a mesmerizing orfeo

i watched the met's orfeo, yesterday -- first time i watch the whole thing -- i was mesmerized -- stephanie blythe was just incredible

i don't know what i just pulled here,..from youtube -- probably,....

tosca: gheorghiu & kaufmann

saw the tosca, live from the met, yesterday -- plan to go back, wednesday -- great 'vissi d'arte,' by sonya yoncheva -- great screams too -- spine-tingling -- blood-curdling -- and a magnificent 'e lucevan' by vittorio grigolo -- pours it all out

here's the 2006 vienna pairing of angela gheorghiu and jonas kaufmann -- i saw them in the movie theater, from covent garden -- incredible -- i watched act three of the below, and act two and the 'mia gelosa' scene -- kaufmann encores 'e lucevan,' and gheorghiu doesn't come out, on cue -- terfel really has fun with his role

addendum: yoncheva and grigolo were singing their roles for the first time -- actually, grigolo sang in the opera, when he was 13 -- as the shepherd boy -- and, in the broadcast, he talked about being congratulated, after the opera, by luciano pavarotti, his cavaradossi, and looking forward to the day he'd sing cavaradossi -- here's the picture they showed, on the broadcast -- 27 years ago

turns out, yoncheva and grigolo were also replacements for the originally cast stars -- kristine opolais and jonas kaufmann -- wouldn't that have been great -- they've paired up, in europe, on at least two operas, i think

not only that, bryn terfel was replaced by zelko lucic, and opolais's husband, andris nelsons, pulled out as conductor, and his replacement, met music director james levine, was suspended by the met for sexual misconduct, and replaced, in turn, by emmanuel villaume

they're back

leonard warren & roberta peters's rigoletto, 1959

this evening, on sirius radio, they were broadcasting the rigoletto from 1959, starring leonard warren and roberto peters -- fantastic

here are a few clips (just the audio), from that...same...show -- march 28

oops -- can't...include the videos, in this post

then,...the links

his 'pari siamo!'

then, again,...some...i can

figlia! mio padre!... quanto dolor

o veglia, o donna, questo fiore

they just...sing...together

his 'gilda,' after he discovers she's been kidnapped, is...blood-curdling...shiver...inducing -- i haven't found an audio,...on youtube

cortigiani, vil razza dannata

mio padre.. parla... siam soli... tutte le feste... piangi, fanciulla

chi è mai, chi è qui in sua vece? v`hotmail.com ingannato

radvanovsky's vissi d'arte -- and anna's

over the last three weeks, i've heard tosca, live from the met, twice

sondra radvanovsky's vissi d'arte...is just...heart-rending -- brought tears....

here she is, singing it at the met, almost three years ago

here, at a concert -- apparently, just a couple of months ago -- looks like it's outdoors

there's another concert-rendition, on her home turf -- at http://youtu.be/cIkx_koQFAg

for good measure, here's my anna -- seems rushed, at the beginning -- especially in comparison to radvanovsky's renditions

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

my super-excellent met adventure

thanks to my old friend ahmed, i got two tickets to see diana damrau and placido domingo...in 'traviata' at the met, two saturdays ago -- i so wanted to see this show -- damrau is great, and... -- well, what can you say about domingo -- you know, he pronounces his name 'plathido' (as in 'throw') -- and maybe all spaniards pronounce it that way -- because there was a king...who couldn't make the 's' sound (i'll have to find out...who/when...this was), and...'bob's your uncle' -- 'it's-good-to-be-da-king'

well, ahmed, incredibly, came through

'traviata' was the matinee, and the evening's show was 'otello,' with thomas hampson as iago (i saw him in akron, a few weeks ago) -- i planned on buying a standing-room ticket for 'otello'

the only time i attended a show in the met before -- in '96, i think -- i bought a standing-room ticket, and, at intermission, was handed a ticket for a seat, by a man...as he and his date were exiting the theater -- now, not having anybody...to use the second ticket for traviata, i realized, as i was approaching new york, friday evening, that i might be able to exchange one of my tickets.... -- and...'bob's your uncle'...again

i found out, however, that you can't exchange tickets, day of show, and...i just made it...to the box office,...before it closed, at eight o'clock -- super...'bob's your uncle'

what a splendid weekend of opera -- topped off...by visits to my journalism-workmate from jerusalem jill hamburg...and my cousin raouf -- and their families -- very nice visits

raouf, i could call...my oldest friend -- he was born, 14 days after me (also in england), and, when i wouldn't drink my mother's milk, our mothers...traded us, and...'bob's your uncle' -- delicious -- and...i've been drinking milk, ever since -- well, not really, but....

