Word: sopranoes
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VERDI: NABUCCO (3 LPs; London). Lamberto Garelli, conducting the Vienna Opera Orchestra, has produced an unexpected smash hit. The biggest surprise is Elena Suliotis, a 23-year-old Greek soprano who has arrived like a gift from Olympus for opera fans who want Msria Callas reborn. Their voices have striking similarities: three-octave range, "white" tone, unflinching attack. But whereas Callas used all her skills and wiles to project a so-so voice, Suliotis is blessed with a strong, clear instrument that never quavers. It will be some time before she matches Callas' artistry, but in the florid role...
FALLA: LA VIDA BREVE (2 LPs; Angel). This short opera is about the short, unhappy life of Salud, a gypsy girl who is cruelly betrayed by her lover and falls dead at his wedding. The gypsy's passion and her pathos are exploited to the full by Spanish Soprano Victoria de los Angeles-unfortunately without much help from supporting singers. Falla's early work is studded with folk dances and flamenco songs, all fierily clicked off by the National Orchestra of Spain, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducting...
...Opera celebrated its tenth anniversary with a season that is already 90% sold out. Kelly's winning formula: high-quality productions with big-name singers and the best young talent available. Highlight of the company's new production of Macbeth last week was the performance of Welsh Soprano Gwyneth Jones. A tall, flame-haired import from London's Covent Garden, she was a marvelously malevolent partner for Baritone Mario Zanasi as Macbeth, repeatedly thrilled the audience with her heroic, ringing voice. Jones's appearance marked her U.S. debut, and is the latest in a long string...
...abruptly from one end of the voice ranges to the other. Therefore co-ordination and flexibility among the various performing groups are essential to a good performance. The soloists were all successful in this respect, making the most florid passages sound simple. Penny Colwell and Marian Ruhl sang their soprano duets like a single voice, and bass Walter Moore's competence and ease were overwhelming. In some of the tenor and bass duets, there was a lag of a few measures before the voices attained complete raport...
...Sake. Opera lore is rife with stories about sopranos whose contracts provide for dressing-room lovers -a stagehand, perhaps, or a house fireman who donates his services for art's sake. Soprano Gemma Bellincioni made no secret of the fact that she made love in her dressing room right before a performance. If she ran overtime-and she often did-her understanding Italian audiences waited patiently. One shapely U.S. lyric soprano was notorious in the 1940s for sabotaging her leading man by seducing him shortly before going onstage; audiences loved her, hated...