Opera News articles from March 1999

Opera News archives from March 1999

OPERA WATCH.(news about opera singers, scheduled performances, opera company plans, and other developments)
March 1, 1999... In new roles: Carreras in Washington, D.C., as Wolf-Ferrari's Sly; Van Dam as the Man of La Mancha; Terfel as Sweeney Todd JOSE VAN DAM, not one to stand still, has been adding new roles to his repertory-- notably Scarpia in Tosca, which he...

ON THE BEAT.(Tod Machover's `Resurrection' production for Houston Grand Opera and bass-baritone Greer Grimsley's blossoming career)
March 1, 1999... In Houston, Tod Machover moves toward the mainstream with Resurrection For several years, TOD MACHOVER has pioneered the development of "hyper-instruments" -- the combination of computer and conventional orchestra instruments. His...

Those Who Can, Teach.(success of Indiana Univ's voice department and its music school)
March 1, 1999... AT INDIANA UNIVERISTY, A HIGH-POWERED FACULTY BRINGS A REAL-WORLD ATMOSPHERE TO A UNIVERSITY SETTING Within the past few decades, if you walked around the hallways of Indiana University School of Music's main building--a four-story...

ACT TWO.(contributions of librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal to the work of opera composer Richard Strauss)
March 1, 1999... WHILE STILL A YOUNG MAN, HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL TURNED HIS BACK ON A SUCCESSFUL AS A POET TO WRITE FOR THE OPERA STAGE `I know the worth of my work: I know that for many generations no distinguished poet of the rank with which I may credit...

Russian Smoke.(appeal of Russian mezzo-soprano Elena Zaremba)
March 1, 1999... THE MYSTIQUE OF ELENA ZAREMBA, THE MET'S NEW AZUCENA Some performers are just riveting. It does not matter where they are on the stage, what they are doing -- or not doing. Their sheer presence means they dominate the action, forcing the...

BOLD STROKES.(the dynamics of Modest Mussorgsky's unfinished opera `Khovanshchina')
March 1, 1999... IN KHOVANSHCHINA, MUSSORGSKY GRAPPLED WITH THEMES AS ENORMOUS AS RUSSIA HERSELF Khovanshchina, Modest Mussorgsky's penultimate opera, remains one of the most complex, pessimistic and subfusc creations in the history of the genre. The...

Siberian Star.(Russian baritone's role in Modest Mussorgsky's opera)
March 1, 1999... Nikolai Putilin sings Shaklovity in the Met's Khovanshchina When a handsome, dark-haired young man with a rather small lyric voice had his first audition at the Conservatory of Krasnoyarsk almost twenty years ago, few would have dared to...

THE TENOR NEXT DOOR.(tenor Richard Leech's career that has everything except fame)
March 1, 1999... APART FROM HIS ROBUST VOICE AND ALL-AMERICAN CHARM, RICHARD LEECH IS ABOUT AS UNLIKE HIS TROUBLED, TEMPERAMENTAL IDOL, MARIO LANZA, AS HE CAN BE In the opera world, there is always a "brilliant new tenor" oil the horizon the next Caruso,...

Lanza's Legacy.(sustained popularity of the late tenor Mario Lanza)
March 1, 1999... When voice has become recognizable enough to be used on the soundtracks of Mercedes-Benz commercials, it is truly consecrated. Mario Lanza reached that exalted status last summer. Fifty years after the fact, consumers are hip to what Lanza fans...

Extended Run.(tenor Charles Anthony's fond memories of 45 years with the Metropolitan Opera)
March 1, 1999... TENOR CHARLES ANTHONY CELEBRATES FORTY-FIVE YEARS AT THE MET "What is your name, young man?" Rudolf Bing asked the twenty-two-year-old tenor at his first New York audition in the spring of 1952. "Charles Anthony Caruso," came the reply....

FACE TO FACE: Phyllis Pancella and Brenda Lewis.(opera singers)(Interview)
March 1, 1999... New York City Opera's revival of Jack Beeson's Lizzie Borden opens this month, so OPERA NEWS decided to get the first and latest Lizzies together for a talk. The results turned out to be as fiery and fascinating as Beeson's opera. In 1996,...

Leap of Faith: Embracing Tosca.(Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca difficult to sing)
March 1, 1999... "Tosca, that shabby little shocker, is no doubt admired nowadays mostly in the gallery." So reads the most famous and influential critical comment on one of the most widely performed (and attended) operas ever written. It comes from Opera as...

METROPOLITAN OPERA BROADCASTS.(Broadcast of )(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Richard Strauss Elektra Giuseppe Verdi Il Trovatore Modest Mussorgsky Khovanshchina Giacomo Puccini Tosca Radio listeners are accustomed to hearing Dolora Zajick melt their Speakers when she tears into Amneris and Eboli, but...

