Oberon's Grove

US Open 2007 Day #2

Tuesday August 28, 2007 - Final trek to the Open for me this year; I thought about getting a ticket for Thursday but the crowds have been unbearable and it seems to me that the Open has become so thoroughly commercialized with the emphasis being on the 'event' rather than on serious tennis-watching. I do love watching tennis 'live' as opposed to on the telly and to be able to see some of the players I like whose matches don't usually get on-air exposure.

Today I was counting on seeing the Bjorn Phau/Carlos Moya match but it was not on the schedule. I decided that, in the absence of my favorite player Paradorn Srichaphan, I would head directly to Court 6 to watch his compatriot Danai Udomchoke. I'd seen Danai play a couple of years ago and was interested to see how his game is progressing.

It was a long five-set match with the dynamic shifting between Danai {photo, left} and his opponent, Wayne Odesnik. Odesnik is the type of tennis player I really dislike; whatever his assets as an athlete - and he has quite a few - they are undone by his poor sportsmanship and unpleasant personality. He threw temper tantrums when line calls went against him. I was sitting on the service line and he got the benefit of several of his long serves not being called out; but when things did not go his way there were pouting blow-ups from the crybaby, muttering nasty things at the chair umpire under his breath. He once even accused the innocent Danai of laughing at him; Danai wears a genial smile throughout his matches, except for those moments of self-deprecation when he misses an easy shot. Odesnik needed the trainer - twice - but  got an attitude when Danai  asked for treatment. Then there was the slamming of the racquet to the ground with prima donna flourish. At the end, when he finally won, Odesnik suddenly tried to be Mr. Nice Guy, throwing his arm around Danai as they walked to shake hands with the umpire. I hate to think how he would have behaved if he had lost. Danai is a delight to watch and I wish him well in his continuing career. I will avoid Mr. Odesnik's matches in future until he grows up.

Then over to watch Shuai Peng vs Flavia Pennetta; Peng totally dominated the first set. Pennetta could not seem to get anything going. Early in the second set, Peng was treated for an ankle problem. The combination of a slightly slowed-down Peng and a geared-up Pennetta changed the tone of the match. Pennetta began to show off her impressive arsenal of shots while Peng seemed tired and preoccupied. Pennetta {photo, left} won he match and earned the audience's approval; an attractive and very trim lady, she might have become a ballerina at La Scala had she not decided to play tennis instead.

Jose Acasuso {photo, left}, who gave Paradorn a tough match last summer, was playing and I watched that match for a while and then took a trip to Louis Armstrong where Francesca Schiavone was dismantling Natalie Dechy. What's happened to Dechy? She looked so out-of-sorts. Doubling back, I watched the last few games of David Ferrer's match against Florian Meyer. I had never seen Ferrer play before; what a nice, animated player he is - his energies always focussed on the matter at hand. In a strong three-set win, he had the crowd behind him without deterring from Meyer's efforts.

Here are three post-match photos of Ferrer. The fans love him. Evening was just starting to fall as Ferrer signed autographs. I made another quick tour of the courts to decide on a last match to watch before heading home.

I made a lucky choice, having the really pleasant experience of watching two good, well-contrasted players in a 3-set match which could have gone either way. What made the twilight match so nice - aside from the cool breeze stirring - was the crowd:  no bratty kids, no cellphone queens; just an enthusiastic bunch of fans  divided into two camps but willing to applaud the good shots of the opposing player. The South Korean Yoon Jeong Cho played a very fine first set, thwarting the efforts of Lourdes Dominguez Lino. I'd seen Lino play before and I knew she was a pretty tough customer, so I expected her to keep at it til she got things on track. When Cho needed treatment on her lower back, Lino took the opportunity to rest under a towel and regroup. Cho continued to play quite well but Lino held steady with her no-nonsense style and pulled off the win. Cho might want to think about taking the big points in a match a bit more seriously; sometimes she displayed a girlish lack of concern when she got sloppy. Lino, the more seasoned and serious player, knew what she needed to do. And she did it. She was one weary lady at the end, but she deserved the victory.

