Posted on 01/11/2006 7:49:14 AM PST by Borges
I love FR. Ask and ye shall receive :)
A great gal. The epitome of the large Wagnerian singer, but how she could sing!
"Kill da wabbit" motif is the Ride of the Valkyries.
Yeah, Bugs sets Giovanni up so well, doesn't he? ;-)
Ironically, yesterday I went to a luncheon where the guest speaker was an American soprano who came to Europe to sing and study. She sang for us and then proceeded to explain about the profession. It was fascinating. It made me realize that if I want to see a real opera, here is the place to do it. Before I come home, thats been added to my to-do list.
My next travel is a safari to Kenya and Zanzibar in about 7 weeks. I'll post it when I get back.
;D
Just curious.... who was the American soprano?
She filled the gap left when Kirsten Flagstad retired and filled it well. Today only Jane Eaglen comes close.
She sang like an angel, like Gabriel if his trumpet can hold a high-C.
There are several PDQ Bach operas: "The Stoned Guest", "Hansel and Gretel and Ted and Alice", and his masterpiece, "The Abduction of Figaro". "Figaro" is available on tape and I hope it becomes available on DVD. It's hilarious.
Luc Besson's thriller used an aria from Catalani's opera, "La Wally". This opera received its last American performance in 1910, and as a rule there is a reason why an opera disappears from the repertory like that.
In 1993 I heard a recording of "La Wally" and found out why. It's not just that the plot is preposterous. There are a lot of operas around with preposterous plots. The problem with "La Wally" is that the aria is the only good piece in the entire opera. The rest of the score doesn't live up to its promise.
I have the discs of Renata Tebaldi in "La Wally" from 1968. I agree the aria is the high point (pun unintended) of the score, but I don't give it quite the poor marks you do.
As to the story, it's pretty normal for opera; boy gets girl, boy loses girl, girl throws herself into an alpine gorge. What's so preposterous about that? :)
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