She's a star!!! Last night at the Met was the first Mme.Butterfly of Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais, and to these supposedly jaded ears, I was totally captivated by her vocalism,musicianship, stage deportment, and in total, she proved to be one of the brightest lights in the opera world today.
    The voice is rich and opulent, with an easily produced upper range (D flat in the entrance and piano B natural in "dolore' at the beginning of act three, as two examples.). In this extremely difficult role (Olivia Stapp says she finds  act two Butterfly harder the the whole of Elektra, owing to the sheer emotion involved.),
Mme.Opolais brings a vulnerable and sympathetic portrayal to the stage. She has the sense of line and phrase that is so endearing to those of us who so much appreciate an artist who can bring us to tears in so many of the glorious Puccini moments. I hope the Met will use her in many roles in future years.(Mimi next season.).  I thank her, as did the audience with its ovation, for a beautiful evening.
      Sadly, Mr.Valenti, whom I enjoyed so much at City opera, has great vocal problems;the middle is of decent, although unmemorable, quality, but th moment he reaches for high notes, the sound is totally "strangulato" and in act three, the 2 B flats were totally covered by the orchestra, since he has no trace of squillo. The act one love duet requires TWO sings to make it work, and sad to say, it did not have much effect, despite that positively riveting staging. (I got to love the production so much, even the puppet.)
     I would wonder if Dwayne Croft is not re-studying, because I found a very noticeable improvement in his vocal production,unlike recent years where I found the passaggio rather nasal and the voice not what I first loved so much;he was superb, and he and the fine Maria Zifchak (Suzuki) received well-deserved cheers, unlike the reaction to Mr.Valenti,which was "cool."(I guess the Met audience does have ears on occasion.)
    I was most impressed by Scott Scully as Goro.It is a pleasure to have a voice that is totally well-produced all through the range, and as Ialways say, Richard Bernstein is too fine a singer to be relegated to the Commissioner. Furthermore, the Bonzo of Stefan Szkafarowsky (get rid of Tanovitski) and especially the Yamadori of Jeongcheol Cha, made me hope they will graduate to larger roles some day soon.
     I noted a large group of Rochester.New York high school seniors who dressed so beautifully, that I was happy to see a group of young people not appearing like some of the slobs I have seen at the Met (even guys in shorts!).
      I see two more Butterflies, and perhaps MrValenti was ill and really is much more of what I remember, and then we have one with last year's fine Aida, Hui He, and last season's pretty dull Manrico of Gwyn Hughes-Jones, who would be better suited to Pinkerton. Marcello Giordani,where were you last night?
       If you love opera, combine Puccini's great music and Kristine Opolais' talent, and you have a mostly great evening!!      Charlie

They are all good, but i still prefer Diana Soviero to all of them.

Another remarkable interpretation of the Suor Angelica finale as sung by Catherine Malfitano.

Chiara Taigi is a new discovery for me. The voice is absolutely rich and creamy,with low notes that thrill;the high notes need work,as you will obsewrve.

The last of the great verismo sopranos, Renata Scotto.

Here is a scene (uncut) from a Medea with a brilliant soprano,Chiara Taigi. The glottal attacks and the chest and the middle voice are brilliant. Unfortunately on other Youtube clips the very top of the voice in other material needs much work..but she is really wonderful in many ways.

  NO ONE around here sings like this..a Gencer,Galvany type..but a gorgeus middle voice...i only wish she could work on the top!!!

 A happy birthday to our dear Facebook friend, Nelly Miricioiu, who represents a style of singing mostly absent today. She was born on Mar.31, 1952 in Roumania, which seems to be a country where the 'air" produces some of the most exciting artists(Guess who else!)

Here is one of Sam's great roles!  (Sam,put a shirt on!!)

It was our first Bolena rehearsal in 1970.This young guy, born Mar.28, 1942, opened his mouth and we heard for the first time someone who would become one of the great singers of our time.Sam always spoke of Treigle,and he ended up inheriting many of his great roles. We sang in Hoffmann,Bolena,Barber,etc..and i am so happy to have known him all these years..,Bravo,Sam!!!!!

  I just spoke briefly to Magda, a bit tired with all the birthday phone calls. Her "treno" arrived 104 years ago, and we are so very fortunate to have "caught her train" of love for music. Bless her forever!!!!!

I have discussed this ad infinitum, but I was there and at 65, we just could not believe what we heard. Listen especially to the final "Rimuuuuuuneri cosiiiiiii" where she has the breath control of a 25 yr.old.....This to me was a triumph I will never forget. Listen for my "brava" at the end. Applause is cut...it went on forever.

  I always call Magda on her birthday, and she was incredibly lucid all these years.Last year was less than lucid, but look, how many of us will be lucid at 104????  This clip is from 1993, when she was a baby at 83...An amazing woman, and a miracle of opera. I will call,and at least give my message to her friend and caretaker. Bless her!!!!

