Opera News articles from July 2004

Opera News archives from July 2004

Absolute beginners.(Viewpoint)(Cover Story)
July 1, 2004... In 1938, when the Metropolitan Opera Guild was just three years old (and OPERA NEWS was even younger), we published Opera Cavalcade: The Story of the Metropolitan--a book that, according to its foreword, was designed for "not only... musicians...

Opera watch.
July 1, 2004... 1. JESSYE NORMAN has chosen Canadian mezzo-soprano SUSAN PLATTS as her protege in the biennial ROLEX MENTOR AND PROTEGE ARTS INITIATIVE. Inaugurated in 2002, the program invites masters in the arts to provide individual guidance to younger...

Archival interest.(On the Beat)(Column)
July 1, 2004... Archival interest propelled me to Yale University's Sprague Memorial Hall on April 16, for a performance of the long-neglected Charles Gounod opera Le Medecin Malgre Lui. It bowed in 1858, immediately preceding Faust. The two works shared the...

Remember the old Twilight Zone.(On the Beat)(Column)
July 1, 2004... Remember the old Twilight Zone episode in which bookworm BURGESS MEREDITH, in the wake of nuclear holocaust, settled down happily in the library to read, only to break his glasses? If circumstances forced me into long-term confinement, I think...

Abbey Lincoln.(The Pop Side)(Interview)
July 1, 2004... Great jazz singers haw it all over great opera singers in one respect: they tend to last a lot longer. Witness the remarkable jazz stylist Abbey Lincoln, who began recording in the 1950s and just last fall released a new solo CD, It's Me, on...

James Valenti.(Sound bites)(Interview)(Biography)
July 1, 2004... James Valenti's Italian-Irish family has supported him from the start, cheering him to victory in the Metropolitan Opera auditions in 2002 and traveling to Rome last summer for his Italian debut. But he also depends on another family to mold...

The price of perfection: the cost of becoming a singer, then ... and now.
July 1, 2004... Becoming a successful opera singer takes more than talent--it takes money. Through lessons, young singers must develop a foundation of solid training in vocal technique; through coachings, they must master languages, style and interpretation....

Teacher evaluation: how to find a voice instructor.
July 1, 2004... Discussing vocal technique with a singer is like discussing religion at a dinner party. It is fraught with emotion, and there is no way to reach a consensus. Every singer knows the one true way. Everyone was saved from error by a lucky chance...

Studio contract: how to work with a voice teacher.
July 1, 2004... Becoming a singer is not solely about the voice, repertoire, languages and musical basics. There must also be a strong will to be onstage, to act and, most of all, to communicate. This is difficult, because it takes considerable self-assurance...

Master plan: how to get the most out of a master class.
July 1, 2004... For better or for worse, master classes can be life-changing events. My Schubert scores are filled with breath marks with the superscript ES76. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, along with her husband, Walter Legge, gave a week of classes at the...

Management style: how to put yourself out there.
July 1, 2004... I have belonged for more than twenty-five years to that little-understood species known as opera managers. I realized just how murky our work is to the outside world when a close friend once said to me, "But, aside from going to a lot of...

Going in the right direction: how to work with a stage director.
July 1, 2004... I tend to think of rehearsals as a set of negotiations--the singers negotiate with their gifts and limitations, their roles, each other; the stage director with the score, libretto, a brace of designers, and the singers; the conductor...

Critics cornered: how to deal with reviews.
July 1, 2004... So, you want to be an opera singer? The profession you choose is not of this age. The truth about that profession is farther away than ever before, and the people who truly understand the traditions can he counted on one hand. You've come...

Merci--we'll call you: William Christie's apprentice program, Le Jardin des Voix, is no place for amateurs.
July 1, 2004... As New Zealand--born soprano Jayne Tankersley put it, "the place to be" for aspiring early-music singers one bitterly cold afternoon last February was Lincoln Center's Kaplan Penthouse, where Baroque-music patriarch William Christie was holding...

Letter from Lucerne.
July 1, 2004... I was standing in the main hall of Tribschen, Richard Wagner's former villa on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. A handsome and stately, if slightly faded-looking, mansion, it is now a museum honoring his time there (1866-72) and the...

New York City.(North America)(Rusalka)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Strongly cast and magnificently conducted by Andrew Davis, Rusalka (April 30) proved a rewarding final revival for the Met's 2003-04 season. Given the quality of Dvorak's score and Otto Schenk's fairytale production (sensibly staged this season...

