Above: Ekaterina Semenchuk
A performance of Stravinsky's OEDIPUS REX given by the Berlin Philharmonic in February 2021.
Kirill Petrenko conducts, with the following cast:
Michael Spyres (Oedipus), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Jocasta), Andrea Mastroni (Tiresias), Krystian Adam (Shepherd), Derek Welton (Creon/Messenger) Bibiana Beglau (Speaker).
Watch and listen here.
The beloved Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani has passed away at the age of 97.
When she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in LA TRAVIATA on November 12, 1966, Mme. Zeani was already a well-established star in Europe. She had made her operatic debut at Bologna in 1948 and her La Scala debut (as Handel's Cleopatra) in 1956. In 1957, at La Scala, she created the role of Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES.
In the course of her career, the soprano moved from bel canto roles like Lucia di Lammermoor and Elvira in PURITANI to such dramatic parts as Tosca and Aida; she sang Wagner's Elsa and Senta, too. She gave her last stage performances as Mere Marie in CARMELITES at San Francisco in 1982. She settled in Palm Beach, Florida, after retiring from the stage.
I was of course at La Zeani's Met debut. It was my first season as an 'adult' opera-goer (I was 18) and I spent endless hours on the bus from Syracuse to New York City (a 6-hour trip), coming in for long weekends during which I would see three or four performances at The Met or New York City Opera.
Mme. Zeani already had a fan-base in New York City thanks to her pirated recordings - in the studio she recorded only Violetta and Tosca, plus an aria recital or two - and 'everyone' showed up for the Met debut, crowded together in Orchestra standing room.
An incredibly beautiful woman, she absolutely gorgeous in the Cecil Beaton production (above) which had been created for Anna Moffo. During Act I, the soprano and the evening's conductor, Georges Prêtre, sometimes parted company - I'm guessing she didn't even get an orchestral rehearsal - but the voice was wonderfully present in the big house. The faithful braced themselves expectantly for a high E-flat at the end of "Sempre libera" but surprisingly Mme. Zeani left it out. Despite this slight disappointment, the fans felt that La Zeani was an authentic Violetta and some of them ran across the Plaza during intermission to buy flowers for the diva.
Things improved vastly from her entry in Act II, and Zeani was really moving in the opera's final act, with an Olde School sense of passion and intensity as both singer and actress; she simply became the dying Violetta. There was an exciting ovation at the end, and Mme. Zeani was called out for three solo bows; she was clearly moved by the reception, weeping and smiling as the bravas rang out.
Despite the very warm reception accorded to Mme. Zeani at her Met debut, she only sang two more performances of Violetta at The Met, plus a concert performance of I VESPRI SICILIANI with the Company at Newport the following Summer.
But she was heard again at The Met in 1968 when the Rome Opera Company brought their production of Rossini's OTELLO to New York City. I attended one of the performances, and Mme. Zeani looked superb (photo above) and was a vocally effective Desdemona.
Virginia Zeani sang Violetta nearly 650 times worldwide in the course of her distinguished career. I'll always be so glad that I caught one of them.
Above: Michael Volle as Sir John Falstaff; a MetOpera photo
Sunday March 19th, 2023 matinee - I'm not crazy about the Met's current production of Verdi's final opera, FALSTAFF, but I did very much want to hear the current revival, mainly because Michael Volle is playing the title-role. His spectacular performance made me very glad to have been there, even though it was otherwise an uneven afternoon, playing to a house with a lot of empty seats.
I had high hopes for Daniele Rustioni's conducting this afternoon, as his recent Carnegie Hall debut really impressed me. There was much magic in his rendering of FALSTAFF today, but - like seemingly every other conductor working at The Met these days - he sometimes lets the voices be covered, leaving the singers with the option of shouting or going unheard.
Overall, the women fared less well than the men today. Granted, for much of this opera the vocal lines are brief and declamatory, or chattery, leading to a tendency to overplay. Hera Hyesang Park as Nannetta was fine, but her top notes now seem to have a steady beat. Ailyn Perez's beauteous Alice Ford sometimes seemed a bit under-powered vocally, though she delivered some beautiful phrases ("E il viso tuo..."), and the voice bloomed in the final scene. Jennifer Johnson Cano sang very well as Meg Page, but the character needs more lines to make more of a vocal impression. Marie-Nicole Lemieux as Dame Quickly had wonderful moments, including some plushy low tones, though the parlando style sometimes took away from the written notes when making comic effects. Her message-delivering errand to Falstaff was a highlight of the matinee, wherein she and Volle played well off one another.
In the trio of male supporting roles, Carlo Bosi (Dr. Caius), Chauncey Packer (Bardolfo), and Richard Bernstein (Pistola) excelled. Here one expects to hear jesting, chortling, and broad comic effects. The three gentlemen seized upon every line and nuance.
Bogdan Volkov was a capital Fenton, the fresh lyricism of his "Dal labro il canto..." was a balm to the ear, and his youthful voice blended lovingly with Ms. Park's. Christopher Maltman was a vivid, dramatic Ford, the voice powerfully expressive of the jealousy and barely controlled fury of "E sogno? o realta?"; this was grand-scale singing, bristling with so much passion that I wanted to applaud at the climax...but the music goes on.
Michael Volle's masterful Falstaff places him in a perfect triumvirate of great artists I have previously experienced in this role in the theatre: Sir Geraint Evans and Sir Bryn Terfel. A vocal masterpiece, from house-filling power to intriguing subtlety, Mr. Volle had the audience in the palm of his hand from first note to last. Cunningly etching falsetto lines into the vocal mix, his "Io son di Sir John Falstaff..." put a smile on my face; minutes later, was thundering out the end of the "Honor" monologue.
Between his scenes with Ms. Lemieux's Dame Quickly and Mr, Maltman's Ford came Volle's marvelous "Va, vecchio John...", and soon enough he was courting Ms. Perez's Alice Ford with the charming "Alfin t’ho colto raggiante fior..." (watch the scene here), and singing of his younger days in the delicious "Quard'ero paggio..."
Mr. Volle engaged our sympathies at the start of the afternoon's second half (there is only intermission, thank god) as he recovered from his dunking in the Thames, and he perfectly expressed Falstaff's terror at Herne's Oak with his whispered "Sono le fate! Chi le guarda è morto!")...one of a thousand magic touches in the Volle Falstaff.
All's well as ends better, as the hobbits say: the opera finishes with Mr. Volle in a red jacket, parading down a long dinner-table (see photo at the top) and then seating himself to preside over a gala feast that the Fords are hosting to celebrate everyone's happy ending...well, everyone except for Dr. Caius, who is now married to Bardolfo.
I went to the stage door to greet Mr. Volle and thank him, not only for today but also for his memorable Wagner performances at The Met (and his magnificent Scarpia, too). He is a very tall and impressive gentlemen, with cordial manners of the 'olde school'. Bravo...bravissimo!!
~ Oberon
Above: composer Ralph Vaughan Williams
The Choral Society and Orchestra of Grace Church will present a rare performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony at Carnegie Hall on Friday April 21st at 8:00 PM.
John Maclay, Music Director of the Society, will conduct, and the vocal soloists are Tami Petty, soprano, and Hadleigh Adams, baritone.
Tickets here.
The Sea Symphony, drawing upon texts by Walt Whitman, was composed in 1910; it is an epic work, lyrical and majestic. I am so looking forward to experiencing it live in the great hall.
George Sezll (above) conducts the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in a performance of Bruckner's TE DEUM, given in 1968. The soloists are Judith Raskin, Florence Kopleff, Ernst Haefliger, and Thomas Paul.
Listen here.