 Sorry,folks!!!  I love to go to the opera, but I really do know the difference between most of the singers (not all) and what you see here!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG36dWHXBT4

When I first Met Dolora Zajick, born Mar.24, 1952, I spoke to her of the RARITY of her kind of voice…She works with young artists,trying to get some of them to sing in the “old style” if the term is valid…For me it is. She is a rarity, and I hope we have more singers of her kind.
Based on my conversations with her over the years, she had me once do a “mini-class’ for her students, illustrating the kind of singing that great singers exhibited in their recordings.
She still has plenty of voice!!!!!

    I am writing this in advance of Magda Olivero's 104th birthday,which we will celebrate on Mar.25. Sometimes certain thoughts occur to me at a given time (like this morning), and so I feel like putting them down as I recall them clearly.
    In all the years in which I have been attracted to the vocal art, I am singling out Mme.Olivero because I have never felt that anyone has quite achieved her level of vocalism and deep-felt emotion. Imagine that someone who was once told something like "Don't quit your day job," owing to a vocal quality that surely does not possess the fullness of a Tebaldi or a Ponselle, and whose rather "wide vibrato" might not be pleasing to all ears.
     However, let us reflect on some of the so-called "Kunst divas" who made an indelible mark upon the opera scene, and who may not have necessarily produced the "golden tones" that perhaps the average opera lover appreciates, without delving into the depth of the soul of artists such as Callas, Moedl, Scotto, Jones, Albanese, Rysanek, and other so-called "flawed divas," or in the case of male artists, what a Gobbi, a Chaliapin, a Rossi-Lemeni who achieved so much more than pure vocalism, which may thrill, but which may lack the depth of emotion of artists such as the above.
      In the case of Olivero, I use my "Martha Moedl reading the Dresden telephone directory" and still be riveting to audiences for many years. Olivero has had an uncanny ability to phrase and emote in such a way as to tear at your heartstrings every time. In one of our phone calls,I asked her about  the manner in which she utters the name of "Nina Micheltorena" in Fanciulla, with a mean-spirited jealousy "between the teeth" that only a very special artist could think of. The very great interpreters "decide" what special effects they can make with merely a word or phrase. Such is Magda Olivero, who lifted me out of my seat in a Fedora with the with words,"Loris,ove sei" in her final moments.
       I will forever recall her Met debut at age 65, in which she sang the last phrases of the aria in such a way as to bring everyone to tears. Run to Youtube and find the clip, and pay attention to the final "rimuneri,cosi," where the "u" vowel is held in such a way as to produce the most devastating effect, and then a giant SWELL on the last "cosi," where most sopranos barely make it.
       These are but two examples of why I feel that "non posso imagginare un mondo senza Magda" ("I cannot immagine a world without Magda."). However, like the present generation, future generations will learn from what she has contributed as a lesson in how to combine vocalism with emotion, and if you will sample her many contributions to music in roles like Tosca,Fedora, Adriana, Minnie, etc. you may better comprehend what I and so many others feel about this "miracle' of opera.
                                                With my sincerest love for this great lady,
                                                                                Charlie

 What a fitting day for me to have discovered this marvelous young soprano, who studies with birthday girl Diana Soviero!!!!!

   Now that I have posted clips in various places, individuals have written me that she is a rising young star , and this is a great thing. Remember that 35 years ago when I heard Soviero's Mimi, and almost fell out of the balcony, I KNEW she was special, and this young lady appears to be following in her footsteps.

   A big BRAVA to her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Gigli and Melchior celebrate today!!!!!   Imagine what a day that was for opera!!!!

  March 20, 1890. BOTH Gigli and Melchior were born!!!!!! The GODS must have been in a good mood!!!

 I again post this ten handkerchief clip in celebration of Diana Soviero's March 19th birthday (shared with my ma). After 35 years of friendship, I still feel that she represents the most remarkable combination of vocalism and emotion imaginable. I treasure what she has meant to me, and to the opera world.

 What a joy!!!! However, crabby Zinka sits there as if she is the only star in the world..Just kidding!!!!!!!!!

 I do not care who or what you are!!!! I ORDER you to do this....It can be in the shower, in your yard, in the car, etc..... Let me knoiw if they take you away by force!!!!!!!!

I know you just ADORE my compilations, so I present no.9,with a few choice comments. If you played any at parties, did anyone ever guess ALL of them?

