General Opera News

Started by uffeviking, April 08, 2007, 06:49:51 PM

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False_Dmitry

I have never been a te Kanawa groupie - but I see the malign hand of PR thuggery in this piece, and it leaves a nasty taste.

Why was this "interview" even conducted?  Boyle has no claim or interest in singing in opera. te Kanawa has said nothing out of place.   There's no more reason she should have any "interest" in Boyle or her career than an Olympic gold-medallist on the parallel bars would be interested in someone who'd won a Cheerleading competition.  The two disciplines are so far from each other that it's entirely reasonable for one not to be interested in the other.

Scrawny gutter journalism of the worst kind - pure muck-raking.
____________________________________________________

"Of all the NOISES known to Man, OPERA is the most expensive" - Moliere

jhar26

Quote from: Guido on July 24, 2010, 05:07:04 PM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/susan-boyle/7734530/Dame-Kiri-Te-Kanawa-not-interested-in-Susan-Boyle.html

Did anyone see this article a few months back? I find her rage bizarre, and it's possibly a case of the lady protesting too much - she's sung more cross over Andrew Lloyd Webber, Karl Jenkins schlock than just about any serious opera singer out there...
The person asking the questions probably hoped for this kind of an answer to give him a story.

As for opera singers doing crossover material, I don't think Kiri objects to that. I don't even think she objects to singers doing nothing but crossover material. What she objects to is microphone singers who have never sung in an opera house in their lifes being sold to the public as 'legitimate' opera singers. And she's right of course. There's something wrong when the average guy who wouldn't know Fleming, Mattilla, Netrebko or Gheorgiu from a hole in the ground thinks that the Jenkins girl is the greatest operatic soprano in the world. Kiri has no problem with the fact that the public likes Jenkins - she has a problem with them considering her a 'real' opera singer
Martha doesn't signal when the orchestra comes in, she's just pursing her lips.

knight66

I think you are both right to an extent.

But the packaging of this competition is in the context of the 'X Factor' and 'Britain's Got Talent'. Without these populist competitions, I doubt the new one would exist.

So, to an extent questions about that wider context are legitimate. They were the wrong questions and her replies, which may have been edited, will hardly endear her to the very audience that Radio 2 normally attracts and which is the target audience of the new competition.

Her remarks would be applauded on a forum such as this; but the people here are not the people she is trying to influence.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

False_Dmitry

Quote from: jhar26 on July 25, 2010, 01:14:50 AMshe has a problem with them considering her a 'real' opera singer

Surely the criterion for being an "opera singer" would be to, errr... sing in an opera?  Jenkins never has.

QuoteHer remarks would be applauded on a forum such as this;

I am not so sure, y'know?  Mostly people on this forum can appreciate different genres for what they are - rather than criticising people for what they never tried to be anyhow ;)

But yes, I'm more than certain that some PR guys (such as Max Clifford, who represents Boyle) is involved in artificially manufacturing this story and the schtick that lies behind it.   It's all part of "bashing" classical music and making the people involved in it appear to be unsympathetic personalities... and wheeling out the stand for singers like Boyle (who frankly has nowhere to go now - except to cash-in while she can).
____________________________________________________

"Of all the NOISES known to Man, OPERA is the most expensive" - Moliere

knight66

Well, let me put it this way; I think she is right about Bocelli, who has had a career created on the idea that he is an opera singer, he is nothing of the sort. Also right about Jenkins, who has a pleasant voice, but is a microphone singer. She is classically trained, but shows no inclination to perform without electronic enhancement.

In one case the selling point was that the singer is blind, a fact thoroughly exploited. In the other the girl is very pretty. Had she been plain, she would have got no where. It is about entertainment not art. These people pretend to be serious musicians. Radio 2 devotees who have no contact with, for example, radio 3, would probably describe both of these products as opera singers.

I agree that Boyle would not be attempting to move across into a different genre of music. She is not trying to encroach on Dame Kiri's territory and with her, the man on the omnibus would not imagine her to be a classical singer.

So the bottom line; I agree with what she says, I disagree with her fairly brutal way of expressing herself. People with sound opinions can often express them in such a way as to alienate those who would otherwise agree with them.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

Guido

Quote from: knight on July 25, 2010, 04:34:58 AM
So the bottom line; I agree with what she says, I disagree with her fairly brutal way of expressing herself. People with sound opinions can often express them in such a way as to alienate those who would otherwise agree with them.

yes absolutely.

And yes my main point was that - she was so outraged that it was being compared to Xfactor, but that's what she's making - a talent search, even if its for talent "that lasts"...
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

jhar26

Quote from: Guido on July 25, 2010, 08:35:59 AM
yes absolutely.

