the mad scene

 So I’ve finally fired the boss and done what I’ve always wanted to do. From 3 September onwards, I will  be leaving for Taiwan’s Soochow University to pursue a full-time Bachelor Degree in Music.

Why Taiwan? I know its strange that I’m going to another Asian country to learn what is essentially a Western art form. Well its a long story that I’ll rather not tell in public, but suffice to say that I can never afford to do this with the fees European and American conservatories are charging. In Taiwan, performing standards are higher while cost of living is considerably lower than Singapore (After all, how many Donna-Elviras-turned-Bruunhildes has Singapore produced? Think about that). In fact the per year fees of the conservatory I’m heading to, considered one of the most prestigious in that country, is only a fraction of what a Singaporean school would charge.

Its also my dream to live in a foreign country, any foreign country, for an extended period of time. In a culturally strong place like Taiwan, I hope it’ll cultivate in me a stronger sense of independence, streetsmarts, and the desire to fight for what I want to do, which is of course to sing.

So many things to think about in such a short time… I’m really grateful for all the friends and family who have rallied round, offering advice, contacts and moral support in the short lead time that I have before departure. Its times like these that you realise that you’re not quite the wallflower you’ve thought yourself to be.

So what will happen to The Mad Scene when I’m there? Well I can continue updating it in Taiwan I suppose, with tip-offs from friends and event promoters of course. If anything the coverage will now include a broader regional coverage and a wider range of guest contributors. It’ll be interesting to see how things turn out.

So yeah, I’ve got about half a week left in Singapore before embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. Busy packing up and tying up loose ends. Wish me luck!

Meanwhile, I noticed that its customary for musicians pursuing studies abroad to stage a farewell concert of sorts, then stage the first of many homecoming concert one year later. Since I don’t really have the time to stage a proper recital, here are a few clips of myself mucking around some of my minus ones, all live recordings. No Chinese folk songs this time! Try not to cringe too hard, and let’s see if there’s a marked improvement in one year’s time.

Steven Ang - Come Away Death (Quilter)

Steven Ang - I Am A Pirate King (Gilbert and Sullivan)

And for an encore, here’s something that I’ve only done at parties: you’ve heard the original disco version, the rock version and the Britpop version, here’s the Mad Version:

Steven Ang - I Will Survive

If you want to see the ‘acting’ part, all you have to do is invite me to one of your parties when I’m back.

Ttyl! 

Looks like Singapore is becoming a prime touring spot for classical artists. Straight after the mammoth Sun Festival in early October, IMG Artists is another heavyweight performance: the New York Philharmonic with their new director Alan Gilbert, with guests Frank Peter Zimmerman on violin and Emannuel Ax on piano. Here’s the event description:

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The renowned New York Philharmonic comes to Singapore with its new Music Director, Alan Gilbert. This will be the Orchestra’s inaugural international concert tour under the leadership of Alan Gilbert who will begin his tenure as Music Director in September 2009. Performing two world class concerts at the Esplanade this October with violinist Frank Zimmermann and pianist Emanuel Ax, catch Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic on October 19th and 20th at the Esplanade Concert Hall.

Credit Suisse is the global sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.

19th October: Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic with Frank Peter Zimmerman

Programme:
Brahms Violin Concerto
Mahler Symphony No. 1

20th October: Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic with Emmanuel Ax

Programme:
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Beethoven Symphony No. 7

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Check out their SISTIC page for details.

Tenor Melvin Tan stages his latest recital Transcendent Love this coming Saturday, 29 Aug 2009. The program will include Britten’s song cycle On This Island, excerpts from the same composer’s The Canticles, and Vaughan William’s cycle On Wenlock Edge. Shane Theo accompanies, and guests include mezzo Anna Koor, harpist Fontane Liang, violinist Grace Lee and cellist Lin Juan.

