Oberon's Grove

On The Banks of the Nile

Above: Anna Tomowa-Sintow as Aida

Enjoy this exciting performance of (most of) Act III of Verdi's AIDA from Chicago 1983 with a stellar cast:

AIDA - Nile Scene - Tomowa-Sintow - Pavarotti - Wixell - Cossotto - Giaiotti - Chicago 1983

Frances Bible

Frances Bible was born in Sackets Harbor, New York, in 1919. She studied voice with Queena Mario at Juilliard, and made her debut at New York City Opera in 1948 as the Shepherd in TOSCA. Over the next thirty years, Bible sang a vast and varied repertory with the Company.

Her roles included Amneris, Cherubino, Cenerentola, Octavian, Dorabella, Herodias, Britten's Lucretia, Nicklausse, Siebel, Cornelia in GIUIO CESARE, Hansel, Jocasta in OEDIPUS REX, Monteverdi's Ottavia, and Verdi's Ulrica. She also sang in a number of world premieres, including William Grant Still's TROUBLED ISLAND and Thea Musgrave's VOICE OF ARIADNE; she created the role of Elizabeth Proctor in Robert Ward's THE CRUCIBLE.

Frances Bible was my first Genevieve in PELLEAS ET MELISANDE, with Patricia Brooks exquisite in the title role. I also saw Ms. Bible as Cherubino and Siebel; but it was her portrayal of Augusta Tabor in Douglas Moore's BALLAD OF BABY DOE that I most vividly recall. Ms. Bible sang the role opposite both Anne Elgar and Beverly Sills, and in 1976 repeated it in a Live from Lincoln Center telecast, with Ruth Welting as Baby Doe. During the intermission, Ms. Bible made her way - in costume - thru a vast crowd on the State Theatre's Promenade to be interviewed, evoking warm applause. Her curtain call at the end of the opera was epic. I wish I could find a video-recording of this performance!

From 1955 thru 1966, Frances Bible appeared with San Francisco Opera in several roles, including Octavian in ROSENKAVALIER (above), Cherubino, and Elizabeth Proctor. She also appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival as Cherubino and Ottavia in INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA.

After her retirement from the stage, Ms. Bible taught voice at Rice University in Houston. She passed away in 2001.

There are surprisingly few recordings to be found of this wonderful singer; here are a couple of selections:

Frances Bible - Solo un pianto ~ MEDEA - NYCO 1974

Frances Bible - Addio Roma ~ L'INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA

~ Oberon

Hertha Töpper as Octavian

Above: Hertha Töpper as Octavian in DER ROSENKAVALIER

[Update: Hertha Töpper passed away on March 28th, 2020, at the age of 95]

I'll never forget listening to Strauss's DER ROSENKAVALIER for the first time: it was a Saturday matinee broadcast from the Old Met at Christmastime in 1962. I was 14 years old and had been in love with opera for three years.

At that time, the German operas were not easy for me; I had made it thru my first broadcast RING Cycle in 1961 and I seem to recall having been more thrilled by the story than by the music. ROSENKAVALIER, with its long conversational stretches, posed a challenge all its own. But the singing of the three female leads in the opera's final scene moved me deeply, and when the broadcast ended I sat down and wrote fan letters to all three of them: Hertha Töpper (Octavian), Anneliese Rothenberger (Sophie), and Régine Crespin (the Marschallin). Within days I received replies from all three.

Metropolitan Opera House
December 22, 1962 Matinee/Broadcast

DER ROSENKAVALIER

Octavian.....................Hertha Töpper
Princess von Werdenberg......Régine Crespin
Baron Ochs...................Otto Edelmann
Sophie.......................Anneliese Rothenberger
Faninal......................Ralph Herbert
Annina.......................Rosalind Elias
Valzacchi....................Paul Franke
Italian Singer...............Sándor Kónya
Marianne.....................Thelma Votipka
Mahomet......................Marsha Warren
Princess' Major-domo.........Robert Nagy
Orphan.......................Loretta Di Franco
Orphan.......................Nadyne Brewer
Orphan.......................Dina De Salvo
Milliner.....................Lilias Sims
Animal Vendor................Frank D'Elia
Hairdresser..................Harry Jones
Notary.......................Gerhard Pechner
Leopold......................Erbert Aldridge
Lackey.......................Joseph Folmer
Lackey.......................John Trehy
Lackey.......................Lou Marcella
Lackey.......................Edward Ghazal
Faninal's Major-domo.........Andrea Velis
Innkeeper....................Charles Anthony
Police Commissioner..........Norman Scott