I made a last walkabout of the Center; most of the courts were abandoned though Jose Acasuso was still plugging along.  On the #7 train coming home I realized that - despite the massive crowds, the expensive food, the horrible behavior of the little kids (it's the parents who are at fault, actually) and the bizarre inattention of people who have paid to watch tennis and then find all sorts of ways to distract themselves - I really love watching live tennis. The Lino/Cho match was the clincher for me and made me realize that, for all the negatives, I would surely go back next summer.

 

US Open 2007 Day #1

Monday August 27, 2007 - Wei and I went out for the first day of the Open. The draws were announced over the weekend with some interesting match-ups. My two qualifier/survivors, Bjorn Phau and Steve Darcis, each drew tough opponents in their first round: Bjorn to play Carlos Moya and Steve set to meet Tommy Haas. Zi Yan, the only one of the Chinese girls to qualify, got a less formidable first round pick. 

My tennis hero of the day was the Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.  Lee was in a long five-setter against an erratic Dominic Hrbaty and they each had two sets; midway through a very tight third set, Lee had to have medical treatment and seemed to be in real discomfort. But he persevered and won the match with a big audience response and a mob of fans preventing him from  leaving the court. I have always liked watching Lee; he is a clean, honest player and it was really nice to see him get a win today and gain some new admirers. I hope his physical problem won't prevent him from making a continuing run in the tournament. {UPDATE: It was really great to see that Hyung-Taik Lee continued his top-form showing at this Open with a 2nd round straight-sets victory over Guillermo Canas.  I remember so well when Lee first made a splash here in 2000 as a complete unknown, advancing to the round of sixteen. May he have the same good fortune this year!}

We started our morning at Louis Armstrong; it is an unusual sight these days to see a player fire off a big serve and then come in behind it on  every point but that is exactly how Max Mirnyi plays and it worked today as he went to victory over the popular and endearing Marcos Baghdatis. Marcos looked great and was playing well, firing off some exciting winners. But Big Max stuck to his guns and  had the crowd cheering him with increasing fervor as the match progressed.

Richard Gasquet had a good three-set victory over the Argentine Sergio Roitman; Wei & I really like watching Gasquet; Roitman tried hard and had his moments but Gasquet was dominant throughout. Wei really enjoyed the opportunity to see Gasquet 'live'.

Next up, Haas vs Darcis. When the chair umpire announced the Belgian qualifier Steve Darcis, I was literally the only person on he packed court to applaud. Wei laughed, "Nobody knows who he is!"  Steve played a beautiful first set against Tommy Haas, winning it in a tie-breaker. Haas seemed  stiff and his shoulders full of tension but he buckled down and Steve's lack of high-profile experience began to show as errors crept in. Steve continued to give Haas troubles, winning the increasing admiration of the crowd, but experience and determination paid off as Tommy won in four sets. I feel certain we will be seeing a lot more of Steve Darcis.

Back in Louis Armstrong, the VERY tall John Isner played a  strong, dominating match against Jarkko Nieminen. The stadium  audience roared for Isner on every point and went crazy when he won in four sets.

Ana Ivanovic marched swiftly through two sets against the Japanese Aiko Nakamura as someone in the crowd kept yelling "I love you, Ana!" and "Marry me!"  It seemed to me that Ivanovic was not really playing all that well but it was enough to win today.

As a nightcap we watched Tatiana Golovin being routed by a strong newcomer, Ahsha Rolle.  Rolle is fiery and tricky with a big serve and  no intimidation factor in facing a seeded player at Louis Armstrong. Golovin was spotty in the first set, letting Rolle seize opportunities to win it. Tables turned in the second where Golovin prevailed 6-1 but Rolle then mounted a successful assault to take the match. The big snowball moon rising over the stadium as the evening progressed was really beautiful.

I can't recall such massive crowds on the first day of an Open. Even the lower-profile matches were jammed with spectators; the alleyways between the outer courts were impassable and baby strollers got in everyone's way. Standees five and six rows deep, packed in like sardines, waited in vain for the possibility of getting a seat. It's nice to see such huge support for the sport though I would say that a very large percentage of the crowd is there for the event rather than for the tennis. The annoying use of cellphones continues to be a major nuisance as people seem unable to watch a tennis match without  calling everyone they know to tell them where they are and what they are doing on a minute-to-minute basis.