ELEKTRA.(Broadcast of February 27, 1999)
March 1, 1999... BROADCAST OF FEBRUARY 27, 1999 SPONSORED BY TEXACO OVER THE TEXACO-METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK, 1:30 P.M. Music by Richard Strauss Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal THE STORY In the courtyard of the palace of...

IL TROVATORE.(Broadcast of March 6, 1999)
March 1, 1999... BROADCAST OF MARCH 6, 1999 SPONSORED BY TEXACO OVER THE TEXACO-METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK, 1:30 P.M. Music by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Satvatore Cammarano THE STORY ACT I (The Duel). Outside the guardroom...

THE CASTS:.(profiles of opera singers and conductors)
March 1, 1999... Mannheim native Gabriele Schnaut (Elektra) began 1998 with Puccini, singing Tosca in Vienna and Turandot in Berlin. The soprano, who bowed at the Met as the Walkure Brunnhilde in 1996, repeats her Elektra in Munich later this month, then...

KHOVANSHCHINA.(Broadcast of March 13, 1999)
March 1, 1999... BROADCAST OF MARCH 13, 1999 SPONSORED BY TEXACO OVER THE TEXACO-METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK, 1:30 P.M. Music by Modest Mussorgsky Libretto by the composer and Vladimir Stasov THE STORY ACT I. After a...

TOSCA.(Broadcast of March 20, 1999)
March 1, 1999... BROADCAST OF MARCH 20, 1999 SPONSORED BY TEXACO OVER THE TEXACO-METROPOLITAN OPERA INTERNATIONAL RADIO NETWORK, 1:30 P.M. Music by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica THE STORY ACT I. Cesare Angelotti, an...

WHAT TO READ AND HEAR.(opera books and sound recordings)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... ELEKTRA Elektra is discussed in Volume 2 of Norman del Mar's detailed and sympathetic. Richard Strauss: A Critical Commentary on his Life and Works (Cornell paperback). The opera is somewhat shortchanged in its ENO/Royal Opera Guide,...

BRIAN ASAWA.(Review)
March 1, 1999... BRIAN ASAWA [] "VOCALISE" Songs by Faure, Medtner, Villa-Lobos, Rachmaninoff Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Mariner. Texts & translations. BMG 09026 68903-2 Brian Asawa is one of a new breed of countertenors -- young, dynamic...

RUBINSTEIN: Der Damon (The Demon).(Review)
March 1, 1999... RUBINSTEIN: Der Damon (The Demon) [] Mescheriakova, Alexandrova; Levinsky, Daniluk, Silins; Moscow Chamber Chair, Sofia Chamber Choir, Wiener Symphoniker, Fedoseyev. German and English translations only Koch-Schwann 3-6543-2 (2) Known...

DONIZETTI: Don Pasquale.(Review)
March 1, 1999... DONIZETTI: Don Pasquale [] Dawson; Shore, Howard, Banks; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Parry. In English, with text. Chandos 3011 (2) Chandos' Opera in English series is designed to attract listeners who want to know what is happening...

NIELSEN: Maskarade.(Review)
March 1, 1999... NIELSEN: Maskarade [] Bonde-Hansen, Resmark, Rorholm; Henning-Jensen, Haugland, Skovhus, Kristensen, Ravn; Danish National Radio Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Schirmer. Text & translations. Decca 460 227-2 Carl Nielsen is associated...

KORNGOLD: Die Kathrin.(Review)
March 1, 1999... KORNGOLD: Die Kathrin [] Diener, L. Watson, D. Jones; Rendall, Hayward. BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra, Brabbin. Text & translation. CPO 999 602-2 (3) Erich Wolfgang Korngold's final opera has been a work of mystery for far too...

WAGNER: Die Walkure, Act I.(Review)
March 1, 1999... WAGNER: Die Walkure, Act I [] Polaski; Domingo, Tomlinson; Staatskapelle Berlin, Barenboim. Teldec 3984-23294-2 This is a compelling reading of what may be the most dramatically coherent act of the entire Ring cycle: a single,...

SCHUMANN: Szenen aus Goethes Faust.(Review)
March 1, 1999... SCHUMANN: Szenen aus Goethes Faust [] Nylund, Nold; Blochwitz, Dazeley, Sigmundsson; La Chapelle Royale, Collegium Vocale, RIAS-Kammerchor, Orchestre des Champs-Elysees, Herreweghe. Text & translation. Harmonia Mundi HMC 901661.62 (2) ...

