Oberon's Grove

Jolanda Meneguzzer

Jolanda Meneguzzer (above) and Costanzo Gero in a scene from Act I of Puccini's LA BOHEME. The recording is from 1970, with the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Firenze conducted by Erasmo Ghiglia. Listen here.

Ms. Meneguzzer is a singer whose name I had often heard in my earlier days of operatic obsession, but I'd never heard the voice til now. Born in Cantù, Italy, around 1930, she studied in Florence and made her operatic debut in 1957 in Monteverdi's L'ORFEO at the Maggio Musicale. Her career centered mainly in Italy, but she made her American debut San Francisco as Maria in FIGLIA DEL REGIMENTO in 1962, and she appeared briefly at The Met during the 1963-1964 season as Musetta and Gilda.

Jolanda Meneguzzer sings Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate here...

...and a sampling of her Musetta:

Jolanda Meneguzzer - Musetta's Waltz - with Scotto-Poggi-Gobbi

Ms. Meneguzzer passed away in June 2020, at the age of 90.

Murray Perahia: Schumann ~ Piano Concerto

Murray Perahia plays Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A-minor Op.54.

Watch and listen here.

Other Voices ~ XI

Margherita Rinaldi (above, as Adina) was born in Turin and studied at Rovigo. After winning a voice competition at Spoleto, she made her operatic debut there as Lucia di Lammermoor in 1958.

In 1959, she debuted at La Scala in Rossini's MOSE IN EGITTO and was soon singing at theaters throughout Italy; her repertoire included Amina, Adina, Norina, Gilda, Cleopatra, Bellini's Giulietta and Adalgisa, and operas by Mozart and Cimarosa, as well as sacred works. She worked with the great Italian conductors Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti.

Ms. Rinaldi's career took her to Dallas, San Francisco, and Chicago, and to the festivals at Glyndebourne, Wexford, and Bregenz. She retired from the stage in 1981 and devoted herself to coaching singers at Florence.

Margherita Rinaldi - Caro nome ~ RIGOLETTO

Margherita Rinaldi - O quante volte ~ CAPULETI E I MONTECCHI

Margherita Rinaldi & Ottavio Garaventa - duet from Donizetti's Caterina Cornaro

Alfredo Kraus - A te o cara ~ PURITANI - w Magherita Rinaldi - Chicago 1969

Hungarian tenor Lajos Kozma studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and made his operatic debut in that city as Malcolm in Verdi's MACBETH, and soon after scored a great success there as Pelléas.

In 1963, Mr. Kozma went to Italy to study further, and in the ensuing years his career blossomed in Venice, Rome, Milan's La Scala, and other Italian centers. He also appeared at Vienna, at London's Covent Garden, La Monnaie in Brussels, and at the festivals at Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence. He specialized in Mozart and Baroque music. Among the renowned conductors the tenor worked with were Muti, Maazel, Giulini, Gavazzeni, and Chailly.

In 1971, Lajos Kozma appeared in a film of LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR with Anna Moffo; watch the opera's Act II finale here.

Lajos Kozma - Possente spirito ~ L'ORFEO

Lajos Kozma - Un'aura amorosa ~ COSI FAN TUTTE

Serbian soprano Radmila Bakočević was born in 1933; she studied at the conservatory in Belgrade and later joined a training program for young singers at La Scala. In 1955, she made her operatic debut as Mimi at Belgrade, scoring a notable success. Over the next few years, Ms. Bakočević won prizes at some prestigious voice competitions. Soon her international career took off.

While Ms. Bakočević's career was centered at Belgrade and at the Vienna State Opera, she also appeared at Trieste, Berlin, Paris, the Bolshoi, Munich, Hamburg, La Fenice in Venice, at Florence, Rome, and Turin. In the Americas, she sang at San Francisco, Philadelphia, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

Her Metropolitan Opera debut was as Cio-Cio-San in 1968. She joined the Met Tour in the Spring of 1969, singing Mimi, Micaela, Marguerite in FAUST, and the TROVATORE Leonora. 

The Bakočević repertoire included the spinto roles of Verdi and Puccini, as well as Adriana Lecouvreur, Beatrice di Tenda, Elisabeth in TANNHAUSER, Lisa in QUEEN OF SPADES, Salome, Tchaikovsky's Tatyana, and Yaroslavna in PRINCE IGOR.

Radmila Bakočević's stage career continued into the 1980s; thereafter, she was a professor of voice at the University of Arts at Belgrade. 

