Opera News articles from June 1999

Opera News archives from June 1999

OPERA WATCH.
June 1, 1999... Monteverdi's L'Orfeo shines at BAM, The Peony Pavilion, better late than never at Lincoln Center, Covent Garden names a new music director Radiant minimalism characterizes the production of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo that will be seen at...

ON THE BEAT.
June 1, 1999... Brigit Nilsson is honored in Vienna; Carol Vaness bashes Fledermaus BRIGIT NILSSON has been named an Honorary Member of the Vienna Philharmonic, an accolade bestowed on only forty others in the orchestra's 157-year history. (Nilsson is the...

SOUND BITES: Margaret Lattimore.
June 1, 1999... You won't find Margaret Lattimore genuflecting to Mozart. She would rather have fun bringing his works to life--as she did when she sang Dorabella in Leon Major's staging of Cosi Fan Tutte in San Diego fast March. She calls the production, set...

AT HOME ABROAD.(conductor James Conlon)(Interview)
June 1, 1999... IN PARIS AND COLOGNE, DYNAMIC CONDUCTOR JAMES CONLON HAS FOUND THE LIFE AND CAREER HE ALWAYS WANTED It's been a long time since I've attended an opera performance like this. A concert rendition of Die Walkure, with James Conlon conducting...

GREEN LIGHT for Gatsby.(John Harbison's opera 'The Great Gatsby')
June 1, 1999... December 20, 1999, will mark the Metropolitan Opera debuts of two notable Americans -- John Harbison and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Harbison, whose honors include a 1987 Pulitzer Prize for The Flight into Egypt, has composed an impressive body of...

BON ANNIVERSAIRE.(L'Opera Francais opera company)(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... L'Opera Francais has matured from a spunky, let's-put-on-a-show entity to one of the most valued constituents of the New York opera scene. Founded in 1988 by Canadian-born conductor Yves Abel and Susan Melvoin, it was begun on a shoestring with...

VERDI IN THE PARK.(conductor Vincent La Selva)(Interview)
June 1, 1999... VINCENT LA SELVA CONTINUES HIS SURVEY OF THE MASTER'S OPERAS Few musicians have the comprehensive experience of the entire Verdi opera canon now being acquired by Vincent La Selva. By the end of New York Grand Opera's audacious seven-year...

Summer in the Berkshires.(Stephen Paulus' opera 'Summer')(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... AN EDITH WHARTON NOVEL IS THE SOURCE OF STEPHEN PAULUS' LATEST OPERA Over the drone of low B-natural in the orchestra, the score to Stephen Paulus' latest opera, Summer, quietly begins. That reiterated note and the gauzy chords above it...

TALES OF NACHMAN.(folk opera)
June 1, 1999... Of all the shapes, sizes and forms that opera has taken in its four centuries on the Western stage, none is more elusive or less amenable to classification than folk opera. No musical reference work or opera encyclopedia offers even a...

QUICK STUDY.(opera singer Daniela Dessi)(Interview)
June 1, 1999... LIKE A STORE with faulty inventory control, the opera world has let its stock of female talent slip out of balance. The number of outstanding mezzo-sopranos seems to be increasing daily, while the current collection of sopranos -- especially...

IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD.(headphones)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)
June 1, 1999... Looking for a cheap, easy way to upgrade your home and portable stereos simultaneously? Invest in a fine pair of modern headphones. Whereas loudspeakers must fill the entire listening room with sound, a headphone's diaphragms couple directly to...

WAXMAN: The Song of Terezin; ZEISL: Requiem Ebraico.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Riedel, D. Jones; M. Kraus; Rundfunkchor und Kinderchor Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Foster. Texts and translations. London 289 460 211 Franz Waxman (1906-67) is best known today as one of the great Hollywood film...

