What Opera Are You Listening to Now?

[Tsaraslondon]

This is the first time Callas sang the role of Medea and the first time the opera had been staged in living memory, though this production would spawn further performances all over the world, most of them with Callas in the lead role. In fact she created such a sensation in the role that La Scala scotched plans to stage Scarlatti's Mitridate, Re d'Eupatotre with her later that year and replaced it with the Cherubini opera. We have no less than six recordings of the opera with her as well (five live and one studio). None of these is negligible, but this one finds her in the most blisteringly powerful voice. Later she would add certain refinements and her Medea would become a much more multi-faceted character. Here she is evil incarnate and the effect is quite terrifying. It's also interesting to hear Gui's more Classical take on the score. He also includes a bit more music.

Callas's First Medea – Florence 1953

[Florestan]

A splendid performance of this marvelous opera, with excellent diction from all singers and great sonics. Highly recommended.

[Wendell_E]

New Orleans opera will be doing Jeanine Tesori's Blue weekend after next, so I gave the Pentatone recording from Washington National Opera a second listen via Amazon Music.

[Tsaraslondon]

After Medea Callas's next new role was another Classical heroine, though a much more noble character. We often forget how many Classical operas Callas sang on stage, mostly because, aside from Medea, she made no recordings of them, presumably because Legge and EMI thought they spellled commercial death. This is a great pity for she was a Gluck soprano of the highest quality and unfortunately the sound of this La Scala performance is not at all good. Orchestra and chorus suffer most, but, if you can manage to last the course, you will discover that Giulini conducts a superb performance and Callas is quite outstanding.

Out of interest, Callas actually sang seven Classical roles on stage; Leonore in Fidelio, Euridice in Haydn's Orfeo ed Euridice, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Medea, Alceste, Giulia in Spontini's La Vestale and Iphigénie in Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride.

Callas in Alceste - La Scala 1954

[Pohjolas Daughter]

New Orleans opera will be doing Jeanine Tesori's Blue weekend after next, so I gave the Pentatone recording from Washington National Opera a second listen via Amazon Music.

What is the opera about?  And what did you think of the recording?

PD

[Wendell_E]

What is the opera about?  And what did you think of the recording?

PD

A black teenager, the son of a police officer is killed by a white policeman during a protest. The opera doesn't focus on the incident itself. The first half focuses on the expectant Mother's friends' concerns with her bringing a black boy into this world, the Father's first encounter with his newborn son, and the Father's cop buddy friends' joyful, and a bit envious, reactions to their friend having a baby boy.

The final scene of Act I takes place 16 years later, the Son butts heads with his father, a lot of normal father-son conflict, with the added edge that the Son a student artist and activist, has had several run-ins with the law due to his activism, and sees his Father has as an upholder of an oppressive system.

Act II takes place after the Son's death. A Reverend attempts to comfort the Father, but the Father lashes out at him, and the system the Father works for. The Mother's girlfriends try to comfort the Mother.

Quoting from Wikipedia for the final two scenes:

At the funeral, Father and Mother pray with the congregation, asking God to welcome their son to Heaven. The Father briefly becomes lost in a fog of emotion, guilt, regret and memory, then finds his way back to the community gathered around him in church.

In an epilogue, we see The Father, The Mother and The Son, together, in a bittersweet moment around a kitchen table, sharing a meal, as The Son reconciles with his father and announces his plans for further artistic studies and one more peaceful protest.

I found it quite moving, even more so on my second hearing. The piano-vocal score is available online, so I didn't miss a word of text.

[Tsaraslondon]

Callas opened the 1954/1955 La Scala season with a visually splendid production of Spontini's La Vestale. It was the first time she was working with Luchino Visconti and the first time he would be directing opera on stage, having been lured into the genre by the prospect of working with Callas, whom he had admired for years. Over a period of three years they worked together on five iconic productions at La Scala.

Unfortunately the sound of this peformance isn't much better than on the Alceste and the opera itself resists even Callas's efforts to bring it to life. The best of it is the three arias she recorded the following year with Serafin.

Callas in La Vestale – La Scala 1954

[ritter]

the opera itself resists even Callas's efforts to bring it to life

I do like La Vestale (and other Spontini works like Olympie and, to a lesser extent, Fernand Cortez). I think these are noble works, with wonderful orchestration and attractive vocal writing, that also work dramatically and follow in the footsteps of Gluck's great achievements. I do wish a modern recording of Agnes von Hohenstaufen in the original German became available.

TD:

Listening to Falla's La vida breve. Eduardo Mata conducts, and the main soloists are Marta Senn, Cecilia Angeli and Fernando de la Mora.

CD 1 of this set:



I got this 3 CD set for two works not by Falla but by Jualián Orbón that appear on CD1 (there were used as --very appropriate fillers-- to the original release, on the Dorian label, of El retablo and the Harpsichord Concerto).

But, since I have the whole set, why not listen to the Falla as well? La vida breve is a work that I used to like a lot in my youth, but that I have lost interest in, and haven't listened to in ages. Well, the good things I remember are still there (some very atmospheric writing for the chorus and orchestra, a good dramatic pacing), but also the bad ones (a postcard depiction of Andalusia, which in this recording is worsened by the exaggerated faux accent used by the singers --who hail from Mexico and South America--). Mata's conducting appears languid to me, although some nice detail in the orchestration can be heard.