Here, Melvin shares with us the background and appeal behind these three works:

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On this Island - Op. 11 (1937)

Benjamin Britten first met W.H. Auden in his youth and immediately became enamoured of his poetry and was a major influence in his life. The poems, selected from Auden’s collection of the same name, encompass a wide range of, sometimes disparate, imagery. Throughout the cycle, one is unerringly drawn to the fact that, for Auden, the sound and inherent ‘music’ encapsulated in the words he uses are as important as what these words symbolise and represent. This synthesis (of symbol and sound) is achieved in brilliant effect by Britten’s setting of these poems, where he begins to blur the line between singing and speech. Many consider Britten to be one of the greatest composer-setters of the English language, and it is arguably this dramatic sense of sung speech which paved the way for his many successful stage works and operas that were to be his ultimate legacy.

Canticle I : My Beloved is Mine - Op. 40 (1947)

The first, Canticle I: My Beloved is Mine, is written in the form of a solo cantata with 4 movements: each representing a different facet of the courtship of the protagonist and his lover (or God). In it, Britten sets a text by 17th-Century metaphysical poet Francis Quarles that is inspired and derived from passages in Songs of Solomon. Aside from its obvious religious reference, Britten meant this work to reflect the relationship, both personal and professional, that he had with Peter Pears.

Although through-composed, the work is clearly divided into four distinct sections: a smoothly-flowing barcarolle, aptly reflecting the water imagery of the first two stanzas, a short recitative followed by a nervously excited scherzo with springing canonic writing and, as Epilogue, a Lento characterised by solemn dotted Lombard rhythms, accompanying rapt vocal phrases representing the spiritual union of the poet and his beloved. - (2nd paragraph quoted from The Britten-Pears Foundation online: www.brittenpears.org)

Canticle II : Abraham & Isaac - Op. 51 (1952)

Canticle II was written for Pears and English contralto Kathleen Ferrier, to which it was also dedicated to. This work reveals Britten’s strengthening grasp of the operatic idiom. It is essentially a mini-opera with 3 roles, sung by 2 voices: Abraham (Tenor), Isaac (Contralto) and God, who is portrayed by both voices in rhythmic unison and ethereal harmony.

Canticle V : The Death of St. Narcissus - Op. 89 (1973)

Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus, was written as Britten was recovering from heart surgery and had limited use of his right hand, leaving him unable to play the piano. Britten, thus, composed the piece for Pears to perform with harpist Ossian Ellis in which he set a cryptic mythological text by T.S Eliot. His affinity for the harp is clearly seen in his inventive and idiomatic writing and understanding of the instrument’s sonority.

Ralph Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge (1908-9)

On Wenlock Edge was composed soon after Vaughan Williams has completed a period of study with Ravel. The poems by A.E. Houseman from his quintessential opus A Shropshire Lad strike a very deep nostalgia and evoke strong place-orientated emotions for many English composers. Set in Shropshire, they are considered by many to encapsulate the very essence of rural England, one that is almost mythic. Other notable settings include songs by Butterworth and Ireland.

In the six poems of this song cycle set by Vaughan Williams, scored first for Tenor, String Quartet and Piano and later orchestrated, the protagonist (who is trapped between death and the after-life) embarks on a melancholy journey through the places the he once remembered when he was alive. He reminisces about living through joyful times and recalls episodes surrounding his death and deals with painful feelings of loss and regret. Through this cathartic voyage, he comes to the realization that to achieve ultimate peace in death he must release the burdens and regret anchored in his past life.

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Wah so cheem…

Melvin of course has played supporting roles in many SLO productions, but this Saturday Singaporean audiences will get to see him star in a full evening of music. Interested to hear more? Tickets are available for only $20 each at SISTIC so log on and get yours!

 

Our increasingly prolific guest reviewer ST returns for his first DVD review: I Puritani at the Meropolitan Opera. Since this opera are not well represented on DVD but already has a good many CD recordings, his comparisons will be more on the aural than the dramatic side.