And yes my main point was that - she was so outraged that it was being compared to Xfactor, but that's what she's making - a talent search, even if its for talent "that lasts"...
She may be a little bit grumpy at times but maybe something good will come out of that talent search, and she's got her foundation which helps young singers, so at least she's trying to do something positive. Nobody's perfect.
Martha doesn't signal when the orchestra comes in, she's just pursing her lips.

jhar26

Quote from: knight on July 24, 2010, 11:43:05 PM

Clearly she is going to hawk her bones around for as long as the paycheck turns up.

Mike
Could also be that she just loves to sing of course. I doubt if she would have sung the Marschallin again like she did a few months ago if she didn't love the music.
Martha doesn't signal when the orchestra comes in, she's just pursing her lips.

knight66

Like Victoria de los Angeles; in the autumn of her career she has hit substantial financial problems. In each case, the cause was divorce and connected management issues. With the former, her husband swiped all her earnings, he had been her manager. In the latter, a bit different, but the same end result. So, I think she basically has to keep working in order to rebuild her finances for her retirement.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

jhar26

I don't know. I would have thought that Te Kanawa is settled for life. But whatever the case may be, if she was willing to invest the time preparing to sing only two performances of the Marschallin - especially considering the risks involved , that tells me that there is a deep love for the music as well.
Martha doesn't signal when the orchestra comes in, she's just pursing her lips.

knight66

I don't think anyone implied she does not love the music.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

jhar26

Quote from: knight on July 26, 2010, 01:43:49 PM
I don't think anyone implied she does not love the music.

Mike
Ok, no problem.
Martha doesn't signal when the orchestra comes in, she's just pursing her lips.

False_Dmitry

____________________________________________________

"Of all the NOISES known to Man, OPERA is the most expensive" - Moliere

sospiro

Opera singer sues for injuries.

QuoteOn the night in question the stage above went sideways instead of up, resulting in the destruction of the set. I was knocked down at least 15ft and tried to crawl to safety to avoid being crushed.


QuoteThe accident was not Mr Rendall's first brush with misfortune.

During a performance of I Pagliacci in Milwaukee in 1998, he accidentally stabbed another singer in the stomach with a flick knife. The blade was supposed to retract but instead plunged three inches into American baritone Kimm Julian's abdomen.

:o

Mr Julian required emergency surgery and the production continued with a replacement baritone and a retractable toy knife.



Annie

Tsaraslondon

Quote from: sospiro on August 07, 2010, 11:26:25 PM
Opera singer sues for injuries.

The non retracting knife story sounds like it could be a plot for Midsomer Murders.

\"A beautiful voice is not enough.\" Maria Callas

knight66

This is the first I was aware of either incident; or that he is married to another singer. We don't know what damages were paid out, but on the surface, what is being asked for seems quite modest. He was well known on the concert platform, so I would have thought that he ought to have been able to get quite a bit of work by that route.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

False_Dmitry

Quote from: sospiro on August 07, 2010, 11:26:25 PM
Opera singer sues for injuries.

Hmmm, I can't say he was ever famous for being easy to work with :(
____________________________________________________

"Of all the NOISES known to Man, OPERA is the most expensive" - Moliere

knight66

Yes, I held off on that one, but my direct observations of him when I was in chorus, was that he was testy and irritable. But the real problem was that he did not seem to rise above the capable and efficient.

Mike
DavidW: Yeah Mike doesn't get angry, he gets even.
I wasted time: and time wasted me.

sospiro

Die Oper kocht: Die Lieblingsrezepte großer Stimmen
(The Opera Cooks: Favourite Recipes Of Great Voices)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMRXSQzSHOs&feature=player_embedded


Among the cooks:

Roberto Alagna
Piotr Bécala
Barbara Bonney
Joseph Calleja
José Carreras
Joyce DiDonato
Ferrucio Furlanetto
Elina Garanca
Thomas Hampson
Jonas Kaufmann
Simon Keenlyside
Angelika Kirchschlager
Ambrogio Maestri
Anna Netrebko
René Pape
Adrienne Pieczonka
Michael Schade
Neil Shicoff
Deborah Voight
Markus Werba


Annie

Wendell_E

#459
The Met Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of James Levine's Company Debut with James Levine: Celebrating 40 Years at the Met, Two Special Box Sets of 21 DVDs and 32 CDs

The two sets contain 22 complete performances, 19 of which have never been previously available in any format.

