Graham Kristina soprano, Marie Plette Dr. Kolenaty bass-baritone, Stephen West Emilia Marty Soprano Catherine Malfitano...

Berio: Un Re in Ascolta.(Theo Adam, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel)
April 11, 1998... Wise, Armstrong, Greenberg, Vachmi; Adam, Zednik, Lohner; Vienna Philharmonic, Maazel. No libretto. Col Legno WWE-20005 (2) This release, capturing the world premiere of Luciano Berio's Un Re in Ascolto (A King Listens) at the 1984 Salzburg...

Rachmaninoff: Aleko.(Blagovest Karnabatlova-Dobreva, Tony Chirstova, Nicola Ghiuselev, Dimiter Petkov, Paul Kourshoumov, Plovdiv Philharmonic, Rouslan Raychev)
April 11, 1998... Karnobatlova-Dobreva, Chirstova; Ghiuselev, Petkov, Kourshoumov; Plovdiv Philharmonic, Raychev. No libretto. Capriccio 10782 Rachmaninoff's one-act answer to Carmen, a product of his student days at the Moscow Conservatory, was an etude of...

Rachmaninoff: Aleko.(Natalia Erassova, Vladimir Matorin, Vitaly Tarastchennko, Bolshoi Opera, Andrei Chistiakov)
April 11, 1998... Erassova, Borisova; Matorin, Tarastchenko, Potchapski; Bolshoi Opera, Chistiakov. Libretto & translation. Saison Russe 788079 Rachmaninoff's one-act answer to Carmen, a product of his student days at the Moscow Conservatory, was an etude of...

Orff: Carmina Burana.(Beverly Hoch, Stanford Olsen, Mark Oswald, F.A.C.E. Treble Choir, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit)
April 11, 1998... Hoch; Olsen, Oswald; FACE. Treble Choir, Montreal Symphony Chorus & Orchestra, Dutoit. Text & translations. London 456290 In dealing with this hardy chestnut, Charles Dutoit's touch is exceptionally refined. The resplendent climaxes are...

EMI Centenary Gala at Glyndebourne.
April 11, 1998... EMI Centenary Gala at Glyndebourne EMI Classics 56465 EMI has its roots in the Gramophone Company, formed in London in 1897, ten years after the gramophone was invented in the U.S. by Emile Berliner. In observation of its centennial, EMI...

Mozart: Zaide.(Lynne Dawson, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, Olaf Bar, Herbert Lippert, Christopher Purves, Academy of Ancient Music Orchestra, Paul Goodwin)
April 11, 1998... Dawson; Blochwitz, Bar, Lippert, Purves; Academy of Ancient Music, Goodwin. Libretto & translation. Harmonia Mundi 907205 Mozart's unfinished opera Zaide (1779-81), a precursor of Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, was abandoned because Mozart...

Opera and Concert Arias by Mozart.(Sylvia McNair, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner)
April 11, 1998... by Mozart. Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Marriner No texts. Philips 289446 Sylvia McNair's vocalism is well-nigh faultless here -- every note perfectly placed, the full range of a challenging aria like "Martern aller Arten"...

The Beautiful Voice.(Renee Fleming, English Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Tate)
April 11, 1998... ARIAS, SONGS. English Chamber Orchestra, Tate. Texts & translations. London 289458858 Renee Fleming's recordings often invite superlatives, for the vibrancy of her engagement with the texts, her resiliency of rhythm, subtlety and variety of...

Schubert: Winterreise.(Matthias Goerne)
April 11, 1998... Johnson (piano). Tarts & translations. Hyperion CDJ-33030 Matthias Goerne, heard to advantage in Vol. 27 of Hyperion's Schubert Edition, joins forces again with pianist Graham Johnson in Vol. 30 for an earthy, emotionally direct Winterreise...

Schumann: Songs.(Simon Keenlyside)
April 11, 1998... by Schumann. G. Johnson (piano). Texts & translations. Hyperion CDJ-33102 Matthias Goerne, heard to advantage in Vol. 27 of Hyperion's Schubert Edition, joins forces again with pianist Graham Johnson in Vol. 30 for an earthy, emotionally...

Songs.(Hakan Hagegard)
April 11, 1998... by Brahms, Stenhammar Sibelius. W. Jones (piano). Texts & translations. RCA Victor Red Seal 68097 Hakan Hagegard, always a classy artist, matches his own high standard in his new disc of German and Scandinavian songs. Opening with Brahms'...

