Opera News articles from January 2002

Opera News archives from January 2002

Magnetic conductors. (Viewpoint).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The announcement on October 27 that Met artistic director James Levine would become music director of the Boston Symphony beginning with the 2004-05 season was hardly a surprise, since the rapport between Levine and the Boston musicians was...

Opera watch.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... 1. OLGA BORODINA SFO's Dalila this past fall, was visited backstage by BLANCHE THEBOM after an October performance of the Saint-Saens. Thebom, who made her San Francisco Opera debut in 1947, three years after she joined the Met roster, was an...

La Bumbry salutes Lehmann with Manhattan recital; Margison emerges unscathed from the Met's Norma. (On The Beat).(Grace Bumbry)(Lotte Lehmann)(Jane Eaglen)(Richard Margison)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... On February 21, GRACE BUMBRY pays tribute to her mentor, the great LOTTE LEHMANN, with a recital at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. Her program will include some of the chestnuts of the German song repertory, including Schubert's "Du bist...

The Empress Deborah. (A singer's diary).(Bibliography)(Interview)
January 1, 2002... One of the most multifaceted roles in all opera, the Empress in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten demands an enormous vocal and dramatic range. Strauss's librettist, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, commented on this in a letter to Strauss, speaking of...

Shadowland.(Die Frau ohne Schatten)
January 1, 2002... BRYAN GILLIAM explores the complex and symbolic world of Strauss's most challenging work, Die Frau ohne Schatten Die Frau ohne Schatten prompts either adulation or derision; for some, it is Richard Strauss's finest opera, for others a...

Lightning Rod.
January 1, 2002... Christian Thielemann is, in the lingo of the hypesters, a hot property. He's outspoken, tough, smart, defiant, self-confident and an extraordinarily talented conductor. Also, we are told, he's autocratic and a bit moody. That can't harm the...

Head Nurse: Hanna Schwarz adds the Amme in Die Frau Ohne Schatten to her gallery of German bad-girl roles at the Met.
January 1, 2002... The first thing that strikes you about a Hanna Schwarz performance is her simultaneous projection of elegance and power. A slim, fine-boned woman with long, graceful hands that can be delicately assertive onstage as well as in person, she has a...

The Don Carlos variations: William R. Braun traces the revisionary history of Verdi masterpiece.(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2002... "This opera was born in fire and flames," wrote Verdi of Don Carlos. It remains at once the longest, richest and most problematic of his operas. Composition and revision of it occupied him off and on for fully eighteen years. And for more than...

Two-voiced woman: Princess Eboli is a combination of light and darkness -- and often a vocal minefield for the singers who attempt it.(analysis of the role of Princess Eboli in the opera Don Carlos)(Critical Essay)
January 1, 2002... Ask any singer who has studied Princess Eboli in Don Carlo. This complex character poses special vocal problems quite unlike any other Verdi mezzo-soprano role, even such closely related parts as Azucena and Amneris. It almost seems as though...

The King: Cesare Siepi's last-minute Met debut in 1950 led to a distinguished career as one of the singers the company seemingly couldn't live without -- until the bass's abrupt disappearance from the roster in 1973.
January 1, 2002... In October 1950, Rudolf Bing had a big problem. Looming before him was his first season, to be scrutinized by a suspicious public, a concerned board and a picky press. Budgets had to be balanced, old-timers fired, replacements found, and on and...

Frau reflections. (Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts).(set designers Herbert Wernicke on his designs for Die Frau ohne Shatten at the Metropolitan Opera, 2001)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... There was a moment this past fall when Herbert Wernicke didn't see the point of coming to New York to stage the Met's new Die Frau ohne Schatten. "What are the conflicts of Barak compared to the suffering and chaos people have been exposed to...

Die Frau Ohne Schatten: Broadcast of January 5, 2002 Sponsored by ChevronTexaco over the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, 12:30 P.M. (Metropolitan Opera).
January 1, 2002... DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance) Nurse mezzo, HANNA SCHWARZ Messenger bar., EIKE WILM SCHULTE Emperor tenor, THOMAS MOSER Empress soprano, DEBORAH VOIGT Falcon...