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Vincenzo Bellini

I Puritani

Cast

Lord Gualtiero Valton ……………….Valerian Ruminski

Sir Giorgio……………………………John Relyea

Lord Arturo Talbo…………………….Eric Cutler

Sir Riccardo Forth……………………. Franco Vassallo

Enrichetta di Francia…………………. Maria Zifchak

Elvira…………………………………. Anna Netrebko

With the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus & Ballet conducted by

Patrick Summers

Live from the Met – 6 January 2007

Set of 2 DVDs from DG B0010491-09

Bellini’s last opera I Puritani was first performed in 1883 at the Met. It was not performed there again till 1976 when Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti appeared in a new production. As we know, one of the reasons for infrequent performances of this opera was the difficulty in finding suitable singers to perform the music. The opera has a rather flimsy story line, but the beautiful music composed by Bellini has made it survive through the centuries. Each of the 4 main characters was given lovely music to sing, some of the loveliest bel canto melodies indeed (such as the Puritani Quartet). As a result, the opera never fails to conquer the audience whenever the correct singers are available.

This set of 2 DVDs showcased the live performance of this opera on 6 January 2007 at the Met. Apparently it was the same production used in 1976 by Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti. The first disc was devoted to Act 1 while the second disc was devoted to Acts 2 and 3. The DVDs provided the original Italian, German, English, French as well as Spanish subtitles. Bonus materials include short features with Renee Fleming and the late Beverly Sills.

Although the cast requires a quartet of outstanding singers, Anna Netrebko was clearly the star of the evening. There was a heightened atmosphere of anticipation in the house when the curtain went up. When she appeared on stage in Act 1 Scene 2, the audience welcomed her with a warm round of applause even before she sang her first note. In return, they were rewarded with the star soprano in good voice and top form throughout the evening. She was a beautiful sight to behold when she preparing for her wedding, the duet with Giorgio was suitably ecstatic. The polonaise Son vergine vezzosa sparkled. At the end of Act 1, when she believed that Arturo has left her, she was convincingly distraught and the madness was entirely believable. O vieni al tempio was laden with grief, deeply moving and the audience loved it. She was a pitiful sight during the mad scene in Act 2. The repeated calls of “mai piu (no more)” were almost painful to the heart.

The ensuing cabeletta Vien, diletto, e in ciel la luna was sensational, particularly in the second verse where she lay supine on the stage with her hair hanging into the orchestral pit. Of course the audience went wild upon conclusion of the mad scene. Act 3 saw her switching from madness to ecstasy, to madness again and then again to ecstasy when Arturo was pardoned and finally returned to her. By the time she finished singing the joyous rondo Ah! Sento, o mio bell’angelo that concluded the opera, there was no doubt that she had conquered every audience in the house. All the difficult music was performed flawlessly, with the all trills and anticipated high notes delivered with grace and style.

The American tenor Eric Cutler had a tentative start as Arturo. Of course Bellini was not kind to his tenor: Arturo had to start by launching straight into that test piece A te, o cara, an aria famous for being beautiful as well as difficult with its exposed, sustained high tessitura. He managed the high passages competently but could not match the radiant tone and breath control of Luciano Pavarotti in his prime in the 1973 Decca recording. (I am probably not being fair as Pavarotti was recording in studio back then). Cutler improved along the way; the addio, Elvira before he left with Queen Enrichetta was heart breaking. The monologue that opened Act 3 and the duet Vieni fra queste braccia were passionately sung with secure high notes. He chose to omit the top F in Credeasi, misera!, which was most probably a sensible decision.

The Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea was a convincing Sir Giorgio. His voice was rich, warm and authoritative, the duet with Elvira was elegantly performed. Cinta di fiori in Act 2 was lovingly sung. Netrebko’s Elvira was lucky to have an uncle like him.

Italian Baritone Franco Vassallo completed the quartet. The end of his opening aria in Act 1, Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei, ended with a clumsily executed note, but he recovered to perform the ensuing cabaletta beautifully. He was also suitably dramatic in the trio with Arturo and Enrichetta. Of course he was best in the famous duet with Sir Giorgio that closed Act 2. Both singers in top form combined efforts to bring down the curtain in commanding fashion.

The smaller parts were adequately cast. Outstanding among them was a regal Maria Zifchak as Enrichetta. She enunciated her lines in urgent and alert fashion in the short trio with Arturo and Riccardo. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (competently conducted by Patrick Summers) and Chorus gave adequate support. The handsome sets and costumes looked good. Camera work was fantastic. Watching this DVD from an arm chair in the comfort of home is arguably better than paying for the best seats in an opera house. The excellent recorded sound also contributed to this worthy documentation of an evening of triumph for Anna Netrebko, the rest of the production and of course, Vincenzo Bellini.
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So if you haven’t already seen the famous mad scene where Anna dips her hair into the orchestra pit, here’s a clip of it. Its every bit as amazing as everyone says it is, because even Renee says so.