MONTEVERDI: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Laurens, Banditelli; Zanasi, Fouchecourt; Coro Antonio Il Verso, Ensemble Eufonia, Ensemble Elyma, Garrido. Italian/French libretto. K617 Records K617091/3 (3) (Qualiton dist.) This is a worthy if not consistently successful attempt to...

BEETHOVEN: Leonore (1806 version).(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Coburn, Neithardt-Barbaux; M. Baker, Lafont, yon Halem. Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn, Kolner Rundfunkchor, Soustrot. Text and translations. MDG 337 0826-2 (Koch dist.) Twenty years ago, the 1805 version of Leonore was well served on...

VIVALDI: La Griselda.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Cianci, Lombardini-Smith, Morigi, Bonitatibus, Poleri-Tosi, Centner; Solistes Montpellier-Moscou, Fanna. Libretto, no translation. Agor Musica AG 091.3 (3) (Qualiton dist.) This first-ever recording of Griselda, first performed in 1735,...

MADETOJA: Pohjalaisia (The Ostrobothnians).(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Auvinen, Groop, Korhonen; Sirkia, Hynninen, Makela, Alamikkotervo, Hietikko, Suhonen, Ruuttunen; Finnish Radio Chorus and Orchestra, Saraste. Libretto and translation. Finlandia 3984-21440 (2) Leevi Madetoja (1887-1947), a pupil of...

LOEWE: Die Drei Wunsche.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Klepper, Weber, May; Kaufmann, F. Prey Worner, Hawlata; Stuttgarter Choristen; Rundfunkorchester des Sudwestfunk, Falk. German libretto only. Capriccio 50-074 (2) Best known for his copious catalogue of ballads and lieder, Carl Loewe...

DUFFY: Black Water.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Burlingame, K. Graham, L. Kerns, E. Langston; P. Mason, Savarese, Shacklett; Sharp (cello), L. Wang (violin), A. Johnson (piano, music direction). No text or synopsis. L.A. Theatre Works CD Black Water was composed by John Duffy to a...

ZEMLINSKY: Samtliche Chorwerke.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Chor des Stadt, Musikvereins zu Dusseldorf, Mulheimer Kantorei; Gurzenich Orchester-Kolner Philharmoniker, Conlon (1997-98). Texts and translations. EMI Classics 7243 5 56783 2 4 Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942), who studied with Brahms...

TAVENER: Eternity's Sunrise; Song of the Anger; Petra: A Ritual Dream; Sappho: Lyrical Fragments; Funeral. Canticle.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Rozario, Gooding; Mosley; Manze (violin); Choir and Orchestra of the Academy of Ancient Music, Goodwin. Texts and translations. Harmonia Mundi USA 907342 Contemporary English composer John Tavener (not to be confused with...

BRITTEN: Serenade; R. STRAUSS: Concertos for Horn.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Bostridge; Neunecker (horn); Bamberg Symphony Metzmacher. EMI Classics 7243 5561832 0 Marie Luise Neunecker plays Richard Strauss' two concertos for horn with a balance of bravura and sensitivity that promises well for her share of the...

SCHUBERT: Missa Solemnis.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Isokoski, Groop; Ullmann, Kotilainen; Peter Schreier Choir, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Schreier. Text and translations. Ondine 917-2 (Koch dist.) This performance, by the Peter Schreier Choir and the Tapiola Sinfonietta, of Schubert's Missa...

PREISNER: Requiem for My Friend.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Towarnicka, D. Slezak; Lykowski; Varsov Chamber Choir, Sinfonia Varsovia, Rewakowicz and Kaspszyk. Texts and translations. Erato 3984-24146-2 Zbigniew Preisner, the preeminent composer of film music in Poland, is one of the more...

Thomas Hampson and Samuel Ramey.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "NO TENORS ALLOWED" Famous Italian duets for baritone and bass. Munchner Rundfunkorchester, Gomez-Martinez. Texts, no translations. Teldec 0630-131.49-2 This rousing disc makes a strong case for basses and baritones having all the fun....

