Word: nicolai
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...NICOLAI GEDDA, 31. born in Stockholm of Russian-Swedish parents (his father was a baritone in the Don Cossack Chorus), did well in his Met debut as Faust, outdid himself as Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Anatol in Vanessa. Tall for a tenor-his pressagent, measuring with a basketball coach's rubber ruler, claims 6 ft. 3 in. -Gedda offers a clear, sweet voice that may lack warmth ("Champagne rather than Chianti," says one critic), but has strength and purity. His acting is intelligent, his pronunciation unusually correct for the opera stage; he is a linguist, speaks seven languages...
...Moscow last week, Coach Nicolai Komenkov insisted that there was nothing wrong with his boys' platform soles. But no one got a chance to inspect the shoes, and the International Amateur Athletic Federation decided to investigate. "The rules say nothing about the foot gear of a high jumper," said the I.A.A.F.'s Paul Mericamp, "but the federation has to take a stand on this phenomenon...
...drank free wine from paper cups and made the night ring with their cheers at Stevenson's simple statement: "I have come here to ask for your vote." While four cops wrestled to hold back the crowd. Stevenson struggled into La Pantera for dinner with Owner Rena Nicolai and her employees. They pushed two bottles of Bardolino wine into his arms, then grabbed them back and started pouring. While a tenor sang La Donna è mobile, Stevenson ate spaghetti and joined in a dozen toasts (to Adlai, to Rena, to good times...
Strauss: Wiener Blut (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Erich Kunz, Emmy Loose, Nicolai Gedda; Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus under Otto Ackermann; Angel, 3 sides of 2 LPs). Not so grand a ball as Die Fledermaus, Johann Strauss's masterpiece, this operetta is slighter but in spots even more delightful. A composite of Strauss music not originally written for the stage, the score is full of surprises: when sung, some of the waltzes and polkas take on a warbling charm they do not have as orchestra pieces alone. The libretto is preposterous, but offers linguists an unusually rich sampling of Viennese slang...
Lehar: Land of Smiles (Elisabeth Schwartzkopf, Nicolai Gedda, Erich Kuntz; Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Otto Ackermann; Angel, 2 LPs). Lehar's famed oriental operetta (1931), which offers such grand old tunes as Yours Is My Heart Alone among its welter of melodies, gets what is probably its most elegant hearing with a first-rate cast and a luxurious recording...