This blog was originally intended to review operatic productions at the Chicago Lyric Opera, more specifically the singing within operatic productions. As I listened to more and more opera singers that came through the Civic Opera house, I was increasingly alarmed at the lackluster casting decisions. Tenors who could not be heard above F#, consistently warbly vibrato, straight-tone pop sounds, young singers not ready for a large hall, and veterans way past their prime. I am, as I have always been, confused as to why these casting decisions have become the norm.
I have gone back and forth on whether I should add a more pointed facet to this blog or maintain the form of being purely a critical Op Ed. Today was what I consider to be the final straw, although having nothing to do with the Lyric Opera, directly.
I was having my morning coffee and reading the Arts & Leisure section of the New York Times (all the News that's fit to print) and saw an advertisement for the Metropolitan Opera's latest production for Rossini's, The Barber of Seville, starring Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, and Christopher Maltman (in the role of Figaro). This struck me as odd, although I have never had the chance to hear Mr. Maltman in a live setting, whenever I've listened to his recordings there is an obvious lack of technique in his singing which, I can only assume, is glossed over by the average audience member due to the innate beauty of his voice. I went on to YouTube and searched for him singing the aria, Largo al factotum and came across this clip below which was posted a few days back by the Metropolitan Opera House.
I was, to say the least, pissed off. This performance, albeit during a dress rehearsal (with an audience), was amateur. You can easily find graduate students who can sing that aria far better than the clip above which makes the fact that the MET found this to be acceptable, all the worse. Below is a clip a clip of Thomas Hampson singing the same aria from 1986. Yes, he's on 31 and much younger than Mr. Maltman above (and Mr. Hampson has a couple of squeaks here as well), but these performances, side by side, are night and day.
Soon after working myself through the 7 stages of grief upon listening to the dress rehearsal clip, I read a tweet from the Teatro alla Scala (clip provided with link is Leo Nucci from 2013-14 season) that Placido Domingo would be performing the title role of Simon Boccanegra.
This is completely unacceptable!
Yes, Mr. Domingo can sing the part and has done so many times for over 5 years, but anyone who is an opera enthusiast will tell you that being able to sing the part is not the only reason to do so. Even though Mr. Domingo has declared himself a Verdi baritone, has released a CD of Verdi Baritone arias, and performs at some of the leading opera houses around the world, does not mean that he is a Verdi baritone. It doesn't make him a baritone for that matter given that he still has the color and timbre of a tenor. Verdi, like most operatic composers, had specific vocal colors in mind when composing for the different voices. If Verdi had wanted a tenor to sing in the baritone range, he would've done so.
Below is a clip of Domingo singing "Plebe! patrizi!", from Simon Boccanegra with a clip of the Verdi baritone, Piero Cappuccilli singing the same aria to illustrate my point.
The color of the voice is that of a tenor.
Once again, as in the case of Maltman and Hampson, albeit for different reasons, the contrast is night and day. The voice of Cappuccilli carries a weight and dramatic intensity that is not heard in that of Domingo's voice, not because he can't sing or isn't artistic. It is just not the type and classification of voice that Verdi had intended.
Then why is Mr. Domingo still going on with his baritone experiment? Only he can answer that, but I can tell you for sure that it is doing irreparable damage to the operatic world and tradition. I can only hope that more music critics start pointing out these inequities despite possible retribution from the institutionalized bulwark of major opera houses, like the Met and La Scala.
As an addendum which I feel is related to this concern is a 5 minute section on Verdi tuning with some clips featuring Verdi baritone, Piero Cappuccilli talking about the colors of the voice and its importance.
Click on this link or view below.
No comments:
Post a Comment