Word: mezzos
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Died. Eva Gauthier, 73, concert mezzo-soprano, niece of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Canada's first French-Canadian Prime Minister; in Manhattan...
...past the Lyric has put on many a fine, star-heavy performance, and last week's cast was again impressive: Viennese Soprano Leonie Rysanek as Aïda, Italian Mezzo-Soprano Giulietta Simionato as Amneris, Swedish Tenor Jussi Bjoerling as Radames, Italian Baritone Tito Gobbi as Amonasro. But the stage sets looked as though they had been resurrected from an early copy of the Victor Book of Operas: cluttered scenes with every temple, tower and palm frond rendered in tedious detail. And Paris Opera Conductor Georges Sebastian throttled the tempo to a crawl, once even goaded Tenor Bjoerling into...
...displayed an alarming tendency to soar to high notes and then to wander around dazedly for several bars while she tried to come down again. Bjoerling's lyric tenor lacked the heroic style that the role of Radames demands, and Gobbi was far from his compelling best. Only Mezzo Simionato sang with the range, color and fire that her fans have come to expect of her. The voices of the supporting singers were lost in the huge house. "No wonder he can't sing," said one observer watching the messenger to the Pharaoh noiselessly moving his mouth...
...orchestra is a competent but far from first-rate pickup group. But he kindled a performance of ravishing warmth and coloration, better by far than anything previously heard from the Lyric Opera's pit. With Soprano Birgit Nilsson as Isolde, Tenor Karl Liebl as Tristan, and Mezzo Grace Hoffman as Brangaene, Rodzinski shaped a youthfully vibrant production, as remarkable for its knotted dramatic tensions as it was for its moments of shadowed repose...
...third opera put on at Dallas was a repeat of Rossini's rarely performed romp, L'ltaliana in Algeri, introducing 23-year-old Spanish Mezzo-Soprano Teresa Berganza. The possessor of a silvery, dulcet voice, she acted the title role (an Italian girl imprisoned by a libidinous bey) with a kind of fresh, provincial charm. A onetime pianist, Mezzo Berganza has toured Europe in recitals but has had little operatic experience. The Dallas News's Critic John Rosenfield noted that L'ltaliana in Algeri had "ended up as a love affair between prima donna and patrons...