Photos from the day: Gasquet, Haas, Darcis, Hyung-Taik Lee (3):

   

US Open 2007 Qualifying Tournament #3

Friday August 24, 2007 - A hotter and more oppressive day making it tougher on the players. The schedule was surprisingly lean, considering how backed-up things got after losing a day on Tuesday. Only three matches were listed for each court. Obviously they are going to be playing on Saturday to finish the eliminations, however this will be my last visit to the Qualifiers. {Later, without any announcement, some matches were added at the end of the schedule today; you found out about them when you stumbled onto them in progress}. Wei & I will go to the opening day of the main tournament on Monday and I will go Tuesday though I am not looking forward to the enormous crowds we will be dealing with.

The heat and humidity today didn't stop the baby-stroller brigade from traipsing from court to court with the kiddies in tow, exposing them to the sun's cancer-giving rays. It seemed that someone watching Dudi Sela's match fainted. The crowds were substantial despite the heat; I could not get close to the Qureshi/Scoville Jenkins match and was very sorry to hear later that Qureshi, whose matches I so enjoyed the last two days, retired after the second set. I am not sure if the heat was a factor.

Whatever was affecting Alejandro Falla today, making him looks rather lethargic and totally off his game, it cost him a loss to Alexander Peya. Peya had a couple of brilliant shots but overall did not play an outstanding match; however, he had enough going for him to demolish Falla today.

Out on Court 4 I would probably have been rooting for Kei Nishikori had he been playing anyone but Bjorn Phau. Kei showed off some really good skills, and he & Bjorn had a couple of tangles at the net that were a lot of fun. But Bjorn held steady with his solid overall game and won in two sets. The photos show Kei arriving for the match, the handshake at the net and Bjorn leaving the court. Too bad Bjorn didn't stop for a moment so I could give him Nobu's good wishes from Japan. I suppose all the players want to do after a  match is to simply collapse.

Then I watched Steve Darcis vs Julio Silva; this was a good match although Steve was not playing with quite the accuracy he showed yesterday. Silva seemed a bit subdued, also. For some reason the heat seemed especially deadly on their court. They each took a set and then Steve clamped down and went to victory in the third.

I wanted to end my day at the Qualifiers on a high note to I went to watch Go Soeda. I've enjoyed his matches in the past and was pleased to see that he seems to have stepped up his level of play. His opponent was the very tall Andis Juska from Latvia who has a very powerful serve somewhat compromised by erratic placement. Go was returning some really heavy artillery and moving well in the heat. He took the first set and Andis the second. In the third, Andis was hammering away and had a 5-3 lead when Go stepped on the gas and, buoyed by the cheers of the Japanese fans, pulled off a string of holds and breaks to win.

 

All week I've been feeling so sorry for the losers; I know that's the nature of the game: someone wins and goes on and someone else loses and goes home. It seems especially painful at the Qualifying level where everything is sink-or-swim. Kei Nishikori came out to watch Go Soeda's match and was sitting next to me. He seemed a little down, but there is a sort of Japanese tennis entourage around the Open for support. Also, he's young and young people bounce back quickly.  I felt worse for people like Violette Huck and Andis Juska when I saw them walking alone back to the player's area. They seemed so solitary and forgotten after their losses.

Cutting behind Court 4 to get to Bjorn's match, I found a very sad young girl sobbing her heart out with what seemed to be her coach and her mom trying to comfort her. She was obviously crushed from having been eliminated. At least she had a shoulder to cry on. Maybe I'm too soft-hearted?

Photos of Go Soeda post-match:

 

US Open 2007 Qualifying Tournament #2

Thursday August 23, 2007 - Wei decided to go with me today. Again it was overcast as we headed out to Flushing. The Open is still playing catch-up with their schedule, starting early and running late. Several matches overlapped and we saw only a couple of matches from start to finish; mostly we moved from court to court, seeing a few games or a set here & there as we tried to get a glimpse of various players in action.

