Opera News articles from August 2001

Opera News archives from August 2001

KEYS TO SUCCESS.(Editorial)
August 1, 2001... Two articles in this month's issue look at the same subject from different perspectives: what makes a successful opera -- besides the obvious prerequisite, memorable music. In "A Novel Idea," which begins on page 20, Joel Honig considers why...

LETTERS.(Letter to the Editor)
August 1, 2001... HIGH AND MIGHTY How fortunate we are to have the brilliant Natalie Dessay ["Femme du Monde," Brian Kellow, April] on today's opera and concert scene: a high coloratura of nearly flawless precision and deep musicality with a visionary...

OPERA WATCH.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... 1. MELANIE DIENER, in residence at Bayreuth this month as Elsa von Brabant in Keith Warner's production of Lohengrin, interrupts her swan watch long enough for a single August 23 performance of Mahler's Second Symphony in Amsterdam, with...

ON THE BEAT.(Seattle Opera's Ring cycle)(Interview)
August 1, 2001... Siegfried in Seattle, courtesy of Wadsworth; Fleming makes screen debut in Bride of the Wind; Chanticleer commissions Praises from Tavener Probably the hottest U.S. opera ticket of the summer -- again -- is Seattle Opera's Ring cycle. Last...

CORRECTION.(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2001... In my June column, I mistakenly identified the "noted Chicago actress" as Hollis Alpert. It is, as Chicago theater buffs will have figured out by now, HOLLIS RESNIK. Hollis Alpert was a critic who wrote for the Saturday Review, among other...

Future Indefinite.(opera)
August 1, 2001... JUST WHAT IS THE PROGNOSIS FOR AMERICAN OPERA IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM? Throughout the twentieth century, literally thousands of American composers were drawn to the creation of opera. From time to time, prestigious companies made special...

A Novel Idea.(adapting books into operas)
August 1, 2001... IT'S TIME FOR AMERICAN OPERA TO CLOSE THE BOOKS. For more than two decades, American composers and the opera companies that commission them have been having an ongoing affair with novelists. In addition to nineteenth-century literary lions...

SLOW BURN.(Olga Borodina)
August 1, 2001... OLGA BORODINA PROJECTS MELTING INTENSITY AT ANY TEMPO IN A CLASSICAL-MUSIC WORLD DEFINED MORE AN MORE BY WHAT SOUNDS BEST ON RECORDINGS, OLGA BORODINA IS A SINGER WHO TRULY NEEDS TO BE EXPERIENCED LIVE. EVERYTHING ABOUT HER IS OLD FASHIONED...

Angels in America.(contributions and donations for opera productions)
August 1, 2001... OPERA IN THE U.S. IS BOOMING, BUT GETTING IT ONSTAGE IS A VERY EXPENSIVE BUSINESS. LEONARD J. LEFF LOOKS AT SOME OF THE DEEP-POCKETED INDIVIDUALS WHO MAKE IT POSSIBLE The face of philanthropy has changed. It has, among other things, gotten...

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE THANKED.(ALBERTO VILAR)(Interview)
August 1, 2001... ALBERTO VILAR, THE HIGHEST-PROFILE DONOR IN TODAY'S OPERA WORLD, TALKS WITH RUDOLPH S. RAUCH Anyone with an interest in opera has heard of Alberto Vilar. By his own reckoning, he has given more than $200 million to the classical performing...

Opera Under Construction.(theater renovations)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Every opera house is a work in progress, none more so than La Scala. Since it opened, in August 1778, it has undergone periodic repairs and, most dramatically, been reconstructed after the 1943 bombing of Milan. Time has taken a toll, and La...

Up, Up and Away!(archive photos of opera singers)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
August 1, 2001... Snapshots of opera stars en route to an important engagement may have begun in the glamorous steamship-voyage era of Caruso, Farrar and Bori, but at some point in the heady early days of the "jet set," enterprising publicists decided to arrange...

"VERDI: ARIAS".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Thomas Hampson [] "VERDI: ARIAS" Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Armstrong. Texts and translations. EMI 57113-2 The hundredth anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi's death, in 1901, has not produced the flood of new releases that would...

VERDI: Falstaff.(Review)
August 1, 2001... VERDI: Falstaff [] Martinpelto, Evans, James, Mingardo; Lafont, Palombi, Michaels-Moore; Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, Gardiner. Text and translation. Philips 289 462 603-2 "The new Gardiner recording of Verdi? Don't you...

