For my darling friend, Regina Resnik, whom I knew for 50 years. She was one of the greatest artists ever. She was born on Aug.30, 1922.

More to come!!!!!

Category:general -- posted at: 11:13am EDT

Nadezna Kniplova and Frida Leider in the Walkure Battle Cry.

See, I am learning (again) how to do podcasts for you. Windows 10 must be learned, but I am progressing.

    Love  Charlie..Non mi lasciate!!!!!

Direct download: Hojotohos.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:58am EDT

Luisa Miller Finale  Elena Mosuc, Neil Schicoff.  EXCITING!!!!

Category:general -- posted at: 5:49pm EDT

HEY!!!!!

 

First test for my new Windows 10. Joel Berglund singing Tannhauser aria. I hope now finally to get audio podcasts back for YOU!!!!!!

Direct download: Berglund.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:34pm EDT

 

 

 

 

Not to wish to depress you, but to honor some of the great operea artists who left us too soon. We must treasure their memories, despite their tragically short life. Some are in their very early years (Seinemeyer);others are a bit older, (

If you have never checked them out, please do so, as they are surely worth remembering. If you can add to my list, of course do so:

 

Norman Treigle, Herman Uhde, Leonard Warren,Jon Garris, Jerry Hadley, Gosta Winberg, Salvatore Licitra, Miguel Fleta, Fritz Wunderlich, Yohihisha Yamaji (see IRIS),Jussi Bjoerling, Allan Crofoot, Michele Molese, David Poleri.

 

Irene Kramarich, Gwynne Cornell (our friend),Tatiana Troyanos, Jean Madeira, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson,Conchita Supervia, Claudia Muzio, Meta Seinemeyer, Arlene Auger, Lucia Popp, Mado Robin, Kathleen Ferrier, the Welting sisters (Ruth and Patricia), Patricia Brooks, and I am sure I left out others that you will add.

 

Bless them for what they did for music!!!!

 

 

Category:general -- posted at: 11:44am EDT

 

As a teenager, Korjus toured the Soviet Union with the Dumka Choir. In 1927, while performing in Leningrad, she managed to cross the border into Estonia, where she was reunited with her father. She then began touring the Baltic countries and Germany, and, in 1929, married Kuno Foelsch, a physicist. Korjus continued her concert career as a soprano in Germany and was eventually engaged by the Berlin State Opera in 1933. Her operatic appearances and recordings quickly propelled her to the forefront of European singers and earned her the nickname "The Berlin Nightingale". Film producer Irving Thalberg heard her recordings and signed her to a ten year film contract, sight unseen.

Korjus' first Hollywood film was The Great Waltz (1938), which Frank Nugent of the New York Times called "a showcase for Miliza Korjus" while also noting her resemblance to Mae West.[1] She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.

Korjus was scheduled to star in a film version of the novel Sandor Rozsa in 1940, but an automobile accident caused her leg to be crushed, and, although she avoided amputation, she required extensive recuperation, causing the film to be cancelled. By 1941 she had healed well enough to begin a tour of South America. During her tour, the United States became involved in World War II, and she decided to stay in Mexico for the duration. While living there, she made a Spanish language film, Caballería del Imperio.

In 1944, Korjus returned to the United States, where she performed at Carnegie Hall. She toured the country for several more years, eventually settling in Los Angeles, California. She later founded Venus Records to release many of her earlier recordings.[1]

 

 

8/18/07    PLEASE!!!!! Keep little kids and sensitive cats out of the room!!!!!!!

 How did she make a career????I guess I am nuts (again)

Category:general -- posted at: 12:42am EDT

Who said my favorite tenor had no high C onstage??? Tucker and Virginia are just amazing!!!

 

  I promised the return of audio podcasts soon. I will fix the glitch soon!!!! Please don't leave me "solo,perduto, e abbandonato" like poor Virginia..(90 in October!!!!

 

P.S. That is Mattila and Giordani!!! Who was drunk???Well, I wanted you to hear Tucker and Zeani. Sorry, I didn't catch it....

