Word: birgit
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...physiques have dwindled, psyches have flourished. With so much riding on every note, singers today tend to treat their voices like some strange visitor who, if not properly managed, will suddenly desert them. Birgit Nilsson lubricates her pipes with beer, Eileen Farrell quaffs warm Coca-Cola and follows it with burping exercises, Gwyneth Jones takes hot and cold showers and yawns a lot. The rage for eating raw garlic is so popular among German tenors (a cashew-sized sliver two hours before performing is supposed to strengthen the heart) that one indignant Italian soprano recently went onstage with an aerosol...
Courtly as he is, Bing never stands on ceremony. In his dealings with singers, he trades on intuition, whether it is in negotiating a $3,000 difference in salary with Richard Tucker by flipping a coin (Bing won) or in putting Birgit Nilsson at ease before a performance by bursting into her dressing room wearing a Beatle wig (Nilsson screeched). The unexpected, the outrageous are among his chief weapons. On a recent tour in Cleveland, Bing desperately wanted to persuade an exhausted Franco Corelli to substitute for an ailing tenor. He went to Corelli's hotel, got his room...
...federal and New York State taxes sound like anything but glowing arias, but they muddle through-rather brilliantly at times. "Singers will do anything to evade taxes," explains Bing, "so I have to cope with the names of their dogs listed as secretaries, and of their wives as managers." Birgit Nilsson once paid Bing a double-edged tribute by listing him on her income-tax report as a dependent. At all events, as Italian Soprano Mirella Freni says, "The Met is marvelous experience, a theater where one works with tranquillity in a warm, almost friendly atmosphere without nervousness. In Italy...
...singers. As Leonore, Gladys Kuchta reaches everything but the heights of Abscheulicher!; Julius Patzak, who had been singing for 35 years when this record was made, still sounds fresh and sturdy as Florestan; the best performance on the record is Melita Muszely's Marzelline. The singular glories of Birgit Nilsson's Fidelio can't be found here, but listeners will enjoy a high level of musicianship...
PUCCINI: TURANDOT (Angel; 3 LPs). For this generation at least, Swedish Soprano Birgit Nilsson has firmly appropriated the treacherous role of the icy Oriental princess. Seven years ago, Nilsson recorded Puccini's last opera for RCA Victor, and now has repeated her triumphal performance. The plus value in the new set is Tenor Franco Corelli, who in brilliance and power is Nilsson's match, and as Calaf can credibly convert the cruel princess into a woman in love. The earlier recording is superior, however, having Erich Leinsdorf as conductor and a generally better cast, including Renata Tebaldi...