look at gheorghiu & kaufmann, in action

too bad...it gets cut off, at the end

i think he and villazon are the two top tenors, today

what the heck -- here,...with her 'ex' -- before he was...'ex'

she's a powerhouse

i forgot florez

my super-excellent met adventure, part 2

for the nightcap...of my day-night doubleheader, i saw 'otello'

krassimira stoyanova, as desdemona, was great -- powerful voice -- really...exploded,...when she first came out -- opened up

stoyanova and jose cura (otello)

i found another great scene from verdi -- the man has some sense for the dramatic

otello has been reduced to a groveling...worm, prostrate on the ground -- outside, the citizens of cyprus are singing the praises of the lion of venice, for his recent victory -- inside, however, iago stands astride...the defeated otello -- the utterly defeated otello -- and iago roars,...'ecco il leoni'

thomas hampson is a great actor, as well as a great singer

hampson and cura

on the subway ride after 'otello,' i was sitting next to a man reading a spanish newspaper -- on the back cover of the paper was a picture of new york mets pitcher johann santana (for weeks, i'd been singing 'meet the mets,' when i hear,...think about...the met) -- i eventually noticed that he had a plastic bag from the met opera shop -- i asked him if he attended the opera -- he said he worked in the shop -- i showed him the tie i wore (since removed...and placed in my met bag), like the ones sold in the shop

his name is ivan, he's from peru, and he was an opera singer -- he said he was there, for juan diego florez's first voice lesson, when florez was 17 and ivan was 21 -- ivan taught archeology in peru, for 12 years, and sumerian/mesopotamian mythology...were his favorite -- he said that all religions and mythologies...hail from it -- i told him about my nephew and lugalbanda -- i later asked him about santana -- he said he didn't understand baseball -- hadn't learned it

sunday morning, i went back to the met, for their backstage tour -- they're sold out, for the rest of the season, but i thought i'd give it a shot, anyway

i waited and waited,...in front of the met building, but...no tour group

meanwhile, there was a big group, on the other side of the fountain, singing -- in a foreign language

i haven't been able to insert the video of their singing (from my camera) here -- i'll keep trying

in any case, they were, all girls, and they were from the czech border-city karvina -- they were in new york, for a singing competition -- two days later, in carnegie hall -- and had a concert in st. patrick's church, monday afternoon

i was told, variously, that they sang permonik (which i heard, and recorded), za nasim humenkem and este si zazpivam

then came a group from a high school in salt lake city -- they sang a hymn -- i just looked it up -- it's called 'the saints bound for heaven' -- part of it goes, 'and through all eternity, we'll rejoice, we'll rejoice' -- i gave 'em...an opera 'bravo'

then they sang...what sounded like a polynesian song -- i caught the words...'nimoni noyay' -- that's what it sounded like

well, i then walked around the corner, to the lincoln center's newest building, the david rubenstein atrium -- i found out, there, that there were no backstage tours of the met, that day (neither the morning or the afternoon tour) -- probably because it was easter sunday -- i must check the metropolitan opera guild web-site, next time -- they're the ones who conduct the tours, and not metropolitan opera

there were, however, tours of the lincoln center complex -- they call it 'campus'

that tour included the met and the koch theater (formerly the state theater -- designed by cleveland-native philip johnson), which, amazingly, was home to new york city opera, from the time it was built, in 1964, until two years ago -- the metropolitan opera house, next door, opened in 1966

what a building boom took place there, in a matter of...four, five years

there was a dispute over the two...colossal sculptures...at the ends of the second-floor lobby -- i think it was between johnson and the director of the new york city opera/ballet, who didn't want them -- well, to resolve the dispute, johnson had the sculptures installed first, then had the building and staircases (behind the sculptures) constructed, through which...the sculptures could not be removed

there's a similar...construction...design...feat...with the met...building

the lower,...elliptical part of the main staircase...is one piece of concrete,...which had to be installed first, and the rest of the building...built around it

this must be from friday night -- the upper picture, during traviata's matinee

inside the met's auditorium, our tour-guide, sarah, talked about the acoustics of the hall, and asked if anyone wanted to sing -- so i sang the first four lines of 'vedrai carino' -- and...got into...the fifth line,...before...i was rudely cut off -- didn't have to practice much, either -- actually, i have -- in hindsight, i think i should've made a run for it,...to the stage

for my next installment -- my next trick -- my last trick -- food...and a building...that may have been designed by an old friend

look what love can do...to you: lacrime

leading off, enrico caruso -- what a great lead-off hitter

batting second, beniamino gigli -- look out, though,...he's got a gentle touch -- he can lay one down

batting third, jussi bjorling -- maybe he should be batting cleanup, but...i'm kind of batting them, by age

cleaning up, our female...member -- our token female -- nana mouskouri -- hey, we need a woman, don't we, to clean up