Brooklyn. (North America).(Siroe)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Only recently awakened from a two-and-a-half-century nap, Handel's Siroe has now had a professional staging in America. Jorge Lavelli's 2000 Venice production came to the Brooklyn Academy of Music for four performances in April, aptly housed...

Toronto. (North America).(Die Walkure by Richard Wagner)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... On April 4, 2004, Canadian Opera Company took a historic step with the premiere of its new production of Die Walkure, the beginning of the first-ever Canadian Ring cycle. The Canadian Ring takes a different tack than most in assigning a...

Houston.(North America)(The Barber of Seville)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Houston Grand Opera served up a delicious treat with its new production of The Barber of Seville, seen on April 25. Directed by Australian Lindy Hume in her American debut, Barber successfully blended an updated setting of 1950s-'60s...

San Diego.(North America)(Kata Kabanova)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... As new productions go, set designer Jane LaMotte's Kata Kabanova for San Diego Opera was virtually free of any disturbing innovation, a defining characteristic perfectly complemented by the no-nonsense stage direction of SDO general director...

Sarasota.(North America)(The Corsair)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... It's easy to understand why Verdi was drawn to Byron's melodramatic poem The Corsair as source material. For one thing, it was immensely popular; selling an unprecedented 10,000 copies on the day of publication in 1814. Verdi also identified...

Detroit.(North America)(The Magic Flute)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Michigan Opera Theatre's The Magic Flute had an extra layer of fantasy and enchantment to it, lent by designer Maurice Sendak's sets, designed twenty-five years ago for Houston Grand Opera, seen at several other U.S. opera companies since then,...

London.(International - The Rape of Lucretia; The Haunted Manor; King Roger)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... The Royal Opera has taken its time, since the reopening of the Covent Garden Theater five years ago, in getting around to using the Linbury Studio Theatre, its small-scale auditorium, for a homegrown production. Apart from a worthwhile...

Salzburg.(International)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart's frothy, sophisticated take on love among the Neapolitan upper class, is traditionally seen as a hilarious spoof of mock infidelity. Not so this spring at Salzburg's Easter Festival, where Ursel and Karl-Heinz Herrmann...

Munich.(International - Lula gets a startling treatment from the Bavarian State Opera)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Although Alban Berg's Lulu is not everyday repertoire, it is an eminently important work. On April 24, the Bavarian State Opera unveiled a new staging, its second go (after Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's forgettable 1986 production) at Friedrich...

Vienna.(International - an unconventional mounting of Parsifal provokes criticism)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... The Vienna State Opera's disastrous 2003 production of Tristan und Isolde (directed by Gunter Kramer) seemed to represent the nadir of Wagner reinterpretations. But Christine Mielitz's Parsifal (seen April 11) has spawned even greater audience...

Prague.(International - Martin Smolka's Nagano celebrates the drama of Olympic competition)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Olympic sports are so full of passion, pain and glory, it is a wonder that nobody made an opera about an underdog team winning a gold medal before Martin Smolka's spectacular Nagano, or Hockey in Opera, or The Island of Hockey-do, commissioned...

Paris.(International - Tannhauser; Werther)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... Wagner's Tannhauser has had a difficult history in Paris, from the disastrous premiere of the Paris version in 1861 to the new production by Andreas Homoki at the Chatelet, conducted by Myung-Whun Chung with the Orchestre Philharmonique de...

Bordeaux.(International)(Turandot at Opera National de Bordeaux)(Opera Review)
July 1, 2004... The revival of Turandot at the Opera National de Bordeaux provided an opportunity to hear American soprano Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet in the title role. Much admired in Paris at the Opera Bastille in Rolf Liebermann's Medea, Matthias Pintscher's...

July online edition of opera news.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... NORTH AMERICA: Butterfly marathon and a re-imagined Samson et Dalila in NYC; La Cenerentola in Washington; HGO's Turandot; Macbeth in Stamford; Boston hears Mozart and Verdi; Persee, Turandot and Falstaff in Toronto, Bluebeard in Montreal; San...

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] Gens, Ciofi, Kirchschlager, Rial, McLaughlin; Regazzo, Keenlyside, van Rensburg, Abete; Concerto Koln, Jacobs. Text and translation. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901818/20 The great familiarity of singers and conductors with Le Nozze eli Figaro...

Vaughan Williams: The Poisoned Kiss.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] J. Watson, Stephen, Collins; Gilchrist, Williams, Davies; Adrian Partington Singers, BBC National Orch. of Wales, Hickox. English text. Chandos CHAN 10120 (2) Many a fine composer has felt a hankering toward light comic opera and...

