Ask Me Anything About Opera ?

[Croynan]

Did you see that production when it played here in Los Angeles? I do not think the production played at the Met.

I am not sure it was so outrageous as it was inventive and challenging. It was most creative.

eM.​

Peto, in regards to Manon, you never aswered my question.

after all, you did say "Ask Me Anything About Opera?"

like did you see this production of Manon?

also where did you see a production of Nixon in China - like the original cast and production? i don't believe, but i could be wrong, that it played or has played the Met, but it did Los Angeles. It was a superb production.

i'm just trying to differentiate between those operas seen, versus those operas read/heard about or listened to said recordings of said operas.

to my vastly limited knowledge of opera there is no recording of the Manon production you spoke about with Rolando Villazon and Anna Nebretko.

and please do not be intimidated by the signature i have been given, as such is not the truth in reality - my lack of knowledge of Opera and foreign languages being just two examples and believe me i could name several more areas with no trouble at all.​

eM.​

 

[Jory]

Lizzie Borden

and Opera about the Lizzie Borden??

The house where it all happen is now a bed and breakfast.

 

[gameboy 11]

How come all the guys in it are skinny and gay and the women, all fat??

XD

 

[Croynan]

I'm not intimidated by anything or anyone....... your questions were not answered for reasons you must know.

However, I will answer in brief this time.


No I did not see the original version which was at Houston Grand, I believe. I was still a child at the time. I saw a revival of NIXON at the State Theatre.

Villazon/Netrebko were in a production of Manon....... updated....... there is no recording as yet.

95% of which I have spoken has been seen/heard by me....... I work a great deal on opera when classes are not in session. So if I mentioned Donizetti's ROBERTO DEVEREUX, it means I saw it....... with Edita Gruberova as Elizabetta l.

Unlike you, I have a great facility with languages: Italian, French, English, German, some Spanish... enough to understand and make myself understood....... reading/writing.

thank you for answering and or responding to my questions.

why you should think they were asked for intimidating reasons i truly do not know. as i am the first to admit that your knowledge of opera and languages is far superior then mine. my basic knowlege in each area i would describe as nil to put it mildly.

while it is true that in both instances i saw the two productions in question, i merely sought to find out whether you had seen the same and or similar productions.

my questions were asked merely for clarification as to whether these were and or are productions you have seen personally or are they productions you have read about and heard recordings of said such productions.

why you should think such basic and fundamental questions are based on intimidation is beyond my reasoning abilities and or logic to comprehend.

i did not intend my basically fundamental questions to sound as if they were attempts at intimidation as you so call it. clarification was merely my goal, and such clarifications could have been given, in my humble opinion as a local village idiot, with simplicity and directness and not a need to make an issue of the said questions.

as you are a teacher who i assume deals with questions in the classroom on a daily basis, i would assume that my questions posed, were as simple and fundamental as any that might be asked in any classroom.

your thread now has close to eight pages and over 200 postings, i should think you would feel most proud of that accomplishment.

pax

eM.

 

[Jory]

Well that's a very pleasant thought.........

When I saw Lizzie Borden at the N.Y.C.Opera I was very young, but I enjoyed the production very much, more as music drama as Wagner would have said. All I can remember is that the great Lauren Flanigan played the step-mother, Abigail Borden. What a remarkable singing actress is La Flanigan..... and she's still going strong.

I caught her in I Lombardi by Verdi, Macbeth at N.Y.City Opera and in Korngold's DIE TOTE STADT ( The Dead City ) at City Opera as well.

One of the fondest memories of that Lizzie Borden premiere was getting to see the composer Jack Beeson in a flaming red sports coat. Mr. Beeson was born in 1921 and I'm wondering at the moment if he is still alive. I will have to check that.