One match we watched in its entirety  was Columbian lefty Alejandro Falla versus the very young American Matt Bruch. Matt has lots of talent but needs to build stamina; Alejandro didn't beat up on him too badly. Victor Troicki mauled Bruno Echagaray of Mexico in the first set but Bruno got things together and took the next two sets. Top-seeded Frank Dancevic won but it was hardly a stroll thru the park for the tall Canadian with Peruvian Ivan Miranda's feisty and determined game providing some headaches for Frank before he managed to prevail. Julio Silva continued on a successful path by beating Juan Pablo Brzezicki, winning the admiration of a large & boisterous crowd, and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi looked pretty spectacular in his victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva. It was a sorry sight to see Lars Burgsmuller forced to retire in pain.

Making the finest impression among the men and winning my hard-to-please partner's great admiration was the Belgian Steve Darcis. What a strong and exciting player to watch; he seems to have it all: serve, return, depth, speed, variety, stamina. He scored an impressive win over Jan Minar who was playing quite well in his own right. Darcis faces Silva next. (Photo of Steve Darcis after the match; he got into the main Draw...deservedly!}

On the women's side, Zi Yan took a long time to close out the pudgy and endearing Finn Emma Laine. Laine simply refused to surrender, driving the second set to a prolonged tie-breaker and delaying the celebration of the Chinese fans.  Yan finally did prevail, then was engulfed by admirers.  {Photos: Laine & Yan at the net; Yan meeting her army of fans after the victory.}

Tian Tian Sun, who I have so enjoyed watching in the past, was not having such a good day but China's newest bright light, Shuai Zhang, won over French wildcard entrant Violette Huck. Huck looked impressive in the warm-up but couldn't get things in gear once the match started. I did think both Laine and Huck had lots of promise. Yet another Chinese, Shengnan Sun, bounced back from an injury time-out to win her match.

The day was again spoiled to an extent by the inattentive small children who had been brought to the Open by thoughtless parents. No one seems to benefit from this practice: the kids are bored to death and restless, the parents cannot watch the matches because they are constantly dealing with either the demands or the naughtiness of their children, and patrons who have come to seriously watch tennis (a decreasing percentage of the total audience, it seems) are stuck with all manner of noise and distractions.

Late in the afternoon the clouds finally broke and it was a beautiful evening as we watched Zi Yan under the lights and joined in the celebration of her win. The Tennis Center looks really nice as evening settles and the heat dissipates. Here I am, sunburnt, way up in the stands with the court lights coming on. It was so lovely spending the whole day there with Wei.

At left, three photos of Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi greeting fans after his win over Rogerio Dutka Silva. Qureshi played beautifully throughout the qualifying tournament and seemed on his way into the main draw when he was forced to retire after the second set of his Friday match against Scoville Jenkins. Qureshi really impressed me with his tennis, his sportsmanship and his kindness in meeting the fans after his matches. It's too bad he couldn't complete his run.

Below, the China Dolls: Zi Yan (2), Shuai Zhang (2) and Shengnan Sun. Yan has had some fine successes already in her career and she has progressed into the main draw here this year. She has two prior Grand Slam titles in women's doubles.

US Open 2007 Qualifying Tournament #1

Wednesday August 22, 2007 - After a stodgy ride on the #7 train, I got out to the Tennis Center nice and early today after yesterday's rain-out. There was a very full schedule of matches on offer as the tourney was playing catch-up. They started an hour earlier than usual  and matches were scheduled in the Grandstand which is usually not used during the qualifiers. Skies were dark and ominous when I got there.

My first stop was Court 17 where the young Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Hag Qureshi (left) was facing Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. I had never seen either of them play before. Qureshi caused a scandal a few years ago at Wimbledon when he teamed up for doubles with the Israeli Amir Hadad. It was sad to see politics and religion intruding on my favorite sport. Gilles Muller had the distinction  of beating Andy Roddick in the first round of the 2005 US Open - the year that the massive "Andy's Mojo" ad campaign seemed to cover every square foot of available space at the Open. I was really curious to see these two guys play.

