Opera News articles from February 2000

Opera News archives from February 2000

LETTERS.(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2000... MRS. OPERA Mrs. Alagna's [Angela Gheorghiu] comments [Nov. "On the Beat," by Brian Kellow], though very amusing, were in the wrong issue. They would have been better placed in the issue closest to April 1. Michael Lilly Baltimore, MD...

OPERA WATCH.
February 1, 2000... Washington hails Hong as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Fiennes plays Pushkin's superfluous man onscreen in Onegin Opera-lovers fascinated by the title character of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, based on Alexander Pushkin's verse novel, will...

ON THE BEAT.(brief notes)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Sweet joins faculty at Westminster Choir College; Larmore gets in trouble down Argentine way In a sudden move that will no doubt surprise many in the music industry, SHARON SWEET has accepted a full-time teaching position at Westminster...

VIVE LA VINYL!(Evaluation)
February 1, 2000... They're high maintenance, they don't respond to remote control, and you can only buy them used. So why do long-playing (LP) vinyl records remain the software format of choice for demanding music-lovers and audio connoisseurs? Well, for...

Judging the Competition.(singing competitions)
February 1, 2000... ROBERTA HERSHENSON GIVES A JUDGE'S-EYE VIEW OF SINGING CONTESTS The singer clears her throat and introduces herself, venturing a remark about the weather. From somewhere in the darkened theater, several voices murmur "Good morning." The...

FARRELL SINGS AGAIN!(Eileen Farrell, opera singer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Eileen Farrell celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday early with the publication of her autobiography, Can't Help Singing: The Life of Eileen Farrell. The week kicked off with a launch party on November 16, at the Manhattan apartment of Mr. and...

Gramophone Closes the Century.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... As a North American columnist for Gramophone, I've attended the magazine's annual awards ceremony for more than a decade, following its progress from the intimate buffet luncheons at the Savoy Hotel to the nationally televised blowout two years...

Caffe Society.
February 1, 2000... JOEL HONIG VISITS CAFFE TACI, A MANHATTAN HANGOUT FOR OPERA-LOVERS almost midway between Lincoln Center and Harlem, surmounting a narrow plateau and bordered by parks, Morningside Heights has been called the Acropolis of the New World. A...

A TWENTYSOMETHING AT THE OPERA.(Brief Article)(Review)
February 1, 2000... In the first in a series of articles, opera beginner KELLI RAE PATTON takes the plunge During my college years, on impulse, I bought a CD sampler of Maria Callas singing popular aria. Images of Callas captivate me: those dark eyes peering...

THE GAP.(opera attendance)
February 1, 2000... Has Generation X lost its way to the opera? "Its getting old up here," a longtime opera friend sighed, up in the Met's Family Circle standing room not long ago. "And tired." He hastened to explain that the performance wasn't at issue....

A Touch of Class.(Cesare Valletti, opera singer)
February 1, 2000... PETER G. DAVIS toast the artistry of Cesare Valletti Cesare Valletti was in New York couple of years ago, relaxing in the living room of an elegant Upper West Side apartment. Dinner had been cleared away, and the time had come to play some...

THE BOCELLI CHALLENGE.(Andrea Bocelli, singer)
February 1, 2000... Last Fall, the attention of the international music world was focused on Michigan Opera Theatre, where megastar tenor Andrea Bocelli was scheduled to sing his first Werther. BROOKS PETERS searches for the artist buried in a mountain of...

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE.(Critical Essay)
February 1, 2000... Boito's Mefistofele, dismissed by many critics as an incoherent mess, had a rough road to success -- but the composer's persistence paid off. The Mefistofele we hear today is an opera born of failure -- a phoenix that rose from its own...

METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCASTS.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Giuseppe Verdi La Traviata Jacques Offenbach Les Contes d'Hoffmann Arrigo Boito Mefistofele Giacomo Puccini Madama Butterfly Hoffmann's nemeses have had a long line of illustrious exponents at the Met, and no one is more...

BERG: Wozzeck.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Denoke, Spingler; Skovhus, Blinkhof, Sacher, Merritt, F. Olsen; Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper, Metzmacher. Text and translation. EMI 7243-5-56865-2 How intelligent is Wozzeck meant to be? Or...

VERDI: Nabucco.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Guleghina, Zaremba; Bruson, F. Armiliato, Furlanetto; Tokyo Opera Singers and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Oren. Italian libretto only Auvidis Valois V4852 (Harmonia Mundi, dist.) This is an exciting, idiomatic Nabucco, with Daniel Oren's...