batting fifth, mario lanza -- man, i'd like to have him...on my team -- he was...batting third, but then i saw...gigli...at the other end of the dugout

in fact,...there's lanza again, stealing second -- stealing the scene

next up, fritz wunderlich -- our switch-hitter, swinging...with a german bat

batting seventh, luciano -- he's touchin' all the bases

next up, domingo -- remember, he pronounces his name...plathido (as in throw)

and batting ninth, josep carreras

wow -- what a lineup -- how'd you like to have those guys...in the bottom of your order

on the bench, we've got some youngins -- all,...from the latin leagues

the king of the high seas...can hit 'em out of the park -- and here,...he sails around the bases...twice -- a rare feat, especially nowadays

rolando's also going around the bases twice -- what's going on here

and look -- one of our regulars, doing double-duty, waving ramon vargas in from third

here's marcelo alvarez, back when he was with an argentinian minor-league team -- no hesitation step...from the kid

good guys...to have on the bench

and we're back to the top of the order

the pittsburgh butterflies

that'd be a great name for a baseball team

then, again,...volleyball...might be more like it

on second thought,...badminton team -- that's it! -- in arabic, the badminton birdie is called reesheh (feather)

then, again,...could still be baseball -- papillon (butterfly)...being the french word for a knuckleball -- which...might mean...all the pitchers would have to be knuckleballers -- that would be some team

so, 'bob's your uncle,' we're back to baseball -- hallelujah

all right -- back to the real...pittsburgh butterflies -- the actual butterflies...that exist

i went to pittsburgh, yesterday, to catch a butterfly -- i picked that day's performance because they have a meet-the-artists event after the show, and because i was really looking forward to seeing bryan hymel, (pronounced hee'mil) and, maybe, getting a picture taken with him -- i was bowled over by his singing, as enée, in this season's met production of 'les troyens,' for which he came to the rescue, at the last minute, in place of marcello giordani

hymel, however, fell ill, and withdrew from tuesday's show -- i hope to see him, hear him, sunday

so, just as hymel saved the day for the met in 'les troyens,' roger honeywell...did the same, for pittsburgh's butterfly -- a bit more about this, anon

nicole rodin, who played kate pinkerton, and honeywell, in the post-opera discussion

honeywell, with opera general director christopher hahn -- seated, to the right, is conductor jean-luc tingaud

as for 'butterfly,' the show  is very well done (simple staging -- spare...japanese architecture (of course) -- it's all in the lighting) -- gorgeous music -- achingly beautiful, throughout (i realized, on my drive back to cleveland, listening to some of the puccini tunes on my i-pod, that, while verdi...is all about love, in all its forms and permutations (for homeland, romantic love, father-son, father-daughter relationships), puccini...is about...heartache, loss, deeply felt pain) -- deeper, maybe,...than verdi -- gets...to the gut...the heart...and other...internals -- while verdi...is, maybe,...more on the surface -- heart-on-your-sleeve

in the pre-opera talk, hahn's assistant (must be kristin gatch) related that the conductor, jean-luc tingaud, accentuated -- brought out -- the softer, more-delicate aspects of puccini's score

as butterfly, maria luigia borsi sang beautifully, throughout -- very clearly -- gorgeous -- and acted very well too -- she said she's always had a special connection with butterfly -- that she learned most (might have been all) of act two when she was seven, and was always asked (i think by her grandfather -- might have been her uncle) to sing 'un bel di vedremo' at family gatherings (she's from sora, which is an hour and a half southeast of rome) -- once, when she was 10, she sang it, and a trumpet sounded, nearby, in tune with her singing -- she said she cries, in every performance of butterfly -- and she once did it with her own daughter

borsi, with the star of the show, daniel frontz, who played dolore, to rave reviews

borsi, singing 'un bel di vedremo' in concert, from at least two years ago

anna moffo, from a 1956 italian television production of 'butterfly'

borsi said she watched callas's tosca when she was three, which hooked her -- callas being her reference point

mika shigematsu (suzuki) and dwayne croft (u.s. consul sharpless) were also excellent -- acting and singing -- croft looked so familiar -- took me a while, but... -- chorebe (cassandra's betrothed), from the met's 'troyens' -- made me think, boy, they brought top-flight talent...for this show -- croft said he's been driving, back and forth, between pittsburgh and new york, to make the rehearsals in pittsburgh, and the shows in the big apple (he's escamillo, in 'carmen')

the show held my attention, throughout -- was especially gripping, the second act

one attendee...noted the silences in the crowd -- which pleased maestro tingaud greatly

during the opera, i sat next to a couple, who are involved in bringing a late opera teacher's summer classes back to lucca (puccini's hometown) -- the woman sings rock 'n' roll -- the man produces pbs programs on the roots of rock 'n' roll [i didn't note the teacher's name -- must be lorenzo malfatti]

