Word: wagnerian
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...performed by Philip Lasser, is elusive and singularly inappropriate in nature; it runs on incessantly, ubiquitously beneath the speech, providing less of a meaningful subtext than a distraction or, at worst, an embarrassment, as the unfortunate singers actors explode into snatches of unsingable, off-key melody. This post-Wagnerian syndrome is if anything aggravated by the nature of the text: to rhyme or not to rhyme is the crucial question that seems never to have been settled. The effect is unsettling, between intervals of approximately human speech, the characters too often lapse into agonizingly contrived couplets to our dismay...
...AGENT of this conflict, the character of Dolson is scarcely. Credible and even less like cable; with his wide-set eyes and square jaw, lvanek makes him appear almost Wagnerian in his stupidity. Presumably it is Dolson's duty, as the young idealist, the "hotheaded seminarian," to fight ceaselessly and crudely for truth, justice and the American way-sometime after his daily ten-mile run, presumably it is our duty to be charmed by the natural simplicity of his tantrums as when he a onetime bisexual, melodramatically denounces the Monsignor as a "homophobic autocral...
Birgit Nilsson knew at 63 that her time had come; in 1982 the noblest of modern Brunnhildes put away her breastplate and shield, assured of a permanent place in every Wagnerian's vocal Valhalla. Beverly Sills, the ebullient American queen of bel canto, tossed off her last Donizettian roulade in 1980. Last week another of that generation's dominant divas appeared on an opera stage for the last time: Leontyne Price ended a glittering 32-year career with a vocally stunning performance of Verdi's Aida at New York City's Metropolitan Opera that proved she can still capture...
...Prince Hilarion sings well, and hams up his lines, but suffers by comparison to both Meridith and his Princess. Margery Hellmold, in the title role, possesses the stage from the moment of her entrance--but overplays her lament after her women have betrayed her, suggesting some sort of pseudo. Wagnerian melodrama. Douglas Freeman, as Hilarion's father, and Melody Scheiner, as Ida's lieutenant, both display the necessary gravity and force of will. Lisa Zeidenberg and Debra Staniunas, in the parts of female undergraduates, add a charming note of whimsy to their surrender to the unfair...
Domingo notwithstanding, the Met's Lohengrin was far from a one-man show. Marton, a dazzling Wagnerian soprano who is equally adept at setting off such potent Italian fireworks as Turandot, made a gloriously fearsome opponent as the evil sorceress. Her blazing fury as she confronts her weak husband Telramund (Baritone Franz-Ferdinand Nentwig) near the start of Act II won a spontaneous ovation that stopped the show. Providing a worthy foil for Marton's villainy was Tomowa-Sintow, a lyric soprano with a pure, unforced voice that improved after a somewhat shaky first act; her fateful exchange...