My Singers

This is interesting.  

name  year born year I met their age when met Cecilia Bartoli 1966 1993 27 Anna Netrebko 1971 1995 24 Dmitri Hvorostovsky 1962 1996 34 Jonas Kaufmann 1969 2007 38 Lise Davidsen 1987 2017 30

These are my singers.  It shows when they were born, when I noticed them and the age they were when this happened.  

I first saw Cecilia Bartoli on TV.  I have flown the most number of times to see Cecilia.  My favorite performances are:

La Cenerentola in Zurich long ago
Le Nozze di Figaro from the Met
L'Italiana in Algeri from Salzburg   And many more.

Anna did Ruslan and Luidmila at the San Francisco Opera and has been going strong ever since.  For me it is a terrible tragedy that the Met kicked her out.  My favorite performances are:

La Traviata from Salzburg, the only time I liked this production.
Manon from LA Opera.
Il Trovatore from the Met.

I saw Dmitri in San Francisco and on streams from the Met.  He was still at the peak of his career when he died.

Eugene Onegin from the Met with Renee Fleming
Il Trovatore from the Met with Anna Netrebko

I first saw Jonas in a performance of Fidelio in Zurich on one of my trips to see Cecilia.

Fidelio in Zurich
Werther in Paris
Lohengrin in Munich
Everything he sings is first class, so the list would need to be longer.  Search label AandJ.

Lise is the newest addition to my list, and she is only young when you compare her to Dmitri and Jonas.

Fidelio from London
Ariadne auf Naxos from Vienna
Tannhäuser from Bayreuth

Die Walküre Act I from Munich was the one I got most excited over.

Blogging

There is finally a Number 4 in my pantheon of idols.  

First was Italian Cecilia Bartoli who I made myself a complete fool over.  I traveled many times to Europe to see her.  I had a friend to visit in the city where she performed, if that's any excuse.  The last time I flew for her was for Norma in Salzburg.  I gave her I lot of advice which she mostly ignored.  She tried to get me into arguments, but she scared me. I was there only for love.  She seems to have finally forgiven me.  We met accidentally in the aisle of the Salle Playel where she smiled and squeezed my hand.  She is a very special person whom I love and respect.  She has achieved true greatness.  The picture is Cecilia in makeup for Ariodante at Salzburg.

Then came Russian Anna Netrebko whom I traveled only to Los Angeles to see in Manon.  I wanted to be sure I didn't miss it, though it later came out on DVD through a performance of the same production in Germany.  That performance is still my favorite.  My second favorite performance is Il Trovatore with Dmitri at the Met.  She performed many times for us at the San Francisco Opera, making travel unnecessary.  Cecilia and Jonas have sung in California but never on the stage of the San Francisco Opera.  Anna is a Merolini.  We also see her often on the Met live in HD.  I don't recall giving Anna advice.  She is on another level.  The picture is a shot of Anna in the described Manon production.

Third was German Jonas Kaufmann whom I first saw by accident in Fidelio in Zurich when I was visiting to see Cecilia.  I called him "a Florestan to die for."  This is part of the reason I would have liked to see him in Fidelio again.  Over the years I have enjoyed many wonderful performances by him, even if I have only traveled when he was performing in the same city as Cecilia.  One such performance was the magnificent Werther in Paris.  The picture is from the recent Aida from Paris where they have removed his beard and curls.  Perhaps military officers are not allowed beards.  He came to the Bay Area for a concert, but never appeared at the opera.  After many years, I have finally thought of some advice.  He is the gold standard for pronunciation in any of the major singing languages, so no advice there.  His hoch Deutsch is impeccable and beautiful to hear.  I just am not enjoying his current interest in crooning.  Anyone can do that.

You should notice that this is an enormous variety of voices and styles.  I love only the complete performer.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Russian, might be considered a number 4, but I was never required to travel for him.  He came to me in San Francisco and London, and from the Met live in HD.   I loved him but did not embarrass myself over him.  Advising Dmitri on any subject would have been foolish, even more foolish than I have ever been.  He was perfection and greatly missed.

I recently turned 80, a traumatic event.  Suddenly I remembered a song I heard once in Germany.  "Ich moechte noch einmal verliebt sein.  Wie damals, wie siebzehn, im Mai."  "I want once more to fall in love, like then, like 17, in May."  And then suddenly I did.  At this age I didn't think it possible.  The door to my heart lies always through singing.  So we arrive at who must be considered our official Number 4:  Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen.  It is an irrational passion which I would prefer not to humiliate myself over. This may prove impossible.  [Too late?]  I am, after all, quite silly at times.  All my friends say do it.  She demands respect, and I wish always to show her the respect I feel.  Lise seems to be intelligent and well advised.  When she speaks about her art, she shows great understanding.  Her big voice is extraordinarily beautiful.  So far I have seen her on film in Ariadne auf Naxos from Vienna, Fidelio from the Royal Opera, and Tannhäuser from Bayreuth.