jill, and her family, spent last school year in china, where she taught journalism and communications (as a fulbright scholar) at the foreign-languages university in beijing -- she and her 13-year-old son kenny...put together a 'slide show'...with music...about ancient sites in china -- kenny's very interested in architecture and history (among other things), and he...pressed the rest of his family...to travel inside the country (they made 17 trips, during the year), and...they discovered...how little attention...is paid...to the ancient sites in the country -- the communists...tore old things down (including the walls of old cities) -- persecuted and executed...practitioners of traditional...hand...crafts

so, for his bar mitzvah, kenny is raising money for the world monuments fund -- i thought it belonged to the u.n., but i was wrong -- kenny's using his (rich) 'slide presentation'...as a vehicle

back to my day at the met

my approach to the green -- the batteries in the camera died, on the ride -- those things...get eaten up fast

i'm there

look where i'm sitting

the good doctor grenvill,...waiting -- waiting...for violetta

i'm taking it all in -- excited...to be here

i wanna know what this sculpture (above the proscenium) is all about -- one person said it's to do with work

each seat -- and even...each spot...in the standing-room...elbow-...counters (padded counters) -- has one of these little screens -- problem is, they're at chest level, and...don't lend themselves to seeing the action on the stage...and reading...the text -- you have to...look...up and down -- repeatedly -- you can switch to german, spanish and italian -- no french, to my surprise

at intermission, i walked around, took in the sites...and angles

a display case, downstairs, of memorabilia and photographs from verdi operas; there are...a number of these, around the house

this man, in a purple-and-black met uniform (he plays shortstop -- actually, he's the rover), goes around, chiming the warning bells

back inside, this lone...clarinetist...was practicing

on the conductor's stand

after intermission, peter gelb came onto the stage

oh-oh -- could only be bad news -- obviously, about domingo (who hasn't appeared yet)

gelb said the same -- then went on,...that in the history of the met, no tenor has confronted more challenging roles than domingo -- today, though, he's facing a different kind of challenge -- allergies -- and that he wanted us to know

my reaction was...why does he even need to have such an announcement made

well, he was great, in 'di provenza'

this audio recording...is supposedly from the performance i attended

after the show, a man sitting in the row in front of me said, if that's how he is, when he's not well, i'd like to see how he is, when he's fine -- he also said...that domingo wants to be perfect

this very large painting of domingo...is on one side of the downstairs lobby

damrau was great -- singing, acting,...the whole thing -- she's just...irrepressible -- inimitable

her delicate...parts...were especially...beautiful -- noteworthy

i love this...song,...duet,...sequence of songs...that starts with 'dite alla giovine' -- another great...father-daughter...pairing...by verdi

then...this great scene, where she's singing...from flat on her back (also, reportedly, from march 30)

and the grand finale (from this production)

during one of her bows, she did a spin -- i didn't catch it, on camera -- i think this is the tail end of it

after the first show of the run, the radio announcer for the met...said she jumped, up and down -- she'd said that violetta was her dream role, and doing it at the met...the utmost of dreams

the albanian tenor saimir pirgu...was very good, too

i liked his acting...much more than matthew polenzani's, who struck me...as a bit of a dip, not only in the role of alfredo (in the met simulcast), but, also, in their...'stuarda' and 'elisir' -- pirgu's singing was excellent too

on the left, maria zifchak (annina)

that's (tie-less) conductor yannick nezet-seguin, kissing damrau's hand

i've gotta include...an anna moffo...recording ('e strano... sempre libera,'...from a live performance)

i can't resist -- another...amazing rendition (hey, i didn't include...two -- maybe...more -- and there's the great one...from her...'debut recordings')

you can also go...to her...farewell... -- her 'addio' -- and...marie mclaughlin's

as i have time, i'll write more -- there's...that evening's 'otello,' with a very dramatic scene (verdi's got some...sense -- capacity -- flair -- ...for the dramatic -- see, the quartet...from 'rigoletto'); there's my meeting...a lovely man...on the subway, who was taking a lesson, when juan diego florez was taking his first; and, the next day, a tour of lincoln center, during which...i sang for the group...in the met,...right there, in the auditorium -- stay tuned -- i could spend...the next couple months, writing about...this trip