DONIZETTI: The Elixir of Love.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Plazas, Williams; Banks, Holland, Shore; Philharmonia Orchestra, Parry English text. Chandos 3027 (2) (Koch, dist.) The light shines brightly throughout this newest arrival in the Chandos Opera in English series, L'Elisir d'Amore,...

WEILL: Die Dreigroschenoper.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * MacDonald, Brauer, Hagen, Bowe; Raabe, Gruber, Hagen, Hellmann; Ensemble Modern, Gruber. Text and translations. BMG 4321-66133-2 In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Kurt Weill's birth, BMG Classics, in co-production with the...

J.P.E. HARTMANN: Liden Kirsten.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Dam-Jensen, Dolberg, Bonde-Hansen, Resmark; Elming, Henning-Jensen; Danish National Radio, Schonwandt. Text and translation. Dacapo 8-224106/07 (2) (Naxos, dist.) Until recent years, the Scandinavian repertory has been mostly uncharted...

BRENDLER: Ryno.(Gert Henning-Jensen )(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Goransson; Lundstrom, D. Aler, Landstrom, A. Zetterstrom, Holmgren, R. Zetterstrom; Old Theater Chorus, Goteborg Symphony, Wiklund. Text and translation. Sterling CDO-103132 (2) (Qualiton, dist.) Until recent years, the Scandinavian...

HOWELLS: Hymnus Paradisi; A Kent Yeoman's Wooing Song.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Rodgers; Rolfe Johnson, Opie; BBC Symphony Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, Hickox. Text and translations. Chandos 9744 (Koch, dist.) The Hymnus Paradisi of English composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983) is almost overwhelming in its...

HOWELLS: Requiem; Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing; and other choral works.
February 1, 2000... * Farrington, organ; Choir of St. John's College, Cambridge, Robinson. English texts. Naxos 8.554659 The Hymnus Paradisi of English composer Herbert Howells (1892-1983) is almost overwhelming in its affective grieving, even if you don't...

Karita Mattila.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Strauss: Four Last Songs; Orchestral Songs. Berliner Philharmoniker, Abbado. Texts and translations. DG 289 445 182 Karita Mattila's new account of Strauss's Four Last Songs, with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic, can take its...

Ian Bostridge.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * "THE ENGLISH SONGBOOK" Songs by Britten, Browne, Delius, German, Grainger, Gurney, Parry Quilter, Somervell, Stanford, Vaughan Williams, et al. Drake, piano. Texts. EMI 56830 Ian Bostridge's latest offering is a wonderfully varied...

Ben Heppner.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * "MY SECRET HEART" Songs by Spross, Giannini, Charles, Seitz, Romberg, Coward, Novello, et al. London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tunick. RCA Victor 63508-2 Ben Heppner's heroic good cheer and ebullient singing give a gilded edge to this...

Christine Schafer.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * "BACH WEDDING CANTATAS" Musica Antiqua Koln, Goebel. Texts and translations. DG 459-621-2 Christine Schafer is equally at home in Baroque and twentieth-century music, demonstrating in the directness of her approach and her facility with...

Andrea Bocelli.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * "SACRED ARIAS" Chorus and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Chung. Texts and translations. Philips 462 600 This recital begins unpromisingly with an inflated arrangement: of a Caccini "Ave Maria" that appears to be a...

Ellen Hargis.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * "IL ZAZZERINO" Arias and instrumental pieces by Peri. O'Dette, chitarrone, etc.; Lawrence-King, harp; Perl, lirone. Texts and translations. Harmonia Mundi HMU 9072341-1 Part of Jacopo Peri's (1561-1633) fame in the annals of music...

R. STRAUSS: Capriccio.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Tomowa-Sintow, Schmidt, Scarabelli; Schone, Buchner, Grundheber, Jungwirth, de Ridder, Ballo, Minth; Wiener Philharmoniker, Stein. 1985. No libretto. Oreo C 518 992 1 (2) (Qualiton, dist.) One of the most magical moments in all of opera...

Victoria de los Angeles.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Arias by Handel, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Wagner, Granados, Luna, Turina, Montsalvatge; Spanish folksongs. Various orchestras and conductors. Texts and translations. MET Legends MET235 Several cuts taken from Sherrill Milnes's...

Sherrill Milnes.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * Arias and songs by Verdi, Giordano, Puccini, Wagner, Thomas, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, Malotte and Kern. Various orchestras and conductors. Texts and translations. MET Legends MET234 Several cuts taken from Sherrill Milnes's out-of-print...