This picture comes from Pique Dame at the Met which I wish it was possible to see.  

Dmitri's Rigoletto

Conductor:  Constantine Orbelian

Rigoletto:  Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone
Gilda:  Nadine Sierra, soprano
Duke of Mantua:  Francesco Demuro, tenor
Sparafucile:  Andrea Mastroni, bass
Maddalena:  Oksana Volkova, contralto

This CD of Verdi's Rigoletto, I believe, is Dmitri Hvorostovsky's last recording.  It has been nominated for a 2018 Grammy.  It is a work I performed in my youth that stays in my heart.  I don't need help to keep track of the story, but a full libretto is provided.

You will want this for Dmitri.  Nadine Sierra is everywhere these days, and you may also want it for her.  Or you can listen on Amazon prime.
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The Demon

Conductor: Mikhail Tatarnikov
Director: Dmitry Bertman

Demon: Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Tamara: soprano Asmik Grigorian
Angel: countertenor Vadim Volkov
Tamara's nurse: contralto Larisa Kostyuk
Prince Sinodal, Tamara's betrothed: tenor Vasily Efimov

In the semi-staged performance of Anton Rubinstein's The Demon from Russia we have Dima singing gloriously. There appear to be no subtitles. You may look up the plot in Wikipedia, of course. I watched it on YouTube. It's gone now.

Two weeks ago I did not know this work existed.  The music is not very adventuresome but inspires some wonderful singing by this cast.   The idea here is that someone can be condemned for loving inappropriately.  You would want this for Dmitri.   YouTube includes some other versions, including one with Kristine Opolais.

Eugene Onegin Rerun

👍🏻
Conductor...............Valery Gergiev
Production..............Robert Carsen

Eugene Onegin..Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Tatiana...............Renée Fleming
Lensky................Ramón Vargas
Olga....................Elena Zaremba
Prince Gremin....Sergei Aleksashkin

Yesterday I attended the rerun of  Eugene Onegin from the Metropolitan Opera.  This opera has been broadcast live into theaters from the Met on three different occasions with three different men in the title role:  Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Mariusz Kwiecien and Peter Mattei.  Because he recently died, the version with Dmitri Hvorostovsky was chosen for re broadcast.  Apparently some theaters decided to show whatever version they had on hand instead of the advertised version.  I'm glad that didn't happen to me because I was there for Dima.  When he steps out onto the stage, he is so beautiful you might want to consider falling in love, too.  This may be his greatest recorded performance.

The production by Robert Carsen is also very easy to love.  Locales are merely suggested rather than depicted.

And another thing to consider is that it is conducted by the great Russian conductor Valery Gergiev.  It was a joy.   If they played something else in your town, complain to Fathom Events.

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Il Trovatore Rerun

👍🏻
Conductor:  Marco Armiliato
Production:  David McVicar

Leonora:  Anna Netrebko (soprano)
Azucena:  Dolora Zajick (mezzo-soprano)
Manrico:  Yonghoon Lee (tenor)
di Luna:  Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone)
Ferrando:  Štefan Kocán (bass)

This is the performance of Verdi's Il Trovatore where Dmitri Hvorostovsky steps forward and is showered with white roses from the orchestra.  Since he originally sang this Met Live in HD performance, he has died.  I cried in the theater today.  Everything is simply wonderful.  It plays again in the evening so be sure to see it.

Hvorostovsky

Of all the recent pictures and remembrances, this picture from Anna Netrebko's Instagram was my favorite.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky (1962 - 2017)

Unfortunately this time it is real.  Dmitri Hvorostovsky has died in hospice in London.  He was my favorite.  I saw him live in San Francisco and London and adored him.  We will miss you.

Hvorostovsky withdraws from Opera

From Dmitri:

To all my friends, fans and colleagues:
It is with great sadness that I must withdraw from opera performances for the foreseeable future.
I have been experiencing balance issues associated with my illness, making it extremely difficult for me to perform in staged productions.

I will continue to give concerts and recitals as well as make recordings. Singing is my life, and I want to continue bringing joy to people worldwide. With this pause in my operatic career and more rest in between each engagement, I hope to have more time to focus on my health and treatment. Thank you for all your love, messages and well wishes. Your support is felt and means the world to me.