In 1976, Radmila Bakočević gave an engrossing performance as Minnie in LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST at The Bushnell in Hartford.

My diary says: "From her first blazing entry, Bakočević dominated the evening. She is a slim, striking figure onstage, her dark hair and expressive features reminding me very much of Kabaivanska. Bakočević is in a line of intense sopranos which includes Callas, Gencer, Collier, and Niska. Her sizeable voice is well-suited to this music; sometimes she over-indulged her portamento, and there were a few pitchy moments. But she has the role well in hand, and can be wonderfully subtle when needed. Her top notes were loud and sustained, even though a few bordered on desperation. Her characterization was vivid, full of touching details. At the end of a very exciting poker scene, in which tension mounted from moment to moment, the soprano triumphantly tossed her cards into the air and collapsed from sheer emotional exhaustion. Her third act was excellent: she rushed in wearing trousers and quickly took matters in hand, wonderfully persuading the miners to free her beloved Mr. Johnson. In sum, the Bakočević Minnie was a captivating and thoroughly enjoyable interpretation."

Radmila Bakočević sings Santuzza's "Voi lo sapete" at a 1988 concert here. And she sings Amelia's "Morro, ma prima in grazia" from BALLO IN MASCHERA (audio only) from a 1973 Philadelphia performance here.

Baritone George Fortune was born in Boston in 1931. He studied philosophy and languages ​​in his hometown and at Georgetown University. Trained in singing by Todd Duncan, Mr. Fortune won first prize at the ARD International Competition in Munich.This led to his debut at the Vienna State Opera.

After stints at Ulm and Augsburg, the baritone joined the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, where he enjoyed great success in many productions.

Mr. Fortune made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1985 as Tonio in PAGLIACCI; I attended one of his performances in this role, and found him outstanding in every regard. He sang at The Met for six seasons, his other roles there being Amonasro, Scarpia and Jack Rance.

George Fortune worked with such eminent conductors as  with conductors such as Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Gerd Albrecht, Sir John Pritchard, and Jesús López-Cobos. In 1995, he was awarded the honorary title Berliner Kammersänger. He passed away at Berlin in 2019.

George Fortune is Scarpia to the Tosca of Galina Savova in a scene from Act II of Puccini's TOSCA.The performance is from Berlin, 1985. Listen here.

Though not is the best sound-quality, this rendering of the Wolfscrag Scene from Donizetti's LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR from Berlin 1980 is exciting; Giorgio Merighi is the tenor, and Nello Santi conducts. Listen here.

Anna di Stasio's career spanned the years from 1946 to 1986. She had studied voice with the great baritone Riccardo Stracciari.

Her operatic career began as a soprano; her debut role in 1946 was Liu in TURANDOT; in 1950, she switched to mezzo-soprano, her most frequent role being Suzuki in MADAMA BUTTERFLY, which she sang more than 400 times.

Ms. di Stasio appears on several commercial recordings, including as Suzuki to Renata Scotto's Butterfly, as Madelon in the Stella/Corelli ANDREA CHENIER, and as Emilia in the Barbirolli OTELLO. 

Listen to her in Smeaton's aria from ANNA BOLENA here.

More from Anna di Stasio:

MADAMA BUTTERFLY ~ scene - Panerai-Bergonzi-di Stasio

Anna di Stasio as Berta ~ BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA

Pachelbel ~ Canon

Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D-major performed by Cuore Barocco in St. Michael's Chapel in Košice, Slovakia.

Watch and listen here.