Rovsing Olsen: Belisa.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] Inderhaug, Dahl, Halling, Nielsen, Rorholm; Byriel; Vocal Arts Group Nova, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Veto. Notes, text and translation. DACAPO 8.26013 The story of a wealthy old man taking a young wife is a commedia dell'arte cliche...

Handel: Siroe.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] Hallenberg, Stojkovic, Im; Schmid, Noack, de Jong; Cappella Coloniensis, Spering. Text and translations. Harmonia Mundi HMC 9018261.27 Of all Handel's stage works, Siroe might seem one of the least likely candidates for revival. After...

Rautavaara: The House of the Sun.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] Kaappola, Regnell, Huhta, Juntunen, Raiskio; Romu, Katajala, Hakala, Nieminen, Backstrom; Oulu Symphony Franck. Text and translation. Ondine 1032 (2) Early in 1987, Einojuhani Rautavaara read in the newspaper that two elderly spinsters...

Handel: Acis and Galatea.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] LeBlanc; Bleeke, Molomot, Watson; Les Boreades, E. Milnes. Text and French translation. ATMA ACD 2 2302 Handels delightful masque has come down to us in several versions, and even a revision by Mozart continues to have a healthy life in...

Henze: Pollicino.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] Fischer, Affolter, Brunner; Holstein, Schendel, Lisewski; Orchester aus Schulern Berliner Musikschulen, Liebrecht. Text and translation. Wergo WER 6664 2 Listeners who avoid Henze's music because he wrote that fluffy little bedside...

Ades: America: A Prophecy.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] With other pieces by Ades. Bickley, McFadden; Blaze, Maltman; Watkins, piano; Polyphony Layton; Composers Ensemble, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Ades. Texts and translations. EMI Classics 5 57610 2 The ferociously...

Schubert: Winterreise.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] Goerne; Brendel, piano. Texts and translations. Decca B0002008-02 This is Matthias Goerne's second recording of Schubert's unremittingly melancholy portrait of rejection and alienation; the first was for Hyperion's complete Schubert...

David Daniels: Berlioz: Les Nuits D'ete.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] "BERLIOZ: LES NUITS D'ETE" With songs and orchestral pieces by Berlioz, Ravel and Faure. Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Nelson. Texts and translations. Virgin Classics 5 45646 2 David Daniels is unique in the opera world--a countertenor...

Christoph and Stephan Genz: Mozart Arias and Duets.(Brief Article)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... [] "MOZART ARIAS AND DUETS" La Petite Bande, S. Kuijken. Texts and translations. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 82876-557822 In Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, Fiordiligi and Dorabella are sisters, but could their suitors Ferrando and Guglielmo be...

Alice Coote: "Songs" by Schumann and Mahler, cantata by Haydn.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Alice Coote: "SONGS" by Schumann and Mahler, cantata by Haydn. Drake, piano. No texts or translations. EMI Classics 7243 5 8559 29 EMI Classics's "Debut" series, a fine idea, has proved uneven in execution, so it's a pleasure to welcome...

Catherine Bott: "London Pride" A celebration of London in songs by Monckton, Gershwin, Walton, Norris, Boyce, Dove, Bennett, Sherwin, Swann, Coward, others.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... Catherine Bott: "LONDON PRIDE" A celebration of London in songs by Monckton, Gershwin, Walton, Norris, Boyce, Dove, Bennett, Sherwin, Swann, Coward, others. Norria, piano. Texts. Hyperion CDA 67547 I wish I could give this charming,...

Verdi: Simon Boccanegra.(1857 version)(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... VERDI: Simon Boccanegra (1857 version) Ligi," Turp, Bruscantini, Elvin, Howell, Hudson: BBC Concert Orchestra and Singers, Matheson. 1975. Text and translation. Chandos CHAN 10053 This important release should be in the library of...

R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... R. STRAUSS: Der Rosenkavalier Ludwig, Jurinac, Geszty Benegas; Nait, Berry Cesari, Valori; Orchestra and Chorus of the Colon Theatre Buenos Aires, Leinsdorf. Live recording, September, 1969. No texts. Living Stage LS 1029 Christa Ludwig...

SONDHEIM: Bounce.(Sound Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... SONDHEIM: Bounce Pawk, Powell; Kind, Creel, McGillin, Lackey; Caddick. Nonesuch 79830-2 John Weidman and Stephen Sondheim gave us Pacific Overtures and Assassins, so when Bounce opened at the Goodman Theatre, in Chicago in 2003, people...

