I've arrived in London! The next couple of days will probably be a lot of getting settled and learning my way around but I hope to be seeing some music quite soon!!
Maria Callas & Victoria de los Angeles Maria Callas Maria Callas’ renown as La Divina is of course legendary. Her legacy, however, is equally clearly controversial. Walter Legge, producer of many of her recordings, describes her vocal assets as part of a larger section on the same in Jürgen Kesting’s Maria Callas . Her three octave range, distinctive timbre, sizable voice, a potential darkness in the middle range, easy coloratura , and access, if not security in the top notes. Perhaps even more of note is Kesting’s description of the dichotomy between “good” voices, lacking in naturally effortless technique but with great artistry, and “beautiful” voices whose effortless technique seems to be the end in itself. Kesting asserts that Callas fell into the former category. Kesting repeatedly addresses issues of style in relation to this categorization, noting Callas’ abilities to execute pianissimi , portamenti , true Bel Canto coloratura , and emotional shading.
I remember reading Fred Plotkin's book Opera 101 some time ago. The book listed ten operas that would theoretically take a viewer from an easy, very accessible opera that they would (hopefully) like no matter what ( Rigoletto was his suggestion). The operas became increasingly less accessible until, at the end, were Wagner operas. Except these were not quite the end. The last of the ten was contained in a chapter called "Psychological Opera: Elektra ," or something along those lines. While Elektra is obviously a different Strauss opera than Salome , I found here the elements that might make this opera inaccesible to some, and definitely one to reserve for only the most prepared audience members. I admit this is my first time seeing Salome , but I must say that I was struck, I think particularly by this production, by how it is not just Salome , but essentially all the major characters, who are fraught with psychological problems. Synopsis & General Inform
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau & The Deep Voice Principle Note: Suitable baritones who fit the subject of this project were substantially more difficult to find than singers of previous voice types. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau fit the bill perfectly because of his experience in a variety of operatic repertoire and in art song, but few others did. I have written at length about Fischer-Dieskau and then addressed this problem itself. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau In order to study Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau I used assorted recordings of art songs along with three recordings of longer works. The assorted recordings of art song were of pieces I had in my own collection as well as the seminal Erlkönig. I used a video recording of Winterreise in 1979 with Alfred Brendel at the piano, a recording of Rigoletto under the direction of Rafael Kubelik in 1964, and an opera film of Le nozze di Figaro under Karl Böhm in 1975. I was left with a picture of a superb, versatile
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