Don Carlo: Broadcast of January 12, 2002 Sponsored by ChevronTexaco over the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, 1 P.M.
January 1, 2002... DON CARLO THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance) Forester bass, ANDREW GANGESTAD Tebaldo mezzo, THEODORA HANSLOWE Elisabetta sop., GALINA GORCHAKOVA Don Carlo tenor, RICHARD MARGISON Count Lerma bar.,...

The Casts.(opera singer profiles)
January 1, 2002... Deborah Voigt (Empress). See "Singer's Diary," p. 12. Soprano Gabriele Schnaut (Dyer's Wife) was the Dyer's Wife for Covent Garden in October. The Mannheim native goes to Vienna next month for Turandot and the Siegfried Brunnhilde, then...

Tosca: Broadcast of January 19, 2002 Sponsored by ChevronTexaco over the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, 1:30 P.M. (Metropolitan Opera).
January 1, 2002... TOSCA THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance) Angelotti bass- baritone, RICHARD BERNSTEIN Sacristan baritone, BRUNO POLA Cavaradossi tenor, FRANCO FARINA Floria Tosca soprano, CATHERINE MALFITANO...

Idomeneo: Broadcast Of January 26, 2002 Sponsored by ChevronTexaco over the ChevronTexaco-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, 1:30 P.M.
January 1, 2002... IDOMENEO THE CAST (in order of vocal appearance) Ilia soprano, HEI-KYUNG HONG Idamante mezzo, ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER Women of Crete sop., SANDRA LOPEZ mezzo, JOSSIE PEREZ Trojan ...

What to read and hear.(background reading and listening for Don Carlo, Idomeneo, Die Frau Ohn Schatten, Tosca)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... DON CARLO The standard reference works of Julian Budden and Charles Osborne are both informative. For musically trained listeners, Budden's scholarly yet accessible chapter, in The Operas of Verdi, Volume 3: From Don Carlos to Falstaff...

Offenbach: la Belle Helene. (Recordings).
January 1, 2002... [] Lott, Todorovitch, Thebault, Leger, d'Oustrac; Beuron, Le Roux, Senechal, Naouri, Huchet, Gabriel Alvaro; Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski. Text and translations. Virgin Classics 45477-2 Marc Minkowski, who led EMI's enchanting Orphee...

Verdi: Alzira. (Opera And Oratorio).
January 1, 2002... [] Mescheriakova; Vargas, Gavanelli; L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Choeur du Grande Theatre de Geneve, Luisi. Text and translation. Philips 464 628-2 (2) Did Verdi ever write a truly bad opera? Alzira might seem a likely candidate for...

Verdi: Aida. (Opera And Oratorio).
January 1, 2002... [] Gallardo-Domas, Borodina, Roschmann; La Scola, Hampson, Salminen, Polgar, Streit; Arnold Schoenberg Choir, Vienna Philharmonic, Harnoncourt. Text and translations, Teldec 8573-85402-2 (3) If you were afraid (or, if truly perverse,...

Verdi: Ernani (in English). (Opera And Oratorio).
January 1, 2002... [] Patterson; Gavin, Opie, Rose; English National Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Parry. English-language libretto. Chandos CHAN 3052 (Koch, dist.) Chandos's series of operas in English is going to have to do better by early Verdi than this....

Verdi: Stiffelio. (Opera And Oratorio).
January 1, 2002... [] Theodossiou; Malagnini, Casciarri, Vratogna, Capuano; Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, Luisotti. Text and translation. Dynamic CDS 362/1-2 (2) (Qualiton, dist.) Verdi took an unusual step in choosing a...

Verdi: Aroldo. (Opera and Oratorio).
January 1, 2002... [] Vitale; Campagnano, Bertocci, Panerai, de Manuelli; Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro di Torino della RAI, Basile. Instituto Discografico Italiano IDIS 6359/60 (2) (Qualiton, dist.) Verdi took an unusual step in choosing a contemporary topic...

Handel: Deidamia. (Opera And Oratorio).
January 1, 2002... [] Baird, Harris, Fortunato, O'Brien; Cheek, Castaldi; Brewer Chamber Orchestra, Palmer Singers, Palmer. Notes, text, translation. Albany Records Troy 460 (3) This performance of Handel's last opera, advertised as its recorded debut, is a...