WOLF-FERRARI: Sly.(Review)
August 1, 2001... WOLF-FERRARI: Sly [] Kabatu, Cantarero; Carreras, Milnes, Guerzoni, Rubiera; Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Gimenez. Text and translation. Koch/Schwann 3-6449-2 (2) It is not uncommon for artists, in the autumn of...

SCIARRINO: Perseo e Andromeda.(Review)
August 1, 2001... SCIARRINO: Perseo e Andromeda [] Cooper, Turchetta; Vollestad, Stabell; Vidolin, Zavagna (computers), Carneci. Text, no translation. BMG Ricordi Oggi CRMCD 1059 (Qualiton, dist.) It's difficult to know quite what to make of Salvatore...

JANACEK: Sarka.(Review)
August 1, 2001... JANACEK: Sarka [] Urbanova; Straka, Kusnjer, Brezina; Prague Philharmonic Choir, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Mackerras. Text and translations. Supraphon SU 3485-2 631 (Qualiton, dist.) Zdenek Fibich (1850-1900), along with Bedrich...

FIBICH: Sarka.(Review)
August 1, 2001... FIBICH: Sarka [] Urbanova, Kirilova; Lotric, Jenis, Kubovcik; Wiener Konzertchor, Radio Symphonie Orchester Wien, Cambreling. Text and translations. Orfeo C541 002 H (2) (Qualiton, dist.) Zdenek Fibich (1850-1900), along with Bedrich...

ROSSINI: Petite Messe Solennelle.(Review)
August 1, 2001... ROSSINI: Petite Messe Solennelle [] Stoyanova, Remmert; Davislim, Muller-Brachmann; RIAS Kammerchor, Creed. Text and translations. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901724 "Have I written musique sacree (sacred music) or sacree musique (damned...

TAVENER:Total Eclipse; Agraphon.(Review)
August 1, 2001... TAVENER:Total Eclipse; Agraphon [] Rozario; Robson, Gilchrist; Choir of New College, Oxford, Academy of Ancient Music, Goodwin. Texts. Harmonia Mundi 907271 "If there was one thing I wanted to do, it would be to reinstate the sacred...

TAVENER: Dioda; The World; Akhmatova Songs; Many Years.(Review)
August 1, 2001... TAVENER: Dioda; The world; Akhmatova Songs; Many Years [] Rozario; Vanbrugh Quartet. Texts. Hyperion 67217 "If there was one thing I wanted to do, it would be to reinstate the sacred into music." Thus spake John Tavener, on the back...

CHAUSSON: The Complete Songs.(Review)
August 1, 2001... CHAUSSON: The Complete Songs [] Lott, McGreevy Murray; Trakas; Chilingirian Quartet, Johnson, piano. Texts and translations. Hyperion CDA67321/2 (2) Poor Ernest Chausson, stuck in line behind Debussy, Duparc, Faure and Ravel in...

MAHLER: Symphony No. 8.(Review)
August 1, 2001... MAHLER: Symphony No. 8 [] Eaglen, Schwanewilms, Ziesak, Fulgoni, Larsson; Heppner, Mattei, Rootering; Prague Philharmonic Choir, Netherlands Radio Choir, Jongenskoor van het Kathedrale Koor St. Bavo, Jongenskoor van her Sacramentskoor,...

"MOZART".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Barbara Frittoli [] "MOZART" Arias. Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Mackerras. Texts and translations. Erato 8573-86207-2 This young Italian soprano had not yet registered on my radar when I received this disc, but I don't plan on missing...

"NIGHT SONGS".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Renee Fleming and Jean-Yves Thibaudet [] "NIGHT SONGS" Songs of Faure, Debussy, Marx, Strauss and Rachmaninoff. Thibaudet, piano. Texts and translations. Decca 289 467 697-2 The latest entry in Renee Fleming's burgeoning and impressive...

"DIEGO LUZURIAGA: ELEVEN SONGS".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Dana Hanchard [] "DIEGO LUZURIAGA: ELEVEN SONGS" With Girolamo, guitar. Texts and translations. Fertile Ground Music 10294 Here's a sleeper. Diego Luzuriaga is not a famous composer, soprano Dana Hanchard is best-known as a Baroque...

