Gab on the Great Music

[Nathrad Sheare]

I found a compilation with a piece of Faure's Requiem and his Pavane on it. In his Requiem he focused on the peace death represents, hence the narcotic pace and element. I liked the Pavane, too. There aren't many composers who can achieve the kind of serenity he did in his music. He's unique. I like a few French composers... Massenet, Saint-Saens, Berlioz, and Bizet are the ones I listen to most often. I'm not a big Debussy fan... I think Clair de Lune is the only piece of his I actually like... even if it's a bit worn... He is the "Father of Impressionism," and, hence, a great influence on my big fave, but I can only, therefore, respect him. I also enjoyed Delibes. "Lakme" was stunning.

-- 01 Feb 2014, 01:38 --

Oh, and I discovered the unthinkable, that I can like a soprano in one of Callas' great roles better than I like Callas. I just heard some of Anna Netrebko's Violetta from "La Traviata" last night... W-O-W!!! Her voice is dramatic and dark in the lower ranges and clear, penetrating in the highest. I couldn't believe it!!!

[Charles]

still listening to Caruso, It seems I can't get enough of his singing, by the way I found Cecilia Bartoli - Casta Diva, another good voice. What do you think?

[Nathrad Sheare]

Cecilia Bartoli's strengths are definitely in Baroque and Classical opera. She was very good in a few of the bel canto roles, but I loved her voice in songs by Vivaldi, Mozart, and Handel best. When she swings up into the high range and holds, no vibrato, she achieves something heavenly. She sang duet with Renee Fleming in Le Nozze di Figaro, and was as glittery as Mozart always wanted his sopranos to be.

I first saw her name in a review on Amazon. I didn't expect, after hearing her in a short interview, the kind of singing she can do. She has often disappointed critics and fans for her unwillingness to take on the harder roles of Verdi and Puccini, her voice being large and emotional enough for them. I figure it's a strategic decision. What soprano doesn't want to sing her last as stunningly as she sings her first, keeping her fans cheering without reservations all the way? I'm sure there wasn't a single retired soprano who didn't envy Mirella Freni for the ovation she got at the end of her farewell concert. Her voice was as good then as it was when she sang her legendary La Boheme with Pavarotti.

-- 03 Feb 2014, 04:43 --

So sorry about the twin posts... I just had to write that I just grabbed the two- disc set of I Capuleti e i Montecchi, starring Elina Garanca and Anna, yup, Anna Netrebko! I haven't heard it yet, but I can't wait. It'll be my first twenty- first century opera performance on CD. I've seen rave reviews on it!

[suzy1124]

Nathrad!,,,so tell me, what did you think of Renee Fleming's performance at the Super Bowl?...or are you like me and didn't see it?... i have absolutely no interest in Football...they say she " nailed it "

[Nathrad Sheare]

Yeah, I didn't see it... I'm like Rita Rudner in that way. If I had a British wife who came to the states and fell in love with American football, I'd know she wouldn't know the difference at first, so until she figured out otherwise I'd tell her every game that it's all over at half- time. Many of my relatives are into football, I mean REALLY into it. They're of the kind who'll bash the T.V. screen in because they think that'll seriously injure the opposing quarterback...

I, personally, don't know what all the hype is. When I want to watch a bunch of guys running around and getting injured, I search for an AFV episode. It's a lot funnier! I'm sure Renee Fleming was stunning, though. She always is. I watched a video of one of her performances of Bellini's Casta Diva from his opera, "Norma," one of my favorites, and I was about floored. What a voice! She sings some Broadway stuff, too, and writes her own songs... I haven't heard any of them, but I think I should.

-- 09 Feb 2014, 01:00 --

I have finally listened through the entirety of Anna Netrebko's and Elina Garanca's "I Capuleti E I Montecchi!" Before now, I'd only heard Anna in her first act aria and thought she was evocative, but, now, I have high respect for this janitor-turned-legend. She's become one of my favorite opera singers, her voice the perfect combination between dark and light. Her high notes are comparable to Sutherland's, and her middle register! It's similar to Leontyne Price's, like a mix, if it were conceivable, of satin and crushed velvet. Her intensity grew with each scene.

Garanca is a mezzo like only two others, Shirley Verrett and Giulietta Simionato, who each had a vocal range that reached into both the core and atmosphere of the earth. Her highest notes penetrated and then enveloped entire episodes during which the orchestra and chorus were at the peak of intensity. I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

In all, this was one of the best performances of any bel canto opera I've ever heard. Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca are already legendary in their time, but I'm certain they will, by the time their careers are over, have made their marks in the pantheon of the supreme artists. I'll be collecting their works on compact disc for awhile!

