Living at the Opera

By Harvey Steiman

Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard - Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews.

Melody Moore, soprano; Fredericka von Stade, mezzo soprano; Vladimir Chernov, baritone; Peter Grunberg, piano; Marilyn Horne, host and narrator; a salon presented by San Francisco Performances at Herbst Hall, San Francisco, 22.3.2008 (HS)

Though discerning vocal recitalists occasionally slip one or two of her songs into their programs, it’s safe to say that Pauline Viardot and her music were new to most of the audience for “Pauline Viardot and Friends.” After the 2 1/2-hour “salon,” which made as much of the 19th century singer and composer’s relationships with famous figures of her day as it did of her beautifully crafted music, they may well have fallen in love with her.

The Romantic Russian writer Ivan Turgenev certainly tumbled for her, and spent much of his life as the “trois” in a sort of ménage-a-trois that included her much older husband. As described in the script, written by Georgia Smith, this was perfectly understandable. Pauline was quite a gal. She was fluent in four languages by the time she was 4, she dazzled Liszt with her piano virtuosity at 10 (he taught her for a while), became a singer at 16 and the toast of Europe by 22.

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By Harvey Steiman

Reprinted with permission from Seen and Heard - Music Web’s Live Opera, Concert and Recital Reviews

Hartke, Crumb, Golijov: Members of eighth blackbird; Orquestra Los Pelegrinos; Dawn Upshaw, soprano. Presented by Cal Performances, Zellberbach Hall, Berkeley, California, 1.3.2008 (HS)

American soprano Dawn Upshaw’s fierce intelligence and supple voice bring extra layers of depth and excitement to contemporary music. That was in abundant evidence Saturday night as she energized Ayre, a song cycle by the Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, into exuberant existence. With help from the eclectic Orquestra Los Pelegrinos, the 40-minute performance capped off a program of highly listenable, ear-bending contemporary music that included a new piece by Stephen Hartke and George Crumb’s still-haunting 27-year-old evocation of whale song.

Ayre, which premiered in 2004, somehow melds the folk music of Jews, Christians and Arabs of late 15th-century southern Spain into contemporary orchestrations without losing their sense of authenticity. If anything, Golijov’s touch adds extra depth to their power, using electronics to bend the sound without breaking it.

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Giuseppe Verdi, October 9/10, 1813 - January 27, 1901

Renata Tebaldi can be found on a number of recordings of La Forza, all of them live except one studio version on London/Decca. The soprano always had a great success with the role of Leonora both in Italy and at the Met and seemed to enjoy taking on one of Verdi’s most tormented heroines. Most times Tebaldi had no problems with any of the vocal and dramatic hurdles in her portrayal. Possibly the Italian Diva’s best rendition can be found on a performance from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, taped on June 14, 1953 under the baton of Dimitri Mitropoulos. His conducting is both poignant and dramatically propulsive; the famous overture is quite a vivid and full-scale interpretation.

All the performances have an inspired feeling about them due mostly to their outstanding vocal and dramatic output that on this day showed why Forza aways needs great singers to be fully appreciated.

Mario Del Monico’s Alvaro shows the vocal prowess coupled with a warm execution which his fans knew he had and can stand up to any scrutiny his detractors put forth. Cesare Siepi’s Padre Guardiano is vocally sturdy in expressing one of Verdi’s most compassionate paternal figures making the convent duet with Tebaldi an opulent experience. Both Fedora Barbieri’s cushiony lilt in her Preziosilla and Renato Capecchi’s insightful vocal acting as the cynical Fra Melitone show the overall strength of this cast. If Aldo Protti’s Don Carlo did not always express the sonority we like to hear in this role, he still made a solid contribution when needed. In 1953, Tebaldi had all the vocal and dramatic resources Leonora required, allowing her beautiful sound to ring out and completely capture all the vocal drama she loved to invest into this role.

This performance can be found on the Archipel label-ARPCD 0126 which, unfortunately, may be out of print.