Most of composer Beeson's operas are on American themes. He does very well with these American themes. Some of his better known works are JONAH from 1950, HELLO, OUT THERE ( 1954 ), THE SWEET BYE AND BYE (1957 ), MY HEART'S IN THE HIGHLANDS (1970 ), CAPTAIN JINKS OF THE HORSE MARINES whose date I don't know. He also did an adaptation of CYRANO DE BERGERAC by RONSTAD, simply called Cyrano, but I know almost nothing about this work which has been set to music many times.

ALFANO'S ( He finished Puccini's TURANDOT when Puccinin died of throat cancer in 1924 ) Cyrano de Bergerac was given a succesful run at the MET two years running with Domingo some 4 years ago. The night I saw Domingo's Cyrano, he was in superb vocal condition...... you might know that earlier that season he had to abandon the role due to a throat ailment....... It took awhile to re-cuperate, but he did and finished the Cyrano runs to everyone's great relief and pleasure. Such an opera needs a a BIG name opera star to make it work. The MET only did it because Domingo wanted to have a go at it as he did with WOLF-FERRARI'S SLY.

I never knew that there was an opera about her and please for the love of God tell me that in it there is no piece that starts, "Lizzie Borden took an axe....."

 

[Jory]

I have this friend who states that at one time his mother sang at the Met is there anyway I can see if he not full of BS Thanks

 

[PreTTy PeTe]

I never knew that there was an opera about her and please for the love of God tell me that in it there is no piece that starts, "Lizzie Borden took an axe....."

and gave her father 40 whacks

eek

 

[operafan]

,CAPTAIN JINKS OF THE HORSE MARINES whose date I don't know.

If I may add a note, the world premiere was here in Kansas City, MO in 1975. It was a comic opera with Sheldon Harnick of Broadway fame as the librettist.

"I am Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines,
and I feed my horse on corn and beans."
​

 

[operafan]

How come all the guys in it are skinny and gay and the women, all fat??

XD

<<My avatar, David Daniels, is gay but not skinny. I also understand he has broken up with his boyfriend of 20 years, so he might be available - skinny or not.

 

[Shepherd 2]

Peto Antonio,
This thread has been a crowning accomplishment for you.
I am so pleased to see the success and staying power of
an opera thread. I especially enjoyed reading the many passages
and the banter.

Sorry, most videos do not work for me, the
damn deafness, but I could get some of it from the various
posts. I sometimes feel guilty going to the opera now, for I do
not hear, and it is a seat taken by me, but the visual and just
being there is good for me.Thanks.
Shep+

 

[greaves]

Peto: you have the most apt avatar on JUB.

 

[PreTTy PeTe]

Peto: you have the most apt avatar on JUB.

 

[Shepherd 2]

The trouble is I have a similar passion for theatre, ballet, cinema and sports and have a lot I would like to share on these subjects. I will eventually start something in those other fields I enjoy so much!

It seems to me Peto, that you could have spaced over the next four months or so at least four more threads to give such fine teaching moments to on this site. I am proud of you for what you have done. You may not have realized, that this thread has won you an appreciative audience for all your time here at JUB. I knew you had a special gift to offer, and I am especially thrilled to see it at work.

Those future threads could be on (1) theatre, (2) ballet and (3) cinema. On the Sports forum, you could do a similar thread on sports. Think about it and if it is doable and workable, I look forward, for one, to see what you do.

This has been an incredible thread. And for me, deaf old Shep, a source of great joy.
Shep+

 

[Golliwog]

You have done a monumental thing here, Peto.
I am way beyond impressed.
Your knowledge is impressive, but the thing that impresses me most is the hours and hours you spent on this volunteer job. It is obvious that you are superbly qualified in what you do.

I am a few generations older than you, which has both plusses and minuses for me. On the plus side, I got to see and hear Lily Pons sing Lucia during the Met Spring Tour in c.1951. Jan Peerce was the Edgardo, and I am not sure who the baritone was. Could it have been Leonard Warren? Anyway, that was my first exposure to professional opera, and changed me from curious to passionate.
Likewise saw and heard Renata Tebaldi sing Violetta, same venue, around 1958. Wow!