Are you tall, young, handsome and possess the ability to imitate Pavarotti singing Mariah Carey’s Hero? Then here’s your chance to bein the next operatic boyband sensation! Here’s an audition notice that requires young hunks to singing an operatic or poperatic number. Do see if you are keen to take part:

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Audition for male singers by Music Avenue for Real Talents

We are establishing an extraordinary group of 4 male singers and we have huge opportunities lining-up for you to be stars and professional singers, including overseas performances.

Basic requirements:
- Male age 16-24 years only
- Height at least 5ft 8in (172.5cm)
- Able to Sing

So, send your information of:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Your NRIC / Identification
- Your nationality
- Your race
- Your contact number and e-mail address
- Your picture

to: cometoaudition@yahoo.com
(Do not send the info through facebook. It will not be entertained. Send to the e-mail above).

We will reply you the timing slot for your audition. E-mail NOW as the timing is first-come-first-serve basis.

The 1st round solo audition dates will start: Aug 29th’09 and Aug 30th’09
at “Music Avenue for Real Talents” (58 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088479)
(Extended dates will be available for huge turn-up on the applications).

You need to prepare 3 songs (sing solo for 1st round audition):
- 1 pop song
- 1 opera / pop-opera / musical song
- 1 song of your non-English language (optional)

If you have any questions, you can contact:
Jack: 98537863

So, come to this once-in-a-life-time opportunity!!!
Please prepare well. Dress up well and neat. Impress the judges.
HINT: One of the judges in the audition is the 1st Philippine Idol
(Ms. Maureen Marcelo).
See you! Good luck!
Contact Info

Email:

Office:

Music Avenue for Real Talents

Location:

58 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088479

Singapore, Singapore

 

I had originally planned to publish this interview around the time of my performance last month but chickened out in the end. I shouldn’t have though, cos the audience reception seemed to be quite enthusiastic (and I didn’t have that many friends in the audience). So for what its worth, and so that Mad Scene readers can get to know the performer side of me better, I bring you an exclusive interview with myself. Future interviewees, take note: this is how its done:

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The Mad Scene: Hi Steven, thank you for doing this interview with The Mad Scene. Firstly, tell us what will you be singing at the Young Soloists Concert this coming Saturday (18 July)?

Steven: I will be singing This is the Beginning (zhe4 hai2 shi4 tou2 yi4 zao1). Its a folk song from the north-east of China, a hilarious number about an old man who realised that he’s been unknowingly sending his daughter’s love letters to her sweet-heart in the city. Its difficult as I have to play for laughs while tackling the score, which lies on the high side of my range so I will be delivering quite a few high notes too. Hopefully none of them will crack!

The Mad Scene: I’m sure what readers would really want to know is: what inspired you to set-up and run The Mad Scene?

Steven: I had first started writing classical music pieces for The Flying Inkpot (Classical) during my student and NS days as one of its many contributors (more than 10 years ago, OMG!) Unfortunately as we “grew up” and our schedules became tighter, we no longer had the time to maintain such a professional website on a timely basis.

Then in 2007, my bunch of opera kakis thought about setting up a blog for us to discuss our favourite recordings and concerts. Using a blog format would mean significantly less time spent maintaining the website in programming matters, and content can be a mix of formal and informal material. Calling it The Mad Scene would be an ideal fit for my irreverent writing style, and so this blog was born.

I’m very grateful for the response the blog has received from audiences, performers and administrators alike, because the aim of this blog is primarily to be a community resource for opera lovers in Singapore. Unlike most opera articles in mainstream media, readers of this blog don’t need to be told that opera and classical music is “not boring”; we already know that opera is at once the most profound and wackiest forms of entertainment you can find.

During the blog’s early days, I went to a concert of a baroque mass setting: on the stage was a full choir and baroque sized orchestra, 6 soloists and a conductor. There were less people than that in the audience. I thought: “wouldn’t it be great if there’s a better way for these performers to reach out to folks who also go for this type of entertainment?” That’s what I hope this blog can help to achieve.