PARRY: Job.(Review)
March 1, 1999... PARRY: Job Coleman-Wright, Spence, Davies, Hitchcock; Guilford Choral Society, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wetton. English text. Hyperion CDA 67025 Hubert Parry's(1848-1918) well-crafted, Passionately written interpretation of The...

Stephen Varcoe.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Stephen Varcoe [] "ENGLISH LYRICS" English songs by Hubert Parry. Benson (piano). Texts. Hyperion CDA 67044 Hubert Parry's (1848-1918) well-crafted, Passionately written interpretation of The Old Testament Book of Job reduces The...

McEWEN: Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity.(Review)
March 1, 1999... McEWEN: Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity [] J. Watson; Brighton Festival Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mitchell. English text. Chandos 9669 This memorably exciting and ambitious work by John Blackwood McEwen is a...

ELGAR: Choral Songs.(Review)
March 1, 1999... ELGAR: Choral Songs London Symphony Chorus, Handley. Texts. Hyperion CDA 67019 Swept along by the competitive festival movement at the turn of the last century, Edward Elgar made a sizable contribution to the unaccompanied part-song...

The Winchester Cathedral Choir and David Hill.(Review)
March 1, 1999... The Winchester Cathedral Choir and David Hill [] "LUX AETERNA" Choral Works by Durufle, Mozart, Tavener, Barber, Part Hill and others. With the Brunel Ensemble, S. Farr (organ). Texts and translations. Virgin Classics 7243 5 45340 27 ...

Matthias Goerne.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Matthias Goerne [] Eisler: The Hollywood Songbook. Schneider (piano). Text & translations. London 289 460 582-2 One of the most valuable aspects of Decca's "Entartete Musik" series is the sheer range and diversity of the music it has...

Andreas Scholl.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Andreas Scholl [] "GERMAN BAROQUE CANTATAS" Schutz, Buxtehude, J. C. Bach et al. Concerto di Vide, Basel Consort. Texts & translations. Harmonia Mundi 901651 On this album of arias from baroque cantatas, German countertenor Andreas...

Paul Hillier.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Paul Hillier [] "BITTER BALLADS" Ancient and modern poetry sung to medieval and traditional melodies. Lawrence-King (harps, psaltery). English texts & French translations. Harmonia Mundi 907204 Ironic, cynical, disillusioned,...

Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel and Andrea Bocelli.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel and Andrea Bocelli "A HYMN FOR THE WORLD 2" Songs of Joy Consolation and Faith. Coro e Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Myung-Whun Chung. Texts & translations. Deutsche Grammophon 459 146-2...

PUCCINI: Manon Lescaut.(Review)
March 1, 1999... PUCCINI: Manon Lescaut [] Kirsten, Madeira; Bjoerling, Hayward, Valdengo, Baccaloni. Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Antonicelli. Text & translations. Soria Series MET22 (2) (Limited edition release available for $150 from the...

ROSSINI: Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra.(Review)
March 1, 1999... ROSSINI: Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra [] Gencer, Geszty; Grilli, Bottazzo, Borelli; Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Sanzogno (1970). Synopsis only Opera d'Oro OPD-1177 (2) Here are two bel canto views of...

DONIZETTI: Roberto Devereux.(Review)
March 1, 1999... [] DONIZETTI: Roberto Devereux Gencer, Rota; Bondino, Cappuccilli, Pagliuca; Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Rossi. (1964). Synopsis only Opera d'Oro OPD-1159 (2) Here are two bel canto views of...

Antonietta Stella.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Antonietta Stella [] ARIAS by Verdi and Puccini. Symphony Orchestra, Sanzogno/Curiel; London Symphony Orchestra, Erede. No texts or translations. Testament SBT-1148 Despite numerous triumphs at La Scala and the Metropolitan, the...

Licia Albanese.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Licia Albanese [] "MET LEGENDS" Arias and songs by Puccini, Verdi, Massenet, etc. Various conductors and orchestras. Texts & translations. MET 229 Licia Albanese, whose Metropolitan Opera career stretched from 1940 to 1966, was...

Roberta Peters.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Roberta Peters [] "MET LEGENDS" Arias and songs by Bellini, Donizetti, Porter, etc. Various conductors and orchestras. Texts & translations. MET230 Licia Albanese, whose Metropolitan Opera career stretched from 1940 to 1966, was...