about hymel and honeywell, gatch said (in her pre-opera talk) that hymel called in sick, monday afternoon (christopher hahn, the company's general director, said later that hymel suffered from allergies, sunday, and made the call, monday), which kicked the company into action -- on many fronts -- they had to find someone (for the next day's show), who could sing the lyric tenor role (or, better yet, had sung it -- and, optimally, in the same production), who was available, and who could make it, in time for the next day's show -- the research, and search, was done, within an hour

the company had to make the contractual and financial arrangements -- and also notify the press...and, no doubt, the rest of the team -- honeywell had sung the role, was 'comfortable in it,' gatch said -- he was in the toronto area -- took an eight-o'clock flight from toronto (he said, after the show, that he dropped off his kids at his in-laws (i think that's where he said he dropped them off), then drove in the snow from stratford), arrived in pittsburgh at midnight, woke up before five (i think he said), and made it to the theater at noon -- during the pre-opera talk, honeywell was on-stage, going through his steps -- gatch said that the other players and chorus were brought in, to go through the steps with honeywell (he'd done the role, but not in this production; in the post-opera discussion, while honeywell was talking, dwayne croft got up, and to demonstrate the help honeywell got from the rest of the cast, croft put his arm around honeywell, and led him to the left)[update, 3/25: pittsburgh opera has a youtube channel, and one of the videos...is of roger honeywell, from tuesday's post-opera discussion, and, at 2:15, 2:20, croft gets up, and does his...'come walk with me, roger']

gatch also said something about adjustments having to be made to the supertitles, but i didn't understand what those would be -- adjustments also had to be made to his costume, as honeywell is taller and thinner than hymel

well, i was underwhelmed by honeywell -- his voice was weak, for most of his time on stage -- although it's amazing that pinkerton doesn't appear that much in the show -- far less than sharpless -- certainly far less than suzuki -- maybe even less than goro (the marriage broker) -- also, according to this review (for the first show, with hymel), the conductor and hymel toned down pinkerton

honeywell seemed to only let it out, when he and butterfly were finally alone, toward the end of act one, and, then, for parts of the final scene -- made me think, that he was asked...just to come in, and...be there, go through the steps, and sing the lines -- that he wouldn't have to exert his voice that much

well, i look forward to sunday

the company announced its lineup for next season, its 75th, and they're kicking it off with the biggest show of them all, 'aida,' in mid-october -- i wonder...how they'll do it -- my first thought was...what animals are they gonna have on stage -- then i wondered...how big a chorus they have -- i haven't seen, in the four productions i've attended there, many...choristers -- i'll ask, sunday, whose production it is, and...some other questions

they follow that, in november, with 'magic flute' (in english); 31-year-old nico muhy's 'dark sisters,' in january/february; 'la boheme' in march/april; and, finally, philip glass's 'orphée,' in april/may

* * *
follow-up, 3/24: what a difference a tenor makes

bryan hymel was back, as pinkerton, in pittsburgh's butterfly, and...it made...all...the dif-fe-rence -- really made...for a magical show, from start to finish

christopher hahn, the company's general director, said that hymel got his rest, sleeping very well, for three straight days, and...was back in the show, friday, and, again, sunday, when i attended

his voice is so robust -- and beautiful

here are some other musical clips, from parts of the opera, that, because of hymel, came out splendidly today

the love duet, in act one

first, a short clip, from the pittsburgh production, with borsi and hymel -- not able to put the video here, and this is the only video for the duet that turned up, for borsi or hymel

a recording of the full duet, by giuseppe di stefano and victoria de los angeles

anna moffo and renato cioni (from that 1956 italian television production)

finally, a concert with virgilijus noreika & violeta urmana

pinkerton's addio, with sharpless

hymel, from the pittsburgh production

pavarotti, in concert

franco corelli

finally, mario del monaco

caruso, 1910

there were just...so many...beautiful...musical passages...phrases -- turns of phrase -- a couple of notes, here, there -- throughout -- achingly...gorgeous -- some...so delicate, they had me...swaying...with the music -- or...cut at my heart -- or... just about...make you melt

here's one such clip -- heart-breaking -- achingly...beautiful -- and, interestingly, from cuban television -- live -- 1956

and the final scene -- again, from that live...cuban television production

makes me wonder...about the opera scene in cuba, before the communists...took over -- and...what happens...to an arts 'scene'...after a society...crumbles -- and if, conversely, people (as is the case with me), seeing...the deterioration...and ugliness, turn to art...and beauty

another final scene [great one, i came across later] -- from verona -- 2010

maria luigia borsi was magnificent again -- she's my newest love -- gorgeous singing -- acted great -- and emoted...perfectly -- maybe even better, today, than tuesday

sitting behind me, were daniel frontz's older sister and brother, and his grandparents -- they were...overjoyed -- very proud -- and said that daniel enjoyed himself tremendously -- he performed, as dolore, tuesday and sunday -- my luck

the production of 'aida'...coming to pittsburgh in october -- i was told by a woman who worked the subscription-renewal table in the lobby -- is co-owned by pittsburgh and utah -- she said it's very good

i asked her which animals they'll have, on stage -- she said that's getting more difficult to do -- i think she said...because of legal...complications -- or, maybe, just...because...it's more difficult