The cool conditions must have been a boon for the players. I stayed for the entire Qureshi/Muller match and found the two players very closely competitive. Both are steady players and the first set proceeded without any major thrills to a tie-breaker which Qureshi won. In the second set they traded breaks and there was a funny moment when Qureshi, receiving, stepped out of his shoe at the baseline. It was again decided in a tie-breaker which went to Qureshi. It could have gone either way. Qureshi, the tall-dark-and-handsome type, could be viewed as visual compensation for the absent Paradorn at this year's Open. Muller played really well and I will hope to see him again in the future. {Post-match photos of Muller & Qureshi.}

Denis Gremelmayr and Julio Silva provided an entertaining contrast in styles and a thoroughly enjoyable match. Gremelmayr was not having a good day; you could see his skills there but his timing and accuracy were not enhanced today by that one thing every player needs: sheer luck. I saw Silva last year in a really fun match against Thiago Alves; both Silva and Alves are 'shouters' and Julio was in fine voice today. More importantly, he is a gritty and relentless player whose smallish frame belies the power he can generate. He tracks down every ball; even when you think the point is over, Julio can suddenly pounce on the ball and hit a winner out of nowhere. He pounded back shot after shot, grinding Gremelmayr down. After winning in two sets, Silva packed up quickly and took off; I chased him all the way to the player's center to congratulate him.

I checked out a few matches, including Thiago Alves who was yelling his head off but losing to Brian Dabul. It had been sprinkling in droplets since 1:00 PM then around 3:00 the rain started in earnest, a fine rain driven by a cool wind. Twice I headed for the exit but both times the rain eased and the sky seemed to brighten. They started drying the courts, then more rain fell. I heard an official saying they would resume play at 4:30...it was closer to 6:00. But I'm so glad I stayed to see one of my favorite players, Bjorn Phau, win a very tough match against the young American Stephen Bass.

I discovered Bjorn at the Open a couple years ago; he is a compact, no-nonsense player with a delayed-action  serve and wonderful variety in his shots. Stephen Bass is a tallish, good-looking guy with an unusual habit of tucking his tee-shirt up to reveal some skin and his underpants as he waits to receive; I'm not sure what this little ritual means. Stephen was pretty sketchy in the first set; his serve was off and he kept hitting long. Bjorn broke and  marched through the set. In the second set, Bjorn had 3 match points on Stephen's serve but couldn't do it; then he was broken. Stephen was now playing with much more power and accuracy; he surged ahead for a 7-5 finish. Bjorn seemed to be cursing himself loudly in German. In the third set, Bjorn got down to business; mixing power balls with floaters, slices and a couple of daring drop shots, Bjorn broke Stephen twice and prevailed. (Photo: Stephen & Bjorn at end of the match.}

I then went to watch Go Soeda's match; I enjoyed him very much last year. He looked great, having let his hair grow quite long, and was in a close match against Marin Cilic. But it had gotten really cold and I was chilled in my shorts & tee-shirt, still damp from the rain. When my teeth started chattering I decided it was time to head home. {Photo of Go under the lights.}

The Qualifying tournament, which used to attract only serious tennis fans, has become a sort of event in itself with crowds of the 'cell-phone, bring-the-kids' set wandering around seemingly unaware that people are playing tennis. Hordes of school-age kids, unchaperoned, rush all over the Center basically ignoring the matches or watching for a few seconds and losing interest. The rain today had the benefit clearing the field so that the evening had a more serious and far more enjoyable tone. Despite the chilly air. 

   

Rainy Day

Since the US Open qualifying matches today were canceled due to the weather, I thought it would be a good opportunity to head down to Lincoln Center and pick up all my opera tickets for the coming season. Since I hate standing on line, I thought that by getting to the Met right at 10:00 AM on a very unpleasant day that I would probably have an easy time of it. I was the sixth person on line and two windows  were open. By 10:20  I was standing in the same spot; the three people directly ahead of me were shaking their heads and eyeing their watches as the first two customers continued to tie up the windows. At around 10:30 they opened a third window and finally at 10:45 I was done.

I went over to the NY State Theatre and was glad to see the kindly security guard who has been working there for over 40 years; that's a nice bit of continuity. Getting my tickets there only took a minute.

