Oberon's Grove

Callas @ Dallas/1957

Snapshot

In 1957, Maria Callas sang a concert with the Dallas Symphony under the baton of Nicola Rescigno. Someone snuck a tape recorder into one of the rehearsals for this concert, and the resulting "Callas/Rehearsal in Dallas 1957" made the rounds of reel-to-reel tape-traders back in the 1960s.

David Abramowitz, my very first opera-friend, gave me a copy of the rehearsal tape and I enjoyed it, despite being somewhat frustrated with the stops-and-starts as Callas and Rescigno worked out the interpretive details. I was especially impressed by the different takes on passages from the entrance scena - sometimes referred to as the Letter Scene - of Lady Macbeth from Verdi's MACBETH.

It occurred to me to patch these phrases together and create a complete run-thru of the recitative and aria. Years later, when I was getting rid of my reel-to-reel collection, it was one of the few things I saved. The voice of Maestro Rescigno can sometimes be heard, and there's some static at first, and a bit of tape drag. But once she's into the aria proper, it gets better.

Maria Callas - MACBETH aria - rehearsal composite - Dallas 1957

August 17, 2022 | Permalink

Sharon Sweet as Aida

Sweet

Sharon Sweet (above) sings Aida, with Michael Sylvester as Radames and Juan Pons as Amonasro, in a scene from Act III of Verdi's AIDA:

AIDA - Act III scene - Sharon Sweet - Michael Sylvester - Juan Pons - Met 1997 bcast

August 16, 2022 | Permalink

Poème de l'amour et de la mer

Caballe

Montserrat Caballe's marvelous recording of Chausson's Poème de l'amour et de la mer:

Chausson~Poème de l'amour et de la mer - Montserrat Caballe

August 15, 2022 | Permalink

The Norns ~ Nederlandse Opera 2005

Nederlandse norns

The Norn Scene from Wagner's GOTTERDAMMERUNG from a 2005 production by Nederlandse Opera, Hartmut Haenchen conducting. The Norns are Brigitta Svenden, Michaela Schuster, and Irmgard Vilsmaier:

Norns ~ B Svenden - M Schuster - I Vilsmaier - Nederlandse Gotterdammerung 2005 - Haenchen cond

August 14, 2022 | Permalink

Vaughan Williams ~ Sea Symphony: BBC Proms 2013

Snapshot ss

Above: Roderick Williams, Sally Matthews, and Maestro Sakari Oramo receiving an ovation at opening night of the 2013 BBC Proms. The evening featured a performance of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Sea Symphony.

Watch and listen here.

August 13, 2022 | Permalink

»
My Photo

About

Recent Posts

  • Callas @ Dallas/1957
  • Sharon Sweet as Aida
  • Poème de l'amour et de la mer
  • The Norns ~ Nederlandse Opera 2005
  • Vaughan Williams ~ Sea Symphony: BBC Proms 2013
  • LOHENGRIN @ The Met - 1959 Broadcast
  • Songs For A Summer Evening
  • Dialogues des Carmélites ~ Final Scene
  • Donald McIntyre as Amfortas
  • Birgit Nilsson ~ Ozean, du Ungeheuer!
Blog powered by Typepad

Music @ Lincoln Center

  • Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
  • The New York Philharmonic

Carnegie Hall!

  • Carnegie Hall

Young Concert Artists

  • Young Concert Artists

Martha Graham Dance Company

  • Martha Graham Dance Company

Paul Taylor Dance Co

  • Paul Taylor Dance Co

Dance

  • TAKE Dance
  • Parsons Dance
  • New Chamber Ballet
  • Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
  • Lydia Johnson Dance
  • Continuum Contemporary/Ballet
  • Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance Co
  • Ballet Hispanico
  • Amy Marshall Dance Company
  • Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre

Archives

  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021

More...

Subscribe to this blog's feed

Search

  • Search
    Google

    WWW
    oberon481.typepad.com