Category:general -- posted at: 11:37pm EDT

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Category:general -- posted at: 12:28am EDT

                The Pirates Strike Again !!!
May I urge you to read a fine article on Parterre Box,that deals with those dastardly villains known as "Tape Pirates." I am inspired by the mention of these crooks to offer you some absolutely true experiences in my life, and in the lives of other pirates.
1.  The guy who spent good money on a rather large phallic microphone in order to tape operas for Diana Soviero, since I was the best engineer for her.

2. Speaking of microphones, a friend was in Philly taping an opera from the orchestra, where you had to hold the mike in your lap pointing up.(I never did that...too annoying.) Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, the lady sitting next to him spied this "thing" and shockingly thought he was........NO,he wasn't!

3.Some dude pressed "play" instead of "record" at the Met at the start of some act, and you heard the end of the previous act!

4. All those tape pirates sat in the very front at Carnegie at the Eve Queler operas, since they were usually rare, and made sure they did not breathe so they would get good copies to sell on LP. One of them taped in stereo, with each mike under each armpit, and he looked as if he were DEAD for the entire show.

5. Making reel changes, before cassette machines, there is a trick to turning over the reel at the end of the tape, and if you did not want to lose anything, during a brief pause, you used your TEETH to change the reel...On e night the empty reel slipped out of the guy's mouth and it went down the Carnegie aisle...flop..flop..flop.

6. A fun guy who did not like someone who was taping, yelled from a box to the guy in the orchestra.."Hey..did you get a good tape???"

 

7. Once they saw a mike hanging down from a balcony, and I am told (this sounds crazy),that at a Caballe recitral, a BROOM HANDLE with a mike attached ascended from the orchestra..That I am not sure of...but I know Caballe did wait for some people to turn over the cassettes.

8. I cracked up when a friend was taping a Fischer-Dieskau recital where NO ONE BREATHES, even at a pause..He clicked to turn over the cassette, and he got looks equivalent to "Ve vill get zie barbed vire!" He never got part two!!!

9. At the Olivero Met debut Tosca, we all found it very hard to find a bathroom stall to change reels. I seem to have managed, but it wasn't easy. Speaking of stalls, one season at Carnegie, a guy came out of his stall, only to be confronted by a security guard!!!  Bye,bye, tape!!!!

10. The craziest thing a friend once rigged up was to put a reel machine in his car in the garage near Carnegie..and did some kind of thing with a wireless mike in his seat. Unfortunately, when he played the tape..he got things like, "Hey Joe...park it there!"
 

Nowadays,it is easy to tape with all the mini mikes,etc. I do not do it, because there is live Sirius stuff, Soviero retired, and you also end up not enjoyin g the show, since you are concentrating on the machine.
     So you see, opera pirate nutcases lived a dangerous existance (although I was NEVER sued!!!)

 

Category:general -- posted at: 6:11pm EDT

Ora arriviamo a la mia opera favorita (well, it used to be). Note the great "Guerra Geschrei" of that loud tenor, the makeup on the Aida (she had quite a tan from ther beaches in Cairo), the great Amneris, who interpolates a high note at the end of the duet with What a Mess. Only lacking here is what I saw....The performance with the chorus lady with a wristwatch! Well, it was Eastern Isis time.

 

NO ONE HERE could watch operas with this company without having an accident...... but we had fun......

Category:general -- posted at: 6:02pm EDT

  Another example of a soprano who KNOWS how to thrill audiences! Mme.Nieves is from Puerto Rico, and for me, the guy who is so fussy, she is superb!

  I love the attacks on certain notes which have a certain "slightly glottal" effect, which is common to sopranos who use it for more "Authority." Soviero does it, Caballe (a bit too much sometimes),etc.

  She is a thrill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Category:general -- posted at: 10:57pm EDT

One of the finest young tenors of today, discovered on Facebook, like so many singers! The voice is capable of incredible range and I do believe he will join the others "big stars" very soon!!!!

  In my day we never had so many (if ANY) tenors like this..we have Camarena,Flores, Brownlee, and now Andrew.

  

 

  I still have delayed the audio podcasts, but will resume soon.

Category:general -- posted at: 11:19am EDT

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