Divaness
Choir was fine. Practice was slightly disappointing. Am I getting worse, or have I finally realized more of what I'm doing wrong? But anyway, most of singing today wasn't all that interesting.
The real raison d'être for this post: Homage. This looks like the sort of album [we] Fleming fans have been waiting for. The Age of the Diva has tributes to turn-of-the-century star sopranos in the form of arias familiar and un-. No jazz or sacred music--just operatic warhorses. There's Smetana, Tchaikovsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. There's an aria from Massenet's Cléopâtre and Gounoud's Mireille. "Poveri fiori" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur is on there.
Then we get to the stuff I'm really excited about: "Vissi d'arte," which I loved when I saw it on the Lincoln Center PBS special. OK, so she was throaty at some points around her lower passaggio and took it closer to the marked tempo than almost anyone ever does--big deal. She's a fine and individual musician with a spectacular voice and I will no longer make apologies for enjoying her recordings.
So, I wish she'd recorded "D'amor sull'ali rosee," but here we get "Tacea la notte placida" from Trovatore, which we heard at Volpedämmerung. I wasn't overenthusiastic about it then, but it was nice hearing her sing the aria. It should be interesting to hear for the first time her take on Jenufå's prayer. And then there's a Strauss aria--from Die Liebe der Danae, which can be nothing less than lush. Finally, Korngold gets represented twice: "Ich soll ihn niemals, niemals mehr sehn" and *drumroll* "Ich ging zu ihm" from Das Wunder der Heliane. Seriously, why has it taken her this long to record that? Whatever. She did now.
Ok, but, the cover? I seriously thought it was photoshopped when I saw the image on parterre box. Well, it probably is, but I meant after release. I hope it isn't supposed to be taken too seriously, because the headband is rather amusing--fittingly prima donna-ish, I guess.
I'm guessing the majority of naysayers are expecting this album to be obnoxious and self-indulgent and mannered. Well, "obnoxious" is pretty subjective; when she enjoys her voice, I do; and I have found Pavarotti's and Dessay's mannerisms to be much more "obnoxious" than Renaaay's. So, here's why I'm not worried: She behaved really well on Daphne and Handel (yes, even I get annoyed by some parts of Bel Canto and Four Last Songs, though I still love them) and what I heard of her most recent Met broadcast of Manon showed her in top vocal form. In addition, she listens to criticisms while staying true to her inimitable style. She's deepened interpretations and cut out some idiosyncracies. Not everyone will like the new album, but I fully expect to. One aspect of her albums I enjoy most is her repertoire selection, and that looks amazing here. So, this, I'll spend money on.
Enough gushing for tonight. I have a speech to write. Tschau!
(My apologies to Gregory, who probably collapsed from all my rose-throwing.)
The real raison d'être for this post: Homage. This looks like the sort of album [we] Fleming fans have been waiting for. The Age of the Diva has tributes to turn-of-the-century star sopranos in the form of arias familiar and un-. No jazz or sacred music--just operatic warhorses. There's Smetana, Tchaikovsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. There's an aria from Massenet's Cléopâtre and Gounoud's Mireille. "Poveri fiori" from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur is on there.
Then we get to the stuff I'm really excited about: "Vissi d'arte," which I loved when I saw it on the Lincoln Center PBS special. OK, so she was throaty at some points around her lower passaggio and took it closer to the marked tempo than almost anyone ever does--big deal. She's a fine and individual musician with a spectacular voice and I will no longer make apologies for enjoying her recordings.
So, I wish she'd recorded "D'amor sull'ali rosee," but here we get "Tacea la notte placida" from Trovatore, which we heard at Volpedämmerung. I wasn't overenthusiastic about it then, but it was nice hearing her sing the aria. It should be interesting to hear for the first time her take on Jenufå's prayer. And then there's a Strauss aria--from Die Liebe der Danae, which can be nothing less than lush. Finally, Korngold gets represented twice: "Ich soll ihn niemals, niemals mehr sehn" and *drumroll* "Ich ging zu ihm" from Das Wunder der Heliane. Seriously, why has it taken her this long to record that? Whatever. She did now.
Ok, but, the cover? I seriously thought it was photoshopped when I saw the image on parterre box. Well, it probably is, but I meant after release. I hope it isn't supposed to be taken too seriously, because the headband is rather amusing--fittingly prima donna-ish, I guess.
I'm guessing the majority of naysayers are expecting this album to be obnoxious and self-indulgent and mannered. Well, "obnoxious" is pretty subjective; when she enjoys her voice, I do; and I have found Pavarotti's and Dessay's mannerisms to be much more "obnoxious" than Renaaay's. So, here's why I'm not worried: She behaved really well on Daphne and Handel (yes, even I get annoyed by some parts of Bel Canto and Four Last Songs, though I still love them) and what I heard of her most recent Met broadcast of Manon showed her in top vocal form. In addition, she listens to criticisms while staying true to her inimitable style. She's deepened interpretations and cut out some idiosyncracies. Not everyone will like the new album, but I fully expect to. One aspect of her albums I enjoy most is her repertoire selection, and that looks amazing here. So, this, I'll spend money on.
Enough gushing for tonight. I have a speech to write. Tschau!
(My apologies to Gregory, who probably collapsed from all my rose-throwing.)