Anne Sofie yon Otter and Bengt Forsberg.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "RENDEZVOUS WITH KORNGOLD" With Lysell U. Forsberg (violins), Sparf (viola), Lidstrom (violincello). Texts and translations. DG289 459 631-2 Although Erich Wolfgang Korngold composed in nearly every late-romantic musical form, most...

FRAUENLIEBE UND -LEBEN.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "FRAUENLIEBE UND -LEBEN" Lieder by R. Schumann, Brahms, Schubert. Oppitz (piano). RCA CD 09026 68759 2 Both these lieder programs show off Waltraud Meier's tremendous vocal range as well as her sensitivity in conveying a wide variety of...

Mahler: Ruckert-Lieder, Kindertotenlieder.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Mahler: Ruckert-Lieder, Kindertotenlieder, Lieder aus Des Knaben Wunderhorn. Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Maazel. RCA CD 74321 57129 2 Both these lieder programs show off Waltraud Meier's tremendous vocal range as well...

Sophie Daneman.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "SCHUMANN LIEDER" Drake (piano). No Texts. EMI Classics Debut, 5 72828 2 Soprano Sophie Daneman shows courage and commitment by choosing an all-Schumann program for her EMI Classics Debut disc. Many of Schumann's miniature masterpieces...

Nathalie Stutzmann.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "SCHUMANN LIEDER, VOL. 4" Sodergren (piano). Texts and translations. RCA Victor Red Seal, 09026-61799-2 Soprano Sophie Daneman shows courage and commitment by choosing an all-Schumann program for her EMI Classics Debut disc. Many of...

MOZART: Don Giovanni.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Della Casa, Jurinac, Seefried; London, Dermota, Kunz, Berry L. Weber; Wiener Staatsoper Orchestra, Bohm. In German. No libretto. RCA 57737 (3) That this Vienna State Opera recording was a political landmark of sorts does nothing to...

PUCCINI: Tosca.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] Kabaivanska; Carreras, Bruson; Teatro Regio Chorus and Orchestra, Campori. Italian libretto only. Myto 2MCD 985.196 (Qualiton dist.) This 1976 Parma performance adds little to our experience of Tosca, partly because of its mediocre,...

Giuseppe De Luca.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "COMPLETE OPERATIC RECORDINGS, VOL. 1" Arias by Cilea, Verdi, Donizetti, Rossini, et al. Various pianists; one selection with unidentified orchestra and conductor. No texts or translations. Instituto Discographico Italiano IDIS 301/02 (2)...

Giovanni Martinelli.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] "THE COMPLETE ACOUSTIC RECORDINGS" No texts. Romophone 82012-2 The acoustic recordings of Giovanni Martinelli (1885-1969) didn't include any excerpts from Otello, his late-career signature role, but his selections from La Juive,...

ROSSINI: Il Barbiere di Siviglia.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] De los Angeles; Monti, Rossio-Lemeni, Bechi; Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano e Coro, Serafin (1952). Text and translation. Testament SBT-2166 (2) Old and new admirers of Victoria de los Angeles will be glad to greet two releases on the...