11 Titles on 32 CDs

Berg: Lulu
Christine Schäfer, Hanna Schwarz, David Kuebler, Clifton Forbis, James Courtney; April 21, 2001

Berg: Wozzeck
José van Dam, Anja Silja, Ragnar Ulfung, Richard Cassilly, Dieter Weller; March 8, 1980

Berlioz: Benvenuto Cellini
Marcello Giordani, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Kristine Jepson, Peter Coleman-Wright, John Del Carlo, Robert Lloyd; December 27, 2003

Berlioz: Les Troyens
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Deborah Voigt, Ben Heppner, Dwayne Croft, Robert Lloyd; February 22, 2003

Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande
Jeannette Pilou, Dale Duesing, Jocelyne Taillon, José van Dam, Jerome Hines; January 22, 1983

Harbison: The Great Gatsby
Jerry Hadley, Dawn Upshaw, Dwayne Croft, Susan Graham, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Mark Baker; January 1, 2000

Parade (triple bill)—Satie: Parade / Poulenc: Les Mamelles de Tirésias / Ravel: L'Enfant et les Sortilèges
Ainhoa Arteta, Danielle de Niese, Earle Patriarco, Ruth Ann Swenson, Wendy White; March 16, 2002

Schoenberg: Moses und Aron
Philip Langridge, John Tomlinson; February 20, 1999

Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress
Dawn Upshaw, Paul Groves, Samuel Ramey, Stephanie Blythe; April 19, 2003

Stravinsky (triple bill)—Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps / Le Rossignol / Oedipus Rex
William Lewis, Florence Quivar, Franz Mazura, Gianna Rolandi, Philip Creech; February 25, 1984

Wagner: Lohengrin
Ben Heppner, Deborah Voigt, Deborah Polaski, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Eric Halfvarson; March 21, 1998

Two of the operas on CD are accompanied by bonus discs that include excerpts from other Met performances of the same opera. The complete Pelléas et Mélisande is from 1983 and has Jeannette Pilou, Dale Duesing, van Dam, and Jerome Hines in the cast. The bonus CD contains excerpts from two other performances: one from 1978 with Stratas, Gabriel Bacquier, and Hines, and a second from 1995 with Frederica von Stade and Dwayne Croft. The bonus CD accompanying the complete Lohengrin from 1998 with Ben Heppner, Deborah Voigt, Deborah Polaski, and Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, features excerpts from a 1985 performance with Domingo, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, and Eva Marton, as well as a 1976 version with René Kollo and Pilar Lorengar.


12 Titles on 21 DVDs

Berg: Lulu
Julia Migenes, Franz Mazura, Evelyn Lear, Kenneth Riegel; December 1980

Berg: Wozzeck
Falk Struckmann, Katarina Dalayman, Wolfgang Neumann, Graham Clark, Michael Devlin; October 2001

Corigliano: The Ghosts of Versailles
Teresa Stratas, Håkan Hagegård, Marilyn Horne, Gino Quilico, Graham Clark, Renée Fleming; January 1992

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro
Carol Vaness, Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, Thomas Allen, Ruggero Raimondi; December 1985

Puccini: Il Trittico
Renata Scotto, Cornell MacNeil, Vasile Moldoveanu, Betsy Norden, Jocelyne Taillon, Gabriel Baquier, Italo Tajo, Philip Creech; November  1981

Smetana: The Bartered Bride
Teresa Stratas, Nicolai Gedda, Jon Vickers, Martti Talvela; November 1978

R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Virgin Classics release)
Deborah Voigt, Natalie Dessay, Susanne Mentzer, Richard Margison, Nathan Gunn; April 2003

R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier
Tatiana Troyanos, Kiri Te Kanawa, Kurt Moll, Judith Blegen, Derek Hammond-Stroud, Luciano Pavarotti; October 1982

R. Strauss: Elektra
Hildegard Behrens, Deborah Voigt, Brigitte Fassbaender, James King, Donald McIntyre; January 1994

Verdi: Don Carlo
Vasile Moldoveanu, Renata Scotto, Tatiana Troyanos, Sherril Milnes, Paul Plishka, Jerome Hines; February 1980

Weill: The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Teresa Stratas, Astrid Varnay, Richard Cassily, Ragnar Ulfung, Cornell MacNeil; November 1979

In Concert at the Met (Highlights)
Plácido Domingo, Tatiana Troyanos (February 28, 1982); Leontyne Price, Marilyn Horne (March 28, 1982); Plácido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes (January 30, 1983).

The complete collection will be available at the Met Opera Shop, its online store www.metoperashop.org, and Amazon.com on Tuesday, September 21. The CD and DVD collections are sold separately with the CD set priced at $200.00 and the DVD set at $300.00.

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=12326
"Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience." ― Mark Twain