1. Gigli, Rethberg, Pinza           Attila trio   (Need we say more?)

2. Carlo Bergonzi                        E lucevan le stelle  (a veritable vocal lesson)

3. Jussi Bjoerling                         Romeo 1947 ensemble. (Did the C sound like that live?)

4.  Alessandro Bonci                   Puritani aria

5.  Clara Butt                                 Lucrezia Borgia Brindisi  (they would laugh today.I adore this!)

6. Karen Branzell                          Erda Warning (Das Rheingold)

7. Olga Borodina                           La Favorite aria

8.  Montserrat Caballe                  Adriana Phedre Monologue  (Totally wild!)

9.   Piero Cappuccilli                      Luisa Miller aria  ( A very great man)

10. Irene Minghini-Cattaneo       Azucena aria   (sadly killed when Allied bomb destroyed her villa in WW II)

11. Julia Varady                              Mme.Butterfly  "Che tua madre."

12. Charles Dalmores                     Carmen Flower Song

13. Zinka Milanov  (who?)             "D'amor sull'ali rosee" (Trovatore)

14. Mario Del Monaco                     "No,pazzo son"(Manon Lescaut)   (Example of subtlety)

15. Merrill/Bjoerling                        Don Carlo duet  (pure gold)

16. Birgitte Fassbaender                "Suicidio"  ( even though she is a mezzo.)

17. Kathleen Ferrier                         "An die Musik"  (Schubert)

18.  Lauren Flanigan                         Lady Macbeth aria  (One of the singers who "takes chances" with repertory. One of my favorite ladies.)

19. Beniamino Gigli                            "Vedi,io piango'  (Fedora)

20.  Apollo Granforte                          Credo from Otello  (His name fits his voice.)

Have you EVER heard a rendition of this scene more exciting??? Stella loved to cry..but look, if George London was yelling at you, would you not shed a tear or two????    Zinka who????? (Sacriledge)

  Our dear Kurt Baum was born on Mar.15, 1900. Despite his having the ugliest voice in captivity and KILLED so many performances, mostly with Zinka.(Silent film acting with the two of them.),he had a great top register. This is an example. His Lohengrin recording with Traubel shows he should have done more German. We HATED the poor guy, but he was "reliable."

    When us oldies discovered that thing called "opera" (and became insane), all we had for information was the friendship of others who would play records (78's to start) and the oldtimers on the standee line, where we heard about names like Ponselle and Gigli.
     Nowadays we are lucky to have at our disposal an enormous amount of information, generated by the amazing opera forums where a number of remarkable and knowledgeable individuals afford us so much knowledge, (including lots of screaming and yelling.) We have Opera-L, founded by Bob Kosovsky, and Parterre Box, the creation of James Jorden,otherwise known as "La Cieca." James organized a successful podcast site for me personally, and I am happy to report that "from Angola to Zanzibar," I have helped to awaken interest in the vocal art.
     Recently, one of the most brilliant opera aficionados, Donald Collup, has created a site known as "Operaticpastcast.com." Here we are able to listen to his magnificent interviews with some of us "who were there," and are able to recall fond memories of our opera experience. The way in which Donald intersperses music with the comments in a mark of great professionalism, as he illustrates comments with vocal examples.
     Donald also has interviewed some of our living opera artists such as Lucine Amara, Olivia Stapp, Elizabeth Carron, and Virginia Zeani. From these interviews we gain a personal insight into the careers and deep-felt feelings of some of our fine artists.
      As I write this, I am listening to the most recent interview, with a fellow named Handelman, and I am amazed at the professional manner in which my comments are so well illustrated by Donald's musical examples.
       I urge you to explore this site, not because I am a participant, but because you will be thrilled at the many memories as recalled by those professional artists and by our mere mortals.
        Many thanks to you, dear Donald, for your tremendous efforts.

 Do you mean I NEVER knew of this?????? I feel so dumb...i guess it escaped me,until a friend sent it.

 Leyla had a 35 year career, and when teachers today fear the idea of chest voice, glottal attacks,etc...I get angry!!!! THIS is a lesson in how to sing with fire!!!!   Love it!!!

)

After I did the Adriana, I thought you would like to SEE Caballe in action!!!!!

Teachers today are afraid to teach singers to use the lower register,causing a lot  of BOREDOM!!!!

He left us far too soon. Norman Treigle, born Mar.6, 1923, was a DYNAMO onstage.For me he was one of the greatest singers  I ever heard, and I heard him live countless times. He was truly a fabulous artist, actor, vocalist, with a HUGE voice and amazing stage personality. I honor his memory!

We adored this "king of the comprimarios," who made the smallest role important. He was born on Mar.5, 1893 and would have sung even past his 60's, had he not died in an auto crash. One of the most delightful things he sang was the old Prisoner in Perichole, where he cracked us up with his "leeetle pen knife." He was beloved by all of us!

I was just directed to the Youtube clip of this escappe from a mental institution. She is all over Youtube, and when I watched the Semiramide aria, I sent it to Joyce Di Donato,who might decide to retire,since she could never equal her rendition. I tell you one advantage of this...that I never felt so NORMAL in my life after seeing this.

In your country, are there any singers .ike this?

 In the event that you just joined this site, I wanted you to have an idea of what the La Puma Opera Co.was like. It was not nice for them to throw us out at a Don Giovanni..but you can get the idea. Since they performed in an elementary school auditorium, they must have used the third-graders' orchestra. The company became a kind of "cult experience" amd attracted more and more people who wanted to pppppp in their pantalones!