-- 09 Feb 2014, 01:00 --

I have finally listened through the entirety of Anna Netrebko's and Elina Garanca's "I Capuleti E I Montecchi!" Before now, I'd only heard Anna in her first act aria and thought she was evocative, but, now, I have high respect for this janitor-turned-legend. She's become one of my favorite opera singers, her voice the perfect combination between dark and light. Her high notes are comparable to Sutherland's, and her middle register! It's similar to Leontyne Price's, like a mix, if it were conceivable, of satin and crushed velvet. Her intensity grew with each scene.

Garanca is a mezzo like only two others, Shirley Verrett and Giulietta Simionato, who each had a vocal range that reached into both the core and atmosphere of the earth. Her highest notes penetrated and then enveloped entire episodes during which the orchestra and chorus were at the peak of intensity. I couldn't believe what I was hearing!

In all, this was one of the best performances of any bel canto opera I've ever heard. Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca are already legendary in their time, but I'm certain they will, by the time their careers are over, have made their marks in the pantheon of the supreme artists. I'll be collecting their works on compact disc for awhile!

-- 09 Feb 2014, 03:33 --

Oh, and, Charles, the tenor in this opera, Joseph Calleja, is a bel canto wizard! He's a MUST hear!

[Charles]

I just gave Joseph Calleja a listen, once again bravo, another fan. I never watch sports, so i didn't see Renee Flemings performance, but i guess there's always youtube. My opinion of sports is summed up by Edgar Allan Poe " Quoth the Raven,' Nevermore' ".

[Nathrad Sheare]

With thee I do agree! Sports are not for me... A day all for ball I'll never see.

Okay, crumby rhyme over... I'm glad you liked Calleja. In I Capuleti he liked to show off his very pretty soft upper notes in his duets with Netrebko. Then he had some pretty powerful ones in his duets with Garanca. Great stuff. It was like having a bit of Pavarotti, Corelli, and Alva all in one package.

One of my favorite tenors of all time is Giuseppe di Stefano. He and Richard Tucker had some of the most emotionally powerful voices out there, and, no, they weren't perfect, which made them perfect in duet with Callas! Actually, when Tucker had almost the entire first scene of the third act of La Forza del Destino to himself, he was astounding. In Aida I loved his voice, too. Punched me right in the cognitive center. Di Stefano was best in Tosca, but he's great just about everywhere. Right now I'm enjoying him in I Puritani. I'm on a Bellini binge. I have Callas' legendary 1954 Norma after I Puritani. Then I'll listen all the way through I Capuleti again. I've already heard Callas' La Sonnambula. I don't understand the complaints about Antonino Votto's conducting...

-- 15 Feb 2014, 18:55 --

Okay, I had to post this video of Offenbach's Barcarolle, sung by superstar mezzo, Elina Garanca, and superstar soprano, Anna Netrebko. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdc2zNgJIpY

-- 15 Feb 2014, 19:05 --

Oh, sorry... One more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf42IP__ipw

-- 26 Feb 2014, 14:51 --

I just got the Salzburg performance of Verdi's La Traviata starring Rolando Villazon and Anna Netrebko, and I just have to write that I'm taken with it! Rolando is one of those tenors who can make anything happen, his voice a striking tenor, the high notes of which are never the same twice, though that may be because this is a live performance and singers are only so emotional when uninhibited by the necessity of refinement over five or ten takes. He has killer passion, for sure!

Netrebko's talent is undeniable! She avoids the high notes Sutherland liked to cap her arias with, but that's no disappointment here. She shines! In fact, she's surpassed Caballe and Sutherland in my book. She has the dramatics of Caballe, and is, in fact, a little more raw, which I just love, and she has an upper register that cuts through the orchestra and full cast action beautifully. Her Sempre Libera is AWESOME! And whatever anyone says, she is not a cold singer. Her vocal acting is superb! I'm deeply, deeply impressed. Wonderful singers. Wonderful recording.

-- 04 Mar 2014, 05:30 --

I'm a fan of Rolando Villazon now. I had to share this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUI8rpMz ... AE9D773341

In La Traviata his voice was incredible. It was dramatic, beautiful, He did some dynamite acting with it. Unfortunately, all the videos of the Salzburg performance have been removed... It's the best performance of the opera of the twenty- first century, and I can't get videos of it... Well, whaddaya do? I hope you enjoyed the above clip... A great tenor. He has a story similar to that Potts' story... A real talent.

-- 20 Mar 2014, 23:39 --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_A1cwTsBmc

If you have a libretto of La Boheme, I suggest you pull it out. You won't regret it. I just got the CD version of this performance, and OH MY GAHHHHD! I couldn't believe my ears! From the white hot orchestra conducting and brilliant acting of Rolando Villazon to the melting magnificence of everything Anna Netrebko, there's a lot to cherish about this performance. The DVD only makes the whole thing more vivid. Try it out! Oh, and the waltz is better here than anywhere I've heard it elsewhere. I know, I know... It's La Boheme AGAIN... But you just can't miss this!

Oh, and I found this interesting little something, too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8MzHqkNBwo

Just some really elegant and serene listening. I hope you all likes.

N.