With love,
DMITRI HVOROSTOVSKY

Singer List -- Those who have Thrilled me most 👍🏻

Lists are the order of the day.  This singer selection is based on certain specific performances experienced in about the last four years, and not on a generic idea of who is best.  I am strongly influenced by theatrical performance in addition to great singing. 

These have been my favorite soprano performances.  The order is alphabetical

Sopranos

• Anja Harteros for her Arabella from Munich.
• Anna Netrebko for Il Trovatore at the Met.
• Barbara Hannigan for Lulu. 
• Eva-Maria Westbroek for Tannhäuser at the Met.
• Karita Mattila for Jenůfa in San Francisco.
• Nina Stemme for Elektra at the Met and La Fanciulla del West in Vienna.
• Sondra Radvanovsky for Roberto Devereux at the Met.

These are towering performances with a strong drift toward dramatic sopranos.

Mezzos

• Cecilia Bartoli for her Norma at Salzburg.
• Elina Garanča for La Clemenza di Tito at the Met.
• Isabel Leonard for Le Nozze di Figaro at the Met.
• Joyce DiDonato for La Donna del Lago at the Met.
• Susan Graham for Les Troyens, especially in San Francisco.

These are all complete performances where the mezzo leads the way.

Tenors

• Bryan Hymel for Les Troyens at the Met and San Francisco.
• Johan Botha for Tannhäuser at the Met.
• Jonas Kaufmann for Werther at the Met and La Fanciulla del West in Vienna.
• Marcelo Álvarez for Un Ballo in Maschera at the Met.
• Roberto Alagna for Manon Lescaut at the Met.
• Vittorio Grigolo for The Tales of Hoffmann at the Met.

We trend in the direction of ham actors, but it can't be helped.

Baritones and basses.

• Ambrogio Maestri for Falstaff at the Met and in Florence.
• Dmitri Hvorostovsky for Il Trovatore at the Met.
• Ildar Abdrazakov for Faust from Salzburg.
• Paulo Szot for The Nose from the Met.
• Željko Lučić for Macbeth at the Met.

The list comes out a little different this way.  If you want on this list, wow me in something.  I apologize if your favorite is missing.  Finley was outside the time frame.

News

Think all the good thoughts you can summon for Dmitri Hvorostovsky as he begins more chemo.

In the summer of 2018 Wagner's Ring returns to the San Francisco Opera.  Maybe I'll get to see it this time.  There is a press announcement that tells the cast, but it's hard to find.  Runnicles will conduct.

Here is Karen Slack on her first billboard.

I've been blogging about opera for over a decade, and I love them all more and more.  Stuart and Nina were amazing tonight.

Il Trovatore in HD 👍🏻

Conductor:  Marco Armiliato
Production:  David McVicar

Leonora:  Anna Netrebko (soprano)
Azucena:  Dolora Zajick (mezzo-soprano)
Manrico:  Yonghoon Lee (tenor)
di Luna:  Dmitri Hvorostovsky (baritone)
Ferrando:  Štefan Kocán (bass)

Heard in the theater during intermission of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD simulcast of Verdi's Il Trovatore, "Does it get better than this?"  Followed by, "No!  No, it does not!"  It truly does not.

People get really confused by the plot of this opera, and I think the main reason is because it spends so much time explaining things that took place in the long ago past.  A young prince got sick right after he had been visited by a gypsy woman who seemed like a witch.  When the gypsy woman was taken off to be burned at the stake, her daughter Azucena kidnapped the sick child.  Then seeing her mother burning and her mother shouting out "avenge me," Azucena grabbed the nearest child and threw her own baby into the fire.  She kept the kidnapped child and raised him as her own.  This story gets told twice and then is referred to constantly by the different characters.  We would just rather watch the people we are seeing on the stage.

Azucena is really quite mad and is really quite happy when the son she has raised and loved is killed because at last her mother is avenged.  Yes.  Being avenged is what matters most.  And no one either sings or plays the really quite mad Azucena better than Dolora Zajick who owns this role.  She is the first block in the "four greatest singers" quadrangle required for this opera.

The plot on the stage is just your garden variety love triangle.  Both Conte di Luna and the gypsy Manrico love Leonora.  Manrico serenades Leonora and di Luna just lurks around looking dour.  It isn't hard to grasp why she prefers Manrico.  Enough about the plot.

Two, Anna and Dmitri, of this trio of singers are my absolute favorites in their respective Fachs.  (Or what is the plural of Fach?)  Much fuss was made over Dmitri because he is still in treatment for his brain tumor.  He spoke to us and thanked us for all the love.  His singing was powerful and emotional, a genuine experience.