To achieve this end, however, its not enough to simply regurgitate press releases; there has to be original content to keep audiences coming back. So while I’m no superstar performer, I hope that the blog has made some form of contribution to the development of the arts scene in Singapore.

 

The Mad Scene: For those of us who have not heard you sing, describe your voice to us.

Steven: Fach-wise, I believe that I’m really a dramatic-spinto-lyrico-coloratura soprano trapped in a light baritone’s body. I would have sung the fieriest Norma ever recorded were it not for these pesky biological impediments. And its not as if there’s a surgical procedure that can correct this problem (not at my age anyway…)

So what I’m left with is a lyric baritone with warm dark colours, flexibility for coloratura (I hope…) and comparably stronger high notes than my lower range.

The Mad Scene: What are your dream opera roles?

Steven: My dream roles are Norma, Lady Macbeth, Lucia, Medea, Donna Anna, Lucrezia Borgia, Turandot and Semiramide. These are likely to remain as unfulfilled dreams.

But seriously, I would love to sing the bass parts in many concert works: firstly Messiah for the coloratura fireworks (plus The Trumpet Shall Sound is simply the most awesome bass aria ever!), the Faure Requiem and Xian Xing Hai’s Yellow River Cantata. Also Papageno for his lovable down-to-earth, awe-shucks personality. In musical theatre I would love to play Javert in Les Miserables, and Freddy in My Fair Lady so that I can sing On The Street Where You Live in its proper theatrical context.

And maybe in a decade or two from now, if all the elements of hard work, luck and social connections come into place, I may just get to pour my deepest and darkest fears into the phenomenal role of Verdi’s Macbeth.

The Mad Scene: Who are your favourite singers?

Steven: Callas of course like duh! Because everybody loves Callas! That combination of her haunting, beautiful voice, technical mastery, musicality, unerring theatrical instincts and glamour is simply one of a kind. Who cares about the occasional screeched high note?

For singers still active today, my favourite is Renee Fleming. I believe she embodies everything that top singers today should have: an instantly recognisable voice, innate musicality, a glamorous image and most importantly, an adventurous and even daring approach to repertoire, even if it has at times led to some rather questionable choices.

Other singers that I admire, in no particular order, are Renata Scotto, Juan Diego Florez, Natalie Dessay (in her earlier recordings before she insisted on being an ‘actress’), Marilyn Horne, Bruce Ford, Bryn Terfel (the serious singer, not the popera star), Tito Gobbi, Giuseppe di Stefano, Ana Caterina Antonacci, Shirley Verrett, Grace Bumbry, Liao Changyong, Song Zuying and, as a guilty pleasure, Sarah Brightman.

Pop artists that I like are Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Tsai Qin and Cher.

(from left to right: Derek someone, Renee and I: BFFs 4 evah and evah!)

The Mad Scene: What CDs/DVDs have you bought recently?

Steven: You know I’ve actually been buying a lot less recordings lately, because the retail stores here carry absolutely nothing of interest, and what is interesting is usually overpriced. Ordering from Amazon is costly so I only do so once in a while. Right now the best place for CDs and DVDs in Singapore, IMHO, is the Esplanade Library. It has such a great collection that includes classic recordings and latest releases like the Bartoli/Florez Sonnambula. And apart from the annual membership fees and odd fines, borrowing is free so you get the thrill of shopping without actually having to pay for it.

So the CDs that I’ve borrowed recently are Beverly Sill’s I Puritani, Donizetti’s Poliuto with Maria Callas and Franco Corelli, Simon Rattle’s recordings of Mahler’s 2nd (Ressurection) and 8th (Symphony of a Thousand). DVDs include Damnation of Faust with Vasselina Kasarova, Willard White and Paul Groves, Rossini’s Ermione with Ana Catarina Antonacci, Samson and Delilah with Placido Domingo and Shirley Verrett, and the Copenhagen Walkure and Reingold (best opening sequence in a regie production EVAH!)