Ewa Podles sang in La Donna del Lago here in Minnesota last season, and I could scarcely believe what I was hearing! Astounding! She did the pants role, as The Lady's lover, the lady being Maureen O' Flynn, who was also good.


I also am a soprano freak. One of my faves is a coloratura you did not mention, Elizabeth Futral, who is currently singing Violetta Valery at the Chicago Lyric. The Met seems on again, off again about Futral, some years offering her plum parts, other times apparently ignoring her. She sang Lucia last season at the Met, and Anthony Tommasini (sp?) gave her faint praise, e.g. "She got all the notes right, but seemed so fixated on doing so that she failed to act the role."
(My version of what he said, not an exact quotation, even though I chose to use quotation marks.)
I have heard Futral in person, and her charisma is real.

I have had the pleasure of hearing in person such artists as Eleanor Steber,Elly Ammerling, Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, Deborah Voigt, Shirley Verrett (who was to me the sexiest soprano I have heard), Felicity Lott (in Chicago's Capriccio (sp), James Morris, Bryn Terfel, (Leporello to Morris's Don)in Chicago's Don Giovanni.

Although I was not privileged to hear the late Leonie Rysanek, I adored her voice.

Anyway, sorry to let my reminiscences lead me astray from the main topic.

My main intention was to express a grrrrrreat big thank you for this superb gift to JUB opera lovers. Take a bow. Take several.

 

[SFMusic]

I am very fortunate that I am old enough to have heard many of the greatest singers of the mid/late 20th Century, Sutherland, Nielsen, Caballe, Tebaldi, Callas, Pavarotti, Domingo etc. Although when I talked to my older friends at the time (this was during the 1970's) they would regale me with stories of hearing the greats from the early part of the 20th Century like Ponselle, Caruso, Farrar, Tetrazzini etc.

They would always say something like "if you think Caballe is good you should have heard Ponselle". Or "if you think Pavarotti and Domingo are good you should have heard Caruso". When I listen to recordings of these older singers, I just don't get it. The recordings obviously don't capture what my friends heard live in the opera house.

My question to you, name some singers from a bygone era you would love to hear live and why?

 

[Cvetzjuga]

Do you know any good opera song like this?

 

[Golliwog]

Peto:

Hail, fellow Zinka lover! Never heard her in person, but oh, how she did brighten my life on Saturday afternoons as she sang from the old Met. Some years ago, I think it was 1989, the Opera Quarterly published a special edition of tributes to Zinka from many of her former associates. I remember Blanche Thebom, was one. A drawing of Zinka was on the cover. There were archival photos tdf, and if you perchance missed it, do look for it. Wonderful!

Also, I am wondering if you have seen, or possess the cassette tapes from the Met's Centennial gala, which, I think, was in 1983? Again, if not, try to find it. The last section of the evening concert (there was an afternoon section, as well) featured a stage full of Met artists from far and wide, seated in chairs on risers. The night's presenters performed on the apron, with their backs to the stars.
Zinka was prominent among them, resplendent in a pink formal gown, and adrip with diamonds, and her usual disdainful stance (body language for fuck you and praise me). I was mesmerized watching her expressions as various current (then) artists "attempted" arias from HER repertoire. She looked kindly at Leontyne Price, but scowled at others.

I remember Rise Stevens there, and when Marilyn Horne sang her selection (My Heart at thy Sweet Voice), she went to Rise after the applause died down, and gave her an affectionate hug. Others I recall included Eleanor Steber, Jarmila Novotna, Bidu Sayao, Margaret Roggero (sp), Delia Rigal, Nell Warren, Kitty Carlisle, Patrice Munsel, Rose Bampton, Helen Jepson,
Theodore Uppman, George Shirley and several others whose names elude me for the moment. Oh, Dorothy Kirsten, in all her glamour still -- she really was a lovely woman, whose voice, to me, was nothing about which to write home, but she did get lots of good roles. Had she been ugly, she would not have been there, but that is unimportant. Most of the people who were there for that event have since died. But, yes, the song is over, but the melody lingers on...