"RUSSIAN ARIAS AND ROMANCES".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Olga Guryakova [] "RUSSIAN ARIAS AND ROMANCES" Arias and songs by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Glinka, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff. Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Orbelian. Texts and translations. Delos DE 3273 Olga Guryakova is no longer...

"FERME TES YEUX".(Review)
August 1, 2001... William Matteuzzi [] "FERME TES YEUX" Arias by Rossini, Donizetti, Carafa, Pacini, Auber, Adam, Offenbach. With Scano, Cullagh, Shkoda; Ford, R. Wood; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Parry Texts and translations. Opera Rara ORR 216...

"ARIE AMOROSE".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Monica Groop [] "ARIE AMOROSE" Arias and songs by Handel Purcell, Gluck et al. Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Kangas. Texts and translations. Finlandia 3984-29713-2 The smooth, secure voice of Monica Groop is on display in this...

WAGNER: Siegfried (in English).(Review)
August 1, 2001... WAGNER: Siegfried (in English) [] Hunter, Collins; Remedios, Bailey, Dempsey, Hammond-Stroud; English National Opera Orchestra, Goodall. Chandos CHAN 3045 (4) Among its many pleasures, this reissued live Siegfried stands as one of the...

WAGNER: Die Walkure, Act I.(Review)
August 1, 2001... WAGNER: Die Walkure, Act I [] Dernesch; Cochran, Sotin; New Philharmonia Orchestra, Klemperer. Text and translation. Testament SBT 1205 Die-hard fans of conductor Otto Klemperer will treasure this CD release of a recording that...

"THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION: VOLUME I, 1938-40".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Oscar Natzka [] "THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION: VOLUME I, 1938-40" Arias and songs. Notes, no texts. National Library of New Zealand. Atoll ACD 400 (atollcd.com) Most of the world may have forgotten Oscar Natzka. But he apparently remains...

"THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION: VOLUME II, 1942-50".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Oscar Natzka [] "THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION: VOLUME II, 1942-50" Arias and songs. Notes, no texts. National Library of New Zealand. Atoll ACD 500 (attollcd.com) Most of the world may have forgotten Oscar Natzka. But he apparently...

"ENZO DE MURO LOMANTO AND HIS WIFE TOTI DAL MONTE".(Review)
August 1, 2001... Enzo de Muro Lomanto and Toti Dal Monte [] "ENZO DE MURO LOMANTO AND HIS WIFE TOTI DAL MONTE" Arias and songs by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Gounod, Thomas, Bizet, Massenet, Puccini, Mascagni, Leoncavallo and others. No...

BRIDE OF THE WIND.(Review)
August 1, 2001... BRIDE OF THE WIND [] Original music by Stephen Endelman, with additional material by Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler. With Fleming; Thibaudet; Janos Bihari Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Preisler; others. Deutsche Grammophon 289 469...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PARIS.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Seen on April 24, Peter Grimes was one of Graham Vick's least successful productions for the Opera de Paris. In an attempt to offer a new perspective on the work, he uprooted it from the bucolic Suffolk seaside community Britten knew so well...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: LONDON.(Review)
August 1, 2001... On April 27, ENO unveiled a new work, From Morning to Midnight, based on a 1916 play by the German Expressionist Georg Kaiser and composed by David Sawer. At forty, Sawer is an admired figure on the British new-music scene, a pupil of the...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: NEW YORK CITY.(Review)
August 1, 2001... In the last two decades, Erich Wolfgang Korngold's concert music has undergone a huge renaissance in live performance and recordings, yet the Viennese composer's stage works have yet to regain the same favor. The monster international success...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: LOS ANGLES.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Don Pasquale abounds in moments, typical of Donizetti's comic operas, in which a cartoonish character is suddenly fleshed out. Low comedy is frequently embellished with elegant bel canto utterances, the equal of almost anything to be found in...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SALZBURG.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Salzburg's new Falstaff departed from the Shakespearean setting, placing the action in the early 1890s, about the time that Verdi and Boito were collaborating on the opera. Seen during April's Easter Festival, Ruggero Raimondi's elderly knight...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BARCELONA.(Review)
August 1, 2001... For some in the audience, the Liceu's new production of Aida provided a nostalgic look back; for others, an archaeological adventure. Under design director Jordi Castells, the theater restored and revived designs by Josep Mestres Cabanes,...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: ATLANTA.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Atlanta Opera's new all-Verdi season opened with a literally electrifying image for Otello: a frantic Desdemona silhouetted against billowing curtains as a blinding flash of lightning shot straight into the audience. That startling stage...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: MILWAUKEE.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Florentine Opera completed its season with a production of Le Nozze di Figaro (seen April 28) that had the potential for excellence. But the enterprise, though well sung by a fine cast, rarely rose above the level of routine. Inadequate...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SAN DIEGO.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Filling the seats is a perennial problem for any opera director who wishes to stray so much as an inch off the repertory's beaten track. Mozart's Idomeneo may be a master-piece, but if you expect a San Diego Opera audience to show up for this...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CLEVELAND.(Review)
August 1, 2001... To cap its twenty-fifth-anniversary season, Cleveland Opera scaled the heights of the repertory and (in the face of some local skepticism) pulled off a very satisfying production of Verdi's Otello. David Bamberger's production was along...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PORTLAND.(Portland Opera's production of Offenbach's La Belle Helene)(Review)
August 1, 2001... Portland Opera's first crack at any Offenbach lighter than Les Contes d'Hoffmann was a rollicking and sexy La Belle Helene (May 16) that translated the composer's satire into modern terms. His irreverent parody of classical mythology remained....