Knussen: Higglety Pigglety Pop!; Where The Wild Things Are. (Opera And Oratorio).(two operas by Oliver Knussen based on work of Maurice Sendak)
January 1, 2002... [] Saffer, Buchan, Hardy, King; Gillett, Hayes, Wilson-Johnson, Richarson; London Sinfonietta, Knussen. English texts and translations. Deutsche Grammophon 469 556-2 (2) This set contains a new recording of Oliver Knussen's Where the Wild...

Ramon Vargas. (Recital).(recording of arias from operas of Giuseppi Verdi)
January 1, 2002... [] "VERDI ARIAS" with Stumphius; Anderson; Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Mannerchor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Muller. BMG RCA Victor Red Seal 79603 Ramon Vargas hops aboard the Verdi Year bandwagon with his usual style and offers a program...

Jose Carreras. (Recital).
January 1, 2002... [] "AROUND THE WORLD" Songs. No texts. Warner Classics 8573-85798-2 Jose Carreras is heard on this disc performing contemporary popular songs -- along with a few traditional tunes -- representing eighteen different nations and sung in...

Thomas Quasthoff. (Recital).
January 1, 2002... [] "SCHUBERT: SCHWANENGESANG/ BRAHMS: VIER ERNSTE GESANGE" Zeyen, piano. Texts and translations. DG 289 471 030-2 It takes a bit of adjusting to enter the sound world of this recording. Both voice and piano are slightly recessed, the...

Marina Domashenko. (Recital).
January 1, 2002... [] "MEZZO-SOPRANO OPERA ARIAS" Arias by Cilea, Saint-Saens, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Ponchielli, Verdi, Bizet, Rossini, J. Strauss. Philharmonia of Russia, Orbelian. Notes, texts, translations. Delos DE 3285 Siberian mezzo...

Bruce Ford. (Recital).
January 1, 2002... [] "SERIOUS ROSSINI" With Miricioiu, Futral; Matteuzzi, Kelly et al. Philharmonia Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Parry. No texts. Opera Rara ORR 218 (Harmonia Mundi, dist.) Bruce Ford is a serious Rossinian. His warm,...

Verdi: Requiem Menotti: The death of the Bishop of Brindisi Schoenberg: Lied der Waldtaube. (Historical).
January 1, 2002... [] Nilson, Chookasian; Bergonzi, London, Flagello; Boston Chorus Pro Musica, New England Conservatory Chorus, Leinsdorf. Texts and translations, RCA (BMG) 63747-2 A barn-burning account of the Verdi Requiem, with Birgit Nilsson in full cry...

Massenet: Manon. (Historical).
January 1, 2002... [] De los Angeles, Berton, Notti, Serres; Legay, Dens, Borthayre, Herent, Vieuille; Choeurs et Orchestre du Theatre National de L'Opera Comique, Monteux. Text and translations. Testament SBT 3203 (3) (Harmonia Mundi, dist.) This latest...

EGK: Irische Legende. (Historical).
January 1, 2002... [] Borkh, Klose, Benningsen, Owen, Litto; Bohme, Lorenz, Kmentt, Berry, Szemere, Czerwenka, Frick, Bierbach, Bayle; Vienna State Opera Chorus, Vienna Philharmonic, Szell. German libretto only. Orfeo C-564012-I (2) Werner Egk (1901-83), a...

Jacques Urlus. (Historical).
January 1, 2002... [] "HEROIC TENOR: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS" Arias and songs by Wagner, Mozart, Beethoven, Rubinstein, Halevy, Auber et al. Notes, no texts or translations. Marston 52031-2 (Harmonia Mundi, dist.) Dutch Wagnerian tenor Urlus (1867-1935) did...

January online edition of opera news.
January 1, 2002... A new recording of Leoncavallo's Zaza; two operas by Baldassare Galuppi; Michelle DeYoung in Bernstein's Jeremiah Symphony; Vivaldi sacred music; Szymanowski's Stabat Mater; recitals by Mitsuko Shirai, Matti Salminen and Heidi Grant Murphy;...