A year ago after watching the stream of this opera from Salzburg I wrote, "I love Anna and find that she almost achieves the greatness here that she desires and will do so in the future."  I am very pleased to report that she has.  This is the greatest Leonora I have ever seen.  Her gorgeous voice is receiving spectacular attention to detail while retaining all of her wonderful emotion.  She is the opera singer for our age. 

Yonghoon Lee would rate a lot more raves if he were in any cast but this one.  Nevertheless he was outstanding.  It was all in all an emotional day at the opera.

At the end the orchestra repeated their ovation of white roses for Hvorostovsky.  Be well, maestro.

Footnote.  The San Francisco Opera also uses the McVicar production for this opera.

Dmitri

It is important to notice that Dmitri Hvorostovsky is still listed for Il Trovatore at the Met this fall.  The formal announcement has been made.  Dmitri will sing in three performances, including the simulcast on October 3.  Then he will return to London for more treatments.  Best wishes and good health in the future.

News

Dmitri Hvorostovsky had his last radiation therapy session today. We can only hope that he's all better now.

La Traviata HD Rerun

Conductor....................Fabio Luisi
Production...................Willy Decker
 
Violetta.....................Natalie Dessay (soprano)
Alfredo......................Matthew Polenzani
Germont....................Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Flora........................Patricia Risley

Parts (or all) of this HD film of Verdi's La Traviata from the Metropolitan Opera are different from the live broadcast in 2012 where Natalie cracked one of her notes.   This version contained no disasters, but did show a certain amount of fatigue in her voice.  It is possible that Violetta is too heavy for Natalie.  It is also possible that she is simply showing the effects of aging.  (I read in the earlier post that Natalie had a cold during the run.)  Natalie is an extraordinary operatic performer who brings considerable acting talents to this role.  It was a pleasure.  I was glad I came back.  For the best Dessay see next weeks Daughter of the Regiment.

I learned from on line comments that I was correct in thinking that there was more music in Act II than I was used to hearing.  The role of Germont was filled out with pieces that are usually cut, no doubt to give us more of Dmitri Hvorostovsky who is wonderful here.  His Germont is a bit of a bully.

I'm not sure why, but I love this production.  The focus is on the inner life of Violetta and not the outer life of the characters.  I am attracted to its simplicity.

Hvorostovsky

Dmitri Hvorostovsky, my absolutely favorite baritone, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.  We are all thinking good thoughts.

sexy picture

We are always on the lookout for sexy pictures and offer this one of Dmitri Hvorostovsky on vacation.  I just read that Russians don't like tattoos. Hmmm.

Sexiest Hall of Fame

Since my first sexiest opera singers post in 2005, I notice that certain singers continue to make the list. I have decided to honor my top ten with entry into my very own Sexiest Hall of Fame. Their names are listed alphabetically by first name, and the list is balanced half men, half women.

Angela Gheorghiu

Anna Netrebko

Cecilia Bartoli (both as herself and in drag)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Jonas Kaufmann

Juan Diego Florez

Maria Ewing

Placido Domingo

Renée Fleming

Roberto Alagna

In future we will try to concentrate on the younger singers with no intention to slight any of these top ten.  I wanted to be sure to use new pictures for everyone with no repeats from previous posts.  Only CB has a repeat photo.  I just like it.  Remember, to be included in any of my lists the singer must perform to world class standards.

Dmitri as Rigoletto

I listened to the live stream of Rigoletto from the Met last night and was fascinated to hear the announcers discussing how ugly Dmitri Hvorostovsky looked in his Rigoletto costume.  He is, of course, one of the most beautiful men in opera today.  It took quite a bit of looking to locate this picture.  I tuned in for Dmitri who was very intense in this role.  His "Cortigiani" exuded violent rage such as I have not heard before.

There was an audience participation quiz in the intermission:  what character in an opera joins the army during the opera?  I made 2 suggestions, but evidently there are a lot more.

There is opera everywhere now.

P.S.  Dmitri getting ugly.

Sexy Pictures

I'm always on the lookout for new sexy pictures of opera singers.  Here are a few.

This one is called René Pape Easy Rider.  I'm not too young to remember this movie.

This is Noah Stewart in The Pearl Fishers. He works out.

Every picture of Vittorio Grigolo is sexy.

The same could be said of Dmitri Hvorostovsky.  This picture is by Pavel Antonov.

 

And I'm not exactly sure why I find this picture of  Piotr Beczala sexy.  It's sort of the Thin Man syndrome.  Or just exactly why is Die Fledermaus so sexy?

Clearly I need a new sexy picture of Jonas.  The girls don't seem to be keeping up.

I use a lot of pictures from around the internet uncredited, but many of them are in costume.  I always assume these are freely available as publicity.