40 Years Ago: Fracci & Nureyev ~ GISELLE

~~~~ Note: I had originally planned to post this article on the 40th anniversary of my one-and-only experience of seeing the great Carla Fracci onstage. Today, news of the ballerina's death has come, so I am posting it now, two months shy of the actual anniversary:

On this date, forty years ago, one of the greatest ballet performances of my experience took place at the Metropolitan Opera House, where the La Scala Ballet presented their production of GISELLE with Carla Fracci and Rudolf Nureyev in the leading roles.

I had spent the afternoon at The Met watching GISELLE with an alternate cast; it was a very pleasing performance. But the undeniable star-power of Fracci and Nureyev made the evening performance unforgettable. 

This is my diary entry from that magnificent evening:

"GISELLE - 2nd performance - with the assumption on the leading roles by two great dancers, the whole production took on a new dimension. The corps seemed better than at the matinee, though again Renata Calderini was not a particularly impressive Myrthe. There was a very exciting Peasant Pas de Deux with Anna Maria Grossi and a very exciting Davide Bombana; they roused the audience to cheers.

But it was in the superstars that the real excitement lay - and that is why they are superstars! Rudolf Nureyev's Albrecht was marred slightly by some rather 'modern' acting details in Act I where he failed to maintain the aura of manners of the period. But otherwise he caught the essence of the caddish young nobleman in Act I and the grief-stricken man of Act II. He danced with thorough command despite passing traces of stiffness. He interpolates many intricate steps and then challenges himself to bring them off...and always succeeds. His Albrecht was a full portrait - and it was very exciting.

In Carla Fracci we had the perfect Giselle. All this talk about her 'capturing the essence of the Romantic Era' felt absolutely true. There were times in Act II when she really did seem like the ghostly vision of another time and place. Here is a dancer so technically assured, so light yet bearing underneath great strength of character and of will. She was so charming in Act I, and her Mad Scene was brilliantly done - not overplayed but seemingly so real. Act II truly produced the feeling of seeing a phantom. Floating in her gossamer long tutu, Fracci evoked the remote mystique of the spectre. Her dancing throughout was so poised, with the steps always presented as a natural expression of the character and stemming completely from the drama. One had the feeling of really seeing Giselle herself, not of a ballerina portraying her.

At the end there was a tremendous ovation (20 minutes) with roses being thrown and Fracci & Nureyev called out repeatedly...bravi!!!"  

~ Overon   

Eva Marton ~ Elektra's Monolog

Eva Marton sings Elektra's opening monolog, "Allein! Weh, ganz allein!" from a performance of the Strauss opera given at the Teatro Real de Madrid in 1998.

Watch and listen here.

BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST

A 2002 performance of Sir William Walton's BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST from the BBC Proms, with soloist Sir Willard White, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, and the BBC Symphony Chorus, conducted by Leonard Slatkin

Watch and listen here.

Giorgio Tadeo as Seneca

Though Verona-born basso Giorgio Tadeo (above) was sometimes cast in buffo roles, this film clip of him as Seneca in Monteverdi's INCORNAZIONE DI POPPEA shows another aspect of his artistry. The performance is from Aix-en-Provence, 1961, and the mezzo-soprano is Teresa Berganza.

Giorgio Tadeo made his operatic debut in 1953 singing Mephistopheles in an RAI performance of FAUST. He went on to an extensive career, singing at Palermo, at both the Teatro alla Scala and the Piccola Scala, and at theatres throughout Italy until 1996. Internationally, he sang at Vienna, Hamburg, Monte Carlo, L'Opéra de Paris, Covent Garden, the Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lyric Opera in Chicago,Dallas, Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh, Tel Aviv, and Athens.

Giorgio Tadeo has worked with the such conductors as Gui, Giulini, Serafin, Celibidache, Dorati, de Fabritiis, Gavazzeni, Sanzogno, Maag, von Karaja, Abbado, and Boulez, as well as directors Giorgio Strehler and Franco Zeffirelli. He distinguished himself in the operas of Mozart, Rossini, and Donizetti, as well as 20th century works. He was married to the soprano Mariella Adani.

Mr. Tadeo passed away in 2008.

Karina Gauvin ~ Lascia chi'o pianga

Soprano Karina Gauvin sings "Lascia ch'io pianga" from Handel's RINALDO in a recording session film.

Watch and listen here.

Lar Lubovitch ~ Three Dances

Above: Lar Lubovitch, photo courtesy of NYC Dance Project

Friday May 21st, 2021 - This evening I tuned in to watch a program of highlights from three works by the eminent choreographer Lar Lubovitch. The program featured excerpts from two familiar ballets by Lar, and part of his unique The Planets.

Watching the film's duet from Concerto Six Twenty-Two brought back memories of a beautiful afternoon photographer Nir Arieli and I spent watching a rehearsal of this piece in 2013.  Mr. Lubovitch was coaching dancers Attila Joey Csiki and Clifton Brown, and the atmosphere in the studio was palpable. 