 Hey!!!! Who has so much voice at 87. Lucine turns 89 on Mar.1 and she continues to sound as young and fresh as anyone could sound at her age. She saved many Met shows and retained so much of the voice. I made her tapes from 1948, and believe me, there is still that youthful quality.

Happy birthday to a fun lady!!!!!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJef71OpgiU

  If I had to pick ONE,just ONE commercial recording of ANYONE, this aria for me sung by the fabulous Lehmann,born Feb.27, 1888, would be my choice. This "Ich ging zu ihm" from Korngold's "Das Wunder der Heliane" for me is the most lasting tribute to her greatness.

 Il Guarany (Gomes) duet with Enrico Caruso (born Feb.25 or 27) in 1873, and Emmy Destinn, born Feb.26, 1878. What more can one say????

 People wonder why I am so critical of the carryings-on of Franco Bonisolli. In the words of Anna Russell, "tenors have resonance where their brains should be." Of course that is not true in general, but if you heard all the crazy speeches-to-audiences the man makes during live performances and his general conduct as a singer, you might agree that he gives tenors a very bad name!

  However, he has a lot of fun in this San Francisco Gala (wearing Errol Flynn's boots) and the C's are fabulous. He died too soon, and I am indeed sorry, but I always felt a superb talent was partly  wasted with his carryings-on.

 By the way, he always DEMANDED an encore of the aria. On a Vienna tape, he yells "Wasser' before the first high C and gets booed. I do not know if he sang it twice that night, but anyway you cannot say he was dull!

Those of you who have ever been a part of an opera workshop will understand what goes into performing opera in the communities. Paul Plishka sent me this photo from about 55 years ago. He is the Colline and Ted Lambrinos (at right) is Marcello. At left is Dickie Boyajian and Robert Swanson (Schaunard.)

  The young guy seated is Charlie Handelman as Benoit. I also did Alcindoro, and in fact over the years I did every male role in Boheme, except Rodolfo. They would not let me do the Musetta because they said I did not have the LEGS.

Our beloved maestro was Armen Boyajian, teacher of Sam Raney,Paul,Galvany, and me. We worked hard, and it was worth it. This meant so much to me, to see Paul, who had an illustrious career, and all oif us together.

So tell me, my friends...is this not a great tenor?????? (and in high key)

 Turkey had given us the great Leyla Gencer, and now from this land we have one of the most magnificent tenors, and this finale is so touching..but outdoors in paris it must be cold.!

Hi

  For those of you who use I-Tunes for my podcasts, there is availability for comments.I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

                                       As ever Charlie

In 1971, under the great maestro Armen Boyajian, we did Anna Bolena in Paterson,New Jersey.We had a great company, but this performance means so much to me,because it was the beginning of the great career of Sam Ramey, and Galvany was incredible. The high D (held forever) comes out a bit drowned out,but you can hear it. I was the Rochefort and ran out of breath at the end of this scene.How could anyone keep up with her???

Imagine what we felt as the Ballo curtain rose on the debut of the great Marian Anderson, born Feb.17, 1897. So sad that bigotry prevented many fine Afro-American artists from appearing at the Met,or in some cases, on ANY opera stage. Bless her memory!!

  Another compilation of material from my files. I hope you enjoy the selections, and remember what "fun" you can have if you give an opera party and ask the guests to guess, giving prizes for the winners.

1.  Julia Varady             Aria from Puccini's Edgar

2. Shirley Verrett          Favorita Cabaletta (We went nuts at Carnegie Hall.)

3-4.  Leonard Warren   Ernani and Pagliacci arias

5. Ljuba Welitch             Vissi d'arte

6.Dolora Zajick                Principessa aria from Adriana

7. Milanov/Bjoerling      Ballo Love duet

8. Janet Baker                Traume

9. Alessandro Bonci       Luisa Miller aria

10. Maria Callas              Puritani  "Vieni al tempio"

11. Steber/Kullman       Carmen act one duet

12. Enrico Caruso           "Mia piccirella"  (Makes me CRAZY!)

 13. Renata Scotto          Butterfly "Che tua madre."

 14. Mario del Monaco     Otello  "Dio mi potevi"

 15. Marisa Galvany         What else but the famous Aida act 2 E flat.

 16.  Nicolai Gedda            Manon  "Ah fuyez."

  17-18   Leyla Gencer/Cornell Macneil and then Hilde Gueden/Leonard Warren in the Rigoletto  "Si,vendetta' duet.

 Whether or not you celebrate Valentine's Day (Feb.14), I am sending this to you because you are all so supportive of my efforts to bring opera to more and more people around the globe, and make me so very happy. Love to you all!!!

May I extend a happy birthday to one of the great singers in my opera experience. Johanna Meier was born on Feb.13, 1938, and I was so pleased to make her some live tapes a few years ago.She was superb in operas like Ariadne,Walkure, Tosca,etc. and this Liebestod is an example of her absolutely gorgeous voice.