Verdi: Simon Boccanegra.(Video Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... VERDI: Simon Boccanegra Mattila; La Scola, Guelfi, Gallo, Konstantinov; Orch. and Ch. of Maggio Musicale, Abbado. TDK DVD DVUS OPSIBO (Naxos, dist.), subtitled, 143 mins. The 1977 studio recording of Simon Boccanegra, based on La Scala...

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov.(Video Recording Review)
July 1, 2004... MUSSORGSKY: Boris Godunov Avdeyeva; Nelepp, Khanaev, Kozlovsky, Pirogov, Mikhailov, Krivchenia; Orch. and Ch. of the Bolshoi, Nebolsin. VAI DVD 4253, color, subtitled, 108 rains. Veteran filmmaker Vera Stroeva, who would also helm a...

Angels & Monsters: Male and Female Sopranos in the Story of Opera.(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Angels & Monsters: Male and Female Sopranos in the Story Of Opera by Richard Somerset-Ward Yale University Press, 310 pp. $30 It takes only one soprano to change a light bulb; she stands there and holds it, while the world revolves around...

Finding an ending: Reflections on Wagner's Ring.(Finding an Ending: Reflections on Wagner's Ring)(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Finding an Ending: Reflections on Wagner's Ring by Philip Kitcher and Richard Schacht Oxford University Press, 238 pp. $26 There have been as many books on Wagner as on any composer in history. Although a fair number of them have been at...

Opera: The Art of Dying.(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Opera: The Art of Dying by Linda Hutcheon and Michael Hutcheon Harvard University Press, 240 pp. $27.95 After exploring erotic-pathological themes in Opera: Desire, Disease, Death (1996), Linda and Michael Hutcheon turn their attention...

Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues.(Book Review)
July 1, 2004... Marilyn Horne: The Song Continues by Marilyn Horne with Jane Scovell Baskerville Publishers, Great Voices, Vol. 8, 280 pp. $39.95 "I cannot sing this shit!" the diva yelled, throwing her score across the room. But of course she could and...

Nicholas Goldschmidt, Tavikovice, Moravia, December 6, 1908--Toronto, February 8, 2004.(Obituaries)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
July 1, 2004... Goldschmidt graduated from the State Academy of Music in Vienna--where he studied composition with Josef Marx and played piano four-hands with fellow student Herbert von Karajan--and worked in opera houses in Czechoslovakia and Belgium before...

Marita Napier, Johannesburg, South Africa, February 16, 1939--Cape Town, April 10, 2004.(Obituaries)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
July 1, 2004... A leading dramatic soprano in Germany throughout the 1970s, Napier established herself internationally as a Wagner and Strauss interpreter, with appearances at Bayreuth (notably as Sieglinde, in 1974), San Francisco Opera (as Venus, Sieglinde,...

Argeo Quadri, Como, Italy, March 23, 1911--Milan. April 14, 2004.(Obituaries)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
July 1, 2004... The conductor graduated from Milan Conservatory in 1933 and made his career in Italy for the next two decades. He bowed at Covent (garden in 1956, leading Rigoletto, and also conducted at the Vienna State Opera for twenty seasons, specializing...

Erna Spoorenberg, Jogyakarta, Java, April 11, 1926--Vught, Netherlands, March 18, 2004.(Obituaries)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
July 1, 2004... After studies in Amsterdam and Hilversum, Spoorenberg made her debut in 1949, as Pamina at the Vienna State Opera, at the invitation of Karl Bohm. Despite the early indifference of the management at the Netherlands Opera, Spoorenberg enjoyed a...

Robert De Ceunynck, Antwerp, Belgium, April 16, 1940--New York City, May 4, 2004.(Obituaries)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
July 1, 2004... De Ceunynck joined the music staff of New York City Opera in 1979 and that ok the Metropolitan Opera in 1994. He remained on the roster of both companies until his death. He was also affiliated with Opera Orchestra or New York, Lyric Opera of...

Dateline.(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... ASH LAWN-HIGHLAND SUMMER FESTIVAL (Boxwood Gardens, Charlottesville, VA, 434-293-4500; www.ashlawnopera.org) July 10 Annie (Strouse). Also 11, 17, 18, 25, 27, 29, 31, Aug. 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 July 24 Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini)....

Zinka Milanov? Who's he?.(Coda)
July 1, 2004... A few years ago, I strode into my studio at Juilliard, dressed to the nines. "Big night tonight, Mr. Blier?" asked my graduate student (a tenor). "Oh, yeah. I'm going to the Met. It's going to be emotional--Leonie Rysanek is doing her...