Songs.(Carole Farley)
April 11, 1998... by Delius (with orchestral selections). Rhenish Philharmonic/ Philharmonia Orchestra, Serebrier Texts. Dinemec Classics DCCD-019 Hakan Hagegard, always a classy artist, matches his own high standard in his new disc of German and Scandinavian...

Arie Antiche.(Dmitri Hvorostovsky)
April 11, 1998... ARIAS & SONGS by Caldara, Caccini, Carissimi, Cesti, Durante, Giordani, Gluck, Handel, A. Scarlatti, Stradella, Vivaldi. St. Martin in the Fields, Marriner Tarts & translations. Philips 289456543 Nine of these nineteen Arie Antiche are...

Serenades.(Roberto Alagna)
April 11, 1998... EMI Classics 56426 Roberto Alagna has been exploited in ways that mask his genuine talents -- his is a lyric tenor of modest size and pleasing quality when not pushed beyond its natural limits. Here he sings far-fetched arrangements of...

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen.(Astrid Varnay, Gre Brouwenstijn, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotter, Arnold Van Mill, Hans Knappertsbusch)
April 11, 1998... Varnay, Brouwenstijn, Milinkovic, Madeira; Windgassen, Kuen, Suthaus, Uhde, Neidlinger, Hotter, Greindl, Van Mill; Bayreuth Festival, Knappertsbusch (1956). No libretto. Music & Arts 1009 (13) On the heels of Melodram's issue of this 1956...

Wagner: Die Walkure, Act I.(Birgit Nilsson, Set Svanholm, Josef Greindl, Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt)
April 11, 1998... Nilsson; Svanholm, Greindl; Schmidt-Isserstedt (1953). No libretto. BellaVoce 107010 BellaVoce's Act I of Die Walkure displays Set Svanholm and Josef Greindl at their best as Siegmund and Hunding, together with the young Birgit Nilsson just...

Wagner: Siegfried.(Gertrud Grob-Prandl, Rosette Anday, Gunther Teptow, Ferdinand Frantz, Vienna Symphony, Rudolf Moralt)
April 11, 1998... Grob-Prandl, Anday; Treptow, Frantz, Wernigk; Vienna Symphony, Moralt (1949). No libretto. Myto 972155 (3) BellaVoce's Act I of Die Walkure displays Set Svanholm and Josef Greindl at their best as Siegmund and Hunding, together with the...

Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila.(Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York, New York)
April 11, 1998... With its new production of Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila, the Metropolitan Opera has been on the prowl again for modernity and relevance, coming up with not much of either. Samson is considered stodgy and Victorian, but its roots are securely...

Britten: Peter Grimes.(Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York, New York)
April 11, 1998... December saw the return of the Met's almost thirty-one-year-old Tyrone Guthrie production of Peter Grimes. With the exception of the scene in Grimes' hut, it remains compelling: I heard people during the ensuing intermission wondering what would...

Tchaikovsky: Iolanta.(DiCapo Opera, New York, New York)
April 11, 1998... Iolanta is an ugly duckling. There are good reasons why Tchaikovsky's fairytale opera (from a different Andersen fable) is not staged more often; almost completely lacking in dramatic tension, it is saddled with an awkward dramatic structure that...

Verdi: Nabucco.(Carnegie Hall, New York, New York)
April 11, 1998... The Collegiate Chorale presented Verdi's Nabucco at Carnegie Hall on February 7. Lauren Flanigan was all one could hope for in the murderous role of Abigaille, displaying fine control over her large soprano -- thrilling in coloratura, menacing in...

Davis: Amistad.(Civic Opera House, Chicago, Illinois)
April 11, 1998... Even without the more or less simultaneous appearance of Steven Spielberg's superior film on the same subject, the November 29 world premiere by Lyric Opera of Chicago of Amistad, with music by Anthony Davis and libretto by his cousin,...

Bizet: Les Pecheurs de Perles.(Civic Opera House, Chicago, Illinois)
April 11, 1998... The first Les Pecheurs de Perles at Lyric Opera in more than thirty years, a new production first seen on January 31, was schizophrenic. The musical performance had its charms, but they were lost on Nicolas Joel, whose staging betrayed a lack...

Verdi: Aida.(Ordway Music Theatre, St. Paul, Minnesota)
April 11, 1998... In earlier days, as a small, feisty ensemble company, Minnesota Opera liked to call what it did "opera without elephants," vowing that it would never stage an opera like Aida. Times do change, and the company's first Aida, a coproduction with...