ELISABETH CARRON - Opera Singer

"Radiantly communicative" "Singing and acting with the authority of a great artist" "A transcendental artist" Such laudatory comments from critics and public alike have followed Elisabeth Carron's appearances throughout her career. With a repertoire of astonishing versatility, this superb American-born and trained singer has captivated scores of audiences with her exceptional vocal range and theatricality.

Elisabeth Carron made her sparkling debut in the role of Cio-Cio-San in New York City Opera's Madama Butterfly in 1957, immediately establishing herself as a ranking Puccini stylist. "Visually and vocally she has made the role her own." (Musical America). Other reviewers deemed it "an exquisite performance", pointing out that "Miss Carron's voice is assured, pure and in perfect control... a poignant and utterly believable creation".

Adding the roles of Mimi, Liu and Suor Angelica to her repertoire gained further acclaim and the ringing applause of appreciative audiences. An early career highlight was her appearance as Glauce in the Dallas Civic Opera's historic production of Cherubini's Medea, co-starring Maria Callas, Jon Vickers and Teresa Berganza. Her San Francisco Opera debut was made in the demanding role of Konstanze in Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio, which, coupled with a stunning first-ever performance as Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, earned her the designation of "the opera discovery of the year" and a reviewer's opinion that "She is a splendid actress, with the kind of petite, delicate, hothouse beauty that can make such a character as Camille come to life, and that she possesses an extraordinary singing voice".

Her mad scene in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor was hailed as a masterpiece of rare dramatic intensity. She received more accolades as a Strauss specialist during a string of memorable performances as Zerbinetta, Daphne and Aithra. The New Yorker magazine singled out her portrayal of Aithra, observing that she sang the "extraordinarily difficult high passages with ease and brilliance."

Miss Carron is equally at home interpreting contemporary works. She appeared in the original cast of the New York City Opera Company's revival of Marc Blitzstein's Regina in the role of Birdie Hubbard. Musical America magazine added to her laurels with verbal bouquets for her "beautiful voice and touching portrayal of Regina's poor, broken, driven-to-drink sister-in-law." Her stand-out performance is a highlight in the Columbia Records production of Regina. Raymond Ericson, the distinguished New York Times music critic, included the Columbia recording in his "Best of Opera" discography. Miss Carron also won praise for her rich evocation of Anna Maurrant in Kurt Weill's Street Scene and her sensitive interpretation of Maria Corona in Giancarlo Menotti's The Saint of Bleeker Street, another dynamic role subsequently recorded.

Miss Carron was a respected member of the Vocal Faculty of the famed Manhattan School of Music. She has been instrumental in the development of many outstanding young talents. Her students have won major singing competitions and have gone on to productive careers. She is frequently called upon to serve as a judge in prestigious vocal competitions.

Though Miss Carron's career included performances with nearly every major American opera company as well as international appearances, she is one of a generation of American singers whose artistry is not adequately documented by recordings. Elisabeth Carron - Opera Singer

Adelina Patti had a warm, crystalline, and very agile high soprano voice.^[10] Her vocal emission was of perfect equality and her vocal range was wide, from low C to high F (C₄ - F₆).^[10] Regarding her technique, critic Rodolfo Celletti said, "Her voice was a technical marvel. The staccatos were marvels of accuracy, even in the trickiest intervals, her legato was impressively smooth and pure; she connects the voice from note to note, phrase to phrase, lifting and gliding with an exceptional virtuosity. Her chromatic scale was deliciously sweet, and her trill was wonderful and solid."^[11]

Adelina Patti 1905 recordings. A sensational singer,even at age 62.

The selections are as follows:

Voi lo sapete, Pur dicesti, Old folks at home,Batti,batti, Jewel song,Il Bacio, Last Rose of Summer, Ave maria (Bach-Gounod), Robin Adair, Home sweet home, Si vous n'avez rien a me dire, Comin' thrpugh the rye, Banks of Allen Water, On parting, 'Twas within a mile, New Year message to her hisband, Baron Rolf Cederstrom, Kathleen, La Serenata, Casta Diva, Connais tu le pays, Ah non credea.  (65 min.)

This sensational basso was born on Feb.10, 1923. Siepi had a voice of pure velvet.I saw him countless times, and he remains one of the greatest singers EVER!!!!

What can be more heartwarming than to see the retirn, in Genoa, of the wonderful Aprile Millo in "Il Tabarro."?  She has retained the beauty of tone, and the kind of Italianate style that is rare today.(Not to mention the optional high C in the aria.).

 All these years,she has been so loving and kind to me and I am so happy for her!!!!!

   Claudia Muzio was so famous for her Traviata Letter..and to celebrate her birthday on Friday, Feb.7, we present the great Mari Lyn, who follows in her great tradition..and her TraviYENTA has caused many people to commit SUICIDIO!!!!