Conductor....................Lorin Maazel

Ms. Töpper sent me the gorgeous photo which appears at the top of this article. Ever since then, this has remained the quintessential image of Octavian for me. As it turned out, Octavian was Töpper's only Met role, though she had an enormous career in Europe.

Here's a sampling of the Töpper Octavian, with  Erika Köth as Sophie:

Hertha Töpper & Erika Köth - Presentation of the Silver Rose ~ ROSENKAVALIER

Hertha Töpper was born in 1924 and made her operatic debut at Graz as Ulrica in BALLO IN MASCHERA in 1945. By 1951 she was singing at Bayreuth, and had debuted at Munich as Octavian. She went on to sing at all the major opera houses and festivals of Europe; among her most prominent roles were Brangäne, Carmen, Fricka, and Dorabella. She also was a well-loved recitalist and concert singer, specializing in the music of Bach.

A couple of years ago, by chance, I plucked Töpper's recording of Bartok's BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE (in German) from the library shelf; it proved to be a revelation, with fantastic singing from both the mezzo and the great Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, and truly atmospheric conducting by Ferenc Fricsay.

~ Oberon

Clifford Harvuot

Above, finalists in the Metropolitan Opera's 1941-42 Auditions of the Air: tenor Elwood Gary, soprano Frances Greer, the Met's General Manager Edward Johnson, soprano Margaret Harshaw, conductor Wilfred Pellertier, and baritone Clifford Harvuot.

As a winner of the Auditions of the Air, Clifford Harvuot's first appearance on The Met stage came at a Sunday Night Gala on March 15, 1942. He sang the Prologo from PAGLIACCI. From then until December 21, 1975, the baritone chalked up nearly 1,300 performances with the Company, in New York City and on tour.

Harvuot particularly excelled in two Puccini roles, both of which brought out a feeling of 'humanity' in his voice. One was Sonora, the miner in FANCIULLA DEL WEST who is hopelessly in love with Minnie. It is Sonora who, in Act III, persuades the other miners that they must set Minnie's beloved Dick Johnson free. Clifford Harvuot sing Sonora nearly 30 times at The Met, his Minnies being Leontyne Price, Dorothy Kirsten, and Renata Tebaldi.

He was also a very sympathetic Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, appearing in the role with the great Butterflies of the day: Tebaldi, Albanese, Stella, Kirsten, and Tucci.

Helen Vanni - Carlo Bergonzi - Clifford Harvuot - BUTTERFLY trio - Met 1962

Other frequent Harvuot roles:

Angelotti in TOSCA

Schaunard in BOHEME

Alfio in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

Listen to Clifford Harvuot as Silvio in PAGLIACCI with Lucine Amara as Nedda here.

~ Oberon

Krzysztof Penderecki Has Passed Away

It's sad to read of the death of one of the greatest composers of our time: Krzysztof Penderecki. His music means a lot to me, most especially his 7th symphony which is subtitled The Seven Gates of Jerusalem. Read an article about this incredible work here. His Polish Requiem is another enduring favorite of mine, but then there is just one treasure after another to be found in the Penderecki catalog.

Penderecki ~ O gloriosa virginum

There is an excellent documentary about the composer, wherein we meet his lovely wife Elżbieta Penderecka (née Solecka), whom he married in 1965. They lived in the Kraków suburb of Wola Justowska...

...on a 70-acre estate where the composer had planted thousands of trees which he imported from around the world.

Penderecki was the only contemporary composer who truly fascinated me - both thru his works and his personality - and the only one whose music I return to frequently. He lived a long life, and his music will continue to touch people's souls. Now may he sleep in peace.

~ Oberon