PUCCINI: Madama Butterfly.(Review)
June 1, 1999... [] De los Angeles; Di Stefano, Gobbi; Orchestra e Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Gavazzeni (1954). Text and translation. Testament SBT-2168 (2) (Harmonia Mundi dist.) Old and new admirers of Victoria de los Angeles will be glad to...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: VIENNA.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Though Franz Lehar's Die Lustige Witwe has been seen out of season in the Vienna State Opera House in a Volksoper staging, the State Opera had never produced the work until February 3, when it was mounted in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: VENICE.(Review)
June 1, 1999... This year's season at the Palafenice -- the tentlike structure in a dreary corner of the city that houses the opera company until the Teatro La Fenice is rebuilt -- opened on January 30 with Donizetti's late, neglected Maria di Rohan, a work...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: LONDON.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Liszt, who taught Pauline Viardot the piano, considered her a "woman composer of genius," but it is as a singer that Viardot (1821-1910) is remembered. The number of established figures who admired her artistry and wrote for her -- Meyerbeer,...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: GLASGOW.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Scottish Opera offered the belated British stage premiere of Frederick Delius' The Magic Fountain at the Theatre Royal on February 20. Composed to his own libretto in 1893-95, long before the thirty-something composer had won any recognition...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: ZURICH.(Review)
June 1, 1999... A brief midwinter visit to the Zurich Opera showed the company in excellent form under its youthful chief conductor, Franz Welser-Most. A frequent guest maestro, Nello Santi, paced Ernani (Feb. 5) in a serviceably dark production designed by...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: NEW YORK CITY.(Review)
June 1, 1999... This season's first Queen of Spades at the Met (March 18), though tentative in certain particulars (the voice of the prompter was heard in the land), showed a strongly cast, knowingly led revival. Placido Domingo, in his first Russian role,...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: HOUSTON.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Suggested by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music sorts out three generations of lovers--an actress, a pompous dragoon, his lovestarved wife, a middle-aged lawyer who once loved...

COMPANY BOX: Jarvis Conservatory.
June 1, 1999... Boutique wineries are a longstanding tradition in the Napa Valley, but California's famous wine region now boasts a boutique opera house as well. In addition to building Jarvis Vineyards, a lavish underground winery in the hills above the...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: FORT LAUDERDALE.(Florida Grand Opera)(Review)
June 1, 1999... Florida Grand Opera made significant waves in 1980 with a production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann that incorporated long-lost material discovered by the late conductor Antonio de Almeida. The company revisited the Offenbach opus this season but...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CHARLOTTE, NC.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Da Ponte and Mozart's deft mix of comedy and seriousness was not always clear in Opera Carolina's production of Don Giovanni staged for the company's fiftieth anniversary. Sets (via Cincinnati and Minneapolis) created an unrelenting solemnity....

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CHICAGO.(Lyric Opera)(Review)
June 1, 1999... Lyric Opera of Chicago's revival on February 22 of its 1993 La Traviata was notable, if only for the fact that it marked Ruth Ann Swenson's first assumption anywhere of Violetta Valery. The Verdi heroine marks another crossroad on the lyric...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: IRVINE, CA.(Opera Pacific)(Review)
June 1, 1999... Southern California operagoers still traumatized by Julie Taymor's 1995 staging of Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander at L. A. Opera must have found considerable succor in Keith Warner's Opera Pacific production (Jan. 19-24 at the Orange County...

NEW YORK CITY.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Renee Fleming's January 27 Carnegie Hall recital debut felt not so much like a concert as like a collective recognition scene. Here she was, the American soprano with physical beauty and poise, successful opera appearances and a growing list of...

Twilight of the Wagners -- The Unveiling of a Family's Legacy.(Review)
June 1, 1999... Twilight of the Wagners -- The Unveiling of a Family's Legacy by Gottfried Wagner, trans, by Della Couling Picador USA (dist. by St. Martin's Press), 320 pp. $25 Nothing turns readers into eavesdroppers more infallibly than a dynasty....

OBITUARIES.(opera singer Bidu Sayao)(Obituary)
June 1, 1999... BIDU SAYAO MAY 11, 1902 -- MARCH 12, 1999 Occasionally a singer steals your heart and never returns it. For opera-lovers of a certain age, Bidu Sayao was just such an accommodating thief. Though the act may be considered criminal, her...

SONG AND DANCE.(similarities between ballet and opera)(Brief Article)
June 1, 1999... The first thing you notice are the conventions: how, in opera, even though the stars are playing hot-blooded studs blazing with revolutionary fervor or hip-twitching temptresses, they move at a slow, stately pace (nobody ever really hurries in...