 WHY do they do not do this opera?? Maybe because Virginia is not around...Note act two love duet..it is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I am upset..i never hear my own tapes!!!!

Act three Butterfly scenes with my darling "sister" Virginia Zeani!!!!!!

 It is most appropriate, on Martina Arroyo's birthday (Feb.2), to begin to celebrate Black History Month, and also to relate some of my past experiences with Afro-American artists.
          Sadly, not until Marian Anderson's 1955 Met debut as Ulrica (which was one of my most thrilling experiences, as that curtain rose and the audience cheered), Afro-American artists did not sing at the Met. I was able to hear Lawrence Winters, Adele Addison, and Camilla Williams at City Opera in the early 1950's, but imagine what other artists were lost to the Met earlier.
           Owing to the Marian Anderson breakthrough, Met audiences (myself included) were pleased to have heard such artists as Leontyne Price, Reri Grist, George Shirley, Gloria Davy, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Robert McFerrin, Leona Mitchell, Grace Bumbry, Simon Estes, Jessye Norman, and my all-time love, Shirley Verrett, etc.
             The unfortunate element of course, is that race prejudice denied many of the artists before Anderson an opportunity to be heard in the great Met, but at least Mr. Bing made the breakthrough, however late. We must be thankful at least for the precedent set by Mme.Anderson, and we owe much to her historic debut.
                                                                     Charlie
              

  We were ripping programs and tossing them down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  When she took the high A at the end on "AMOOOOOORE"..a friend was so aghast, he hit me in the ribs and I almost fell to the standing room floor!!!!!!! You could not imagine what it was like!!!!!!

    January 31, 1955. Weather like New York last week. A teenager wakes up at 4:00 and arrives at the Met at 6:00 for his first Otello,featuring the debut of the lady whose birthday (then unkown to us) was Feb.1. The teen enters a telephone booth (remember them?). A cop asks him what he is doing there.The guy says, "Waiting for the opera tonight." Shortly, another group of nutcases get on the standee line, to freeze until 7:00P.M..
       Feb.1, 1955..about 12:00 and out comes the lady who became our "madre" and in freezing cold weather,signed every single program, and it was her 33rd birthday!!!
  So you understand why Feb.1 means so much to me and to those who were privileged to have this incredible lady..on and off stage..as a "buddy" in our teen years.
      Bless your memory, dearest Renata Tebaldi. You will remain forever in our hearts!!                                     
                                                    Charlie

  To that great guy,Marcello Giordani, who celebrates his birthday on Jan.25  (1963)...I wish him the best. He recalls the SQUILLANTE tenors of the past. Live at the Met he shakes the chandeliers!!!!!

                                                        Love from Charlie

  New York is suffering under the worst icy-cold weather conditions in many years;however, we were cheered up when,during our snowstorm, that the delightful Anna Netrebko decided to have a little fun on her balcony.

  The photo has made so many of us happy, and let me share it with you!

   On her Jan.22 (1897) birthday we think of the person who once said, "First you have Caruso and Ponselle..and THEN come singers!"  No words are adequate to describe this phenomenon. Retired in 1937 after a feud with the Met, but left a great legacy of recordings unequalled in opera history.

  I was outside the Met stage door a few years ago after a Macbeth and this guy,whom I never met, looked at me and said,"Are you Charlie??You are more famous than I." This was our first encounter....Joe is a sweetheart of a man, and we wish him a happy Jan.22 birthday. Lovable in every way!!!!!

  Placido in Pique Dame on his birthday!!   Wonderful singing!!!!!!!

   I may kid around and may not agree with all of Placido's choices of repertory these days, but who could ever deny his incredible contribution to the world of music for 50 years, and so from this birthday boy to him, I wish him a wonderful happy birthday (Jan.21).   Charlie

 For your opera parties, here is another pot-pourri. (No narration.):

1.  Margarete Klose    Orfeo                     "Che faro"  (In Deutsch)

2.   Anna Moffo             Puritani                "Vien,diletto."

3. Elena Nikolaidi         Macbeth Sleepwalking Scene  (dig the TEMPI!)

4.  Theodore Uppman        "Nancy Hanks"

5. Julia Varady              Macbeth              "La luce langue"

6-7.    Leonard Warren  arias from Ernani and Barbiere

8. Licia Albanese and Afro Poli in Boheme act three scene.

9. Daniele Barioni         Mme.Butterfly    "Addio,fiorito asil":  (I adored that voice!)

10. Jussi Bjoerling         Turandot             "Nessun dorma"

11. Giuseppe Di Stefano      Aida               "Celeste Aida"

12. Leonce Escalais          Robert le Diable aria  (squillo like crazy!)

13. Mirella Freni                  Fedora             "O grandi occhi."

14. Christa Ludwig        Samson et Delilah     "Mon coeur"

              I sincerely hope you like these compilations. I think they are fun!!!!!