Thanks, yes, it was Robert Merrill in the Lucia production I asked about.

So nice to revisit these dear departed artists. What rich memories!

Oh, one more: You recall, no doubt, that Zinka began her career as Zinka Kunc. She was Croatian, if I recall correctly. The Met impressarios wanted to change her name from Kunc, which was pronounced, I believe, as Kunk...way too close to, well, you know...They could never explain to her why her name might become misused by naughty fellows. Then she obliged them by marrying Mr. Milanov, and all was well.

 

[Jory]

Here she is singing "Jota" by Manuel De Falla June 6, 1960 London

TERESA BERGANZA....... a true blue, beautiful mezzo voice.

I have many of her early recordings with Luigi Alva doing things like L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI, La CENERENTOLA and BARBIERE. Her Carmen to Domingo's Don Jose is stellar. Her singing of ZARZUELA ARIAS is to die for. "D' ESPANA VENGO......SOY ESPANOLA" plus the many gems we now have on CD are a must for any music lover. I love the zarzuela and thakns to Domingo we have been able to witness a number of them, many of them recorded as well.

I loved El Gato Montes
Luisa Fernanda
El Nino Judio ( from which, I believe, d'Espana vengo....comes from )
Dona Francisquita

but on CD I have many zarzuelas and I JUST LOVE THAT FORM OF MUSICAL WRITING usually a bit lighter in tone than opera, though some of the more serious pieces like GATO MONTES have heavier orchestrations )

Chapi's La Revoltosa is a must, in my opinion.

Rosa, la China, I discovered quite by accident, buying it without knowing anything about it. It's a Cuban zarzuela, which I certainly did not know when purchased.

El Huesped del Sevillano (sp)

Luna's Los Minos de Viento

La Dolores by Breton.......though this, certainly, can be taken as OPERA!

Serrano's Alma de Dios is one of my favourites ( Can. sp )

Give Soutullo's La Leyenda del Beso and El Ultimo Romantico a chance. They will turn you on and win you over!

A couple of more Chapi cds that now come to mind are El Barquillero and La Bruja.

Thanks mainly to Placido Domingo, my generation has been able to see a number of zarzuelas on stage. There are recordings of zarzuelas from other generations and they are very good. It just seems Domingo had the clout to make it live again.

I have a good deal of zarzuela singing from the great Spanish Opera Stars, many....... are still around:

Domingo, the late, great Alfredo Kraus, Carreras, Teresa Berganza and the late, tremendously gifted PILAR LORENGAR ( my favs ), Monserrat Caballe, Juan Pons and more.

For one reason or another I gravitate towards PILAR LOREGAR'S voice in the zarzuela, perhaps, because she was the first one I heard.

I want to single her out as well for the amazing work she did in opera. Many Spanish Opera Stars make their main career singing Italian roles, but Pilar did such a variety of things. She was at home with Verdi as easily as she was with Wagner in roles such as Elsa from Lohengrin to Elisabeth in TANNAUSER. But she went even beyond that giving us a incredible performances (which luckily have been recorded ) in PRODANA NEVESTA or THE BARTERED BRIDE, the German MARTHA ( Der Markt zu Richmond ) by Flotow and then turn round and do performances of Italian VERISMO such as NEDDA in PAGLIACCI or SANTUZZA in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA. She sang everywhere in the world including BAYREUTH, Wagner's temple in honour of HIS OPERAS........ and his alone. I think she was a far greater soprano than the credit she has received.

 

[Jory]

The New York Met would I think be considered one of the premire opera houses in the United State. What was it's orgins? In other words what was the driving force that brought it into being and why?

 

[Jory]

F.Y.I. For those who have never been to an opera and are going for the frist time some opera company give a short lecture about what the opera about an hour before it start. I found it help last year when I saw Carmen preformed by the Opera Pacific in Orange County, California. Be sure to check and see if they all so offer it and take advantage of it....after all you already paid for it.