Villazon out, Alagna in

So Rolando is really sick... He just pulled out of the first two performances (Sept.25 & 29) of the upcoming MET's production of Gounod's Roméo and Juliette. He will be replaced by Roberto Alagna, whose recent Manrico in Orange was controversial (that I have yet to watch).
Youtube extracts of the Trovatore production in Orange (July 31):
"Ah! sì, ben mio" ; "Di quella pira".

The Netrebko / Villazon summer

It all started with Rolando Villazon cancelling the three gala performance with Netrebko and Elina Garanca in Baden-Baden (July 28 & 31, Aug. 3 broadcast live by the German TV Channel ZDF, that I watched while in Berlin). He was replaced by Ramon Vargas (never been a fan of him). Then, Rolando cancelled all his upcoming performances for the next two months, including the two scheduled Salzburg Festival recitals with Placido Domingo on Aug. 9 & 12 (soprano Ana María Martínez took over).
So Rolando must be back home in Neuilly (the richest Paris suburb) resting from this mysterious illness with no name (bad enough, though, to receive warm expressions of sympathy from the Salzburg Festival officials).
These officials, however, were less forgiving when Anna Netrebko cancelled her performances in Salzburg (Aug. 8 & 10), due to an inflamed larynx. Helga Rabl-Stadler, the head of the Salzburg music festival, called Netrebko's cancellation "an affront to the public. I am quite shocked that she is so unreliable." Then, Netrebko cancelled last minute yesterday's scheduled appearance at the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy. No loss at all there, as the general director Barrett Wissman, the powerful chairman of the IMG Artists management agency, secured Cecilia Bartoli as a last-minute replacement (what a replacement!). Netrebko evidently still intends to proceed as planned with her stadium tour of Germany beginning this Saturday, August 18. So a cancellation Saturday at noon should be expected...

Ode à une époque révolue

Extrait de Télérama, 18 juillet 2007.

Rosa Ponselle
1897-1981

To (re)discover the great voice and singing of this italian-american soprano, I strongly advise you to check this page [complete biography here, in French].

Especially moving is the extract from Spontini's La Vestale, "O Nume tutelar" [direct link to the mp3 here].

Well, let's face it, every extract is sublime.

Hommage à la Reine

Extrait de Télérama, 18 juillet 2007.

More about the Katharina Wagner's debut

From the International Herald Tribune, August 1, 2007.

Bayreuther Festspiele

As the Bayreuth Festival opened yesterday, I, too, would love to be born a Wagner, so, by birth right, I could succeed my grandfather Wolfgang as artistic director.



If I was his granddaughter, I would start by, let's say, be the first woman ever to direct one of my great-grandfather operas in the Richard Wagner Festspielhaus.

I would chose Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, of course, because I could really express my talent in this comic tale, where I would focus on the conflict between tradition and innovation and the importance of art.

As usual with true artists, the public wouldn't understand my vision and would boo me on the opening night.

I would direct this, let's say, just before my thirties, then stage another of great-grand daddy's operas each year after that until I would help my grandfather finally retire from his 59-year career as artistic director in 2010 at the age of 90, allowing me, finally, to be the sole master on board.

Plus, of course, I would be gorgeous as hell.

Bassons

Opéra de Lyon 5 mai 2007

Donizetti's hell

So...

Still no news about who's going to sing Leicester.

If the opera staff has no clue, let me suggest a few names;

• Juan Diego Florez (plus, he's already familiar with the score)
• Dario Schmunck (who's singing the role next November in Berlin and whose name disappeared of the pre-program)
• Eric Cutler (who sang it in Caen in november 2004 - might be fully booked though)...

Come on, isn't it incredible that the tenor is yet to be cast?
For an opera playing in late September?


More info about everything around this Maria Stuarda (except for Leicester) here (in French).

Money money money

I hate that opera is becoming marketable.

Katherine Jenkins for Montblanc

Anna Netrebko for Chopard

Plus, as anybody noticed singing is now less important than beauty?



[Pictures digitalized from the June edition of Vogue France].

Quartiers d'été

Préparation du péristyle Opéra de Lyon 5 juin 2007 [Photoshop 8 juillet 2007]

Adieu, Maréchale!

Décidément, ce début d'été est fatal aux sopranos.


Régine Crespin, notre Régine lyrique, après avoir fêté en grandes pompes sur France Musique ses 80 ans il y a peu, s'est éteinte jeudi dernier dans un hôpital parisien.


Née en 1927 à Marseille, Régine Crespin a fait ses classes au Conservatoire de musique de Paris, obtenant trois premiers prix en chant, opéra et opéra-comique. Considérée comme une grande voix de l'opéra français, la soprano débute en 1948 à Reims.


Elle se produit dans les plus grandes salles et grands festivals à Bayreuth, Salzbourg (dirigée par Karajan en 1967-68), Vienne (Staatsoper), Berlin (Deutsche Oper), Londres (Covent Garden), Milan (Scala) ou encore New York (MET).


Saluée dans le monde entier pour ses talents de cantatrice, Régine Crespin enseignait sa passion du chant au Conservatoire depuis 1980.

Lectures complémentaires:

• Régine Crespin, la Maréchale du chant français, s'est éteinte, AFP
• portrait de ResMusica à l'occasion de ses 80 ans en février dernier
  

Extrait YouTube:

• "D'amour l'ardente flamme", La Damnation de Faust, Berlioz, 1965
• "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle", Carmen, Bizet, 1983
  

Beverly Sills left

Beverly Sills as Pamira in L'Assedio di Corinto (Rossini), © Beth Bergman 2007

Last few days, some alarming news about the health of american soprano Beverly Sills were disclosed (here and there).


Well, she died Monday night at 78, of an inoperable lung cancer.


Further reading:

• the detailled article of Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times,

• Chris Pasles for the Los Angeles Times,

• John von Rhein for the Chicago Tribune,

• David Patrick Stearns for the Philadelphia Inquirer,

• Verena Dobnik for the News Tribune.com,
  

• Brian Kellow for Opera News (owned by the MET Opera where she was chairwoman) with beautiful pictures on stage

• l'hommage de ForumOpera
  

YouTube extracts:

• "Il faut partir" from La fille du régiment, Donizetti (sound only)


• "Una voce poco fa" from Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini, 1976

• "E il sol dell'anima" with Alfredo Kraus, from Rigoletto, Verdi, 1978 (sound only)
  

• Al Muppet Show (in italian) thanks to the smart eye of Kozlika