Ernie Valenzuela wrote:
> But couldn't her offering of O Mio Babbino Caro be considered
> just a little "corny" (to build on to Caio's request for definitions)?
> Or am I mistaking schmaltz for corn? Or am I completely mistaken
> on this one? Now, her rendition of Marguerite's Jewel Song from
> Faust was by far more to my liking.
I agree her performance of O mio babbino was a bit over the top, but it is
consistent with
the piece as it appears in the opera. It's such an overdone aria, that I
respect a singer
who doesn't just sing it as a pretty tune.
>
> You know, I love Don Giovanni more than the next person, but,
> there must be another soprano/baritone duet out there that is
> just as easy on the voice & still a musical plum to insert in a program
> such as this. Right now, I'd even settle for Bei Maennern(?) from Die
> Zuaberflote.
The nice thing about La ci darem is that it's short. And probably doesn't need
a whole
lot of rehearsal. And is in the baritone's repertoire (he's done the Don quite
a bit). I
thought it was cool to see Fleming do a role (Zerlina) we'd never see her do on
the opera
stage, as she'll usually do Donna Elvira or Donna Anna. (she's currently
singing Donna
Anna at the Met).
I saw the first half as almost filler, because the point of the evening was the
Onegin.
So the music needed to be relatively undemanding dramatically and vocally, for
the
performers and the audience. Otherwise, our palates wouldn't be fresh for the
main
course!
The more I think about the Onegin, the more amazing I think it was. My voice
teacher and
I had a great discussion about it this evening at my lesson. She didn't even
know it was
going to be on, and got to it toward the beginning of the Onegin, and was blown
away by
Fleming and liked Hvorotovsky an awful lot also. Her comment about
Hvorostovsky was that
she's never seen a singer who appeared so effortless as he sang (this is a good
thing).
She and I were very impressed with Fleming's use of chest voice--we've never
heard that
from her, and it was such a beautiful, well-produced, yet dramatically
effective and
primal sound. And she loved Fleming's command of dynamics, especially some
high,
incredibly pianissimo attacks.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
|
|  |