SULLIVAN, arr. Carl Davis: Topsy-Turvy.(Review)
February 1, 2000... * With Henderson; Savage, Spall, etc.; Davis. No texts. Sony ASK 61834 Topsy-Turvy, Mike Leigh's fascinating new movie dealing with the creation of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado, recreates generous chunks of the 1885 Japanese-inspired...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: NEW YORK CITY.(Review)
February 1, 2000... The return of Tristan und Isolde to the Metropolitan Opera repertory, after sixteen years, took place on November 22. During the interim, we have seen a generation of singers emerge with coloratura technique for Baroque and early Romantic...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: DETROIT.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Blind Italian pop singer Andrea Bocelli made his much-anticipated North American opera debut on October 29 at the Detroit Opera House in the title role of Massenet's Werther. Curiously, Bocelli's limited mobility was the least objectionable...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: LOS ANGELES.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Though there were moments when it seemed Los Angeles Opera was embarrassed to be presenting Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, the company scored an enormous coup in casting Susanne Mentzer as Romeo. Her amazing portrayal (seen Oct. 16) was on...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: TULSA.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Tulsa Opera's coup of casting Richard Tucker Award-winner Stephanie Blythe in its season-opening Carmen promised one of the more memorable events in the company's fifty-two-year history. It was a promise, unfortunately, realized only in part at...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: COLUMBUS, OH.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Composer Leslie Burrs worked so diligently to involve the local community in the creation of his first major work for the stage that in Columbus one could say, "It took a city to raise an opera." Burrs, a Philadelphia-based artist who works...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: WEXFORD.(Review)
February 1, 2000... In its forty-ninth season, the fifth under Luigi Ferrari's leadership, Wexford Festival Opera again offered three works of some repute that are scarcely likely to be encountered even by the keenest opera-lover in everyday circumstances. One of...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BARCELONA.(Review)
February 1, 2000... In the last scene of Turandot, the cruel Chinese princess took a dagger from her robe and unexpectedly stabbed herself to death, leaving open-mouthed both a bewildered Calaf and the seasoned audience of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona's...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PARIS.(Review)
February 1, 2000... The reopening of the Chatelet after a season of renovations was a major event in the musical life of the French capital. The new director, Jean-Pierre Brossman, opened his reign with productions of Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice and Alceste,...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: VIENNA.(Review)
February 1, 2000... A one-time favorite grand opera in Vienna, Fromenthal Halevy's La Juive, returned to the State Opera on October 23 (seen 27). Though the full score, which was not presented even at the 1835 premiere, is now available, a shortened version --...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BERLIN.(Review)
February 1, 2000... In 1959, Deutsche Oper, then called Stadtische Oper (Municipal Opera), experienced its first scandal with the local premiere of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron. Written in 1931-32, the work had been pronounced "unperformable" by the composer...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: AMSTERDAM.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Helped by a taut reading from conductor Hartmut Haenchen, director Pierre Audi gave Alceste a completely contemporary interpretation, stripping away some superfluous scenes and ballets that Gluck was obliged to write for his second (French)...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SEVILLE.(Review)
February 1, 2000... The 1999-2000 season at the Teatro de la Maestranza began with Le Nozze di Figaro, Seville's most famous fictional son, in a new production that was the second installment of an ambitious project to stage all the operas that are set in Seville...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: ATHENS.(Review)
February 1, 2000... The third of Mikis Theodorakis's trilogy of operas based on classical Greek tragedy was presented at the Athens Megaro Mousikis on October 7. The composer, best known to non-Greeks for his film scores and popular songs, studied with Olivier...

Aida's Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices in Opera.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Thirteen/WNET New York's Great Performances presents Aida's Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices in Opera, a salute to African-American opera singers (PBS, February 16, 9:30 P.M. ET, check local listings). The program, directed by Jan...

In My Own Voice.(Review)
February 1, 2000... In My Own Voice by Christa Ludwig translated by Regina Domeraski Limelight Editions, 306pp. $30 Though she retired in 1994, Christa Ludwig is still revered for the beauty of her singing and the sheer intelligence of her work, a lot of...

Lily Pons, A Centennial Portrait.(Review)
February 1, 2000... Lily Pons, A Centennial Portrait Edited by James A. Drake and Kristin Beall Ludecke Amadeus Press, 250 pp. $29.95 Though she retired in 1994, Christa Ludwig is still revered for the beauty of her singing and the sheer intelligence of her...

REEL OPERA.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2000... Back in the early days of the movies, opera stars were nearly as famous as film stars. Some of the more charismatic singers of the era were even lured before the cameras to repeat their opera successes on film, albeit without the benefit of...