Best of the year.(opera recordings)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... COMPLETE WORKS: Our pick of the top titles we reviewed in 2001 were John Adams's revelatory El Nino (Nonesuch); Berlioz maven Colin Davis's new recording of Les Troyens (LSO Live); Offenbach's delicious La Belle Helene, as led by Marc Minkowski...

New York City. (North America).(reviews of productions by Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, fall 2001)
January 1, 2002... Bellini's Norma came in for a new production at the Met on October 11. Jane Eaglen sang some parts of the music well and had trouble with others. Hers is a noble dramatic soprano without much suppleness or Mediterranean-style temperament. Crisp...

Chicago. (North America).(Lyric Opera productions of Otello and Street Scene)
January 1, 2002... Lyric Opera opened its season with two works in which a jealous husband brutally murders his wife against a bleak backdrop of gossip and intrigue. That's about where the similarities end between Verdi's Otello and Weill's Street Scene, but the...

Boston. (North America).(Boston Lyric Opera's Don Carlos)
January 1, 2002... Of all Verdi's "ferocious and gloomy stories" (to quote Victorian music critic Henry Chorley), none is more so than Don Carlos. With its innocents doomed to suffering, brave and generous souls cut down in service to humanity, massacres in the...

London. (International).(Royal Opera season)
January 1, 2002... The Royal Opera season opened on September 19 with a new staging of Rigoletto by the acclaimed young Scottish director David McVicar -- his first assignment for the company. As with all his best work, it demonstrated scrupulous regard for the...

Paris. (International).(Das Madchen mit den Schwefelhozern, Attila)
January 1, 2002... In collaboration with Opera de Paris and the Festival d'Automne a Paris, Stuttgart Staatsoper presented a new production of Helmut Lachenmann's 1997 Das Madchen mit den Schwefelholzern (The Little Match-Girl) at the Palais Garnier. For this...

January online edition of Opera News.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... North America: Jo and Graves in Hoffmann and Cosi is a Croft family affair at Washington Opera; Tabarro and Cavalleria Rusticana at Canadian Opera Company; Mandela is subject of Manhattan world premiere; Gorra sings Marguerite in New Orleans;...

Improving on perfection. (Sight And Sound: video).(new recording formats)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The CD has steadily grown in musical merit until gradual improvement reached its limit and only radical change can carry us further. New recording formats, such as DVD-Audio and SACD (Super Audio CD), are sounding off and, with great commercial...

Die Zauberflote. (Sight And Sound: video).
January 1, 2002... Die Zauberflote [] Sonntag, Frei; van der Walt, Mohr, Hauptmann; Chorus and Orch. of the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Gonnewein. 1992. Arthaus Musik DVD 100 189, 2 hrs. 27 mins. (Naxos, dist.) Childlike innocence and slick design meld...

Cosi Fan Tutte. (Sight And Sound: video).
January 1, 2002... Cosi Fan Tutte [] Bartoli, Nikiteanu, Baltsa; Sacca, Widmer, Chausson; Orch. and Chorus of Opernhaus Zurich, Harnoncourt. 2000. Arthaus Musik DVD 100 013, 4 hrs. 35 mins. (Naxos, dist.) Childlike innocence and slick design meld smoothly in...

And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking. (On Television).
January 1, 2002... Linda Schaller's one-hour documentary And Then One Night: The Making of Dead Man Walking (on PBS, 10 P.M. *), produced by KQED San Francisco in association with San Francisco Opera, takes a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for the 1999...

Dateline.(opera dates, winter 2002)
January 1, 2002... METROPOLITAN OPERA (Metropolitan Opera House, 212-362-6000; www.metopera.org) Jan. 1 Die Frau ohne Schatten (R. Strauss). Voigt, Schnaut, Schwarz; Moser, Brendel; Thielemann, Wernicke, Wernicke Jan. 2 Hansel und Gretel (Humperdinck)....

Enchanted evenings. (Coda).(musical encores)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... All artists want to leave the audience screaming for more; they also know that the way to make audiences happy is to give them a little bit more than they expect. That's the art of the encore. Ideally, the encore is the part of the program...