And Falla had studied Cavalleria rusticana in detail, that's for sure. 

[Florestan]

Good afternoon, Rafael. Are you aware of any connection between Ingres and de Falla?

[ritter]

Good afternoon, Rafael. Are you aware of any connection between Ingres and de Falla?

Other than that their family names do not have any letters in common, none that I can think of. 

Good evening, Andrei.

[Florestan]

Other than that their family names do not have any letters in common, none that I can think of. 

 

[Tsaraslondon]

I do like La Vestale (and other Spontini works like Olympie and, to a lesser extent, Fernand Cortez). I think these are noble works, with wonderful orchestration and attractive vocal writing, that also work dramatically and follow in the footsteps of Gluck's great achievements. I do wish a modern recording of Agnes von Hohenstaufen in the original German became available.

TD:

No doubt you're right. La Vestale does have some beautiful music, but I don't find the characters very interesting. Though the opera is often dubbed a "junior" Norma, the character of Giulia has none of Norma's private anguish, nor her transfiguring public self sacrifice. She spends the whole opera languishing over Licinio or praying to Vesta. There is very little dramatic weight to the character. I find Gluck's Alceste much more engaging. Just my personal opinion. The opera certainly didn't catch the public imagination the way that Medea did.

[Tsaraslondon]

After her performances of the role of Giulia in La Vestale, Callas expected to be singing Leonora in Il Trovatore at La Scala. Manrico was to be sung by Mario Del Monaco. However days before the first performance, Del Monaco declared himself unwell. He did however feel well enough to sing the title role in Andrea Chénier, an opera in which the soprano has decidedly the secondary role. Furthermore, Maddalena was a role Callas had never sung. Maybe Del Monaco feared being up against Callas in one of her greatest roles; maybe he thought she would drop out as she didn't know the role of Maddalena. However Callas loved a challenge and learned the role in a matter of days, though she never sang it again after these performances.

Unfortunately the sound is pretty awful, which is a pity because the performance is really rather good. I'm not much of a fan of verismo, nor of this particular opera, but it makes for compelling listening despite the awful sound.

Callas sings Maddalena in Andrea Chenier – La Scala 1955

[ritter]

Weber's Euryanthe (Act 1). Marek Janowski conducts , and the cast includes Jessye Norman, Nicolai Gedda and Tom Krause.



Some beautiful music, but a flawed and boring work (just as I remembered). 

[Florestan]

Weber's Euryanthe (Act 1). Marek Janowski conducts , and the cast includes Jessye Norman, Nicolai Gedda and Tom Krause.



Some beautiful music, but a flawed and boring work (just as I remembered). 

I can't remember right now who said something to the effect that Helmina von Chezy had a full heart and an empty head. Heine perhaps? It most certainly sounds like him.   

[ritter]

I can't remember right now who said something to the effect that Helmina von Chezy had a full heart and an empty head. Heine perhaps? It most certainly sounds like him. 

From what I've read, it was Gustav Mahler (when he revived the work at the Vienna Hofoper).

[Florestan]

From what I've read, it was Gustav Mahler (when he revived the work at the Vienna Hofoper).

Not Heine, then, but mordant Jewish humor nevertheless. Whoever said it was right.

[JBS]

I got this recording last month but haven't been in the mood to listen to it until tonight.

[Wendell_E]

Another of those DVDs I've had forever, but hadn't gotten around to watching:

Gioachino Rossini
Semiramide

Semiramide - Myrtò Papatanasiu
Arsace - Ann Hallenberg
Assur - Josef Wagner
Idreno - Robert McPherson
Oroe - Igor Bakan
Azema - Julianne Gearhart
Mitrane - Eduardo Santamaria
L'Ombra di Nino - Charles Dekeyser
Vlaamse Opera Ghent Chorus and Symphony Orchestra
(chorus master: Yannis Pouspourikas)

Alberto Zedda, conductor

Nigel Lowery, stage director, set and costume designer
Lothar Baumgarte, lighting designer

Recorded at Vlaamse Opera Ghent, January 2011

Very good, but damn! At two minutes under 4 hours, Rossini makes Wagner seem like the soul of brevity!

[Tsaraslondon]

Over the weekend I continued on my journey through Callas's stage roles. Her next new role was Amina in Bellini's La Sonnambula. Rather than go for the !955 Bernstein recording, which was the first time she was singing the role, I plumped this time for the 1957 Köln performance, which followed on from the revival at La Scala and the studio recording, made at the same time with substantially the same cast. As can be heard from the recording, she was in excellent voice and this was obviously one of her great nights in the theatre.



I hadn't reviewed this set before and have now righted that wrong. Callas sings Amina in Köln, July 1957

Her next new role was that of Butterfly, which she sang in Chicago, shortly after recording the opera with Karajan in the studio. As with all her Chicago performances, we have no recording, but the studio set more than makes up for it. One of her greatest recordings.



The Callas Karajan Madama Butterfly