Recordings I actually spent money on recently include Le Fille du Regiment with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez, Joyce di Donato’s fabulous Furore (Handel arias) CD, Christine Brewer’s Great Opera Arias 2 and Thomas Quasthoff’s sacred arias CD Consider My Soul.

The Mad Scene: What is your favourite Mad Scene?

Steven: To me, the paragon of operatic madness is Hildegard Behren’s singing of Elettra’s scene d’Oreste d’Ajace, on the Met DVD of Idomeneo (available at the Esplanade Library). A Wagnerian singing an exciting Mozart piece, she pulled out all the stops and went absolutely wild with it. The gleam in her voice is stunning, the crazed look in her eyes simply grab at you. That big orange afro wig is just icing on the cake. That she wasn’t able to do the staccati parts of the coloratura passages were hardly a consideration. Pavarotti’s final aria that came after her’s was an anti-climax by comparison. You can check out the video clip here but its better if you watch it on DVD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfnYQTl56tQ

The Mad Scene: Lastly, tell us why we should all attend the Singapore Choral Association’s Young Soloists Concert?

Steven: Because its a great showcase of up-and-coming voices. What we may lack in professional experience will be more than made up with youthful enthusiasm and a genuine love for performing. And as most of the singers are students in local conservatories, do come and see which one of us might be the next rising star of Singapore opera!

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Wish you could be there eh? But thanks to the magic of video recording, here’s the clip of my performance. Do note that I am one of the minority who is not currently studying or graduated from a conservatory, and also some of the physical jokes seem to go pretty well that night but did not carry as well on camera.

In this song, I play an old man who’s daughter asked him to send a letter to the city. He’s puzzled by her strange behaviour, but soon realises who the letter is meant for: the handsome young man who lives in the city! He muses on the hilarity of the situation: an old man sending love letters to his daughter’s boyfriend? “This is just the beginning!”

You will also realise that I did not pay for the license of the DVD converting software. I will be so grateful if anyone can recommend a software that is completely free.

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If any of my ‘colleagues in art’ would like to have their videos displayed in these pages, just drop an email to themadscene@gmail.com and I’ll take care of the rest.

 

 Guest reviewer ST returns and shares his thoughts on Anna Netrebko’s CD Souvenirs:

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Anna Netrebko

“Souvenirs”

Anna Netrebko, soprano

Elina Garanca, mezzo soprano (track5)

Piotr Beczala, tenor (track 2)

Andrew Swait, boy soprano (track 14)

Prague Philharmonic Choir (tracks 1, 5, 13,14)

Prague Philharmonia conducted by Emmanuel Villaume

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Track listing:

1. Emmerich Kalman

Heia, in den Bergen from Die Csardasfurstin

2. Richard Heuberger

Im Chambre Separee from Der Opernball

3. Franz Lehar

Meine Lippen, sie Kussen so Heiss from Giuditta

4. Gustave Charpentier

Depuis le Jour from Louise

5. Jacques Offenbach

“Belle Nuit, O Nuit D’amour” (Bararolle) from

Les Contes d’Hoffmann

6. Richard Strauss

Cacilie Op 27 No 2

7. Edward Grieg

Solveigs Sang from Peer Gynt

8. Andre Messager

Lorsque je N”etais qu’une Enfant from Fortunio

9. Antonin Dvorak

Songs y Mother Taught Me from Gypsy Melodies

10. Richard Strauss

Wiegnelied Op 41 No 1

11. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Ne veter, veya s visoti, Op 43 No 2

Not the wind,blowing from the heights

12. Plenivsis rozoy, solovey Op 2 No 2

Enslaved by the rose, the nightingale (Oriental Romance)

13. Trad Jewish

Schlof Sche, mein Vogele

Sleep well, my little Bird

14. Andrew Lloyd Webber

Pie Jesu from Requiem

15. Reynaldo Hann

L’Enamouree

The Loved One

16. Carlos Guastavino

La Rosa y el Sauce

The Rose and the Willow

17. Geronimo Gimenez

La Tarantula e un Bicho Mu Malo from La Tempranica

18. Luigi Arditi

Il Bacio (The Kiss)

It was said that when an opera singer become a superstar, he or she will record an album of Christmas music or a collection of light popular classics.  Anna Netrebko’s 4th album with DG entitled Souvenirs is probably one such album. The aim of releasing such albums is of course to introduce her to a wider audience so as to increase sales of her recordings, but before one writes it off as one of those albums with more business than artistic merits, one should note that the programme was wide ranging with familiar pieces as well as unfamiliar ones. This diverse selection of music provided her the opportunity to sing in 9 languages, demonstrating her versatility.