(ERROR:  Add Alessandro Ziliani Dame Blanche aria after the Warren selections.)

  I always brought opera to my foreign language students, and even staged the shaving scene from the Barbiere once. Kids need to be brought UP to appreciate what the arts are all about.

  In the Bronx, New York, the absolutely brilliant and lovable counter-tenor, Anthony Roth Costanzo has brought opera to sixth grade kids and I am just overwhelmed by his efforts. You do not have to be a teacher to love what you see here. May he continue on this quest to educate young people in this way, and of course continue to thrill opera audiences all over the globe.

The brilliantly talented Angela Meade at the Richard Tucker Gala last year in the Due Foscari aria.They do NOT make them like this most of the time....

 Here is the clip....Have fun..I think!!!!

  I was playing this the other day, and when Remola took a high J# above Z, three cats and seven dogs in the house all came to my door......not fair..I could not feed them!

With all the music available to us, we still cannot “hear it all,” even in 10 lifetimes.
My dear buddy Bob Fazio became close with the fabulous Giovanni Martinelli in the great tenor’s later years,but he still had the same “white’ quality..I never really appreciated..BUT when you see a series of clips like these..you realize the man was a vocal GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Forget the English)

To ADORE for her absolutely amazing ability to tug at your heartstrings! Born Jan.6, 1903. Favero is part of the line of divas who possessed the kind of love of the vocal line that is totally ABSENT today. Along with Muzio, Scuderi, Zeani, Olivero,Albanese, Soviero, and Scotto, she transported you to a new dimension of emotion. Listen to what she accomplishes with a mere phrase. We who claim to know what these artists contributed LONG for someone who can follow them.

GREAT voice...Grace Bumbry excelled in mezzo AND soprano roles..Born Jan.4, 1937, let us celebrate her wonderful career.

Even after knowing someone 50 years, I am still amazed at what she accomplished, but too many critics never understood the greatness of Marisa Galvany..but you do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just had a Happy New Year talk about the divas who get INVOLVED..you know:Moedl,Callas,Olivero,etc. She started some master classes down in Raleigh, North Carolina.Mayber some day we can produce some divas who are not afraid to let it all hang out.    As ever Charlie,unpaid agent of about 5 divas.

Just to know these podcasts make you happy all year round, it is one of the joys of my life, and at this time may I wish you all,from Angola to Zanzibar (I cannot find the Angolese or Zanzibarese translations, but you get the idea.)

                                                               Your buddy   Charlie

Mado Robin was amazing...Dec.29, 1919...Died of cancer so young!!! It was not a freak voice..she could really sing well,other than the high K over T..

  Last season Piotr introduced me to the son of Jan Kiepura and Martha Eggerth, who has just passed away at 101. He then called "mom" from the dressing room. Here she is at around 90,with the same great style and love of the vocal line. May the dear lady rest in peace.  Charlie

  For our lovable Piotr Beczala on his Dec.28 (1966) birthday!!! He has brought so much to us on and off stage. In all my years as an opera aficionado,I consider him so special and not only do we adore him on stage but also he is an affectionate lovable guy.

    He also affords me an opportunity to clear my tenor collection of the too many CD's I have purchased, which I happily bring him!!!!

 Alex Penda, formerly Alexandrina Pendachanska, (name too long to sign autographs??), a Bulgarian soprano, sings in a manner totally ABSENT since the days of Callas and Galvany. I am stunned!!!!!

 May she continue to earn great praise in her career, and perhaps she will enlighten the opera world as to what exciting singing is all about (in the tradition of her beloved countryman (lady),Raina Kabaiwanska.

Let us talk about STYLE!!!! Do we know any German singers who can top Bing Crosby????? This was a great man!!!   Happy Holidays!!!

  I am told we only get a portion of what that was!!!! I just CRY when the man opens his mouth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Thanks so much for your interest and support, and may your holidays be happy ones!!!!!!!!!  (Even if you prefer Justin Bieber over Piotr Beczala.)

 Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I always complain about the "Price-isms" that crept into the Price singing over the years;this is an example of TRUE GREATNESS!!!! I never understood why she resorted to so many strange sounds with that phenomenal voice, but at least we hear what the reputation was all about here!!!!

...Iwill not be able to do this.  Lina Vasta could teach some sopranos how to sing....Imagine,at 92!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Only a bunch of nutty people (like my friends and I) could run to Sam Ramey's house after this Maria Stuarda, put on my tape, and count how many seconds Galvany holds the E flat. This is called, living life!!!!" She still is a great friend, but I always feel badly that more people did not know her...however,YOU DO!!!

So,do you agree?????????????????????

 (With Franco Tagliavini).  Did i ever tell you my Raina story? Probably...but here it is again for new listeners:

    In 1972, we had a party for Leyla Gencer after her Atilla. The photos of all other divas were removed and only Leyla was on the walls.  New Years' Eve..in walked Kabaiwanska, and staring at the walls, exclaimed, "What is this..a SHRINE????"  We cracked up!!!!