Still in an operatic mood when I got home, I added some links to my 'Singers' list in the right-hand column of the blog. Angela Fout's website has expanded with more pictures of the photogenic Angel, some really nice sound clips, and a full calendar of interesting engagements including Verdi's Giovanna D'Arco at her home theatre in St. Gallen in 2008. Speaking of photogenic sopranos, check out Meagan Miller's site. Meagan won the 1999 Met Auditions. One of the tickets I bought this morning is for the NYC Opera gala on October 2 where Meagan will be singing a scene from Puccini's IL TABARRO. In January she'll be performing at Zankel Hall for a Marilyn Horne Foundation evening of song. Then there is Kate Lindsey who gave such a fantastic programme at the Goethe Institute this past Spring. Kate has Cherubino coming up at the Met this season as well as Stephano in ROMEO ET JULIETTE.

Better weather is predicted for tomorrow and the schedule for the US Open qualifiers is packed in an effort to make up for lost time. They are starting early (10:00 AM) and I want to be there when the first ball is served. Nick at Tennis Chatter is up in New Haven at the Pilot Pen tournament and I think they had a washout today, too.

Birthday Card

August 21st...my sister's birthday. She is the best sister in the world, something I realized long ago. We look alike - we all look like my father, actually - and sometimes we have even had the same hairstyle {left}. She still lives in the little town where we grew up in upstate New York where she and her husband Dan run a golf course. Her two sons and their wives and the six grandchildren all live nearby.  Thanks to global warming and the shifts in seasonal weather, it seems that the golfing season gets longer and longer each year; but once winter sets in, she and Dan like to head off to various beach resorts for lazy vacations.

A few more photos from family albums over the years are below. Happy Birthday, Linda!

   

The Brief Brilliance of Anna Moffo

For a very short while in the late 1960s, Anna Moffo was my favorite soprano. I had heard her on broadcasts in the early 60s - notably as Marguerite, Manon & Melisande - and finally got to see her onstage as Violetta in the Cecil Beaton production of TRAVIATA during the Met's first season at Lincoln Center.

Violetta was Moffo's most famous role and I saw her many times in the Beaton production which was quite lavish and very much designed to showcase Moffo's incredible physical beauty. The moment I remember most clearly was in Act II as Violetta bids what she thinks is a final farewell to Alfredo. For that great outpouring phrase, "Amami Alfredo", Moffo was about to exit at the rear of the stage when she turns back to Alfredo who is standing at the footlights and simply lets the music flow directly from the heart. Rising to the top B-flat, Moffo walked forward - sustaining the note - and fell on her knees before her lover, taking his hand and covering it with tears. She then rose and rushed away.

During that first season in the new house, I was also fortunate enough to see her as Liu in TURANDOT on an evening when she replaced Teresa Stratas. Singing opposite Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli, it was one of those golden evenings that happened quite frequently during the Bing era.

In 1967 she sang Mimi in a concert version of BOHEME in Central Park; the sensuous lyricism of the Moffo voice caressed this familiar music to perfection and she was wildly cheered by the vast crowd that filled the Sheep Meadow.

During the 1967-68 season she sang many more Violettas and I began to notice that she was really pushing her lower octave. I didn't know a whole lot about vocal technique but warning bells went off. It just sounded too dark and burdened. I asked a friend who was a big Moffo fan and knew her quite well what he thought and he agreed it wasn't beneficial to her voice but felt that she was trying to make a more dramatic sound.

There was a broadcast of RIGOLETTO (1968) where the Moffo voice seemed to be taking on a crooning, slightly oozy dimension. On February 1, 1969 things fell apart completely when Moffo suffered what seemed like a complete vocal breakdown on a broadcast of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR. I was listening at home, horrified to hear this once-lovely instrument seemingly melting away over the airwaves. Friends who were in the House said she managed to salvage the performance thru her acting, but vocally things were in a sorry state. The whole instrument seemed unwieldy and bloated, her top notes had a screamy quality that was almost nightmarish. During the orchestral introduction to the final aria of the Mad Scene, Moffo began laughing in an unsettlingly demented manner. She blasted out a final E-flat-in-alt which must have cost her dearly.

The following weekend I was at the Met and ran into her in the lobby. She knew me as a frequent backstage visitor and she said hello. It was very awkward; I asked her how she was and she said "I'm sick...didn't you hear the broadcast?"   I can't remember  my reply; possibly I lied and said I had missed it. She obviously felt as uncomfortable as I did.