Throughout the CD, Netrebko was in good voice and performed with her usual flare and sweet tone. The programme was planned well with fast pieces alternating with slow ones, and familiar items with less familiar ones.

She opened with an aria from The Gypsy Princess, which was supposed to have inspired her love of operettas as a teenager. However, this track was not a runaway success as the beginning of the aria was slightly effortful. The faster second part fared better when Netrebko had the chance to sing with great charm and vivacity.

Among the more familiar items, there was a soaring Depuis le Jour which was broadly phrased and sensitively shaded. Netrebko’s ethereal high notes caressed those lovely phrases when Louise dreamed of her first love. Offenbach’s Barcarolle was sensuously performed with her friend and frequent concert partner Elina Garanca singing the part of Nicklausse. Their voices were well matched and blended beautifully while they glide along in their (figurative) gondola.

Netrebko’s voice also blended well with the boy soprano Andrew Swait in Andrew Lloyd Webber Pie Jesu. This heavenly piece was one of the high points of the album. Dvorak’s famous Songs my mother taught me was given a performance noted as much for beauty as well as simplicity. Edward Grieg’s Solveigs Sang was suitably sad with much longing. Richard Strauss’ Wiegenlied was lovingly phrased with beautiful tone and long breath.

The operetta excerpts from Vienna were beautifully sung but would probably yield points in phrasing and enunciation to her famous predecessors from German and Austria. The Viennese flavor of the music was better brought out by those great ladies of the past, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Hilde Gueden, although Netrebko sang Meine Lippen, sie Kussen so Heiss competently. The lovely duet from Der Opernball featured the voice of the Polish tenor Piotr Beczala. He sang beautifully and phrased with care but his style was probably a shade too heavy for this style of music in my opinion. If you have heard singers like Nicolai Gedda recording Viennese operattas in the1950s you will know what I mean.

The 2 Russian songs by Rimsky-Korsakov were beautifully performed. Perhaps singing in her mother tongue offered additional advantage. The breathless La Tarantula by Giemnez was competently performed but could not erase fond memories of that great mistress of this music, the late Victoria de los Angeles, who had the warmer voice in that vocal range and had the added advantage of performing in her mother tongue (Spanish). The concluding Il Bacio was lively with all the trills and coloratura nicely negotiated but the final high note was a bit hasty to me. I think overall, the slow pieces fared better than the fast pieces featured in this album.

The album had superlative recording quality. The orchestra and chorus gave competent support. Perhaps it was unfair for me to compare Netrebko’s performance of individual pieces with famous legendary interpreters of the past generations, for it was quite possible that none of these legendary singers could manage this wide ranging programme as well as Netrebko did. Nonetheless it was an enjoyable collection of music, nicely presented with a beautiful booklet, recorded in good sound. Surely this collection will win Anna Netrebko many new friends and admirers.

 Thanks to a tip-off from a reader of Opera Chic: for some reason The Sun Festival Gala Concert is not listed on Angela Gheorghiu’s official website. Would this be cause for concern?

poll by twiigs.com

OMG I had such a hilarious time at Spelling Bee last night. The cast was brilliant in combining scripted lines with sabo-ing audience members in spots of improvisation. While this is not a piece that promises the grand spectacle or virtuosic performances, the witty script and catchy tunes was all that’s needed to charm the audience, an intimate evening where the sum is greater than its parts. The adult cast members played their children characters really well, giving us a chance to see the fears, hopes and dreams of these overachieving, geared-for-competition troopers. Definitely a fun show to check out. The run is till this Sunday, you can find more information at the SISTIC page.

 Ok to be fair to Renee, here is the “Opera MILF” singing the finale of Armida in the legendary Pesaro Rossini Festival production. Isn’t this one of the best bel canto voices today?