The great lady..Kabaiwanska born on Dec.15, 1934.Emerged as one of the most important divas!!!!!!

Dec.15, 1910..she almost made it to 100! I think this is the greatest rendition of this scene EVER!!!!!One of the greatest singers in opera history.

I have often stated that at  times a single line or word or even SYLLABLE out of the mouth of an artist can tell you something that is special about the singer. During last night's truly glorious Tosca performance by Sondra Radvanovsky, I realized that the "VI" of "Vissi d'arte" (I think that is an E flat) represented the level of brilliance of tone that was so special to me, and of course that voice last evening had to be the most glamorous since my olden "Antonietta Stella' days.
    Mme.Radvanovsky has grown into one of the most brilliant sopranos in my memory, and the tone just cuts through in middle,upper middle, and top (enormous up there) that is so thrilling you sit there in amazement;this from the supposed jaded Charlie,who has seen a few good Toscas over 60 years.
    If you take a section beginning "L'innamorata Tosca e prigioniera" in act one, where the tone just radiates through the house, or the end of the Vissi d'arte, which often kills a soprano, with remarkable control, you realize that there is an effortless stream of sound that is worthy of the ovation she received, and remember, I am the guy who usually says, "that audience knows nothing."
     When Tosca kills Scarpia in this staging, she stabs him over and over on each "muori," causing me to think of a certain soprano named Vera at a company called "Gran Scena" who does a bit more stabbing. Radvanovsky was on fire here, and let go with some angry outbursts (also as in "sogghigno di demone," and later "Aiuto!" as Scarpia is on top of poor Tosca on the floor.
  In sum, she was fabulous, even after all the superb Toscas you know I have seen!!!
   Marcello Giordani was his usual brilliant self, singing top notes ("La vita mi costasse' and "Vittoria" reminiscent of a Corellian brilliance, and he sings the "E lucevan" with some beautiful pianissimi and amazing breath control. I am glad he will do Radames next season and thankfully in act two,unlike Mr.Alagna, he WILL sing the top notes. I found it lots of fun that when the two of them sang the B on "diffonderem!" in act three, the two voices were so equally brilliant that I long for the two of them in the Andrea Chenier act four final duet.
    Mr.Gagnidze was a very exciting Scarpia,singing and acting with great emotion and power;it is not a great voice, but in this role he was able to sustain the level of "evil" and he was extremely effective, especially dancing with the three hookers.
     I find it an extra blessing that the Met uses  John Del Carlo (not a buffo voice) as the Sacristan, Eduardo Valdes, a bright-voiced tenor, as Spoletta, and Richard Bernstein,who should be elevated to larger roles, as Angelotti.
Thankfully, the olden days of having so-called "voiceless comprimarios" is gone,  and even in smallish roles, these artists make a mark.
        So you see, even after having heard some of the truly great Toscas, I was thrilled that I could enjoy an evening where i could resonant with many bravoes for a fine cast.    GREAT NIGHT!!!!      As ever,  Il puzzo del giardino.

  My review follows.

 Who said that first come Caruso and Ponselle and THEN come singers??? This is from 1951..She retired in 1937...she had "issues." LORD, this is from heaven!!!!!

VAT?????? You seeeng my aria like theees??You may be cuter, but vat are you doink to my best aria??? EEf I vas not ded, I vud come and keeeel you!!!!!!!

   I am glad I am retired.......     ZM

Yesterday those jerks at Scala booed Beczala at opening Traviata. The tradition of the "Loggionisti' is a disgrace and Piotr has received an incredible amount of praise.

   Those "Italian traditions" to many of us are just disgusting..but he has received a tremendous amount of support and his own posts show he is a gentleman..well,they booed Callas and Freni and Pavarotti,so he is in great company!!!!!

Born Dec.9, 1895 and sadly died so young in childbirth. One of the most charming singers with the "smile' in the voice; however, not easy to accept the "goat-like' vibrato. You have to accept the "whole package."

 On Dec.7, the 150th birthday of Pietro Mascagni, here is an example of his wonderful music, other than Cavalleria Rusticana, as Virginia Zeani, Umberto Borso, and a loud prompter sing this duet from Piccolo Marat,which they ENCORE!

Sometimes someone comes along that enriches your life. Piotr to me is the guy who has made going to the opera a delight...and it is also my pleasure to bring him good tenor stuff from my collection. He is a great artist and a sweet guy..

Dec.5, 1946 this great tenor was born. He did get into heavy repertory which shortened his career,even before the illness. However, he raised 750 million dollars for Leukemia, and that alone was a fabulous achievement. Bless him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here she is again!!!!!! That is some talent...and the F is so solid/ What I like is that she is not a"chirpy" coluratura. Bless her!!!!!

  Tell me she will have a HUGE career!!!!!!!! Only THIRD prize in Operalia competition. This is specikal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!