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: FORT WORTH.(Fort Worth Opera's production of Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman)(Brief Article)(Review)
August 1, 2001... In absolute terms, Fort Worth Opera's performance of Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann on March 16 might best be described as serviceable, yet in comparison with typical work here of a few years past, it demonstrated the company's impressive...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: KANSAS CITY.(Lyric Opera of Kansas City's production of Igor Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress)(Brief Article)(Review)
August 1, 2001... The thirtieth anniversary of Igor Stravinsky's death prompted flurries of programming in New York and Los Angeles, but the Kansas City Symphony took the lead in a citywide, multiple-organization festival of the composer's music. Lyric Opera of...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CHARLOTTE, NC.(Opera Carolina's production of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah)(Brief Article)(Review)
August 1, 2001... For a regional company such as Opera Carolina to produce an American opera is unfortunately something of a risk, even if the work is a standard almost fifty years old. Therefore, Opera Carolina's presentation of Carlisle Floyd's Susannah on...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PALERMO.(Review)
August 1, 2001... The Teatro Massimo, one of Italy's most opulent theaters, was inaugurated during the heyday of the Sicilian capital in 1897 and closed in 1974 for renovation. How the closure period extended for twenty-three years is a story in itself, but in...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BUENOS AIRES.(Review)
August 1, 2001... The Teatro Colon opened its 2001 opera season on March 30 with a stupendous new production of Shostakovich's master-work, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Its music, predominantly descriptive, is alternately aggressive, ironic, abrasively satiric or...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: NEW YORK CITY.(Review)
August 1, 2001... If we can believe Opera Orchestra of New York's publicity releases, it's been a long time -- since 1969, in fact -- since Les Huguenots, Giacomo Meyerbeer's 1836 drama of Catholic-Protestant tensions leading up to the St. Bartholomew's Day...

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: Second Edition.(Review)
August 1, 2001... The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: Second Edition Stanley Sadie, editor Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 29 vols. $4,850 One-year, single-user access online subscription $295 (www.grovemusic.com). Online pricing is available for public...

Excellence in Singing: Multilevel Learning, Multilevel Teaching.(Review)
August 1, 2001... Excellence in Singing: Multilevel Learning, Multilevel Teaching by Robert Caldwell and Joan Wall Caldwell Publishing Company 1,800 pp. Five volumes, $175 Ten years in the making, this five-volume instructional tome is an ambitious...

La Callas ... Toujours.(Review)
August 1, 2001... [] Maria Callas; Lance, Gobbi. Orch. and Ch. of Opera de Paris, Sebastian. 1958. EMI Classics DVD 7243 4 92503 9 0 When Maria Callas stepped onstage at the Salle Garnier on December 19, 1958, television cameras were there to capture the...

GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE.(Minette Levy)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... My grandmother's legs tremble as she climbs the makeshift steps to the scaffolding, two stories off the ground at the rear of the stage. It's, let's say, 1922, and twenty-something Minette Levy has never suffered from stage fright. What she's...