"Met Stars Sing Sacred Music".(Review)
March 1, 1999... "Met Stars Sing Sacred Music" [] SELECTIONS by Charpentier, Vivaldi, J. S. Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Brahms, Rossini, Franck, Bizet, Faure, Verdi Niedermayer, Malotte, Britten, Bernstein. Various soloists, orchestras and conductors. Texts &...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: NEW YORK CITY.(New York Metropolitan Opera )(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Metropolitan Opera audiences love big architectural sets, and that's what they've got in Le Nozze di Figaro, La Traviata and Lucia di Lammermoor, the season's first three new productions. With La Traviata (Nov. 23), it was again the turn of...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: CHICAGO.(Hansel and Gretel and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny)(Review)
March 1, 1999... It took Lyric Opera of Chicago an unconscionably long time to get around to Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, the 1930 opera by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. When it finally arrived at the Civic Opera House, on November 14, gratitude was...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SAN FRANCISCO.(San Francisco Opera 1998 season)
March 1, 1999... Every week during San Francisco Opera's 1998 season, passionate letters attacking or defending the company and its critics appeared in the morning paper. The season has been highly stimulating and controversial and produced a number of fine...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SEATTLE.
March 1, 1999... Bernard Uzan's largely straightforward staging of Faust for Seattle Opera was seen in literal, one-dimensional sets, by Uzan and Claude Girard, from L'Opera de Montreal. With a few exceptions (a brief flurry of graphic sexual activity during...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: PITTSBURGH.
March 1, 1999... Pittsburgh Opera's Andrea Chenier (Benedum Center, Oct. 17-25), the first in more than thirty years, was a creditable effort that included L'Opera de Montreal's impressive sets and costumes, with compelling, stylish stage direction by Tito...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: OLDENBURG.
March 1, 1999... Because of director Claes Fellbom's bold concept, Joachim Griep's atmospheric stage, Linus Fellbom's exquisite lighting and, most of all, formidable ensemble work, the new Gotterdammerung at Oldenburg State Theater in North Germany on October 4...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: VIENNA.(Rossini's Guillaume Tell)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Until 1907, when the work was last performed at the State (then Court) Opera, Rossini's Guillaume Tell was a favorite with Viennese audiences -- especially when such tenors as Leo Slezak could cope with the heights of Arnold. (Even Karl Terkal...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BOLOGNA.
March 1, 1999... Donizetti's final work, Dom Sebastien Roi de Portugal (1843), is also his finest grand opera. Scribe's libretto is singularly tragic. Unlike the historical Sebastian of Braganza (1554-78), the opera's title character survives his foolhardy...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BERLIN.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Deutsche Oper Berlin's intendant, Gotz Friedrich, repeatedly had declared the new Die Frau ohne Schatten to be one of his fondest projects for the company. When rehearsals were about to start, however, he dropped out - officially because he...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: MUNICH.(Review)
March 1, 1999... In 1997, acclaimed theater director Thomas Langhoff and designer Jurgen Rose presented an exemplary Bartered Bride at Bayerische Staatsoper. High expectations for their second opera collaboration -- Der Freischutz, which opened on October 31 --...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SANTIAGO, CHILE.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Veronica Villarroel returned to her hometown as Leonora in Il Trovatore on August 17. Her decision to broaden her repertory with Verdi spinto roles is premature; her beautiful lyric voice could not do full justice to the demanding Miserere and...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: BUENOS AIRES.(Review)
March 1, 1999... A new opera by Carlos Zorzi -- Don Juan, based on a play by the mediocre writer Leopoldo Marechal, whose predilection is for transferring ancient myths and legendary characters to Argentina -- was offered by the Teatro Colon as a world premiere...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: TEL AVIV.(Review)
March 1, 1999... New Israeli Opera opened its 1998-99 season with a brilliant Falstaff co-produced with Opera North and English National Opera. Caroline Giles revived director Matthew Warchus' sophisticated conception of Verdi's late masterpiece as a shrewd...

FROM AROUND THE WORLD: RECITAL NEW YORK CITY.(Review)
March 1, 1999... Winterreise (Brooklyn Academy of Music, Nov. 4, 5, 7) is not an easy journey for either audience or performer. Its emotional palette features rawness, darkness and alienation. All these elements were enhanced in the staging of the work created...

LETTER FROM LONDON.(Michael Kaiser takes over as executive director of Royal Opera House, England)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... Michael Kaiser, the new executive director of the Royal Opera House, took up his appointment on November 12, and all concerned about the theater and its companies are looking to him to provide the stability it so desperately needs. ...

THE HOUDINI OF OPERA.(theater director Rolf Liebermann)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
March 1, 1999... ROLF LIEBERMANN ZURICH, SEPTEMBER 14, 1910 -- PARIS, JANUARY 2, 1999 Though six of his own works were seen onstage between 1946 and 1988, Rolf Liebermann was best-known for his artistic leadership of the Hamburg State Opera (1959-73,...

THE PHILADELPHIA SOUND.(Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)(Brief Article)
March 1, 1999... There used to be two things you could count on in Philadelphia--the Phillies would never win the World Series, and the Academy of Music was perfect. For the past fifteen years, however, there's been a plethora of propaganda insisting that the...