3/25: a more-studied review...by a local attendee

i agree with her, about the music...soaring above hymel -- and croft (sharpless) -- at least at one point (for me) -- must've been...at their...duet (?), in act three -- pinkerton's 'addio'; and her mention of the dream sequence...reminded me -- sheila and i...liked it, very much -- thought it worked, very well -- usually, i think...there's...just the music -- nothing happening, on stage -- sheila said, usually, it's just...cio-cio san...sleeping...on stage -- while the music...plays

but...how dare this reviewer...diss...my maria luigia -- i thought her acting was great -- what do i know -- certainly...not about...high notes

speaking of which, i learned...an opera...term, yesterday -- sheila (i forget why) brought up juan diego florez -- called him...'king of the high seas' (i had to have it explained to me)

quartet-mania

i just saw the movie 'quartet' again -- even better, second time around -- really moving (like opera -- like...good opera) -- brought tears to my eyes, many times -- although, i've been a bit teary-eyed, of late

so, i'm on another...quartet-high -- and...i'm going to share....

so, get ready...to be deluged...by quartets -- quartets...to the...quadruple power

i can't help it -- there are...so many...incredible renditions

something else...about this -- i know of no other scene...in the history of literature (and not only...musical theater), as beautifully set,...set up,...developed, as exquisitely choreographed...as this -- dramatically speaking -- and, when well acted, well sung, it's...incomparable -- the height of...everything

well, if any one...knows of another scene -- whether by the bard, the blind bard, aristophanes, anybody...that matches this -- comes close -- i'd love to hear about it (see it, read it, imbibe it) -- a few years ago, i was...kicked in the gut...truly wrenched, inside,...by a scene or two (or more) in oedipus -- but,...hard to imagine...a scene...being set -- played out -- with character-development,...characters' motivations, depth of feeling...to match this one

so, here goes -- feast your eyes, your ears...your soul

first -- and you could, just as well, stop right here -- the legendary pairing of pavarotti and dame sutherland -- one for the ages, this performance -- and, of course, one mustn't forget isola jones and leo nucci -- how could one

here, luciano...takes it from the top, in this great film version -- with edita gruberova as gilda, ingvar wixell as rigoletto, victoria vergara as maddelena, and ferruccio furlanetto as sparafucile

here's an exquisitely rendered -- not to mention, elegant -- quartet,...from 'classic' american television -- with cesare valetti, blanche theborn, roberta peters & cesare siepi -- those were the days

another, with dame sutherland -- and nicolai gedda, mildred miller & tito gobbi -- all of whom act beautifully and sing exquisitely -- and versa vice

another great...pavarotti quartet -- with renata scotto, bianca bortoluzzi & kostas paskalis

jussi bjorling, anna roto, roberta peters & robert merrill

one, starring the great mexican tenor ramon vargas, with elina granaca, anna netrebko & ludovic tezier

another, anchored the splendid argentinian...marcelo alvarez -- with judith howarth, denyce graves & bryn terfel

i just came across another tour de force by alvarez -- here, with cecilia bartoli, mariella devia & leo nucci

maria callas -- with giuseppe di stefano, adriana lazzarini & tito gobbi

a recent one, with juan diego florez, christa mayer, diana damrau & zeljko lucic -- with an interesting...dramatic twist

i just came across this collection of superstars -- pavarotti, june anderson, florence quivar & sherrill milnes

finally, a couple...from the record books -- literally -- from the records -- and, even, before...records

caruso, from 1907, with bessie abott, louise homer & antonio scotti

caruso, from 1917, with flora perini, amelita galli-curci, giuseppe de luca -- read about the picture

finally, john mccormack & lucrezia bori, from 1914

in the comments (posted on youtube, under this video), there's a lovely story...about mccormack and caruso...in an elevator -- mccormack greets caruso: 'and how is the world's greatest tenor today?,' to which caruso replies, 'and since when, john, did you become a baritone/'

i could go on and on (and i already have -- and i will,...anon -- i just came across a domingo duke (and others), and i'll look for a better quartet con 'la bellissima' -- but i have to stop, for now) -- you may (go on and on) -- and...share

all of this...led me to wonder, if there's a collection of the quartets -- if it's possible, to make a record -- cd -- of just the quartets -- i did a quick search on amazon -- didn't find anything -- i wonder, of course, if copyrights...would prevent... -- something...to think about