Moffo continued to sing at the Met until 1976 but I never went to any more of her performances. TJ and I were listening to her sing Nedda on a broadcast in 1975; it was unbearable. I asked him, "Do you think she knows how bad she sounds?"

I did see her onstage one last time, singing MERRY WIDOW in Hartford in the late 1970s. It was a very unhappy evening; the voice had a pop-music, crooning quality and it seemed she was being miked. I didn't stay for the whole thing.

In 1999 when I went with my friend Makiko to meet the legendary voice teacher Beverley Peck Johnson, I noticed a signed photo of Anna Moffo in Mrs. J's gallery of people she'd worked with. I wanted very much to ask Mrs. J what exactly she thought had happened to Moffo's voice and why it had gone beyond repair; I was about to pose my question when I thought perhaps it might put Mrs. J on the spot. So we talked about other things instead.

Like Callas, Moffo had basically a decade of peak singing before things fell apart. Callas once said that her voice was still there but that she had lost her technique; I think most people would agree that the opposite was in fact true. Moffo perhaps never really had a viable technique and sang for those first years on natural talent; when things began to falter she basically had nothing to fall back on.

Moffo left some wonderful recordings from her prime and a few horrible ones from later on. Her TRAVIATA and LUCIA on RCA are very attractive and she once made an LP entitled 'A Verdi Collaboration'  which included gorgeous versions of arias from OTELLO, TROVATORE and ERNANI. Some cuts from that album have appeared on CD collections but it would be nice to have the whole recital reissued. Then of course there is her famous recording with Stokowski of the Rachmaninov Vocalise, Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne and the Bachianas Brasilieras of Heitor Villa-Lobos. It went out of print a few years ago and from then until Tower closed it was the most requested classical disc; for years I had it on cassette but that eventually fell apart from over-use. I kept it anyway.

US Open On the Horizon

I'm started to get excited about the upcoming US Open; the Qualifying rounds begin on August 21 and the main tournament opens on the 27th. Hopefully we will have better weather than last year; I've got my ticket for day #2 of the main tourney already since it replaces one of my rained-out days from 2006.

I love the Qualifying tournament because you are always discovering new and exiting players who don't get a lot of media notice but who play some really good tennis. Last year one of my favorites was the Columbian Alejandro Falla (in action photo, left). I'll be sure to follow his matches - I plan to go all four days of the qualifiers; it's free, which is an added plus. The four days are literally crammed with matches as the entrants vie for possible openings in the main draw, so it is sort of like a giant international smorgasbord of all-day tennis. Three guys who I enjoyed watching last summer are due to play again: Alejandro, the German Bjorn Phau, and the Japanese Go Soeda, all pictured below.

It seems that my favorite player to watch, Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, will be unable to participate in the Open this summer. He has been out most of the season with a wrist injury and while his name was originally listed among the entrants he has since apparently withdrawn. It will be the first Open in several years that Paradorn's matches won't be the centerpiece of my days there; I love watching him play - win or lose - and his wonderfully dedicated Sricha-fans always create such a festive atmosphere at his matches with their red shirts, their chants and their improvised musical noisemakers. Paradorn's win over Jose Acasuso in last summer's first round was one of the most enjoyable matches I've ever watched.

While he continues to deal with his wrist injury, Paradorn's private life is about to take a dramatic turn with his impending marriage to former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova; their story is here.      

Ballet Wish List: SOIREE

Richard Tanner's SOIREE premiered at New York City Ballet in 2001. With enchanting costumes and superb lighting - and a really splendid Nino Rota score - the ballet struck me as one of the most attractive new works staged there in recent years. Tanner used corps dancers and soloists in this ballet which has a youthful, romantic feeling. I liked SOIREE so much that I saw it several times and brought friends especially to see it; their response was much like mine. {The Paul Kolnik photo at left gives you an idea of the atmosphere.}

In the second season, there was an extra dividend for me when Amanda Edge stepped in for an injured colleague and made a wonderful impression; my friends all singled her out (without any prompting from me) as a particularly luminous dancer.

Why do such really enjoyable ballets disappear from the repertoire, and could it be revived? Please?