Above: Sylvain LaFortune and Rick Michalek in Concerto Six Twenty-Two; photo by Jack Mitchell

The duet is set to the adagio from Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, a beloved work that reached a wide audience when it was used in the film Out of Africa. Sylvain LaFortune and Rick Michalek are the dancers in today's program; clad all in white, they could be lovers, or brothers, or best of friends. The Lubovitch choreography is a poignant response to the music; the men are mutually supportive and tender without becoming cloying. There are solo passages, danced whilst the other man observes. It's a study in masculine grace.

Othello, which premiered in 1997, was a joint creation for the Lubovitch Company, American Ballet Theatre, and San Francisco Ballet. In 2018, as part of the celebration of the Lubovitch Company's 50th anniversary, Fabrice Calmels and his colleagues from The Joffrey performed excerpts from Othello at The Joyce. 

Above: Desmond Richardson and Yuan Yuan Tan in Othello

This evening we saw the ballet's third act from a filmed performance by San Francisco Ballet. The stellar cast featured Desmond Richardson as Othello, Yuan Yuan Tan as Desdemona, Parrish Maynard as Iago, Katita Waldo as Emilia, and a very young Gonzalo Garcia as Cassio.

As Act III opens, Cassio is in chains, being interrogated by Othello with Iago a menacing observer. Despite his pleas of innocence, the young captain doesn't stand a chance; he is taken away. Now Desdemona comes on the scene: Yuan Yuan Tan, achingly lovely, seeks to placate her jealous husband. Parrish Maynard as a scarily intense Iago watches the couple. The potent physicality of Desmond Richardson's Othello holds sway over his blameless wife. Katita Waldo as Emilia joins for a pas de quatre set to dynamic music.

Othello and Iago are left alone, and the latter summons up the green-eyed monster: jealousy. Here composer Elliot Goldenthal makes cunning use of the saxophone. Whilst Iago weaves his web of lies, Othello sees visions of Cassio courting his wife. Then Iago produces the handkerchief and Desdemona's fate is sealed.

The perfection of Desmond Richardson's portrayal is now to be savoured in a solo of technical perfection and great dramatic intensity. He then confronts his wife, and, following an anguished  duet, he strangles her with the handkerchief. Now Emilia rushes in, and reveals Iago's deception; she barely has time to state the truth before her husband murders her. Othello, overcome with remorse, stabs himself.

The excellence of the cast made for a truly absorbing performance of this Lubovitch masterpiece.  

Above: Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay in The Planets

Completing the program, we had an excerpt from The Planets, in which figure skaters and ballet dancers joined together. The music is "Venus" from Holst's The Planets, Mr. Lubovitch choreographed the skating, and Doug Varone the 'court of Venus'. The goddess is portrayed by Sonia Rodriguez of the National Ballet of Canada, and the principal skating couple are Paul and Isabelle Duchesnay, 1992 Olympic Silver Medalists.

Venus, after drinking from an enchanted pool, sees a vision of a company of lovers, come to pay her homage. These skaters fill the ice with swirling, flowing combinations. Now the principal couple - the brother-and-sister Duchesnays - execute a lush duet, sailing across the ice to the lyrical Holst music.

Paul Duchesnay kneels before Ms. Rodriguez's Venus; she is captivated by this mortal male and they begin a duet in which Ms. Rodriguez's feet never touch the ice. The goddess then returns to her temple, but the encounter has left its mark on her. 

Above: Sonia Rodriguez in The Planets

While watching the program, many memories of my experiences with Lar Lubovitch's work - and of meeting him briefly in various settings - came flooding back. It's thanks largely to my friendship with Attila Joey Csiki - an iconic Lubovitch dancer - that I discovered the world of Lubovitch. Here are some articles and images from my blog about these encounters:

Meeting Attila in person for the first time in November 2010 when he was preparing a Lubovitch solo with pianist KathleenTagg.

In 2011, with Attila teaching a Lubovitch class, is where the Lubovitch connection took hold. Three dancers in the class - Greg Lau, Sarah Pon, and Blake Hennessy-York - were embarking on their careers at the time.

Attila arranged for Kokyat and me to watch a rehearsal of Lar's Men's Stories. This was the first time I met Mr. Lubovitch; he was quite formal, which I liked.

2014 brought the fascinating Black Rose to The Joyce.

In 2017, in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Lubovitch Company, Lar set his Legend of Ten on the Martha Graham Dance Company. Photographer Nir Arieli and I had a fantastic time watching a rehearsal.

And in 2018, the 50th anniversary was celebrated in high style at The Joyce.

There's so much more Lubovitch in my dance diary! And there's no way I could finish this article without mentioning my two Lubovitch goddesses: Nicole Corea and Kate Skarpetowska.

~ Oberon