Britten: Billy Budd.(Dallas, Texas)
April 11, 1998... In earlier days, as a small, feisty ensemble company, Minnesota Opera liked to call what it did "opera without elephants," vowing that it would never stage an opera like Aida. Times do change, and the company's first Aida, a coproduction with...

Mozart: Die Zauberflote.(Dallas, Texas)
April 11, 1998... Sandwiched between earnest, sometimes moving Turandots (Feb.) and some lack-luster Aidas (Oct./Nov.), Dallas Opera offered three fine productions, including Billy Budd, which made an enormous impact in the Francesca Zambello-Allison Chitty...

Janacek: Kata Kabonova.(Dallas, Texas)
April 11, 1998... Though Kata Katanova is definitely not run-of-the-mill in Dallas, audiences here seemed to eat it up. Designer Charles Edwards and director David Aldens minimalist production -- a white wall, the facade of a house, all set at strange angles, a...

Copland: The Tender Land.(Carpenter Center, Richmond, Virginia)
April 11, 1998... Using Murray Sidlin's reduction of Aaron Copland's 1954 The Tender Land, Virginia Opera general director Peter Mark had some difficulty early in the evening (seen Feb. 4 at Richmond's Carpenter Center) striking a good balance between stage and...

Mozart: Die Zauberflote.(Macauley Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky)
April 11, 1998... Kentucky Opera offered a gracious, sparkling Die Zauberflote at the Macauley Theatre on February 7. As is often true, Papageno, stole the show; Craig Priebe created a lovable character, wiser than usual, singing adroitly, projecting warmth and...

Donizetti: La Favorita.(Teatro dell'Opera, Rome, Italy)
April 11, 1998... The Teatro dell'Opera's new production of Donizetti's La Favorite confirmed the superiority of the original French version, which, if one excepts the ballet, makes much more sense both dramatically and musically: the closing bars of the opera are...

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde.(Paris, France)
April 11, 1998... Tristan und Isolde has never been easy to cast, but Opera National de Paris must have thought it was on the right track with Wolfgang Schmidt, Bayreuth's Tristan and Siegfried, and Sabine Hass. The soprano canceled and was replaced by three...

Weill: The Seven Deadly Sins.(Tel Aviv, Israel)
April 11, 1998... A double bill of The Seven Deadly Sins and The Emperor of Atlantis (seen Dec. 15) at New Israeli Opera touched a sensitive nerve, once more revealing the incredibly rich Jewish talents the Nazis expelled and murdered. The deeply moving message of...

Ullmann: The Emperor of Atlantis.(Tel Aviv, Israel)
April 11, 1998... Viktor Ullmann and Peter Klein wrote their one-act opera The Emperor of Atlantis while inmates at Terezin, where the Nazis kept scores of brilliant musicians, artists and authors as a showcase of their alleged "humane" treatment of Jews. A...

Wagner: Tannhauser.(Sydney, Australia)
April 11, 1998... Packed houses for Opera Australia's summer season were well rewarded. The second performance of a new Tannhauser (Feb. 6) was outstanding on all counts. No more spectacular Venusberg could be imagined. From a midair laser lake -- a bright green...

Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte.(Sydney, Australia)
April 11, 1998... Cosi Fan Tutte (Feb. 5) was billed as the late Goran Jarvefelt's production, but little beyond Carl Friedrich Oberle's good designs remained. Brian Fitzgerald "rehearsed" his own staging, with umpteen new, often funny sight gags in Act I, leaving...

Verdi: Macbeth.(Sydney, Australia)
April 11, 1998... John Copley created a new Macbeth (Feb. 7), with bits of uncredited lack scenery that served the darkness of the plot well enough, and octogenarian Carlo Felice Cillario, who can conduct Verdi in his sleep, in the pit. Michael Lewis delivered...

Opera in History.(Brief Article)
April 11, 1998... by Herbert Lindenberger Stanford University Press, 363 pp. $49.50 (cloth); $18.95 (paper) These reasoned, humane, learned rambles in the aesthetics and philosophy of opera are readable and rewarding. Lindenberger, a Stanford Humanities...

Leonie Rysanek, November 14, 1926 - March 7, 1998.(opera singer, president of Vienna Festival)(Obituary)(Brief Article)
April 11, 1998... The death of Leonie Rysanek at seventy-one has shocked the opera world. Only a few people close to the Austrian soprano were aware that during the 1995-96 season, when she made her farewell Met appearances as the Old Countess in Tchaikovsky's...